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micaelamariem's reviews
724 reviews
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gore, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, and Pandemic/Epidemic
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Now, having been hurt in the past, I can totally understand Bea’s outlook and her journey to discovering self-love was in itself a beautiful theme. However, I don’t think this was how the book was advertised and it’s not something I was prepared for. I wanted, like I said, the unwavering confidence and body positivity to help inspire me in my own struggles. So I think part of the issue is just the book being different from my expectations and that influenced my enjoyment.
Plus, Bea was a bit insufferable at times. I get it was her journey to self love but each page being “he couldn’t possibly be attracted to someone like me” was so repetitive, boring, and annoying.
And I would have also loved more male body diversity in this. It felt a bit hateful to me that Bea’s first thought was “well a heavier man I could settle for” when all bodies are beautiful!!
I did love the creativity of adding in interviews, blogs, podcasts, and messages. It created a mixed media novel and if the novel was just told in these forms, that would’ve been super fun and I would’ve enjoyed it a lot more.
But as we have it, it was hard for me to get behind because it differed from my expectations and honestly, I didn’t like the MC. 🤷🏻‍♀️
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, Acephobia/Arophobia, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Each chapter left me hungrily wanting more and there were deep scenes that evoked strong emotions from me. The representation of grief I thought was done really well as well as the PTSD the character was experiencing; though it wasn’t named that, the symptoms were visceral and evocative, and it felt believable, not a laundry list from WebMD. I’m not indigenous, so I can’t speak to the representation of a native tribe, though I think I learned more about tribe systems and laws. And with the ending, that wasn’t quite happy or sad, we got just a taste of the injustices indigenous tribal members face to this day.
Though I felt empathy for the main character, there were times I didn’t like her. I felt like she slipped into the “not like other girls” category like a lot of YA protagonists have a tendency to do. She acted like she wanted to speak up for women, but she called other girls dating her brother’s friends “angler fish” and judged them way too harshly.
I also think the pacing was slightly off. The first two thirds of the book was slow to medium paced, but still enjoyable. In the last third, lots of action came seemingly out of nowhere and it felt like we were racing to keep up until the end. If the pacing could’ve been evened out a little more, I think it would’ve made for an even more enjoyable read.
However, I did love this, and I do recommend it! It kept me on my toes and taught me a few lessons, while being mostly believable.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
- 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
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I think, overall, Under One Roof is the best of the collection and Stuck With You is the worst.
It can be really hard pacing in a short story or novella and I think that’s one thing the author did well, managing to hit all the story beats in a shortened amount of time without it feeling rushed. I think the characters could have been developed a little more (and especially the second story’s plot).
It did feel like, at least with the last two stories, it was the same story of miscommunication with just two different characters. And I really wasn’t into that.
And I’m so sick of the men being BIG. HUGE. Ok, I get it. They’re tall. Go figure.
But I am excited to read more of her full length novels which thus far I think are better fleshed out.
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
3.5
The only reason this is 3 stars and not 4 stars is because animals were hurt in the making of this book and I cannot abide by that.
However, the book was beautifully written, illustrating the racial injustices Wright experienced and fought against (or his friends did, considering this may not be fully autobiographical).
The first part was very compelling, reminiscent of many coming of age tales. The second part wasn’t as interesting because it focused more on politics and Wright’s fall into communism, which had the potential to be interesting, but somewhere fell flat.
Still, if this is a true memoir, it’s really hard to judge and rate it (especially a classic one!) because it’s someone’s life. You can’t say anything about the plot because it actually happened.
I can say the writing and commentary was beautiful and evocative, the themes were strong, and you can tell he had things to say.
But also please don’t hurt animals :(
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
But I did like the thrill of trying to expand the empire, putting lives at risk, blackmail, finding Triton, and putting everything at stake. It got a little dark and I was here for it. Overall a three star read.
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
- 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
I’ve always been a fan of the sentimental so this book struck a chord with me. It evokes all the feelings, from laughter to tears. While the book is about a bank robbery gone wrong, it’s really about the people involved in this hostage scene and about people in general. Looking into each person’s mind and heart, Backman makes a point on how messy life is and how idiotic we all can be, and calls us as readers to have empathy for our fellow humans.
I also enjoyed the drama of it all, though. For two thirds of the book I really wasn’t sure who the bank robber was and if they’d catch them or what was going to happen. I liked the plot twists told through a nonlinear timeline that kept me reading beyond the sentimental parts and the idiotic humorous parts.
Overall, a fantastic beautiful read and a reminder that we’re all going through something, but it gets a little better if we have each other’s backs.
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism