I really enjoyed this! Cohen did a good job of using different stories to highlight different ways in which strong friendships are sidelined by society. The reason it's not five stars is that I really wish there had been more of a discussion of how the topic is informed by race/racism, capitalism, and the ways friendship often works differently (with more expansive options) in queer communities and BIPOC communities than cishet western ones. It's touched on but I would've liked more.

I would also have loved to see a story about two platonic partners with "matching" sexual orientations (e.g., a straight or bi woman and a straight or bi man, or two bi or gay people, etc.), but I recognize that the author can't just decide what stories she wants to tell and have those people appear in front of her.

Content Warnings

The Long Walk by Stephen King

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dark sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Rating this smack dab in the middle - the premise was excellent, the parallel to war was on point, and some of the characters absolutely gripped me.... But it felt more like an unpolished draft than other dystopian books I've read and loved, plus the racism, misogyny, and homophobia are off the charts in ways that don't feel entirely attributable to the characters themselves. I liked the ending, but there's a lot left to be desired in the execution. Probably not surprising for his first novel. I did like it more than other books of his I've read, in large part because it doesn't have women characters who are significant enough to be as thoroughly mistreated as in some of the others.

Content Warnings

The Dire Days of Willowweep Manor by Shaenon K. Garrity

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying by Django Wexler

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 8%.

Just not feeling it, and after looking at some reviews it doesn't seem like that's likely to change (at least for me in my current reading mood). Not a hard dnf but I'm not likely to revisit.

Squire by Sara Alfageeh, Nadia Shammas

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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zarap's reviews 524 reviews

zarap's reviews
524 reviews