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pineconek's reviews
736 reviews
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book Two by Emil Ferris
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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
4.5
I'm stunned, baffled, wanting for words, frustrated, enchanted, and utterly obsessed.
Both of these stellar volumes focus on mythos and chimeric storytelling. The stories are all told through the notebook of a ten year old, who draws and writes things as she sees them (and not as they are). She shows us her dreams, myths and paintings that enchant her, stories about friends (living and dead), and historically poignant scenes, and it all blends together into a surrealist cacophony. Most importantly, she retells the stories of others (most prominently Anka), and retelling leads to distortion.
This volume is frustrating. We get a semblance of an answer, sort of, but with a lot of ambiguity. We get an ending that feels rushed, unfinished, and clashes with everything that came previously... But our narrator is profoundly unreliable, prone to magical thinking, in deep grief, and very afraid. And also in love. And very confused. And it's all so much and I couldn't stop turning the pages, even when I was frustrated.
The lore surrounding this book continues to be wild. It went through a "will they wont they" publishing tease for seven years (first announced for a 2017!? release) featuring both missing pages and a lawsuit. I frantically googled and found rumours of a prequel and of unconnected stories contracted to another publisher, but it's all very messy. But it's also the best kind of messy (and calling VC Andrews to mind, tbh).
A nightmarish, ghoulish fever dream sequel to the first volume (which I maintain is a masterpiece). This will be eating at my brain for a long time. Maybe I'll be lucky and there will be a third volume, or a prequel, or or or... 4.5 stars rounded up.
Both of these stellar volumes focus on mythos and chimeric storytelling. The stories are all told through the notebook of a ten year old, who draws and writes things as she sees them (and not as they are). She shows us her dreams, myths and paintings that enchant her, stories about friends (living and dead), and historically poignant scenes, and it all blends together into a surrealist cacophony. Most importantly, she retells the stories of others (most prominently Anka), and retelling leads to distortion.
This volume is frustrating. We get a semblance of an answer, sort of, but with a lot of ambiguity. We get an ending that feels rushed, unfinished, and clashes with everything that came previously... But our narrator is profoundly unreliable, prone to magical thinking, in deep grief, and very afraid. And also in love. And very confused. And it's all so much and I couldn't stop turning the pages, even when I was frustrated.
The lore surrounding this book continues to be wild. It went through a "will they wont they" publishing tease for seven years (first announced for a 2017!? release) featuring both missing pages and a lawsuit. I frantically googled and found rumours of a prequel and of unconnected stories contracted to another publisher, but it's all very messy. But it's also the best kind of messy (and calling VC Andrews to mind, tbh).
A nightmarish, ghoulish fever dream sequel to the first volume (which I maintain is a masterpiece). This will be eating at my brain for a long time. Maybe I'll be lucky and there will be a third volume, or a prequel, or or or... 4.5 stars rounded up.
My Favorite Thing Is Monsters by Emil Ferris
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Yeah, I'll say it: my favorite thing is this book.
It's poetic that my 100th book of 2024 may well be my favourite book of the year. I write this review at 1:30am, after finishing this in one sitting. By the halfway mark I knew that I'd stay up late to finish this, and sleep is very low on the priority list now that I've found the sequel on my library's hoopla.
The graphic novel is set up as the notebook of our 10 year old narrator, a young girl who sees (and draws) herself as a wolfman. She lives in a rundown apartment with her mother and brother, goes to the art museum and adores paintings, goes to school and gets mercilessly tormented, goes and visits neighbours who tell her things that they really shouldn't. The last of which is a story about her now-dead neighbor, an orphaned jewish girl growing up in early 20th-century Germany.
This book combines so many things that I love in a story: flawed but fleshed out characters, human tragedy (and misery, and cruelty... what does that say about me...), stunning visual art, dark humour, a precocious child, family secrets, and just... wow. This is part Art Spiegelman (and I'm glad he liked this book), part Lullabies for Little Criminals, and I'm not surprised that Allison Bechdel loved it. And yes, I looked up the lore of this masterpeice and the wikipedia pages for both the book and the author are well worth reading.
