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laurenleigh's reviews
636 reviews
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Kind of a bit of a slow start for me, but wow was I hooked by the end! I picked up the sequel immediately, which is kind of rare for me these days. This is definitely YA fantasy, but it’s still set in a deathly prison, so pretty dark at times. It’s not quite like anything else I’ve read, which is always a plus. The last 100 pages are wild and there were multiple twists that I absolutely did NOT see coming. Quite remarkable! It will be so interesting to see how this plot progresses over the next book and how the world building will deepen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, and Blood
Pageboy by Elliot Page
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
5.0
This is by no means an easy read, but wow what an important book. For someone that has spent most of their life painfully in the closet, it’s amazing that Page was willing to be so raw and vulnerable. I got the impression from the intro that he realizes the power of telling one’s truth like this. It empowers us to learn about ourselves and the LGBTQIA2S+ experience. My biggest takeaway was how incredibly painful it was for Page to not be free to be himself. Even just to understand who that Self is, let alone share it, is so difficult in a world that regularly denies and dehumanizes queer people. I’m struggling to write concisely here, because I have so many thoughts. My heart goes out to Elliot, and I wish him nothing but happiness and love!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Homophobia, Self harm, and Transphobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
funny
lighthearted
slow-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
A delightful cozy murder! Right up my alley. The narrator was perfect too, like a dark Mrs. Potts. I think where this book shines the most is the characters. They were all pitch perfect, with a balance of adorable naïveté and sharp wit. Elizabeth in particular fascinates me. I’m not dying to pick up the sequel right this second, but I think I may get around to it just to learn more about her. Since POV has been on my mind lately, I noticed that Osman switches between first person diary and closed third person. That’s tricky, but I think Osman did it as well as he could. And I understand why both POV’s felt necessary; both brought the narrative along in their own ways.
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
5.0
I am telling everyone to read this, especially when read alongside Demon Copperhead!! This was exactly what I want out of nonfiction. I want to learn, but while being engaged in a cohesive narrative. The amount of research Keefe has done is staggering, but he has communicated his findings so clearly. I was so hooked the whole time, even when I was enraged. (Greed is one hell of a drug.) After reading this and Kingsolver’s aforementioned novel, I feel so much more informed on the opioid crisis. It’s terrifying, depressing, and fascinating to see the similarities between the pharmaceutical, tobacco, and firearms industries. Radden doesn’t necessarily make his stance on the subject a secret, but he also doesn’t throw it constantly in your face.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use
Moderate: Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Classism
The Near Witch by V.E. Schwab
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Another Grass Valley book club I attended; this time hosted by the local bookstore! This is my third read by this author, and I really want to read more of her. Even though this was a short, somewhat simplistic story, there was a dark fairy tale vibe to that simplicity. I love an atmospheric read, even if the plot doesn’t totally grab me. There’s just something amazing in how an author can set such a mood with just words on a page. This reprint edition includes a short story in the same universe that Schwab wrote years later, and it was maybe even better than the novel. So cool to see how an author develops their craft over time!
Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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
4.0
Read this for a Grass Valley Library book club that I attended. Otherwise I probably wouldn’t have picked it up. Generational family drama isn’t quite my thing these days. It felt like there was a LOT going on in a relatively short book, which got a bit confusing, overwhelming, or even unbelievable at times. (So many characters were famous or went viral. Too many.) However, one of the main issues Wilkerson touches on was quite interesting: the history of food, especially in colonial contexts. Who gets to decide which food is “theirs?” How do cultures lay claim to certain recipes, and what’s appropriation? One of the characters was going to write a book on this; I would totally read that!
The Cartographer's Secret by Tea Cooper
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I guess I have strong feelings about POV lately! This was an interesting premise about a missing girl and her niece looking for her 30 years later, set in the 1880’s and 1910’s in Australia. It starts with both women’s POV’s, but then the missing girl’s narrative drops off completely, to be replaced by the niece’s love interest. It was jarring and confusing as a reader to switch around whose perspective we’re following. It pulled me out of the story, and I didn’t get much chance to connect to any of the characters.
Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Julie Smith
hopeful
informative
fast-paced
4.5
The title of this is really good, but then it didn’t quite deliver up to that expectation. Maybe because I am already in therapy, journal daily, and follow a zillion self help insta accounts. 😅 Regardless, I see this book as a great primer on a lot of mental health concepts. It doesn’t dive deep into anything; it could be a great place to start. I appreciate how she suggests journaling prompts if you’re on a solo self-help journey or don’t have access to therapy. My only disagreement with Dr. Smith here is her assertion that the best cure for anxiety is to do the thing that scares you. That can certainly help in some cases, but I absolutely don’t think it’s safe to assume that’s going to be the best course of action for everyone.
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
dark
emotional
sad
medium-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? Yes
5.0
I’ve been reading too much “meh” lately, and I’m so glad I finally found a five star! I adore Makkai’s work yet again. I’m fascinated by the range of her work. This novel is so of this time. You’ve got Covid, true crime podcasts, and the Me Too movement all in one. I would have enjoyed the boarding school murder mystery on its own, but the feminist layer on top made it even more powerful. Fair warning, this book may enrage you at some points. Perhaps it was even a bit heavy handed at times, like I could feel Makkai’s own rage. But it really hooked me, and I couldn’t put it down! The pacing and the main character (while morally ambiguous at times) was quite engaging.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Blood
She Who Rides the Storm by Caitlin Sangster
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-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
4.0
I am a very slow reader of paper books, so I invested a lot of time in this 600 page book. This is also a local author, and I got to meet her here in Grass Valley! I can’t help but see how those two things influence my overall thoughts. I think I was just confused by the plot until the last 100 pages. Sangster really throws you into a world and rarely stops to explain anything. She also almost never uses speech tags (“she said”), which constantly tripped me up. I’m all for limiting those, but not enough is difficult to follow. However, even while I was lost, I still enjoyed the ride. The characters were well developed, their relationships were interesting and complex, and the magic systems were quite unique.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail