dramagirl2003's reviews
234 reviews

And The Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando

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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? It's complicated

4.0

a good but tragic book. there was so much going on under the surface
age rating — 16+

thoughts while reading

p187: oh i really hope
the almost kiss
isn’t why lewi ghosted al, cause he wasn’t even bothered and weren’t gonna say nothing
p225: i’m slightly starting to wonder whether
eli has a thing for lewi himself what with all the gay jokes to nathan. or whether he knows about the almost kiss,
or something. cause there certainly seems to be blackmail involved
p255: I’M SORRY did you just say you have a BE KIND policy??? what, does that only apply to physical violence or something??? cause that blatant disrespect of al seemed pretty UNKIND to me
p363: oh this is not going to end well…

‘I had to do something to shut you up. You’ve become dead gobby since you got knocked down.’

Like Al, you were born to live. You were born to shine. But, most of all, you were born to burn bright.
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An Emotion of Great Delight by Tahereh Mafi

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

4.75

i still don’t know entirely what to make of this book, but it was certainly enlightening

thoughts while reading

p33: well i thought that but wasn’t 100% sure
p51: look i know it’s a bit weird when your friend is crushing on your sibling, but that is an overkill reaction
p71: maybe shadi was conducting herself with more maturity than shayda and that’s why the doctor assumed she was the oldest
p190: yeah you might as well have
p229: ali better not still be in zahra’s bathroom

quotes

p33:
There's no such thing as an Islamic terrorist.
It was morally impossible—philosophically impossible—to be Muslim and a terrorist at the same time. There was nothing in Islam that condoned the taking of innocent lives.
And yet there it was, every day, every day, the conflation:
Muslim terrorist. Islamic terrorist.

p136:
I had a thousand human needs that needed tending to and I felt paralyzed by the weight of those needs…
…worrying that I perhaps I wasn't eating enough or sleeping enough…
…my heart and mind were so full these days they were stretching at the seams…

p190:
I realized, as I cried myself to sleep that night, that I might've hurt him less had I simply driven a stake through his heart.
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Ten Boys Who Changed the World by Irene Howat

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Did not finish book. Stopped at 66%.
(i read this several times as a child. i was rereading it to possibly use in our church kids ministry, but we went a different direction, and that’s the only reason i DNF)
fantastic book for kids, but slight content warning. if your kids are on the younger end, you maybe want to read with them so you can filter the (very slight) darker content
age rating — 9+ (read alone), 7+ (read with adult)
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Oranges in No Man's Land by Elizabeth Laird

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adventurous emotional fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

great book for kids, and a unique plot to any other kid’s book i’ve seen before. oh, and one of the side characters is dead, which ended up being very important to the storyline. i’m 21 and i still really enjoyed this as a quick little read to complete a storygraph challenge
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As If on Cue by Marisa Kanter

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

let it be noted that this is not an enemies to lovers, it’s rivals to lovers. there’s a big difference people, the least we can do is acknowledge it.
that’s not to say this isn’t a good book, it is! thoroughly recommend for a bit of lighthearted reading

thoughts while reading

4%: pillow pets! they were a slay
50%: i’m so smug i know what OBC means
51%: the audacity! the live action is a slay 🦁
64%: damn that is a power move, good on you reid!

"You can do it. You already know the part. And your voice isn't shit."
oh wow natalie that’s a bit of a burn 🤣

70%: besties really do think alike 😂
72%: it’s happening
75%: oh fitz 🤭
80%: GIRL! DO NOT
OPEN OTHER PEOPLE’S MAIL
81%: well turns out
her opening reid’s mail
was the least of our worries
83%: please please tell him the truth nat
96%: natalie conducting a whole musical orchestra!
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Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.5

you know you’ve read a lot of books when you can predict the ending less than halfway through. didn’t really spoil it though, i was determined to see if i was right. i can’t believe that i went from thinking
richard was cute to accurately accusing him of murder
in less than 6 pages

thoughts while reading

p8: um what else is he supposed to say? it’s the truth. he’s pretty much just been the victim of a hate crime and now you’re harassing this 14 year old kid

I made a jet pack. And they killed me for it.

p15: oh no, truancy! cause that totally confirms terrorism right 🙄

Alternative fact (presidential edition): The children of Muslim American parents are largely responsible for the growing number of terrorist attacks.
Truth: The director of the FBI testified before Congress that "a majority of the domestic terrorism cases we've investigated are motivated by some version of what you might call white supremacist violence.”

p118: wait, her name’s ellen ellis? that’s crazy

Lie: "What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening." —Donald J. Trump, July 24, 2018
Truth: "The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." —George Orwel, 1984
Fact: Truth is stranger than fiction.

