crybabybea's reviews
230 reviews

Must read. Incredibly harrowing and will change the way you view your everyday life. Every modern comfort we have comes with its own pound of flesh.

I think this is probably the first book about the Congo's current situation told while including perspectives from the Congolese people. I have to admire the author for doing the journalistic work even when it was dangerous; he met a lot of opposition on his journey through the DRC. 

Siddharth Kara calls out by name the companies, countries, and executives who profit off of the deaths of people in the Congo, including women and children. 

The writing itself was hit-or-miss, and the author has a tendency to focus on mundane details that often didn't add to the information being presented. Admittedly, I had a hard time keeping track of the different city/village names, so when they were brought up in conversation later it was hard to piece together the differences. However, Kara shows us expertly that there is no place untouched by the cobalt industry and its harsh, exploitative, and violent practices.

You know what hell yeah.

This didn't go where I was expecting it to go but it was still fun. It's less monster/eldritch horror and more psychological. Although there is a monster and they do

have sex

. Just so you're aware.

The writing was really well done, and Lee Mandelo crafted a great sense of immersion. The setting was so perfect for a story like this; 1920s Appalachia, small conservative town for our trans main character. Horrifying. I do wish that the horror came more from Appalachian folklore but that's me wanting something completely different out of this book because I misled myself about the direction of the story. 

That being said, I felt like the horror elements worked perfectly for the story and the horror imagery tied in well with the themes of queer identity and religious bigotry. I wish this wasn't a novella, and we could spend a bit more time with some scenes and characters, but at the same time the fast pace helps add to the claustrophobic feeling. It felt super cinematic and tense! The main character has an interesting backstory that could have been explored more in a longer novel.

For me the only thing I really didn't like was the age gap between the main characters. That's honestly a minor thing but it bugged me a bit.

I can tell where the story is going and I don't care to continue. I don't get the cozy vibes that others were saying, just a lack of plot with flowery writing. The main love interest is also an asshole in general and not in a fun way. This book didn't need romance.

Also... this book is kinda ableist? The autistic-coded main character is constantly made fun of/insulted/put down by other characters INCLUDING THE LOVE INTEREST? And even though she's autistic-coded, she is missing wholeness and a varied profile which makes her seem like a stereotype of the "bad autistic people". The author needed to add some depth to her character, what she ended up with makes her seem like a harmful parody of autistic people.

And, the changeling plot. I'm not saying you can't have changelings in your book but if you're going to make a book based off of fairy tales/faeries shouldn't you kinda know the history behind changelings, and how problematic changeling stories are? Especially when you have an autistic-coded main character who is constantly being put down by the narrative?

Idk it's just icky I don't like it and I don't want to continue. 

Quick and accessible, though I wish it expounded upon a few of its points. Some information is a repeat if you have already heard from disability scholars/activists but no less important, and this is meant to be an introduction. It still left me with a lot to think about, and it serves its purpose well by bringing some of the best voices of disability activism together for an entry-level primer to ableism in the rapidly changing present and future.

Ehhhh... it's a product of its time.

There is some useful information about shame and how it's instilled in us through various means (family of origin, religion, school, cultural roles) but the book quickly turned into preaching that didn't feel good to me. I liked the first chapter, the second chapter was okay, and the third completely ruined the book for me.

I'm not sure what therapy was like in the 80s, but I felt that the "healing" bit of the book was rather basic and something you can learn within a year of therapy. He also has a hyperfocus on AA and 12-step programs, which I'm sure are helpful to many and were especially helpful at the time, but have also caused a lot of problems for people and, ironically, induced a lot of toxic shame in people that haven't had good experiences.

Although there are some ideas I agree with, such as decentering the ego, healing your inner child, and integrating your "shadow self", the book leaned too heavily on religion for me. I know the author is a theologian, but at times the way he chose to write signalled to the reader that the only way to be "pure" is to be spiritual (preferably Christian). I can acknowledge the importance of spirituality and how feeling unconditionally loved by a higher power can help someone learn to love themselves, but it felt like the author didn't unpack a lot of things that come along with religious teachings, which was ironic because he spends part of the first chapter talking about how religion has played a role in causing toxic shame but completely fails to acknowledge the inherent patriarchal and white supremacist values of Christianity.

There are just too many ramblings about traditional gender roles, biological sex organs, and an eye-rollingly long section about modesty and how a "sex-centered" society leads to immense amounts of shame. There's a conversation to be had about the toxic porn industry, toxic gender roles, and why many women feel that they need to sexualize themselves to be loved, but the nuance was not present here. Oh, and he says that obesity is a result of toxic shame, and says that obesity hasn't been linked to genetic predispositions. Which, again, there is a conversation to be had there, but it just completely lacks nuance and even provides misinformation. Not good.

I was surprised though that LG(not B)T people were acknowledged, but not very well. Of course, there is no mention of how racism, xenophobia, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, sexism, etc. play a role in toxic shame. This could be chalked up to being a product of its time, but it's not like these conversations weren't happening.

I liked what it had to say about shame but didn't necessarily agree with how the focus of the book devolved. It's still worth reading if you're interested in psychology, and I think the information on shame is especially useful if you're just starting your healing journey, but be prepared to go in with a grain of salt and leave some things that don't resonate behind.

I think this is the first book I've read that was sad, not in a "cry your eyes out" way, but in a "I feel completely empty and numb" sort of way. This was haunting. After I finished, I couldn't fall asleep because I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I woke up still thinking about it. I sat at work and still couldn't stop thinking about it. I feel like I will be thinking about it for a long time. Multiple times throughout reading, it gave me the feeling of a pit in my stomach, an almost nauseating despair. This is horrifically sad. There's your warning.

