janicewu's reviews
12 reviews

Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski

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challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

5.0

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

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emotional funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

love love love this book. forever my comfort book. i reread this book any time i need any sort of pick me up. i could talk about this book on and on and on, especially the ending. one thing to do before reading the book, is to learn a little about louisa may alcott, wonderful woman. the one thing that i dont love about the book is the ending, i dont feel it rightfully reflects the dept and character that is jo march but overall this book is so incredibly lighthearted and loving. 

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1984 by George Orwell

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challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

reading this book in school was really one of the most insane experiences ever, i am so glad to have read this with a teacher holding my hand because there is so many underlying topics in this book and without a teacher i feel like i wouldve missed so many important things in this book. so if you read this book, use sparksnote and just get a general feel of the topics that will be in the book. besides that i think that this book was amazing, it was eye opening and intense, i loved it. i wrote so many essays on this book and normally that would turn me off, but weirdly enough despite the countless essays and works i had done for this book, i was not even close to sick of the sotry and the people, i think i cold even continue to write about this book, there are so many things to write and to talk about when it comes to this book. 

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The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

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adventurous funny lighthearted tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

so the question when it comes to this book, is whether or not it can live up to the original percy jackson books, and i wont say its necessarily better but it is pretty much on the same level. i say knowing very well that sometimes i had a little difficulty getting through the piper and jason chapters, doesnt mean that i dont love those characters any less, it is simply because i was so used to percy, annabeth and grover that it was weird. anyways i love this book so so so so good and just always puts me in a good mood. 
Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.75

what an ending to one of my favourite fantasy series. pognant, adventurous, intense and insane is all i can say. after getting through tower of dawn this was crazy. finishing this book was both satisfying and incredibly sad. watching these characters i learned to love (because yes some of these characters take time to love) finish their adventures was so incredibly heart warming and upsetting. i wasnt ready for this to be done, but alas it is and the ending was truly the best ending i think i couldve come up with. 

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The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

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adventurous funny lighthearted fast-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

5.0

ughhh this series. i will always give this book the highest rating, i dont even care if it isnt that good, because it is that good. i give it such a good rating because i think about this book, i see the book, i read the book and i am happy. will always recommend.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

this book is marked as a fast read, i disagree, i took quite a bit to finish the book. desoite this, i really liked it. the beginning was a bit more difficult to get through but as you go through the book, it reakky does get better. suprisingly enough it is quite light hearted, i dont find the main character too interesting or compelling but, in all honesty, the likeability of the charater really did not hinder my reading. overall i did like it quite a bit, it is definitely not my favourite read but i did find it interesting and the approach to such a difficult topic was super, super lighthearted and likeable, but not so lighthearted that it makes light of the situtation either. 

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The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense 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

4.0

it's been a bit since ive read this book, but all i remember is that reading this took quite a long minute. it wasn't bad, it definitely was not, but reading it and getting into it was really difficult and took a bit of time. though i will say, despite the time that it took to finish it, i did really appreaciate it. i think the characters and the story are honestly quite compelling, but the writing style was hard for me to get into it because it was one of the first classics i read. if theres anything i can say about this book is that it really is worth it, the characters are interesting and the story is good. also, this may or may not be a good thing, but this is a book that you could write multiple essays on. 

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La Dame aux Camélias by David Coward, Alexandre Dumas Jr.

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challenging emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I had to read this book in school (btw if you can i so recommend reading this book in french, it is just that much more beautiful), and normally reading for school is hard, but wow this book was anything but a task. the writing was beautiful, and the story and the characters was encapturing. Dumas fils makes you fall in love with Marguerite in a slow and loving way, her wit and power simply draws you in and she keeps you in her hold. this book was positively heartbreaking and to know that Dumas fils wrote this story about his life makes it that much more sad. 

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A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

this book blew up on tiktok, personally i find that it should not have. this book is entirely too trauma filled and intense for tiktok. though i, myself, very much liked the book, it was not an easy read. frankly this is one of the hardest books i’ve read, not because of the writing style or the language but because the content is so intense and so emotional. i liked it but reading this more than once might be a difficult feat. 

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