andersonh92's reviews
475 reviews

Afterlife by Julia Alvarez

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challenging emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Great story, perspective, and characters; it just wasn’t my favorite.

Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You by Lin-Manuel Miranda

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

4.0

Great, quick read that pumped me up this morning!

Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult

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challenging emotional tense medium-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

3.5

I kept waiting for the classic JP twist at the end. If never came, and I was disappointed.

The characters were super believable, but honestly, the whole book was just one big lack of communication between Nicholas and Paige. I guess that’s what made it feel real. Nicholas was one of my most hated characters ever, though.

Fewer Things, Better: The Courage to Focus on What Matters Most by Angela Watson

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informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

Watson was about a year ahead of everyone else, publishing this in 2019, just before the pandemic!

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

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adventurous challenging tense slow-paced

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

2.0

Content Warnings

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

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challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Out of all the JP books I’ve read, this has been my least favorite. Not because it was a bad story or not well written. JP is a great writer! The research and background that goes into all her books are unmatched! And she always comes in clutch with the plot twists at the end.

This one, however, was easy to guess.

And I really hated the non-linear plot. It was like we saw the same scene from different characters’ perspectives, but there was nothing really added to the scene. This was the case for most of the book.

I just felt that if there’s no new information, there was no reason to rehash the same scene again. The 17-hour audio (and however many page novel) probably could have been cut in half and saved the reader a little confusion in the process.

Content Warnings