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ogbergerking's reviews
50 reviews
The Teacher by Freida McFadden
4.5
holy shit. i am screaming. this book was absolutely wild. i spent the first half hating it so bad. like the ICK factor. nailed it. thanks freida, i hated it!!
the second half was so absolutely insane. i was rooting for eve the whole time. chapter 79 had me SCREAMING, as did the epilogue. beautifully done, & addie & eve were incredible parallels.
my only qualm was that eve was technically no better than nate, even if she didn’t know. nate knowingly did what he did, but eve isn’t off the hook for not verifying that her assumptions are correct. personally, i think hudson & jay should have remained 2 different people. otherwise, phenomenal. freida you have redeemed yourself.
the second half was so absolutely insane. i was rooting for eve the whole time. chapter 79 had me SCREAMING, as did the epilogue. beautifully done, & addie & eve were incredible parallels.
my only qualm was that eve was technically no better than nate, even if she didn’t know. nate knowingly did what he did, but eve isn’t off the hook for not verifying that her assumptions are correct. personally, i think hudson & jay should have remained 2 different people. otherwise, phenomenal. freida you have redeemed yourself.
Strange Beasts of China by Yan Ge
5.0
holy crap. this book. i don’t even have the right words. beautiful, heartbreaking, gorgeously written. a little confusing because of translation. circular and whole.
i think this is my favorite book i have read this year. absolutely fabulous. so many quotes that could stand alone.
the audiobook narrator absolutely smashed it too. will def need a physical copy to annotate in the future. must read for fantasy and mythology lovers. wow.
i think this is my favorite book i have read this year. absolutely fabulous. so many quotes that could stand alone.
the audiobook narrator absolutely smashed it too. will def need a physical copy to annotate in the future. must read for fantasy and mythology lovers. wow.
The Tenant by Katrine Engberg
4.25
this book managed to take me by surprise, which is super refreshing considering i usually guess the ending most times. that’s prob only because this whole thing was so convoluted & larger than life that i had trouble keeping up.
honestly a good read, but it felt almost like engberg fleshed out every single character way too much to really have a main character focus.
i also didn’t care at all abt kørner’s sex life, despite engberg thinking it mattered far more than it did.
all in all, a good read. tough to get through, but reads like a movie. would def recommend, & will def be looking for more of her work moving forward. adequate debut for sure.
honestly a good read, but it felt almost like engberg fleshed out every single character way too much to really have a main character focus.
i also didn’t care at all abt kørner’s sex life, despite engberg thinking it mattered far more than it did.
all in all, a good read. tough to get through, but reads like a movie. would def recommend, & will def be looking for more of her work moving forward. adequate debut for sure.
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
3.0
this book had a super interesting premise, but nora was so unlikeable & annoying to me that i had a hard time listening. i hated her, & the ending dragged on way too long (& i predicted it by the first portal experience)
hot take but i think she should have died. would have been super tragic but deserved. also how do these horrible people get picked for this gift? & why? explain that instead of nora’s unbelievable narcissism. thanks
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
4.5
technically, 4.5 stars.
this is my first read of any of ishiguro’s work. i love the writing style, & found the world building to be interesting as we seemed to learn more as klara did. i found the pacing a little disorienting, & being thrust straight into the plot was a little tough to get into, but once i did? ho boy.
this book really posed some interesting perspectives on what it means to be human, & what it is that actually MAKES us human. how we form connections & grow, & how love transforms us over time. most importantly, how we transform others through our love.
i would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to think more deeply about what it means to be human from something that is so fundamentally not human that it seems to circle back around to human all over again. that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but my head is still reeling from this book.
i will def be looking to read more from ishiguro in the future.
this is my first read of any of ishiguro’s work. i love the writing style, & found the world building to be interesting as we seemed to learn more as klara did. i found the pacing a little disorienting, & being thrust straight into the plot was a little tough to get into, but once i did? ho boy.
this book really posed some interesting perspectives on what it means to be human, & what it is that actually MAKES us human. how we form connections & grow, & how love transforms us over time. most importantly, how we transform others through our love.
i would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking to think more deeply about what it means to be human from something that is so fundamentally not human that it seems to circle back around to human all over again. that doesn’t make a lot of sense, but my head is still reeling from this book.
i will def be looking to read more from ishiguro in the future.
