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alouette's reviews
258 reviews
Tomboy Survival Guide by Ivan Coyote
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
3.5
A book that made me think and feel very deeply, with many lessons in its pages. They could be disjointed at times, the long sentences making me lose the tendrils of the thought, and I think some cut off quite abruptly. But the teachings and reflections were there even when you had to hunt for them, and they were quite beautiful. I especially connected with how Ivan spoke of their family and being thankful for all that they give you, and understanding that they love you, but struggling with who they can be and how they can act.
"It's them, not you, and I see you. There is nothing wrong with you."
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Suicide, and Transphobia
The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
not super exciting, but still a beautiful book!!! a good story about a good person who does her best, and who cares where many other people didn't. i really, really love elin- the other characters are not very rounded, but she's the type of person i would love to know and befriend. her relationship with leelan and commitment to peace makes me very pleased. and the worldbuilding and creatures in general were pretty damn cool!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
World of Wonders: In Praise of Fireflies, Whale Sharks, and Other Astonishments by Aimee Nezhukumatathil
emotional
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
5.0
you can tell the author is a poet by the way she writes, but that's not a bad thing. disconcerting, maybe, in a book i thought was going to be a little more about science. however, i think it's just as nice to not try to explain everything around us, but to simply marvel at the beauty. all the anecdotal stories pulled me in, and i saw my experiences reflected in many of them, so that made me really emotional. a very wonderful read indeed!
Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta
adventurous
challenging
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
*cries in the comfort that is the found family trope*
big robots! amazing fight scenes! cool as heck concepts! maybe the background idea had some holes but the execution was so perfect that i didn't even care. every character was unique, the descriptions were so good, the dialogue so endearing and heart-wrenching, and the plot amazing. it's a lot of what i've wished i could write so i'm so happy the author made it :)
big robots! amazing fight scenes! cool as heck concepts! maybe the background idea had some holes but the execution was so perfect that i didn't even care. every character was unique, the descriptions were so good, the dialogue so endearing and heart-wrenching, and the plot amazing. it's a lot of what i've wished i could write so i'm so happy the author made it :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Child death and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
emotional
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
aka the girl who lived for 300+ years with speed healing and a demon at her back but only visited 2 continents, and the only famous people she met were white. things that make you go "hmmmm"
i still liked this story, for the reasons most people like it- the writing is beautiful, lovely work with the magical realism, and the turn of events is satisfying. addie and henry were cute, even though i don't usually like adult romance. there's fun moral reflective moral questions but they get repetitive, and the book has obvious diversity and character building problems that can't be overlooked.
i still liked this story, for the reasons most people like it- the writing is beautiful, lovely work with the magical realism, and the turn of events is satisfying. addie and henry were cute, even though i don't usually like adult romance. there's fun moral reflective moral questions but they get repetitive, and the book has obvious diversity and character building problems that can't be overlooked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and War
Game Changer by Neal Shusterman
as a queer, afab, person of colour (who can't do sports!), i'm basically everything that Ash is not. so none of the revelations he faced in the course of this novel were particularly eye-opening to me. however, i think the idea was important, and Neal Shusterman's writing style is very easy to read- it flows very, very well. the absurdist magical realism and brain-boggling descriptions were so fun and enjoyable; i loved the twists that it took, especially near the start when all we knew of what was going to happen was "blue stop signs"! a lot of the dialogue made me laugh, as well, and a lot of other lines were just good phrasing of what's happening in the world right now. overall, this wasn't some life-changing book for me, but a read that made me happy anyways because of its accessibility and good intentions.
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
At our best, we only see a glimpse of the universal gearwork, and even then, we don't understand what we see. Some people find that demoralizing- but to me it's comforting. Because if all of existence was something a human mind could comprehend, what a sad, pathetic universe this would be.
as a queer, afab, person of colour (who can't do sports!), i'm basically everything that Ash is not. so none of the revelations he faced in the course of this novel were particularly eye-opening to me. however, i think the idea was important, and Neal Shusterman's writing style is very easy to read- it flows very, very well. the absurdist magical realism and brain-boggling descriptions were so fun and enjoyable; i loved the twists that it took, especially near the start when all we knew of what was going to happen was "blue stop signs"! a lot of the dialogue made me laugh, as well, and a lot of other lines were just good phrasing of what's happening in the world right now. overall, this wasn't some life-changing book for me, but a read that made me happy anyways because of its accessibility and good intentions.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Violence and Police brutality
A Clash of Steel: A Treasure Island Remix by C.B. Lee
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-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? Yes
4.75
a lovingly crafted historical fiction filled with adventure, as advertised. and queer pirates! saw this one as a recommendation at a local book shop, and i'm glad i did. the author did a great job of transporting me back to the right time period with descriptions of the various settings. and though the ship's crew kind of melded together, the central characters were really well fleshed out and i liked them a lot! Xiang's development as a person, a sheltered girl entering adulthood and realizing the truths of a chosen family and a chosen lifestyle, becoming her own individual, was lovely to see. and the development of Anh, someone cynical being able to believe and hope again, was great as well. though i didn't think their was much development between the two to being a romantic pair, i was still happy for it nonetheless. i liked Master Feng a lot, too.
