sweetsxrrxw's reviews
100 reviews

okay this is definitely one of my top 2 fav books of the series (im still indecisive about if i like volume 3 or volume 4 more, lmao)

i like that we get to see both charlie and nick's point of views about the main incident on the book and how they both turn less codependent towards each other and realize you can find happiness in other people besides your s/o.
also, absolutely adore the "love can't cure a mental illnes" speech, it's just so important. sometimes we are not able to handle everything by ourselves. we can't fix people.

and yeah i know this story is about nick and charlie but i kinda missed the paris gang :( and, although im rereading the books via webtoon, i was pretty disappointed to find out this volume ends in a huge cliffhanger.

i love the paris gang so much, they all deserve the best <3 also i love how well alice tackles important topics such as eating disorders or self harm

i absolutely loved the cute moments between nick and charlie <3 this volume was super cute and it made me smile a lot. i also love how nick slowly started to accept himself as bi and ended up coming out to his mum (her reaction was great ofc)

im just kinda sad because alice already teased some of what is about to come for charlie :( like when he tells nick he is not hungry. or when he is like "i just never thought this would ever happen to me" :( he deserves the best

i decided to reread this because, honestly, i was in a terrible reading slump and i felt like i needed to find something i could read in one sitting. plus, since its pride month and the second season of the show is being released in a few months, heartstopper felt like the perfect choice.

im not the target audience for this series so i can't relate to all of nick and charlie's experiences. however, im still glad this story exists because it's just what some queer teens might need. also, since this is a graphic novel i really did not mind the "no plot just vibes", which i usually struggle to read. 

and ofc, alice's artstyle is so pretty. i just love it so much. i think i am going to keep rereading their other volumes and i really hope it helps me get over my reading slump, lmao.

most people who have read this book have loved it. and it is pretty easy to understand why: poc main characters, queer side characters, super short chapters and a bittersweet ending with including an important lesson.
i would be lying if i said i dislike the concept of this story because i really loved it so much. i am a firm believer that, no matter the ending, love is never wasted. 

honestly, i struggled through the book. and, despite being a super emotional person, i couldn't get myself to experience the big emotions i often feel while reading. this may have happened because of me being in a reading slump for about two months now, because i may be in the process of outgrowing ya or both of these reasons. 

of course, nicola yoon's writing was beautiful, evie's personal growth was good and the whole plot made sense

i despise cheating but she needed to forgive her dad in order to move on. and x's death was the trigger she needed to realize that loving, even if it is just for a short time, is always better than wasting your time.

overall it was not a bad book, but i just feel like i didn't pick it up at the right time. 

for context, a couple months ago a friend of mine proposed me to join a japan-themed book club, since i mentioned i loved before the coffee gets cold. but the thing is that, unlike everyone in that club, i am not really into japan; i just enjoy occasionally reading some japanese literature.

maybe if i was more into japanese culture i could have recognized some of the original yokai stories that are retold. that's why i am actually grateful for whoever decided to put some context of the traditional stories.

the book takes these traditional stories and gives them a more modern and feminist twist. if you're a woman you'll probably relate to many things the characters are going through and i'm sure that you'll find at least a quote that will feel super relatable.

i really enjoyed reading some stories and i have a fair ammount of highlighted parts throughout the book. but other stories just were not for me and made me space out a little ngl.  and there has been a cpuple times where i don't think i could fully understand what the author was trying to say or the meaning of the story, but that's probably because of my lack of knowledge about japan.

oh, i would also like to add that, as sometimes it seemed impossible for me to get over my reading slump, i listened to some parts of the audiobook while reading. and i have to say the narrator was really good, her tones and accents and intonations were genuinely good!

anyways, everytime i finsihed reading some story i wrote down a little review, my thoughts or feelings about it and you can find them under the cut (many of them have spoilers so beware of it!)

the peony lanterns
the whole thing of tsuyuko almost immediately being in love with shinzaburo threw me off a little, not gonna lie. but, to be fair, i felt confused since i learnt the original legend was meant to stop people from sleeping with ghosts. anyways, i guess the saleswomen's actuation is usually the same in order to enjoy people's suffering or get some money out of them and, who am i to be against scamming men? plus they're dramatism was fun, idk. all in all, i don't think the ghosts were that bad, since they pushed him to get a new job.

