jiynoung's reviews
44 reviews

Antigone by Sophocles

fast-paced

2.75

I mean it was fine story wise but it was just hard to read lololol

The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai

dark emotional sad medium-paced

2.0

Disappointing to say at least

I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

5.0

There's so much I want to say about this book but I just can't bring myself to. Wow just wow.

Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai

emotional reflective fast-paced

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

3.75

She's just like me fr...on a serious note I wasn't really expecting anything from this book? It was a solid read. However my rating would be way diffirent if this was written by a woman. But yeah yk Dazai is Dazai and I still think that the way he captures Japan's society in his work is really good. The ending is mostly what got this book's rating close to 4 stars. Makes me think a lot because of Dazai's life in general. 

"There I go again—pondering the purposelessness of my day-to-day life, wishing I had more ambition , and lamenting all the contradictions in myself—when I know it’s just sentimental nonsense."

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

medium-paced

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

1.0

I knew i was going to hate this and that it was bad but i just wanted to finish it and now that i did i can officially say that its horrible. 

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekill and Mr. Hyde by Marco Torricelli, Robert Louis Stevenson

challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

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

2.5

I def need to reread this in my 1st language or just reread it in general cuz it was very confusing for some reason 😭 however I really did like the story nd meaning behind it but the experience just wasn't it cuz of my stupid silly little english knowledge.

Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados

adventurous funny medium-paced

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

3.0

"And it's not guilt but rather the presumption that I should feel guilty that gets me." 

This was a fun read. Pointless though. No focus on anything. Characters' relationship felt unrealistic at some parts. Also too many characters and their names are similar like girl idk who is Nicolas then Noah??? 

My Evil Mother by Margaret Atwood

fast-paced

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

2.0

a lot of metaphors. They are cool. I probably missed the point that would make this short story better. Sure, read it if you want to.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

medium-paced

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

2.5

Sigh. I do understand why so many people love this book. I do understand why my friend who recommended me this loves it. Objectively, it is a good book. Had some great points about trauma, family issues .. it's really good if you want to escape reality (like every romance novel lol) but something just didn't do it for me. And I'm about to talk about it.

First of all, the infamous 'banter' that everyone seems to love! It was just.. no. Not funny, not butterflies in your stomach worthy, absolutely nothing. I would find myself in disbelief over how horrible it was at the time. 

I started to kind of dislike Libby's and Nora's relationship towards the end. Their whole conflict just made me mad I was screaming at them both. So much miscommunication and it still felt like Nora was in the minus.

Also the pace of Nora and Charlie's relationship was just too fast for me. That only affected my rating by little though.

Would I recommend this book? Yeah sure, if you are getting into reading, you want an easy read or you usually read romance ! Other than that, absolutely not. 

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I don't know where to start to be honest. It is a good book. Amazing if you asked me to be more honest. I loved the ending and most parts of it. However some parts were difficult to get through (like chapter 11 oscar srsly what is that..) First of all this book was kinda difficult because the whole idea of aestheticism is not one I really prefer and it was really unpleasant to read about.
Henry really annoyed me for the most of the book for many reasons. One being his influence on Dorian (obviously) and another one being him being sexist and just being annoying with a good half of his opinions (saying that because I do think that he made some valid points). Another thing I wish was more worked on is the part of the book where Dorian's life is shown. Yeah he's bad, he's a villian but how bad he truly is? I wish we got to see his psyche a bit more. At least me, I guess because I love analyzing characters. Oh I also loved the homosexual undertones. Would recommend. Anyway idc if I struggled it is a 5 star read just because I fell in love with Dorian and him being unlikeable narcissist.