jaygabler's reviews
120 reviews

Stranger Things: Science Camp by Jody Houser

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Loved the Hidden Fortress reference.
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Road to Surrender: Three Men and the Countdown to the End of World War II by Evan Thomas

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informative reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

Thank you Random House for the free book. This brisk new history answers the question: at the end of World War II, what were they thinking? Evan Thomas takes readers inside the minds of key deciders in both Japan and the United States when the stakes could not have been higher.
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The Guest by Emma Cline

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

4.0

Thank you Random House for the free book, which follows a beleaguered grifter whose wiles are put to the test as she hops from one short-term benefactor to another. It’s an examination of human nature and the contours of privilege, and I couldn’t put it down.
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The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick

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challenging dark mysterious reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

First of all, it's nothing short of miraculous that a book written by a white guy about an alternate reality in which whites become a subservient and fetishized race holds up so well 60 years later.

With his customarily incisive vision, Dick saw the essential paranoia and futility underlying a society built on militarized bureaucracy and racial divisions — and dropped into broad strokes at the end of this book to make very plain that he was critiquing the existing postwar society, not a hypothetical alternate one.

One of the great virtuoso works of alternate history in all of science fiction, but still a challenging read (and listen, with the problematic Japanese-accented English rendered even queasier in audiobook form). "Truth, she thought. As terrible as death. But harder to find."
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Sasquatch and Squirrel by Chris Monroe, Chris Monroe

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

Pretty darn charming. I like the very Minnesota touch that has them bonding over seed art.
The Girl in Duluth by Sigrid Brown, Sigrid Brown

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No
The Donut Lady & Her Pet Chicken: The Heartwarming Story of a Granddaughter's Rescue Chicken and Her Grandmother Who Saved It by Anne Brataas

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lighthearted fast-paced

3.0

I'm not sure I entirely agree with the Donut Lady's supposition about what became of Emmy in the end.
The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Thank you Random House for the free book, a bighearted science fiction novel that makes an easy beach read, complete with nautical flavor — and an Iron Range reference on page 516 of 538.
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Yoda #3 by Cavan Scott, Nico Leon

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3.0

Star Wars: Yoda (2022) #2 by Cavan Scott

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2.0

The long game, in a short arc.