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planet_taffy's reviews
26 reviews
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
5.0
A fantastic read. Atwood's prediction of what a post-1980s extreme religious government would look like still feels relevant to the modern day; I almost didn't clock the publication date. I love the way the Historical Notes section (also part of the fictional narrative) adds another layer of dehumanization to Offred's story: where Offred left no grayzone as whether the government was wrong or right, nuance is then forced onto her narrative by the "experts" analyzing it going so far as to caution the audience against "passing moral judgment upon the Gileadeans".
All in all a well-rounded story that leaves the reader a lot to think about despite the many answers it provides. I also didn't expect butter to come up as often as it did.
All in all a well-rounded story that leaves the reader a lot to think about despite the many answers it provides. I also didn't expect butter to come up as often as it did.
The Last Days of the Dinosaurs: An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World by Riley Black
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 50%.
The library wanted it back. It's very dense reading with lots of words I'd like to be able to look up; I'm hoping to pick it up as an ebook so I can benefit from the ereaders lookuo features.
#DRCL Midnight Children, Vol. 1 by Shin'ichi Sakamoto
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
#DRCL is, at its core, an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula although Sakamoto has taken a number of artistic liberties with the telling. The setting has been shifted to a British boarding school in Whitby for the elite where #DRCL's Mina, a working class girl with charmingly crooked pigtails and a gap tooth, is enrolled as their first woman student. In general the core cast, to my understanding of the original Dracula, have been shifted to give more diverse perspectives: Quincy Morris is Black and American, John Seward is now Jo Suwa from Japan, Arthur Holmwood is just as British but with the character of Lucy being changed to Luke* none of them are straight anymore. *Luke also has an interesting relationship with gender, taking on the persona of Lucy at night though I'm hesitant to outright assume the author intends her to be trans. There's also some very interesting interpretations of Dracula and his traditional form going on.
Sakamoto has a beautiful art style that looks nearly photorealistic at times. It reminds me of several Showa-era boys boarding school titles in style as well as content with luscious eyelashes galore and a focus on boys love. The writing is overall flowery with gorgeous panels prioritizes over heavy exposition so I'm a little confused at least fifty percent of the time but it's a satisfying read. I'm eagerly looking forward to the chance to see Mina suplex one of the boys; I'm hoping it'll be Arthur.
For the "Is There Strong Character Development" question I would like to clarify that this is a manga: there is not enough story covered in a single volume to complete a character arc. There is, however, a rich ground sewn for character conflicts and developments through the series.
Sakamoto has a beautiful art style that looks nearly photorealistic at times. It reminds me of several Showa-era boys boarding school titles in style as well as content with luscious eyelashes galore and a focus on boys love. The writing is overall flowery with gorgeous panels prioritizes over heavy exposition so I'm a little confused at least fifty percent of the time but it's a satisfying read. I'm eagerly looking forward to the chance to see Mina suplex one of the boys; I'm hoping it'll be Arthur.
For the "Is There Strong Character Development" question I would like to clarify that this is a manga: there is not enough story covered in a single volume to complete a character arc. There is, however, a rich ground sewn for character conflicts and developments through the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Gore and Sexual content
Minor: Deadnaming and Classism
It unclear how the character being dead named feels about their birth name; they are not publicly Out. It is not done by characters out of malice or related to the ”bullying" content warning.
Silent as the Grave by Cheryl Bradshaw
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
To be clear the events in the description never happen; they're canon events in the story but it's conveyed through dialogue rather than as an actual scene. Most developments in the story happen that way with unfeeling walls of dialogue from characters Sloane has just met and will not meet again for the rest of the story being the primary vessel for clues; except for some small bumps, Sloane has no challenge getting information out of people. Pair this with the overall lack of description and the smash cut scene transitions between chapters and it made for a rather bland read. It was a free ebook, though, and the actual mystery was interesting, just poorly delivered; I liked getting to know who did what to whom and why.
I took off a star for the use of OCD as an adjective not once, but twice, despite it being pretty clear Bradshaw was not intending to give Sloane OCD; there is nothing in this book that can even generously be interpreted as her struggling with OCD. Quotes in spoilers.
"I glanced at the carpet, and my OCD went into overdrive." page 24, to describe the character simply noticing something.
"I shifted my focus to a pile of haphazard bar napkins in disarray. I reached out, stacked them the right way, and leaned back, pleased my OCD had done its job for the night." page 59.
I took off a star for the use of OCD as an adjective not once, but twice, despite it being pretty clear Bradshaw was not intending to give Sloane OCD; there is nothing in this book that can even generously be interpreted as her struggling with OCD. Quotes in spoilers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Minor: Ableism and Abortion
The New O'Donnellan Heir: Curse of the Dullahan - Vol 1 by Taylor S. Hoch
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.5
Hoch delivers a solid middle grade adventure set in our own mundane world, but with a heavy sprinkling of Irish mythos and magic. Aunt Suki's wild house-part ship, part castle, part everything else-provides an imaginative backdrop for the adventures of Prospero who is charmingly oblivious to the realities of magic. This feels like a book I would have thoroughly enjoyed in middle school, especially Sadie; I've always had a soft spot for girl characters that play baseball.
I liked the book, though I wish it had a stronger climax.I especially felt like the meeting with the gnomes should have been included in the falling action, rather than put off till book two. Looking forward to book two.
