entropyseeker's reviews
424 reviews

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin

medium-paced

2.0

While I enjoyed hearing from Curtis's gay background from the rust belt, I found the actual writing to be too surface level and bland. I never felt like I got to the meat of the emotional level of the author and he never failed to remind us that he grew up Republican and I had to Google it to figure out that he's part of the Democratic party now instead of hearing it through the novel. 

All This Could Be Different by Sarah Thankam Mathews

challenging dark slow-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I had a hard time loving Sneha, she makes a lot of pointed and ignorant comments and actions as she grows and the first 30% of the book struggled to capture my attention. There's internalized racism, homophobia, and classism here that Sneha can only face when she herself is directly impacted. It's strange to watch these people of color fall into white relationships while continuously throwing jabs at each other about "becoming white". The two black characters, Tig and KJ, felt like vehicles to move plot and character development along rather than complex individuals.

I liked watching Sneha grow as individual, but there were too many points where the book didn't sit right with me, even if we're supposed to be watching her growth through her own ignorance and challenges

Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

fast-paced

4.0

What a strange collection of stories. All of them were a little off in such interesting ways and they left me feeling unresolved, but it was expected 

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

slow-paced

3.0

While I enjoyed the stylistic voice, I quickly got tired of the way imagery was repeated. The Rosemary subplot felt weird, as did the pictures of young girls, both of which were just dead-ended. 

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

This was hard to get through because all the characters were so painfully unlikeable. They all think too highly of themselves, are immensely pretentious, and the voice for them drive me crazy. The actual writing style was the only thing that kept me reading.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Classism

Minor: Infertility and Vomit

Messy Roots: A Graphic Memoir of a Wuhanese-American by Laura Gao

4.0

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

challenging emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

4.5

While I thought Monique's character felt flat and not well fleshed out, once Evelyn started telling her story, I was hooked. I thought this was going to be a boring book about a straight white woman and some take on Henry the VII's story, but I'm glad I was wrong. I enjoyed having a character like Evelyn, who I could both dislike and enjoy at the same time. 

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.5

A queer black coming of age memoir that hits close to the heart.

Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao

adventurous challenging inspiring tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

There is no freedom under subjugation!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Even if some of the themes felt ham fisted, I think people need that. I loved how consistently those themes played into our MC's decisions and that this book was a turnaround from the frenzied actions of the first book. Excited for the third book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Trafficking

Something is Killing the Children Vol. 7 by James Tynion IV

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Goddamit I just want Erica to be happy

NOT GABI BRO CMON