I usually read a few high and especially low reviews of a book I finish, because I'm always curious what people didn't like. I'll still do it, but I wanted to write a fully enthusiastic review first because I wanted a record of the gut reaction that this book elicited out of me. This is a genuine masterpiece. 5 stars.
(that said: Be warned that it contains pretty much all mature themes and forms of violence under the sun.)
It's poetic that my 100th book of 2024 may well be my favourite book of the year. I write this review at 1:30am, after finishing this in one sitting. By the halfway mark I knew that I'd stay up late to finish this, and sleep is very low on the priority list now that I've found the sequel on my library's hoopla.
The graphic novel is set up as the notebook of our 10 year old narrator, a young girl who sees (and draws) herself as a wolfman. She lives in a rundown apartment with her mother and brother, goes to the art museum and adores paintings, goes to school and gets mercilessly tormented, goes and visits neighbours who tell her things that they really shouldn't. The last of which is a story about her now-dead neighbor, an orphaned jewish girl growing up in early 20th-century Germany.
This book combines so many things that I love in a story: flawed but fleshed out characters, human tragedy (and misery, and cruelty... what does that say about me...), stunning visual art, dark humour, a precocious child, family secrets, and just... wow. This is part Art Spiegelman (and I'm glad he liked this book), part Lullabies for Little Criminals, and I'm not surprised that Allison Bechdel loved it. And yes, I looked up the lore of this masterpeice and the wikipedia pages for both the book and the author are well worth reading.
I usually read a few high and especially low reviews of a book I finish, because I'm always curious what people didn't like. I'll still do it, but I wanted to write a fully enthusiastic review first because I wanted a record of the gut reaction that this book elicited out of me. This is a genuine masterpiece. 5 stars.
(that said: Be warned that it contains pretty much all mature themes and forms of violence under the sun.)
The Best Minds: A Story of Friendship, Madness, and the Tragedy of Good Intentions by Jonathan Rosen
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
I have a lot of feelings around this book, but mostly just a lot of sadness.
This ended up an audiobook that I had to finish quickly because having it float around in my life was a little too painful, and so I will also skimp on the review. 4 stars.
This ended up an audiobook that I had to finish quickly because having it float around in my life was a little too painful, and so I will also skimp on the review. 4 stars.
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
Me, in my literary critic voice: ah yes, Frankenstein meets My Sweet Audrina.
While my affections for this book followed a steady slow burn, I admit that I was charmed as of the first page. Check out this incredible first sentence:
"Her son dies in a child-sized bed, big enough for him but barel enough to hold her and her husband who cling to the edges, folding themselves small so they fit one on each side of him."
And then soon followed by:
"Her son was alive and now he isn't. No thunder, no angels weeping, no cloaked Death, no grace; just his silent body, breathing, and the blunt realization that this is it.
How dull, she thinks. She could scream, get on her knees, pull out her hair, curse God. Take me, she could plead while beating her chest with her fist. She won't. She can't rally the drama she once imagined."
(Ok I tricked you into starting the book, no take-backs!)
The child, Santiago, dies in the first pages of the story. But the grieving mother employs the powers of magical realism to keep a part of him alive. Her son was born with one lung, and she takes a piece of that lung and nurtures it (with chicken broth at first but then....larger things). And, so, Monstrillo is born.
The four parts of the story, each narrated by a different character, tell the life of Monstrillo: from a clump of cells to a vicious ball of fur, claws, and teeth, from a creature feasting on small mammals to one that can pass for a human boy. Is he human or monster (Frankenstein, although the parallels don't end there)? Is he Santiago or a crude replacement (My Sweet Audrina)?
This book is filled with meditations on grief, reflections on who children are to their parents, unrequited love (so much unrequited love and pining oh my), and some really weird and twisted performance art. And gore and body horror. If that sounds up your alley...
In sum: this lives in my head rent-free now. Dare I say 5 stars?
