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caseythereader's reviews
1758 reviews
Beholder by Ryan La Sala
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the free copy of this book.
- I adore Mazey Eddings’ writing. Her characters are such beautiful portrayals of neurodiverse people (autism and ADHD in this book), showing readers that thees people are full human beings worthy of being loved just as they are.
- The setup of this plot, on the other hand, I had a bit of a hard time wrapping my mind around. I think I just had a hard time believing that they would come around to each other, despite the incredible chemistry they had.
- Regardless, everything else about this book is lovely and tender.
- I adore Mazey Eddings’ writing. Her characters are such beautiful portrayals of neurodiverse people (autism and ADHD in this book), showing readers that thees people are full human beings worthy of being loved just as they are.
- The setup of this plot, on the other hand, I had a bit of a hard time wrapping my mind around. I think I just had a hard time believing that they would come around to each other, despite the incredible chemistry they had.
- Regardless, everything else about this book is lovely and tender.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Grief, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death
Minor: Drug use
Dear Wendy by Ann Zhao
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Thank you to Macmillan for the free copy of this book.
- DEAR WENDY, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
- This book is in some ways a modern retelling of You’ve Got Mail, but starring two aroace college students.
- I didn’t attend Wellesley, but I did attend a women’s college, and whew! The accuracy! The mess! The love!
- It’s so, so wonderful how this is not a romantic love story, not a will-they-won’t-they story, not a maybe-they’ll-fall-in-romantic-love-anyway story. It’s a platonic love story, full stop, and it’s beautiful.
- I loved that this book begins with both Sophie and Jo already knowing they are aroace. I do love a coming out/discovering yourself YA novel, but I love this too. Both characters are still working out what this identity means for them, but they know it to be true and they never waver in it.
- DEAR WENDY, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
- This book is in some ways a modern retelling of You’ve Got Mail, but starring two aroace college students.
- I didn’t attend Wellesley, but I did attend a women’s college, and whew! The accuracy! The mess! The love!
- It’s so, so wonderful how this is not a romantic love story, not a will-they-won’t-they story, not a maybe-they’ll-fall-in-romantic-love-anyway story. It’s a platonic love story, full stop, and it’s beautiful.
- I loved that this book begins with both Sophie and Jo already knowing they are aroace. I do love a coming out/discovering yourself YA novel, but I love this too. Both characters are still working out what this identity means for them, but they know it to be true and they never waver in it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Acephobia/Arophobia
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, and Homophobia
The Manor House Governess by C.A. Castle
emotional
mysterious
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia
Committed: On Meaning and Madwomen by Suzanne Scanlon
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
Thanks to Lavender PR for the free copy of this book.
- COMMITTED: ON MEANING AND MADWOMEN is part memoir and part exploration of the history of institutionalizing women through looking at the work of women writers like Sylvia Plath, Shulamith Firestone and more.
- This book is a meandering read that think deeply about how it changes your life and very conception of yourself to have been a mental patient.
- I wasn’t familiar with all the writers discussed in this book, but it hardly mattered. Scanlon brings them to life in these pages, three dimensionalizing figures often reduced only to their madness.
- COMMITTED: ON MEANING AND MADWOMEN is part memoir and part exploration of the history of institutionalizing women through looking at the work of women writers like Sylvia Plath, Shulamith Firestone and more.
- This book is a meandering read that think deeply about how it changes your life and very conception of yourself to have been a mental patient.
- I wasn’t familiar with all the writers discussed in this book, but it hardly mattered. Scanlon brings them to life in these pages, three dimensionalizing figures often reduced only to their madness.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer
There's Going to Be Trouble by Jen Silverman
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-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
Thanks to Random House for the free copy of this book.
- Jen Silverman’s writing makes you feel as though you are reading a nonfiction narrative. Their characters and the world they inhabit feel so real and the prose flows so smoothly.
- This book is slower-paced than what I normally read, and still I couldn’t help but be drawn in to the dual narrative stories of Minnow in the present day and her father in 1968.
- Reading a book starring activists that is half set at the campus protests of 1968 is quite something right now. This book raises many questions we have seen repeated since then and right now - what style of action will make the most impact? Can you live with yourself if you don’t protest? How much are you willing to sacrifice for your cause?
- Jen Silverman’s writing makes you feel as though you are reading a nonfiction narrative. Their characters and the world they inhabit feel so real and the prose flows so smoothly.
- This book is slower-paced than what I normally read, and still I couldn’t help but be drawn in to the dual narrative stories of Minnow in the present day and her father in 1968.
- Reading a book starring activists that is half set at the campus protests of 1968 is quite something right now. This book raises many questions we have seen repeated since then and right now - what style of action will make the most impact? Can you live with yourself if you don’t protest? How much are you willing to sacrifice for your cause?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy and War
Taste of Marrow by Sarah Gailey
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
The Age of Magical Overthinking: Notes on Modern Irrationality by Amanda Montell
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.75
Thanks to One Signal Publishers for the free copy of this book.
- THE AGE OF MAGICAL OVERTHINKING is another instant classic pop psych book from Montell. Here, she expands her topics wider than her earlier books, exploring a variety of mental biases we all carry.
- To me, this book was an examination of how we try to find a sense of self in the modern world. Sometimes the quirks of our brains help us do that, but most of the time they don’t.
- As always, Montell brings a light, readable touch to what can be stuffy topics. Personally, though, I could do with fewer try-hard metaphors and similes.
- THE AGE OF MAGICAL OVERTHINKING is another instant classic pop psych book from Montell. Here, she expands her topics wider than her earlier books, exploring a variety of mental biases we all carry.
- To me, this book was an examination of how we try to find a sense of self in the modern world. Sometimes the quirks of our brains help us do that, but most of the time they don’t.
- As always, Montell brings a light, readable touch to what can be stuffy topics. Personally, though, I could do with fewer try-hard metaphors and similes.
Broughtupsy by Christina Cooke
emotional
reflective
sad
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
4.0
Thanks to PRH Audio for the free copy of this book.
- BROUGHTUPSY is a messy jumble of feelings. We follow Akúa as she tries to find both herself and her disintegrated family in her place of birth.
- This book is somewhere between a family saga and a coming of age, while Akúa tries to figure out where she belongs as a queer Jamaican who grew up in Canada.
- These characters are filled with grief and resentment over the paths their lives have taken. It’s at times a painful read (or listen, as I did), but the fine gradations of emotion that Cooke brings out in them makes it worth it.
- BROUGHTUPSY is a messy jumble of feelings. We follow Akúa as she tries to find both herself and her disintegrated family in her place of birth.
- This book is somewhere between a family saga and a coming of age, while Akúa tries to figure out where she belongs as a queer Jamaican who grew up in Canada.
- These characters are filled with grief and resentment over the paths their lives have taken. It’s at times a painful read (or listen, as I did), but the fine gradations of emotion that Cooke brings out in them makes it worth it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Colonisation
Late September by Amy Mattes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts