bookreviewswithkb's reviews
664 reviews

A Fire So Wild by Sarah Ruiz-Grossman

emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.0

highlights: climate disaster, activism, multi-POV 

this is a story about the disparate impacts of climate disasters, who gets the benefit of starting over when destruction comes, who is never even acknowledged as a victim. it’s about the power of social activism, of community. about the dangers of performative action, and of trying to use the same tools that created the problems to fix the problems

this is a solid debit that i really enjoyed

Shut Up, This Is Serious by Carolina Ixta

emotional hopeful

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Solito by Javier Zamora

challenging emotional sad tense

4.0

this is a heart-wrenching memoir of Zamora’s experience of migrating from El Salvador to the united states at the age of 9, unaccompanied for most of the journey without any adults he knew. it’s harrowing, holding back nothing of the experience. i felt a sense of being present right along him, because of the depth of the recounting. it’s also a meditation on hope, on taking care of each other, on finding community. of the sincere and ever present longing for what’s on the other side of hardship 

because the book is written from the perspective of Zamora at 9-years-old, the sentences are very short and direct with a lot of conversation, so i enjoyed the format of this book more via audio

Briefly Perfectly Human: Making an Authentic Life by Getting Real about the End by Alua Arthur

dark emotional reflective sad

5.0

this book was absolutely heart-wrenching, so tender and deeply human; a beautiful testament to holding end of life care with meaningful attention, devotion, and love. Arthur shares her journey from working as a lawyer in legal aid to becoming a death doula. she details the depression that had overtaken her in her career as a lawyer, in which she didn’t find meaning. some of what she shared hit me right in the gut, it was like holding a mirror up, showing me what i refuse to see as i keep running, trying to escape the depression that seeps into me. we have to be willing to listen to what is in front of us so that we can make the choices that we need to in order to be present, to feel joy, to be whole because death is coming eventually 

Arthur encourages us to embrace our death, to contemplate our mortality, and to do the things now because now is all we have

Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No

4.0

Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah

informative

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No

3.0

an interesting read about German colonial troops in East Africa, the impact of their colonization efforts and the war on the people and communities affected, particularly in regards to the askari (a local soldier serving European colonial powers) and how one may find themselves fighting alongside their oppressors to oppress their own people 

i would have enjoyed it much more except that at times i felt like i was reading a historical textbook rather than a historical fiction novel. and the characters lacked real depth, making them feel like tools to tell a story rather than a story being told through their characterization 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage

Who is Wellness For?: An Examination of Wellness Culture and Who It Leaves Behind by Fariha Róisín

informative reflective

3.75

this is not the book i thought i was signing up for based on the description 🫠

this is not a critique of the wellness industry as much as a memoir in which the author explores how healing her from her traumatic childhood required her to uncover and remove the toxicity of the wellness industry that has been colonized and white centered to find meaningful practices that would actually support her healing. an interesting read 

A Map for the Missing by Belinda Huijuan Tang

3.0

No One Gets to Fall Apart: A Memoir by Sarah LaBrie

3.0

this is an ~okay~ memoir which on the surface is about the author’s experience with her mother who is diagnosed with schizophrenia, but also how her experiences with her mother have shaped her relationships, her creative life as a writer, and her identity

By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land by Rebecca Nagle

emotional informative medium-paced

4.0

this is a beautiful blend of journalism, historical fact, and personal reflections detailing the fight for Native land and sovereignty rights of the Muscogee people in Oklahoma. there’s a strong focus on the activism, the fight for justice, against the backdrop of the absolute terror the united states has and continues to inflict on Native people