akhcreates's reviews
346 reviews

The Call-Out: A Novel in Rhyme by Cat Fitzpatrick

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Trespasses by Louise Kennedy

challenging dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This was an enjoyable, though heavy, read. I really felt for our main character, though less so for the man she is involved with. If you don't have some background with the troubles you might be a little lost.

Rikers: An Oral History by Reuven Blau, Graham Rayman

challenging dark emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

2.75

This is an important and informative book, but unfortunately it doesn't really work as a book. I think the structure did a huge disservice to the information, reporting, and subjects of the interviews. It felt very disjointed, and I wish we had gotten full stories of individuals rather than partial stories from a lot of different people grouped by topic.

This Boy We Made: A Memoir of Motherhood, Genetics, and Facing the Unknown by Taylor Harris

challenging emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

Appreciated how vulnerable and open Harris was. It’s a lot to share, and I think she shared a lot that others would hesitate to; that maybe doesn’t paint her in the best light

Felt like I got a glimpse into generalized anxiety disorder, and how that would permeate parenthood. And how that affected how she received news of the BRCA gene - very different than my experience. 

Lots of mentions of faith and religion but didn’t go much into it - wish we got more

Bargain Bin Rom-Com by Leena Norms

funny lighthearted reflective slow-paced

3.0

This is a very fun collection with a few moving moments. I loved the poem Rachel and a few others. Overall I had a lovely little afternoon reading this one.

Boulder by Eva Baltasar

adventurous challenging dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I loved this book, but I didn't always love our narrator, Boulder. Or her partner Samsa. They were both incredibly flawed, but that is definitely what made this book interesting. Something I kept returning to throughout the book is that if Boulder were a man, I would likely have rolled my eyes and dismissed him early on. This exploration of hesitancy around having kids is more palatable, I suppose, when the hesitant person is a woman than a man. And despite the fact that I think Boulder often does the wrong thing, I do understand why she makes those choices, which I think is an impressive feat by Baltasar.

I did feel proud of that I picked up on the fact that Baltasar is a poet. It definitely shows in her writing, and major compliments to Sanches that it shows so well in the translation. I happened to pick this up because it was nominated for the International Booker and I'm so happy it was longlisted because I don't know if I would have picked it up otherwise.

Please Miss: A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Penis by Grace Lavery

challenging dark funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.0

a lot of this went over my head - references, the structure of certain sections, what was "real"

that said, I did still enjoy what I did understand of Grace's story

Her frank discussion of a lot of her fears and hesitations around coming out, despite being in a relatively safe environment and having started dressing outside of her assigned gender in college.

Pod: A Novel by Laline Paull

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

 - Some of this book was truly heartbreaking, mostly based on the things that were clearly human interference in ocean life
- appreciated the dolphins skill in storytelling
Somehow ended somewhat hopefully
The fish's (?) sex/gender journey was lovely
Learned a lot about ocean life that I didn't know before

Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

The characters were well rounded and allowed to be fully human. A story that needs to be told. This book was filled with hard, uncomfortable decisions, and while I didn't agree with all of them I did understand why the characters made those choices. 

Fire Rush by Jacqueline Crooks

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was a true adventure, criss-crossing continents, revealing family secrets, and evading wolves in sheep's clothing. I enjoyed the peek into the dub reggae scene in and near London in the late 70s/early 80s and the specificity that Crooks brought to that setting. Yamaye's ongoing grief felt very realistic to me. Those unfamiliar with Caribbean diaspora slang and ways of speaking, as I am, should be prepared to take some time and energy to understand some of the unfamiliar language, but it wasn't so hard to follow that I had to stop frequently. I was able to use the context clues. The ending was both satisfying and not. I'm glad this one was shortlisted for the Women's Prize.