tcapel's reviews
45 reviews

Clever Girl: Jurassic Park by Hannah McGregor

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

The Company of Fiends by Kathryn Moon

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

A Lady of Rooksgrave Manor by Kathryn Moon

funny lighthearted mysterious fast-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? No

3.75

Field Guide to the Patchy Anthropocene: The New Nature by Alder Keleman Saxena, Anna Lowenhaupt Tsing, Feifei Zhou, Jennifer Deger
Did not finish book. Stopped at 19%.

As much as I have adored Tsing in the past, this book was not up to their usual, enlightening standard. 

Part 1 felt like a ridiculous advertisement for the authors’ digital project “Feral Atlas.”  And then two page into Part 2, the authors’ were calling the world broken? 

I found the content confusing, indigestible, and uninteresting. 

Extinction by Douglas Preston

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Torture, Police brutality, and Murder

Minor: Rape

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

An incredible depiction of mental illness. Just as the mental health journey is prone to do, The Bell Jar leaves readers with a feeling of emptiness and loss just as Esther Greenwood begins her progress towards recovery. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Bolla by Pajtim Statovci

challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.5

An incredibly well written tale about life, love, and self-hatred. The main character is a pretty terrible person and a wildly unreliable narrator, both of which make Arsim a fascinating individual to follow in the story! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

The main character has a sexual encounter with a person he believes to be 17 or older. 17 is obviously not of legal age. It is quickly revealed that the kid is actually 14. Main character does face a lot of consequences (prison) for the interaction. It is NOT graphically described.

World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

emotional hopeful informative lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.0

The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

4.75

Everything did build up to a dramatic last few pages, but overall this was a lovely, whimsical read with a unique magic system! Absolutely adored it!