turrean's reviews
2266 reviews

Bryony and Roses by T. Kingfisher

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

3.75

A very satisfying reworking of Beauty and the Beast, which rectifies several issues that, as an adult, I found most annoying in modern retellings.
Support from your sisters! Hobbies to pass the time while enchanted! Wisdom with age!
James by Percival Everett

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emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Brilliant. 

A reviewer calls it “ferociously funny” which is an apt description. The unwritten rules that govern interactions between slavers and the enslaved are meticulously portrayed and savagely funny. The reader can recognize both the absurdity and the heartbreaking modern parallels. 
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The Murder of Mr. Ma by John Shen Yen Nee, S.J. Rozan

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

4.5

Excellent! A well-constructed mystery, a delightful cast of characters, and wry commentary on the twin forces of racism and cultural appropriation. 

There was a hint of possible future stories, which I hope might include some women characters (
who aren’t condescending racists or mere possessions of male characters.)
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The Fort by Gordon Korman

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Heartstopper Volume 1 by Alice Oseman

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funny hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Super sweet, with a very slow buildup to…a cliffhanger. Artwork is fluid and expressive, in black and white with a soft pastel green for accent. With few exceptions, Oseman focuses almost exclusively on faces, with rough strokes suggesting but not detailing background elements. 
Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope

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dark emotional 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? No

4.0

Reminded me of the stories in The People Could Fly and similar collections of Black folklore and tradition, that reveal the ways people have encouraged, comforted, and strengthened themselves through stories. The magic system was intricate, and well thought out (there was perhaps too much detail on the history of the other world — the central portion of the book was slower.) 

Definitely wanted to have some words with the passel of gods who were passing up chance after chance to save other people, other towns, other refugees.
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Piper by Jessica Freeburg, Jay Asher

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

3.0

Dark, tense, gripping, and sad. I was frustrated by scenes where the deaf character, who is skilled at lip-reading, could comprehend what people said when they were facing away from her.

There are, like, three entire decent people in the story. The main character imagines dreadful fates for the villagers who torment her, which makes her attraction to the Piper very convincing.


Binti: Home by Nnedi Okorafor

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emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

The story advances, but leaves off at a cliffhanger! 

Marvelous audiobook narration. 
Tidesong by Wendy Xu

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

3.75

Sophie’s inner anxiety is given a voice in this delightful graphic novel for elementary students. The story examines how the burden of expectations can shape a child’s sense of self-worth.  Characters are drawn with the elastic facial features typical of anime characters, easily (and humorously) conveying emotion. I adored the frazzled clerk of the dragon court. 
Paladin's Faith by T. Kingfisher

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adventurous funny tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This volume in the series was slower to start than the previous three. But it did ramp up considerably in the last 25% of the book there was an excellent cliffhanger ending, though it is sad to contemplate the fact that it’ll probably be at least a year before readers can find out what happens next.

I found the romance in this book less convincing than in the previous three, but I loved the connections to the Clocktaur War series. 
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