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sexyyratboy's reviews
246 reviews
Persuasion by Jane Austen
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The Quiet and the Loud by Helena Fox
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Will anything be okay? I don't know. Laz says maybe it can be, if we do something—if we at least try—while we are alive inside these human bodies, loving and careless, hopeless and hopeful and loud. There is so much to do. There is so much to say.
Let me start out by saying that How it Feels to Float is one of my favorite books of all time. Even as I grow out of YA, I still carry it with me. I was thrilled to receive a downloadable advanced readers copy of Fox's newest novel.
As an exploration of Complex PTSD, the Quiet and the Loud hits the nail on the head. It benefits from being an own voices novel, but Fox's way of communicating mental illness in this and HIFTF is impactful and I imagine would be especially for a younger audience. The resurgence of dormant memories and emotions George, our main character, feels as her dad reaches out to her for the first time is incredibly real, and though our personal situations are far from identical I found myself relating to her struggle often throughout. Fox does not shy away from the ugly, but she also doesn't shove it down your throat to an unnecessary degree as many authors writing about trauma often do, which makes her an excellent writer for young teenagers navigating similar struggles.
To get what I did not love out of the way: it is very dialogue heavy. This is both obviously purposeful and not inherently problematic but, especially at the beginning, may of been to its own detriment. Long chains of seemingly unimportant dialogue from characters you barely know and haven't had the time to care about yet can get old quickly, especially when you're 100 pages in and George is still ignoring the same texts from her dad over and over again. After finishing the novel, the tone at the beginning makes a bit more sense but as for the reading experience it was a bit of a drag. Though I will say it is a very quick read, at almost 400 pages it does not feel like it.
The backdrop of our very real climate crisis and the Australian wildfires of 2019 was brilliant. To take a break from George and her friends' inner turmoil and explore a crisis that is felt by everyone gave breadth to a novel that is by default quite narrow in its scope. I also applaud the way it worked in tandem with George's intimate journey, from the suffocating smoky air mirroring her own trauma to her decision to finally talk to the people close to her about it coinciding with protests and climate action. The real life political aspects were handled tactfully and never felt exploitative. Definitely my favorite part of the novel.
The Quiet and the Loud is not a book about forgiveness. It isn't even about getting over what has happened to you or magically healing through the power of love. It's about having the courage to speak, to self advocate for your own safety and allow yourself to feel loved by those who do love you. In that way, it was beautiful.
note that i am reviewing an advanced copy that has not been corrected by the author, publisher, or printer
Let me start out by saying that How it Feels to Float is one of my favorite books of all time. Even as I grow out of YA, I still carry it with me. I was thrilled to receive a downloadable advanced readers copy of Fox's newest novel.
As an exploration of Complex PTSD, the Quiet and the Loud hits the nail on the head. It benefits from being an own voices novel, but Fox's way of communicating mental illness in this and HIFTF is impactful and I imagine would be especially for a younger audience. The resurgence of dormant memories and emotions George, our main character, feels as her dad reaches out to her for the first time is incredibly real, and though our personal situations are far from identical I found myself relating to her struggle often throughout. Fox does not shy away from the ugly, but she also doesn't shove it down your throat to an unnecessary degree as many authors writing about trauma often do, which makes her an excellent writer for young teenagers navigating similar struggles.
To get what I did not love out of the way: it is very dialogue heavy. This is both obviously purposeful and not inherently problematic but, especially at the beginning, may of been to its own detriment. Long chains of seemingly unimportant dialogue from characters you barely know and haven't had the time to care about yet can get old quickly, especially when you're 100 pages in and George is still ignoring the same texts from her dad over and over again. After finishing the novel, the tone at the beginning makes a bit more sense but as for the reading experience it was a bit of a drag. Though I will say it is a very quick read, at almost 400 pages it does not feel like it.
The backdrop of our very real climate crisis and the Australian wildfires of 2019 was brilliant. To take a break from George and her friends' inner turmoil and explore a crisis that is felt by everyone gave breadth to a novel that is by default quite narrow in its scope. I also applaud the way it worked in tandem with George's intimate journey, from the suffocating smoky air mirroring her own trauma to her decision to finally talk to the people close to her about it coinciding with protests and climate action. The real life political aspects were handled tactfully and never felt exploitative. Definitely my favorite part of the novel.
The Quiet and the Loud is not a book about forgiveness. It isn't even about getting over what has happened to you or magically healing through the power of love. It's about having the courage to speak, to self advocate for your own safety and allow yourself to feel loved by those who do love you. In that way, it was beautiful.
note that i am reviewing an advanced copy that has not been corrected by the author, publisher, or printer
Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini
4.0
this was super short so a super fast read and honestly just the art was so pretty and it was just really good
Two Dark Reigns by Kendare Blake
3.0
this one got boring you can tell it was supposed to be a duology and Blake just needed to extend it a bit.
katherine is all i care about i just wanna see her be cool and honestly i'm here for the murder and weird dead people whispering in her ears and now she's like,,,,, in a situation
katherine is all i care about i just wanna see her be cool and honestly i'm here for the murder and weird dead people whispering in her ears and now she's like,,,,, in a situation
The Constitution of the United States of America by Founding Fathers
1.0
i didn’t really like the writing..... and the ending was super predictable. i really didn’t like the part about the three fifths compromise and i thought that it took a little too long before people got rights.........
i had trouble following, and it was so boring i had a hard time reading it. soz.
i mean i get the hype about this but it’s not really for me. :/ sorry
i had trouble following, and it was so boring i had a hard time reading it. soz.
i mean i get the hype about this but it’s not really for me. :/ sorry