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anjh's reviews
71 reviews
Rainbow Revolutionaries: Fifty LGBTQ+ People Who Made History by Sarah Prager
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
what a beautiful book. i think the most important and inspiring point that was delivered in this book that is dismissed or unrecognised a lot in today’s society is how what was considered “normal” or “acceptable” was a lot broader in inhabited countries in the pre colonial world. European standards greatly changed these norms in preceded countries all around the world, leading to narrower standards of what was considered acceptable in terms of gender and sexual identity.
i love that this book is accessible for both younger and older readers with the pictures and ultimately middle-grade friendly text meaning younger readers can learn about important figures in LGBTQIA+ history which in my opinion is crucial to self acceptance and freedom to explore their identity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, and Dysphoria
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
wow. although i’d describe this book as historical-fiction which isn’t a genre i find myself interested in very often i really enjoyed this and felt it was very lighthearted and story like to read, as if i were being read a book at bedtime as a child.
i listened to the audiobook on borrowbox for this while reading which, i’ll be honest, made the experience so much better especially with the different voices for the characters and the beautiful piano music played in the section between each part.
it’s difficult to describe how beautiful this concept is for a novel, and i would strongly encourage anyone interested in literature and words to read it. i absolutely love how the story focuses on the women whose voices were ignored and dismissed during the creation and publishing of the Oxford English dictionary.
i also love that the hardships for women and gender expectations of the book’s era are well represented, including an absence of women’s rights, the suffragette movement in England and the expectation for women to get married and have children.
i took off one star just because i found it a bit confusing to keep up with all the characters in the book lol but i genuinely really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Car accident
The Girls I've Been by Tess Sharpe
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
i won’t lie, going into this book i had no idea what to expect and almost dnf-ed at the start because i wasn’t really getting into it. however once the story progresses and you learn more about the characters and what’s actually happening it’s a really gripping and fascinating book (extremely sad too) that’s written quite well.
i liked the layout of the chapters, i think? it made it more thrilling and made me want to keep reading not having a resolution to the previous scene and then going back in time to Nora’s memories but it also made the story a bit confusing especially with timelines backwards n whatnot.
it was interesting and sad learning about the fact that con artistry exists (i did not know this before) and how exactly its performed though in this book i did find it quite confusing how many different names were brought up as i kept forgetting who was who.
all in all, a really good book, and i would recommend though tw for ab*se!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
i had high hopes for this book considering how popular it is. it was really good, the writing is incredibly poetic and i think that’s part of what makes it so good.
i’m not usually that into fantasy and dystopian books but this wasn’t bad, i did enjoy the magical element and didn’t find the world too confusing which i often do.
i was kind of surprised how much smut was in this lol. as someone who is generally incredibly bored by smut and romance n such i kind of skimmed over it or skipped it but if you are into smutty stuff i def recommend it lol.
but omg the writing. the crossing out of sentences really added to the poetic style - i loved it. i think the main highlight of this book was the writing style. it was just beautiful
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Autism for Adults: An Approachable Guide to Living Excellently on the Spectrum by Daniel Jones
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
this book was good. to be honest i don’t have much to say about it other than i gave it a lower rating just because i felt even though its a memoir it represented autistic people in quite a narrow way, when in actual fact its a broad spectrum and were very different individuals to one another. there were however some good points and takeaways in this that i appreciated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Both Can Be True by Jules Machias
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
4.0
ngl this was really hard to decide on a rating for, as it was a good book with some excellent rep but for some reason reading it just felt neverending and like it was taking forever??
anyway i loved the way Ash was portrayed as a genderfluid character and the lgbtq+ rep in general. bonus points for them being a synesthete, i’ve never read a fiction book with a character with synaesthesia before!!
also could heavily relate to Daniel’s anxiety around feeling “too much” about things and having too much empathy. i feel that this book touched on gendered stereotypes around emotions really well.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Violence, and Medical content
Gemina by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-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? No
3.5
even tho i’m not a fan of sci fi i enjoyed this as much as Illuminae, though i found this more confusing than i did the first book, and even that was hard to understand imo. i found myself having to constantly check the Illuminae wiki to check and verify details and confirm who people were and what things were as not much was really explained well in the book. one of those things where you kind of just have to figure it out for yourself.
aside from the confusion of the book, i absolutely loved the artworks and visuals and paired with listening to the audiobook while reading this was like reading a sci fi movie. the graphics are so creative and continue throughout the whole book making it really immersive and massively contributing to the reading experience.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Cancer and Chronic illness
I Was Born for This by Alice Oseman
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
3.75
as are all of Alice Oseman’s books this was a very easy read, the short chapters are just *chefs kiss*. the characters were also very likeable and diverse which is always rly nice to see. bonus points for having a trans character, multiple lgbt characters and a hijabi Muslim! such a diverse cast is so rare in books these days i feel.
to be honest i found myself not being able to really really get into it because the band and fandom theme wasn’t really my thing but it was still good nonetheless.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail