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zesha's reviews
162 reviews
Save the Cat! Writes a Novel: The Last Book on Novel Writing You'll Ever Need by Jessica Brody
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
The Awakening by Caroline Peckham, Susanne Valenti
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Uglier by Kelly Vincent
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
C – “I also couldn’t help but notice that newborns aren’t that cute.” Finally, someone besides me who thinks that. They kind of look like aliens to me. Way to go, Nic, you’re even more like me this book than last book. Also, I wonder if the author ever read Tower of God, which also has an evil Rachel.
A – The book was actually pretty light and cheery up until the incident with Mack, then it turned tense like the first book was. There were definitely moments that were tense before that though, like when people would call Nic a freak or something.
W – Still enjoying the writing style, though I do wish the chapters were a little shorter so I could take breaks more often.
P – This time, instead of Nic being in small-town Emerson in OK, they are in OMAS, in a bigger city where acceptance isn’t completely forthcoming from all people but hey, finally Nic has some friends. That couldn’t have happened back in Emerson, and I’m really enjoying reading about how Nic, Mack, Jenna, and Jacob all get along together.
I – I was quite into this book after reading Ugly. I was curious how Nic’s life would change, and I’m glad to see it changed for the better.
L – I thought the last book said it was in 2018? How is this book the 2022-23 school year? Also, for the book club, I swore they decided on 2 o’clock and not 3 o’clock? And I thought the guy’s name from the last book was Zach, not Zack.
E – I truly enjoyed this book. Can’t wait to read Ugliest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Outing
Minor: Sexual assault, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Dysphoria
Ugly by Kelly Vincent
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
C – I sympathize with the main character—I, too, was an ugly fat kid. I wasn’t teased as relentlessly, but I remember losing friends for seemingly no reason and being called “thunder thighs” and having boys be like, “Hey, my friend likes you,” and then their friend looking at me with disgust. It’s hard to deal with kids being cruel, but I think there was some really good growth with Nic.
A – The atmosphere was pretty tense through a lot of the book, which isn’t surprising seeing as this poor girl gets told she’s fat, ugly, a lesbian, etc. It took me back to high school, and the descriptions of the stairwell where they ate lunch was just enough for me to picture it.
W – The writing style is pretty readable, I didn’t have any trouble keeping up with the pace of the book or have to stop to look up long words I didn’t know, and it seemed to flow pretty steadily. I’m fairly sure I’ll be reading Uglier and Ugliest as well.
P – I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about the plot of this book, but in all honesty I grew fond of the main character pretty quickly and found myself wondering how her life would change by the end of the book. I’m excited to read Uglier to see if things get any better with her life, or if things suck even more now.
I – At first I wasn’t super intrigued in this book, but the more I read the more into it I got. And then I finished it in 2 days, whoops.
L – All the logic in this book seemed pretty sound. Boys in high school can be jerks—I feel like middle school was worse for me than high school, but there were still plenty of pricks in high school. And the girls could be just as mean, even if they weren’t intentionally doing it, like the girls who convinced Nic to put on makeup. I don’t think they were trying to be malicious, but it still ended up hurting Nic in the end.
E – I quite enjoyed this book, and I find I have a lot in common with Nic, though I did have more friends than she did in school and I wasn’t as bad at social interactions. For the most part, anyway.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
5.0
C – I can’t really speak for the credibility of this book. It feels trustworthy to me, and that’s about all I can go off of. But because of that, this book leaves me deeply sad and angry for Britney. She was wronged in so many ways, most of all by her own family.
A – I feel this book is authentic. It brings what Britney felt, and probably contradicts her mom’s and sister’s books that they put out. I may try to find and read those sometime, just to see what they say. But only if I can find them through the library or somewhere free—I refuse to give money to either of them.
W – The writing felt really good to me, easy to read and it flowed well. It kind of reminded me of how I write, so perhaps that’s why I like it so much.
P – There was… a lot in this book. It hit me hard. I had only known bits and pieces from the media, and we all know how the media loves to contort things. But this does show that sometimes, you have to fight for yourself. It might mean waiting until the right moment, but your own freedom is important to your mental health.
I – I wanted to keep reading this book whenever I looked away from it, and often had to keep myself from going back to it because I knew I needed to sleep/do other things.
L – I mean, the conservatorship didn’t make a bit of sense, but it happened anyway, didn’t it? Ridiculous. I’m just glad she managed to get out of it. Thirteen years though…
E – Is “enjoy” the right word for this book? I learned a lot about Britney through it, but I’m not sure if I’d say I enjoyed learning those things. But I do feel like I understand her better now, so for that I’ll give her high marks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Sexual assault
How to Train Your Human: A Cat's Guide by Babas
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
C – The book is as credible as any cat—and we all know cats are credible, right? Plus it has anecdotes from other cats besides Babas, so you know these things must be true. (I do honestly believe these things happened, especially the biting of the child’s head.)
