Hailey
This book was chilling but brilliant. I listened to the audiobook and absolutely loved the narrator- it made the story all the more engaging.
I did feel as though much of the backstory leading to the transition was not that plausible, so I wish that had been a bit better fleshed out so this story felt more realistic and possible.
I genuinely finished it feeling extremely horrified so this book did its job.
A very insightful book about Taoism. It blends Pooh excerpts and principles of Taoism into an easy to understand novel.
Actual rating: 4.5
It was really, really good. I can't tell you why, exactly, all I know is that I was completely engrossed in the story. I would recommend it whole-heartedly for every person to read at some point in their life.
Actual Rating: 4.5I actually really liked the Great Gatsby! This was really good because the last classic I read, [b:The Scarlet Letter 12296 The Scarlet Letter Nathaniel Hawthorne https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1404810944s/12296.jpg 4925227], I hated with every fiber of my being (except Hawthorne's prose itself- it was lovely). I was worried about this because of that bad experience, but really, I shouldn't have worried.The plot of the novel is so original. It gives such a great insight into the Roaring Twenties, even if it did bring me back to AP US History. I also loved all the characters- except for Daisy, I hated that chick- and I thought they were all interesting and warped in their own ways.I really wish I could write more because I enjoyed this book, but it's been so long since I've read it that I don't want to mistakenly give any spoilers away! I certainly recommend it though. :)
We had to read this book for school and while it wasn't terrible, it is definitely not something I would have picked out on my own.
Luckily I did find it humorous, otherwise it was have been absolutely awful to try and trudge through. There was even humor in some parts where it was quite tragic, so you kind of just sat there with a cringy smile on your face.
With all that said, there wasn't anything particularly memorable about this book for me. I'm not much of a memoir kind of person, and I only really felt like I truly connected with two characters in the novel, Firoozeh and Kazem. I also couldn't relate to a lot of the things in the book since I'm practically your definition of a basic white girl.
It's a nice book to attain more cultural knowledge, but beyond that it was just your regular old humorous memoir about some random person's life.
Me and this book just did not jive.
I think about halfway through I wondered if I was just not ~smart~ enough to be reading this book and I will say that the reviews made me feel a bit better about myself. There was just no substance to this in my opinion. I honestly can't tell you what it was about.
I was seduced by the promise of art and womanhood and writing and boy oh boy was I wrong to pick up a book based on a few buzzwords (in my defense, I've been dying to read a book about art and I thought this one sounded mysterious!). This almost felt like I was reading someone's continual train of thought or experiencing their subconscious and I just didn't like it.
For me, I think a book needs a bit more plot and substance. I will give the author credit for creativity because I can say I haven't read a book like this before, it just wasn't for me!
The premise of this is so cute but there's not really a plot? I don't know, it was put together kind of strangely.
This was so good.
Honestly, in my opinion, this is the best thing she has written thus far and I'm so glad I finally got around to reading it.
The world building, character development, plot twists... divine.
Now I just gotta stay strong for a little under two weeks until book 2 comes out.
Holy s***.
The absolute GRIP this book had on me this past week when I finally had the time to read it. Jesus Christ. No wonder its a science fiction classic and behemoth. This thing is incredible and may very well be the best thing I read all year.
This book made me cry, smile, snap it closed and pace angrily before returning to it. It is an emotional rollercoaster and I dare say I was more invested in these characters than I ever have been in the past 2 years for a book that put romance on the backburner (but not completely– I do love those two to death).
I'd like to apologize in advance to my friends for the countless hours I will spend gushing about this book. Is it a massive undertaking? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely.
I'm not sure I'll ever be over the past 100 pages oh my GOD.
Alrighty, review time!
I really enjoyed this book. I thought it had an interesting, unique story and the characters were extremely compelling. I loved the multiple mysteries that were intertwined within it and you know I always love a good unreliable narrator even if it was only for half of the book.
My one complaint is that this book is EXTREMELY confusing at the beginning. Maybe it would have made more sense if I'd read the physical book, but it was certainly puzzling as an audiobook. It also takes quite a few chapters to pick up, but once it does, it's like a steamroller.
Overall, I thought this was great. Bardugo made an excellent debut into Adult Fantasy with this book and I am eager to see where she takes it in the future since I am a fan of her YA Fantasy novels as well. If only the sequel were coming out sooner than 2021...
Great read, but I wish we got a bit more consideration for certain ethical issues that were relevant to this crisis.
Actual Rating: 4.25
This was such a good book. It's the kind of book that you can re-read and pick up on stuff that you didn't pick up on before. It was confusing at times, but only because it was meant to be.
The characters were complex and unique, and each had their own dark secrets. It was fascinating to see how each god interacted with the others. And honestly, I think that the modern/new gods of America were portrayed accurately in this novel.
