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paperbackparker's reviews
446 reviews
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
2.0
2/5 stars.
this kinda sucked lol. like, i seriously just read a whole book about an anorexic girl in love w her cousin in the middle of a war. i can’t believe this story exists bc it is so ridiculous and disgusting and just awful.
the only reason it’s not a complete 0 or 1 star rating for me is because i did enjoy daisy’s voice, and i found how the author wrote war and survival was very well done.
but the fact that we have INCEST, on and off romanticization of ANOREXIA, and just such a ridiculous story w telepathy (or whatever you would call it) blows my mind bc it was not a good combination whatsoever. i don’t even know why the love story part of this was allowed to be published lol.
this kinda sucked lol. like, i seriously just read a whole book about an anorexic girl in love w her cousin in the middle of a war. i can’t believe this story exists bc it is so ridiculous and disgusting and just awful.
the only reason it’s not a complete 0 or 1 star rating for me is because i did enjoy daisy’s voice, and i found how the author wrote war and survival was very well done.
but the fact that we have INCEST, on and off romanticization of ANOREXIA, and just such a ridiculous story w telepathy (or whatever you would call it) blows my mind bc it was not a good combination whatsoever. i don’t even know why the love story part of this was allowed to be published lol.
If You Come Softly: Twentieth Anniversary Edition by Jacqueline Woodson
4.0
4.5/5 stars!
ugh i wanted so badly for this to just be a love story, but i knew deep down that it couldn’t be. the world isn’t like that.
i am so happy i read this book.
ugh i wanted so badly for this to just be a love story, but i knew deep down that it couldn’t be. the world isn’t like that.
i am so happy i read this book.
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
4.0
maybe 3.75/5 stars?? or 4/5??? i don’t know.
it took me about 50 pages to actually get into the book bc the pacing was weird imo and i wasn’t used to the writing style. but after that, i loved it so much. the four main kids in this book were incredible, and were so well-written. however, i found that as soon as about the last third of the book started (when they arrived...) the book kinda went downhill. i just found myself v confused and not understanding what was happening and why it was happening. everything felt 1) unnecessary, 2) rushed and 3) just v hectic and confusing honestly. i started to like it again at the very end, but i just feel that most of the last part of the book really diminished the overall quality imo. up until that point, i was ready to give it a 4.5/5 stars. ugh.
anyway i hope the next books make up for it + i’m v interested to see what they did w the movie!!
it took me about 50 pages to actually get into the book bc the pacing was weird imo and i wasn’t used to the writing style. but after that, i loved it so much. the four main kids in this book were incredible, and were so well-written. however, i found that as soon as about the last third of the book started (when they arrived...) the book kinda went downhill. i just found myself v confused and not understanding what was happening and why it was happening. everything felt 1) unnecessary, 2) rushed and 3) just v hectic and confusing honestly. i started to like it again at the very end, but i just feel that most of the last part of the book really diminished the overall quality imo. up until that point, i was ready to give it a 4.5/5 stars. ugh.
anyway i hope the next books make up for it + i’m v interested to see what they did w the movie!!
The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth
4.0
maybe 3.75/5 stars?? i absolutely loved the plot of this book and i loved the characterization. i just felt like it definitely could have been shorter. i’ve been wanting to read this book ever since i bought it in, like, 2014 i think, but it was always daunting because of the number of pages and the tiny print. since i’ve finally picked it up, it took a lot of energy to actually finish reading the book. it was definitely a good book! i’m glad i finally read it, and i am so stoked to see how the movie turned out! but it could have been just as good if it was shorter.
as well, i am not the biggest fan of the ending??? i mean, i’m kinda conflicted bc it was this nice, hopeful moment, but it didn’t really tie-up the plot in any way. maybe the movie will give us a different ending, who knows!
overall, this was a pretty awesome book and i definitely do not regret spending my time reading it. was it perfect? nope! but i am pretty happy w it.
as well, i am not the biggest fan of the ending??? i mean, i’m kinda conflicted bc it was this nice, hopeful moment, but it didn’t really tie-up the plot in any way. maybe the movie will give us a different ending, who knows!
overall, this was a pretty awesome book and i definitely do not regret spending my time reading it. was it perfect? nope! but i am pretty happy w it.