The way Han Kang chose to write this was genius and could have fallen flat in the hands of a poorer writer. The way the perspectives shift but stay closely related, the way she weaves between past and present tense, the way the second-person perspective changes depending on who the narrative is following. It was such a unique way to show the terrible events of the uprising without just plopping us in the middle of violence and action. It gives the narrative an almost detached feeling which works so well with the themes she was trying to present. Also, we spend the majority of the book inside the characters' heads with little to no dialogue, which really forces us to put ourselves in their perspective, to imagine the horror that they are dealing with.

There are so many moments that showcase the ripple effect of brutality and trauma; the numbness of survivor's guilt, the insomnia and physical manifestations, the self-isolation as a defense mechanism. All of it was so well done. I especially will remember the second chapter, which is told from the perspective of a dead person's soul, which includes a stomach-dropping set of reveals that I will probably think about for the rest of forever.

OHHH my heart! Xianxia perfection.

This book works SO well for what it is trying to do. It feels like being transported to the set of a Chinese drama. I was skeptical when I first started reading. I feel like there are a lot of retellings of Chang'e (Which I love! Give me all the Chinese myth retellings!) and this has been by far my favorite. Writing the story from the perspective of the moon goddess' daughter was genius.

Right from the beginning you get the fairy tale vibe, and throughout the book the magic remains rather mysterious, and, well, magical! Sue Lynn Tan creates such an immersive world with the Celestial Kingdom, and I love her attention to detail without taking it too far. She knows exactly which descriptions are needed to really sell the setting and the mood of each scene. I really recommend putting on a good xianxia playlist as you read haha.

Now with the tone being similar to a Chinese drama, you gotta be prepared for some things that might not work for everyone. It's melodramatic, sometimes to a fault. There will be intense pining, a dramatic love triangle, and some scenes that feel almost unbelievable. If you like the vibe of a soap opera, it's kind of similar. As for me, I ate it uppp. I feel like the melodrama really fits in with the mood that Sue Lynn Tan was trying to create. There are plenty of action scenes throughout to break up the talks between characters, and I really enjoyed being with Xingyin.

And, there's a good amount of political intrigue for those that like a more epic fantasy. Though the characters are sort of the main point, with romance being such a big part of the plot and Xingyin's development, there are plenty of good twists and turns to have fun with as well, with political allyships and disturbances. My one gripe is that sometimes things happen too easily for Xingyin, and sometimes things are given to her which could read as unbelievable, but for some reason this issue almost worked in this story, where I think it wouldn't have worked in others.

Honestly, there were a lot of things that could have gone horribly wrong with this book. The way the plot intertwines with the romance, it could have been a disaster. Xingyin could have been a helpless maiden being pulled this way and that to serve the plot and its characters, but she stands on her own as agentic and powerful. The author could have also over-corrected and created another "sassy assassin FMC", but instead found the perfect balance of a sympathetic main character who has the abilities/intelligence to make her a hero we want to root for, but not so perfect that it's no fun. 

I do wish the side characters were a bit more developed, but honestly this is Xingyin's story and it makes sense that she takes center stage. 

C'mon this was right up my alley so I'm not surprised I loved it.

Super cute, so many wholesome themes and a loveable cast of a queer found family. Of course, everything isn't rainbows and sunshine, there are plenty of hard moments too, but throughout the book Zenobia finds her way with the help of her extremely supportive aunts and uncle, and her loving friends. 

There were a few iffy things, like some sort of out-of-place dialogue that didn't feel like true middle school conversations, and some magical computer hacking skills, but since it's middle-grade I think it's okay to have some suspension of disbelief. 

I was surprised actually at how much I related to Zenobia despite not being trans and not being, well, a middle schooler. Of course she goes through the average middle school girl issues such as bullying and self-esteem issues (obviously with an added layer of complexity due to being trans), but she is also healing from the complicated feelings of grieving her parents despite growing up in an abusive environment. She was so compelling as a character and I felt so hard for her. I think this book is so important and I'm glad it exists.

Life-changing. Michelle Alexander presents her ideas clearly and thoroughly backs them up with research and personal analyses. She was incredibly persuasive and completely changed the way I view things, and gave me so much new information along the way. 

You should read this even if you already consider yourself anti-racist, or have read other anti-racist works. This targets a very specific issue, which is mass incarceration and the prison industrial complex, which Michelle Alexander argues is intrinsically tied to the anti-racism movement. Although I went into this book already thinking I was sympathetic toward criminals and the plight of people are targeted by mass incarceration, I learned so much and the author challenged views that I didn't even realize I held. She takes the old argument that "mass incarceration is racist because it targets poor/disadvantaged people, and because of our political system poor/disadvantaged people tend to be majorly people of color" and instead argues that mass incarceration is much more nefarious, and argues its connections to past racist eras such as slavery and Jim Crow. In the modern era, Alexander argues, criminals have become the new undercaste of society.

And, instead of simply saying that innocent people deserve to be released, she makes an incredibly empathetic plea for incarcerated people, even those that have done the "worst" crimes, and challenges the reader to examine the way they view criminals and what restorative justice really means.

I gotta admit I had a bit of an existential crisis in the last chapter, where the author really breaks down the different cogs that are part of the prison industrial complex, and laid out explicitly just how much work needs to be done to reverse the damage. In post-2020, with cop cities being built and police budgets being raised yet again, I realized that America is going the opposite way that it needs to be going to set things right. 

I get the historical context and how it's a reversal of The Heart of Darkness; I enjoyed seeing the European/Western lifestyle judged from the perspective of an outsider much like colonizers tend to do with their imperial targets. There were some funny moments, but the prose itself was boring, characters lacked depth and the overall structure was grating. Probably would be more fun if read in a lit class where you could really dig in and dissect the book and its historical meaning.