A beautiful book through and through. I especially recommend the audiobook.
I need to read more poetry and this book was a huge sign inBook 183 of 2021
A beautiful book through and through. I especially recommend the audiobook.
I need to read more poetry and this book was a huge sign in that direction! This was a short breath of fresh air and I doubly recommend the audiobook, read by the author.
This book calmed me and was like the author was affirming me at every turn. ‘You are not weak because you are lonely’ ‘this took everything out of you but the struggle was beautiful and necessary for your growth’
I loved so many things about this book and it was about the ugly parts of life that are important to experience and appreciate the beauty. It’s about growing pains and it’s about self-love. Pick this up, ASAP!
Many thanks to Libro FM and Harper Audio for my ALC.
This is my first Tahereh Mafi book, and I have to say that she's an exceptBook 170 of 2021
3.25 ✨
Many thanks to Libro FM and Harper Audio for my ALC.
This is my first Tahereh Mafi book, and I have to say that she's an exceptional writer. She knows how to weave words together and create vivid images in the reader's head.
This book revolves around Shadi and her very complicated relationships with her family and friends. Shadi is struggling with a lot but so is everyone else and we get to see that unfold in this book.
Grief is a huge theme in this book, and we get to see her family try to pick up the pieces after her brother's death, how it affected each of them, and their relationship with each other.
Romance also played a part but the romance was highly overshadowed by her best friend's insistence on the romance not happening, so I guess this falls under the forbidden romance trope?
The writing was great and the plot was okay. I hate that lots of things were left unfinished and the readers have to come up with their own ending for a lot of the plot points.
It was kinda just there. The characters were mostly annoying and one dimensional. They had some depth but no development. I kept wanting to throw hands with her 'best friend' because how can a person be so horrible?
Lots of religious, traditional, and political themes and issues brought up but they somehow weren't discussed in depth, just on the surface. It was a short book though at about 6 hours plus.
It was very emotional though and sad, but I wasn't able to tap into that feeling for a lot of the characters. I just kept wanting to fight the best friend.
The blurb sold a lot of post-9/11 reality and as I said in the last slide, most things weren't dealt with in depth. It felt like they were mentioned for conversation and then never treated again.
I still enjoyed this tho because at no point did I want to DNF it....more
Many thanks to Libro FM and Penguin Audio for my ALC.
Taylor Jenkins Reid wowwwwww
Look, I've been scared to read another TJR bookBook 169 of 2021
4.5 ✨
Many thanks to Libro FM and Penguin Audio for my ALC.
Taylor Jenkins Reid wowwwwww
Look, I've been scared to read another TJR book since Evelyn Hugo because I loved that book so much and I didn't want to be ever let down by the author. Sounds crazy but it is what it is.
When I got this one from Libro FM as a June ALC, I was torn on reading it but @lipglossmaffia rated it highly and I was spurred to go ahead. Bruh. I'm so glad I did. This book was so well done.
Historical fiction, set in Malibu/LA, multi generational, unfolds within 24 hours and at the same time there are time jumps to the past and a masterful use of flashbacks??? Yes please.
There are so many elements at play here, and so many characters too, and a host of different timelines to work with. One would think it would get overwhelming at some point but it never did. TJR showed her expertise through and through.
I want to wrap Nina in a hug. She's my favorite character in this book and I love her so much. I could relate to her so much and wow. She was just such a perfectly written character. Her siblings were amazing as well.
I can't believe the nerve of men like Mick and Brandon, that's all I'll say without giving too much away.
I loved this book so much and Julia Whelan was amazing with the audiobook narration!
This book was one hell of a ride. At the beginning, the author clearly stated the drive behind the book - she was tired of trans Book 168 of 2021
3.5 ✨
This book was one hell of a ride. At the beginning, the author clearly stated the drive behind the book - she was tired of trans women in media only being celebrated when they did exceptional stuff or perfectly fit a demure and femme mold. So, she set out to tell a story of a fierce femme dangerous trans girl.
This book is a work of fiction - don't be fooled by the memoir in the title like I was lol. I did not know that throughout my read and I kept thinking it was her real life story and I was like omg why is she confessing to so many crimes in her memoir ...more
I enjoyed reading this a lot and learnt some new things!
This was such a great and eye-opening book. I enjoyed reading this one so muchBook 184 of 2021
I enjoyed reading this a lot and learnt some new things!
This was such a great and eye-opening book. I enjoyed reading this one so much and it was so fun. About 1/3 way into the book, I had a thought and compared the book to ‘Hood Feminism’ by Mikki Kendall. I was so overjoyed to find out later in the book that Mikki Kendall was constantly referenced by the author in this book.
