bookreviewswithkb's reviews
592 reviews

this is such a moving narrative about transracial adoption, about the loss of culture, the loss of one’s roots, of how these losses leave you unmoored, and that disconnection eats away at the very core of who you are. it’s about the seeking of reconnection, how we can put pieces back together, how we can use understanding and care of each other to subdue the restlessness 

there is such compassion in these pages, such heartbreaking and heartwarming moments 

bored

i almost couldn’t finish this book because of how much i despised the protagonist, but i appreciate that the author forces a white reader to have to feel and confront the discomfort that this misogynistic, racist, Islamophobic white man creates. overall the book raises important questions and grapples with extremely relevant socio-political issues our society is dealing with. it’s certainly an interesting read but just didn’t move me emotionally 

This book was extremely flat, lacking any emotional depth. I felt so bored by it. I stuck with it thinking it would get better, but it never did. I almost wish the author just would have made this a memoir instead of trying to tie in a journalistic lens; it made the book feel disjointed and at times it seemed like she was including other exvangelical accounts just so she could say something about her own experience. 

i honestly have no idea how i read this. if it was a movie (which it soon will be) and i had seen the trailer, i would have refused to watch it. i don’t do violence and this book is VIOLENT. but i have this thing where i don’t often read the description of a book when i pick it up, so i didn’t know what i was getting myself into. and the first 20 pages had me enthralled so i was stuck

it’s such a good story and i appreciated the reflections around grief and regret, however there were a lot of very unrealistic pieces that took away from the story for me. i would recommend if you like thrillers and action-packed reads 

this is a good complementary guide for those that are already, or are planning to implement or improve restorative justice in schools. it provides practical tools for improving youth engagement in the process, cultivating meaningful avenues for youth to  be leaders in this work, creating systems of change towards equity 

if you aren’t familiar with restorative justice, you wouldn’t start here

let me first just say, this book is incredible

this is everything i love in a memoir. Machado explores such an emotionally difficult topic examining her own personal experiences in a toxic, abusive relationship and uses these experiences to also talk about wider societal issues of silencing queer people in same sex relationships experiences of domestic abuse. the way she explores how we come to tolerate suffering, how we hold onto the pain when we have no outlet, how even when we let it loose there are those who are quick to try to put it back in its place… the language is beautiful and haunting and poetic and powerful 

i knew i had to read this after seeing it on so many of the self-created top 10 books of the 21st century posts and you all were right

i would put In the Dream House in the same category as I’m Telling the Truth, but I’m Lying (different topic but similar brutally gutting style of writing) and if y’all don’t read it soon i swear 😫

thank you @netgalley and @dundurnpress for the review copy! Born in a House of Glass comes out on August 13th!

a contemporary fiction novel written by a Nigerian author, that explores a young woman’s coming-of-age, of finding herself once she truly begins to confront long buried family secrets. this is for the book lovers who enjoy fast-paced, plot heavy reads with straightforward language

for me, it didn’t hit as hard as it could have - I love the idea of the plot and what this novel represents, but the lack of descriptive language left it feeling flat for me. i didn’t feel emotionally connected to the characters or the plot, even though very heavy topics are explored