ishu_u's reviews
132 reviews

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

Go to review page

emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-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

this was fun to read. i wasn't expecting much bc it's so short but the way it's written makes it super engaging. i love the short chapters and the writing style, it makes esperanza an interesting character. i kind of wanted it to be longer bc i wanted to know more about the people in the neighborhood. i don't have much to say abt this book bc it's so short, but it was fun reading and i relate to esperanza in some sense.
The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm

Go to review page

informative reflective slow-paced

2.75

i don't have much to say and i can't say i learned anything new from this. pretty much everything talked about was something i had already learned beforehand so 👍
Dearest Father by Franz Kafka

Go to review page

emotional sad fast-paced

4.25

i have only read one work by franz kafka so far but i think he and i are soulmates in some sense now 😭 almost everything he talked about resonated really well with me and the relationship i have w my own father. i often feel lacking whenever i'm around my father, like nothing i do will be good enough for him and he is pretty much the reason why i've grown up to become so comfortable w doubting myself. i also feel like i'm always unconsciously seeking my father's approval. even when i say i'll do things for myself, i want him to see me succeed and tell me that i did a good job. so, yes, this book hit close to home.
Nothing Like the Movies by Lynn Painter

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

you know how some books absolutely do NOT need sequels? this was one of them. where am i supposed to start expressing my disappointment. better than the movies is one of my favorite romance books ever and this lowkey ruined it for me. i am going to pretend this book doesn't exist tbh 😭 bc it was literally so unnecessary. before it even came out, when i heard it was a "second-chance romance" i was already iffy about it. like, the wes ik would never break up with liz.
that boy was too madly in love with her to throw it all away over his own issues and then go as far as to say he cheated just so she'd leave him alone. he was actually the biggest dick in this book and it's casually brushed off like 'oh, i'm such a dick but i'm crazily obsessed and in love w liz so it's forgivable' no it's NOT. i love wes bennett w all my heart but reading this book actually made me dislike him. like, first of all, YOU were the one to mess things up and then you come back into her life and borderline harass her into getting back together with u. he didn't even respect that she had a new bf (nevermind that she was fake-dating clark, it's not like he knew).
and the 'new liz' shit honestly pissed me tf off 😭 do not talk to me about it being 'realistic' i don't care. i didn't come here for realistic. i literally read books to escape reality. i love liz buxbaum and wes bennett from better than the movies but them in this book? literally WHO are they. the only thing i liked was that there were some cute moments and obviously i think it's nice that wes is so obsessed with her
still, i really don't find what he did forgivable. and it just seems so out of character for wes. i tried to be sympathetic, but i just couldn't be.
and really, it didn't feel like anything was happening. this book is literally just if the miscommunication trope was a book 😭 kill me now. at least it lives up to it's title. "nothing like the movies" fuck yeah it isn't. for my sanity and bc i love better than the movies sm, i'm gonna pretend this book doesn't exist. oh, and the writing really sucked. it felt like i was reading fanfiction, not a published book. 
All This Twisted Glory by Tahereh Mafi

Go to review page

emotional funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

this book was so disappointing i'm ngl 😭 why does it feel like nothing ever really happens. like the progress is so slowww.
alizeh and cyrus are STILL not wed and make a blood oath by the end like girl. what was really going on in the rest of the book. alizeh just becomes unconscious and then gains consciousness 4 weeks later and a bunch of stuff has happened and after that, it's like. idk. it didn't feel like anything truly significant happened at all.
i like the characters, though. i did want to see more omid and huda so i'm happy i got to see them a lot in this book. but, did their appearances have to be sooo.. like. how do i say this. it just felt like they existed to interrupt the dialogue between everyone else 😭 i hated that, as much as i love the two of them. now as for the romance... why do i feel like tahereh is kind of trying to make kamran into a bad person? like. he's really not.
the way he casually puts his hand on alizeh irks me, though. but other than that, he's fine. but here come the comparisons like oh cyrus did this and kamran would never do as much as cyrus does like yes he absolutely would. i am not forgetting how down bad he was in the first book. that doesn't just disappear and turn into "i believe alizeh belongs to me" like get out of here. do not ruin kamran for me.
i hate love triangles. and i really want to like cyrus, i do. but why is his character just being depressed and being horny 😭 am i not getting something here??
all he did was suffer and suffer some more and be a whore. his thoughts about alizeh r crazy. i wanted to giggle and i DID but like, he needs to chill out. even i'm not that freaky. alizeh horny as hell, too. like calm down, u two have known each other for such a short time. minus him seeing her in his dreams. but, i honestly really don't think that counts.
also did kamran have a pov in this book? i can't rmr. but, he should have had one. give me three povs. or just give me alizeh and kamran tbh.
bc cyrus' pov is pretty much just him being thirsty. like ok, i don't need to see all of that. and kamran and huda were honestly the best part of this book. that's real enemies to lovers. pls, make them kiss, i beg. i want a kamran pov so i can see how these two behave in private and see them make out. thanks.
overall, not that great of a book. but, i actually wasn't too bored reading this one. it was just a bit disappointing bc i guess i was expecting a lot from the plot.
These Infinite Threads by Tahereh Mafi

