saoreads's reviews
140 reviews

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Its gruesome details are described as prosaic and poetic, with the metaphorical lines humming along the monstrosity of taking one's own life. It gave statistical inputs and the relating aspects of typical boys' adolescence, making it literally impossible to forget their first loves. The voyeurism was in one point of view, yet with the other it was the same too, though the latter didn't get to live long. After years and decades of searching for the "why", it somehow led to a point of redundancy, evidence, bias, and notions agreeing with the deed itself. That growing up sucks and daydreaming is better. Life wasn't in their control, so they took matters into their own hands, though it spoke of unrelenting grief hanging to a thread and plenty of factors no one might've noted. The fact that the parent's way of putting up their children suffocated them, or it might have stemmed from a faulty gene (or so they say, and to the extremes of five of them all?), or they took religion in their own different interpretations, there are plenty of what ifs that arise. However, the decision made brought agony and awful influence to their surroundings. It's one to assess yet not to act upon.
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Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad tense 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

The book title itself was intriguing and how the heroine began the story was full of wit and humor as she takes readers on a journey with her being captured. She makes light of her situation. Maybe she seemed way too calm as a person. The personality was honed to the point where it doesn't scream for something to be feared for and it eases readers even when the situation the character is, in fact, dire. In the second part of the book, another point of view was taken to narrate the recent happenings and not just pure storytelling. It was a heartbreaking story of a precious friendship that occurred during a fictional event in the Second World War. There was overloaded information regarding the life of a spy and working about intel that at the same time didn't make you stop reading but, through its witty way of expressing it, made you love it.
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Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

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emotional funny inspiring 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

It was a wholesome read. I adored the narrator of the story, Jack, so much. His mannerisms, habits, and personality really reflected the concept of being childlike as a twelve-year-old yet honest to the core, which made it agreeable as if the reader was the one taking on the journey, listening to Joseph's life story. It's the type of book that's good for kids but shouldn't be taken literally. It needs to be looked at in an in-depth manner of what the message it wishes to convey is a stroke of responsibility and living beyond the norms, as we cannot control changes that may happen at anytime in our lives.
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The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima

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

3.5

It's bizarre yet the world building and descriptions used to convey the story are inclined metaphorically to have its realistic aspects, though too much can be a bit distracting and makes readers lose focus even though it's a short novel. The chief seemed like some kind of a cult master, though it was small-scaled in a sense, as the factor was—he was an avid reader, even at the age of thirteen. It was the kind of character honed that could attract and entice people with its persuasiveness or it may have been in career-orientation like a lawyer because you knew too much at some point, you played around with the law, but once again, small-scaled. It was horrifying to read. It took advantage of how adults see children—purely innocent and in this I don't know if it had a bit of that.
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A Gentle Reminder by Bianca Sparacino

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emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing medium-paced

4.5

It was a thought catalog book I just had to read. There were plenty of points that struck a cord with me and helped me calm down during stressful moments. It didn't ask you to do anything or teach you how to deal with life; it was freeing to know it just wanted to let you be—to change that angle how you view things in a way that doesn't place you rigidly.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

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

4.5

It was definitely disturbing how the story evolved, yet it has the sense of welcoming from an angle of being shunned and living a different kind of life. It was an isolation that ended up being a comfort. Somehow it flowed into a metaphor of denying reality and conversing about staying in moons to the point of protecting that lifestyle involved death. The two sisters were strange enough, but it has shown the values they uphold towards a life they consider that makes them happy. Though there was this manipulation, as if the younger sister brought out these circumstances to prove to her older sister why their space shouldn't be messed with. It was a fine read, but nevertheless bewildering.
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Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective 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? Yes

4.5

I have to take note, especially with the beginning and last parts, where an introductory and ending phase speak of a story about a girl and a boy, like "Once upon a time." It was lovely and memorable. I'm quite satisfied throughout the reading progress as the way it emits and affects emotions really makes you stirred up inside. It amassed plenty of plot twists that continually thickened until that kind of hunger was depleted and finally contentment snuck in gradually.
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Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo

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adventurous challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Even after all that drama, the heroine was back to square one and it seemed like the story was just repeating like a never-ending cycle. Someone must have loved the villain too much, because reading this can become exhausting after a few chapters. Affairs, way too many affairs, yet it was obvious the characters were set, though it wouldn't miss the chance to make it tiresome to read at some point. There's the drag of influence and the point of view of Alina, who simply can't make up her mind, which adds up to make you vex over it. So far, there haven't been any notable characters to recall, which is a bit disappointing. For the nth time, the continuing chapters were simply dragging. Reading the midmost parts felt like a chore, sadly. For the sake of honing the character, it's unbelievable how there's a crowd of love lines just for one person. Though it was a good read overall, it's not something I'd happily consume for a day. 
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Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Julie Smith

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challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.5

The first few and final chapters of the book were extremely informative and helpful to me, as it walks you through the process of understanding a large number of things that are important to you. It also increases knowledge of specific concepts, beliefs, and myths related to mental health. It's one that I can always get back from the various exercises.
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Your Heart is the Sea by Nikita Gill

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

The poetry book travels through the author's personal journey and experiences in life, of which "the beginning" has to be my ultimate favorite. From innocence to betrayal and pain, then rising up like a phoenix—a metaphor to pick up your own pieces, you can be whole once again, and once more you can hope. This one especially made quite an impression on me; "To love yourself should be no quiet affair, but a loud uprising (A Reminder As We Reach The End). A short one, but pretty impactful. I also learned a beautiful phrase in Punjabi, rab-raakhaa.
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