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shereadytoread's Reviews (823)
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng is a claustrophobic, haunting, gory, horror novel. This book explores anti-Asian hate and hate crimes exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic using both crimes in NYC and the traditions of the Hungry Ghost Festival.
Cora is a character dealing with her own anxiety, obsessions, and compulsions related to cleanliness, trying to grieve her sister, managing complicated family relationships due to her multicultural background, and working her job as a crime scene cleaner.
While the book is heavy both in theme and content, there are some light moments and the book sprinkles in moments of humor well. This book is squarely horrific, both with the imagery of the ghosts and killings, but also the reflection on racism and isolation. The inclusion of the lighter moments gives some reprieve from the dread of the story, without completely taking you out of the plot.
I found the plot really interesting. However, it also has a distinct three act structure where the plot specifically shifts. It's a little jarring, but Cora's internal musings do manage to keep the story moving along without feeling complete disjointed.
Disclosure: I received an ARC and eARC of this book from the publisher.
Cora is a character dealing with her own anxiety, obsessions, and compulsions related to cleanliness, trying to grieve her sister, managing complicated family relationships due to her multicultural background, and working her job as a crime scene cleaner.
While the book is heavy both in theme and content, there are some light moments and the book sprinkles in moments of humor well. This book is squarely horrific, both with the imagery of the ghosts and killings, but also the reflection on racism and isolation. The inclusion of the lighter moments gives some reprieve from the dread of the story, without completely taking you out of the plot.
I found the plot really interesting. However, it also has a distinct three act structure where the plot specifically shifts. It's a little jarring, but Cora's internal musings do manage to keep the story moving along without feeling complete disjointed.
Disclosure: I received an ARC and eARC of this book from the publisher.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Racism, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book had all the elements of something I would love but I ended up just liking it. Marriage of convenience in a high powered family. But this book felt a little too much like the first part of a series. It intros you to the family but it didn’t feel like a full story. It does end on a cliffhanger but in general it felt like all set up and not enough story. I enjoyed what I read but wanted a bit more from the plot. Looking forward to the next installment!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault
informative
reflective
This was an excellent read and history of lesser discussed aspects of the Civil Rights Movement and the Freedom Movement. The writing is compelling and there is a lot of specific time and biographical information.
This author recognizes two things at the beginning of the book that did greatly affect my reading experience:
1. It is not in chronological order and so there is some repetition and at some points it feels like backtracking
2. There is lack of documentation of female organizers’ contributions to both movements. It is acknowledged in the preface but there is little to no discussion of the impact of that throughout the narrative and there is no discussion of where the gaps in the history exist.
This author recognizes two things at the beginning of the book that did greatly affect my reading experience:
1. It is not in chronological order and so there is some repetition and at some points it feels like backtracking
2. There is lack of documentation of female organizers’ contributions to both movements. It is acknowledged in the preface but there is little to no discussion of the impact of that throughout the narrative and there is no discussion of where the gaps in the history exist.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Police brutality
This book fell middle of the road for me. I found the ancestry compelling and seeing how the family sins fell through the generations but because there is no order to these happenings, it feels extremely disjointed. In general it felt more like an anthology of short stories rather than a multigenerational family novel. The author’s prose is compelling and with a short page count she manages to provide multiple deeply complex characters in their own separate stories. I think heavier magic realism would have served this story to connect the chapters. I would give this author another try.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Animal death
hopeful
informative
inspiring
This was an excellent read that expands the understanding of drag and gender performance. It is one of the most accessible texts on gender and gender performance that I’ve come across while still being very informative and introducing many texts and visual performances to explore.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
challenging
dark
emotional
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book is a haunting depiction of a woman consumed by grief whose inability to move forward (or her failed attempts to) with her son culminate in monstrous horror. I think this book succeeds so well at depicting the rumination and spirals that happen with grief. Unfortunately its success is also its failure. The novella is very short and so the large focus on those spirals makes the book feel repetitive and the ending feel very disconnected and abrupt.
There is not enough fleshing out of the relationships or any other plot points outside of the grief to orient the reader to the world or really give any interest into wanting the character to succeed. I genuinely didn’t care what happened to a single person in the book because you learn nothing except they are grieving. There is no sense of their life before the death and no indication of what has bappened in the time since.
There is not enough fleshing out of the relationships or any other plot points outside of the grief to orient the reader to the world or really give any interest into wanting the character to succeed. I genuinely didn’t care what happened to a single person in the book because you learn nothing except they are grieving. There is no sense of their life before the death and no indication of what has bappened in the time since.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Gore
reflective
This was a quick reflective piece that combines the author's love for Jurassic Park with their upcoming and identity exploration as a queer kid dealing with the loss of their mother. I thought it made some great points in how we interpret this film through various lenses. It offers some great texts as supplemental reading (both similar to this book based on Jurassic Park, and others). It's a pocket read so not too long and definitely worth reading if queer studies and Jurassic Park are two of your interests.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Death of parent
dark
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
We Had to Remove This Post is a queer social horror that follows our main character and her coworkers as they form relationship after becoming content moderators for a social media platform. Facing both the demands of the job, and the toll the exposure to the content takes on them, they are each affected by their new reality in different ways.