another big bonus is that this book actually does travel scenes well! a lot of books, especially historical fiction, can turn the periods during which characters are travelling for an extended time into a slog. but in this case, the pacing felt very smooth.
the twist was very obvious and some of the character motivations very questionable, thus some points off on my star rating, but this is still a novel that i adored. :)
another big bonus is that this book actually does travel scenes well! a lot of books, especially historical fiction, can turn the periods during which characters are travelling for an extended time into a slog. but in this case, the pacing felt very smooth.
the twist was very obvious and some of the character motivations very questionable, thus some points off on my star rating, but this is still a novel that i adored. :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse and Violence
Minor: Homophobia and Misogyny
A Lesson in Vengeance by Victoria Lee
dark
mysterious
relaxing
fast-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
in the end, i don't think this book was my cup of tea, even though i love some of the author's other works. the purple prose was a slog a lot of the time, the twist was obvious, and the entire setup just felt sad. basically, a girl with many mental health issues gets manipulated by another girl with mental health issues, they treat each other poorly, things spiral into darkness, and in the end it doesn't seem like either of them got the help they needed. Felicity's highly paid therapist doesn't even call her once!
it's layered with stories of witches/ghosts/the occult that don't serve any purpose except to make things fit a certain aesthetic, which feels very contrived. a lot of plot points, like the "cult" happenings, had no payoff, especially not for the side characters, who were very flat. i did appreciate the bits that dealt with Felicity's past and her previous girlfriend, though, and i enjoyed the ending!gotta appreciate a girl who just kills off the person who's manipulated her and is blackmailing her instead of beating around the bush!
it's layered with stories of witches/ghosts/the occult that don't serve any purpose except to make things fit a certain aesthetic, which feels very contrived. a lot of plot points, like the "cult" happenings, had no payoff, especially not for the side characters, who were very flat. i did appreciate the bits that dealt with Felicity's past and her previous girlfriend, though, and i enjoyed the ending!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal death and Murder
Minor: Abandonment
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
challenging
emotional
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
4.75
i wanted so badly to give this 5 stars! the writing is gorgeous and atmospheric- you can tell that a lot of love, passion, and research went into this novel. Lily and Kath's relationship was beautiful described and well-paced, with the bloom of first love being achingly vivid. side characters were fleshed out, and the dialogue was smooth (i think one of my favourite conversations was at the end, when Eddie offered to beat up the kids at school who were gossiping about Lily. it just felt so real, the way that you don't have to be understood to be loved sometimes ). everything felt so realistic and raw and filled with feeling. the one thing that kept it from being at the very top of books for me is that the plot lines were weaving together beautifully, and then it felt like most aside from the main one were just snipped away in a very unsatisfying fashion. it just seemed as if there was going to be a lot more other plot than there ended up being, based on what was setup, so that was a bit disappointing. like, what about Shirley and Calvin? did Lily ever consider telling her parents about the two of them like she said she would? what does her father decide to do, when it comes to either signing a fake claim or not getting his papers back? does Lily ever get any other closure with Shirley, who i feel was a much more complex character than she was given credit for by the end? how about the anti-communism pamphlet, does Lily never think of it again?
these little nitpicks don't take away from the beautiful story that was there, but they were enough for me to shave a little off my star rating. still loved it, though, and the audiobook narrator is very talented!
these little nitpicks don't take away from the beautiful story that was there, but they were enough for me to shave a little off my star rating. still loved it, though, and the audiobook narrator is very talented!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Xenophobia, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Gaslighting, and War
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
fast-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? Yes
3.75
i liked this book best when zetian was absolutely ruthless, especially at the end. i wish the author had embraced those dark themes more. otherwise, it was hard to care about her or any of the other characters, even if the poly romance made me quite happy. the action was also super fun!! maybe just because i really, really love mech robots, but beyond that the chi system was very cool as well and not so confusing, as some magic systems can become. anyways, i have pretty high hopes that since this was a debut novel, the second book will be better!
also, a big plus- content warnings at the front of the book!
also, a big plus- content warnings at the front of the book!