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caseythereader's reviews
1744 reviews
- 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
3.75
- Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé comes into her full dark academia powers with WHERE SLEEPING GIRLS LIE. If you liked ACE OF SPADES, this book gives you all of that, doubled, with even more explorations of power and status layered in.
- I loved how the doubt and suspicion built in this story - pretty sure I suspected everyone at one point or another.
- I do think it could have been shorter. There was so much going on that I see why it was as long as it was, but personally I almost always want a faster pace.
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Cursing, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Death of parent
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Infidelity
- 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: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Gun violence
- THE EXVANGELICALS is part research, part personal reckoning. I’ve read a few books about the rise and impact of evangelical culture, and this one brings in more voices and personal experiences than most others.
- McCammon guides us through each stage of her life, giving her story alongside others who had both similar and dissimilar experiences to her.
- One thing I found most enlightening in this book was McCammon’s insistence that growing up evangelical often wasn’t just a simply a specific way of life, but a traumatic experience. I grew up churchgoing but not evangelical - that culture was unfolding parallel to my experiences in the ‘90s, and this book has helped me to grasp what it was like on the inside on an individual level.
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Xenophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual content, Transphobia, and Abortion
Minor: Medical content
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
- Whew, RAINBOW BLACK is a ride. I was fully gripped from page one and couldn’t read it fast enough.
- It’s extremely dark and gruesome, but also filled with black humor and little bread crumbs dropped to keep you wanting to read one more chapter.
- Every character in this book is a complicated person. You can fully understand why they are acting the way they are, and yet they are doing horrible, villainous things. It’s really a feat. (It’s also extremely queer.)
- I do want to note that a big chunk of this book is set among teenagers in 1990, and the language reflects that. It’s a bit shocking to read homophobic and ableist slurs tossed around so casually now, but it is true to what I remember of the time.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Self harm, Suicide, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fatphobia, Racial slurs, and Dementia
Minor: Cancer and Antisemitism
- 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
- Calling all lovers of ragtag space crew stories! CASCADE FAILURE is a wonderful new entry into one of my favorite subgenres.
- This book nails the balance of edge of your seat action and deep, complicated feelings.
- As many times as I’ve read similar stories, the characters in CASCADE FAILURE felt unique, with interesting backstories and personalities that felt real.
- It’s also silly, funny, and full of love. I’m eagerly awaiting the sequel!
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Trafficking
- 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
3.75
- I never thought we’d get to return to Ashtown and Wiley! THOSE BEYOND THE WALL brings us back to the universe of THE SPACE BETWEEN WORLDS about ten years after the events of the first book, and things are different yet completely the same.
- The crew of the first book is back, this time with Mr. Scales as the narrator. She’s smart and hardheaded, but sometimes more ruthless than Cara was in the first book, which leads to a few good shocks in the story.
- Overall, I don’t think this was as tightly plotted as the first book, and occasionally heavy-handed in drawing parallels to our world. Still, I enjoyed being back in this world and Johnson’s mind, who somehow found even higher stakes for this book.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content, Slavery, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Dementia, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail