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artmuseam's reviews
235 reviews
Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
4.0
pretty fun read! my first time exploring african american folklore in fantasy and it was really interesting. this book was for my children’s literature class and i thoroughly enjoyed it! 4/5 stars :)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
read this book for my children’s literature class and absolutely loved it! i haven’t read middle grade books in forever and was hesitant about this one, but i truly had so much fun following malú’s story :) 4/5 stars!
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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? No
4.0
this book was unlike anything i’ve ever read before, and it was genuinely heart-wrenching. i fought back tears multiple times throughout my reading of this book. the symbolism of the fire and the intense writing style were probably my favorite aspects of this novel. i think this is a must read for everyone. 4/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
when it comes to classics, i try my best to be patient with the writing style and pacing. this one, however, was too slow and i wasn’t a big fan of the stream-of-consciousness writing style. it felt like i had to force myself to read fast in order to understand this book, and i thought that it wasn’t very interesting overall. not my cup of tea. 2.5/5 stars
First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston
challenging
dark
mysterious
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? No
3.0
this was an okay read. i felt like there were a lot of predictable parts for a mystery novel and wasn’t super excited about the writing style, but it did keep me hooked until the end. 3/5 stars!
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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? No
5.0
absolutely brilliant. i am in tears as i write this review. klune’s books continue to make me love being alive. 5/5 stars <3
The Book That Wouldn't Burn by Mark Lawrence
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
still feeling quite shocked from that ending…but i’m not sure if i really enjoyed this book. i had relatively high expectations walking into it just because i love stories centering on magical libraries and whatnot, but i don’t think this one did it for me. for starters, it was way too slow and required a lot of time to actually comprehend the setting. because the book starts off with two different storylines, it became easy for me to grow bored at certain points. i wanted more action going on but found myself struggling to stay motivated in finishing—until i made it to the 400 page mark. that’s when things finally started picking up and i could not put this book down until the end! i thought that the concept was so interesting and really loved the plot twists in that middle half, which is why it sucks that i disliked the beginning and middle half for being so slow. overall 3/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and War
The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
second time reading this graphic novel, and i always cry. so beautiful and compelling. 5/5 stars!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Violence, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Racial slurs
Our Dark Duet by V.E. Schwab
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
i refuse to believe this book is over!! there’s no way that this is simply a duology…i need more of kate and august :( this book was a wonderful sequel and conclusion to the short series, and i truly loved how intense and action-packed it was. i will say that the ending did feel a bit rushed, and i found myself wondering how schwab was planning to spin out the conclusion with just a few pages left, but now it left me wanting more. such a fun read and a great way to (finally) end spooky season for me :) 4/5 stars!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
We Light Up the Sky by Lilliam Rivera
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I read this book for a class and honestly did not enjoy it at all. The concept was interesting but the execution fell very short. This book felt like a lot of different genres in an unorganized way, and I think the author could have definitely used more showing in her writing style. I know that this book is considered middle-grade, but I still think there were a lot of things that could have been done better, because I don't think it's the fact that I'm out of this age range that I did not enjoy the book. 1/5 stars