This is a book that talks about the rallying power of black women and transpeople throughout history and in online spaces (particularly Twitter). Black feminists have always been powerful and they have always been doing the damn thing. What Feminista Jones did here was give us a timeline of how black women’s achievements and movements have evolved with the times using the tools at our disposal.
I learnt so much from this book, I can’t even lie. A lot of the things mentioned are things I have seen unfold in real time because they happened on Twitter but it was so nice to see an academic approach to them and to get down to the nitty gritty of them.
Another thing this book talked about was credit. The movement vs the hashtag (or naming it). Someone might have already been doing something, and then someone somewhere comes with a hashtag for it and when they try to do go back to find out who the originator is, who does it come down to? The book raised a lot of important questions and also delved into logical answers to those questions.
One more thing the book discussed is the evolution of blogging, writing, and contributing to discussions as they evolve. The structure of Twitter and the character limit made the author (and I suppose a lot of bloggers) redefine how they write, and the collective online attention span for topics make it impossible to take too long to contribute to a trending issue within that space. Everyone needs to read this book. Fingers crossed you all enjoy it as much as I did.
✨ Amina's Song by Hena Khan ✨ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Narrated by Soneela Nankani
Amina's Song is such a beautiful book. I read Amina's Voice sometime ago and I was so ✨ Amina's Song by Hena Khan ✨ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ Narrated by Soneela Nankani
Amina's Song is such a beautiful book. I read Amina's Voice sometime ago and I was so glad to find out that there was a sequel.
I love that this book reads well as a standalone, so people who haven't read Amina's Voice won't have a hard time getting into it.
The book covers themes and topics relating to race, religion, tradition, friendships, family, and a sense of belonging.
This book kicks off with Amina's last days of vacation to Pakistan and how it's been an eye opening journey for her. The news about Pakistan in the USA had made her scared to visit, but she ends up having a good time.
Most of the book is Amina trying to balance her missing Pakistan with being American, especially with a school project that centers around Pakistani heroes.
This was very emotional and educative and I love how creative and awesome Amina is as a character. Her singing is also a plot point here and her friends from book one are a major part of this book.
I love how the author deals with heavy and hard topics using a middle grade voice and does it in a way that the target audience will resonate with.
✨ ✨
Books to read if you enjoyed this one
1- Amal Unbound - Aisha Saeed - If you're in the mood for more: Middle grade with Arab rep
2- A Thousand Questions - Saadia Faruqi - If you're in the mood for more: Middle grader visiting Pakistan
3- Other Words for Home - Jasmine Warga - If you're in the mood for more: Muslim middle grade partly set in a school
4- Amina's Voice - Hena Khan - If you're in the mood for more: Amina and her friends and family
Many thanks to Macmillan Audio and Libro FM for my ALC, and to Orion Publishing Group and Netgalley for my DRC.
3.5 ✨
I absolutely loved the author's fMany thanks to Macmillan Audio and Libro FM for my ALC, and to Orion Publishing Group and Netgalley for my DRC.
3.5 ✨
I absolutely loved the author's first book, The Silent Patient, and I have been looking forward to reading the Maidens since I saw it on Instagram. Luckily for me, my request for a DRC was granted on Netgalley. I started reading it but the font of the pdf was too tiny for my eyes and I decided to wait for the audiobook. Doubly luckily, this was one of Libro FM's pick for June Influencer ALCs so I was so glad that I could listen to the audiobook before release day.
This book is dark academia at its core, and u haven't read a lot of adult thrillers set in colleges, so this was so refreshing. I absolutely loved the addition of Greek mythology and how it was woven into the story.
I loved reading this book. It's a bit of a slow burn but things are happening to move the plot along at a fast pace, at the same time. The first murder happens in the first couple of chapters, and the action takes off. However, the build up to the big reveal and the big reveal was so slow, and there were so many dots to connect.
There were so many suspects at different points towards the book and I had so many theories. As he did with The Silent Patient, he blew my mind with the big reveal because I did not see that combination of events happening. I guessed some parts, and some of my other guesses were totally wrong.
This was a fun read and even though it didn't hit me as hard as I wanted, it was worth the wait and worth the read.
The plot was solid, the mystery was intriguing, and the characters were very good. There was a Silent Patient cameo/crossover in there and I love that the two books are set in the same world. I hope to read more books from him that would flesh out this world a bit more.
The audiobook narrators were great and they conveyed the story and emotions of the characters very well.
I recommend this one for people who love Greek mythology, dark academia, and The Silent Patient....more
This was such a great read! My review will be really short because all that needs to be said is right there in the book. This is an enBook 181 of 2021
This was such a great read! My review will be really short because all that needs to be said is right there in the book. This is an entry-level book on gender and sexuality identity politics and is a definite must-read.
The book opens up with a dictionary of SO MANY terms relating to -gender, -sexual, and -romantic identities. I was already familiar with a ton of them and others I had never heard of before.
Later chapters delve into essays and expositions into these identities. Myths and misconceptions are explored and demystified and more clarity is waiting for readers at the end of this book. I’m glad I read this book and everyone should pick this up....more
12:42 am ramblings // They Both Die at the End reflections
TBDATE is a YA Contemporary novel set in a futuristic (but dated 2017) USA, where people now12:42 am ramblings // They Both Die at the End reflections
TBDATE is a YA Contemporary novel set in a futuristic (but dated 2017) USA, where people now have an app/service called Death Cast and there's a customer care rep (?) that basically calls you and tells you you're gonna die within 24 hours.
No matter what, you're gonna die once you get the call. In the words of the great Thanos - "Dread it? Run from it? Destiny arrives all the same".
Reading this book made me reflect on a lot. Apart from the immense feelings I had for the characters and the tears I shed when the title played out, I thought about a lot.
If this was a thing irl, ofc people would try to avoid death or try to cheat the system. Most times as seen on TV and in books, trying to run away from or avoid a prophesied future just results in that future playing out.
The science was never explained, as the focus was on how the news of their impending death affected the two MCs, not on the workings of Death cast.
End days are a thing in this book, basically you get the call and you know it's your last loving day, so you can have a live funeral or tick things off your bucket list. Businesses would also let you have free stuff if they know you've gotten the call.
This was so heartwarming (?) to me because so many people die and never get to say goodbye and I would be scared as hell to get the call or have people I love get the call but I don't know if I would prefer having Death Cast irl.
It felt like a wake up call to live life in the moment, let people have their flowers, tell people you love you love them, and life is so fucking short, and death is so horrible.
Yeah, read this book. xoxo
❗❗❗❗Minor spoilers ahead❗❗❗❗ "what if the call is what triggers the death?" it might just be, because a guy in this book got the call and then went ahead to bomb a gym. So he decided that since it's his death day, he will take others along with him. What if he didn't get the call? He might not have done that.
"I didn't get the call, so I'm going to prove the system wrong by committing suicide anyway" some characters dealt with this but there was always an excuse not to go through with it....more
This was such a fun read that touched on some deep topics. Trigger warnings for microaggressions, homophobia, biphobia, toxic friendship, racism, gaslThis was such a fun read that touched on some deep topics. Trigger warnings for microaggressions, homophobia, biphobia, toxic friendship, racism, gaslighting, and parental abandonment. I loved the romance, the complicated family plot points, and a lot of the characters were really loveable.
HAIGTFD tells the story of Humaira (Hani) and Ishita (Ishu). This book heavily uses the fake dating trope with a dash of enemies to lovers (more like the love interest being the enemy of the other character’s best friends).
Set in Ireland, we get to see how the Bengali diaspora community comes together to form a close-knit unit. Family and friendship play a huge role in this book. Hani’s dad is running for a political office, and Ishu’s family is facing a dilemma (no spoilers!). We get to see these two girls as fully fleshed characters outside of their romance. Hani struggles with terrible homophobic friends and Ishu struggles with her complicated relationship with her sister.
The romance was of course a huge part of this book and I loved how that progressed and bloomed between the two girls. They are complex characters with issues of their own and they have to deal with these issues while dealing with a fake relationship and real feelings.
We got to explore the home lives of these girls and I love how the author juxtaposed them. Hani’s parents are very open minded about her bisexuality and she could always talk to them about her issues. Ishu, on the other hand, didn’t have such an open relationship with her family and felt immense pressure to live up to set standards.
I enjoyed this book so much and I definitely recommend it. ...more
This was a short read and really insightful too. It's a manifesto and call to action regarding the systems that are failing women Book 187 of 2021
3.5✨
This was a short read and really insightful too. It's a manifesto and call to action regarding the systems that are failing women everywhere.
THERE ARE A LOT. So many structures, policies, governments, corporations, and -isms working together to ensure that poor and underprivileged women of color stay poor and underprivileged
The authors call out so many structures and classes of people that are complicit in this damage and how the steps they are taking aren't fixing the problem.
This is one book I feel everyone should read to get a feel of it for themselves.
My biggest problem with this book is the choice of words. For a book that claims to be for the 99%, some people might have trouble understanding these words as they read them, and that will largely take away from the reading experience, IMO.
I enjoyed reading this and will definitely recommend....more
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