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clairebau's reviews
46 reviews
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
dark
tense
3.0
There was a lot I liked about this book. Near-perfect prose and incredible descriptions, all set atop a really cool concept. I also loved the mild body horror descriptions of the disease itself, so much that I wanted more of it.
Unfortunately, like most compilations of short stories, some were hits and some were misses. I loved the ones I loved: the story of a scientist's bond with a talking pig (I know, but hear me out) and one of a worker at a euthanasia theme park for kids (I KNOW, BUT HEAR ME OUT). These stories shined because they were conceptually cool and gorgeously bleak. But for every interesting story with likeable characters, there was at least one that was just... disappointingly boring. Girl prepares for funeral amid family problems. Person laments their dead relatives. Something something symbolism for the monotony of mass grief yeah, yeah, whatever... but I was bored, especially when I compared these chapters to the ones about, like, intergenerational space travel.
Besides being set in the same universe, there are some explicit connections between characters, but these, too, were... not very interesting? Why should I care that one character is the great, great grandniece of another when there's no plot significance? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to learn I'd missed some of these "connections," since I barely caught the ones I did on account of their meaning absolutely nothing. And I didn't like the last chapter, which felt pretentious. I guess I was more interested in the sci-fi aspects than the divine metaphysical.
Unfortunately, like most compilations of short stories, some were hits and some were misses. I loved the ones I loved: the story of a scientist's bond with a talking pig (I know, but hear me out) and one of a worker at a euthanasia theme park for kids (I KNOW, BUT HEAR ME OUT). These stories shined because they were conceptually cool and gorgeously bleak. But for every interesting story with likeable characters, there was at least one that was just... disappointingly boring. Girl prepares for funeral amid family problems. Person laments their dead relatives. Something something symbolism for the monotony of mass grief yeah, yeah, whatever... but I was bored, especially when I compared these chapters to the ones about, like, intergenerational space travel.
Besides being set in the same universe, there are some explicit connections between characters, but these, too, were... not very interesting? Why should I care that one character is the great, great grandniece of another when there's no plot significance? Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to learn I'd missed some of these "connections," since I barely caught the ones I did on account of their meaning absolutely nothing. And I didn't like the last chapter, which felt pretentious. I guess I was more interested in the sci-fi aspects than the divine metaphysical.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Terminal illness
Feed by M.T. Anderson
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Reread.
This is one of my favorite books. It is uncomfortable to read, and I hate reading it. It is garbage and a masterpiece. I'd be hard pressed to find a book closer to my heart, or one that I've recommended as many times as I have (to no avail??? no one trusts my literary judgment). I've never read anything like it. The audiobook is also, like, the craziest thing I've ever listened to, and to this day, the only one I've ever liked.
I love this book for its worldbuilding, and its normalization of the insane.
This is one of my favorite books. It is uncomfortable to read, and I hate reading it. It is garbage and a masterpiece. I'd be hard pressed to find a book closer to my heart, or one that I've recommended as many times as I have (to no avail??? no one trusts my literary judgment). I've never read anything like it. The audiobook is also, like, the craziest thing I've ever listened to, and to this day, the only one I've ever liked.
I love this book for its worldbuilding, and its normalization of the insane.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug use, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I think this may be the perfect book. Just the right amount of speculative/sci-fi stuff for me to go absolutely feral over it, incredibly written characters, emotional plot points. Also, everything in this book just... made sense. Character motivations were logical and well-rounded. Both Evelyn's exposition and the book's symbolism were perfectly, gorgeously done. The twists and reveals were picture-perfect. I love this book. I love Evelyn and Martine. I love to hate Nathan. God, I loved this book.
Jurassic Park with humans, pretty much.
Jurassic Park with humans, pretty much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Tell Me an Ending by Jo Harkin
dark
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
3.75
This was very conceptually similar to Silvera's More Happy Than Not, which I of course love. This was done just as well. Exploring the idea of a memory erasure procedure through the perspectives of many people feels obvious now. It did a lot to build out the world and the implications of something like this. I was equally invested in every perspective, which never happens.
Ending was a little disappointing. Just a little. The book felt like it was building to something larger than it did. Noor spent the duration of the story investigating a mystery with a payoff that was just... eh. Yeah, the point is that each character is morally gray and that multiple instances of so-called wrongdoing were enacted by different entities, but the reveals didn't pack the punch I wish they would have! I would also have loved more wrap-up to Finn and Mirande's story.
