kyarabereading's reviews
58 reviews

It’s a shame this book wasn’t longer because it’s a really interesting premise that I believe could have been taken a lot further. I think if it was a bit longer, we would get that opportunity to flesh out those characters and their stories. We would get to learn more about this world they’re in. Something about it felt slightly incomplete to me. It felt like there were whole plot points that could have been explored a lot further.

But I do think Woolston achieved plenty in the 224 pages she worked with. Considering this book was written a little under a decade ago, I couldn’t believe how on point it is with its exaggerated version of where society could be headed under a capitalist surveillance state. 

A lot of the things she wrote about are things we see today due to capitalism - climate change, lack of individualism, people assigning their worth solely to their productivity, not having time or money to have a life outside of work, push towards high consumerism even during times of extreme struggle, the criminalization of homelessness, etc. 

And I think the thing that I appreciated the most is that all of this is told through the lives of totally ordinary people. Zöe isn’t going to be this dystopian world hero - she’s just a girl who feels powerless against what’s happening in the world around her, a girl who is just trying to survive, a girl who just wants to find her own piece of happiness in a very tragic world. 

Aspects of the book I was kind of half-and-half on…

Not my favorite book I’ve ever read, but it’s definitely interesting & I enjoyed the social commentary it provides. I liked it more than I expected.

Elizabeth Oliphant is Completely Fine is a true “weird girl” story in a way that really made me fall in love with it. I love Elizabeth’s voice as a narrator - so unique & so her. I also love the lessons that the book teaches us when it comes to dealing with loneliness, building a community with those around you, and finding joy in the little things.

It’s not a perfect book by any means. For one, it’s a book where not much happens. Usually, I don’t mind that, but I would often put the book down for long periods of time because it would bore me a bit. But I stuck with it because I really wanted to know what would happen next. Also, the ending left me feeling a bit unsatisfied as a reader. I don’t mind that it left things a bit open-ended - I think it makes sense for this story - but I feel like Elizabeth had really serious trauma to work through that didn’t feel like it could be wrapped up that quickly. The ending felt a bit rushed, honestly! 

After reading this manga the past few years, my journey with this new version of Fangirl has come to an end! I loved this final part of the manga - the story was beautifully wrapped up & I loved seeing the character development from the first part to now. They’ve all grown so much and learned so much from their experiences and that was really nice to see!

Fangirl has always been my #1 comfort book and the manga truly perfectly reflects that comfort in the way that made me fall in love with the original book: by not being afraid to show you the harder parts of life, and what you can learn from them. It’s comforting in a lot of ways but to me, it’s mainly because it serves as a reminder that this is what life truly looks like. It can be messy and simple and fun and sad and mundane…

It’s a good representation of how we’re shaped by our experiences, how our pasts can affect how we navigate the world. It’s a reminder that you’re never truly alone in what you’re feeling because someone out there has felt the same way before. I’ll always love Fangirl and I’m really glad I got to read it in full in this unexpected & new way. 

When I first started reading this book, I thought it was a bit slow-moving with a writing style I didn’t think I’d love. I assumed too early on that I wouldn’t like it, but I’m glad I gave it a chance, because in the end I really loved it. This is a book you can tell was written by a songwriter - poetic with the types of lines that feel like a punch in the gut. I fell in love with Zauner’s writing style - the level of detail she gives when describing food and music and art. You can really tell her connection to it all/love for it all and how it all helps her feel more connected to her mother.

This book was incredibly sad and honest and reflective. I appreciated Zauner’s honesty when it came to her relationship with those around her (especially her parents, especially her mom), as well as her honesty when it came to the disconnect she felt to her Korean culture. I think what she described is an experience that unfortunately a lot of people could relate to. Although it can be saddening, I hope it makes the readers of Crying in H Mart dealing with similar experiences feel a little less alone. 

It can’t be easy to write about such a tragedy and I commend Zauner for sharing her story with the world! 

Really interesting getting to see President Snow’s POV after having read the Hunger Games series. A lot of people may see this book as a way to humanize Snow to justify the decisions he made later on in life, but I slightly disagree. I think it humanizes him to show how an ordinary person can be capable of evil even when faced with every opportunity to do the right thing. And Coryo had MANY opportunities to do the right thing, but in the end he chose a life of power and greed over one of love and community. I don’t think Coryo had love in his heart for anyone - not even Lucy (he never really tried to understand her, mostly just to control her) - so every decision he made was led by fear for his own self-preservation. And that was very saddening to see considering the amount of love he had around him.

