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the_midnight_librarian's reviews
302 reviews
Love, Theoretically by Ali Hazelwood
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Better than The Love Hypothesis.
LOVED the discussions in here about women in STEM fields, the "cest pool" that is academia and it's job markets, chronic illness and healthcare (the struggle of healthcare in academia), and the discussions around people making decisions for you thinking "they know best" but not giving you the option. They were all major hitters and they hit hard. I cried with Elsie as she cried about health care.
But...
I felt like it took too long for Elsie to figure things out. I disliked that despite growing a relationship based on honesty and thinking their thoughts they still didn't spell out where they both thought the relationship was headed (after all this honesty and truth talk and Elsie still coming to the wrong conclusions we're just assuming she's thinking the relationship is going where Jack thinks it's going?) I couldn't stand the attempted safe sex talk of "I'm on birth control so you don't need a condom unless you have genital lice" yes, they said condoms don't protect you from that, but we're just going to make it a joke and not talk about the sexually transmitted infections that can still occur? AND THEN NOT PEE AFTER HAVING SEX?!?! DO YOU CRAVE A UTI?!?! I get that those conversation can put a downer on a romance book, but I'm a realist and don't want to think of the sympathy burning pain Elsie would have had to deal with come morning.
Overall, I had almost dnf'd this book at 76%, but once I figured out the twist, I was curious how the book was going to resolve it. Enjoyed Elsie's growth over all, she was just a bit frustrating through out the rest of the book, few moments withstanding.
LOVED the discussions in here about women in STEM fields, the "cest pool" that is academia and it's job markets, chronic illness and healthcare (the struggle of healthcare in academia), and the discussions around people making decisions for you thinking "they know best" but not giving you the option. They were all major hitters and they hit hard. I cried with Elsie as she cried about health care.
But...
I felt like it took too long for Elsie to figure things out. I disliked that despite growing a relationship based on honesty and thinking their thoughts they still didn't spell out where they both thought the relationship was headed (after all this honesty and truth talk and Elsie still coming to the wrong conclusions we're just assuming she's thinking the relationship is going where Jack thinks it's going?) I couldn't stand the attempted safe sex talk of "I'm on birth control so you don't need a condom unless you have genital lice" yes, they said condoms don't protect you from that, but we're just going to make it a joke and not talk about the sexually transmitted infections that can still occur? AND THEN NOT PEE AFTER HAVING SEX?!?! DO YOU CRAVE A UTI?!?! I get that those conversation can put a downer on a romance book, but I'm a realist and don't want to think of the sympathy burning pain Elsie would have had to deal with come morning.
Overall, I had almost dnf'd this book at 76%, but once I figured out the twist, I was curious how the book was going to resolve it. Enjoyed Elsie's growth over all, she was just a bit frustrating through out the rest of the book, few moments withstanding.
The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
emotional
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood by Jessica Grose
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Mosquitoland by David Arnold
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.0
Uhm...this left me with an over all "this....isn't right" feeling. The writing style was ultimately alright, if not a little meandering. Very "next this happened, then this happened, then this" some of it I wasn't sure was actually happening until we moved on to the next thing.
What bothered me was the way that issues were glossed over and not explored and/or outed as problematic.
Using the R slur towards someone intellectually disabled. Mim is praised, by her mother, for punching someone who uses the R slur, with out understanding the meaning behind it. Not to mention the constant comparisons of the supporting character Walt (who is homeless and has Down Syndrome) to being a pet and to a child, while constantly saying little "Waltisms" (wise wisdoms) when he's not just a platform of growth and protection for Mim.
Suicide. Mim finds her aunt and we're not going to go over how much trauma that can add to her mental well being?!
Mental Health. This is a sub plot point that goes along side the main of finding Mim's mom. Mim is constantly flashing back to how her mom handled Mim's mental health vs how Mim's dad handled her mental health, and intern how Mim is currently trying to figure out how to handle her mental health...by throwing out her medication with out a second opinion from a doctor or therapist.
Cultural Appropriation. Yes, it is appropriation, I don't care how many Indigenous people you used to work with. It is not appreciation. Mim uses lipstick to create a design on her face, calling it her "war paint" and excusing the use of it because it helps her cope when life gets too hard and it's "OK" because she's part Cherokee.
....I don't get paid to educate, and thankfully Dr. Debbie Reese already put something out about how this is wrong so I'll refer you to that: https://americanindiansinchildrenslit...
Not to mention the lack of communication and understanding between Mim and her father and Mim and her new step mom. Just going to gloss over that too and assume everything is fine after the book ends?
Just thinking about this book irritates me.
What bothered me was the way that issues were glossed over and not explored and/or outed as problematic.
Using the R slur towards someone intellectually disabled. Mim is praised, by her mother, for punching someone who uses the R slur, with out understanding the meaning behind it. Not to mention the constant comparisons of the supporting character Walt (who is homeless and has Down Syndrome) to being a pet and to a child, while constantly saying little "Waltisms" (wise wisdoms) when he's not just a platform of growth and protection for Mim.
Suicide. Mim finds her aunt and we're not going to go over how much trauma that can add to her mental well being?!
Mental Health. This is a sub plot point that goes along side the main of finding Mim's mom. Mim is constantly flashing back to how her mom handled Mim's mental health vs how Mim's dad handled her mental health, and intern how Mim is currently trying to figure out how to handle her mental health...by throwing out her medication with out a second opinion from a doctor or therapist.
Cultural Appropriation. Yes, it is appropriation, I don't care how many Indigenous people you used to work with. It is not appreciation. Mim uses lipstick to create a design on her face, calling it her "war paint" and excusing the use of it because it helps her cope when life gets too hard and it's "OK" because she's part Cherokee.
....I don't get paid to educate, and thankfully Dr. Debbie Reese already put something out about how this is wrong so I'll refer you to that: https://americanindiansinchildrenslit...
Not to mention the lack of communication and understanding between Mim and her father and Mim and her new step mom. Just going to gloss over that too and assume everything is fine after the book ends?
Just thinking about this book irritates me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness
When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Better than I thought it would be. I think I would have really enjoyed this in high school/early college. Really enjoyed the magical elements to the book. As well as the self reflection and topics of change and figuring yourself out. Thought there were too many friends with in friend group, anything over 3 or 4 is hard for me to know who is who, and this book was no different. By the end of the book I still wasn't sure if I really knew who was who besides the main character. Main character fell a little flat for me, she is adopted (not really talked about) by two men, she's not straight, and very "average"/"normal". Though that lended itself well to the "figuring out who you are" discussion, it left the main character very unmemorable. Will be looking more into Sarah Gailey's work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Blood
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.0
I should have known by the synopsis I wouldn't enjoy this. I am not a fan of the unreliable narrator trope. I disliked it even more when I realized it was because she was popping pills and mixing it with alcohol as a way to escape her own trauma. We really going to keep going on this trend of psychologists thinking they can take care of themselves and claim they "don't have a problem" when they have a cocktail of pills hiding in their desk?
I also had problems with the tonality of this book that very willfully played ignorance and privilege sentiments that ultimately put a damper on this whole book. By the half way mark I was skimming just to get it over with.
I also had problems with the tonality of this book that very willfully played ignorance and privilege sentiments that ultimately put a damper on this whole book. By the half way mark I was skimming just to get it over with.
Taste Makers: Seven Immigrant Women Who Revolutionized Food in America by Mayukh Sen
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James
2.0
I read this series a while ago, and at the time I enjoyed it, but after seeing the result of its popularity, I have come to hate it. It really isn't that good and after talking to several people in the Kink Community it is a TERRIBLE representation of BDSM in both how to get into it as well as the view on the community.
At the beginning of the serious the protagonist was a strong-ish woman, but the more the series continued the more she weakened the more she became submissive. She'd argue she'd fight to be able to maintain her independence but would ultimately succumb and it was terribly disappointing.
At the beginning of the serious the protagonist was a strong-ish woman, but the more the series continued the more she weakened the more she became submissive. She'd argue she'd fight to be able to maintain her independence but would ultimately succumb and it was terribly disappointing.