jazzeeazz's reviews
191 reviews

The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

4.5

Daughters of the Deer by Danielle Daniel

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.25

all i can say is that this was very complex: each character, my feelings about each character, my feelings about the story
i think this book tried to tackle a bunch of topics regarding indigenous america and successfully covered it with tact, at least for a young adult novel. 

Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko

emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

The Will to Change: Men, Masculinity, and Love by bell hooks

slow-paced

2.25

i think this book made me realize bell hooks is not for me. 
her analyses of mass media/representation were interesting, but when she wasn’t doing that, it was a whole lot of nothing. 

The World Wasn't Ready for You: Stories by Justin C. Key

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

the author’s note really highlighted why i’m so hesitant to read speculative fiction but also made me excited to read a newer collection of speculative fiction. 

The Empire of Gold by S.A. Chakraborty

one thing that frustrated me was that i could tell that the romance between ali and nahri was going to be pushed. i could tell the first chapter, whereas it was more ambiguous in kingdom of copper. that romance just really didn’t feel impactful and i think it actually lessened the impact of other relationships. there were so many other relationships to be explored. it never made sense why jamshid disliked ali, or how muntadhir acted to ali in kingdom of copper (especially after reading river of silver). ali and nahri were fascinating because despite being so different they were forced into similar positions and their friendship was natural, but as romance was pushed onto that it just made other characters lose impact. dara’s ending was dulled by that romance, as was muntadhir’s relationships with nahri and his brother. jamshid had so much more to give to the story yet his weird and unfounded hostility towards ali replaced any interesting facet of his character. 

The Promised Neverland, Vol. 20 by Posuka Demizu, Kaiu Shirai

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

i was brought to tears every time a memory had a pic of yugo. honestly don’t think i’ll forgive them for that specifically. 

The Secret Talker by Geling Yan

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

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

3.75

i think the details that we’re all revealed in the second half could’ve been more present from the beginning. the mystery was cool and all the different elements were interesting but they were all introduced around the same time. 

True Biz by Sara Nović

emotional funny informative fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

yeah. 

everything written after the ending (pages 382-402) were the real kickers and all hearing people should read it. 

honestly this surprised me a lot. i think the only deduction was some writing got convoluted and a little too intricate/trying to be too fancy. my favorite aspect was the dialogue and the visual aspect of it all. it makes me actually hate how sally rooney and other authors don’t use quotation marks because they have no reason to. THIS is when quotation marks shouldn’t be written. 

truly was a love letter to the Deaf community and a sharp warning to hearing readers. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism

Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich

adventurous emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

add this to the “stop reading the handmaid’s tale” reading list along with parable of the sower