motelsix's reviews
47 reviews

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

a few thoughts.
cons: 
  • this book should’ve been a hundred pages less for sure. 
  • i really enjoyed the first half. something in the quality of the writing went wrong in the latter half. some of the sentences were very repetitive and wordy — and not stylistically. 
  • depictions of Thailand pissed me off. a very white novel. 
pros:
  • eye opening in some ways. it doesn’t ‘protect’ you from reality the same way the protagonist, Poppy, isn’t. 
  • the characters are lovable. and the novel isn’t entirely about poppy/claude. we see how the entire family deals with it. 
  • i enjoyed the way Penn and Rosie were written. it was an interesting choice to have them have untraditional, opposite roles in the family. i think that was a nice, subtle feature of the book considering the context of gender identity in the novel. 
The Immoralist by André Gide

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

3.75

it’s GAY. 
The Eye by Vladimir Nabokov

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

3.0

honestly. no thoughts, head empty
My Body by Emily Ratajkowski

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emotional reflective medium-paced

4.0

i really enjoyed it. easy to read. thought provoking. 
The Summer Without Men by Siri Hustvedt

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

3.75

idk i liked it. didn’t enjoy certain streams of consciousness parts but that’s just me. made me shed a few tears. 
Mysterious Skin by Scott Heim

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dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

4.5

intense. emotional yet managed to make me smile at some points. 
Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney

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inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

liked the whole book except the last chapter was awful. some emails just sounded like a moment for the author to indulge into her own thoughts and views. ruined moments for some genuine character building.