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veronicachp's reviews
477 reviews
Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass by Gary Paulsen, Ruth Wright Paulsen
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Occasionally beautiful and reminiscent of my own farming childhood, but by the end the repetitive style of the writing really grated on me.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.5
Very much not my usual genre, but a really interesting take on the dystopian genre. Usually we think of dystopian novels as being action packed thrillers about people fighting for survival, but what if the fight for survival was actually just very boring? A book that makes you think about what makes life truly worth living, and about whether surviving and living are really the same thing.
The Thorn and the Blossom: A Two-Sided Love Story by Theodora Goss
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? It's complicated
1.5
Wowie zowie, I did NOT like this. With only an 80 page length between the two stories, it's an impressive speedrun of my very least favorite trope: miscommunication. If the statement "All of these people's problems could be solved with one frank 5 minute conversation." can be said about a book, it is a guarantee that I do not like that book. I really felt like this one was leaning very heavily on the format of the book, the unique binding and double sided story format, and not a whole lot of effort went into the writing and the quality of the story itself.
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
adventurous
challenging
dark
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Since Jurassic Park has been my favorite movie since I was about 9, I thought it was time I finally got around to reading the book. I had heard that it was very different than the movie, and that's true, but I enjoyed the differences for the most part.
I found the expanded conversations on genetic science, paleontology, chaos theory, etc etc really interesting in fleshing out the story, and also the further look into the park security features which I think made it much more impactful when those same security features fail. It was also interesting to compare the roles of the characters in the book versus the movie and see which responsibilities and personality traits they retained and which ones got rolled into other characters. I love movie Malcolm but I also really enjoyed book Malcolm who exists simply as a martyr to the cause of telling Hammond how awful and dumb he is through the entire book like a one man Greek chorus.
I said I enjoyed the differences "for the most part" but the one that I really deeply did not: Lex SUCKS so much. I like kids and truly never thought I would be reading a book begging for one to be eaten by a dinosaur, but here we are. If we had gotten this version of Lex in the movie (the one we got already kind of annoys me) then I really firmly do NOT think I would have watched the movie more than once, let alone multiple times a year for the last 15ish years. Idk if Michael Crichton hated children and that's why he wrote her as the most horrible dislikable character in the whole book (even beyond the people written as a direct metaphor for greed and callousness) or WHAT that was about but wow I HATED every moment of her presence here. I do feel like Crichton had the hardest time writing the children in general, since Tim's personality and tone seem to shift wildly between fairly mature young teen and that of a much younger child, but not to the degree that Lex is just... A caricature of the worst damn kid you've ever met.
I found the expanded conversations on genetic science, paleontology, chaos theory, etc etc really interesting in fleshing out the story, and also the further look into the park security features which I think made it much more impactful when those same security features fail. It was also interesting to compare the roles of the characters in the book versus the movie and see which responsibilities and personality traits they retained and which ones got rolled into other characters. I love movie Malcolm but I also really enjoyed book Malcolm who exists simply as a martyr to the cause of telling Hammond how awful and dumb he is through the entire book like a one man Greek chorus.
I said I enjoyed the differences "for the most part" but the one that I really deeply did not: Lex SUCKS so much. I like kids and truly never thought I would be reading a book begging for one to be eaten by a dinosaur, but here we are. If we had gotten this version of Lex in the movie (the one we got already kind of annoys me) then I really firmly do NOT think I would have watched the movie more than once, let alone multiple times a year for the last 15ish years. Idk if Michael Crichton hated children and that's why he wrote her as the most horrible dislikable character in the whole book (even beyond the people written as a direct metaphor for greed and callousness) or WHAT that was about but wow I HATED every moment of her presence here. I do feel like Crichton had the hardest time writing the children in general, since Tim's personality and tone seem to shift wildly between fairly mature young teen and that of a much younger child, but not to the degree that Lex is just... A caricature of the worst damn kid you've ever met.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I had high hopes for this one but I felt like the payoff just...wasn't there. This book feels like it needed to be longer to really dig into the century spanning epic love it was shooting for, and the short length and rapid jumps between timelines make it hard to really get attached to any of the people or events in those timelines, with some of the main plot points feeling jammed in there last minute and glossed over rather than truly explained. I don't mind tragedy or not getting a happy, picture perfect ending to every book I read, but this feels like a story that was supposed to head toward resolution and then just kind of went "actually, nah" and tapered off into uncertainty. I think unfortunately this one is just a case of the plot idea being better than the execution.
Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Un Lun Dun by China Miéville
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Almost a 5 star, which in my personal ranking system is literally a perfect book that I have no gripes with whatsoever.
The story of this one, while fun and engaging, is clearly meant for children (which is not a complaint, just a statement of fact) and might not have been enough to hold my attention on its own, but what kept me hooked was the world building. Mieville does such an amazing job dreaming up aspects of the fantasy world that never would have occurred to me. They're not just ridiculous random things either, they're really thoughtful and intentional mirrors and shifts of things in our world and really inspire you to think more closely about your relationship with the everyday objects around you. I also really enjoyed and appreciated the underlying message that when things are bad, you can't always wait for the perfect person/scenario, sometimes you just have to wade in and do the best you can. I expected to quickly read through this one and then pass it on, but I think actually I need to hang on to it and read it at least one more time to really hone in on the details.
The story of this one, while fun and engaging, is clearly meant for children (which is not a complaint, just a statement of fact) and might not have been enough to hold my attention on its own, but what kept me hooked was the world building. Mieville does such an amazing job dreaming up aspects of the fantasy world that never would have occurred to me. They're not just ridiculous random things either, they're really thoughtful and intentional mirrors and shifts of things in our world and really inspire you to think more closely about your relationship with the everyday objects around you. I also really enjoyed and appreciated the underlying message that when things are bad, you can't always wait for the perfect person/scenario, sometimes you just have to wade in and do the best you can. I expected to quickly read through this one and then pass it on, but I think actually I need to hang on to it and read it at least one more time to really hone in on the details.
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The last 200 ish pages of this book? Absolute five star, banger, had me hooked. The preceding 1000 pages? So, so hard for me to get through, took me literally a year.
I liked the book overall but it is A LOT of world building and background before you get into the real meat of the story and even though I found a lot of it interesting, there's just soooo much of it. I would say a lot of it was a 3 star for me, but the last section is so good it would definitely be a 5, so we're averaging out to 4. I will reservedly be attempting to read the sequel in hopes that it's more plot heavy and moves a little quicker.
I liked the book overall but it is A LOT of world building and background before you get into the real meat of the story and even though I found a lot of it interesting, there's just soooo much of it. I would say a lot of it was a 3 star for me, but the last section is so good it would definitely be a 5, so we're averaging out to 4. I will reservedly be attempting to read the sequel in hopes that it's more plot heavy and moves a little quicker.
That Time I Got Drunk And Yeeted A Love Potion At A Werewolf by Kimberly Lemming
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
"You know, maybe the first book was just a little rough but the second one will have found its footing and be better-" nope, they're just bad. The writing style and humor that kind of carries the first book into a "haha, this book is a silly fun joke, don't take it too seriously" attitude is less cute the second time around.