readnext's reviews
586 reviews

The Nice House on the Lake, Vol. 2 by James Tynion IV

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

4.5

Palestine by Joe Sacco

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.25

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

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dark mysterious reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind by Tina Payne Bryson, Daniel J. Siegel

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

4.25

Castle in the Air by Diana Wynne Jones

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

2.5

We started off strong, things were interesting, and then Jones completely forgot how to write characters (women especially). Or rather, she just didn't bother with it at all? The focus on different characters between the beloved Howl's Moving Castle and Castle in the Air isn't what bothers me, it is the lack of characterization itself. Everyone feels one-dimensional, the protagonist wasn't likeable, and parts did not age well. The story is whimsical enough to squeeze out a bit of encouraging charm along the way, but WOW did that middle bit drag on for soooooooo long. That coupled with the continuous bits of sexism had me bored out of my mind. Thankfully the old crew comes back in the third bit, but it didn't feel like enough of a payoff.
Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa

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

3.75

Carl's Doomsday Scenario by Matt Dinniman

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe

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dark emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-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

3.25

The Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett

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

5.0