rachel_athens's reviews
944 reviews

The Antidote by Karen Russell

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Karen Russell gives us a spellbinding and enthralling Dust Bowl saga in The Antidote with the story beginning on Black Sunday, April 14, 1935. Welcome our five characters: a prairie witch who, for a price, will carry your secrets; a New Deal photographer whose camera not only captures prophecies of the future but reveals the tragic past; a Polish wheat farmer and his grieving niece, both in mourning (one for a severe drought and the other her mother's murder); and a scarecrow haunted by memories of a former life. Russell has layered rich characters into a nuanced depiction of settler amnesia. She also calls attention to the environmental devastation caused by the loss of Indigenous institutional farming knowledge which some might say helped create the Dust Bowl.
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The Road to Tender Hearts: A Novel by Annie Hartnett

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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You Didn't Hear This from Me: (Mostly) True Notes on Gossip by Kelsey McKinney

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funny informative inspiring fast-paced

5.0

 Kelsey McKinney has spent a lifetime thinking about gossip and is the host of Normal Gossip, a hugely popular podcast. In her book, You Didn't Hear This From Me, she explores the value of gossip, its role in our society and culture, and deftly lays out evidence that gossip is not inherently bad or wrong and is, in fact, useful. Deeply researched with extensive notes, McKinney cites bell hooks to Kierkegaard, The Innocence Project to Katherine May. Gossip influences all of us and You Didn't Hear This From Me celebrates this collective shaping with an inquisitive and sharp wit that is a delight. 
Stop Me If You've Heard This One: A Novel by Kristen Arnett

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adventurous challenging emotional funny 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? It's complicated

5.0

Prepare to be blown away by the latest from Kristen Arnett. Stop Me If You've Heard This One stars Cherry, a professional clown living in Florida willing to sacrifice anything for her craft. This is a deep and poetic look into the magic of what is funny and humorous through clowning as an art form. Cherry's grief over the loss of her brother and the lack of respect for her vocation from her mother provide raw moments between her obsession over a sexy older female magician. Arnett's chapter titles are little tasty presents for the reader and Cherry's voice, attitude, and full-hearted commitment to the art of clowning are intoxicating.
Forest of Noise: Poems by Mosab Abu Toha

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5.0

Everybody Says It's Everything: A Novel by Xhenet Aliu

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Zhenet Aliu's Everybody Says It's Everything haunts you even when not actively reading. Adopted twins from Albania Drita and Petrit reconnect in 1999 after years of distance when Petrit's young son comes into Drita's life. A story about sorrow, regret, choices taken and those abandoned, the strength of women and found family is paramount. I LOVED THIS BOOK!
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Time's Mouth by Edan Lepucki

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medium-paced

4.0

Rental House by Weike Wang

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dark emotional hopeful 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

3.75

Weike Wang’s Rental House examines the interior lives of Keru and Nate, college sweethearts who come from vastly different backgrounds. Three vacation rental homes provide a space wherein topics such as job satisfaction, whether to have a child and do they have enough friends become a focus. Keru has some impulse control issues and Nate struggles with anxiety but both have difficult relationships with their parents. This couple’s struggles are entirely human and familiar but examined by Wang cleverly.
Woo Woo by Ella Baxter

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

Ella Baxter‘s novel Woo Woo joins a handful of brilliant 2024 books featuring female creatives (All Fours by Miranda July, Colored Television by Danzy Senna, Exhibit by R. L. Kwon). The daily struggle and balancing act of being a productive artist is examined here as conceptual artist Sabine preps for a huge solo exhibition. She is trying desperately to be seen while also hiding from a stalker. She wants to use social media rather than be used by it and all the while her marriage feels off-kilter. Woo Woo gives us insights into a woman trying to come into her own while forces want to make her smaller. 
Dream State by Eric Puchner

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Dream State by Eric Puchner is a book that absorbs all of your attention. With rich character development and beautiful prose, Puchner builds the complicated world of Cece, Charlie, and Garrett in northwest Montana and you will find yourself captivated. Dream State is a meditation on friendship, marriage, loyalty, and found family and a supremely satisfying read.