claudiaslibrarycard's reviews
1061 reviews

And Then, Boom! by Lisa Fipps

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Lisa Fipps delivers again with another emotional and important novel in verse. And Then, Boom! is the story of young boy living in poverty, being raised by his grandmother. There is often not enough food and they scrape to get by, but there is lots of love between them. This powerful book tackles a lot of tough topics- dysfunctional families, absent parents, and poverty. And it also showcases resilience, community, and found families. 

I encourage you to dive into this incredible book with your tissues at the ready! 

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

4.0

Bad Dolls by Rachel Harrison

4.0

Elles, 3 : Plurielle(s) by Kid Toussaint

2.5

I really liked the first two Elle(s), and while this third installment had the best art and powerful storytelling, it also contained some really negative representation of DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). DID was formerly known as multiple personalities and that is how it is referred to here, and I really doubt those with DID would appreciate this depiction. 

Acts of Forgiveness by Maura Cheeks

challenging emotional hopeful 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

5.0

Acts of Forgiveness is a character driven story about one family and their experience when the Forgiveness Act passes, issuing reparations to citizens who can prove a direct relation to someone who was enslaved. This story combines aspects of historical and literary fiction to tell an emotionally resonant story in an unspecified future, making it very relatable and poignant as the impacts of chattel slavery cannot and will not dissipate without large scale reckoning. 

The novel primarily focuses on Willie Revel, a woman in her thirties who gave up a budding journalism career ten years ago to help her father with the family construction business. Now she is a single mother living with her parents and the business is again at a serious juncture- it seems their only option to remain financially solvent is to take a large project with a white man who vocally opposes reparations. Willie spends much of the story grappling with her morals and the financial necessities, as she also undertakes the significant task of tracing her families roots when it seems her parents and grandfather have nothing helpful to tell her. 

There is an aspect of family secrets and unraveling that hidden thread, but the focus of this story is the Revel family. From Willie's parents to her fifth grade daughter, Maura Cheeks creates depth in these characters that really highlights what reparations could mean for different generations. This book is full of powerful and beautiful writing that often made me pause and even gave me goosebumps. The Revels will be in my heart for a long time to come, and I hope you'll pick up this beautiful and important novel. 

Meet Me on the Bridge by Sarah J Harris

challenging dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Meet Me on the Bridge was a totally mixed bag for me. I enjoyed this author's iteration of the multiverse, with Julia (the FMC) repeatedly going back to one 24 hour period in May of 2023 to alter the outcomes. Julia's grandmother was also a treasure, and Alex (the MMC) was adorable. But this book was really dark for the women's fic genre, getting progressively more disturbing as it went on. On this note, I felt it took too much from the old Aston Kutcher movie, The Butterfly Effect. And I felt it was longer than necessary as well. 

I selected this as an Amazon first read and as part of a Bookstagram project for which I'm reading women's fiction with time travel/multiverse tropes. This one won't be at the top of the list. 

Sociopath: a Memoir by Patric Gagne

challenging informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

Sociopath is a memoir from a perspective that is usually maligned in literature. Patric Gagne has known she was different since a very young age, and this memoir details much of her childhood, college years, and her early years of adulthood. 

I found this very immersive and felt empathy for Gagne, who struggles to feel empathy. She spends a lot of time explaining what the overwhelming apathy feels like for her and her struggles to avoid that feeling in an acceptable, safe way. The second third gets a little repetitive, but I still found it enjoyable. And the final chapter and epilogue bring the book together in a way that highlights the possibility of a full, healthy life for people that our society wants to ostracize. 

I took a lot away from reading this- namely more understanding of people who the mental health field is failing. I recommend reading! 

The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

dark emotional informative reflective slow-paced

4.5

The Body Keeps the Score is an impressive work of nonfiction explaining how trauma shows up in the body and various therapeutic modalities that have been shown to be effective in reducing the impact of trauma. 

While this book is long, I felt engaged throughout and thought it was accessible for those outside the world of psychiatry and counseling. There is a good balance of data and stories from patients. As you would expect, the content is heavy and if you have a history of trauma, it will probably come up in reading this book. Proceed with care and a plan for taking care of yourself while making it through this important book. 

My only complaint about this book is numerous references to obesity as an outcome of trauma. I'm not disagreeing with this necessarily, but data wasn't referenced and it wasn't unpacked in a way that assured me that there was not anti-fat bias at play. 

Yes, I'm Hot in This: The Hilarious Truth about Life in a Hijab by Huda Fahmy

4.0

Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett

challenging tense slow-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0