Coryo is a smart, capable individual. In another life, Coryo could have seen the circumstances he and other citizens of Panem and realized that they were all under the same boat - all under the Capitol’s control. He could have chosen a life with Lucy Gray. Instead, he let years of propaganda and fear of the unknown (the districts and its people) & fear of perceived disorder (the removal of the current class system) get to him to the point he treated district people like the enemy instead of the ones actually responsible for his hardships (the Capitol). 

I think this book, like the entire Hunger Games series, is a very interesting commentary on our world today. On the way propaganda works to make us hate one another. On the way the elite treats & views working class people. On what it takes to create real change in world and how quickly the government will try to shut it down. On the excuses one can tell themselves to not do anything about the pain and suffering of others even when you have the power to do so (SLIGHT SPOILER: like multiple of Coryo’s classmates not approving of the Hunger Games despite being active participants in it and deciding that ultimately there was nothing they could do). A heart-wrenching read because of how  much it parallels to the real world. 

There were some places I think this story fell short however. I think the writing was not as captivating to me as Collins’ past books in the series, but I think that’s probably mostly because I loved seeing the world through Katniss’ eyes. I felt much more connected to her as a reader. I think this book serves as a very self-reflective book, and it’s evident in the amount of time Coryo spends just thinking and planning and asking himself questions and reflecting on the state of the world. The long passages of Coryo going over the same topics over and over again got a little meh after a while. But I do think that Coryo is a very interesting narrator nonetheless, and I think those passages were meant to make us reflect on our own biases and understanding of the world around us, and for that I appreciated them. 

A beautifully written book with characters you just can’t help but love as if they were your own family. Reading this book was a beautiful journey, and I loved seeing all the little adventures that helped the characters within it change & grow. 

As a woman who grew up with a single mom & two sisters, this book ended up being very near & dear to my heart. It
kind of surprised me because I’m a WOC living in the 21st century & yet this book feels very relatable. I could see so much of myself & the people around me in these characters, which is a true testament to how universal this book can be & how relevant the lessons within it are to this day. I think a big part of that is due to the fact that  Alcott was insanely progressive, and it truly shows in her writing. 

When I learned that there was a short story focused on Reagan from Fangirl, I immediately had to give it a read. Reagan was one of my favorite characters from Fangirl, and I was excited to get a look into her world/her mind/her life after college. It was nice getting to learn more about Reagan, her family, and what she has been up to in recent years. It was a cute little slice-of-life story, and it was definitely fun to read.

However, I didn’t love it as much as I hoped I would. For one, it surprised me to see that it mentioned Covid. I guess it makes sense since it’s set in 2020-21, but unfortunately, it made the story read more like a Covid safety PSA than a short story at times. I appreciate that this story is so honest about how necessary yet isolating it was to have to be that cautious during the start of the pandemic, but they spent so much time talking about Covid, this barely felt like a love story.

I also felt like the story felt rushed and didn’t really feel like it was going anywhere. I feel like this would have worked better as a more drawn out story to give the reader time to understand these characters better and see how their relationships grow over time. I’m still glad I read it of course, but it was definitely not as good as I hoped it would be. 

This short story collection has the types of short stories that stick with you long after you’ve read them, that make you reflect on what these stories say about life, identity, womanhood, etc. A lot of them were tough reads, and sometimes I’d have to take breaks between stories, but this book was definitely worth the struggle. I also found Machado’s writing style really beautiful and unlike anything I’ve read before. This book definitely had a lot of lines that made me go “How did she come up with that?” 

I’ll admit that not every story was a hit for me - some felt on the nose while others went above my head. Sometimes the message got a bit lost for me. This was my second read, but I think if I gave it another read some time in the future, I may feel differently about that.

This is definitely the saddest installment of the volumes I’ve read so far, and it definitely made me tear up a few times although I’ve already read Fangirl tons of times - a testament to how the manga’s art style and writing work together to create true emotion. The sweet moments are sweeter, the funny moments are funnier, and the sad moments are sadder. I just love what the art style does for the story, allowing it to take shape in its own unique way that sets it apart from the original source material. Very excited to read the final volume! 

Fangirl is one of my favorite books of all time, so it’s been really exciting seeing it come to life in a whole new way. Even though I’ve read this book a bunch of times, it’s still fun to read it in this format. I love what the art style adds to the story - what it can tell us about the characters & how it’s achieved. Having to work with more drawings and dialogue than descriptions and exposition means that they had to find creative ways to convey specific thoughts & emotions - especially when it came to Cath. For example, I found it interesting how the art style lets us see a visualization of her anxiety. That visualization shows that sense of loneliness & gloom that comes with her anxiety in a way that words never could. 

So excited to keep reading this series!