catisbookish's reviews
147 reviews
Bloodmarked, by Tracy Deonn
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-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
5.0
I would give Tracy Deonn my first born child without a second thought. 5/5
The Bone Shard Daughter, by Andrea Stewart
adventurous
dark
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This fantasy was aggressively mediocre, not because this was a tired concept or overly trope-y, or because the writing was just okay. To the contrary, this was a fantasy unlike any other I have read so far, and Andrea Stewart's writing is skillful and colorful, and brings forth carefully picked details that create an immersive atmosphere and some rich characters. However, and this is a big however, Steward tried to do too much with too little, and that's where the novel falls flat for me. I believe I counted 7 POVs (I think) in 400 pages, which is far too many individual perspectives to follow for such a short page count. The whole read I was questioning why this decision was made... especially because there were clear main characters whose perspectives we come across more often (Lin and Jovis). I think this book would have been excellent if either it had been more focused and followed fewer perspectives (I think only Lin and Jovis' would have been perfect), or double the page count and develop your story, magic system, plot, and characters more so that they each hold a strong place in your narrative.
I would still recommend this book to anyone who's interested in reading it, and like any fantasy novel, there are gonna be people who absolutely love the world and the characters just the way it is.
I would still recommend this book to anyone who's interested in reading it, and like any fantasy novel, there are gonna be people who absolutely love the world and the characters just the way it is.
Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Jane Austen just doesn't hit for me like it does for other people. I wish I could read this through someone else's eyeballs to understand what the hype is about. And... I'll say it! Mr. Darcy just ain't all that! Sir was average at best, certainly not swoon worthy. As far as I'm concerned, he can take his top hat and then take his leave. Boy, bye.
Red, White & Royal Blue, by Casey McQuiston
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
3.0
Middlesex, by Jeffrey Eugenides
challenging
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Dear Mr. Eugenides,
Your book was baffling in every way I didn't expect. My immediate reservations on reading a book that I initially thought was written by an intersex or trans person but turned out was actually cis, white, and male was indeed a correct reaction. I am not intersex, so I will not speak for experiences that are not my own; however, based on your absolute swing-and-a-miss for the teenage girl coming-of-age experience and your complete and total incomprehension of lesbianism... Let's just say I severely doubt you handled the intersex experience well either. But I digress. Let me explain to you a few basic concepts that you seem to have misunderstood or simply plowed over thinking that in fact you totally did understand them:
- Girls don't all get their period at age 12 like clockwork. I'm not sure where you heard that from; but, sir, just like boys, puberty comes at different times for different people. A thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl who hath not yet bled is certainly no cause for concern. Probably shoulda asked your wife about that.
- Contrary to your belief, girls actually have opinions. No, it was not Cal's masculine destiny, but simply someone with a fucking brain. I know! It's hard to believe that weighed down by our tits and vaginas, we even have time for critical thought! A medical marvel! Alas, it is true. Not only you and your manly compatriots are able to debate important issues with tact and gumption. See, look at all those big words I used! I swear, I didn't even ask a man for help!
- Lesbians. Look, I know that this is hard for you to believe, but... Lesbians are women who are attracted to other women. I know!! They are not, in fact, women who are dream of women with penises instead of vaginas; they aren't accidentally in love with women because the women are secretly "biologically male", as you put it; they aren't even attracted to women as a result of a deep hatred of men! They are actually, in every way, attracted to women BECAUSE they are WOMEN, and no other reason. It seems that it was extremely difficult for you to understand that they could in no way be attracted to men at all. I thought I would clear that up for you. And also, keep your "male pheromones" to yourself, mister.
- Finally, I find it deeply ironic that you possess such a binary understanding of sex and gender and then decided to write a book about someone who defies all of those norms. You relentlessly referred to Cal as a freak. You acknowledged Cal's condition and then contradicted yourself immediately after by constantly referring to Cal as biologically male, despite Cal being neither 'biologically' male ot female, but intersex. Cal possesses XY chromosomes but developed with a vagina, internal testicles and an engorged clitoris or inverted penis. You shied away from any sort of terminology for genitalia and instead relied on metaphors and euphemisms to veil your obvious squeamishness with the topic that literally no one asked you to write. You repeatedly hone in on the fact that Cal is ashamed of himself because he will never be a "real man.". It surprises me that at no point during writing this did you think to yourself, "Hmm. Maybe this perspective isn't one for me to write.". Because clearly, you were in over your head but were so dedicated to finishing what you probably believed to be your magnum opus and so trudged through all the bits that you didn't understand fully, knowing that since you were a tenured professor at Princeton with a hit debut novel already under your belt, surrounded by what I can only assume to be others who share your demographic, that no one would give you grief about those bits because the character you chose to write about was so little understood anyway. Revolutionary, even. That it didn't matter if you got it 100% right because, after all, you wrote about that character and intersex people would finally be on the map because of you. Never mind you leaning heavily on negative stereotypes that would probably cause more harm than good to a community that is already so misunderstood. You weren't writing this for them anyway. You wrote this to get a pat on the back from your other straight, white, cis, male cohorts.
So, Mr. Eugenides, congrats! You did it. You misunderstood what a woman was saying at a conference many moons ago about "moving literature forward" by telling new stories from new perspectives and failed to actually see her point: that these stories were not for you to write. That this was not a call to action for authors who fit into almost every category of systemic privilege to venture out and try their hand at writing the stories of those heavily marginalized for the sake of "moving literature forward." She was talking about uplifting the voices of the ones that who successfully squashed in your story. That those who were left behind should step ahead of you for once and speak their truth through the medium of fiction. How would you have felt, Mr. Eugenides, had someone who was a typical white All-American guy wrote about your experience as coming from a family of Greek immigrants and totally botched it? You would probably feel how I feel reading your rendition of girlhood, or how an intersex person probably felt reading your description of their experience. Jipped, empty, and reduced to nothing.
Your book was baffling in every way I didn't expect. My immediate reservations on reading a book that I initially thought was written by an intersex or trans person but turned out was actually cis, white, and male was indeed a correct reaction. I am not intersex, so I will not speak for experiences that are not my own; however, based on your absolute swing-and-a-miss for the teenage girl coming-of-age experience and your complete and total incomprehension of lesbianism... Let's just say I severely doubt you handled the intersex experience well either. But I digress. Let me explain to you a few basic concepts that you seem to have misunderstood or simply plowed over thinking that in fact you totally did understand them:
- Girls don't all get their period at age 12 like clockwork. I'm not sure where you heard that from; but, sir, just like boys, puberty comes at different times for different people. A thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl who hath not yet bled is certainly no cause for concern. Probably shoulda asked your wife about that.
- Contrary to your belief, girls actually have opinions. No, it was not Cal's masculine destiny, but simply someone with a fucking brain. I know! It's hard to believe that weighed down by our tits and vaginas, we even have time for critical thought! A medical marvel! Alas, it is true. Not only you and your manly compatriots are able to debate important issues with tact and gumption. See, look at all those big words I used! I swear, I didn't even ask a man for help!
- Lesbians. Look, I know that this is hard for you to believe, but... Lesbians are women who are attracted to other women. I know!! They are not, in fact, women who are dream of women with penises instead of vaginas; they aren't accidentally in love with women because the women are secretly "biologically male", as you put it; they aren't even attracted to women as a result of a deep hatred of men! They are actually, in every way, attracted to women BECAUSE they are WOMEN, and no other reason. It seems that it was extremely difficult for you to understand that they could in no way be attracted to men at all. I thought I would clear that up for you. And also, keep your "male pheromones" to yourself, mister.
- Finally, I find it deeply ironic that you possess such a binary understanding of sex and gender and then decided to write a book about someone who defies all of those norms. You relentlessly referred to Cal as a freak. You acknowledged Cal's condition and then contradicted yourself immediately after by constantly referring to Cal as biologically male, despite Cal being neither 'biologically' male ot female, but intersex. Cal possesses XY chromosomes but developed with a vagina, internal testicles and an engorged clitoris or inverted penis. You shied away from any sort of terminology for genitalia and instead relied on metaphors and euphemisms to veil your obvious squeamishness with the topic that literally no one asked you to write. You repeatedly hone in on the fact that Cal is ashamed of himself because he will never be a "real man.". It surprises me that at no point during writing this did you think to yourself, "Hmm. Maybe this perspective isn't one for me to write.". Because clearly, you were in over your head but were so dedicated to finishing what you probably believed to be your magnum opus and so trudged through all the bits that you didn't understand fully, knowing that since you were a tenured professor at Princeton with a hit debut novel already under your belt, surrounded by what I can only assume to be others who share your demographic, that no one would give you grief about those bits because the character you chose to write about was so little understood anyway. Revolutionary, even. That it didn't matter if you got it 100% right because, after all, you wrote about that character and intersex people would finally be on the map because of you. Never mind you leaning heavily on negative stereotypes that would probably cause more harm than good to a community that is already so misunderstood. You weren't writing this for them anyway. You wrote this to get a pat on the back from your other straight, white, cis, male cohorts.
So, Mr. Eugenides, congrats! You did it. You misunderstood what a woman was saying at a conference many moons ago about "moving literature forward" by telling new stories from new perspectives and failed to actually see her point: that these stories were not for you to write. That this was not a call to action for authors who fit into almost every category of systemic privilege to venture out and try their hand at writing the stories of those heavily marginalized for the sake of "moving literature forward." She was talking about uplifting the voices of the ones that who successfully squashed in your story. That those who were left behind should step ahead of you for once and speak their truth through the medium of fiction. How would you have felt, Mr. Eugenides, had someone who was a typical white All-American guy wrote about your experience as coming from a family of Greek immigrants and totally botched it? You would probably feel how I feel reading your rendition of girlhood, or how an intersex person probably felt reading your description of their experience. Jipped, empty, and reduced to nothing.
We Hunt the Flame, by Hafsah Faizal
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Rating Update: 2 stars (attempted a re-read and couldn't get past the first 25 pages without pulling my hair out)
To be perfectly honest, this book was a chaotic mess. The plot was... well, the plot wasn't much of anything until the last 15%, where the author suddenly decided that EVERYTHING was going to happen, all at once. The magic system was nonsensical and downright confusing. I have yet to have read in any fantasy novel an actually fade-to-black scene when the magic was supposedly being used (which was on one hand an extremely odd and terrible decision, and on the other hand hilarious). The bulk of this novel was the romance, which I liked; however, it sort of gets thrown away in favor of the aforementioned final erratic fantasy plot. Despite all this, the book certainly has some redeeming qualities - Faizal's rich description of places, food, and atmosphere were great, and I liked most of the characters. However, for all intents and purposes, this was a badly executed fantasy or a mediocre fantasy romance in my opinion. HOWEVER, the craziness and chaos was a beautiful trainwreck and despite myself, I thoroughly enjoyed it. So, just for entertainment value, I'm adding a bonus star.
To be perfectly honest, this book was a chaotic mess. The plot was... well, the plot wasn't much of anything until the last 15%, where the author suddenly decided that EVERYTHING was going to happen, all at once. The magic system was nonsensical and downright confusing. I have yet to have read in any fantasy novel an actually fade-to-black scene when the magic was supposedly being used (which was on one hand an extremely odd and terrible decision, and on the other hand hilarious). The bulk of this novel was the romance, which I liked; however, it sort of gets thrown away in favor of the aforementioned final erratic fantasy plot. Despite all this, the book certainly has some redeeming qualities - Faizal's rich description of places, food, and atmosphere were great, and I liked most of the characters. However, for all intents and purposes, this was a badly executed fantasy or a mediocre fantasy romance in my opinion. HOWEVER, the craziness and chaos was a beautiful trainwreck and despite myself, I thoroughly enjoyed it. So, just for entertainment value, I'm adding a bonus star.
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
2.5
Yeah, so... the more I think about it, the more Chris McCandless sounds like a self-obsessed asshole who thought he knew everything, and the more the author of this short biography comes across as a weird journalist who became obsessed with this guy's story and often idealizes the life of someone he never knew, failing to take the criticism towards Chris, his life, and his decisions as valuable or valid. Skip this, watch the movie instead.
My Brilliant Friend, by Elena Ferrante
emotional
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Piranesi, by Susanna Clarke
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-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? No
4.0
Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
challenging
dark
hopeful
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? Yes
4.5