Truth: The older you get, the better you are at hiding.

p162: ack! richard’s kinda cute
p168: what if
richard is the secret white supremacist? he’s usually around when something happens, and it would be so dramatic if the love interest was faking the entire time

Fact: Sticks and stones can break your bones...
Alternative fact: ...but words will never hurt you.
Truth: Words can be terrifying. Sometimes words leave scars. Words can break you, too.

Truth: Reading helps you discover who you are. Reading makes you more empathetic.
Truth: In a war, books can be weapons.

Fact: In the United States, citizens are offered equal protection under the law.
Truth: Some Americans are more equal than others.

p230: i’m almost certain that
richard is the mastermind.

Truth: Sometimes the body remembers what the mind cannot.

p235: hmm the secret spot is probably where jawad was found

Truth: "Go Home" is a xenophobic favorite.
Truth: Racists are really bad at geography.

p247: this is some of the most obliviously racist questioning i’ve ever encountered
p260: i bet
richard is framing nate
p267: well that’s pretty damming dude
p270: oh the keychain used to belong to safiya. interesting
p274: whadup karen mcmanus cameo ✨
p287: aww safiya 🥹🫶🏻

“Are you avoiding me?”
yes. as she should be

p319: OMG IT IS
RICHARD
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One Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury

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emotional inspiring sad slow-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? Yes

4.25

what a beautiful tribute to 9/11. i wasn’t even born until 2 years later, but i’ve heard and seen so much about it. 
i knew the big plot twist the entire time cause i accidentally spoiled it for myself, but that didn’t detract too much from the experience. oh lord, this book got me in my feels near the end 😭

thoughts while reading

p26: prediction: the new york office is not happy with them by 9/11, so eric has to travel there. it’s probably in the WTC

When that day came, he would make up for a lifetime of missed birthdays
welp friends, that rarely ever happens

I don’t know what else to do, God. Help her stop running…whatever it takes.
ooft, dangerous prayer in a 9/11 book, especially for a firefighter

p56: ooft well you might be…among 342 others
p80: 20 dating a 16 year old?? no. no.
p111: that’s it eric, take a stand
p174: i wonder if the doctor asks about LA cause it’s a big city, or whether laura has been in touch
p207: oh God my heart 💔
p210: ugh
we were so close. it’s just gonna get harder on jamie
p212: she’s a smart, thorough women
p241: OH GOD it just occurred to me,
how are they gonna explain this to sierra once they realise he’s not jake
😭
p252: oh dear, this is gonna suck once
eric remembers
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A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi

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emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

4.5

thoughts while reading

p4: you tell him girl
p134: the israeli-palestine conflict, what a lovely school topic
p185: she’s very judgmental. i did temporarily forget that muslims generally don’t kiss before marriage but shirin is american and it’s her faith so just let her do what feels right
p214: navid! what a wingman
p216: ooft aren’t they a little young for “what are you wearing”
p229: of all the teenage immature things to do, this is just messed up
p237: oh now this really just takes the biscuit, and only one year post-9/11 too
p285: the coach deserved that honestly
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Girls with Sharp Sticks by Suzanne Young

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challenging dark mysterious 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

4.75

this was very different from anything i’ve read before. it’s so funny what interesting theories i came with that weren’t even close to the truth
age rating — 15+

thoughts while reading

3%: they’ve been dating since their second day?? damn they move fast
11%: there’s something sus here. theory: the assistant is there to minimise parental contact. she probably tells mena’s parents she’s too busy to talk to them too

15%: ugh of course they’ve been conditioned to think it’s their fault if a guy assults them 🙄😡 i haven’t read The Handmaid’s Tale, but this book is sounding similar in misogyny

16%: that’s a fantastic point, what are brynn & marcella gonna do after graduation? i severely doubt management is just gonna be like “oh you’ve been blatantly disobeying us for a whole year but it’s totally fine actually cause you’re in love.”

