paigeinthepages_sg's reviews
104 reviews

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Go to review page

adventurous funny tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Was not a fan and almost DNFed because I could not get into it in the beginning, but I am glad I got to the second half because the tension and drama pulled me in
No More Culturally Irrelevant Teaching by Carmen I. Lugo Llerena, Mariana Souto-Manning

Go to review page

challenging informative fast-paced

5.0

Many of the books and articles about culturally relevant teaching I have read talk about importance, but don't give you any examples on how to actually achieve culturally relevant teaching. This is not one of those. This book is full of wonderful real world in practice examples to help teachers implement culturally relevant pedagogy 
Circe by Madeline Miller

Go to review page

adventurous reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Exciting Times by Naoise Dolan

Go to review page

funny reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I thought the bisexual representation was a little not good at many points, but maybe that's just me. It moved incredibly slow for such a short book, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The writing is pretty good, and I really like Ava's dynamic with both Julian and Edith. If you are looking for a shorter book and you would enjoy a witty fiction with modern political undertones this may be your thing. I personally wasn't that captivated by it.
Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? No

5.0

Teen Titans: Beast Boy Loves Raven by Kami Garcia

Go to review page

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Go to review page

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

4.5

This book has so many beautiful details, but sometimes the details become so much that I was often confused on the story.
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

3.75

Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Go to review page

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

2.5

It was a cute idea, but to be honest I found Rowan a bit insufferable at points. So much so that it made me enjoy the book less overall. Some of the social issues brought up in the book kind of feel out of place and soapboxey. Maybe it worked for some people but it just didn't blend for me. Also can we talk about how she treated telling people she liked romance novels in the same way someone would treat coming out as gay? I thought she was really overdramatic about this and at times it literally felt like she was acting like romance fans were oppressed lol. Honestly not a bad book- especially if you are looking for something fun and adventurous with an enimies to lovers twist. For me personally I just couldn't get over some of my dislikes of the book enough to really enjoy it thuroughly. 
We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom by Bettina Love

Go to review page

challenging informative slow-paced

3.25

I really wanted to learn from this book, not only because I had to analyze it in a paper for class, but also because I want to create the best possible learning environment for ALL of my students. 

Dr. Love introduced a ton of really helpful terminology and ideas, along with helpful personal anecdotes but I was left with the feeling something was missing. I know that the education system has problems and I understand the goals of abolitionist teaching but I am left with little knowledge on how to actually implement any of these ideas. 

I also felt like the book could have been organized better to make concepts easier to internalize. It felt like the book jumped back and forth with repeated surface level info when I would much rather get a deeper understanding of concepts one at a time.

 All in all it was good discussion material for my class- but not something I would recommend if you don't have in class discussion to supplement your learning.