spootilious's reviews
123 reviews

Moloka'i by Alan Brennert

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

3.0

Read: August 1, 2023
Title: Moloka'i
Series: Moloka'i #1
Author: Alan Brennert
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 3/5
Review:
I'm probably going to keep this review short since I am unaccustomed to writing these reviews on my mobile. So, please forgive me if I have more grammatical errors than usual and for a shorter post. 

Moloka'i was probably the most refreshing and heart-rending work I've read in the last two years.

Brennet's writing feels unemotional and apathetic. In some cases it hurts the story, making it cold and unrelatable, in others it highlights the traumatic and grotesque tragedies of the story.

Regardless, this novel was compelling. It had touching moments, heartbreaking ones, moments that incited anger, disgust, and warmth. It shines that light on pieces of history (both Hawaiian and American) that we don't learn in our history books… history that much of the United States probably would prefer to stay buried. 

I have learned so much from this novel. My curiosity and thirst for more of this history has been sparked, so much so that I've found myself knee deep in historical articles, memoirs, and essays, as I hope it has for others.

I highly recommend this novel for anyone who loves historical fiction, Hawaiian culture, World War II fiction, or simply a heavy, moving, and heartbreaking study of the human condition. 

(I will not be reading book 2, mostly due to my already massive TBR and lack of time)

Quotes:
“There is beauty…in the least beautiful of things.”


TW: Sexual Content, Attempted Rape, Medical Content, Physical Abuse, Epidemic, Christianity, Polytheism, Loss of Child, Loss of Parent, Adoption, Attempted Suicide, Mentions of Suicide, Hate Crimes, War, Segregation, Racism, Coup, Spousal Abuse, Physical Abuse, Murder, Abandonment, Grief, Drowning, Blood, Descriptive Injury, Bombing 

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

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dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

 
 

Read: July 17th, 2024
 Title: Lessons in Chemistry 
 Author: Bonnie Garmus 

Genre:  Historical Fiction 

Rating: 2/5
 Review: 

I have been contemplating how to review this for a few hours now. It’s difficult because I really enjoyed reading the book. It made me smile, cringe, and cry; though I think the ‘Laugh out Loud’ reviews are a bit farfetched. In fact, this novel wasn’t just heavy, it hit like a freight train (pun intended). 

I suppose my biggest conflict is that I really really like the message of the novel and the focus on social injustices. 

The issue then becomes all the things I didn’t like about the novel. 

The work was written well enough but Garmus switch so drastically from one injustice to another that I felt as if I were getting whiplash. She moved back and fourth so much that I don’t think any one subject got as much attention as it deserved. The one focused on the most being Women Empowerment but it felt more like anti-men than pro-women… That being said, I am the type of woman that will ALWAYS choose the bear. Still, I think it would be nice to see a feminist store that builds its own ladder rather than using the destroyed men as stepping stones to empowerment… Cuz in the end it means we still need them… even if in a negative way. 

I found the dialog to often be condescending as well. Almost as if Garmus was throwing in ever intelligent sound word she could find. It felt forced. People of high intelligence can sound as brilliant as their IQ without sounding like a robot. 

The unapologetic and vulgar nature of the atrocities throughout the book is both disturbing and refreshing. I’ve mentioned it in a rare review but I have to admire an author who can simply write a horrific act without defending or explaining it, it makes it hit harder. 

That being said… There was a lot… and jumping from it to a ‘funny’ quip or one liner made the whole thing feel off putting… 

 

Overall I really enjoyed the read, just not the way it was written. I would recommend this to individuals who enjoy heavy reads/sad reads, drama, historical fiction that borders on fantasy, or a strong feminist tone. 

 

TBH I loved the show though. Very well done. 

QUOTES:
 “The librarian is the most important educator in school. What she doesn’t know, she can find out. This is not an opinion; it’s a fact.” 

“Imagine if all men took women seriously. Education would change. The workforce would revolutionize. Marriage counsellors would go out of business.” 

“Courage is the root of change—and change is what we’re chemically designed to do.” 

“Sometimes I think," she said slowly, "that if a man were to spend a day being a woman in America, he wouldn't make it past noon.” 

 

 

TW: Rape, Adultery, Religious bigotry, Racism, Feminism, Sexism, Animal harm, parental death, death of a child, death of a parent, pedophilia, sexual assault, sexual harassment, bombs, death threats, car accidents, suicide, domestic abuse, vomit, abandonment, mentions of abortion, alcoholism, drug use, blood, body shaming, bullying, child abuse, toxic relationships, stalking, slurs, gaslighting, grief, fatphobia, emotional abuse, classism, alcohol, animal cruelty, pregnancy, miscarriage, infidelity, emotional abuse, medical content. 

 

 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

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adventurous dark slow-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? Yes

2.5

 
 

Read: July 7th, 2024
 Title: The Wild Robot 
 Author: Peter Brown 

Genre:  Middle Grade Science Fiction 

Rating: 2.5/5
 Review: 

I wanted to love this book. I really really did. But I really really didn’t. 

Honestly, I wanted to give it 2 stars, but my son absolutely adores this series and if it gets him reading I have to give it an extra half a star. 
 
 Now, obviously I am not the target audience but here are the things I enjoyed about the book: 

1.       It feels very campfire story/folksy. The entire tone of the novel draws you in. 
2.      The writing style is simplistic and age appropriate. The vocabulary is diverse and possibly challenging (in a good way) for middle school readers. 

Now, for the things I did not like: 

While the tone of this novel is light and entertaining the themes of it are not. The book is filled with themes of death and violence. Granted there are other themes like the circle of life, friendship, found family, acceptance. But also, terms like ‘corpses’ and ‘severed limbs’ were used more than once which is a bit concerning. 

Its interesting how the novel can be both lighthearted and somber but Brown manages it pretty well, I’ll give him that. Still, I found the novel to be more… disconcerting than entertaining. 

That being said, I don’t believe it’s any worse than what this age group is exposed to daily from new channels, YouTube, video games… advertisements… and address valuable lessons like empathy, responsibility, caring for others, and acceptance. 

 

Its difficult to know who I would recommend this too… I suppose I would recommend it to parents who are looking for a book to get their child into chapter books and away from graphic novels with the warning that there is quite a bit of death and some violence. 

 

QUOTES:
 N/A 

 

 

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

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adventurous mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

 
 

Read: July 5th, 2024
 Title: Dark Matter 
 Author: Blake Crouch 

Genre:  Science Fiction 

Rating: 3/5
 Review: 

The first this I will admit is that I hated reading this book but love that I have read it. 

Crouch’s writing reminds me of a massed produced murder mystery, in which the author writes as if the book is going to be made into a movie. (Bear in mind I did not know there was a Television series of this novel until after I read it.) 

That is not to say that it was bad, on the contrary I very much enjoyed the novel. However, there were a few things that I found unbelievably annoying. 

1.       The unending one lined paragraph. 
2.      First person (though I will admit Crouch manages pretty well). 
3.      The oddly specific details in places that don’t matter/make sense white glossing over the descriptives of important things. 

Now that that is out of the way, Crouch’s descriptions are beautiful, and the novel is so reflective and thought provoking that I couldn’t put it down. Granted it was extremely predictable (in big ways not the small stuff), but the journey was so fun I didn’t mind it too much. The plot was interesting, the pacing was good… a solid read that will having you thinking about it for days. 

 

I’d recommend this novel for anyone who loves psychological thrillers, Sci-fi, or just wants a quick but intense read. 

 

QUOTES:
 “I’ve always known, on a purely intellectual level, that our separateness and isolation are an illusion. We’re all made of the same thing—the blown-out pieces of matter formed in the fires of dead stars.” 

“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.” 

“Will I keep fighting to be the man I think I am? Or will I disown him and everything he loves, and step into the skin of the person this world would like for me to be?” 

 

 

Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys

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

3.5

 
 

Read: July 1st, 2024
 Title: Wide Sargasso Sea 
 Author: Jean Rhys 

Genre:  Historical Fiction / Classics 

Rating: 3.5/5
 Review: 

This book is absolutely breathtaking and very difficult to follow. 

Rhys reminds me so much of Gabriel Garcia Marquez who I absolutely adore. Rhys’ use of magical realism paints such an enchanting vision that I could hardly put the book down. Rhys’ cadence and rhythm had me absolutely mesmerized. 

In a way, I feel as if, because the writing was so beautiful the story was difficult to focus on. There were so many shifts and changes that at some point I had to go back and reread this or that to make sure I understood what was happening. 

The exploration of many of the themes in this work also had me eager for more. The exploration of madness was fascinating, especially with the visions at the end of the book and how she had come to be known as ‘mad’. The view of the power dynamics between men and women during this time period was not unexpected but shocking in the portrayal of the abusive husband. I can imagine the scrutiny and danger writing such a realistic view of a character could be for Rhys and have the utmost respect for her bravery in doing so in the sixties. 
 
