klor's reviews
89 reviews

Normal People by Sally Rooney

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

i've always loved the intimacy of people that just weave in and out of each others lives, sprinkled with some of their own issues and histories. rven though not a lot happens in the book, it's not hard to believe that their story is going to keep moving forward. i thought this was an honest depiction of growing pains and mental illness and miscommunications
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Alone with You in the Ether by Olivie Blake

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emotional reflective sad slow-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? Yes

5.0

This was one of the most enthralling and intimate read I've had of this year. While I don'y usually read romance, this is one of the books that made me understand why people like falling in love. The book was beautifully written and the characters were really fleshed out that their actions often don't need a lengthy explanation, it just makes sense. I must say the writing style of this book is such a fascinating addition to it, from the random narrators to the artfully addition and subtraction of punctuations. There's this soft hum of intimacy all throughout the book that just keeps pulling you in it, even when you sometimes have to stop and just take it in. I already wish i could read it for the first time again.
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Other People's Clothes by Calla Henkel

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adventurous dark emotional reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

What a ride this book was! Other People's Clothes takes us through complicated female friendships, finding identity, an exploration of grief, and a whole lot of drugs and mysteries. I really enjoyed how the book dove in our protagonists' friendship, and developed that for the last 1/3 of the book to truly make sense. I adore the open ending with the slight hope for change (that might come). It just feels fun and campy and also had some heart in it despite most of the characters being unlikable. It's kind of a love story but not really
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Pearl by Josh Malerman

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

1.5

Pearl is like if the pigs in Animal Farm went full Carrie. I wish I enjoyed this more. The premise is unique and seems to pull you in like our main villain in the book but I just found it dragging and ultimately not caring a lot for most of our characters. There are better ways to make a story that happens in the span of 24 hours more interesting and less redundant. I think it would've been unnerving and more effective as a short story/novel. There are some genuinely terrifying scenes here too (as well as some very unserious dialogue lol) so I feel disappointed that the story didn't land as a whole. As much as I want to give this a second chance, it might take me a while to get around to it.
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What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

An exploration of growing up, grief, and moving through life. Simultaneously sad and reflective. I loved the exploration of her immigrant family background and the connection our character had to her culture. There are a lot of tender moments in the book and it almost feels like a memoir (I think it loosely is) but I must say, the main character kind of suffers from the Rory Gilmore scenario of being almost too perfect so when the hard times hit, it's hard to grow. I also wish I enjoyed this more
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Bad At Existing by Madisen Kuhn

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emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

4.0

The words in this book felt like a hug in the winter, a reassurance for times when you feel sixteen again, and just can't figure out what to do next. Madisen's imagery gives you the warmth of fall and the hope that follows after a deep introspection. I really enjoyed this. It's probably a faster read if i went through it in one sitting but this is a collection you need to savor and hang on to.
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

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emotional lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

I absolutely adored the magical realism, almost sci-fi aspects of this book. I think it was cool how it all got tied up together at the end and how the book feels very light. While the writing is not at all bad, I felt like it became too redundant at times and a moment just circles into itself again and again. The concept could have been executed a little better in the first 2/3s of the book. Still, I thought this was a very whimsical and reflective read
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Bliss Montage by Ling Ma

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adventurous emotional funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Compilations are often hit or miss for me but there's something so whimsical and earnest in most of the stories that are spread throughout this book. It doesn't make sense and yet it grabs your attention and you feel for it. More than once, I can see myself relating to one or more characters of the stories. My favorites were Oranges (and how life is still complicated after your abuse, knowing your abuser is still doing the same thing to other people), G (and the complicated relationships you can have with your best friend who might hate you, how growing up in an immigrant family affects how you make and perceive friends), and Peking Duck (and how more often than not, the ways we try to make sense of our parents makes us understand them less). I found the rest of the stories a bit lacking towards the end but that was probably the point of a lot of them. Relarionships are complicated and messy like these stories, added with a rich background and diversity, even more so.
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The Secret History by Donna Tartt

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

3.75

I really want to love this book more than I do right now. I initially DNF-ed it over the summer because the first half was really rough to get through, but I found out that reading this in fall/winter was the perfect time to do so. It's easier to feel the imagery that Donna Tartt was trying to portray when it's cold out. The book was beautifully written and was honestly tragic, as most campus novels are. I flip flop back and forth over caring about the characters and ended up doing that. It's sad how life ended for most of them, how they have to live with what they've done, and how much they've lost in the process. There's definitely a bit of a pacing issue in some places but it really picks up towards the second half of the book. While I didn't enjoy it to its full extent, I can see how other people would love it and even enjoy the cult community that grew from this book.
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Queercore: How to Punk a Revolution: An Oral History by Walter Crasshole, Yony Leyser, Liam Warfield

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informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.5