You Know What You Did by K.T. Nguyen
3.0
this book was interesting. i disliked pretty much all of the characters, esp annie. she was so self-absorbed, & focused on her own issues that i could not find it in me to feel compassionate for her.
i also felt like the ending was completely rushed, & that the ultimate villain was rather disappointing. i almost wish it had been more an exploration into mental illness, since so much of the book circled on annie’s rituals to cope with OCD, so i would have liked a different ending that really pushed how the human mind works.
i also felt like overall pacing was off with all the flashbacks and time skips; everything felt very disjointed. but perhaps that was the point; to feel as jumbled and timeless as annie.
i did enjoy the discussion about mental health & the fact that annie’s illness was not her biggest perpetrator. i think it was a decent novel, & would read something from this author again.
i also felt like the ending was completely rushed, & that the ultimate villain was rather disappointing. i almost wish it had been more an exploration into mental illness, since so much of the book circled on annie’s rituals to cope with OCD, so i would have liked a different ending that really pushed how the human mind works.
i also felt like overall pacing was off with all the flashbacks and time skips; everything felt very disjointed. but perhaps that was the point; to feel as jumbled and timeless as annie.
i did enjoy the discussion about mental health & the fact that annie’s illness was not her biggest perpetrator. i think it was a decent novel, & would read something from this author again.
False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet by Bjørn Lomborg
2.5
although i enjoyed this alternate perspective, & agree with lomborg on some points regarding how panic is skewing the actual view we should have on climate crisis, i found a lot of his arguments to be rather circular. many of his data points and statistics were definitely cherry picked, and several of his arguments relied on hypotheticals that cannot be guarenteed through data or statistics. it also has no account for future crises like COVID-19 or other global factors such as war & inflation that are ever prevalent in 2024 society.
i think his arguments for what should be supported are strong, & that there is a lot of misinformation out there, but i don’t know that i agree enough to argue that this shouldn’t still be a priority in voters’ minds or pockets.
would probably read again to further break down arguments, & would look more into notes to see supporting or opposing arguments for a fuller understanding. def appreciated the challenge on my viewpoint and brain to process this, & look forward to more work from lomborg in the future to see how he will combat new information & data as time & society progress.
i think his arguments for what should be supported are strong, & that there is a lot of misinformation out there, but i don’t know that i agree enough to argue that this shouldn’t still be a priority in voters’ minds or pockets.
would probably read again to further break down arguments, & would look more into notes to see supporting or opposing arguments for a fuller understanding. def appreciated the challenge on my viewpoint and brain to process this, & look forward to more work from lomborg in the future to see how he will combat new information & data as time & society progress.
The Exvangelicals: Loving, Living, and Leaving the White Evangelical Church by Sarah McCammon
4.25
i found this book deeply refreshing. i was raised catholic, and have struggled with my own journey of faith through the years. as someone who was not evangelical but also raised in a deeply fundamentalist and structured religious household, i found myself relating deeply to the stories compiled in this book.
i think mccammon does an excellent job of weaving the different stories and experiences together, in a way that is respectful and mindful of anyone reading, regardless of their own identity or faith. i admire the courage of people to speak up in these turbulent times, and the ability to express themselves so articulately in regards to a concept that is often larger than life.
i highly recommend this to anyone who is still religious, is questioning their own religious beliefs, or someone who left a while ago (and is wondering why they feel the way they do now—like myself). hell, i even recommend it to those who don’t believe in anything at all, and are wondering why anyone would believe in a higher power.
in short, god bless sarah mccammon. i’m glad you found your peace, and i hope others find it through your work. i’m sure your grandpa would be/is very proud of you.