smartening up
i guess i could understand this story a bit better than the firat one. and i think i really liked it and that it delievers an important message. im so glad the main character realized she didn't need to become someone else or change parts of her in order to become the best version of herself. however, although i know this book is about ghosts i was surprised when i realized the aunt was a ghost. but maybe my initial shock was because i understood that the mc was dead, not her aunt. anyways, i suppose her aunt's trick was to grow body hair on her niece to make her accept it.

my superpower
i think this is definitely one of my favorite stories too. not only it tackles society superficiality but i think it was such a creative way to link the ghost stories with the character's situation. oh and, by the way, my jaw double dropped at oiwa's story.
anyways, although this may be one of the shortest stories in the book, it has just left me deep in thought.

quite a catch
i am not 100% sure if i understood the original story but this adaptation was genuinely sweet. i even highlighted a quote or two in pink (that's the color i use for fluffy, cute stuff) i didn't want to deeply root for them in case something terrible were to happen, but i am glad they had a happy ending!

the jealous type
the original story made me totally gasp again. oh my god, why does everyone have such miserable lifes, not even cats are safe? woah.
but let's focus on the main story. i think that writing it in second person was actually kind of a smart move from the author, in order to make readers feel some kind of empathy towards the mc. i also think it was a smart choice because of the last twist, since this story is kind of a letter for the mc from some council of jealous ghosts? i do not necessarily agree with most of the things in this short story but i do believe it's so witty.

where the wild ladies are
hmmm i don't feel like the highlight of this story were ghosts at all. i feel like it revolves more around the mc's grief and the void his mid-twenties life crisis caused mainly by his mom's death. i am guessing maybe she got to contact him somehow via his job? anyways, some of his inner monologue was actually relatable, btw.

loved ones
wait this story was actually really cute. many times we take for granted our senses, so i think it was interesting to read about someone who can't properly smell. anyways, you just gotta support women who love their cats more than anything tbh. im so glad that by the end she got to somehow learn the smell of that one flower and to see her cat again after so many years <3

a fox's life
this story depicts in a great way the glass ceiling concept and how, alongside gender roles, it affects both men and women. i think it's sad how kuzuha had to pretend to be so much more less than she is since she was small but im glad that after discovering her true self she allowed herself to be more powerful, to hide less.
ps: the fox / foxy women thing was also interesting tbh.

what she can do
ahhh, i love stories about women supporting women <3 i think this story is one of the shortest in the book but its social commentary is very strong. basically its just about society's hypocrisy and judgement when it comes to single mothers who escape from terrible marriages and who will accept any job to be able to give their children a good life. not many people realize the sacrifices that this implies but the ghost in this story does and not only she takes care of the baby when her mom is working but she is also willing to become friends with the family and make their lives easier <3

enoki
i think this was an interesting way to talk about the sexualization of women while also tackling the conversation about breast feeding. i think its funny (in an ironic way) how the main character is basically a mushroom who feels grossed out about people sexualizing her.

silently burning
there isnt any character playing as a ghost in this story, right? anyways i dont have much to say about it but i liked the theme of women on the workplace always being kinda overlooked at.

a new recruit
this was kind of a sweet story about nostalgia. once again, i dont think i have much to say about it but im glad that the mc is trying to enjoy the places she goes to before they die, idk.

team sarashina
i guess this story is about not giving up and having dedication basically for everything? i think it is true that when women come together they can achieve anything they want.
anyways, i admire the sarashinas tbh cause most of the time i cant find motivation to do anything, lmao.

a day off
tbh at first i thought gum was some kind of cat but so it was lowkey disappointing to find out she's a toad. anyways, this story is pretty sad and raw and it just depicts how awful is to be a woman in a world of horrible men who will take any chance to take advantage of you :( i can totally get how the main character has been affected by that and just doesn't even feel like giving them a second chance anymore or even getting out of bed. but at the end of the day she knows she has to, in order to protect other women.
ps: i loved kuzuha's cameo!

having a blast
okay i think this might be one of my favorite stories. i really loved the three different povs and the different topics each one portrays. i'm so glad that the husband was not a total asshole and that he ended up becoming somehow better, and that both his wives didn't really mind about him not checking up on them once they died. i love that they could both find who they really were, after their period of grief and i love that they have come at peace with who they are.