 Exploring societies notion of beauty and nonconformities, female resilience across the ages, racial inequality, the danger and nuance of the nature of colonial history are all intriguing themes throughout the novel that has made it the classic it is today. 

I will admit I have not read Jane Eyre, though I have told myself for years that I planned to. Because of this, I feel as if I missed out on quite a lot of the story and plot. As a stand alone the novel falls a bit short, far too disjointed and reliant of the novel to make much sense on its own. However, it is still a book I am very glad I have had the chance to experience. 

 

I would recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys magical realism, classics, Jane Eyre, or simply wishes for a unique perspective on colonial history. 

 

QUOTES: N/A 

 

 

The Pengrooms by Paul Castle

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lighthearted medium-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? No

3.0

 
Read: July 1st, 2024
 Title: The Pengrooms
 Author: Paul Castle 

Genre:  Children’s Picture Book 

Rating: 3/5
 Review: 

I love this book. Though I will say that the illustrations are better than the writing. Castle’s use of color and contrast is phenomenal! The characters are all adorable and I love the premise of the story!
 
 As for the writing, it’s secondary. It’s obvious that more attention was given to the illustrations than the cadence and rhythm of the story, the story therefore becomes a bit repetitive. I would love to have more synonyms for ‘team’ and others so that when I do read this to children it also expands their vocabulary and use of words. 
 
 Still a great book to share, since it has such great representations! 

 

QUOTES: N/A 

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

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adventurous lighthearted 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

3.0

Read: June 14, 2024
Title: Howl’s Moving Castle
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Series: Howl’s Moving Castle #1
Genre:  Young Adult Fantasy
Rating: 3/5
Review: 
I think I enjoyed this book more with the characterizations of the movie in my head as I read. The characters in the book are fine but I’ve loved the film for so long I have to acknowledge that I have some biases. 
That being said I really enjoyed this novel. It was such a delight. It was lighthearted and whimsical, while also being well written. 
That isn’t to say that I was overly impressed. The book certainly as its faults. The depiction of the romance between the two main characters is so understated that it feels very out of place by the end and there were not quite enough details to satisfy (everything felt so vague and then when there were details it was about the most mundane and unimportant things). 

Still, if you’re looking for a cozy fantasy, I highly recommend. 

QUOTES: N/A
Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn

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

2.0

 Read: May 22, 2024
 Title: Romancing Mister Bridgerton
 Author: Julia Quinn 

Series: Bridgerton #4 

Genre:  Period Romance 

Rating: 2/5
 Review: 

I will be completely forth coming in admitting that I have not read the first three books in this series and that I read this book after the first half of season 3 came out on Netflix. That being said, I read a few reviews prior to me reading this book and went into it with the mindset that these are not the characters I am familiar with and the storyline will be completely different and that I should treat this as a completely stand alone book unrelated, in its entirely, to the Netflix series. 

For any reader planning to get into the book I recommend doing the same. The only thing these characters have in common with the characters in the show is name. 
 
 All that being said here are my thoughts:
 
 I cannot tell you how much I hated this book. I have no words. Over the last five years I have only read a single book that I hated more than this one for entirely different reasons. 

So why the two stars? Well, despite my feeling about this novel I have to admit that Quinn is very talented with the pen. The way she writes and captures the beauty of a scene is stunning in and of itself. I would gladly pick up another book in her style and cadence if it were on another subject or plot. 

Which brings me to what’s wrong with the novel. Let’s start with the elephant in the room… Colin Bridgerton… The reviews I read prior to the novel were that this book changed Colin and that his temper was outrageous and childish. I tend to take these perspectives with a grain of salt. A character will always change (or rather should change) when an author shifts from an outside perspective to an inside one. I chalked it up to the readers having been stuck on his personality in previous books and did not expect to have the same problem… I was completely wrong. 

Colin and Pen’s relationship is toxic through and through, from bruises to emotional manipulation and general (and societal abuse and gaslighting). It honestly makes me a bit sick. In fact, there was a point, at a specific party (which I will not name but I am sure everyone is aware of), that it was completely out of hand. I believe the worst part of it all is that portrayal of Pen suffered because of it. Not in the sense that I thought less of her but simply that she was built up as a strong independent and clever woman in the first half of the novel just to turn into the ‘he’s going to kill me but it’s okay cuz it means that he loves me,’ type of woman by the end. And I understand that this could be because of some of her own trauma but if that was the case it, if it were depicted as such then perhaps I wouldn’t hate it as much, instead she’s just as empty headed as everyone else (there is not ‘cleverness’ about her). Perhaps this is harsh, but I feel it needs to be said. 

So, despite Quinn’s poetic talent, her characters are inconsistent and one dimensional. The plot leaves something to be desired and the spicy scenes (at least in this particular novel) are more toxic that alluring. 
 
 

Still, I will admit I loved every scene with Lady D. Her and Pen’s friendship was a saving grace in this novel. And Daphne’s explanation (and Colin’s realization) of love was refreshingly relatable, especially as a woman’ who has been married to the love of her life for twelve years (not to show my age). 
 
 “And that was when he realized that Daphne had been right. His love hadn't been a thunderbolt from the sky. It had started with a smile, a word, a teasing glance. Every second he had spent in her presence it had grown, until he'd reached this moment, and he suddenly knew. He loved her.”
  

That is perhaps the most realistic portrayal of falling in love that I have ever read (though there is a particular episode of Doctor Who in which Amelia Pond talks about how people’s faces become their personality, and how beautiful they are… which is neither here nor there but is just as true and what I was reminded of when reading this section). 

 

All of these things considered, I couldn’t give the novel more than two stars and the two that I gave it was more for talent and 2 specific characters than anything else in this novel. 

 

QUOTES: 

“And that was when he realized that Daphne had been right. His love hadn't been a thunderbolt from the sky. It had started with a smile, a word, a teasing glance. Every second he had spent in her presence it had grown, until he'd reached this moment, and he suddenly knew. He loved her.” 

 

 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

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

3.0

 
 

Read: April 6, 2024
 Title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
 Author: Mark Haddon 

Genre:  Young Adult Fiction 

Rating: 3/5
 Review: 

If I had to choose one word to describe this novel it would be… Overhyped. 

It wasn’t bad by any means, but it certainly wasn’t as good as everyone that has recommended it to me has made it seem. It seems that the recommendation was more of a “You’re Autistic? You should read this book!” Kind of recommendation. 

To be honest, the autistic representation in the novel is refreshing though I wouldn’t call it accurate, at least in my opinion (though accurately describing what it is like to be autistic is difficult in itself because there is not a ‘norm’ within the global experience (i.e. autism is different for each person)). Still, the fact that Christopher is not written poorly or negatively (despite how he is treated) is a nice change of pace compared to the rest of the fiction stories I have read with autistic characters. Though this says more about our standard of literature than it does about the author. Regardless, I enjoyed the novel. 

From a plot standpoint, the book was a bit bland, there was no real mystery or suspense. All in all, this was a novel that is a novel whose fame comes from the fact the main character is autistic and not the story itself. There is no shame in that, and I would love to see more of this kind of representation through genres and mediums. 

QUOTES: N/A 

 

 

Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

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

2.0

 
 

Read: March 22,2024
 Title: Talking to Dragons
 Author: Patricia C. Wrede 

Series : The Enchanted Forest Chronicles #4 

Genre:  Middle Grade Fantasy 

Rating: 2/5
 Review: 

As a child I loved the entirety of the Enchanted Forest Chronicles. As an adult, I feel as if more than anything I enjoy these books for nostalgia’s sake. 
 
 Recap of thoughts on each book: 

I will say Wrede has a unique world and fun characters, and she can definitely put together a one of a kind plot. However, there were a lot of downfalls to this book. Wrede doesn’t seem to have any rhythm, making the writing monotonous and telling, rather than showing experience which I have mention in each of these reviews. It is good for children learning to read but not for those who already enjoy it. 
 
 Thoughts on This book: 

There is very little detail in the book. It reads more like a list of what happens to the main character more than anything. I also don’t care for first person unless its done really well or adds something to the story. Unfortunately, that’s not the case here. The story being told in first person adds nothing especially considering there is no emotion or reaction from him. It makes the entirety of the story a bit cold and impersonal. 

The novel is also a product of its time and could be taken offense to by individuals that have non-traditional pronouns; considering that the young dragon who has not chosen a sex or gender in the novel is referred to as an ‘it’ repeatedly. 

Other than that this has the same things I do like about the other books: Fun themes, fun characters and a unique plot and setting. 

Overall, I loved this book as a child and still recommend it to early readers but for learning purposes not entertainment. 

 

QUOTES: N/A