I liked the book, though I wish it had a stronger climax.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Minor: Death
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Clark introduces us to a vibrant alternate history of Cairo characterized by automatons, tram cars, and delicious descriptions of food. Each character is vibrant with Hamed representing your classic grizzled detective and Onsi, your bright eyed newbie; though their roles are buddycop staples, Clark manages to flesh out each one in a unique way.
The different kinds of magic and creatures in the story added a lot of depth without coming across as confusing or like an info dump. I'm impressed with the amount of world building Clark was able to include in such a short story. All in all it's a masterfully crafted book; I look forward to reading more from this universe.
The different kinds of magic and creatures in the story added a lot of depth without coming across as confusing or like an info dump. I'm impressed with the amount of world building Clark was able to include in such a short story. All in all it's a masterfully crafted book; I look forward to reading more from this universe.
The Secret of Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
The Secret of Shadow Ranch is an all-around solid installment in the series, as long as you overlook the continuity error with the sweater: the gimmick of the ghost horse is fun and well utilized; the cast of villains and red herrings are easy to keep up with; and Keene manages to give all of the characters their own charm. This book makes me really wish it was public which authors ghostwrote what, because I'd love to focus on reading the Nancy Drew Mysteries by this particular iteration of Carolyn Keene.
Most importantly, this is the first book featuring Bess and George. They are exactly as fun as I remembered.
Most importantly, this is the first book featuring Bess and George. They are exactly as fun as I remembered.
The Mystery at the Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I found this one to be quite rep titive compared to other entiries in the series: the opening is very similar to the Bungalow Mystery, the new companion Emily Willougby is a rehashing of companion Helen Corning (three years older, & soon to be married), several events in the false haunting narrative bring me right back to The Hidden Staircase etc. Interesting events happen almost randomly, and the motives & goals of the villains seem to shift for the sake of adding more excitement. Though the Nancy Drew books can sometimes be rather dramatic, Lilac Inn features one wildly impossible development after another; the bar is really low for suspension of disbelief in a middle grade novel but I found it difficult not to roll my eyes. The use of a miniature river submarine, a "vibration machine" to shake a building, and a time bomb in the same book was a little much.
Nancy has a lot of charming quips in this one and it's interesting to watch Maud pull different emotions out of her than the usually good-girl persona, but the other half of the cast (the villains) were just names on a page. This is my current least favorite book, and I predict it will remain at the bottom in my final ranking.
Nancy has a lot of charming quips in this one and it's interesting to watch Maud pull different emotions out of her than the usually good-girl persona, but the other half of the cast (the villains) were just names on a page. This is my current least favorite book, and I predict it will remain at the bottom in my final ranking.
Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Womb City is a heavy book that handles gender politics and crimes against women in a deeply intersectional way. I was continually impressed with the new layers Tsamaase brought to the issue leaving no stone unturned in xer dissection of male privilege and the way it's used to enact violence on everyone else.
It terms of the sci-fi elements, Tsamaase's future Botswana is also full of layers from artificial immortality through "body-hopping" to the many tools of surveillance and control giving us the dynamic of second class citizens through "microchipped people". Xe is pretty good about explaining new technologies each time they come up so that, by the time they're super important to the plot, you're quite familiar with them.
All in all it's a rewarding read, even if the verbiage is a bit hard to get through on the first pass. Nothing in the book is a throwaway, making the ending one of the most satisfying I've read. My only complaint is that I wish less scenes had taken place in the car.
It terms of the sci-fi elements, Tsamaase's future Botswana is also full of layers from artificial immortality through "body-hopping" to the many tools of surveillance and control giving us the dynamic of second class citizens through "microchipped people". Xe is pretty good about explaining new technologies each time they come up so that, by the time they're super important to the plot, you're quite familiar with them.
All in all it's a rewarding read, even if the verbiage is a bit hard to get through on the first pass. Nothing in the book is a throwaway, making the ending one of the most satisfying I've read. My only complaint is that I wish less scenes had taken place in the car.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, and Rape
Minor: Kidnapping and Pregnancy
These are pulled from the frontmatter of the book. Sensitive topics are used with purpose, but there is quite a bit of gore & body horror.
Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr
adventurous
challenging
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Barr tells a story full of vibrant desert life deep in a West Texas national park. Although some of the more specific geological terms flew over my head, she managed to paint a rich picture of the landscape that was a delight to read. Anna is a refreshing main character for a detective series being in her late thirties with plenty of world experience. Unfortunately, the cast was also bogged down with a plethora of men that showed up infrequently and began to run together; none of them popped up long enough to make an impression beyond Anna's initial brief descriptions of them which is a problem since this is a mystery story and everyone is a suspect.
I think the story would have worked better as either a slice of life story about Anna coming to terms with her past and the people she's pushed away or a murder mystery about a lion being framed. As it is, we get a little bit of both with neither reaching a satisfying conclusion; Anna spends too long fumbling around and not enough time solving the mystery while the social plotsare straight up never resolved .
I had a lot of fun reading it, because I love the aesthetic of park rangers, but I'm torn on whether or not to recommend because the ending fell flat; I'm going with a tentative "yes: read it".
I think the story would have worked better as either a slice of life story about Anna coming to terms with her past and the people she's pushed away or a murder mystery about a lion being framed. As it is, we get a little bit of both with neither reaching a satisfying conclusion; Anna spends too long fumbling around and not enough time solving the mystery while the social plots
I had a lot of fun reading it, because I love the aesthetic of park rangers, but I'm torn on whether or not to recommend because the ending fell flat; I'm going with a tentative "yes: read it".