While my affections for this book followed a steady slow burn, I admit that I was charmed as of the first page. Check out this incredible first sentence:
"Her son dies in a child-sized bed, big enough for him but barel enough to hold her and her husband who cling to the edges, folding themselves small so they fit one on each side of him."
And then soon followed by:
"Her son was alive and now he isn't. No thunder, no angels weeping, no cloaked Death, no grace; just his silent body, breathing, and the blunt realization that this is it.
How dull, she thinks. She could scream, get on her knees, pull out her hair, curse God. Take me, she could plead while beating her chest with her fist. She won't. She can't rally the drama she once imagined."
(Ok I tricked you into starting the book, no take-backs!)
The child, Santiago, dies in the first pages of the story. But the grieving mother employs the powers of magical realism to keep a part of him alive. Her son was born with one lung, and she takes a piece of that lung and nurtures it (with chicken broth at first but then....larger things). And, so, Monstrillo is born.
The four parts of the story, each narrated by a different character, tell the life of Monstrillo: from a clump of cells to a vicious ball of fur, claws, and teeth, from a creature feasting on small mammals to one that can pass for a human boy. Is he human or monster (Frankenstein, although the parallels don't end there)? Is he Santiago or a crude replacement (My Sweet Audrina)?
This book is filled with meditations on grief, reflections on who children are to their parents, unrequited love (so much unrequited love and pining oh my), and some really weird and twisted performance art. And gore and body horror. If that sounds up your alley...
In sum: this lives in my head rent-free now. Dare I say 5 stars?
Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip, Vol. 2 by Tove Jansson
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moomins are so silly and I love them so much.
Not sure what else to say in the review. It's moomins. It's good. This particular collection has my favorite moomin panel: where moominpapa goes to read Agatha Christie in a tree with a bottle of wine and says that all responsibilities are a nuisance. He was so real for that. 4.5 stars rounded up.
(Part of my quest to read all the moomin comics my library owns cause they have the cool vintage oversized editions.)
Not sure what else to say in the review. It's moomins. It's good. This particular collection has my favorite moomin panel: where moominpapa goes to read Agatha Christie in a tree with a bottle of wine and says that all responsibilities are a nuisance. He was so real for that. 4.5 stars rounded up.
(Part of my quest to read all the moomin comics my library owns cause they have the cool vintage oversized editions.)
Happy Place by Emily Henry
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.0
Ok fine, I see what you all see in Emily Henry. I Get It.
2024 has been my foray into modern romance and catching up on what you crazy kids have been up to. And I gotta admit, it's pretty entertaining. I finally understand what the tropes are, and the ones here were indeed entertaining. Let me give listing them a try: second chance romance, only one bed, fake dating... anything else? (ok, I'm done with my "how do you do, fellow kids?" segment).
Our main character is an aspiring neurosurgery resident who was dumped by her fiancee a few months prior to the events of the book. But neither of them had the guts to tell their circle of friends that, so now they're both invited to the annual (and final) summer holiday weekend. When two of their friends announce their own engagement and that they'll be getting married that very same weekend, our protagonists realize that they can't announce their own breakup there and now. Fake dating shenanigans ensue, along with a lot of nostalgia for the good old days as well as rehashing why the relationship can't work out. I'll let you guess how all this ends.
Oh, and it absolutely hit my burnt-out-high-performing-academic-self very close to home.
Recommended for my fellow non-romance readers as a painless transition into the genre (and relatively low on smut, though that may just be the contrast with the Romance Recipe which I'd read a few weeks prior to this one), especially if you liked other character-driven romance novels with similar tropes (I'm looking at you, Dani Brown). 4 stars.
2024 has been my foray into modern romance and catching up on what you crazy kids have been up to. And I gotta admit, it's pretty entertaining. I finally understand what the tropes are, and the ones here were indeed entertaining. Let me give listing them a try: second chance romance, only one bed, fake dating... anything else? (ok, I'm done with my "how do you do, fellow kids?" segment).
