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mateoj's reviews
432 reviews
The Ghost Sequences by A.C. Wise
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
3.0
to be honest, this seems more like a portfolio of the work a creative writing student produced during a class that focused on either horror writing or experimenting with form. I love both of those things and I think a couple of these stories are really successful (The Last Sailing of the “Henry Charles Morgan” in Six Pieces of Scrimshaw (1841) and Crossing, though I wouldn't call the latter horror) but the rest are, I'm sorry, messes. there is a big case of Stephen King syndrome going on here, where genuinely good premises get so crammed full of ideas that they just completely fall over. I'm not ragging on experimentation or student work (I am a student), but Ihis, to me, reads like a collection of first drafts.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, and Car accident
White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 31%.
not particularly gripping and I find the prose difficult to read.
To Be Taught, If Fortunate by Becky Chambers
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.75
I loved this, and I wish it had been longer, even though I think it ended right where it should have. isn't that the best problem to have with a book?
We Are Never Meeting in Real Life. by Samantha Irby
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 5%.
I just think that if the jokes you make about sex with men would sound genuinely disturbing if a man said them about a woman... there is a strong possibility that they are just as disturbing coming from a woman about a man.
100 Essays I Don't Have Time to Write: On Umbrellas and Sword Fights, Parades and Dogs, Fire Alarms, Children, and Theater by Sarah Ruhl
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 21%.
Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
challenging
dark
informative
medium-paced
4.75
at once informative and genuinely funny (but never disrespectful), Cultish is right at the intersection of two things I've pondered studying seriously: sociolinguistics and religious studies. such a fascinating, engrossing book and a rare look at cults of all types with both criticism and empathy.
also learned that the mom of one of my childhood friends, who is a well-respected professor with a PhD, was involved in an MLM scheme (LuLaRoe), which I think cements Montell's thesis that it isn't only the uneducated who fall prey to "cultish" schemes.
also learned that the mom of one of my childhood friends, who is a well-respected professor with a PhD, was involved in an MLM scheme (LuLaRoe), which I think cements Montell's thesis that it isn't only the uneducated who fall prey to "cultish" schemes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Gaslighting
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Cultural appropriation
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I definitely thought John Green invented Agloe for Paper Towns—never have I been so happy to have been totally wrong! To compare the two novels actually seems a little insulting to The Cartographers. This is everything Paper Towns wished it could be and so much more; balm for the part of my soul that rages about all the cool concepts mediocre young adult fiction has butchered.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-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
2.0
this is not really a gay book, despite what the "dark academia" crowd on tumblr says, and I was actually extremely relieved that there was more to the story than what the terrible edits made from desaturated gifs of Dead Poets Society would suggest. I will say, it bothered me much more that the characters seemed to be speaking British English (despite being American) than that they frequently spoke in Shakespeare quotes, possibly because that is entirely realistic based on what I've experienced of theatre people. Also, Oliver and James were both just deeply boring, milquetoast people despite their... obvious misgivings, and I was way more invested in Alexander, who was 1. actually gay, 2. entertaining, and 3. so much more morally grey/questionably motivated than the former two; he, it could be argued, was more culpable of Richard's death than James, since he was the one to verbally suggest/confirm that they leave Richard to drown-- James' blunt force trauma wasn't what killed Richard, it was that he drowned/choked on his own blood. Alexander's suggestion that they let him die without intervening was much more of a directly murderous act than James striking him out of self-defense, though obviously in a court of law that wouldn't hold up because the US has no duty to rescue laws. Yes, I spent way too much time thinking about this. ALSO, why the hell didn't James just toss the boat hook into the water??? Why carry it back to the dorm???? stupid!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
1.0
oooooookay. where do I start.
this is really badly written—not just the plot construction (which wasn't good, either) but the writing itself. I call it "fanfic voice" and I legitimately have not read something written this way since middle school. first person present tense. short, abrupt sentence fragments. italicizing the narrator's thoughts. multiple narrators with identical voices. I'm sorry, it was truly so bad. also, there were multiple typos and grammar/punctuation issues in my library ebook copy, which... come on. that's embarrassing.
the other big issue: using blindness as a plot device, ESPECIALLYcuring the character of their blindness as part of said plot device is really shitty, and even if this author doesn't feel embarrassed about her writing, I hope she feels ashamed of that narrative decision.
this is really badly written—not just the plot construction (which wasn't good, either) but the writing itself. I call it "fanfic voice" and I legitimately have not read something written this way since middle school. first person present tense. short, abrupt sentence fragments. italicizing the narrator's thoughts. multiple narrators with identical voices. I'm sorry, it was truly so bad. also, there were multiple typos and grammar/punctuation issues in my library ebook copy, which... come on. that's embarrassing.
the other big issue: using blindness as a plot device, ESPECIALLY
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail