anjh's reviews
67 reviews

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

kind of thought i’d enjoy this more but something about it just wasn’t for me. possibly something about the whole american high school drama mystery with a touch of romance just isn’t my thing and i found it an effort to keep reading in some places. i mainly picked it up for the whole thriller aspect but didn’t enjoy it much to be completely blunt.

this is also completely personal but i had to stop a few times from intrusive thoughts because some parts were too triggering for me which is just a me thing but contributed to my low review.

if you like the kind of ya thriller high school drama romance trope thing go ahead but this just wasn’t really it for me.

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HappyHead by Josh Silver

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

i’m not even sure what to say or think after reading this. it was so good in such a thrilling way, and made me anxious to continue reading at times because i was scared of what might happen. the storyline really tricks you but also the characters in a way and you carry this lingering feeling of uncertainty throughout the book

that isn’t really even resolved because the book ends on a cliffhanger and there’s no definitive ending.

i’m gonna have to read the sequel, Dead Happy soon because omg. i don’t know what to think.

took quarter of a star off only because the lack of certainty really gave me a sense of dread lmao 💀 and the story was quite confusing in parts.

Content Warnings

You'd Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

(tw: mentions of dr*g add*ction)

this was so eye opening. as i’ve been lucky enough to not experience substance add*ction or have family experience such, i never really thought about how much of an impact it might have on a person.

this book really shows that everyone deemed a “dr*ggy” or “add*ct” has their own internal battle going on and sometimes the dr*g is the only thing keeping them going.

i think this book also brought to light quite well how much teenagers feel so pressured in school to be perfect and live up to the expectations of people around them and just how destructive these expectations can be especially if they have underlying mental illness or other situations going on that makes performing well unrealistic.

would definitely recommend. but check tws first pls.

Content Warnings

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

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adventurous funny informative lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

3.5

not rly sure what to say about this. it was good. not amazing but good. as an autistic person i related a bit to Christopher with his obsessions around numbers and perfection and maths but there were times where i felt a bit awkward reading it i guess? perhaps from empathy around feeling his discomfort in situations and social anxiety around awkward social interactions.

i liked the graphics in this book and feel like it adds friendliness to it for younger readers especially.

Content Warnings

The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

this was so good. it was surprisingly well written considering the fact that Flora

has anterograde amnesia and

struggles to form new memories so a lot of the descriptions and her experiences seem like they happen “all over again”. however, it was written in a way that there was just enough information to understand what exactly was happening and why.

the plot twist was very unexpected but also rly sad and made me appreciate Paige and Jacob more. honestly i loved the unexpected informational aspect of this book about psychology and how weirdly the brain works.

i would have given it 5 stars but it was quite heavy (or at least heavier than i’d have liked) with romance which a lot of people love but just isn’t really my thing, which is okay.

still a great book. as always please check the TWs!

Content Warnings

All The Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

(check TWs before reading!)
omg. wow. i loved this so much and would definitely say it’s one of my top 5 favourite books of all time.

i love the way it was written with the different POVs, which really made sense for the story. i also love the paragraph layout Olivia’s chapters and how creative it was, almost showing the intensity of what was going on inside her mind through the formatting of the words.

another thing i loved was the diversity of the characters - Mehreen who is a Pakistani(?) muslim, Cara who is a paraplegic character in a wheelchair and Olivia who is the stereotypical white “pick-me girl”. the book really showed all the ways in which someone’s life can contribute to their mental health and how dangerous and distrustful websites can sometimes be.

—tw for next part: depression, anxiety, SI and SH—

as someone who has experience with the above, i think this book really portrayed depression and anxiety well and how quickly and strongly the thoughts can take up your mind and your entire being. Mehreen’s experience in particular really demonstrated the reality of how hard it is to battle intrusive thoughts, self hatred, SH urges and SI thoughts until you just end up giving in.

thank you, Yasmin Rahman, for writing one of my now favourite books ever.

Content Warnings

Rainbow Revolutionaries: Fifty LGBTQ+ People Who Made History by Sarah Prager

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

3.25

what a beautiful book. i think the most important and inspiring point that was delivered in this book that is dismissed or unrecognised a lot in today’s society is how what was considered “normal” or “acceptable” was a lot broader in inhabited countries in the pre colonial world. European standards greatly changed these norms in preceded countries all around the world, leading to narrower standards of what was considered acceptable in terms of gender and sexual identity.

i love that this book is accessible for both younger and older readers with the pictures and ultimately middle-grade friendly text meaning younger readers can learn about important figures in LGBTQIA+ history which in my opinion is crucial to self acceptance and freedom to explore their identity.

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The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

wow. although i’d describe this book as historical-fiction which isn’t a genre i find myself interested in very often i really enjoyed this and felt it was very lighthearted and story like to read, as if i were being read a book at bedtime as a child.

i listened to the audiobook on borrowbox for this while reading which, i’ll be honest, made the experience so much better especially with the different voices for the characters and the beautiful piano music played in the section between each part.

it’s difficult to describe how beautiful this concept is for a novel, and i would strongly encourage anyone interested in literature and words to read it. i absolutely love how the story focuses on the women whose voices were ignored and dismissed during the creation and publishing of the Oxford English dictionary.

i also love that the hardships for women and gender expectations of the book’s era are well represented, including an absence of women’s rights, the suffragette movement in England and the expectation for women to get married and have children.

i took off one star just because i found it a bit confusing to keep up with all the characters in the book lol but i genuinely really enjoyed it.

Content Warnings

The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

i won’t lie, going into this book i had no idea what to expect and almost dnf-ed at the start because i wasn’t really getting into it. however once the story progresses and you learn more about the characters and what’s actually happening it’s a really gripping and fascinating book (extremely sad too) that’s written quite well.

i liked the layout of the chapters, i think? it made it more thrilling and made me want to keep reading not having a resolution to the previous scene and then going back in time to Nora’s memories but it also made the story a bit confusing especially with timelines backwards n whatnot.

it was interesting and sad learning about the fact that con artistry exists (i did not know this before) and how exactly its performed though in this book i did find it quite confusing how many different names were brought up as i kept forgetting who was who.

all in all, a really good book, and i would recommend though tw for ab*se!

Content Warnings

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

i had high hopes for this book considering how popular it is. it was really good, the writing is incredibly poetic and i think that’s part of what makes it so good.

i’m not usually that into fantasy and dystopian books but this wasn’t bad, i did enjoy the magical element and didn’t find the world too confusing which i often do.

i was kind of surprised how much smut was in this lol. as someone who is generally incredibly bored by smut and romance n such i kind of skimmed over it or skipped it but if you are into smutty stuff i def recommend it lol.

but omg the writing. the crossing out of sentences really added to the poetic style - i loved it. i think the main highlight of this book was the writing style. it was just beautiful

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anjh's reviews 67 reviews

anjh's reviews
67 reviews