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1348kamar's reviews
24 reviews
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Torture, Death of parent, and War
Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High by Melba Pattillo Beals
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.75
This book is the most challenging read. Period. She faces every kind of harassment and abuse you can imagine for being a black woman trying to attend school. She was SA’d, spat on, st*bbed, burnt, insulted, threatened etc. I was heartbroken at every chapter. But having said that, this book is so important. It tells you so much about what these students faced and how goddamn brave they had to be to endure it all- how literally no one had their backs. It’s so thought provoking and insightful that I won’t forget it. I learned more from this than I did in school and I’m being so genuine. This read made me realize how many misconceptions I held about the Little Rock 9 situation. If you have the will to pick this up you’ll like it.
I think my only complaint (which is so small) is the pacing of the book. I naively went in thinking it would just detail her life at school, but it covers so much more than that. She talks about her friendships, school work, relationships, family, etc. Which is awesome. But weird when it goes from her talking about getting her house shot up, then directly to her new crush yk? She never gives us a moment to process anything, but I think that’s intentional.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual harassment
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
challenging
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
It’s a classic for a reason
A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Read for school
All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This book was so intense. It was filled with themes of forgiving, being different, learning to let go and learning move on. Each one of those messages were incredibly well done, and prominent in the book, which made the story feel so deep and enriching. I could not put it down for days, I had to keep reading and had to have hope that things would turn around for these characters. The characters felt so real and grounded, which again added depth to the story, and made every event feel high stakes. Though these characters were not perfect, I was rooting for them. The only negative thing I can say about this book is that in the middle it felt repetitive. For a moment it felt like we were seeing the same bad things happen to these characters again and again. But that feeling quickly left after the next 50 or so pages. Great read, and great start to 2023.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, and Xenophobia
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book was everything. I loved that it followed 4 different character stories- yet they all connected back at one point or another. So when the book was done, it felt done. It got so emotional at times, and really hit me in the heart. omg and not to mention the style of writing, so digestible, so understandable, I loved it. Only thing I can say is that due to the quick way the story is written, emotional moments never lingered. It happened, it hurt, we quickly moved on with our pain. But perhaps for some that's a good thing. This book will stick with me for sure, definitely gonna keep thinking about it and pick up the second book one day :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
The Last Flight by Julie Clark
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
This book really knew how to make plot twists work, but it didn't do the best job of making me care about them. Such an interesting premise, really had my attentions some times, other times it felt lackluster. Kinda a feminist read ? like the main plot boils down to women working together against the men making their lives miserable. def not a complaint tho
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
School Girls; or, the African Mean Girls Play by Jocelyn Bioh
funny
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Another book I had to read for English class, but I didn't hate this one! Though the plot is slow at times there is an interesting message that Golding is trying to push, and trying to decode that message throughout the book was quite nice.