the missing one
i have a love-hate relationship with this story. so, i really do relate a lot to the main character: i also do that thing of always expecting the worse in order to not get that hurt if things don't end up turning out well. and the meet cute by the end, well, was indeed cute! but honestly, the descriptions of the town made me zone out a bit. of course i think it was interesting and it kinda reminded me of "the new recruit" but idk, i perosnally think it could have been a bit shorter.

on high
this was kind of a sadder story but i think it was a good choice to make it the last one of the book. it follows a ghost who wathces over a famous castle but who feels kinda tired and lonely by doing so and starts thinking about quitting her job, since she knows now it's gonna be safe. but she is aware that even if she leaves, that castle will still be hers. if you think about it, it is kind of a parallelism to some women's work nowadays, idk.

finishing is book took me so much more time than expected but i want to believe it was manily because of uni, since i genuinely enjoyed reading it. i feel like i have a lot to talk about so let me just go little by little.

this story follows an intergenerational group of immigrant vietnamese women and a "curse" that has been creeping up on their family for several generations. one of their ancestors, many decades ago, decided to leave her husband and elope with the man she loved. that's when her mother-in-law decided to curse her and all of her future descendants to never give birth to sons (which is very important in vietnamese culture) and be unhappy in their marriages. however, in present times, duong women have learnt that this year they'll live through the death, the marriage and the pregnancy of someone in their family.

first things first, this book has a lot of characters. if i am not wrong, there are about 15 main characters. obviously not every single one has the same relevance or story telling time in the book because it has less than 300 pages. however, each one of them is mentioned throughout the story so the family tree at the beginning is super helpful to turn to until one gets used to the characters. 

i think you'll really love this book too, specially if you're a poc immigrant child. i'm not even asian, i'm north african but, trust me, there will be so many scenes which will feel super relatable. actually, since this story tackles several important storylines and it has so many flawed characters i think you will be able to relate to, at least, one of them. some of these said themes are parental relationships and disapproval, different meanings and expectations for success, duties to familial ties, intergenerational trauma, loneliness, finding happiness and peace for yourself, the model minority role on asian women, their fetishization, identity and mental health issues, grief, the effects of war on people, failed marriages, being a second generation immigrant and wanting to blend with your second culture... 

there are just so many different themes which may make you tear up. but, on the other hand, there are also some parts which will make you laugh or, at least, smile. specially the parts with some family drama. then there's also some parts which will make you laugh and feel some softness in your heart, for example the way the mothers brag about their daughters despite their relationship being so broken. 

but i would say that maybe one of the main themes is motherhood, how it is never easy to make good choices and how hard a mother wants to avoid her daughter to end up with sad eyes in front of a life she does not deserve. i feel like these scenes are the core of the book. and i don't wanna be too repetitive but, fuck, all of these problems hit just so close. and maybe the second main theme is just trying to understand that, trying to see your family's struggles and meeting with them somewhere in the middle and maybe achieving to break the intergenerational trauma. i obviously teared up a lot while reading this book, btw. but, sometimes, to get to that point you need to find yourself first, work and believe for the good things you deserve in your life. 

of course, there are some things i disliked.

one of them was joyce. i felt like she was pretty queercoded every time people talked about her. i mean, she works at a museum, everyone clearly could tell she is depressed and they kept saying she was special. to my disappointment she is just a koreaboo, lmao. i mean i can get how she found comfort in kdramas when everything in her life fell apart and how she romanticized korean men because of them. however, i feel like maybe after her first 10 failed dates something should have clicked for her

maybe the book could have been a little bit longer in order for the reader to have a better approach to all of the characters. and, ugh, i really disliked the ending. i'm not gonna spoil anything, i'm just gonna say that it shouldn't have finished with a literal ellipsis. 

but there are a couple details i really loved. the first one is the title and its game play with jaded/jade (for context: jade is an important gemstone in the duong family.) the second one is the tangerine illustrations in every section of the book. i love how its sections kept growing until we had a whole tangerine, simbolizing how the family grew back together. <3

to sum up, i really enjoyed reading this book. and i would definitely love to re-read it in a future or even watch its adaption as a film. despite the tears it made me shed i feel like it has potential to become one of my new comfort reads. 