Go to review page

emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

okay so!!! start of the book, kind of boring. i couldn't really get into it. i would say the second half is better but overall, honestly, the book is kind offf boring specifically bc there isn't really anything going on. and i always start liking it a lot more towards the end. the plot could use some work, i think. i mean, it's good but nothing is actually happening sooo... i'm waiting for that. the characters r the main reason i enjoyed this book. i like cyrus!
and he and alizeh r so teeheehee. the banter and the tension like omg 🤭 just kiss. he's so down bad for her, i need him. i think he and alizeh have a lot more chemistry. i mean, kamran and alizeh had some chemistry, too. but it's very obvious who she's going to end up with lol. i kind of feel bad for kamran, though.
and i'm gonna be honest, i didn't enjoy reading kamran's pov as much as alizeh's buuut i liked kamran's pov bc kamran's pov means i get to see hazan and i want to get hazan pregnant. haha who said that... that's so crazy. but, really, he's actually so funny. i love him. i also really love omid and miss huda and i am screaming and crying and ripping my hair out over the fact we didn't get to see either of them much in this book except for towards the end. like!!! the two of them r so silly. i need more omid and miss huda. i wasn't expecting deen to like, be relevant or anything honestly 😭 but woohoo ig. he doesn't really stand out to me. he's super sweet, though. ummm i don't have much to say about this book. i do look forward to reading the next one. i only hope i see more of my favorite characters and the plot is.. yk. plotting. 
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i went into this half-expecting to be disappointed bc whenever i read a classic (i haven't read many at all) it is always a hit or miss. this one was a hit. made me cry.
the scene where his sister is complaining about him and then shrieks when he moves but gregor was only trying to go back to his room ☹ immediately burst into tears.
books that make me cry are always good. i feel like for classics, it's generally good if u relate to what's being talked about. and gregor samsa is literally me. i, too, am an insect and my mother wishes she could push me back in the womb 😞 okay but on a serious note, i love love love how this book portrays alienation. i interpreted it like, gregor doesn't actually turn into an insect but that's just the way he sees himself and he believes he's a burden to his family and everyone would be sm happier if he ceased to exist (he's so me fr).
and bc of this, he shuts himself in his room all the time and eventually dies of starvation when his family no longer wants to take on the burden of feeding him.
oh, also, i couldn't stop thinking of the phrase "would u still love me if i was a worm?" while reading this and it made me giggly. anyways, i loved this book and i will definitely be considering reading more works by franz kafka.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life by Mark Manson

Go to review page

funny inspiring reflective fast-paced

3.5

i first read this book when i was 12. my sister gave it to me and for some reason, she apparently didn't see anything wrong with giving a 12-year-old this book 😭 unsurprisingly, a lot of the advice in it went over my head. i decided to reread it just bc i was curious about it. this is probably the only nonfiction and self-help book i've read and i went into it fully prepared to disagree with the author bc i've had my fair share of bad experiences w stuff related to self-help. but surprisingly, i agree with a lot of his points. i think the book, to me, is common sense. but sometimes i also forget to apply the things talked about in this book. stoicism is really interesting to me and i try hard to apply it into my own life bc i care way too much about too many things. reading this was nice and i like the author's writing bc it feels like sitting down and talking to a friend. i don't agree with everything he said but i agree with most of it. and i like the way the ending is written a lot. i don't think it's life-changing or anything but i enjoyed reading it.
Schoolgirl by Osamu Dazai

Go to review page

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

3.75

this is the 2nd book i've read by osamu dazai. the first one i read was "no longer human" and while i couldn't relate much to the protagonist in that book, i related a lot to the protagonist in this one. not the me rn but 14-15 year old me would have loved this book. i think it captures the essence of being a teenager so well. she's so judgemental and she hates everything and everyone for a moment and she's scared of growing up and then she appreciates things and she's a hypocrite. she's so 15 year old me fr. for that reason, i can really appreciate this book. it was super short but it managed to pretty accurately portray a teenage girl, i would say. at least in my case. it was an interesting read. but i wouldn't say it really left an impression on me.
No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

Go to review page

challenging emotional sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

i really don't know what to say about this book. this is my first time reading a work by osamu dazai and i have no idea what kind of person he was but reading this makes me think he was a misogynist 😭 like the way women r talked about and treated in this book just irks me. but other than that, i was honestly expecting to really like this book--bc it's apparently his most popular book--but i couldn't really get into it. i felt like i could relate to yozo on some level. i understand well what he means by finding it hard to exist around and form genuine connections with people. i relate to feeling like i'm not truly understood by anyone around me. but yozo and i are so different, too, i think. i was just reading this and thinking, damn this guy cannot stop ruining his life 😭 he doesn't really remind me of myself, he reminds me more of my sister, in some ways. i can see how this book would have been good for anyone who seems to sort of see themselves in yozo, i guess? he was awful to me but i'm trying not to just think of him as an entirely good or bad person. he's complicated. and i fear that i honestly do not understand him that well 😞 so this wasn't that enjoying of a read for me.