sianjkh's reviews
29 reviews

Bird Eat Bird by Best Katrina, Katrina Best

lighthearted medium-paced

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

2.5

flip flopped violently over trying to decide if the characters were wonderfully written or if i should become illiterate 

The Summer People by Kelly Link

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

5.0

the growing need to be in Appalachia is not helped by this

Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

fuck this book and everything it's done to me. i will now immediately be re-reading it. i am not prepared to lose whatever it is this makes me feel

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship

The Pear Field by Nana Ekvtimishvili

dark 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

2.25

this was a weird one. for being based in a residential school for intellectually disabled children it is rarely brought up outside of talks of "normal" kids. i found the writing style added to the general ambience and setting (that being said, i wonder how much of the book was lost in translation). it's overall incredibly cinematic and it makes perfect sense that the author is a director. i wish there was more action, more anything really. i wish the characters has been described more and I wish Lela was able to see her plan through 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Car accident, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i am eleanor she is me.

The Margot Affair by Sanaë Lemoine

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

this was good. so good. the descriptive language covered my brain like a blanket. my mother asked at some point if i felt I was suspending disbelief and truly this book had me captivated at every moment. however, this book suffers from the Elena Ferrante effect. Gorgeous writing and then! suddenly! there is a relationship with an older man. if it wasn't for the ending it would've gotten 5 stars

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Moderate: Infertility

Minor: Body horror, Child death, Cannibalism, and Suicide attempt

The Importance of Music to Girls by Lavinia Greenlaw

emotional funny informative reflective fast-paced

3.0

I felt like a cloud struck by lightning. This was how someone once described being in love to me, and it could be said that in terms of how the world acted upon me, I was in love.

filled with so many references I didn't get and so many songs I wish I knew. girlhood never ends.

Crush by Richard Siken

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

4.5

because you want to die for love,/you always have.

i am drowning and i am free and i am victim to richard siken and pure obsession 

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

i feel genuinely queasy. I had heard that Murata's other novel was dark but Jesus fucking Christ. I finished the book out of spite that i had paid $25 for it, and because although every single topic in the book is atrocious the writing is gorgeous. god is not merciful and me reading the teacher scene in my school library is proof.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

The Swimmers is two entirely different books stiched together which, unfortunately, didn't work at all for me. The beginning is playful, funny, and reminiscent of Nightvale in its descriptions. The second half is a slow burning ache in your heart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dementia

Moderate: Death of parent