eliya's reviews
102 reviews

My brain is swollen with thought. I took a deep, deep breath when I closed this book. It took me so long to read, it is very very dense. Multiple times a chapter I sat and reflected on what I had read, and I am truly grateful that this book was lovingly recommended to me by other people. 
I realize I am fearful and gatekeepy when it comes to loving. 

Bell Hooks is such a thoughtful writer, I often got lost and had to double back. There is so much information and i do wish the flow was a little more conversational, though I’m unsure how effective that would be. The narrative is also pretty gendered & there’s a religious undertone, so take with that what you will. I did love this book regardless.

just as quick a read as the first one, which i do love about colleen hoover books. she attempted to do the same fake-aware bs that she did in the first one but she wasn’t as bad in this one. 

i’m happy i read this book, it took me about 8 hours in-app (im a slow reader). 

i’m really happy we got to see atlas and lily have their happy ending. really nice to see best-case scenarios work out

i was really hoping that this was gonna end with the five of em living their best lives. this is hopelessly devastating.

the scene that steinbeck paints is very well done. heavily descriptive just up to the point where it sets the scene, no further, which i appreciated bc i get dizzy with too much detail.

quick read, horribly packed with internal conflict. poor george. poor lennie. poor mae. i strongly believe that steinbeck was not “demonstrating bias of the period” so much as participating in it heavily.

i’ll think about this book for a while.

an alright book, some fun anecdotes, i really enjoyed the beginning few chapters more than the rest of the book. i listened to the audiobook and i’m glad i did, his comedic timing is very good. i related a lot to his experiences, parent dying at 62, dead sibling. it was good. 

made the mistake of listening to this on audiobook. author is insufferable, has some insightful takes, but ultimately has an attitude of “she’s had it the hardest.” it’s been a year since i read this book now- i wish i had reviewed it initially- and i still roll my eyes when i see the cover.

one thing she said towards the beginning,

about the adults around her witnessing her abuse, that the adults around did nothing to help her, and that made her feel more alone. what <\spoiler>  i learned from this book is how to at least attempt to be an advocate / resource for the children around me. 

okay book, i’ll be honest, i don’t think i paid enough attention to it. i listened to in on audiobook… might read again with text. i can only give this a straight down the middle review until i read it again lol.

I read this sometime in middle or high school. I remember I loved it so much. 

The part with the solider got me hard, and I wanted to learn german to read it in german so that when the american soldier spoke, it would be the only english thing i read.

really good book. i recommend listening to the audiobook if you can.