driedflowers's reviews
14 reviews

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

inspiring medium-paced

5.0

Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval

5.0

Just Kids by Patti Smith

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

5.0

I was gifted this book for my birthday and let’s just say it’s one of the most meaningful gifts I’ve received. This biography and autobiography is incredible; not only from the content but the writing. Patti Smith made this book human. 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This book is definitely not for everyone. Most of the people I've talked to have rated it below a 3, so it may be surprising that I rated it a solid 5, something that I don't tend to do often. I can't even begin to describe what this novel encapsulates; it's virtually impossible. However, the reason why I have rated it so high is because I loved quite literally everything that this book gave. The setting, the characters (antagonists disguised as protagonists), the slow moved plot, and most importantly, THE WRITING. Donna Tartt is a force to be reckoned with, and her writing is above anything else I have read so far. But please, please, please read the content warnings.. there are a lot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Misogyny, and Injury/Injury detail

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

adventurous challenging informative reflective slow-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

3.0

Dead Poets Society by N.H. Kleinbaum

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

5.0

Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey Through His Son's Addiction by David Sheff

dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

2.0

This book is filled with cognitive distortions and so many mistakes from both the parent and kids part. Yes, mistakes are a part of life. However, if readers don't know the difference (and/or haven't gone through similar situations) can get an extremely poor idea and ASSUMPTION about addicts and how to handle situations such as those.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.0