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caseythereader's reviews
1744 reviews
3.75
- COMMITTED: ON MEANING AND MADWOMEN is part memoir and part exploration of the history of institutionalizing women through looking at the work of women writers like Sylvia Plath, Shulamith Firestone and more.
- This book is a meandering read that think deeply about how it changes your life and very conception of yourself to have been a mental patient.
- I wasn’t familiar with all the writers discussed in this book, but it hardly mattered. Scanlon brings them to life in these pages, three dimensionalizing figures often reduced only to their madness.
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
- Jen Silverman’s writing makes you feel as though you are reading a nonfiction narrative. Their characters and the world they inhabit feel so real and the prose flows so smoothly.
- This book is slower-paced than what I normally read, and still I couldn’t help but be drawn in to the dual narrative stories of Minnow in the present day and her father in 1968.
- Reading a book starring activists that is half set at the campus protests of 1968 is quite something right now. This book raises many questions we have seen repeated since then and right now - what style of action will make the most impact? Can you live with yourself if you don’t protest? How much are you willing to sacrifice for your cause?
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pregnancy and War
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
3.75
- THE AGE OF MAGICAL OVERTHINKING is another instant classic pop psych book from Montell. Here, she expands her topics wider than her earlier books, exploring a variety of mental biases we all carry.
- To me, this book was an examination of how we try to find a sense of self in the modern world. Sometimes the quirks of our brains help us do that, but most of the time they don’t.
- As always, Montell brings a light, readable touch to what can be stuffy topics. Personally, though, I could do with fewer try-hard metaphors and similes.
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- BROUGHTUPSY is a messy jumble of feelings. We follow Akúa as she tries to find both herself and her disintegrated family in her place of birth.
- This book is somewhere between a family saga and a coming of age, while Akúa tries to figure out where she belongs as a queer Jamaican who grew up in Canada.
- These characters are filled with grief and resentment over the paths their lives have taken. It’s at times a painful read (or listen, as I did), but the fine gradations of emotion that Cooke brings out in them makes it worth it.
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Colonisation
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts
- 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
4.0
- Whew, GHOST STATION had me on the edge of my seat. Space horror is a new favorite genre for me.
- I loved the setup of this world. There was just enough to make it feel real without getting bogged down in the details of the corporate and social politics. I’d totally read more books set in this universe.
- The threat in this story was deeply terrifying, and I was genuinely right there with the characters as they tried to think their way out of the situation.
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
- Jonny Garza Villa has another winner with CANTO CONTIGO. I adore their characters, these boys with soft hearts working through big events and bigger feelings.
- Rafie seems so prickly and hardheaded and first, but as we dig deeper into his experiences and feelings with him, we grow to love him just as much as Rey does.
- I loved the queering of mariachi in this book, too. I didn’t know much about the genre, but the book had me looking up songs and cheering for this super queer group of kids to live their dreams out loud.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Vomit, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Racism
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Misogyny, Antisemitism, and Fire/Fire injury
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Toxic relationship