I found this really enjoyable for me, but to be honest it's not a book I'd recommend many people. It's painfully slow, which I enjoy, but definitely one of those books that meanders around in nothingness until you reach the end and you're not quite sure what was accomplished in the narrative. Like obviously things happened, but why and with what purpose? It's definitely up for discussion. It kind of just exists for a moment in time, which I enjoy.

Apart from the slow pace, I enjoyed the passivity of the main character. I really enjoy passive leads when handled well, which I think it was here. Characters who just kind of accept what life throws at them with limited action. I find it fascinating to unpack, especially when the book focuses so much on their development.

There definitely were negatives, though. A lot of racism on account of it being historical fiction, especially against Native Americans. Also a weird bit of incest. And towards the end I felt like the book was devolving a bit into something different that I enjoyed less.

But overall, I really enjoyed this. Not one I loved and to be honest, not one that's going to stick around for me. It's already fading pretty fast despite the amount that I enjoyed it in the moment. But I'm glad I finally got to this on my shelf.

I really enjoyed this book. I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to, or is even just willing to, learn about asexuality. I think it fills an important gap, an accessible, easy to read, well researched book about asexuality.

It is just a really interesting topic. Even beyond its importance, a lot of this book discusses sex in a way that a lot of people have never thought about because they've never had to. Sex doesn't exist outside of attraction, or doesn't need to, or is kind of hazy. It offers a different perspective on sex and relationships and romanticism and consent which was all fascinating and so important to discuss.

And also there's such limited asexual representation and discussion that I can't not recommend this. It's just really well done and really worthwhile.

My very few negative thoughts basically boiled down to this book being a bit basic and repetitive. I'm not sure how much of that was affected by me having spent a good amount of time on AVEN as a teen so a good bit of this book was definitely a rehash for me. Maybe I just tired very quickly on account of that. But especially towards the end I felt like I was hearing the same anecdotes and same points reiterated over. I don't think that takes about from the subject matter, I did just find that I was much less inclined to pick this book up in the final third than I was at the beginning.

I would recommend this so much, though. It was fantastic. It has a lot of great information about asexuality and a lot of great discussion on sex and relationships that I think would benefit more people to hear. So go read it. I got so much out of this book.

This is one of those books that I enjoyed, but I'm not sure how much I would recommend. Just in general, I didn't find it particularly well written. In fact it mostly seemed overwritten. Characters would go on and on about stuff like- the cavity within her that opened all those years before. (Not actually a direct quote, but the way it felt. I distinctly remember her using cavity in that context in a strange way.) Some of the overwrought descriptions felt like they should have worked, or at least could have worked in a different context. Like I wanted to enjoy them because I got what Badani was going for, but it never quite hit the target for me.

It also felt like it bordered on melodrama a lot of the time. It wasn't so much the amount of trauma or bad things that happened, but rather the way they happened. Two characters were blissfully happy in a marriage and then one lied and all of a sudden there were lawyers and divorce papers without even a conversation. Like that's not how that works? How would you literally not even have a conversation with your spouse before drawing up the divorce papers? It was absurd. And it wasn't just that one example. There were tons of things in the book that felt like that. So much of it was really well crafted, and then there would be these jarring moments of characters making ridiculous leaps in two sentences that felt so over the top.

I also found it jarring that the book switched between 3rd POV and 1st POV. Two characters told their chapters exclusively in first and the other two exclusively in third. I've seen it before in books and I'm never a fan. It always feels like I need an adjustment period every time I switch between them instead of flowing through the story.

I also immediately knew the twists. All the major twists I guessed absurdly early on in a way that made me a bit annoyed. I don't mind in thrillers, but for books like this I'd rather it be more about the characters than the twist ending. It seems like it loses something by focusing on such a shallow element of the storytelling when there's more going on.

Which is a whole lot of negative thoughts for a four star book. It sounds a bit silly at this point to say I'm rating this book four stars when I am so stingy in my reviews. But I can't lie. I may not have thought this book was good, but it landed emotionally for me. Maybe I read it at the right time and just needed a book like this now, but I'm inclined to think it was always going to make me cry. For all its flaws, I really don't care if I can feel for the characters and get invested in the story. I want a book that will suck me in and not let go, and this one did that. I flew through it so fast and can't remember the last time I stayed up past midnight to finish a book.

I'll forgive just about anything for a book that lands emotionally. I read because I want to care and this book made me care a whole lot.

So I'm not sure that I would recommend this to many people and I do understand the negative reviews, but it was for me. Tug on my heartstrings a bit and I'm very easily won over.

I like Kevin Brooks's writing style, and I loved the ending. It left me with this feeling of incompleteness, a finishing of the storylines with a lack of closure. The story was never about Candy, it was about Joe and his life and obsession with this girl, so the ending made sense to me and felt perfect for the story.

But that was about it for the things I liked. For starters, the racism in this book is a lot. And it's not really about racism. They point it out a few times (the father being prejudiced about his daughter's black boyfriend), but for the most part it's just written as a bunch of big scary black men are the bad guys pimping out desperate, addicted white teenage girls. It's beyond uncomfortable and not remotely what the story was about. I'd have different feelings if it was making a point of the racism, but it rarely felt like it was.

