andintothetrees's reviews
573 reviews

Ootlin by Jenni Fagan

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This was a really comforting read. The characters felt so real and I loved the setting too, Nebraska isn't a place that we often hear about over here. 

Plot/compellingness 3/5
Themes 5/5
Characters 5/5
Emotional resonance 5/5
Writing style 5/5

The Memory of Animals by Claire Fuller

dark sad medium-paced

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

3.75

I liked the speculative fiction elements here, and the Revisiter device meant that there could be a dual plot line where we followed the main character in the present and saw what lead her there. I liked that the main character did not work in a fancy office job and the backdrop of the Greek economic crisis in stone sections was (surprisingly?!) compelling. I just couldn't connect with the book emotionally despite the fact it's told in first person. I don't think this author is a bad writer at all, but I just don't think her books are for me no matter how appealing the premises may be (I've DNFed a couple and this is the 2nd I've finished but felt kind of meh about).  It also felt a bit strange to read a pandemic-themed novel written after covid that didn't mention covid (and I assume from the other events, and the technology, that this was supposed to be set post covid) - I heard on a podcast that the author started writing this before covid, which probably explains it but it editing in a few mentions wouldn't have hurt.

Plot/compellingness 3/5
Themes 5/5
Characters 2/5
Emotional resonance 2/5
Writing style 3/5

Hey, Zoey by Sarah Crossan

challenging dark emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

This is not a straightforward book to read or review. It's told in short sections, varying from a few sentences to a few pages in length, which hop around various stages of the protagonist's life. There is a lot of character development over the story - or at least a deeper understanding of the main character - but I didn't feel the characters of those around her were fully explored (especially David). Zoey herself isn't as central a character as you might expect from the premise - though there is some exploration of the theme of hyper realistic AI "companions" trauma is much more present in the novel than technology. Overall a rewarding but quite heavy read.

Plot/compellingness 3/5
Themes 4/5
Characters 3/5
Emotional resonance 5/5
Writing style 5/5

This Motherless Land by Nikki May

emotional hopeful lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Plot/compellingness 5/5
Themes 5/5
Characters 4/5
Emotional resonance 4/5
Writing style 4/5 

I Hope This Finds You Well by Natalie Sue

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

One of my favourite books read this year. The last 15% was a bit predictable & the ending perhaps too tidy/"feelgood" but overall I really enjoyed the experience of reading this, more so than so many other books I've read lately. 

Plot/compellingness 4/5 (lost a little for the ending) 
Themes 4/5
Characters 5/5
Emotional resonance 5/5
Writing style 5/5

The Silence In Between by Josie Ferguson
Did not finish book.

I thought I would love this as I love Berlin and find the DDR fascinating. But I couldn't get into it. I think I was just really aware that I was reading something written in English about an German experience and that jarred for me. It's the same thing I feel about TV/movies that have English dialogue whilst being set in other countries (worst of all if they adopt "accents" whilst doing it), though I'll happily watch subtitled shows/movies originally filmed in the language of the country they're in. I realise this is personal weirdness and this seems to be a really good book going by others' reviews but it just put a wall up for me (sorry not sorry for the pun).

The Sleepwalkers by Scarlett Thomas
Did not finish book.

DNF - It might have been because I had a virus when I started reading this but looking at the reviews I'm not alone in finding it confusing and hard to get into. The setting didn't really appeal to me either but that's just personal preference and if the plot/characters had brought me in more I'd have been able to get over it.

Nothing Serious by Emma Jokinen, EMMA. MEDRANO

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

Plot/compellingness 3/5 - I didn't feel desperate to pick the book up but once I did it rumbled along nicely
Themes 3/5 - interesting themes but somehow it didn't quite go deep enough
Characters 3/5
Emotional resonance 3/5
Writing style 4/5 

One thing I really liked about the book was that Nicki and her partner were a carer and a removal man respectively. It was really refreshing to read a book where the characters weren't all working in corporate/media office jobs!

There were a few things that didn't quite make sense and which I was surprised weren't picked up in the editing process (minor spoilers follow)
- a 90s-esque answering machine is referred to as a "voicemail", even by it's elderly owner. This could be a regional thing but I've never heard people refer to an old school machine in this way
- there is reference to someone needing a "scholarship" to attend a particular university. This isn't something I've ever heard of in the UK
- likewise one of the characters is taking "Advanced English" in a 6th form in England. This isn't a thing I've ever heard of - I thought people just did A Levels in 3 or 4 subjects?
- Nicki talks about how she could never afford a detached 3 bedroom house in Hove because it's £200k. Did the author do no research at all on this?! That's what you'd pay to live in a house like that in my small Scottish town, in Hove you'd be looking at something nearer a million! Nicki and her partner are apparently often on Zoopla, but it doesn't seem like the author was
(I know these are very minor points but they made the novel feel less believable for me)

The Seven Ages of Death: A Forensic Pathologist's Journey Through Life by Dr. Richard Shepherd

4.75