Adultolescence by Gabbie Hanna
3.0
3/5 stars!!
i think it definitely helped that i went into this book as a fan of gabbie’s. it allowed me to understand the humour in this book a bit more than the average person may. with that said, however, the majority of this book is just meh. nothing too special, but nothing super awful either. it was a fun read, but definitely not up there w rupi kaur or any of the other popular modern poets out there rn.
i was tabbing the pieces i enjoyed while reading this book, and there are only 12 tabs in the whole 248-page book. i think that says something. but! the writing i do have tabbed is incredible! so, really, i think the book could have just been shorter maybe?
lastly, i just have to say that the illustrations in this book are probably my favourite part. they are soooo good!!! i think gabbie did an amazing job w them.
so overall, this book wasn’t life-changing. the majority of her poetry won’t stick w me the way other modern poets’ work does. but it was entertaining and i am glad i read it!
i think it definitely helped that i went into this book as a fan of gabbie’s. it allowed me to understand the humour in this book a bit more than the average person may. with that said, however, the majority of this book is just meh. nothing too special, but nothing super awful either. it was a fun read, but definitely not up there w rupi kaur or any of the other popular modern poets out there rn.
i was tabbing the pieces i enjoyed while reading this book, and there are only 12 tabs in the whole 248-page book. i think that says something. but! the writing i do have tabbed is incredible! so, really, i think the book could have just been shorter maybe?
lastly, i just have to say that the illustrations in this book are probably my favourite part. they are soooo good!!! i think gabbie did an amazing job w them.
so overall, this book wasn’t life-changing. the majority of her poetry won’t stick w me the way other modern poets’ work does. but it was entertaining and i am glad i read it!
Luna by Julie Anne Peters
3.0
important for the time it was written! if it were written and published now, i’d probably be giving it a 1/5 stars.
Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
3.0
3.5/5 stars from me!
this book was pretty damn awesome. i loved most of it, and the number of times i literally said “meeee” when penny did or said something is absolutely hilarious. she and i have the weirdest characteristics in common and i love it. i also feel that i related a lot to sam, and jude. i mean, most characters in this book were incredible. i wanted to know more about fin though!
the reasons that it’s not a 5/5 star rating from me are....
1) WHY ARE THERE NO QUEER CHARACTERS????? like i seriously don’t believe that out of that many characters, there isn’t ONE queer person. every aspect of the book was just really cishet and it hurt my feelings lmao.
2) closer to the end, there is a character that is described to have “stayed home most afternoons, ever since she sought early retirement and workman’s comp for fibromyalgia - a mysterious rambling pain that assaulted her extremities”. honestly i was ready to knock my rating down even more for that, and i’m still on the fence about it. as someone who actually lives w fibromyalgia, and has a mom that lives on disability because of fibromyalgia, i was extremely insulted by this one-off statement. it felt condescending, rude, and like the author has no belief in the severity of the illness and wants to mock anyone w it, especially those who are unable to work because of it. it felt like the author was saying that the diagnosis is completely invalid and it’s just a ploy for people to mooch off government money. the character goes on to say that this person is basically just a result of “depression, addiction, and the poison it becomes when you don’t get a handle on any of it”, which further pushes the idea that fibromyalgia isn’t actually real, debilitating pain but rather the result of a messed up mind and it’s all totally made up. there is no further mention of the character’s disability and how it actually affects them, and so it really seems like the whole diagnosis was put in there just to make a mockery of it. as i said, I LOVED this book - up until i read that. i was extremely insulted.
overall, almost everything about this book was great. i really loved most of it. it was just that a couple things sucked, and i really can’t ignore them.
this book was pretty damn awesome. i loved most of it, and the number of times i literally said “meeee” when penny did or said something is absolutely hilarious. she and i have the weirdest characteristics in common and i love it. i also feel that i related a lot to sam, and jude. i mean, most characters in this book were incredible. i wanted to know more about fin though!
the reasons that it’s not a 5/5 star rating from me are....
1) WHY ARE THERE NO QUEER CHARACTERS????? like i seriously don’t believe that out of that many characters, there isn’t ONE queer person. every aspect of the book was just really cishet and it hurt my feelings lmao.
2) closer to the end, there is a character that is described to have “stayed home most afternoons, ever since she sought early retirement and workman’s comp for fibromyalgia - a mysterious rambling pain that assaulted her extremities”. honestly i was ready to knock my rating down even more for that, and i’m still on the fence about it. as someone who actually lives w fibromyalgia, and has a mom that lives on disability because of fibromyalgia, i was extremely insulted by this one-off statement. it felt condescending, rude, and like the author has no belief in the severity of the illness and wants to mock anyone w it, especially those who are unable to work because of it. it felt like the author was saying that the diagnosis is completely invalid and it’s just a ploy for people to mooch off government money. the character goes on to say that this person is basically just a result of “depression, addiction, and the poison it becomes when you don’t get a handle on any of it”, which further pushes the idea that fibromyalgia isn’t actually real, debilitating pain but rather the result of a messed up mind and it’s all totally made up. there is no further mention of the character’s disability and how it actually affects them, and so it really seems like the whole diagnosis was put in there just to make a mockery of it. as i said, I LOVED this book - up until i read that. i was extremely insulted.
overall, almost everything about this book was great. i really loved most of it. it was just that a couple things sucked, and i really can’t ignore them.