jes312's reviews
191 reviews

Slow Noodles: A Cambodian Memoir of Love, Loss, and Family Recipes by Chantha Nguon

Go to review page

challenging dark hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Sea Change by Gina Chung

Go to review page

emotional reflective 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

A character journey of an individual coping with grief, spurred by the looming potential of losing the octopus that represents her connection to her dad. More in-depth and emotional than Remarkably Bright Creatures.
Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

Go to review page

adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted fast-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

This book has everything that I love. I would love a sequel or another story within this same world.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Woe: A Housecat's Story of Despair by Lucy Knisley

Go to review page

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

5.0

Knisley captures cats perfectly.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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? No

4.75

I'm hooked on Octavia Butler's writing. I can't imagine reading this book in the 1990s and watching various aspects come true over the years.
Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin

Go to review page

dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Stories filled with uncomfortable emotions. "Breath From the Depths" is the best story; I wasn't really as invested in the others.
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

Go to review page

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.5

Found family in the afterlife; definitely recommend to those who enjoyed The Good Place television show.
Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Go to review page

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

3.75

I love a mythological reinterpretation; this one is based on Mayan gods and stories from the Popol Vuh with American Gods vibes. But I felt that something was missing/unbalanced with this story.
The Cat I Never Named: A True Story of Love, War, and Survival by Laura L. Sullivan, Amra Sabic-El-Rayess

Go to review page

challenging dark informative sad medium-paced

4.75

Yes, I picked this book up because of the cat. This narrative made me realize just how little I know about war; most of what I've read before is about battles/frontlines, not about civilian or refugee experiences. My heart broke throughout.
The Extinction of Irena Rey by Jennifer Croft

Go to review page

challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

What the heck did I just read (in the best sense). There's so many layers. If you want unreliable narration, this is it. The book brings into question what is lost in translation, who is an author, who is a creator, who can you trust. It's a little hard to get into, since the narration starts out with no names (just the languages they translate) and with the main narrator speaking for all ("we"; "Our Author"). But after Irena's disappearance, things loosen up a bit. I read another review about how
Irena's disappearance is evocative  of "what happens when an important organism is removed from its habitat"
and I love that interpretation.