bamboobones_rory's reviews
431 reviews

The Witch Boy by Molly Knox Ostertag

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emotional lighthearted medium-paced

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

4.5

The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson

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dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

St. Juju by Rivers Solomon

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emotional 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? No

4.75

Poignant apocalyptic hopepunk, with a trash eating hybrid girl, a girl with ties to her community that makes it hard to leave, and queer sapphic rep.

Once again Rivers Solomon brings in mushrooms/fungus and autistic characters (Solomon is upfront about being autistic)

"Enid nods but doesn’t speak. When she leaves, is this all she’ll remember of me? The girl whose mouth was a fucking geyser. The girl who fidgets. The girl who talks and talks and talks to silence the voices, the images."

Fallen Heroes by Dafydd ab Hugh

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emotional funny mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

This is basically a fanfic where everyone can die dramatically and have their death reversed- to revel in the drama and emotional turmoil of killing off the crew.....except for Quark and Odo...again, this is another buddy-cop adventure for them. Or, torture for Odo, as Quark helps undo the mess he created.
The dynamic between Odo & Quark is fun banter, true-to-character, but much of the book the writing is pretty lacking. Truly reads like a fanfic- in both fun and writing quality. (I know some can be well-written but I mean the average fic)

The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump by Michiko Kakutani

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informative medium-paced

4.5

Last Night I Sang to the Monster by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

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dark emotional sad 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

4.0

This book brought up a lot of emotions for me & it's very dark and intense- it's a YA book and the setting is traumatized people in recovery, but over the book they tell their stories and more context is revealed.
I think when I was 15 or 16, I would have given it 5/5 stars for the emotional resonance. However for me now, the tone of writing is too YA for me, but it's something I would recommend to a young adult struggling with or looking for representation of trauma and big emotions.

To Pray As A Jew: A Guide To The Prayer Book And The Synagogue Service by Hayim Halevy Donin

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informative reflective slow-paced

4.75

it does what it says on the tin

A Social Justice Warrior's Guide to the High Holy Days by Dane Kuttler

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emotional reflective medium-paced

4.75

very gentle and sweet and hopeful

The Lifecycle of Software Objects by Ted Chiang

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