baancs's reviews
627 reviews

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

emotional reflective

3.0

I think about how there are certain people who come into your life, and leave a mark.

I don't mean the usual faint impression; He was cute, she was nice, they made me laugh, I wish I'd known her better, I remember the time she threw up in class.

And I don't just mean that they change you. A lot of people can change you—the first kid who called you a name, the first teacher who said you were smart, the first person who crowned you best friend. It's the change you remember, the firsts and what they meant, not really the people.

This kind of made me nostalgic for people I once knew but am no longer in touch with, because we grow up and life goes on. This was an okay read. I just wish there were two POVs instead of one, because the other sweetheart wasn’t fleshed out as much as I wanted him to be. 

Beartown by Fredrik Backman

emotional reflective slow-paced

5.0

Culture is as much about what we encourage as what we actually permit. (...) That most people don’t do what we tell them to. They do what we let them get away with.

An infuriating look at sports and rape culture: how one town, whose world revolves around hockey, has cultivated a culture that protects the sport (and its players) at whatever cost. A powerful story with really beautiful writing. Great read! 

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman

3.0

People in the real world always say, when something terrible happens, that the sadness and loss and aching pain of the heart will “lessen as time passes,” but it isn’t true. Sorrow and loss are constant, but if we all had to go through our whole lives carrying them the whole time, we wouldn’t be able to stand it. The sadness would paralyze us. So in the end we just pack it into bags and find somewhere to leave it.

While I liked the central story, I wasn’t really fond of the way it was executed, what with the fairy tale story mirroring the real events in the book and all. I just couldn’t get into it. 

A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

emotional funny hopeful reflective

5.0

Death is a strange thing. People live their whole lives as if it does not exist, and yet it’s often one of the great motivations for living. Some of us, in time, become so conscious of it that we live harder, more obstinately, with more fury. Some need its constant presence to even be aware of its antithesis. Others become so preoccupied with it that they go into the waiting room long before it has announced its arrival. We fear it, yet most of us fear more than anything that it may take someone other than ourselves. For the greatest fear of death is always that it will pass us by. And leave us there alone.

About a grumpy old man trapped in his grief who finds a new family with the strangers next door. What a heartwarming read. 

Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder

emotional mysterious reflective

4.0

Somewhere out there, beyond the boat, was more. She couldn’t see it yet, but it had to be there. The alternative was too awful to imagine. So she decided she would believe in it. She would believe in it as hard as she could. Her future and her past were waiting. Out there were answers. She hoped she was ready for them.

About 9 kids residing on an island, where every year a boat arrives carrying a new kid only to take the eldest kid away forever. A metaphor for growing up and facing our fears & worries of the unknown. Great read! 

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

emotional lighthearted

4.0

It’s just … everything. There are too many people. And I don’t fit in. I don’t know how to be. Nothing that I’m good at is the sort of thing that matters there. Being smart doesn’t matter—and being good with words. And when those things do matter, it’s only because people want something from me. Not because they want me.

Books about fitting in the real world, and finding comfort in the internet/fandom always have a special place in my heart. The main character, Cath, was relatable in many ways, and Levi was a really adorable book boyfriend who gets her. Such a charming read. 

How to Find Love in a Bookshop by Veronica Henry

lighthearted

3.0

So that was why people read. Because books explained things: how you thought, and how you behaved, and made you realise you were not alone in doing what you did or feeling what you felt.

A book about a book shop and the lives it has changed. It was lovely, but not remarkable 

These Things I've Done by Rebecca Phillips

emotional

4.0

Because they’ll never let me forget that my best friend fell into the path of an oncoming pickup truck and was crushed to death right in front of me.

And they definitely won’t let me forget that I’m the one who pushed her.

About a girl overcoming her guilt and learning to forgive herself after accidentally causing her best friend’s death. This was a quick read, but surprisingly moving and well-written. 

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

5.0

The mind is good at hiding things, but there’s something it cannot do: It can’t erase. It can only conceal, and concealed things are not gone. They rot. They fester, they leak poisons. They ache and stink. They hiss like serpents in tall grass.

Even more beautiful than its predecessor. Truly mesmerizing. 

Spellbook of the Lost and Found by Moïra Fowley-Doyle

emotional mysterious reflective

3.0

Be careful what you bargain with:
Every lost thing requires a sacrifice –
A new loss for every called thing found.
What will you let go of?
What can you not afford to lose?
Consider carefully before you cast the calling:
It may not be for you to choose.
Be careful what you wish for:
Not all lost things should be found.

Loved the atmospheric writing. It was spooky and mysterious. But there were too many ”main” characters, all underdeveloped by the end. Also wasn’t a fan of the multiple POV, it confused me a lot.