ayedrianreads's reviews
17 reviews

Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

challenging dark informative reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

Honestly I think this book is very humbling. I encourage everyone to read it. FD is a very inspirational person and we can all learn something from his story. It felt kind of fast, though. Things happened very quickly, it didn’t feel like you could really get used to any particular setting. But I think that was reflective of slave life too. So it fits. There were a lot of names so it was hard to remember everyone but I think most readers will fare pretty well. If you want a more detailed autobiography I imagine “My Bondage and My Freedom” is that, from what I deduced looking at its table of contents. There were some parts that were kind of inaccessible to me, hard to understand, but overall, it was thought-provoking and eye-opening. It’s sad to think that while Douglass and countless other slaves saw freedom, a lot of slaves never got to.

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The twist in this was incredible. I wasn’t somebody who watched the movie beforehand so going blindly into the book was very worthwhile. While I sympathized with one character for almost half the book, I started to sympathize with the other in the second half. The author did a great job or really making you feel like you’re in for the ride too by including Amy’s diary entries.

Spoiler

I completely felt for Amy until the twist. While I hated Nick for cheating on Amy, what she did as a response was completely maniacal. The gaslighting was real in those diary entries. I kinda hated the ending because he just accepts she’ll never get caught. It’s kinda dark idk. Overall still good though.

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I can see why some King fans call this one of his best. I don’t know if I’d agree, I think I’d have to do a reread to know how I truly feel. I liked it but it didn’t connect as much as other King books have for me. Since it’s been some time I’ve gotten to really reflect and I will say it’s still worth the hype. Overall just a very sad story where you can’t help but sympathize with MC despite their questionable and horrifying actions. I think if you’ve experienced grief, especially over the loss of someone in your immediate family, then it will connect and resonate with you more and you’ll understand Louis’ actions.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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emotional funny sad slow-paced

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

3.0

I went into this thinking I’d be very emotionally invested but I wasn’t. I don’t know what it was because the book was definitely very sad. It just didn’t connect with me. I think that just might be a me thing though. That aside, the writing was beautiful and very touching throughout. The narration through Death offered a unique experience that kind of humanizes loss even more. But because I felt like there was something missing, I couldn’t connect as much as I wanted to.

Needful Things by Stephen King

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

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adventurous emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I was kind of bored with the book. It wasn’t like I was eager to settle down and continue reading it. I think because of the previous book, the concept wasn’t all that interesting to me anymore. I will say it is an interesting idea to have it take place on the very first End Day though. I liked that part. I really loved and started to feel for the characters more towards the end. But like I said before I can’t ignore the fact that I was bored in the middle, so I have to give it a 3.5. I will say it is so worth getting the edition with the bonus content at the end! To me that was more emotional than the end of the actual book.

Under the Dome by Stephen King

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced