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williamgideon's reviews
166 reviews
The Broken Wings by Kahlil Gibran
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
3.5
The language was beautiful but I just couldn't resonate with it since Gibran has a very idealistic worldview. Plus the edition I had was full of typos.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
An extremely well-crafted and touching story. I love the intertextuality with the fairytales woven through the main story. I loved the mother-son relationship and the main characters supportive friends. And most of all, I adore the art! This book makes me wanna become a graphic novelist!! Excellent!! Literally 0 complaints!!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Homophobia and Blood
Brokeback Mountain by Annie Proulx
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, and Violence
A History of My Brief Body by Billy-Ray Belcourt
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
4.5
It's taken me a while to be able to articulate my thoughts on this book. It's so unlike anything I've ever read, so unique in its form and subject matter. This book definitely is a lot to digest, despite only being 128 pages it took me 8 days to read. It is challenging, both in the subjects it deals with but also the way it is written.
This book deeply touched me, and there are passages that made me cry. Some of the essays are worthy of 5 stars, but others didn't hit as hard. My favorites were 'Please keep loving: Reflections on unlivability', 'Robert' and 'To hang our grief up to dry'.
This book deeply touched me, and there are passages that made me cry. Some of the essays are worthy of 5 stars, but others didn't hit as hard. My favorites were 'Please keep loving: Reflections on unlivability', 'Robert' and 'To hang our grief up to dry'.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Racism, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Taproot by Keezy Young
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
There wasn't much to the story, honestly. But it was also super cute and fun to read, plus I love the reaper lmao.
1984 by George Orwell
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture and Vomit
Minor: Rape and War
Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
This is the second book by Stephen Graham Jones that I've read this month. I just read The Only Good Indians, which I loved, but I loved this even more.
First of all, Mapping the Interior is a genius title.
Second of all, this was such a good story! Novellas are very underrated. As someone who is very impatient, I love that the story was quite compact and only kept the things that mattered. It was also super interesting and engaging.
Like The Only Good Indians, this book packs an emotional punch. The child protagonist finding out more about the "ghost dad" paralells the unraveling of the ideas he had about him. It's part of growing up, realizing who your parents are (or were), it's heartbreaking and touching at the same time.
First of all, Mapping the Interior is a genius title.
Second of all, this was such a good story! Novellas are very underrated. As someone who is very impatient, I love that the story was quite compact and only kept the things that mattered. It was also super interesting and engaging.
Like The Only Good Indians, this book packs an emotional punch. The child protagonist finding out more about the "ghost dad" paralells the unraveling of the ideas he had about him. It's part of growing up, realizing who your parents are (or were), it's heartbreaking and touching at the same time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, and Death of parent
The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book was so good. It was thrilling and engaging but also reaöly deep and emotional. The characters aren't just there to be killed off, they're complex being with pasts and complicated relationships to one another. And without saying too much, the ending was just really amazing. The only thing I didn't love was the writing style which sometimes felt a bit dry and hard to follow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Police brutality
Dracula by Bram Stoker
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I loved this book from start to end. It was really fun and interesting to read of how Dracula slowly took over the characters' lives. The second half was slightly less fun imo. Overall, fun ensemble of characters, written in a really interesting structure, and a perfectly gothic October read.
The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enriquez
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt