chels_ro's reviews
31 reviews

Carrie by Stephen King

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

3.0

Kings first outing is far more self contained than his latter books, but it still mostly holds up as a fast paced story of a disillusioned girl taking her revenge. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Fatphobia and Fire/Fire injury

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Butler crafts a masterful first person narrative around slavery in the antebellum south that confronts our ideas of race and racism and what it means to be moral in an immoral world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Gore and Violence

Minor: Alcoholism

Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen by Jose Antonio Vargas

emotional informative fast-paced

4.0

An informative and heartfelt book on Jose Antonio Vargas’ experience growing up undocumented in the U.S. as he challenges myths about who undocumented immigrants are and how they are treated.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism and Colonisation

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith

challenging dark informative reflective fast-paced

4.75

a informative book on the origins of chattel slavery to its modern connections of the prison industrial complex and civil rights. Smith breaks down common misconceptions and whitewashed history through each chapter as he visits a different place. my only complaint is that it’s not longer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, and Murder

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Rape, Sexual violence, and Kidnapping

Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka

challenging dark emotional sad fast-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

a beautifully written story on the nature of a serial killer through the lens of the women across his life. Kukafka questions how an individual’s choices make up their morality, the hopeful and obsessive idea of parallel universes, and the damage of making serial killer stories so consumable.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Abandonment

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Racism, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, and Death of parent

Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

4.25

coming off the back of words of radiance this book definitely falls into a mid series lull. Dalinar’s backstory does not disappoint but his main plot in the book becomes slightly repetitive. while Sanderson is usually very good at balancing character perspectives i found at some points the amount of perspective changes becomes overwhelming and makes other characters,

particularly Kaladin and Adolin,

have less to do this time around. however there are some major highs to level out the story and Sanderson’s mid series lull is still much better than what most people are writing. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and War

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Genocide, and Colonisation

Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

4.25

An enjoyable read that serves as a lighthearted break from the main series and makes you fall in love with Lift and her “voidbringer” spren Wyndle even more. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror

From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death by Caitlin Doughty

dark emotional funny informative fast-paced

3.75

Doughty dissects the western culture around death and burial by comparing it to different practices around the world in a humorous but heartfelt way that urges you to contemplate your own relationship to death. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, and Abortion

Moderate: Blood

Minor: Suicide and Religious bigotry

Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-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

Words of Radiance is as much Shallan’s book as way of kings was Kaladin’s. as she is brought to the forefront her personality shines

along with her charming spren Pattern.

I found myself falling in love with her mysterious and at times heart wrenching story. As always, Sanderson is able to combine sweeping world building with lovable characters that feel undeniably real in their depiction.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Murder, and War

Minor: Animal death and Slavery

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

4.75

a harrowing book that chronicles a queer abusive relationship with each chapter built around a prompt/trope that lands just personal enough to make you feel as though you are reading her diary. the unique structure through which the story is told is reason to read it alone. the only reason it wasn’t quite 5 stars for me is because i felt a few chapters didn’t add anything to the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Homophobia and Infidelity