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marywahlmeierbracciano's reviews
805 reviews
Godfather Death by Sally Nicholls
dark
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This cautionary tale reimagines a Brothers Grimm story with hauntingly beautiful illustrations in a warm palette. A poor fisherman forgoes God and the Devil to choose the most honest man - Death - to be his son's godfather. This gorgeous, spooky story is good for cultivating familiarity with and respect for death and the hard truths of life.
What the Chicken Knows: A New Appreciation of the World's Most Familiar Bird by Sy Montgomery
informative
lighthearted
relaxing
4.5
This delightful little book packs a punch! Sy Montgomery’s avian anecdotes are interspersed with scientific research findings that prove the haters wrong. Chickens are much more intelligent (and docile) than is widely believed. This glimpse into the “Chicken Universe” will enlighten readers to the bravery, playfulness, and individuality of the world’s most common bird. Montgomery’s stories of rural life in New Hampshire are a balm for the overstimulated mind.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
How to Fall in Love in a Time of Unnameable Disaster by Muriel Leung
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
In this queer speculative novel where ghosts are commonplace and food is scarce, residents of a single New York apartment building find routine in hunkering down from weekly acid rain. Upon moving back in with her mom, Mira is heartbroken that her partner, Mal, chose to stay behind, alone, in her late parents’ home. To pass the time and process, she begins a talk radio show, and later falls in love with one of her listeners, a headless (and also heartbroken) man called Sad. With rotating narration and an all-BIPOC cast—excluding a beautifully tender, gay cockroach ghost—this debut is existential, surreal, and electric.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Blood, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
The Twilight Zone by Nona Fernández
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.5
The Twilight Zone, which reads like true crime and is inspired by true events, is a distressing but essential story of political violence in Chile during the Pinochet dictatorship, juxtaposed with modern life and allusions to American media. Fernández dives deep into the multiplicity of reality in her poetic imagination of the lives of the disappeared and their loved ones. Frequent leaps between timelines illustrate the repetition of history, the unfathomable horrors of what happened, the mysteries that still remain, the gaslighting, the candles still burning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Stalking, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Torture
The Lies We Conjure by Sarah Henning
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
After being paid to impersonate a pair of granddaughters, two sisters find themselves in a mysterious mansion straight out of Clue, complete with the death of their hostess and the locking of the gates to begin the game. They’ve unknowingly walked into a sort of witches’ family reunion turned power struggle; everything is at stake, and being found out could have dire consequences. The sisters’ relationship shines in this breakneck thriller, with constant banter and a thoughtful examination of strengths across opposing personalities. Breaking tradition can be deadly, but can something good come out of it? Fans of Knives Out will love this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
Sound the Gong by Joan He
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Best read directly after its predecessor, Sound the Gong continues the story of Zephyr and the Three Kingdoms. Again filled with incredibly brave, badass warrior women, this book sees Zephyr navigate strategy by inhabiting the bodies of others. The characters in this story will do whatever it takes to accomplish their goals in a (sometimes literally) cutthroat environment, and yet, the chess pieces they manipulate in order to do so are not only pawns but also friends, allies, rulers. Zephyr’s powers are put to the test as she tries to change fate to get what she wants, but history is cyclical and destiny powerful. Will her choices have been worth it?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Suicide, Torture, and Vomit
Come Out, Come Out by Natalie C. Parker
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Amidst a restrictive church community, three friends were drawn together by their covert queerness. In a moment of danger, they made a wish to the forest Patron, and now one of them is gone, and the others have forgotten everything. Five years later, Fern’s vying to be cast as the female lead in her senior musical (Grease) like her three older sisters. Jaq is on track to attend college alongside her sweet boyfriend, whom she’ll someday marry. A chance encounter leads them to the forest again, and they slowly start to remember. Told in dual timelines—before the wish, and after—this heart-pounding story exemplifies the pain of suppression, the necessity of safe spaces, and the boundlessness of queer identity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child death, Death, Infidelity, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Outing, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War by David Halberstam
challenging
informative
slow-paced
4.0
Finished just days before his death, master journalist David Halberstam’s The Coldest Winter extensively chronicles the politics surrounding the Korean War, intimately profiling key players: Truman, MacArthur, Mao, Kim Jong Il, and more. Plentiful miscalculations on both sides—many due to flagrant racism, swollen egos, and military politics—were matched with incredible feats of bravery, talent, and selflessness by many lesser-known figures (see: Kansas’s own Fr. Kapaun). Halberstam offers an enlightening look at cultural differences in strategy alongside personal stories from the front lines. An excellent overview of the conflict for those curious about the “Forgotten War.” Scott Brick’s commanding audiobook narration is superb.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Torture
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
emotional
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Peter and Ivan—brothers, a decade apart—have just lost their father to cancer. Once close, now semi-estranged, they grieve independently. Peter a confident human rights lawyer and a miserable coward, self-medicating while juggling loves old and new. Ivan, the younger (whom I read as autistic), a chess player of missed potential, intense, tender, and in love for the first time. Intimate and erotic, the brothers’ stories unfold amid themes of philosophy. Intermezzo leaves one wondering—optimistically—what really matters, in the grand scheme of things. Sally Rooney is my favorite living writer.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, and Death of parent
Entitlement by Rumaan Alam
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I've come to expect tense, highly descriptive stories of privilege and identity from Rumaan Alam, and Entitlement is just that. Amidst the backdrop of the Obama-era 2010s, the lines of reality blur in New York City. This unsettling novel sometimes paints its Black female protagonist as a villain, which is uncomfortable in itself, but what choice does she have but to play the field? Single in her thirties, she's just started a new job at a charitable foundation; a rich white man is giving away his fortune. You can't take it with you, and all. But also, ask and you shall receive.