graywild's reviews
575 reviews

She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

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

3.0

Classic haunted house set in Vietnam.  Jade is visiting her estranged father in Vietnam with her younger sister. in order to get money to pay for college.  Her mother has traveled with her but is visiting her family with her younger brother. Story is ok but at times you have to really concentrate to understand reality versus dreams/visions.  Slight recommendation.
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Coming of age story of Francis Nolan during the early 1900s in Brooklyn.  Francis' family is very poor.  Her father struggles with alcohol and her mother is the primary wage earner.  Francis takes in all her experiences and continues to look for a better future.  Recommend but more like a vacation read.
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Dystopian story in near future that blends modern day gladiators and Stephen King's The Running Man.  The basic story is criminals convicted of murder are given the option to fulfill their sentences in traditional prisons or to sign up for CAPE in which if they survive for 3 years they get freedom.  The author mixes in current fact about how the US criminal system is biased for minorities. The story was a bit disjointed for me.  Recommend but not aggressively.
It's Alive! by Julian David Stone

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adventurous informative reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

Fictionalized account of the last few weeks leading up to the shooting of the Universal movie Frankenstein.  The casting came down to a famous star, Bela Lugosi, and an unknown, Boris Karloff.  Junior Laemmle struggled with the decision and he was not always supported by the director James Whale. Book listened as horror on Goodreads but it is just historical fiction.  Just okay for me.
The Night Travelers by Armando Lucas Correa

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

2.5

Story of Ally, Lilith, Nadine and Luna.  No spoilers.  Story covers time period of WWII in Berlin, Havana Cuba during rise of Castro, New York City in 1970s and then Germany again in the 2000s.  Overall the story was just ok for me.  Had a hard time getting into the characters.
Savor: A Chef's Hunger for More by Fatima Ali

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dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

4.0

Memoir of Top Chef alum Fatima Ali written with the help of  Tarajia Morrell. Fatima was very sick with cancer at the time and the story was pulled together by Morrell by a series of interviews with her and her mother (at a later time). It gave a good background to her life in Pakistan and the issues with being a woman in that country. It follows her career in the food industry in the US that was derailed by her cancer diagnosis.  I was always a fan of her so I definitely wanted to read.  The last third of the book is very hard to read and I found myself crying.  Recommend.
The Princess Bride by William Goldman

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adventurous challenging funny fast-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

3.5

If you liked the movie the book is essentially the same story.  Goldman writes the book as he is editing down a very long version of the book from a different author.  There are a few things in the book that are slightly different in the movie.  There is an additional 50 pages or so that extend the story past the ending of the movie.  This part of the book fell a little short for me but probably because of my expectations of the story.
A Vineyard in Tuscany: A Wine Lover's Dream by Ferenc Máté

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informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

2.0

Ferenc Mate tells the story of how he bought his Tuscany estate and winery.  It was a run down house that needed renovation.  The vineyard itself needed to be torn out and replanted.  His money came from writing so of course it is well written.  Just ended up being not interesting enough for me.  Lots of details on renovations.
I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle

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adventurous challenging mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

3.0

Story of Robert, a dragon exterminator; Cerise, a princess of a small kingdom; and Reginald, a prince vying for her hand.  Robert's job is to get rid of small dragons who infest homes and castles - like rats or bugs - but he doesn't really like it.  Most of the story follows the 3 characters as they go on a quest so Reginald can kill a big dragon.  Throw in an evil wizard to add excitement.  Recommend.
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Dystopian story of Hig (or Big Hig) who has survived a global flu outbreak that has killed almost everyone.  He is currently living with a survivalist (basically everyone left has turned into one).  He has access to a plane and is able to pilot it for short trips to survey the area around him.  The story is just okay for me.  Much of the story just centers on what everyday life is like.  I didn't feel like the plot moved forward very much.