anjh's reviews
71 reviews

Keedie by Elle McNicoll

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

i think every autistic person should read this whether a kid, an adult or undiagnosed. i feel it portrays really well the spectrum of traits in autism and how it’s so very not just “one look”. every autistic person is different and experiences it in a different way. 
quarter of a star taken off because it’s a middle grade book which i think id have enjoyed much more if i was younger but was still very good. 
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It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

“So now live for real, Craig. Live. Live. Live. Live.”

this book was good both in the sense that it was gripping and easy to read but also real in the sense that there were real life problems and struggles and these were kind of normalised in a way. 

tw: unalive thoughts, SH, depression
i liked the way the author gave the imagery of “tentacles” and “anchors”, the former being things that get in the way of your life and make you anxious and distressed, and the latter being things that you’re drawn to for happiness and to feel better. 
i also liked the depiction of SI and what it felt like and how easy it is to slip into depression. though i did feel like the way Craig reached out was perhaps made to look “easy” when in reality this can be really hard. 
i did like how diverse the community in the hospital was and how Craig became more open minded after hearing everyone’s stories throughout his stay. 

would recommend if you’re looking for a book with mental illness rep but ofc check the tws first. 
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The House of My Mother by Shari Franke

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

i’ve been wanting to read this since it was announced and it very much did not disappoint. i’ve also been following this case for a while and it was so nice to hear Shari’s unfiltered experience and perspective on it from her own words as RF’s eldest child. 

the book really puts into perspective how much family channels on youtube can be idolised while people ignore not only what could be happening behind the scenes off camera but also completely dismissing that children of a younger age do not have the power to consent to that stuff - as they don’t understand the full extent of who is seeing this content and where it is ending up. 

i really admire Shari for writing this also because after RF was arrested there was so much media speculation about who was at fault and what actually was happening that we didn’t know and as much as the truth was much worse than anyone probably could have predicted (@buse, etc) it must have been so liberating and freeing for Shari to write down her experiences and for the memoir to become a NYT bestseller. 

as much as RF did some really horrible things, i also admire Shari for talking about Narcissistic Personality Disorder at the end of the book and how the consequences of the disorder can be just as painful for the suffer’s loved ones as it can be for the sufferer. after all, it is often a trauma-based disorder meaning the disorder develops it out of survival. 

highly recommend this book to anyone who was ever following the situation it is about but as always please check the tws as it is quite heavy in places. 
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One Foot Wrong by Sofie Laguna

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

although it was good it it’s own “unique” way, this was pretty hard to read at times just from how disturbing and morbid it was. please don’t even think about reading this until you’ve considered the trigger warnings. at the beginning it’s pretty okay and not too bad in terms of events but it gets more and more disturbing as it goes on to some pretty gruesome stuff towards the end of the book. 
despite this, i do find the writing style interesting and reflective of the character’s experience and mental state even though it is a bit confusing at times as a literal thinker. it is filled with personification and metaphors which both make it quite beautiful but also very strange and hard to understand. 
this book is also filled with religious imagery and references which as an atheist i found hard to kind of understand and found they interfered a bit with how i enjoyed and got into the book but they make a lot of sense and are integral to understanding the character’s pov. 

overall, i liked this book though it was pretty strange at times. i cannot emphasise how disturbing and gruesome it gets though, so please read the tws!!
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One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus

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challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

kind of thought i’d enjoy this more but something about it just wasn’t for me. possibly something about the whole american high school drama mystery with a touch of romance just isn’t my thing and i found it an effort to keep reading in some places. i mainly picked it up for the whole thriller aspect but didn’t enjoy it much to be completely blunt. 
this is also completely personal but i had to stop a few times from intrusive thoughts because some parts were too triggering for me which is just a me thing but contributed to my low review. 
if you like the kind of ya thriller high school drama romance trope thing go ahead but this just wasn’t really it for me. 
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HappyHead by Josh Silver

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

i’m not even sure what to say or think after reading this. it was so good in such a thrilling way, and made me anxious to continue reading at times because i was scared of what might happen. the storyline really tricks you but also the characters in a way and you carry this lingering feeling of uncertainty throughout the book
that isn’t really even resolved because the book ends on a cliffhanger and there’s no definitive ending.
i’m gonna have to read the sequel, Dead Happy soon because omg. i don’t know what to think. 

took quarter of a star off only because the lack of certainty really gave me a sense of dread lmao 💀 and the story was quite confusing in parts. 
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You'd Be Home Now by Kathleen Glasgow

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

(tw: mentions of dr*g add*ction)

this was so eye opening. as i’ve been lucky enough to not experience substance add*ction or have family experience such, i never really thought about how much of an impact it might have on a person. 
this book really shows that everyone deemed a “dr*ggy” or “add*ct” has their own internal battle going on and sometimes the dr*g is the only thing keeping them going. 
i think this book also brought to light quite well how much teenagers feel so pressured in school to be perfect and live up to the expectations of people around them and just how destructive these expectations can be especially if they have underlying mental illness or other situations going on that makes performing well unrealistic. 
would definitely recommend. but check tws first pls. 
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The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

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adventurous funny informative lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

not rly sure what to say about this. it was good. not amazing but good. as an autistic person i related a bit to Christopher with his obsessions around numbers and perfection and maths but there were times where i felt a bit awkward reading it i guess? perhaps from empathy around feeling his discomfort in situations and social anxiety around awkward social interactions. 
i liked the graphics in this book and feel like it adds friendliness to it for younger readers especially. 
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The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

this was so good. it was surprisingly well written considering the fact that Flora
has anterograde amnesia and
struggles to form new memories so a lot of the descriptions and her experiences seem like they happen “all over again”. however, it was written in a way that there was just enough information to understand what exactly was happening and why. 
the plot twist was very unexpected but also rly sad and made me appreciate Paige and Jacob more. honestly i loved the unexpected informational aspect of this book about psychology and how weirdly the brain works. 

i would have given it 5 stars but it was quite heavy (or at least heavier than i’d have liked) with romance which a lot of people love but just isn’t really my thing, which is okay. 
still a great book. as always please check the TWs!
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All The Things We Never Said by Yasmin Rahman

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

(check TWs before reading!)
omg. wow. i loved this so much and would definitely say it’s one of my top 5 favourite books of all time. 
i love the way it was written with the different POVs, which really made sense for the story. i also love the paragraph layout Olivia’s chapters and how creative it was, almost showing the intensity of what was going on inside her mind through the formatting of the words. 
another thing i loved was the diversity of the characters - Mehreen who is a Pakistani(?) muslim, Cara who is a paraplegic character in a wheelchair and Olivia who is the stereotypical white “pick-me girl”. the book really showed all the ways in which someone’s life can contribute to their mental health and how dangerous and distrustful websites can sometimes be. 

—tw for next part: depression, anxiety, SI and SH—
as someone who has experience with the above, i think this book really portrayed depression and anxiety well and how quickly and strongly the thoughts can take up your mind and your entire being. Mehreen’s experience in particular really demonstrated the reality of how hard it is to battle intrusive thoughts, self hatred, SH urges and SI thoughts until you just end up giving in. 

thank you, Yasmin Rahman, for writing one of my now favourite books ever.
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