kou
I'm really trying, and that will be enough.
I'm wondering about the word choice in the title as the stay was definitely not short, which might be why I am disappointed as I was expecting something different. The number of years our main character, and many others, have to spend in Hell and look for their book with kiosks and food that can be summoned, with time that seems to match our Earth clock.. Is this Hell or Heaven or something in between?? The number of religious references also took me aback, but it might be a good fit for you if you enjoy such concepts and delve deeper into the differences and its philosophy.
I think it wasn't what I expected, which is why I'm underwhelmed and yet overwhelmed XD
3.5 rounded down; A short story collection about Palestinians who reside in America for different reasons, and they all carry their troubles and issues. It raises voices to their experiences as there are culture clashes, and what it means to be yourself, bringing in a part of you that doesn't quite fit this country. I enjoyed Mr. Ammar Gets Drunk at the Wedding, which was most relatable as two cultures clash. I highly suggest the audiobook!
TWs: Sex with a minor, drug use
4.5 rounded up; It's amazing how much attention a reader can pour into an unlikeable character's story. Alex is a 22 year-old woman who hops places after a misstep with her ‘lover' Simon. She eventually finds a way into multiple people's lives, figuring out how she can use people and manipulate them so that she can shelter with them until Simon's party on Labor Day weekend.
It was a truly gripping read, unsure how Alex was going to act and figure out things as we went along with her story. Her personality was truly manipulative, only caring about her current situation and destination. The most frustrating part for me was Jack, who's a minor ;-; all of her 'errors', only causing Jack trauma and who knows what happened after the ending. It was terribly sad. The ending..!!
The narrator did such a great job, it wrecked me ;-;
3.5 rounded down; I enjoyed the first half and then the last half broke me and I did not enjoy ;-; After all that death, I was hoping a happy ending for Forest and Sarah ;-; the rest of it seemed very anticlimactic, and I was confused with Enva's presence in this book -- she barely partook in anything and ran along I think my expectation for this book was too high because the first book was really good!!
TWs: Mentions of recording/capturing a suicide
自分はどう生きていくのか？と考えらせる一作。人は自分の考え方がメインで、周りの人たちが同じものに対してどう考えるか振り返って思わせる。
It really makes you reflect on what's your worth, the reality and news all around us, and how people's perceptions of their ideas are different from our own. In particular this one hits hard (rough translation) -- "Humans' idea of capturing people's deaths is less important than our photos of ramen, pancakes, and illuminations.. from my perspective, that is off." The ideas of its ethics really... makes you think.
3.5 rounded down; This book immediately reminded me of [b:Our Wives Under the Sea 58659343 Our Wives Under the Sea Julia Armfield https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1633437192l/58659343.SY75.jpg 92277854] for some reason, maybe because of its quietness and uncertainties throughout the book. There's really no plot, a narrator-mother duo traveling around Japan as the narrator reminisces. I think it threw me off that the memories were beginning to stray, like it started it off with narrator-mother, so I expected its memories to be more connected with them, but it began to be all sorts of things and it immediately disconnected me. I enjoyed the first half, didn't care much for the last half. Beautiful writing though.
I was going to give it a 3.5 during the middle, but I love the way it ends where Ponyboy starts writing his story of *The Outsiders*, and how he has reflected, hurt, moved on, and grew. It's not a lot of growth, but he's learning to cope. I like (hate?) that this story is still relevant to the children of this generation, so it's relatable to them (but honestly these kids.. their brains ain't developed so as much as I wish a novel can change their perspective, it's not enough lol) I'm so glad Darry is there for Ponyboy and Sodapop. I can imagine how different they would be if they didn't have Darry to be their parent and take care of them. so 4:star:
4.25 rounded down; It was quite different from the Founders Trilogy and quite enjoyed it! I went with the audiobook all the way but wished I read alongside it, especially because of the names (fantasy problems). Despite the Holmes/Watson-esque duo, I loved that the focus was on our “Watson”, and getting to learn more about him. Excited to see what's to come!
TWs: (mentions of) pedophilia/lolicon
Picked it up based on the synopsis, but I didn't expect the context and how the story would unravel between Niki and Kouichi.. Despite Niki being a pedophile, the message and his (forced but ultimately helped) support for Kouichi was kind of heartwarming. I had to laugh occasionally due to its ridiculous turn of events. The ending makes the reader ponder where the two will go and how Kouichi may develop and figure himself out.
本当にやばい先生が出てきて、でも何だかんだ広一を助けてる二木先生... ストーリは成り立ってて、広一を応援してて一瞬で読んでしまったけど、先生が小児性愛障害者というのは... oh my god lol
4.5 rounded up; this was really cute! I suppose it's a more romance book so the fantasy/magic components/world building were very shallow but still enjoyable. I think the con is the background story behind Niamh's illness? I feel like it was so quickly brushed on despite its severity -- I need an epilogue about it or something
I'm in awe and I already want to reread to annotate this time around. I'm shocked by how little ratings/reviews there are on GR but this person is a gem. I picked up her last book, so I'm excited to hopefully read the others in order to see her growth and journey! This one was unfinished but it really carries a heavy weight and glad it was deliberately made as close as possible to the original.
I enjoyed the concept of how Copper shares letters with his uncle as he maneuvers through life. The connection between the movie The Boy and the Heron is visible in some parts of the story. I think I'm a little conflicted by the amount of history included, which takes up quite a lot of the story. I think I might enjoy it more in its original text as the translation was as impactful as I thought it would be.
This was quite heart-wrenching to read as he spoke a lot of life and death, especially death as his crew were sent out with no expectation to survive. It seems a little opposite from [b:The Little Prince|157993|The Little Prince|Antoine de Saint-Exupéry|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1367545443l/157993._SY75_.jpg|2180358], but both reflective and emotional in different ways. Such stories always reminds me of that one scene in Porco Rosso (Ghibli) where Rosso finds the skies full of pilots and their planes
3.5 rounded up; I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book but happy I finished the duology! I didn't expect August to have such character development, but I suppose that is natural in a dystopian world. I wish Kate had survived at the end and had a happy ending with August. ;-; though, she was a character I had difficulties liking
WOW that's one heck of an ending ;-; I must read the next one already!!! I really enjoyed the pacing of this book!! I was kind of worried at first with the banter between Iris and Roman because they both kind of sounded 'snobby'? xD But I'm glad it got better! Really wondering how this is going to turn out for Roman ahhhh
I enjoyed it overall but it was quite the hectic party with the multiple POV changes, and the audiobook was another party of its own (three narrators, all talking in different speeds so I constantly had to change the speed). Still enjoyed the comeback of familiar characters, and the introductions of the new ones! I think I probably have enjoyed it more without the audiobook.
God this book was so frustrating for some reason. I think I'm getting out of a slump so the pacing felt a little draggy in the middle and then suddenly the end happened. Algernon's death just seemed.. so anticlimactic too. It's really unfortunate that he reverted back to his old self in a way, his 'friends' being there for him and 'welcomed' him back after..
