jdamae11's reviews
87 reviews

Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour

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

3.5

Nina LaCour’s writing is mesmerizing, definitely going to pick up her YA stuff after this one! This one definitely revealed things to me about myself through it’s characters that I kind of wasn’t prepared for, and I personally love when a book gets you / makes you reflect in such a way! Something about this just really got me in the feels…it does a really great job at exploring loss and just how devastating life can be, and how we can find beauty here and there and our own ways to make it through. It was heavy hitting and realistic in the same way that life is, in that sense. I enjoyed the style of going back and forth with character POVs, it was really well done / not jarring or disjointed. The pacing got a little rough towards the back half, and I wished we had gotten to see our two main characters together a bit more before the end. Overall, really lovely read.  
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Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wow - this book was so well written and surprised me in so many ways. I loved all the horror elements blended perfectly with fantasy. Alex, the main protagonist, is a really fun sort of antihero, she’s so great to root for while also getting on your nerves, makes her so deeply human and easy to relate to. Being from LA and being first-Gen I could resonate with a lot of what underlied her narrative - feeling undeserving of where she was, not belonging, trying to navigate such foreign spaces, and winging it to find answers that no one had ever thought of before. I can’t wait for the sequel, this is my fave book of 2022 so far !
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Record of a Night Too Brief by Hiromi Kawakami

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

3.0

This collection was a trip. I liked the last 2 stories more than the first, the last one being my definite favorite. I got whiplash from the first one LOL and I think it’s the reason I had wild dreams right after reading it. The writing is beautiful and keeps you hooked in, I will likely reread these at some point. Thanks to my library for having this one! :) 
Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband? by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

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

4.0

This was a fun and breezy read, and it made me laugh out loud a few times. Many of the conversations with Yinka’s aunties hit a little too close to home LOL. Also tackles issues of colorism and featurism throughout 👏🏽, and integrates a far too underrepresented lgbtq identity (aromantic) in a really easy way. I found this book to be really familiar since I was raised in similar settings to Yinka and with similar cultural background, and even though I couldn’t directly relate to her age wise & with her life goals, I still found her to be someone I was invested in and rooting for. I’m US based and I felt the author did a great job painting the various neighborhoods of London and the culture of those neighborhoods that Yinka is in really well. It made me want to look up a lot of things and there was important commentary on gentrification happening there as well. Nana was my favorite character, it would be cool if there was a spin-off about her. At times the pacing felt a little disjointed but overall I really liked reading this. Gunna rec to my older sisters too :) 
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Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan

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adventurous dark funny 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? It's complicated

4.0

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark

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adventurous dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

Wahala by Nikki May

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challenging emotional funny mysterious medium-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

2.5

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One True Loves by Elise Bryant

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adventurous 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? Yes

5.0

When I read Elise Bryant's first book Happily Ever Afters, I instantly fell in love with the supporting character of Lenore & wanted to know more about her. This book was exactly what I needed in so many ways, and Lenore's journey is a compelling one you won't want to miss! Lenore is so relatable as a character, such a teenager in transition & I just really felt for her. This was also just genuinely really funny & I laughed out loud a few times, & cried in one instance just really feeling the weight of Lenore's internal struggle. The supporting cast is great, the sibling dynamic is very fun yet thoughtful & complex, lots of fresh/modern references, & sheds light on really important topics & social struggles. A really cool celebration of Black culture in many of its forms, I felt really at home with this book & plan to revisit it :) 
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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

4.0

Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

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

2.5

What an interesting and engaging novella … Not sure how to classify it in terms of genre, my experience of it was as a thriller with some magical realism. Tonally it reminded me a lot of Stepford Wives. You can somewhat expect the ending but it still packs a punch and is exciting to get there. Really fast-paced and easy to read, and the author’s writing is stunning! I think I just need to accept the strangeness of this book for what it is and not question it too much. I would recommend this for a quick, fun read!