emilyusuallyreading's reviews
746 reviews

Jodie Piccoult is an excellent writer. She has a way of spinning a tale so elaborately that I'm not sure who to root for. This is my second time reading Nineteen Minutes and it haunts me just as much. A compelling read.

One of my favorite things about Tosca Lee's Biblical-based fiction is that she brings Bible characters to life in ways I've never imagined before. Judas Iscariot has always been "the bad man who betrayed Jesus." A felt cut-out on a board in Sunday School class. Through this novel, he came to life more than I've ever thought of him.

I've always been able to relate with Peter and John and Thomas in their brokenness and faith in Christ, but for the first time, I have looked at the disciple Judas and seen my broken self in him too. "Iscariot" is beautifully written.

Specials is a little darker than the first two books in the series. Tally has been transformed into a member of Special Circumstances, someone who is ferocious and unmatched in battle (and a little confused about what side she's on).

One piece of this story that I don't like is the "Cutters," a group of futuristic teen law enforcement who cut their skin in order to feel "icy." While Westerfeld makes it clear that cutting is not a good idea, I simply don't like to see this habit glorified whatsoever in young adult literature.

While I enjoy Specials a little less than I do the first two books, it's still a good read and a brilliant end to a tale of some amazing characters. I'm a big fan of Scott Westerfeld's big imagination. Whenever teens ask me what to read, I'll always recommend these books.

Initially I found this novel to be an unbearable read. I was overwhelmed and bored by its lengthy depictions of the upper class society at the turn of the century and all of their folly. I found Lily Bart to be extremely unlikable and I found Selden to be even worse. However, towards the second half of The House of Mirth I became captivated by Lily Bart and her steady decline from society. The second-to-last chapter was one of the most compelling I've read in years.

Spoiler

The description of Lily's insomnia and then the effects of her sleeping medicine left me mesmerized, as if I was there through every moment.

I will never forget Lily Bart's story.

Ecclesiastes 7:2-4
"It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting, for this is the end of all mankind, and the living will lay it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for by sadness of face the heart is made glad. The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth."

What I Liked
I laughed through the entirety of Lorelei's diaries. The characters are so entertaining and the social commentary has an undertone of feminism that reaches far beyond its time. I still can hardly believe the "flapper" lifestyle was a real thing.

What I Didn't Like
While the book's simplicity and poor grammar were intentional, I have trouble gaining as much appreciation from this read as I have from other literature. I had a good laugh as I turned each page, but I found the book ultimately forgettable.

There is no denying that William Faulkner had immense talent. But Absalom, Absalom! is so dense. I struggled to get through it from the first page to the last. I often found myself venturing to SparkNotes in order to grasp the storyline at all. The sentences are so long and thick and frustrating. The story itself is so very dark and joyless. I just couldn't fall in love with this piece of literature.

Honestly, I can't bring myself to review Anne Frank's diary like I do most books I read. As a young teenage girl under enormous pressure and anxiety, Anne wrote with beautiful eloquence and profound intuition about her inner self and the world around her. It's a privilege to read Anne Frank's journal and I was amazed by her depth at such a young age.

This novella is an incredibly powerful tale of racism in the early twentieth century, the relationship between women, and the motives behind people's action. The idea of "passing" is used in the text when African-American women allow themselves to pass as white, either for convenience or to completely change their lives and society. However, Passing is a reminder that everyone "passes" to a certain degree, placing some mask over their innermost self when they interact with others.

What I Liked
The simplicity of this fable does not take away from its haunting message about the holocaust and the brokenness of man. Bruno and Shmuel's similarities and differences, the innocence of a young child amidst great evil, are all a new way to remember the atrocities that occurred during this time in history.

What I Didn't Like
There are some historical inaccuracies within the book. The children touch the fence surrounding Auschwitz with little hesitation; in reality, the fence would have been electrified. If I am correct, children under the age of 15 were gassed upon arrival in this particular concentration camp, so it seems unlikely that Shmuel would have been alive in the first place.

What I Liked
Eudora Welty brings depth and characterization to her African-American characters, while many other authors of this time period used their black characters as a way to reflect something about their white characters.

I appreciated the realistic family structure in Delta Wedding and the significance of each member of the family, blood relative or not.

What I Didn't Like
It is a struggle to find a plot structure within Delta Wedding. It's slow-paced and light-hearted. While Eudora Welty can write beautiful words, I was never able to get into the story and could barely make it through to the end.