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m4rtt4's reviews
327 reviews
Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
5 stars, yet it took me a whole month to finish this book — I wanted to savour it slowly, and I didn't have those special occasions frequently enough when I felt ready to immerse myself in the story. Maggie O'Farrell has such a way with words. I'll never forget this experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Terminal illness and Pandemic/Epidemic
Kuolemanspiraali by Leena Lehtolainen
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Better than I initially expected! There was too much pregnancy stuff for my liking, but I can't really complain as pregnant crime investigators are basically nonexistent in literature (the voice was important to hear). You can see that the book was written in the 90s by the way some stuff is outdated and many serious issues are not handled adequately (by today's standards), but the book also offered an interesting insight into the last decade of Finnish history that I didn't yet exist to experience. Can't believe that restraining orders weren't a thing here in 1997, wth??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Alcohol
They'll Never Catch Us by Jessica Goodman
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
A very average YA thriller — not the best plot, but it kept me hooked at times. Noah is an asshole.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Abortion
Idän pikajunan arvoitus by Agatha Christie
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I first read this book 6 years ago in middle school, it was my first Christie and I absolutely loved it. The reading experience was nice this time as well, as I didn't remember the ending at all — but dare I say, this time I was disappointed by it. The build-up was compelling, but I like it when murder mysteries offer me all the clues to try to solve the mystery myself, and this story unfortunately failed at that, as much of the crucial information was only blurted out by Poirot in the very end. This time I also picked up more racist undertones that annoyed me, such as "Englishmen don't use knives because they are civilized" etc. Overall not a bad reading experience, but I was a bit let down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Child death, Death, Racism, Violence, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
what a page-turner! I was on the verge of tears on several occasions, this book has such an important message. Claudia's self-centeredness really annoyed me at times, but then again my thoughts were similar to hers when I was 14 so I can't really complain. The book had the potential to be 5 stars, but it could have been a tad shorter and there were two tropes I didn't like: the romantic subplot with Michael (it was okay-ish) and the losing memory stuff. Explains the time skips, but every time the ending is explained by memory loss, it automatically takes away some creativity points.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Violence, Excrement, Medical trauma, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting
Minor: Addiction and Drug use
Uzumaki by Junji Ito
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I'll never feel the same about spirals ever again. I'm disturbed, disgusted, traumatised, yet I'd re-read all this in a heartbeat. This was unlike anything I've ever read, even the previous works of Ito were not as good, because as talented as he is at writing short stories, nothing beats an epic of 650 pages! Wow. Just wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Hylkäämisen päivät by Taru Nyström, Elena Ferrante
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
We support women's rights but also women's wrongs.✨
The issue of Mario being a groomer should have been properly acknowledged but other than that, I don't really have any complaints. Maybe I would have related to Olga more if I was a mother or if I had experienced a break up. Olga's feelings are valid, too often we take mothers and motherhood for granted. (I do not condone all her actions but I understand where they come from)
The issue of Mario being a groomer should have been properly acknowledged but other than that, I don't really have any complaints. Maybe I would have related to Olga more if I was a mother or if I had experienced a break up. Olga's feelings are valid, too often we take mothers and motherhood for granted. (I do not condone all her actions but I understand where they come from)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Medical content, and Abandonment
Minor: Animal cruelty, Pedophilia, Violence, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass by Lana Del Rey
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Most poems were mediocre and felt like I was too non-American to fully understand them. The haikus should have been left out, I'd rather have read my Instagram captions from when I was 15 (and that says a lot).
Then again I also cried my heart out at two (2) poems, Quiet Waiter Blue Forever and Never to Heaven, and these two alone raised my initial rating of 2 stars up to 3 stars.
Then again I also cried my heart out at two (2) poems, Quiet Waiter Blue Forever and Never to Heaven, and these two alone raised my initial rating of 2 stars up to 3 stars.
Kun luulit unohtaneesi by Leena Lehtolainen
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Kaikki omalla tavallaan ankeita persoonia, joiden elämässä on vituillaan asia jos toinenkin. Välillä lukeminen oli suorastaan masentavaa, ja kesti pitkälti yli puolenvälin, että aloin pitää (osasta) hahmoista. Kiintymyksen (lue: yleisen draamanjanon) myötä tarinan arkinen "nykyhetki" osoittautuikin mielenkiintoisemmaksi kuin sen taustalla kummitellut mysteeri isänmurhasta. Olin vähän pettynyt loppuratkaisuun, koska toivoin, että murhaaja olisi ollut joku päähenkilöistä eikä tuomittu Rane itse. Yllätyksekseni kaikista kirjoista juuri TÄMÄ sai romanttisia "happily ever after"-ratkaisuja vihaavan minun uskomaan onnellisiin loppuihin — kaikki oli niin synkkää, että se suorastaan kerjäsi rakkautta vastapainokseen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Korkeintaan vähän väsynyt eli Kuinka olla tarpeeksi maailmassa, jossa mikään ei riitä by Eeva Kolu
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
"Kympin tyttönä" samaistuin suorituskeskeisyyttä ja miellyttämistä käsitelleisiin osioihin, mutta niitä lukuun ottamatta teos ei oikein kolahtanut. Monet kirjassa käsitellyt asiat tuntuivat itsestäänselvyyksiltä, esimerkiksi harvalle lukijalle (varsinkaan kirjan kohderyhmään kuuluvalle) tarvitsee selittää, miten sosiaalinen media toimii. Ei Kolu väärässä ole, mutta ei hän tee monia maata mullistavia huomioitakaan. Toisaalta kirjan yleismaailmallisuudesta huolimatta kertojan positio jää välillä todella etääntyneeksi todellisuudesta, kun ratikalla matkustamisesta tehdään "vaiva" ja "tiukassa taloudellisessa tilanteessa" on silti varaa ostaa uusia luonnonkukkia joka viikko. You do you, mutta tämä ärsytti, kun esimerkeiksi olisi voinut keksiä jotain tiedostavampaakin.