taliaissmart's reviews
2252 reviews

One of those books that feels like it probably could have been an essay or two in The Atlantic. The main idea is interesting, but the individual chapters don't dive deep enough to warrant the page count; it ends up feeling fairly redundant.

The biggest myth/assumption smashed for me: the scale of the American Revolutionary War. Such a relatively small conflict! For example, the Boston Massacre left 5 people dead...and that's a major historical event that we all still learn about! Wild!

Meh. Book 6 of the series, and it this point there's not much overarching plot, just one-off cons featuring the same cast of characters.

Honestly, mess. It felt like a Britney instagram post, which probably means that she did write it, but not in a good way. The train of thought is off the rails, girl!

I feel for Britney, though. She's been through intense, horrible shit--and this book is a testament to her resilience.

My first Shirley Jackson! Way more of an eerie vibe than proper horror--an incisive primer on all the little ways life can be scary.

A classic tale of not understanding how reflections work. The story didn't really do it for me, but I thought the vertical flip style was a clever way of denoting a mirrored surface!

Lonely Bird is a paper creature who lives, unobserved, in the home of a human family. She's an artist, and one day she makes something incredible: a friend. Then her friend gets eaten by the vacuum cleaner. Lonely Bird must summon all her tenacity to mount a rescue mission.

An intensely original story, told across beautiful painted illustrations that serve as a foil to Lonely Bird's visual simplicity.

A precious picture book about a "spiky" kid and a feral kitten who find mutual understanding & companionship in each other. Kinetic illustrations and resonant, emotionally vibrant prose.

 A narrative of the early decades in the life of Amory Blaine, a young man born into wealth, but insecure as a member of the post-WWI American aristocracy.

The beginning had me laughing out loud (absurd child getting up to bizarre hijinks) but the rest of the book was way less fun. A lot of it centers around Amory's time at Princeton, which is so specific to the setting & time period that I struggled to find my footing.

An interesting exploration of class & varied experiences of romantic love, nonetheless.

When Conejo's house is blown away by a storm, they embark on a search that takes them past many friends. They're ultimately unable to find their original home, but the support, kindness, and gifts from their friends give them the strength to rebuild.

A winning exploration of displacement and the power of community.