readingmermaid's reviews
340 reviews

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

challenging funny reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

I read the battle royale chapter in high school, as part of SAT prep and didn't touch the book again. I don't think I was really ready to process it then, but reading it as an adult, it's clear why Invisible Man is a classic. It's a complex book about at racial identity told by a narrator that I liked, pitied, understood, and wanted to slap in the face. I'm sure even now I didn't catch/understand everything, but I enjoyed it so much.

Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

challenging emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I love books with lots of different voices, so this book immediately called out to me. Of Women and Salt is about several generations of Cuban women, all with their own difficult choices to make. There are women who left Cuba and those who didn't; those who miss their homes and those who don't. The family dynamics were the most interesting part, and I also learned more about the immigrant experience that I didn't know before. 5 stars!

Concentrate: Poems by Courtney Faye Taylor

challenging emotional reflective fast-paced

4.0

Into Every Generation A Slayer Is Born: How Buffy Staked Our Hearts by Evan Ross Katz

funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

5.0

The Way Through Doors by Jesse Ball
Did not finish book. Stopped at 13%.

This book’s structure was too odd for me. First, no page numbers, just line numbers. Then, 15 pages in and the text started over…? Like almost word for word, the story just went back to the beginning and I don’t know why. 

Too Much Lip by Melissa Lucashenko

adventurous dark 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

3.75

Engaging story with a lot of moving pieces. I learned a lot about Goorie culture in Australia, including a lot of slang I had to look up. There’s some magical realism involved that was never really delved into and the ending seemed really rushed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Sexual assault

Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas

emotional funny hopeful tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

This Will Be My Undoing: Living at the Intersection of Black, Female, and Feminist in (White) America by Morgan Jerkins

challenging emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.75

You Are Your Best Thing: Vulnerability, Shame Resilience and the Black Experience: An anthology by Tarana Burke, Brené Brown

emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

4.5