I'd recommend this book to a ton of people, but there are some more graphic scenes, so you should be at least somewhat mature.
I have thought long and hard on this and–
There is literally no redeeming quality of this book for me. The entire thing is a dumpster fire. A disaster. I mean, what the heck even happened?
First off, the plot is virtually the same as book 5. Juliette gets taken away. They must go save her. Warner broods and is mean to everyone. Juliette is sad and bemoans her sister. Kenji provides comedic relief to distract from the nonsense.
Second, the Anderson/Juliette dynamic is so unnecessary and so uncomfy. Page 193? Like HOW did that add anything to the book other than my screams of frustration?
Third, whatever happened to Warner's personality? How did he go from a multi-faceted, complex character to having A SINGLE personality trait (loving Juliette in case that wasn't obvious already)?
Four, there was no ending. Did the book end? Yes. But was anything resolved? No. I have no idea what happened. Did everyone at ... die? What happened to the other countries OTHER than North America? It's like Mafi tried to have an open ending like with Ignite Me except she did it so poorly this time around. Not good.
Five, yes the list keeps going, the reunion between Juliette and Warner. Look, I love Juliette and Warner. But Juliette was not Juliette at this part of this book. Maybe it was me but I was having some low-key non-con vibes and I am just not okay with reading that. .
The only semi-redeeming quality of the book was Tahereh's writing. And I can't even bring myself to add another star. Because the thing is, I was rooting for this book (we were all rooting for you! how DARE you!). I actually didn't hate Defy Me and had a bit of hope that this could end well. But no. And the biggest problem that I have is that Tahereh is so much better than this. She is a TALENTED author and I am still looking forward to her next book. But this was just not it, chief.
I really hope that you enjoy this more than I did, but this book has single-handedly turned me off from YA for the time being.
Yeah, these two were lowkey pretty toxic but the book was juicy, sexy, and entertaining and at the end of the day that's why I read this genre so I'm just going to look the other way oops
Alex finished it but I honestly should have written this review sooner because I don't remember a ton of specifics at this point.
I have a very warm, happy feeling when I think about this book now, so I'm giving it 5 stars. It definitely made an impression on me and was an excellent way to tie up this trilogy. Shusterman's work throughout this entire trilogy has been a masterpiece. It is such an interesting, well-thought-out concept that deserves the utmost praise.
I am happy to see the trilogy end at this point and I pray that Shusterman does not write another because I do believe this was the perfect ending for these books.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I found it interesting and compelling in a multitude of ways. While I do think that some of Gladwell's points are oversimplified or could be considered common sense, I did not have a problem with this. I like to read Gladwell's works to get a brief overview of a topic– not an in-depth exploration of every last detail for each theory.
I also felt that many things discussed in this book were applicable in my own life. Some things discussed were things I hadn't thought much about before, but, since having read this, I can only acknowledge that those things do hold merit.
So, if I enjoyed it so much, why the 2 stars?
Gladwell approached way too many delicate topics with an air of utmost insensitivity. He talked about pedophiles, rape, and police brutality in the same way that you would talk about spaghetti boiling on the stove. And, unfortunately, in doing so, he undermined many of the points he made simply because I was unable to take him seriously when he dipped into a murky argument centered on victim-blaming. In these three parts of the book, was there miscommunication? Yes. Obviously. But there was also fear driven by child molestation, rape culture, and racism that each played significant roles in these three topics that Gladwell simply glazed over. You cannot simply act as if miscommunication was the only thing that went wrong in these cases in order to support your argument. Doing so is an injustice to the victims in each of those situations.
So, yes, I enjoyed it. But morally, I cannot give this book a higher rating without feeling like I've wronged the victims Gladwell portrayed as contributors to their own dismal fates.
This was nice, but it had way too much exposition. I think most of the problems this book had would have been resolved if we'd jumped into the society quicker.
These always make me so happy.
This one was way deeper and broached more topics than the others and I felt it was done very well.
I truly enjoyed this book.
I read it in the span of a day. The writing is compelling and humorous, despite discussing a situation that is anything but. Those who know me know that I am a total biology nerd, which is part of the reason why I loved this book so much. With that said, I am an immunology & infectious disease major and this book reminded me of why I chose this field to focus in.
For people who may not have as much of a biology background as myself, I feel like this is a very easy read. The author does a wonderful job of breaking down relatively complex situations and bodily features into something that is easy to comprehend. I also loved all of the analogies and felt that they were very fitting.
I'm so happy I read this book and can honestly say that I have fallen a bit more in love with this field of biology than I had been before.
Actual rating: 3.5
It was pretty good, I have to say. The
biggest problem I have with the book is that it seems unresolved. It just ends and I have far too many questions for it to just end like that.