sara_berlin's reviews
270 reviews

This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron

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

4.5

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.5

It’s impossible not to feel for these characters, even if you can’t relate at all.  TJR has a remarkable ability to make you walk in the shoes of people who are nothing like you, and that’s really on display in this book, even more than Evelyn Hugo. Each character (except maybe Camilla but that makes sense in context) is a flawed, complex, and, most importantly, real-seeming person. By the end of the book it was hard to believe that the Six weren’t a real band and that these weren’t real interviews conducted with them. 
 
Side note: highly, highly recommend listening to the audiobook. It can be a little hard to keep up with what’s going on but it’s worth it to hear the story told like it’s recordings of real celebrities.
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective 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

5.0

Such a witty yet emotional commentary on humans, morality, and much more. It was so fun to read and the dry humor is hilarious. 
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-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

I found this book to have a less avant-garde style than some of Akwaeke Emezi's other books, but still with their unique flair, which I always love. It also fit into my accidental reading trend of gravitating toward perspectives that I don't often hear, which definitely applies to mainstream American literature and queer Nigerians. For both of those reasons, I really enjoyed the story, despite it's clear tragedy. The Death of Vivek Oji deserves to become a classic. 
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Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists During the Great Depression by Robin D.G. Kelley

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I’ll get around to it eventually, but right now I have library books to read.
Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman

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5.0

Tori 🥺 also Charlie and Nick overcoming conflict??? We love to see it
Gilded by Marissa Meyer

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense 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? Yes

3.75

It took me ~100 pages to get into, but once I did, I was entranced by the characters and the vivid descriptions. I think it’s different from Marissa Meyer’s other books as it is much more mystical and slower-paced, although there is still suspense which helps keep the reader’s attention. Also, just as a note, the length of time it took for me to read it is definitely more a reflection of my reading habits than the quality of the book lol.
Dreamland Burning by Jennifer Latham

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative sad 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? Yes

5.0

The Blood of Olympus by Rick Riordan

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad 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? Yes

5.0

Content Warning: Everything by Akwaeke Emezi

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense

4.0

Akwaeke Emezi writes prose like it’s poetry and poetry like it’s art, and art is not my specialty. The poems in this collection raised a lot of questions for me and, even with thoughtful consideration, I found a lot of them too complex to unpack, but maybe that was the point. You’re not supposed to dissect, you’re just meant to get the general form.