i think mccammon does an excellent job of weaving the different stories and experiences together, in a way that is respectful and mindful of anyone reading, regardless of their own identity or faith. i admire the courage of people to speak up in these turbulent times, and the ability to express themselves so articulately in regards to a concept that is often larger than life.
i highly recommend this to anyone who is still religious, is questioning their own religious beliefs, or someone who left a while ago (and is wondering why they feel the way they do now—like myself). hell, i even recommend it to those who don’t believe in anything at all, and are wondering why anyone would believe in a higher power.
in short, god bless sarah mccammon. i’m glad you found your peace, and i hope others find it through your work. i’m sure your grandpa would be/is very proud of you.
The Locked Door by Freida McFadden
3.25
i read this book in one sitting, only about 2 hours. it was an easy read, with good pacing, & simplistic writing.
i enjoyed nora as a protagonist, & found her complex & almost split personality intriguing. however, she lacked a lot of substance & was quite static throughout. i could see & appreciate mcfadden’s attempt, but felt the execution was lacking.
none of the characters were super fleshed out in a way that made you as the reader attached. including nora’s herself. brady was a bit… annoying. i knew he was a red herring, but i felt like mcfadden really pushed your nose into it throughout in a way that detracted from the ending & the true villain.
speaking of, i found the ending somewhat offensive & immensely a cop out. i didn’t like who the killer turned out to be, or the last little portion of the epilogue. as far as i know, this last ditch effort to make nora seem more than a traumatized one-sided character added more questions than answers, & the true killer felt so left-fielded it was rather unbelievable. up until that point, the story seemed just believable enough to be a good thriller.
i would read another of mcfadden’s work, but i prob won’t read this one again.
i enjoyed nora as a protagonist, & found her complex & almost split personality intriguing. however, she lacked a lot of substance & was quite static throughout. i could see & appreciate mcfadden’s attempt, but felt the execution was lacking.
none of the characters were super fleshed out in a way that made you as the reader attached. including nora’s herself. brady was a bit… annoying. i knew he was a red herring, but i felt like mcfadden really pushed your nose into it throughout in a way that detracted from the ending & the true villain.
speaking of, i found the ending somewhat offensive & immensely a cop out. i didn’t like who the killer turned out to be, or the last little portion of the epilogue. as far as i know, this last ditch effort to make nora seem more than a traumatized one-sided character added more questions than answers, & the true killer felt so left-fielded it was rather unbelievable. up until that point, the story seemed just believable enough to be a good thriller.
i would read another of mcfadden’s work, but i prob won’t read this one again.
Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
4.25
this was a really good debut novel. the book was hard hitting & had a decent pacing, & touched on heavy themes regarding grief & familial connections. esp for a novel featuring so many queer characters, i thought the acknowledgement & portrayal of the tragedy of AIDS was done with deep respect & love from brunt to their characters.
i did find june a bit annoying as a lead, & rather selfish, but she is only 14. i found her love (read: obsession) for finn unnecessary, & honestly like it detracted some from the story. i have had deep completely familial or platonic loves that have ended that have hurt more than any romantic love i have ever experienced, & that it put a cruel twist that i think subtracted from the relationship she formed later with toby. deposit brunt using it to make them foils, it felt almost inappropriate given the weight of the rest of the novel.
i would def read again, even if the ending did feel a little rushed. i think this author has a bright future ahead of them.
i did find june a bit annoying as a lead, & rather selfish, but she is only 14. i found her love (read: obsession) for finn unnecessary, & honestly like it detracted some from the story. i have had deep completely familial or platonic loves that have ended that have hurt more than any romantic love i have ever experienced, & that it put a cruel twist that i think subtracted from the relationship she formed later with toby. deposit brunt using it to make them foils, it felt almost inappropriate given the weight of the rest of the novel.
i would def read again, even if the ending did feel a little rushed. i think this author has a bright future ahead of them.