jessi_c's reviews
57 reviews

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I went into this with the full intention of not knowing anything about the premise or the author. And what an absolute joy and privilege to get to know this small family. A galaxy made from violence, gravity, and time. And the world receives every form of art that has grown from this grief in grand abundance. I will happily help to carry the weight and celebrate her life. I see her mother in my mother.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Drug abuse

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

I started this book very lukewarm and some of the mystery solving did string me along to a certain point. In the end, it just felt bland. Although I did appreciate that romance did not drive the plot. Hallelujah!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.

The writing is beautiful and the pacing is great, especially the way they handle time jumps. It didn't captivate me in a way most other novels would be able to do at this point of the book.

This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? Yes

4.75

I'm still coming down from the high of reading this! It's insane how vast and larger-than-life this story feels and it's condensed into less than 200 pages. INSANE! 

No Stopping Us Now: A History of Older Women in America by Gail Collins

hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.25

Topics jump all over the place, but puts just enough context into perspective. Still a great comprehensive read.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.5

When Elgin went on about how the brain was a discount organ, essentially explaining how you become desensitized to a situation, it perfectly paraphrased how I feel about this book. 

When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamín Labatut

dark informative mysterious reflective 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

4.25

I’ll be content in never knowing where fiction stops and history/biography begins. It was, all-in-all, a worthy journey into obsession and life. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, and War

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, and Medical content

After Dark by Haruki Murakami

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I enjoy how the narration breaks the fourth wall, inviting us to float around the city. Had just the right touch of intrusiveness.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Violence, Stalking, and Alcohol

The Moth Presents All These Wonders: True Stories about Facing the Unknown by Catherine Burns

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

I would have loved to hear some of these stories live and feel it breathe and beat.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Body horror, Cancer, Drug use, Genocide, Racism, Torture, War, and Deportation

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin

adventurous challenging mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I admire Jemisins’ ability to craft a world so thorough in its execution. So well done. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Violence, Suicide attempt, and Classism