Our main character is an aspiring neurosurgery resident who was dumped by her fiancee a few months prior to the events of the book. But neither of them had the guts to tell their circle of friends that, so now they're both invited to the annual (and final) summer holiday weekend. When two of their friends announce their own engagement and that they'll be getting married that very same weekend, our protagonists realize that they can't announce their own breakup there and now. Fake dating shenanigans ensue, along with a lot of nostalgia for the good old days as well as rehashing why the relationship can't work out. I'll let you guess how all this ends.
Oh, and it absolutely hit my burnt-out-high-performing-academic-self very close to home.
Recommended for my fellow non-romance readers as a painless transition into the genre (and relatively low on smut, though that may just be the contrast with the Romance Recipe which I'd read a few weeks prior to this one), especially if you liked other character-driven romance novels with similar tropes (I'm looking at you, Dani Brown). 4 stars.
Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Feeling sad? Have you considered just reading the next instalment of Before the Coffee Gets Cold?
This one is more of the same - there's one chair, in one cafe, which can take you backwards or forwards in time for the length of time it takes for your coffee to get cold. But there are more rules: you can't leave the chair, and your actions won't be able to actually change anything. Most people don't bother with the magical chair upon hearing these rules, but we meet a few who do...
I really liked the fictional book referenced in this one: One Hundred Questions for the End of the World. If the world ends tomorrow, do you still get married? Do you save yourself at the expense of everyone else? Do you tell your young child? The characters grapple with these questions as a parlour game while the four vignettes of cafe stories explore similar ideas - knowledge of illness and impending death, protective lies, misunderstandings... Comedians also featured quite heavily in this instalment, which didn't grip me but definitely made for some memorable moments.
Recommended if you're looking for more of volumes 1 and 2, a good bedtime story/fairytale for grownups, and want to go back in time to have a conversation (even if it means that nothing will change). 3.5 stars rounded up.
This one is more of the same - there's one chair, in one cafe, which can take you backwards or forwards in time for the length of time it takes for your coffee to get cold. But there are more rules: you can't leave the chair, and your actions won't be able to actually change anything. Most people don't bother with the magical chair upon hearing these rules, but we meet a few who do...
I really liked the fictional book referenced in this one: One Hundred Questions for the End of the World. If the world ends tomorrow, do you still get married? Do you save yourself at the expense of everyone else? Do you tell your young child? The characters grapple with these questions as a parlour game while the four vignettes of cafe stories explore similar ideas - knowledge of illness and impending death, protective lies, misunderstandings... Comedians also featured quite heavily in this instalment, which didn't grip me but definitely made for some memorable moments.
Recommended if you're looking for more of volumes 1 and 2, a good bedtime story/fairytale for grownups, and want to go back in time to have a conversation (even if it means that nothing will change). 3.5 stars rounded up.
The Lost Village by Camilla Sten
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"hey I have a good idea - I'll make a documentary about my dead grandmother's abandoned village! I'll go there with a small group of people including my estranged friend who I kinda hate, a rando who has connections with this village, and some expensive filming equipment. Oh and did I mention there's no cell service within a day's walk of where we're going? "
Things play out as you'd expect, and I kinda ate it up.
The good: the suspense buulding and general atmosphere were stellar. Sten is a gifted writer and really conveyed the things that made this story frightening: an abandoned location fully cut off from the world, decaying buildings prone to collapse and full of nooks where others could hide in, mistrust blossoming among our small cast, and cultish secrets from a forgotten past. All this together made the book extremely fun to read.
The bad: this book suffered from what I'm tempted to call Stephen-King-itis. The setup and first 3/4 were fantastic but, when things went downhill, they went downhill fast. The resolution was at best full of cliches and at worst nonsensical (for spoilery reasons: the mines? really?? and she's been waiting for that long?? really!?). I also have extremely mixed feelings about the portrayal of mental illness in this book (I'm gonna pretend the Abilify plotline didn't happen, for my own sake).