i am feeling a bit conflicted about this book. i decided to get into it blindly, only because of its remarkable title and its low number of pages. i just needed something to avoid getting into a reading slump... but that's exactly what i got into with this book. i thought i would end it in about 2 or 3 days but it ended up taking me 7 days to finish it???

anyways, i have to say this is a really nice, touching story and i can see why it has such a high rating. it is really beautifully written and the plot is so captivating. if you are a poc or a second-generation immigrant (or, actually, both. why not?) i think you can easily relate to the main character. and even if you're not part of these demographics the story will hit you anyway, not only because of the harsh topics but because of the second person narration. if you're just like me and you're not really used to that kind of narratives, it's okay, i promise you can get used to it after a while.

however, despite the strong themes on the book, i can not lie to myself and everyone else and give this any higher rating. as i said earlier, this was supposed to not get me into a reading slump but i ended up not reading anything for days because the book was just way too slow-paced for my liking. while it is true that the second and third part of the book get kinda better, i basically had to force myself to finish this.

so yeah, i am not denying this is story is worth it (it actually is and you should probably give it a chance!) but i just couldn't fully enjoy it as i would have liked to. at least for now. 

i had to read this book for class and if i had to summarize it in one word it would probably be: ugh. that's exactly what i felt every time i had to read a new chapter. not only they're extremely long but it felt like the author was constantly mainsplaining, oh my god. it just felt like he was constantly like "hey look at me i know a lot about geography, laws, music... anything you want to know!"

i guess the only pro i can see in the book is the portrayal of the legal world, i think that can be interesting. but everything else? ugh again. since i first picked up the book i kept thinking "please don't let this turn into pedophilia"

surprise! it did, wtf

then there's the lack of communication in fiona's marriage and just the author pretending she was better, more free and more intelligent for not having a religion? uhm, yeah, fuck him. even if you're an atheist, acting like people who have a faith are dumb and blinded by it is an awful thing to do. 

so yeah, although the court drama was interesting, this author really needs to realize his mainsplaining won't take him anywhere.

this book had so much potential but i'm afraid it could not fully be delievered. don't get me wrong, it is entertaining and you can have a good time reading it. however, i feel like the author tried to include way too many storylines and i don't think that works with a 350 page novel.

firstly, i don't think it should be labelled as romance because, while there's some soft and cute moments, the title itself says it: this book revolves around hana, and we get to see how she deals with several situations.
i think that these said situations were easy to relate to. and even if you can't fully relate, you can easily emphatize with them: islamophobia, being a perfectionist, doing your best to help your family, being kinda afraid to chase your dreams, the struggles of feeling like you don't belong anywhere...

i loved to read about her character delevopment and how she decided uncertainty is better than being mistreated and doing things you don't really love

i feel like maybe the book's main plot is family. despite everything, i think this was one of the best nuanced topics. i actually think i loved everyone in hana's family. but of course my favorite characters are kawkab (because we love sexy mysterious women) and rashid (supportive side characters who are there for comedic relief own my heart)
i also like the fact that the book portrays different kind of families and/or relationships. there's the imam wearing hawaiian shirts just to make his wife laugh, yusuf and lily's complicated relationship, the way juneid's temper affected his family...

aydin was kind of relatable at some points, you know, the whole needing reassurance thing and not wanting to let his dad down, although he knows he's not a great person.

but i am just kind of confused about him and hana. like, okay, maybe by the end of the book they're not kind of an official couple and they're just in the process of finally getting to know each other better, after so many conversations online and after their banter irl. but, i feel like the way they started liking each other was a bit insta-lovey :/ also, i thought he knew about anabgr's identity and was just playing dumb? but he did not know? that's confusing, specially since he should have recognized hana's voice after a while, but anyways

but as i said, i think the romance was more of a subplot in this book. 

oh, also it took me a while to get over the first 20% of the book. i guess i felt like nothing at all was happening? if this problem and the multiple storylines one would have been fixed, maybe i could round this to 4 stars. but yeah, i don't think i can't give it that rating knowing i was about to dnf it at the beginning.