A – This is a rather unique book. I don’t think I’ve seen another book where it takes the cat’s perspective and teaches other cats how to “train” a human.
W – The writing feels a bit stiff, like a manual. Which, I guess it is supposed to be sort of a manual, and it does retain its wit and humor.
P – Unfortunately, it has not taught me anything I did not already know about cats, but it has been amusing, so it still gets some points.
I – It was a bit hard to keep my attention on this book, and I’m not sure if that was because of the distractions in my own house or if it just wasn’t that interesting to me.
L – Things made plenty of sense, and it was interesting to “see” it through the eyes of a cat.
E – While it isn’t my favorite book that I’ve read this year, I appreciated its humor and enjoyed it at least moderately.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Excrement and Vomit
Minor: Animal death and Death
Unleashed by Emily Kimelman
TW: Attempted Murder, Alcohol, Profanity, Blood, Death, Murder, Toxic Relationship, Explicit Sex, S&M, Homophobia, Religion
C - Within the first two chapters, the dog Blue is described twice. And considering these chapters are short, I feel that was a bit unnecessary. Perhaps it could have been spaced out a little more, like how Joy’s description was. We find out she has blond hair with bangs that have grown out, and later find out it’s pretty long, and finally we learn she has gray eyes just like her brother. It isn’t spaced out too much, but just enough that it’s not info dumping like it is when describing Blue. Also, really didn’t need to know what every side character was wearing.
A - You could tell the atmosphere was tense when Charlene called Joy back, and how nervous she was as she gave Joy all the things she’d need for the business. It leads you to question why she’s nervous, and what suddenly made her decide to give her business over to Joy? It seemed she left in a hurry, especially later when Joy looks in Charlene’s bedroom. Is everything really okay? Of course not. It’s a mystery novel. The atmosphere is tense through a lot of this book but it’s not like, so tense you can’t breathe. So that’s good at least.
W - The writing is okay, though I still don’t know what “sock-coated teeth” means. There’s a lot of description of clothes that I don’t entirely know if it’s necessary to have written, but I guess it gives a clearer picture of the characters.
“It was cold but did little to cool me off.” Honey, it’s alcohol. Alcohol doesn’t cool you off.
‘"I agree," I agreed.’ Why did you feel the need to write it like that?
P - The plot seems sound enough. I’ve actually enjoyed the fast pace set by the story, and the plot at least makes more sense than the logic and writing of this book. Nothing ever really felt all that drawn out or tedious, and while I do harp on the writing and logic points a bit I do feel like it’s been worth reading. Just… maybe find a new editor that won’t allow silly mistakes to stay in.
I - First part of the book didn’t really hook me in, but by about the 30% mark I wanted to find out where this mystery would take me. I unfortunately didn’t really have any trouble putting this book down, though. Sorry. It just didn’t have its talons in me deep enough.
L - I’m also trying to figure out how Blue decides who he’s going to try to maul. Both Marcus and the teacher were male, so I thought maybe he’d also attack Hugh and James, but he didn’t. Is it just the air people give off? And then there’s a part where it says “As soon as I let him off leash,” like what are you thinking letting him off the leash, what if he attacks someone? Oh, it even says “(hoping that he would not attack anyone while I was inside)” a page later, but you let him off leash? The logic of this Joy person is not sound. And then when Declan showed up Blue definitely looked like he wanted to attack him. So is Declan a bad person too? Also one minute Blue is barking his head off at Charlene and being wrestled into a sitting position, next he’s at her side wanting her attention.
You might say, “Blue only growls and tries to attack when people come to the apartment!” but that’s not true, he tried to attack the teacher too! That was when Joy was taking him on a walk. I think the dog is inconsistent. AND NOW THE MURDERER IS IN HER HOUSE AND HE DIDN’T MAUL THE MURDERER. Oh, of course, the murderer gave him a fucking bone. All must be well then!
How did Charlene know where to find Joy? Did she keep Joy’s information when she ran away? Does she still have that address book that was mentioned? Why didn’t Joy ask her about the address book? Oh right, she was hungover, she probably forgot all about it.
By the way, silencers don’t make guns completely silent. They just suppress some of the noise.
E – Despite how much I’ve complained about this book, I did enjoy reading it, surprisingly. I just think that Joy drinks too damn much. And might be a bit crazy.
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death and Cancer