cat_rector's reviews
76 reviews

If you're trying to find a more balanced way of living, this book should be part of your toolkit. It offers lots of great information and validation that life as we currently live is unsustainable. It offers a variety of different types of advice depending on your needs, and readers can easily decide if a section is relevant to them or not.

My one gripe with the book is that unfortunately, due to my previous readings on some of these things, it didn't always offer new information. That's a personal problem, however, and not the fault of the book. For example, the section on good managers, feeling safe in the workplace, etc, aren't as valuable to me because I've read a few books on those topics, and this felt more like a primer for further exploration.

This is an excellent place to start exploring your need for change in life and reads very accessibly.

4.5 stars. This book is a must-read for anyone who doesn't understand gentrification and privilege.

Thriller isn't a genre I typically turn to, and I picked this up specifically for my book club, and I'm glad I did. The book takes on a chilling and strange atmosphere part way through the book, in part because if you *do* know anything about gentrification, slavery, and how shitty the world can be, very few of the plot points are out of the question. Everything, even the gross, inhumane ending, can be found in the history of minorities and what white people did to them.

I did have a couple of gripes with the book, but nothing that overshadowed my enjoyment. Mainly, the mom's story was not a surprise to me. I knew what had happened to her within a chapter or two. It was just very obvious to me, and so the twist didn't have the impact it was meant to.

Overall a great listen and something you should consider for your TBR

I feel like I would've really, really enjoyed this years ago. Mostly, I'm walking away feeling like I'd have loved this in an Adult format, with more word count and space to be fleshed out.

This book for readers who love interesting, unique magic systems, beautiful depictions of culture, and the plot staples of YA books. I also recommend the audiobook if you're an English basic b*tch like me, because there were plenty of words or terms that I wasn't able to get my mind around on paper, but added such a layer of immersion in the audiobook.

Five stars as a League of Legends fan, four from a general fiction standpoint.

A huge part of why I enjoyed this is because I played League for like six years and this book is essentially the prequel for a handful of characters from the game. The game has a ton of lore, but it's a very optional thing to consume, since it has little to do with the gameplay itself, so I went into this with zero idea of what the story would be, but knowing that these characters need to get from A) normal humans to B) Fucked up and unique warriors. Getting to guess at how was a fun experience for me.

As well, the book drops in a small horde of easter eggs for players, such as character cameos, origins of some in-game weapons, important locations, explanations why some characters are fish and birds and stuff? Like. I just had a lot of fun.

From a fictional perspective, I can see how a reader who hasn't played League will read this book, look at some of the details, and ask themselves why that wasn't cut. Unfortunately, in serving one community, you may underserve another. I think the plot is good fun, the stakes are high, the characters are deeply human, and there's a lot to love for a non-gamer fantasy fan.

Like. Just. I didn't like Kalista at all while playing (something about being yeeted across the map against my will is not fun) but this story makes her the character of my heart, I love her

This was pure fun for me and I loved every second of it. I'm hoping for a sequel somehow but not holding my breath. This review will not be helpful to anyone, because I have no critical insight to give and will not be attempting to. It made me feel like a teenager again, pining for a man who loves foolishly and fully. It was nice to fangirl over something again, and to remember what I loved most about Spike.

This... might end up being a comfort listen for me.

Spoiler

Also can we just acknowledge how clever the author was in making this a YA-appropriate book instead of a murderfest with those London Rules LOL. If you didn't like that, go back and read the novel Spike and Dru: Pretty Maids All in a Row by Christopher Golden, that book was not YA in the LEAST.

4.5 stars rounded up. This was so weird and I loved it.

It's true that very little truly original anymore and this book is the closest I've come in a long time to reading something I've never read before. It has a colony of people living inside a giant space monster, with all the gross worldbuilding of that one episode of The Magic School Bus where they go inside the kid and explore his intestines.

This book is not for pearl-clutchers. It doesn't shy away from weird topics. Like...if you want to give flowers to your girlfriend but you're a parasite living in a giant space whale, what are the flowers? The word sphincter appears several times. There are also lots of tentacles. It's both funny and dark, occasionally bordering slightly into the realm of space horror. Many of the topics and moments of the book are dark in theme, reflecting a harsh, unfair life of survival.

If you're looking for diversity, this book has it all. It's a queer-positive world with large poly families and complicated relationships. The author has written a matriarchal society with flipped gender inequality and cultural norms that are based on the echos of abandoned Earth's varied Black cultures.

I don't know who I would recommend this book to but I loved it. I'm on to Book Two now and can't wait to see what weird surprises this one has for me.

I was slightly less enamoured with this book than the first, but I'm a mood reader and I had a drastic change of mood part way through. It continues to build on the interesting world that the author created in book one, and the social justice themes remain intriguing for me. There were some things I liked less than others, but overall it was an engaging, strange world and I won't soon forget it.

Honestly, this book should probably be taught in schools at age 13 in a class called Media Literacy.

The most interesting part of this for me wasn't about the cults as we tend to think of them—deeply harmful cults like Jonestown or Scientology—but the everyday cultish behaviour fitness, social media, and the way we talk to each other.

The single greatest tool this book has given me is the idea of thought-halting phrases. Now that I know it, I'll never stop hearing it. Phrases like "it is what it is" or "God has a plan for you" that halt a conversation, make it hard to push for more depth, and invite the person to stop arguing. The author gives plenty of examples of more insidious versions of this, but I can see it in so many facets of my everyday life.

If you're striving to be more aware of your surroundings in the social world, or you have an interest in how language makes people believe things, this book will likely be interesting for you.

4.5 rounded up. This is a great book if you're curious about the modern business of death in the west, and are skeptical of the way we do things. It can be gross at times, because the author does describe working with bodies and some of the things that result from that. As well, it can be frank about sad things that may trigger readers. As an example, the book discusses deaths of all kinds and of all ages and the differences in the industry that result from those details.

I recommend this book to someone who's seeking understanding about something they've already been pondering. Someone who isn't ready for this topic may find it jarring and offputting, rather than the gentle education it's meant to be. It left me with a lot to think about.