the_midwest_library's reviews
718 reviews

Night of the Living Rez by Morgan Talty

challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was the pick for my irl bookclub, overall I thought the story was really compelling but the writing style and presentation may be a barrier for some. 

The story is told over several short story "chapters" which do not really have any chronological ordering to them, but instead are tied together through theming. The flip flopping back and forth between events/ages/timelines is a bit jarring. 

However, the overall impact of the story at large is great. I particularly enjoyed the weaving of the directional theming (red, white, black and yellow) throughout the book. I thought the narrative voice was fairly strong and the story really challenges a lot of indigenous stereotyping.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Sexual assault

Gwelf: The Survival Guide by Larry Macdougall

medium-paced

5.0

This is absolutely adorable and the perfect book for me to pickup. This book has wonderful illustrations which guide you through the city and the world of Gwelf. Where should you shop? What supplies will you bring? And will you meet friend or foe? 

It was super cute. I'll probably pick up the second one eventually. 

Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

Monza, Monza, Monza what ever will we all do with you? 

Did I enjoy this? Absolutely! 
Was it my favourite installment in the world? No. 

I enjoyed the cast of characters and I thought that the parallels between Monza and her physical... difficulties (to keep it spoiler free) were going to be a nice foil against Glokta's but I honestly felt like as the plot proceeded her issues were not really as meaningful in terms of her journey. So I think I just had a mismatched expectation and saw that as a bit of a lost opportunity. But frankly that's such a nitpicky complaint of my own making. 

The side characters were good, the little "reveal" in this was interesting but I think the writing was on the walls with that one hahaha. I'm curious how this will impact the next installments in the world. 

Witch Hat Atelier, Volume 11 by Kamome Shirahama

4.0

I enjoyed this installment, as always. I do find that the volumes of this manga are a bit formulaic, every volume is laid out extremely similar in terms of how the narrative flutters back and forth between the main plot for that volume and the fluff haha. It doesn't take away from the enjoyment but it does kind of always crack me up while reading them. 

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women That a Movement Forgot by Mikki Kendall

informative fast-paced

4.0

I quite loved this. The intersection of class, race and gender in the discussion of feminism is an absolute necessity. I don't think this was a deep dive into the topics by any stretch but it's such a great conversation starter for many of these issues. 

Witch Hat Atelier, Volume 10 by Kamome Shirahama

4.0

Excellent as always, the story is a bit slow for sure because I'm like damn we are 10 volumes in and I'm like TELL ME WHATS HAPPENING hahaha but I do love these books! 

Lightfall: The Dark Times by Tim Probert

4.0

I really enjoyed this, the art is so cute and the story is so fun while also tackling some more serious topics. The age range on this series is 8-14 I think and I totally agree, I think the way this series explores anxiety is so perfect for that age group?

And the Sky Bled by S. Hati

adventurous mysterious slow-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? No

2.5

This is a hard review to write efficiently. There are a lot of really interesting concepts in this book. But frankly, for me, each element of the book was a bit unpolished. The genre (climate fiction) provides a wonderful backdrop for a social/economic metaphor. But the theming felt heavy handed. 

 The world is really creative: magic rain provides a synthetic type "element" which is the backbone for the economic/political/technological systems. However, because the world is so busy and the book relies on telling not showing, I found the worldbuilding required you to suspend a lot of disbelief. 

But the biggest issue I had was that the writing was sophomoric and unrefined. I almost feel like this falls between age demographics a bit weirdly. The characters are not young per se but they act very immature at times. 

It's a shame because there is a lot to like about this but it just didn't feel like s6 complete story to me. 

Bunny by Mona Awad

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

What a weird fucking book haha I really loved this, in a sick sort of way. The story unravels as our narrator unravels. The writing is a bit sultry, a bit perverted. The plot is nonsensical while also being very linear and narrow in scope. On its face this is a story of one semester (it seems at least to be one semester or one year) in an unique academic writing program right before graduation. The story takes place on an elite college campus, who is known for their extremely sought after creative writing program. Our narrator and her....classmates are in this workshop together, blurring the lines between reality and what their minds can create. 

Some parts of the prose are odd and take you out of the story a bit. I also felt like the beginning third is a bit slower in pace. But overall a really weird book but I quite enjoyed it. 

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This was my first Sally Rooney book and it won't be my last, I really adored this. It was exceptionally heavy while being so well written and not overwhelming emotionally. The prose was beautiful, and I loved the characters...except Peter who is on my list. I think he needs therapy 😂😂😂. I would die for Ivan, and wish him nothing but the very best. 

The view of grief was so well handled, I loved the backdrop of societal issues that we saw and the commentary on gender and age was really fabulous. I really liked this one!