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kylita's reviews
477 reviews
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I have been sitting and processing Betty for a few days and I don't know that I will ever be properly prepared to review Betty.
Betty, half Cherokee half white, is the sixth of eight children and is the narrator of her eponymous story. Mixed with stories of her parents' past, Cherokee legends, Betty's poems, and a narrative of her life, Betty is sure to wreck you.
It was the most heart-wrenching book I have ever read and had every form of trauma there ever was. Everyone who knows me I am an emotional person but Betty made me physically ill in two parts of the story. What made it harder to stomach is that it is based, not loosely, on the author's mother.
So why five stars? Betty is lyrically written with a bond between father and daughter so pure, you can't help but want to know how their story ends.
It is ultimately hopeful, but first, you have to trudge through the brutality that is a reality for many people. Please make sure you are in the right headspace before starting this book and give yourself time to breathe.
Betty, half Cherokee half white, is the sixth of eight children and is the narrator of her eponymous story. Mixed with stories of her parents' past, Cherokee legends, Betty's poems, and a narrative of her life, Betty is sure to wreck you.
It was the most heart-wrenching book I have ever read and had every form of trauma there ever was. Everyone who knows me I am an emotional person but Betty made me physically ill in two parts of the story. What made it harder to stomach is that it is based, not loosely, on the author's mother.
So why five stars? Betty is lyrically written with a bond between father and daughter so pure, you can't help but want to know how their story ends.
It is ultimately hopeful, but first, you have to trudge through the brutality that is a reality for many people. Please make sure you are in the right headspace before starting this book and give yourself time to breathe.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma
Outlawed by Anna North
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Adventurous and rustic, Outlawed tells the story of Ada, daughter of the revered town midwife. Ada immediately piques your interest, with her first sentence begging you to learn how she became an outlaw.
Let's just say, I would have been an outlaw years ago if I lived in Ada's society, so I became engrossed with finding out how Ada would live her life after being kicked out of her husband's home for being infertile.
Ada's quest to seek scientific answers eventually lands her in the middle of nowhere, Hole in the Wall, with a cast of other tough and (mostly) barren women.
While Outlawed and its alt-history was a quick read, it was overall underdeveloped. Most of the women at the feminine commune (that's essentially what their camp was) didn't get to tell their story until there were only twenty pages left and the "main event" lasted five pages after a long build-up.
Would I still recommend it? Yes. Just beware: even though Ada is from the Dakotas, I couldn't stop reading it in an accent in my head. Is it the drama housed in me or is it truly impossible to read a "western" without channeling what I think cowboys sound like?
Let's just say, I would have been an outlaw years ago if I lived in Ada's society, so I became engrossed with finding out how Ada would live her life after being kicked out of her husband's home for being infertile.
Ada's quest to seek scientific answers eventually lands her in the middle of nowhere, Hole in the Wall, with a cast of other tough and (mostly) barren women.
While Outlawed and its alt-history was a quick read, it was overall underdeveloped. Most of the women at the feminine commune (that's essentially what their camp was) didn't get to tell their story until there were only twenty pages left and the "main event" lasted five pages after a long build-up.
Would I still recommend it? Yes. Just beware: even though Ada is from the Dakotas, I couldn't stop reading it in an accent in my head. Is it the drama housed in me or is it truly impossible to read a "western" without channeling what I think cowboys sound like?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, and Racism
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
4.0
This book gave me great insights on how religion really should be lived. Yes, reading about the slavery moved me, and affirmed the already known feeling of sadness towards the institution. But he talks of how people act like pharisees, and made me ask myself: do I do that and call myself a Christian?
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
5.0
This book was like reading what is going on in today's political system.
If you want an enthralling book on how capitalism can work so well, as long as we don't do handouts this is it. However, it takes quite a few chapters to get into a faster pace, and many would think it is boring altogether.
If you want an enthralling book on how capitalism can work so well, as long as we don't do handouts this is it. However, it takes quite a few chapters to get into a faster pace, and many would think it is boring altogether.