Chris or Cooper
This one was a painfully slow starter but it ended up having a fantastic ending. I'm definitely willing to see what comes next. As always this one served to remind me that this book should have been Simon's story because yes please haha
I don't think this is a bad book, for a mystery/thriller it is interestingly written. If you are looking for something along the lines of Wallander, Gone Girl or Broadchurch you may enjoy this. It is a bleak mystery with a bleak outlook.
However, it's not as unpredictable as it seems to think and the directions it goes are so disappointing and depressing. I found myself angry at it.
The biggest disappointments are Spoiler filled so read on with that in mind:
I can't believe they set up such an amazing friendship that made the point that straight men and women can be friends without romance and then pulled a “just kidding no they can't” 80% of the way through the book. It was disappointing and sexist.
The characterization of Rosalind was tired. It was Gone Girl all over again and it had the nerve to imply that this twist wasn't obvious. The book straight up said “you were fooled too weren't you?” To which I had to go, no I wasn't even a little.
It was frustrating and disappointing
I have so much love for this book I can barely contain it. This book is hilarious, touching, and an excellent depiction of anxiety. It is so much fun to root for this dysfunctional family. The main character is witty and insightful. The audiobook was one of the best I've ever listened to with quality of voice acting and mood.
I loved it! Instant favorite.
Update: I just read this book again for the second time this year, and still had the same reaction of laughing and crying. It never failed to improve my mood even though I knew what it was going to say.
This book was the best kind of ridiculousness. It was the kind of ridiculousness that reminds you that life is funny. Life with mental health problems can be funny too, and in laughter there is empowering. As someone with anxiety myself, this book spoke to me on a deep level. It made me laugh and relate and cry. It made me feel not alone. It reminded me that though mental health problems suck, they aren't the end of the line. They are just a different line. Am I stretching this metaphor? This book also made me weirdly interested in taxidermy. Who knew.
This book was incredibly lovely, moving, sad and powerful. I love everything it represents and how well it is executed. Amazing how she made a galaxy far far away feel so close to home, commenting on our times in insightful ways. The new characters were fantastic and the old ones were perfectly done. It genuinely made me cry in many places. Love love love it
2.5 stars. Honestly it just could have been better. It was fine and not actively terrible, but sort of hovered in the just okay column.
I am overwhelmed by emotions after finishing this. I can't stop thinking about it. Rainbow Rowell is one of my all time favorite authors and in a long list of incredible works, this is one of her most moving. I feel like the book filled me completely full, and I'm just bursting to anyone near me about how amazing it was. It was impossible to stop reading, especially the last 100 or so pages (really, it was very hard to get any homework done until I finished this)! It made me react out loud. Quite genuinely. I laughed out loud, I cried, I gasped. The twists were amazing.
The entire set of characters were amazing. I felt like I really knew all of them. There was no character I felt lukewarm toward. I either really hated or really loved each!
Then the ending. One of the best endings in fantasy out there.
I really can't overstate how much I want everyone to run out and get this one, right now, stop your lives and read it.
Miles is the Spider-Man we need. I love this so much and it's plots feel so relevant to this moment in time
This is one of my favorite, favorite superheroes. I genuinely can't believe how much I love it, it took me by surprise. It's so positive and hilarious. A perfect pick me up kind of a read. I fully plan to share it with my niece because it's a comic we can read together.
Sarah Bessey has a way of writing about difficult things that makes her books seem like warm, comforting presences. Her words are there to guide you through the dark nights of the soul with a warm cup of tea and a empathetic hug. I love this book and it spoke directly into my stage of life. Fully recommend for anyone sorting through the faith of their childhood with the eyes of adulthood
Young girls solving mysteries and being friends? Hints of Batman and Batmythology? Damien Wayne? SOLD. I love this,
This book managed to hit every emotion for me! It was a fantastic work of horror, a really well written romance, a wonderful heist novel, and a brilliant conspiracy thriller rolled into one book. The characters were incredible, and I loved each of them. The romance particularly stands out to me because a lot of YA novels of this type do that part the least well, but I fully adored the romance in this one.
John Green wrote in the Fault in Our Stars that some books fill you with an Evangelical zeal. That you just want everyone to read them. This is one of those books. If I could afford it, I would buy every copy in sight and give it to everyone I know. This is the kind of book the makes you cry and then warms up in your chest like hot coco and swells you up with the reminder that there is beautiful things in the world. Read it when you need to be reminded about the good of humanity. Read it when you need to feel completely in love with this planet.
I know I sound over the top but I mean it completely.
I love how each character is presented in their own words. They get a chance to explain themselves and the way they view the world.
I love that the writer knew that a book doesn't need to be big or grand to be effective.
I love, love, love this book.
Read it now.
I am so obsessed with this book! I finished it and immediately preordered book 2. It is incredibly smart, with well rounded characters. They aren't just takes on the original Holmes and Watson but fascinating nods to them while being there own thing. I am so here for a girl genius as clever as Holmes, and I like the dynamic with Watson here better even than the original Holmes Watson duo!
This comic made some really questionable story decisions, especially early on. At times it was ridiculous throughout. Despite that, there are some really fun characters in this, and the twist at the end made a lot of the stranger ideas make sense. I recommend if you want some shameless fun to try it out, but give it until the end before making a decision on it.
I also just personally love the ongoing grad school thesis plotline, it gets me.
The Beginning of Everything is one of my favorite books of all time, so I was excited for this, but while I don't think it was a bad book, I don't love it either. Some moments were wonderful, but I kept getting distracted or needing breaks from it. I had a hard time ever being fully in it with the characters for some reason. Some moments I was, but then it would lose me. I'm really not sure I could even pinpoint what it was about this book I didn't love, just something off about it. I still love Schneider's work and I'm excited for her next one, but this one didn't hit the mark with me.
If I could, I would give this book a 4.5 stars. It was incredible in so many ways. It was an important book about transgender kids, told spectacularly from their point of view. The characters were incredible well done, the plot line caught me by surprise so many times, and the ending absolutely rocked. I happily recommend this to anyone/everyone
Not as good as vol 1, but there were some fabulously fun moments. Harley reigns as one of the best characters out there
I adore Sam Maggs' writing and full disclosure, worked with her as a consultant on a different book. She is a caring and inclusive feminist. This book was fun and lovely. For newcomers to fandom, there's a lot of useful entryways to the world of fan culture and how to connect with it. I think if you are a long timer to fandom, there won't be too much new here, but if there is even one area of fandom life that you are wanting to break into, skipping to that bit will teach you things you didn't know. It also includes an interesting 101 look at the way fangirl culture interacts with feminism and inclusivity that I loved. I would have liked some nuance in places during this section, but it's an effective primer.
Overall, really sweet and interesting book, good for entry level discussions.
An incredibly short but powerful read. Just about 50 pages in all, but it covers the most important ideas of feminism. It's almost a manifesto.
This is one of my new favorites, easily sneaking its way into my top ten of all books. I am in love! It's both a fun and fascinating sci-fi novel exploring ethics and morality through that lens, it's a happy and hilarious comedy about a make shift family that harkened parks and rec feels! Read it!!!!!