The freaky: I twisted my ankle right before starting this book and was nursing my grade 2 sprain while reading this. And a major plot point featured a character with a badly sprained (and likely fractured) ankle. 2spooky4me :')
While I have extremely mixed feelings about this one, I found the journey fun enough that I can excuse the destination. Recommended if you're looking for a spooky read and are willing to suspend a lot of disbelief (think a straight to tv horror movie but like with amazing acting and good filmography). 3 stars.
Things play out as you'd expect, and I kinda ate it up.
The good: the suspense buulding and general atmosphere were stellar. Sten is a gifted writer and really conveyed the things that made this story frightening: an abandoned location fully cut off from the world, decaying buildings prone to collapse and full of nooks where others could hide in, mistrust blossoming among our small cast, and cultish secrets from a forgotten past. All this together made the book extremely fun to read.
The bad: this book suffered from what I'm tempted to call Stephen-King-itis. The setup and first 3/4 were fantastic but, when things went downhill, they went downhill fast. The resolution was at best full of cliches and at worst nonsensical (for spoilery reasons: the mines? really?? and she's been waiting for that long?? really!?). I also have extremely mixed feelings about the portrayal of mental illness in this book (I'm gonna pretend the Abilify plotline didn't happen, for my own sake).
The freaky: I twisted my ankle right before starting this book and was nursing my grade 2 sprain while reading this. And a major plot point featured a character with a badly sprained (and likely fractured) ankle. 2spooky4me :')
While I have extremely mixed feelings about this one, I found the journey fun enough that I can excuse the destination. Recommended if you're looking for a spooky read and are willing to suspend a lot of disbelief (think a straight to tv horror movie but like with amazing acting and good filmography). 3 stars.
A Guest in the House by E.M. Carroll
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
An illustrated nightmare (compliment).
My yoga teacher recommended this to me a few days ago. We'd been chatting about nonfiction books about trauma, horror novels, and graphic novels. She had a "oh!! you need to read this!!!" moment, found the title of the book, and I was delighted to see that it was by the brilliant EM Carroll, author of Through the Woods.
In short: my yoga teacher was right. I read this at 3am during a bout of insomnia and going to the bathroom after was really scary-spooky. I read it on my phone in gray-scale (which my phone is set to during times I should be sleeping), and then reread it in colour.
Because let me tell you: this nightmare warrants a reread. There's twists, turns, and fantastic visual storytelling. There's red herrings and gothic tropes and characters telling lies and fantastic foreshadowing. This black and white nightmare has sparse flashes of colour, used sparingly and brilliantly to both misdirect and confirm our fears.
A few reviewers suggested that A24 should adapt this into a movie, and...yes please.
Recommended if you're interested in horror stories with open endings, enjoy ambiguous references gothic tales (Rebecca? Blackbeard? Jane Eyre?), and for seasoned graphic novel fans and newbies alike. 4.25 stars.
My yoga teacher recommended this to me a few days ago. We'd been chatting about nonfiction books about trauma, horror novels, and graphic novels. She had a "oh!! you need to read this!!!" moment, found the title of the book, and I was delighted to see that it was by the brilliant EM Carroll, author of Through the Woods.
In short: my yoga teacher was right. I read this at 3am during a bout of insomnia and going to the bathroom after was really scary-spooky. I read it on my phone in gray-scale (which my phone is set to during times I should be sleeping), and then reread it in colour.
Because let me tell you: this nightmare warrants a reread. There's twists, turns, and fantastic visual storytelling. There's red herrings and gothic tropes and characters telling lies and fantastic foreshadowing. This black and white nightmare has sparse flashes of colour, used sparingly and brilliantly to both misdirect and confirm our fears.
A few reviewers suggested that A24 should adapt this into a movie, and...yes please.
Recommended if you're interested in horror stories with open endings, enjoy ambiguous references gothic tales (Rebecca? Blackbeard? Jane Eyre?), and for seasoned graphic novel fans and newbies alike. 4.25 stars.