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pkc's reviews
396 reviews
Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The first Oseman work I’ve marked below 5 stars! I adored this continuation of Nick and Charlie’s story (as I love all of their stories) but Charlie was annoying me a little bit. I get that he’s a teenager and everyone is flawed but I just found him so unreasonable! That being said, it was sweet, but a little racier than previous Nick and Charlie stories. I loved it
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder and Alcohol
Mayflies by Andrew O'Hagan
emotional
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
4.0
This was an achingly sad book in how it ends and the inevitability of the ending but a really sweet story of a nontoxic male relationship growing up in Thatcher ravaged Britain. I love the protagonists, though I found their dialogue reminiscent of Renton and Sick Boy (though the plots of Trainspotting and Mayflies couldn’t be less comparable) and it annoyed me slightly in places. Tully’s wife Anna really bothered me in places too, but with the subject matter, O’Hagan does a really good job of the light and dark of such a complicated debate. I will also say it was gorgeously written despite my occasional gripes with the dialogue.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-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 book is so beautiful. I love it when an author takes a seemingly unloveable character and fills them with so much heart, pathos and goodness that you can’t help but root for them. Backman even goes as far as to book-end the story with two halves of the same scene so that where the unsuspecting reader views the eponymous Ove as a grumpy, horrid man in the beginning, we have accepted his flaws (for the most part!) by the end. The cast of supporting characters is so beautifully drawn and I’d be so shocked if you didn’t finish this book in floods of tears. I sure as heck did.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Outing
Making History by Stephen Fry
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Stephen Fry’s voice and tone are truly like butter to me, so this was a great listening experience. There is an entire moral question that goes unanswered in bringing this book to a conclusion, and there’s an argument to be made that it’s a very uncomfortable compromise, but all in all, I enjoyed this for the character development of the protagonist - Michael/Mikey - and the majesty of Fry’s writing. I’d also say that, aside from one a fair too casual instance of the ‘n’ word, the book has mostly aged well and it is interesting to read about the loss of political correctness when bigots in 2023 too often bleat that political correctness has gone mad.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, War, and Deportation
There’s one instance of the author using the ‘n’ word despite being Caucasian, and I think (if I remember correctly) the hard R word is used once or twice.
Luster by Raven Leilani
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Shadow Glass by Josh Winning
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Easiest 5* I’ve given in a long time! It’s no surprise, but this book is a love letter to ‘Labyrinth’ and ‘Dark Crystal’ but with a very human spin on it. It’s dark, it’s funny, gruesome in places but full of heart, humour and so much action! Jack’s arc from reluctant inheritor of a tricky legacy to all out fantasy hero is so satisfying. The supporting cast of characters is gloriously realised too. All in all, a perfect reading experience. I want this to be a movie.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee
dark
emotional
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Solitaire by Alice Oseman
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
Yet another Oseman finished and honestly, she does not disappoint! The resemblance to ‘Catcher in the Rye’ is inescapable, BUT, I would say this has more of ‘Heathers’ than Holden Caulfield. I had a lot of love for the cast of characters (many from Heartstopper) and how their story is examined and expanded upon in this much darker narrative. Tori is such an elegantly executed protagonist. I find performative cynicism so dull most of the time, but Tori has a raison d’etre for her attitude and light is carefully shone on it with enough time taken to let it develop. I can’t wait to read my next Alice Oseman novel. I had one irk about the plot, but it wasn’t enough to detract from my overall feelings about the book, so I shall spoiler tag it below.
I was SO BOTHERED that Becky appeared to stay with Ben and I don’t necessarily think that Tori was wrong in being pissed off, considering that she witnessed Ben’s attack on Charlie. Internalised homophobia is probably a decent thing to look at exploring, so I’d like to maybe see that in the future using these characters. I suppose there wasn’t enough space here or it didn’t fit, but anyway. TL:DR Becky was a bad friend for going back to Ben.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Still Here: The Madcap, Nervy, Singular Life of Elaine Stritch by Alexandra Jacobs
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
I’ve never read a more nuanced biography. Jacobs presents a balanced portrait of a complex character, the legendary, and I do mean LEGENDARY, Elaine Stritch. This was such a beautiful portrayal of a brash, brittle talent and shows spectacularly well how humanity is the core that runs through each of us. Mortality persists, but it doesn’t bind everyone so rigidly. If you’ve an interest in theatre, acting, or even just complicated people this is so worth a read. It’s academic and dense and does so well in not being dry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Medical content and Injury/Injury detail
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Murder