beccaj11's reviews
60 reviews

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, and Classism

Minor: Slavery and Suicide

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.5

If Cats Disappeared From The World by Genki Kawamura

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Independence by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

5.0

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

emotional funny informative lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.0

Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I could not put it down! It was one of those books that I was thinking about throughout the day waiting to get back to reading it. I loved the characters and the unique plot. In some ways, it had some really predictable tropes (that I personally enjoy and find comforting), but in other ways was incredibly unique and unexpected. The way the author crafted Ursa’s story and approached the trauma she experienced blended with this very real sense of magic was beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, and Murder

Minor: Animal death, Drug abuse, and Mental illness

Our Work Is Everywhere: An Illustrated Oral History of Queer and Trans Resistance by Syan Rose

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

The art in this book is incredible and the stories are enlightening and powerful. I feel like I learned a lot about significant cross-cutting issues in the queer community while also getting to know unique, individual stories of people. 

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Sexual assault

Moderate: Addiction and Toxic relationship

Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

emotional hopeful informative inspiring sad fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Mental illness, Abortion, and Classism

Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

The writing is beautiful, but the book moves slowly for a while. It’s a heavy story with a lot of loss and grief, but the magnified look at a marriage under hardship and a town deeply rooted in its history was incredibly well done. What stopped me from giving this 4.5 or 5 stars? A truly devastating ending that I found completely unnecessary. This book has so much heaviness baked into it and just as the sun starts to shine through, it is torn apart again and honestly, it made me so mad. This writer is an incredibly talented storyteller and scene painter, but I will never forgive them for that ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Violence, Car accident, Abortion, and Alcohol

Minor: Terminal illness and War