sadiaa's reviews
177 reviews

Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories by Ghassan Kanafani

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emotional

5.0


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In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

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3.5

The book was Machado's experience of abuse in a lesbian relationship alternating with mini essays and tangents which I skipped. I was more interested in reading about her relationship.

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The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea by Yukio Mishima

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1.75

This whole review will contain spoileds because wth did I just read.

Very reminiscent of lord of the flies, with the gang of pre pubescent boys basically on their own (one of the boys parents are never home) and creating their own organisation with twisted rules and ideals. It's clear that the 'chief' has some twisted fantasies and the others just follow along to gain his respect and favour.
weird Oedipus complex, he peeks in on his mother when she's in her room naked. And also sees her when she's having sex. And then when this is found out, ryuji brushes it aside so the boy will like him? Make it make sense.


Graphic animal abuse and killing for their curiosity and fantasy.

Hypocritical values- resent their father's for being abusive and beating them but then resents ryuji for being 'soft and romantic'. 

I hated the
how the storys ending was left to interpretation. Does he die? Doesn't he?


It was hard to follow along to at times, I felt like there were so many weird tangents and I found myself skipping chunks of randomness to get back into the story.

All in all, really was not my type of story. I would not recommend this. It dragged and was a pain to get through.

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A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75


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Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder

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2.5

  • Exploration into postpartum depression, isolation and loneliness, unequal division of labour and the  resentment comes with it.
  • Sally rooney-esque where she doesn't use quotation marks when characters are speaking to each other 
  • The main character isn't named, only called the mother or nightbitch
  • Weird tangents 
  • Not what I was expecting, not for me

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Life for Sale by Yukio Mishima

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3.5

The plot is just crazy. Everything is included from vampires to international spies. 

Like in a lot of Japanese writings, the portrayal of women was horrible. The women in this book are shown as crazy, hysterical women who have an insatiable urge to have sec with the main character and then go and
die in a suicide pact.
He describes a middle school girl whos in her uniform on public transport as having a "virginal scent". 

Unsatisfying end.

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The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

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  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

I didn't find myself in invested in the plot or characters, some parts just seemed so predictable.

Felt weird knowing this was based on residential schools, with how horrific we knew those were.

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