pastelhellion's reviews
132 reviews

Spirit Level by Richy Craven

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted sad 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? It's complicated

4.25

Loved it! Love supporting Irish writers and the Irishness just oozes out of this. Insanely funny and witty, but got me emotional at times. Craven discusses grief, loss and male mental health issues in a real way. I look forward to reading more from Craven in the future. 
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

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

4.75

Beautiful book. It took me a bit to get into it, but then I was hooked. The Child (narrator) feels so removed from her humanity, because she can not relate to her companions past lives as she was a child and can't remember the previous world. But as we travel with her through the world we see her humanity; her compassion, her respect for culture and the dead, her hope for knowledge and answers, her loneliness and despair. Beautiful.
Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen

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dark funny 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? It's complicated

4.25

This was so much fun! I kinda wish some parts were more expanded upon but it was great nonetheless. 
Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Kim Jiyoung is every woman. A mix of fiction and essay, Cho Nam-joo tapped directly into the heart of feminism. How far we've come as women, and how far behind we still are. Infuriating and heart-breaking at times - because no matter what, its never enough being a woman.
Sleep Donation by Karen Russell

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dark mysterious sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.25

I know it's a novella but I wish it was a fully fleshed novel! The world Russell crafted is so intriguing and terrifying, a truly nightmarish dystopia.
Mother for Dinner by Shalom Auslander

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dark funny reflective 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

4.75

A fantastic story of identity, consumption, capitalism and humanity. Also extremely funny. 
Everybody is a poem: Midlife in Rhymes by Jan Brierton

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funny hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

3.75

Simple poems about life, a fun read on my commute. I particularly loved her poems on grief, I found them the most profound and moving.
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

4.75

I've seen the movie many times and thought it was about time to read the book. 

An insightful study into feminism, sexism and mental illness, captured in the 60s. Only losing marks because the print of this edition makes the medical documents difficult to read. 
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke And Other Misfortunes by Eric LaRocca

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Delightfully grotesque at times. Thoroughly enjoyed it! 
Indelicacy by Amina Cain

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

4.25