This is novella that doesn't waste any space and manages to hide most of its hand until the final twist hits. It's horror lies in social commentary and our ensemble of coworkers falling victim to the secondary trauma of content moderation in different ways. It touches on radicalization, indoctrination, capitalism, and how we use denial and distancing to protect ourselves and others.
What I enjoyed most about this book is that the plot twist at the end really reframes (but doesn't undo because I hate that) a lot of what we knew or thought to be true during the story. I think it definitely leans for the possibility of a reread, and the potential of re-examining those prior events once we are aware of the ending.
Because this is a book that is dealing with what the worst of us post online, TWs for mentions of violence, graphic content, antisemitism, racism, and animal death.
This is novella that doesn't waste any space and manages to hide most of its hand until the final twist hits. It's horror lies in social commentary and our ensemble of coworkers falling victim to the secondary trauma of content moderation in different ways. It touches on radicalization, indoctrination, capitalism, and how we use denial and distancing to protect ourselves and others.
What I enjoyed most about this book is that the plot twist at the end really reframes (but doesn't undo because I hate that) a lot of what we knew or thought to be true during the story. I think it definitely leans for the possibility of a reread, and the potential of re-examining those prior events once we are aware of the ending.
Because this is a book that is dealing with what the worst of us post online, TWs for mentions of violence, graphic content, antisemitism, racism, and animal death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Alcohol
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Antisemitism
Minor: Sexual violence
dark
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was marketed as a horror novella but is more akin to a dark academia mystery. There is some limited body horror elements but they are pretty minor.
This is a great fall/winter night read. It’s short and punchy. The novella is heavy on the atmosphere and light on the depth. This book is far too short to waste time trying to misdirect the reader, and would have been better served by a less abrupt ending.
The mystery itself is pretty interesting and the story taking place over a single night keeps the reader engaged. It jumps around and you have to piece together exactly what the real mystery is but it works out in the end. It is very open-ended and you don’t get a straight forward answer as to the character’s fate but it’s still pretty satisfying for me.
Audio specific review: the multiple narrators helps to keep the POVs straight. Because of the constant POV switches, I think it is probably better read in print or ebook format.
This is a great fall/winter night read. It’s short and punchy. The novella is heavy on the atmosphere and light on the depth. This book is far too short to waste time trying to misdirect the reader, and would have been better served by a less abrupt ending.
The mystery itself is pretty interesting and the story taking place over a single night keeps the reader engaged. It jumps around and you have to piece together exactly what the real mystery is but it works out in the end. It is very open-ended and you don’t get a straight forward answer as to the character’s fate but it’s still pretty satisfying for me.
Audio specific review: the multiple narrators helps to keep the POVs straight. Because of the constant POV switches, I think it is probably better read in print or ebook format.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Medical content
Minor: Cannibalism
emotional
funny
WHAT I LIKED: The book was well-written, well-organized, and had a clear specific message. The content was often on the relatable side even though it is a celebrity memoir. The focus on different mindsets and how they serve us is easily applied to others. I like that she addressed scandals and issues without feeling that she had to justify or convince the reader to agree with her choices. If you've read her first book, the maturing and change is very clear between the two.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME: Because the book had a clear message, some of the details of her life felt glossed over. The intention was clearly that this was not to air out dirty laundry, but to share something important. it's not a bad thing, just a preference, but it leaned a bit too self-help for me at some points.
DIFFERENCE IN AUDIO/PRINT: The sections start with an audio clip of her podcast. I'm not sure how it is represented in the print edition. There are some asides or music inclusions that are specific to the audio, but not needed to enjoy the book. At the end of each section there is a quick "self-assessment" which is still included in the audio but formatted multiple choice so likely better in print.
NARRATION: Keke Palmer is a performer and it shines through in the book. Her narration is a major strength and I think made the book a lot more enjoyable.
Disclosure: I received a free ALC through Libro.fm and the publisher.
WHAT DIDN'T WORK FOR ME: Because the book had a clear message, some of the details of her life felt glossed over. The intention was clearly that this was not to air out dirty laundry, but to share something important. it's not a bad thing, just a preference, but it leaned a bit too self-help for me at some points.
DIFFERENCE IN AUDIO/PRINT: The sections start with an audio clip of her podcast. I'm not sure how it is represented in the print edition. There are some asides or music inclusions that are specific to the audio, but not needed to enjoy the book. At the end of each section there is a quick "self-assessment" which is still included in the audio but formatted multiple choice so likely better in print.
NARRATION: Keke Palmer is a performer and it shines through in the book. Her narration is a major strength and I think made the book a lot more enjoyable.
Disclosure: I received a free ALC through Libro.fm and the publisher.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment