jessi_c's reviews
41 reviews

Under a Glass Bell by Anaïs Nin

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

So many pages dog-eared. Nin puts so much life and purpose into such few words. I feel like i lived a dozen lifetimes in a short amount of time. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Child death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, and Medical content

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, and Alcoholism

Minor: Animal cruelty

Imagine Wanting Only This by Kristen Radtke

adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

Kristen Radtke has a way with threading so many themes so seamlessly. Her story really needed to be told through the graphic novel format. Her voice and overall tone gives so much life for a story that is filled with the lack. I was hoping for some kind of resolution in the end, but I do kind of like the void she created in place of it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Medical content

Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Grief, and War

Minor: Self harm and Fire/Fire injury

Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-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? Yes

5.0

PHENOMENAL! So charming, rich, and deep. I never wanted this book to end.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Transphobia, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood

What If It's Us by Adam Silvera, Becky Albertalli

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

2014 me would have loved the daylights out of this book. If you can’t handle the level of cringe you don’t deserve it at its best (which was Ben). I have officially signed the adoption papers for both Ben and Dylan, welcome home my sons. One notably thing I loved was how they handled the ending. For a story that felt very surface level at first, they really stuck the landing by not taking the cheap way out. It felt earned and it was very satisfying.

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

I went into this with the full intention of not knowing anything about the premise or the author. And what an absolute joy and privilege to get to know this small family. A galaxy made from violence, gravity, and time. And the world receives every form of art that has grown from this grief in grand abundance. I will happily help to carry the weight and celebrate her life. I see her mother in my mother.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Drug abuse

Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala

lighthearted medium-paced

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

3.5

I started this book very lukewarm and some of the mystery solving did string me along to a certain point. In the end, it just felt bland. Although I did appreciate that romance did not drive the plot. Hallelujah!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
Did not finish book. Stopped at 33%.

The writing is beautiful and the pacing is great, especially the way they handle time jumps. It didn't captivate me in a way most other novels would be able to do at this point of the book.

This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective tense 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? Yes

4.75

I'm still coming down from the high of reading this! It's insane how vast and larger-than-life this story feels and it's condensed into less than 200 pages. INSANE! 

No Stopping Us Now: A History of Older Women in America by Gail Collins

hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

3.25

Topics jump all over the place, but puts just enough context into perspective. Still a great comprehensive read.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

emotional tense fast-paced

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

2.5

When Elgin went on about how the brain was a discount organ, essentially explaining how you become desensitized to a situation, it perfectly paraphrased how I feel about this book.