squeeb13's reviews
18 reviews

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

Very beautifully written story that makes you want to love and root for its main character. I will say that it did take a turn or two that made me not like it as much. But it did redeem itself enough towards the head scratching ending. I didn’t hate the ending, it just felt a bit too quiet and rushed for my liking. It really left me wanting much more out of this book. It almost felt like the author ran out of time and needed to tie up loose ends quickly. I say that because the last 1/4 of the book felt way less thought out than the rest of it. All in all, I am happy that I read this book. 

Holyland Vol. 2 by Kouji Mori

inspiring tense medium-paced

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

3.5

The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I thought this was nonfiction until I actually started reading it, and that is okay. I found the premise of the story to be quite unique and intriguing, which is why I chose to read this one. I will say that the overt references to various slasher franchises and characters is way too on the nose for my taste. It doesn’t ruin anything, but anyone that is interested in reading this story doesn’t need that kind of thing to be spoon fed to them the way that this book does. I will say though, I really do respect the direction that the author took with all of this. He tackles a real issue with grace and does it in a way that leaves you walking away with not only a quality insight into female victims of violence, but also something to build on. The only parts of this book that I really did not like were the few twists and turns toward the end, and the character of Stephanie as a whole. The twists felt a little too perfect to happen to our very intelligent main character, and Stephanie gives out some flat out cringe inducing dialogue at the end in an attempt to be a badass. Maybe that was the point, and there’s supposed to be an underlying irony to the majority of her character, but it still left me feeling unsatisfied with the second half of this book. All in all, as a horror fan I enjoyed this book as a thriller and there were a lot of aspects about it that itched my brain nicely. It had real elements of gruesome horror, it had psychological terror and a general feel of unease. Most importantly though, it had a sense of purpose and a sense of meaning that gave everything more weight when it finally did wrap up. Something that horror fans such as myself are not quite used to when we watch the schlock we do at times. Check this one out if you haven’t already, it’s fun to read if nothing else. 

The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

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

1.75

This is a book that is full of promise but fails to deliver on it, due to lack of immersion. I thought this book looked quite interesting, that’s why I grabbed it off the shelf at my local library. But my biggest gripe with it is that it has so many blatant millennial in jokes that remind you painfully that you’re reading a book on Earth. I also loathed the main character, I found her to be just a generally really annoying twerp and it made me not want to cheer for her. Not to mention this book is nothing more than an even more watered down version of a religious aesthetic depicted in a watered down anime made to look cool and offer not much else. From the pen name change to Neon, the word Genesis being in the title of the story, and the book itself being laden with blatant evangelism. It’s almost as if they were like “hey I’m going to make a book entirely written around a not so inside joke about an anime that isn’t anywhere near as deep or profound that I think it is.” Therefore this book irked me all the way through because it is the absolute peak of millenialism that I cannot stand. Latching on to meaningless products made for nothing more than brainless consumption, and convincing themselves that it’s the pinnacle of art. All while patting themselves on the back for giving a near schizophrenic level of false merit given to something it never had in the first place. I didn’t really enjoy this book. 

Apollo's Song: New Omnibus Edition by Osamu Tezuka

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I had no idea what to expect when going into this. I am familiar with the name Osamu Tezuka, but I had never read any of his work before. I just knew that he was considered the god of manga due to his work like Astro Boy, and Black Jack. So I was taken pretty aback by how dark and also emotionally deep this story went. The best thing I can compare it to, is that it’s very similar to A Clockwork Orange. We have a fundamentally broken person, who’s moral code coincides with violence and is then taken in by an institute to torture this out of him. So yes, it’s actually shockingly similar. The main difference is that this story used a much more confusing road to make its point, but definitely delivered in terms of entertainment value. I don’t want to say too much more because I don’t want to give everything away. But if you are curious about this one at all, definitely check it out. It’s intense to say the least, but that’s what makes it so enthralling to read. 

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

dark reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

3.0

First time approaching Faulkner, and I must say I wish I had more of an idea of this one before jumping in. I went in wanting some Southern Gothic, and technically I did get that to the fullest extent. But I subliminally left out one word for myself, supernatural. I regret not doing so because I then found myself being a bit disappointed that this book wasn’t scratching that itch in my brain. With that being said, this is still a good book that deserves to be read. I would’ve gotten more out of it if I took the relevant context to thought before approaching this. Therefore I would say that I appreciated it to the fullest extent. Faulkner does a lovely job at writing unique characters that all feel innately human and live by their own rules and code. He also crafts a bleak world full of hardship and grit. These are things that I feel won’t ever age. 

Assassin's Creed: The Fall by Karl Kerschl, Cameron Stewart

fast-paced

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

3.25

Didn't blow me away, but it had some really good twists and turns and the ending was fantastic. It really had the essence of the series, so they succeeded in that sense. 

Assassins Creed The Fall #2 by Karl Kerschl

dark tense fast-paced

3.5

Assassins Creed The Fall #1 by Karl Kerschl, Cameron Stewart

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.0

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

dark funny reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely loved this one and was shocked and delighted to see how faithful the film was to this book. There weren't very many changes and the few that they made for the movie were ones that I was glad to see. Absolutely twisted tale on delinquents and how the justice system thrives on creating a culture of hyperviolence.