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frednamode's reviews
43 reviews
Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
2.0
Very Y for a YA comic. It read like an illustrated version of a fanfiction I've seen a hundred times on Wattpad written by every 14 year old girl who ships Harry and Draco.
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Da Vinci more like Don’t Vinci
Once again the only female main character has to be younger than our male protagonist and end up being the love interest by the end. She has to be beautiful and clever but not as witty or charming as the MC because this is basically a self-insert of the author’s fantasy of being taken seriously by younger women.
Do we really have to sexualise her right away, Dan? Can you write a single woman without talking about her body the moment we meet her?
Once again the only female main character has to be younger than our male protagonist and end up being the love interest by the end. She has to be beautiful and clever but not as witty or charming as the MC because this is basically a self-insert of the author’s fantasy of being taken seriously by younger women.
Do we really have to sexualise her right away, Dan? Can you write a single woman without talking about her body the moment we meet her?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, Violence, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, and Murder
Fat Is a Feminist Issue by Susie Orbach
Did not finish book. Stopped at 80%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 80%.
really missed the point of eating disorders
had high hopes and was disappointed
ED are not about subconsciously making a statement with your body, they’re about control!!! When you feel helpless in every other aspect of your life, food is all you have power over and so obsessive behaviour manifests.
had high hopes and was disappointed
ED are not about subconsciously making a statement with your body, they’re about control!!! When you feel helpless in every other aspect of your life, food is all you have power over and so obsessive behaviour manifests.
The book focuses entirely on what the size of women means about their psyche and doesn’t comment on their relationship with food which is ultimately the much more important issue. A binge eating disorder is about instant gratification and self hatred and drowning out pain, it’s not, as this book tries to suggest, a secret desire to get fat. Binging is an addiction. Do smokers have a secret desire to get lung cancer? No, they’re just trying to briefly forget about their problems
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, and Misogyny
Binge by Tyler Oakley
fast-paced
3.0
For a YouTuber book it’s not bad
Felt a bit preachy at the end but considering the target audience it’s sending the right message
Felt a bit preachy at the end but considering the target audience it’s sending the right message
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Homophobia
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
Also the science falls flat wrt the antimatter. You cannot convince me that a bomb which would destroy an entire city would be stopped by a mile or two of air. Unlike an explosive that fires shrapnel and therefore is majorly limited by air resistance, gravity & other forces, antimatter would easily burn through the very low density air and get to the people below. Even if there was extreme cloud cover, that wouldn’t be as effective as a big thick vault. It’s about the number of particles needed for antimatter annihilation not the distance between them.
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
A good portion of the book hinges on ambigrams being the most miraculous inimitable creation, yet when we meet them they are anything but. They are barely legible unless you’ve some idea of the word you are looking for - any 13 year old with a tumblr account has seen better ambigram tattoos that Brown offers us in this book
the characters felt flat, especially the only female lead who was used as a romantic interest and a plot device, her body unnecessarily sexualised at all manor of occasion from the moment we meet her, to the very last page of the book.
The plot dragged on to a very predictable plot twist to avoid making any political statement.
Okay for an airport read I guess 2/5
Brown needs to spend less time kissing his own ambigram and more time talking to a physicist
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Torture, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Sons of Destiny by Darren Shan
4.0
Definitely a must read for any young teens!! Reading these over the last few months has been a delight <3
A shame about the ending which felt a bit like a cop out. Would have loved a final ‘where they are now’ chapter though I understand that the diary format makes that quite difficult. What happened to Alice, Debbie, Evanna, Harkat, Des Tiny, The War of the Scars? Wrapping it all up a little more would have been nice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor by Adam Kay
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
5.0
So much respect for the nhs 💕
Numbers by Rachel Ward
sad
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Amazing idea but poorly executed - so much more could have been done.
Story was a little implausible and ending was very predictable. The ‘twist’ was obvious from the beginning
Story was a little implausible and ending was very predictable. The ‘twist’ was obvious from the beginning