Second, the whole story is about this girl, but it's not about her. It's named after her and her existence is the catalyst for the events that unfold, but she's barely treated as a person. She's a weird combination of manic pixie dream girl and damsel in distress, but never a full person in her own right. The main character meets her and immediately becomes obsessed, even though he knows nothing about her. She talks about her beauty and how she's struggled with jealousy and being treated different after growing up to be incredibly beautiful, but that's literally all the main character sees in her. They have no connection, he just sees a beautiful girl and half loses his mind. But it doesn't seem like a critique of that either. It's treated as real emotion in the book instead of some twisted version of love that isn't real.

Not a fan of this one. But because I did enjoy his writing style, I plan to read more. I'm hoping some of his other books are better because I've heard better things about them, but I wouldn't recommend this one.

I liked this a lot better than the other Walker book I read, Emma in the Night. The storytelling style worked so much better here, flipping back and forth between mother and daughter perspective. I was genuinely invested in both perspectives and curious about what was going on.

However, the first major plot twist was revealed in a rather silly way and the characters who couldn't see what was obviously in front of their faces were kind of ridiculous. A little more awareness would have gone a long way.

Overall, this was a pretty good thriller. It's not one that will stick with me and it won't be one I remember to recommend, but I didn't have many complaints. It was just par for the course and pretty good.

I'm gonna be honest, I didn't get a whole lot out of this book other than validation. It's nice being seen and it felt cathartic to read (and Tirado does a great job in the audiobook), but I feel like this wasn't intended for me. I am also one of the working poor, although climbing my way out through some pretty decent luck. So a lot of what Tirado talks about here is just my life and the way I've always done things. I didn't learn anything new, although it was interesting to hear another person's perspective.

I feel like this book is intended for the people who don't know what it's like in the day to day. Like people who know it's hard in theory, but maybe don't know the specifics because they haven't been there themselves. It's a really great and informative book.

I think this is a thriller? I'm not entirely sure because this was such a short nothing book and I can't think of anything that happened. The main character has some sort of problem where she becomes obsessed with people and ingratiates herself into their lives. She meets this family and thinks the mother is wonderful and her husband is amazing and the daughter is a light, so she wants to join them.

And you'd think something else would happen, but that's pretty much the whole book. It's boring and it doesn't make sense. There are a few major glaring details that don't add up, no one does any sort of background checks, fertility doctors apparently can't tell if you've given birth before and don't care.

This whole book was so nothing. It's one saving grace was that it was so short and quick I didn't have to spend much time on it.

If I read anymore from Dyson, I'll definitely be picking up the physical books. I enjoyed listening to him, but at times I definitely struggled following along because of the medium.

I'm also choosing not to rate this book because it didn't feel right. Like this isn't something I felt I could accurately rate. I'm the recipient, not a participant like I feel with most books I read.

This is incredibly worthwhile. It's very much a shut up and listen moment, which I think has a power in itself. He's engaging with you directly in a way that doesn't offer any sort of response and he speaks in a way that if it were a dialogue, it would almost be like he's cutting you off. This is a chance to listen, not be heard.

I don't think I learned anything particularly new from this. If you pay attention to racism in America, the broad strokes of this book should already be familiar. But I think the format and the details make it an important read.

I didn't read this as a child and I was blown away. It's so lovely. Just like the loveliest thing one could imagine. I bawled my eyes out for a good hour while trying to get through it. Everyone always talks about The Secret Garden, which I adored as a kid, but does this one get left behind sometimes? Because I so rarely hear it mentioned. But it's just so wonderful and I'm obsessed.

Sara is a sweet, spoiled, lovely little girl who is annoyingly perfect (and I can see having a problem with that as a reader), but then her life takes a turn and she goes through some hardships. There is something about having a character who is so unbelievably kind and innocent and watching them lose aspects of it while still keeping themselves true that breaks your heart.

I had a bit of an issue with the way maids and such were treated by the narrative. It definitely had a vibe of "real poor people" vs Sara, who was only playing at being poor, and the outcomes were indicative of that. There's definitely a lot to unpack in that commentary and it maybe should have affected my enjoyment of the book more, but it didn't.

Highly recommend. I want to reread The Secret Garden soon and see if I love it just as much, because I was shocked at my love for this. I expected to enjoy it, but not to this degree. I also just already want to reread this. I devoured it in a night and I almost feel a bit cheated that I didn't get to spend more time on this book. But I'd highly recommend this if you're looking for a lovely middle grade.

This is a reread and I thought I'd written a review before, but apparently not. I first read the physical book a couple years back and to be honest, didn't really enjoy it that much. It was fine, but I love Lauren Graham and wanted to love her memoir. I thought maybe I'd like it better listening to her audiobook, so I tried it that way and not so much. I just don't really like this book.

It's kind of annoying? Like I really just felt a little annoyed by her style throughout. There were interesting moments and stories within, but she has a very jumpy style that breaks the fourth wall a lot and I just didn't really enjoy that.

She also has kind of a judgy vibe. Like there's one chapter (I forget the title- Old Mrs. Somebody, I think) where she basically just says a lot of judgmental things, most of which are without merit. Like she complains about people being on their cell phones too much and having to lock hers in the trunk of her car so she doesn't check it while driving. Which seems very much like a her problem? A lot of people don't have to do that. They just don't look at their phone while driving. She also complains a bit about tattoos and piercings and a number of other things. It all just gave me such a negative vibe.

I also had trouble fully buying into what she said a lot. She talked about how in interviews, you can only talk about your cast members by describing yourselves as one big happy family, regardless of the truth, because anything else is really rude. Which I totally get. But then she went on to talk about how the cast of Parenthood was one big happy family.

I really did try so hard to love this. I'm still planning to read her first novel and hopefully I'll like that better.