17%: 🥴🤢🤮
19%: no wonder jackson had such a visceral reaction to the guardian grabbing mena if his dad was abusive
28%: oh this dude better not be trying to get mena drunk
32%: that yellow pill is clearly gonna
mind-wipe them
or something
34%: don’t
46%: what if rebecca
is pregnant?
48%: how tf are girls meant to “draw that line”? the men will just rape them anyway you halfwit. leandra bothers the heck out of me even more cause she’s even a flicking woman and she’s still slut-shaming victims 😡
54%: maybe bose is “the one going around raping the girls” after all
58%: PREACH GIRL
66%: that is some messed up
concoction being injected into the girlies
75%: dear lord that is unexpected but totally believable
82%: leandra makes more sense now
91%: oh believe me he’ll still find a way to hurt you. misogynistic demon
93%:
she killed him
98%:
SHE’S ALIVE
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The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

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dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

this took so many twists, most of which i never saw coming
ash has incredibly unique outfits 😂
age rating — 14+

thoughts while reading

p9: oh. my. gosh. don’t tell me
the crew already knew rachel was back and that’s her arriving for a ✨wonderfully heartfelt✨ camera reunion
p11: thank the lord for that
p30: like father like daughter

She got into bed, making eye contact with the book waiting for her on top of the nightstand. The plot hadn't really got going yet—a lot of backstory—but something exciting was going to happen soon.
It had to: the title promised it.
haha you’re a real one for that holly jackson

p52: covid haha fun times
p65: that “oi” is basically pip-coded
p96: pip would fixate on that discrepancy too
p115: secret theory:
jeff and charlie were involved somehow
p127: ok that is definitely a slip-up

“I, for one, wouldn’t put needles in your hands. You seem like the stabby type.”

p133: i mean she might not have actually.
she knew how to evade cameras so she could’ve also figured out how to get herself on camera
p143: ash is very observant 
p144: oh ash is right,
she came back for money! she only reappeared cause she will get a colossal payout from it, and then she’ll probably disappear after she’s got it
p147: ironic since that’s exactly what i thought on page 9
p155: oh my god this is absolute confirmation

"You can call me anytime. You know that, right? Anytime."
"Sure," Bel said. Anytime, just not the last sixteen years, the years people tended to need their moms most.

Flared jeans and a fluorescent green T-shirt covered in happy apples: happles.
“if you spell apple sauce, with an ‘h,’ you can call it happle sauce.”

p194: mr tripp 😳 what were you doing man?
p211: charlie! where are you!?
p222: tripp is at it again!
calling sick to nab charlie
p228: i wonder if face id would work since they look the same
p258: oop really opened yourself up there bob. rachel totally came to him

She'd told him to dress incognito, which, for Ash, meant a thin yellow turtleneck and denim overalls. Like a Minion.
🍌🍌🍌

p273: the banter is 😙👌🏻
p284: surely charlie wouldn’t do that to bel 💔
p298: GIRL it’s 2024!! all you have to do is press the power button 5 times!! how do you not know this!?
p303: why did i literally just suspect
phillip was involved and now rachel’s accusing him. he’s too invested in the case, inserting himself too much.
but on the other hand,
rachel could just be making it up
p313: oh god
p317: no i wonder if
she might be telling the truth about it being 15 years. maybe something happened in that unaccounted year.
p317: oh my gosh
charlie was psycho-manipulating her
this entire time
p335: i wasn’t quite expecting that 😶
p337: oh gosh, a lot of those books came out fairly recently, rachel never gave up hope!
p356: i am so glad
rachel never meant to leave bel
🥺
p381: oh god
charlie is genuinely gonna murder rachel if he gets his hands on her. jeff is such an idiot
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