dativa's reviews
10 reviews

To Paradise by Hanya Yanagihara

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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? Yes

5.0

incredible.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death

Women's Liberation and the African Freedom Struggle by Thomas Sankara

challenging hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

Gaza Writes Back by Refaat Alareer

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

0.0

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-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

3.0

hm.

it was easy to finish.

and difficult to read.

easy: i really like
the pacing, voice,
characterization.

difficult:
1. I... am studying my eye
for desire politics...

this book was useful
in this regard --

the narrator's discussion
of self, Whoopi
("magical negro trope"/fixation
with Whoopi and her body),

and/in relation with every other
person/subject in the book.

2. This person 
is really hurting.

p.s.
did not realize
until now that 

i wasn't forgetting
her name -- we do
not ever get it!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Afropessimism by Frank B. Wilderson III

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense slow-paced

5.0

This is exactly what I needed to read right now to begin to understand what’s happened. 

I’m very glad and changed by this work.

This Is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

Breathtaking.

On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

A beautiful read. Breathtaking illustrations.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying and Transphobia

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

4.75

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Finding !!! connections with the rest of the books like clues here and there is so cool. And Snow really

becomes himself in this one. It's really amazing watching the depths of his evil be created, tested, and affirmed so young

. I... am hoping that the

singing

will feel natural in the film; that tends to take me out of it sometimes, but I see how integral it is to the whole thing.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

It is a heavy read in the sense of understanding the ways it is explicitly and implicitly exposing real life; something like watching a Black Mirror episode I guess.