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sandro_reads's reviews
84 reviews
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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? No
4.5
Keegan’s writing is timeless. This could easily sit on a shelf next to Little Women. She creates a world that feels far fuller than the page count suggests.
Small Things Like These follows Bill Furlong along his day in a small Irish town, Christmas 1985, as he reflects on his life and our choice to do what is right.
Small Things Like These follows Bill Furlong along his day in a small Irish town, Christmas 1985, as he reflects on his life and our choice to do what is right.
Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Chain Gang All-Stars reads a bit like The Hunger Games where prisoners battle to the death for entertainment.
But, it takes it to the next level by marrying that not-so-distant dystopian reality with the very real statistics that plague our judicial and prison systems - a powerful message diluted by so many different character POVs.
But, it takes it to the next level by marrying that not-so-distant dystopian reality with the very real statistics that plague our judicial and prison systems - a powerful message diluted by so many different character POVs.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Racism, and Murder
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
challenging
dark
slow-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
The Vegetarian is a viscerally visual novel that paints a portrait of Yeong-hye as told by 3 POVs of people around her.
It attempts to tackle a lot of issues from family violence to mental health to gender roles with a sort of magic realism brush but ultimately left me confused.
It attempts to tackle a lot of issues from family violence to mental health to gender roles with a sort of magic realism brush but ultimately left me confused.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
None of This is True by Lisa Jewell
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Even with the forewarning title, None Of This Is True is a stressful page-turner that will have you questioning both what has happened and what will.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite come together in the last quarter and then there is the whole [minor spoiler]trying to make a pedophile sympathetic .
Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite come together in the last quarter and then there is the whole [minor spoiler]
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia
Moderate: Alcoholism and Murder
Grey Dog by Elliott Gish
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Grey Dog was the perfect slow-burn, gothic horror novel to kick off Fall.
Our new-to-a-remote-village narrator, Ada, arrives with nothing more than her dubious past. But, what follows is more than your typical bumps in the night as it explores gender norms in the early 20th century.
Our new-to-a-remote-village narrator, Ada, arrives with nothing more than her dubious past. But, what follows is more than your typical bumps in the night as it explores gender norms in the early 20th century.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Hurricane Season by Fernanda Melchor
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Hurricane Season is short but dense - long run-on sentences, no paragraphs, no quotation marks - an assault to the senses - brutal, vulgar - much like what the women in this Mexican town face at the hands of men.
Unfortunately, I admire the idea of this book much more than I enjoyed reading it.
Unfortunately, I admire the idea of this book much more than I enjoyed reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
Tin Man by Sarah Winman
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-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? No
4.75
I often find myself drawn toward melancholy and every sentence of Tin Man is wrapped in mournful longing.
It’s a reflection on love and friendship and art as they exist between 3 individuals - nearly perfect except for [minor spoiler]the exclusion of Annie’s perspective.
It’s a reflection on love and friendship and art as they exist between 3 individuals - nearly perfect except for [minor spoiler]
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
I have never read Dickens’ David Copperfield which provided the inspiration for this novel so I did not have that as a reference point. But, Kingsolver delivers a tour-de-force with characters who felt so real, I often heard their voices while reading.
It’s a heartbreaking tale of systemic poverty and the opioid crisis in rural Appalachia that grabs you and takes hold. I did not want it to end.
It’s a heartbreaking tale of systemic poverty and the opioid crisis in rural Appalachia that grabs you and takes hold. I did not want it to end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Foster by Claire Keegan
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Claire Keegan packs an emotional punch with Foster - saying so much with so few words. It left me longing for more.
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
There is a self-deprecating humor as our titular character, Rachel, reflects on her early twenties in Cork, Ireland which makes you root for her despite many questionable choices. And, much like real life, it takes many unexpected turns to keep your interest.