Ending was a little disappointing. Just a little. The book felt like it was building to something larger than it did. Noor spent the duration of the story investigating a mystery with a payoff that was just... eh. Yeah, the point is that each character is morally gray and that multiple instances of so-called wrongdoing were enacted by different entities, but the reveals didn't pack the punch I wish they would have! I would also have loved more wrap-up to Finn and Mirande's story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Addiction, Gore, Incest, and Alcohol
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 30%.
I didn't care about the characters. Or the plot. Or the universe.
Young Jane Young by Gabrielle Zevin
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Conceptually very cool! Dragged at times. I do so love when women write women like women. I kind of wanted to hug everyone in this book. Well, the women. Young Aviva, mostly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity and Sexism
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
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
Having skimmed a dozen reviews that lamented this book's "sad", "heartbreaking" ending, I spent most of this book preparing for tragedy. There may have been some, but this is not a tragic tale in its whole, and certainly not in its ending.
This is the perfect book. This is a book about everything. Grief, friendship, humanity, gaming. I couldn't have loved the ending more. Collaboration and kinship are more profound than romance.Sam and Sadie getting together would have ruined this story.
The characters were so well made. The symbolism made me want to ball up this book and eat it. I really don't know what else to say. I loved this book. I haven't felt this way about a book since I was 12 reading the Hunger Games.
This is the perfect book. This is a book about everything. Grief, friendship, humanity, gaming. I couldn't have loved the ending more. Collaboration and kinship are more profound than romance.
The characters were so well made. The symbolism made me want to ball up this book and eat it. I really don't know what else to say. I loved this book. I haven't felt this way about a book since I was 12 reading the Hunger Games.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Pregnancy
The Martian by Andy Weir
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Pretty darn good! It had everything I like in a sci-fi. Dragged at times. Had eye-roll-worthy attempts at humor sometimes. Kind of a masterclass in setback writing. I particularly liked the mix of POV journal writing and narrative bits. Not much more to say about this one. I would've liked some Earth resolution at the end.
All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I expected to think this book was just okay, and then I went and loved it. I love a coming-of-age story. I love light science fiction. I love stuck-up, idiot-smart male characters and genuinely interesting & feminine female ones. Magical realism is always a bit of a hit or miss for me, but in this case, it was a huge hit. I love a weird ass book. God, this book was weird, but in an off-beat, well developed way. The strength of this book was in its characters and writing style. The plot was just-fine, I guess, but I liked the other aspects too much to care.
My critiques are few. There were too many minor characters with too-few contributions to the story at large. Like with most books, I felt the ending was a bit rushed and not as fleshed out as the beginning (which, in the case of this book, was especially carefully done). Slight deus ex machina at the end, but there was enough leading up to it that I'm not mad about it.
I'd love if this author focused less on plot-ambitious stuff and kept at the coming of age, realistic romance sort of thing, as that's what I thought she excelled at. I'll likely be rereading this one.
My critiques are few. There were too many minor characters with too-few contributions to the story at large. Like with most books, I felt the ending was a bit rushed and not as fleshed out as the beginning (which, in the case of this book, was especially carefully done). Slight deus ex machina at the end, but there was enough leading up to it that I'm not mad about it.
I'd love if this author focused less on plot-ambitious stuff and kept at the coming of age, realistic romance sort of thing, as that's what I thought she excelled at. I'll likely be rereading this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and War
1984 by George Orwell
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.5
This was only a little bit of a chore to get through. I get that it was like, the big thing for its time, but I couldn't get past the messy, disjointed storytelling, the weak attempts at symbolism, and the unlikeable characters. God, the unlikeable characters! Though I will grant them the fact that their god-awful personalities are a result of their surroundings. Julia's only personality trait is being not-like-other-girls. Martyr Winston admits a rape fantasy in the first 20 pages of the book, so I stopped sympathizing with him pretty much immediately.
This book just feels all over the place in a few ways, especially in its pacing. It didn't feel well-rounded or expertly crafted, more like Orwell had a bunch of ideas he slapped together for an excuse to publish twenty pages of grandstanding right in the middle. Yawn.
This book just feels all over the place in a few ways, especially in its pacing. It didn't feel well-rounded or expertly crafted, more like Orwell had a bunch of ideas he slapped together for an excuse to publish twenty pages of grandstanding right in the middle. Yawn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual assault and War
Minor: Rape