ceraphimfalls's Reviews (319)

Have your Invictus. These poems GET me. I, too, would also like more pasta.

Definitely more about teaching than any of my pedagogical textbook. Pretty sweet loosey-goosey formatting to boot.

A really beautiful acknowledgement of how we learn about pain. Perfect for the middle schoolers in your life, and the adults who have forgotten that bubblegum pop of fear.

After nearly 7 years of trying everything to get my blood sugar under control, I fully believe that this book played a huge role in finally achieving that goal. I can't recommend it enough.

This level character development is rare, but to revel in the complexity even rarer. This book is breathtaking, literally so. The last 50 pages are an absolute sprint. Such a savagely beautiful and honest story.

Really solid, really cute. Easy enough read, especially with my concussed brain, and lovely enough that I finished it in one go. With really only one negative force in the whole book, it was a truly pleasant experience and duly suited to my cozy blanket/hot cuppa method of reading.

J. Ryan Stradal has a way with writing women and female family in a way that most AFAB authors simply can't. Or don't. They're vulnerable in strong ways, without hating the world. They grow as characters and do so genuinely. His writing is so accessible in that just feels right. I can't wait to read what he writes next.

The first 100 pages were slow and tough to get through, frankly. But once our hero returns home... good god. The book blows up in a spectacular way and had me gasping for the breath through to the end. Gorgeous and lush and delightfully of itself and in its world. It's going on my keeper shelf and I cant wait to read it again in a few years.

A good idea, some great scenes, but a lot of fluff to dig through. There was clearly deadline approaching and connecting scenes that needed to be written but weren't ready yet. The way Dahlan writes is urgent but subtle, and I know she has more great stories in her. I just hope she finds an editor that will make calls on behalf of the characters, not a timeline.

Cute and believable, with well crafted and complete characters. But the anguish? The capital-d Drama? Rocky at best, flat at worst. I did love the writing styles, the back and forth of character perspectives. I want to see more from these authors, but writing kinder characters and less conflict. They excel at the small moments, which can't be said for most writers.