claudcloud's Reviews (310)

"There is nothing stronger than people who endure the worst hardships in the world, and still raise their fists at the start of a new day to fight all over again.”

I absolutely did not expect this book to make me cry - and boy did it make me cry!!!!!!!!

Second books in a series are rarely as good and exciting as the first one was, but I feel like “Girls of Storm and Shadow” was a truly solid sequel!! The new characters introduced are amazing, and you can’t help but fall in love with them immediately - speaking of which, I HAVE BEEF WITH YOU MS. NGAN, you’re going to make us fall in absolute head over heels love with Bo and then kill him off??!?!?!?! Those chapters were PHYSICALLY painful!!! I was sobbing and could barely get through them!!! Justice for Bo!!!!!!!

Aside from that - I also found it very interesting to see how the characters we already knew and loved changed and grew even more in this second installment. Lei is a force to be reckoned with, and her strength will always inspire me. The fact that she’s been through so much trauma, so much hurt, and she still has the ability to get up and fight for what she believes in... that’s something that I wish I had more of myself.

Wren’s journey has also come as a bit of a surprise, but I enjoyed the development of her character. We get to see more of who she is in relation to the way she’s been raised by her father, and in finding out about her birth pendant and about the “Sacrifice” that she’s convinced she has to make, we can see why she can be a bit out of tune with her emotions, and act like the well-oiled machine that she’s been taught to become. Her power also grows exponentially, and both Wren and everyone around her have to deal with the consequences. I was extremely proud of Lei for standing up for herself and telling Wren that it’s not ok to hide so many things from her, and I absolutely felt her disbelief and rage at finding out that the woman she loves is responsible for not one, but *many* terrible things, all for the sake of the mission.

I’m excited to read the last book in the series!! Since we left off with Lei being captured by Naja and taken to the Hidden Palace, I’m very curious to see her meeting the King again, I’m excited to hear more about the new shaman-warrior hybrid army that he’s building and how that will come into play, since we only got a small snippet of it in this book, and I can’t wait to see how the story ends, even if it will be very bittersweet.

“What better way to take a leap of faith than to set something on fire and trust it will not only come out right, but that it will be completely delicious?”

As I’ve been living under a rock for pretty much the last decade, this was my very first Elizabeth Acevedo book - and I’m SO happy that it did not disappoint!!!

I absolutely loved the story, but what I loved most, what I got attached to the most, were the characters. Emoni Santiago has my whole entire heart. The fact that she cares so deeply about the people that she loves, that she’s so passionate about cooking that she turns it into literal magic (while also being willing to put her passions and desires on the back-burner for the sake of making sure that her daughter and grandmother are good first), and her journey towards finding herself and finding the perfect middle ground between her family and her dreams was just... perfect.

Her relationship with ‘Buela and Emma was so, so sweet! I could feel the love with every word, and that’s not something that happens often. Even when they struggled, even when they had disagreements, their love for each other was stronger than anything life could throw at them, and I think that’s very powerful. ‘Buela Gloria put everything on hold for her family, time and time again, and she inspires Emoni to do the same - not in a self-martyr, never do anything that makes your heart soar kind of way, but in a way that allows her granddaughter space to also think about what she wants to make of herself.

I was also instantly hooked by Emoni and Malachi’s relationship! If any of you find these type of men in real life, please let me know, because so far I’m convinced that they only exist in fictional worlds! His maturity and kindness was obvious from the get-go, and I just loved his and Emoni’s banter, and how their relationship developed slowly, naturally, nothing forced between them but something that grew out of curiosity of each other and a simple need to just get to know the other person, know every single little thing about them - and I just thing that’s also really beautiful.

My favorite part - I’ve been seeing and reading the praises sung to Acevedo’s writing, and I can now whole-heartedly confirmed that none of them are wrong. I flew through this book, y’all. Her style manages to somehow be both simple and poetic, both very easy to understand and connect with but also full of hidden metaphors and references. It’s absolutely incredible. It’s been a long time since I was so instantly hooked on a book, but I already know I’ll be reading anything and everything that she releases from now on, and I won’t be waiting 4 years to do it!

“Storytelling is a wonderful kind of magic, don’t you think? It is how we keep people alive in our hearts long after they are gone.”

TW: sexual abuse

I CAN’T BELIEVE IT!!!!!!! It doesn’t feel real that I’ve finally gotten to complete this beautiful series!!!

And it was beautiful, to the very end... through all the loss, all the hardships and trauma, every bad thing that our beloved Lei and Wren have to go through, the message that their story is trying to convey shines through. Hope. Resilience. The fact that you can break away from what you’ve been made or taught to be, and that you are more than what has happened to you.

I’ve said this in reviews of the previous books, but Lei will forever be one of my favorite characters from now on. I’m always drawn to people who are so dedicated to a cause, so passionate and determined, that it makes them absolutely shine, and she’s no exception. The satisfaction I felt when the King finally met his end?? Unparalleled!!!

Through it all, though, Lei has kept true to her morals, which only made me appreciate her journey even more. All the horrible things she’s been subjected to could have easily made her resent every single demon that crossed her path (and we see a tiny glimpse into that with Wren, though she’s very quick to realize her misguidedness - with Lei’s help), but no matter what she’s been through, Lei shows empathy and kindness every time. Of course, in having to make the horrible decision of killing Caen herself, she begins to understand that sometimes the right way to go about things isn’t always going to feel right, but her fundamental goodness in the face of evil is what helps her triumph in the end.

Her relationship with Wren is also... so special. Their love for each other comes across as tender and pure as it should with every page. These two girls would go through hell and back if it meant that the other was safe. These two girls did go through hell and back to keep the other safe. And every fight, every clash and disagreement, is not swept under the rug never to be talked about again - but they actually communicate and talk to each other about what they feel!!!! Which is incredible!!!!!! They care about each other enough to acknowledge that what happened to make them drift apart a little is serious, and that they need time to get back to the way they used to be, but they do it together!!!!

And finally, all the other Paper Girls... I was so happy when Lei killed Himura, purely because of what she did to Chenna. Zhen and Zhin are pure rays of sunshine as always. Blue is the love of my life and her snark will always stay with me (also, spin-off with her and Lova? Please?) And Aoki, sweet, in love Aoki. Because she was in love, and that was both simple and incredibly complicated, because the person she fell in love with was her rapist. I think her story was handled with exquisite grace, and I was so, so happy that we left her in Xienzo, finally starting to process her trauma and beginning to heal alongside the other girls. Their friendship and love for each other was also incredible to read about.

I’m not sure I’m ready to say goodbye to this world, to these characters. But I know that what this series has taught me will stay in my heart forever, and that’s beyond precious to me!!

The weak fear happiness itself. They can harm themselves on cotton wool. Sometimes they are wounded even by happiness.

TW: sexual abuse

What I liked: the exploration of mental illness, the personal, intimate writing that felt as though you were truly reading Yozo’s own thoughts, how raw and nitty-gritty everything was presented, how this book didn’t shy away from the hard realities of depression and anxiety and offered what I feel is a very accurate portrayal of them, and the way that it all ended on a hopeful note for the reader. As much as Yozo was incapable of focusing on anything other than his own - perceived - shortcomings and failures, everyone around him had a completely different idea of him than he had of himself. I think it’s really important that this book essentially tells us that no matter how ugly, incapable and rejected we may think we are, there will always, always be people who truly love us, and who want the best for us, even if sometimes we can’t see it.

What I hated: the truly abysmal way in which women were treated and thought of throughout this novel (virginity being the one redeeming quality that a woman could have and the only thing making her marriageable? Sex workers being only referred to as idiotic simpletons, even as Yozo’s the one who keeps seeking them out? Yozo literally watching his own - VERY young - wife get raped, not doing anything about it, and instead of being angry or sad, he just treats it as yet another thing that he, through his fundamental brokenness, deserved? Also, him lamenting not the horrible thing that happened to Yoshiko, but rather the loss of something that benefitted him, namely her ability to trust where he couldn’t? I know this book is a product of its time, but come. On.) It was enough to make me want to put it down several times. I even thought of throwing it out the window, and my books are some of my most prized possessions. I would never throw one, but I fully considered doing so, and that tells you all you need to know.

Overall, nothing life-altering, but not completely horrible, either. While I didn’t enjoy this first foray into Japanese literature as much as I would’ve hoped, I still feel like I was able to take away some important messages and teachings from it, and I’m glad that I did get around to reading it!

“Today, Blue thought, is the day I stop listening to the future and start living it instead.”

I was honestly not expecting to adore this as much as I did - but it threw me over its shoulder from the literal first page and refused to put me down. I am now firmly along for this incredible ride.

I was intrigued by the premise and the characters from the get-go, and I think this is the first book this year that I could truly not put down, which, after an abysmally long reading slump, feels SO good!!! I just want you all to know that I will protect these kids with my life. I would do anything for each and every single one of them.

I also didn’t expect the story to be as gripping as it was, but as I said, at any given moment when I was not reading this book, I was thinking of reading this book and anticipating the moment when I would finally get to see what’s next! The energy-based “magic” system, for lack of a better word, is very intriguing - because it’s so rooted in reality and it feels so close to our world, you feel as if it can actually exist right before your eyes, and you’d never know it.

The thing that has stolen my heart immediately, though, the main reason why I loved this book so much, are the characters. Their growth, even just in this first book, made me so excited to be on this journey with them. Ronan's snark, Noah's calming presence, Adam's kindness and drive, Gansey's... everything, really, and Blue as the glue that brings them all together more firmly than they'd ever been before was just such a treat to read about.

This series, even though I only read the first book so far, is just... incredible. I loved the story, I loved getting to know all the kids, I’m SO ready to go on more adventures with them and see them grow and develop even more, and most of all, I’m so happy to have finally taken the plunge!! Excelsior to the second book because all I want to do is pick it up right now!!!!

“”You can just be friends with people, you know,” Orla said. “I think it’s crazy how you’re in love with all those raven boys.”
Orla wasn’t wrong, of course. But what she didn’t realize about Blue and her boys was that they were all in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her, or one another, analyzing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running gag, spending each moment either with one another or thinking about when next they would be with one another. Blue was perfectly aware that it was possible to have a friendship that wasn’t all-encompassing, that wasn’t blinding, deafening, maddening, quickening. It was just that now that she’d had this kind, she didn’t want the other.”

What keeps me coming back for more, the soul of this series, is the friendship between our beloved gang. I just... I love them all so much, and I love them with each other, and how close they got, and how much each and every single one of them cares about one another and it's just... so so nice to read about, especially as someone who's never had this kind of friendship and love!! It makes me yearn, and that's pretty much all I do anyway, so it speaks to my soul HAHAH

What also was the standout of this book for me was Adam and his huge development, yet again - he's just my favorite. Of all time. I want to hug and protect that boy at all costs. The courthouse scene, where he's finally able to see that he's worthy of being cared about? That the care that Gansey and the others have for him is not conditional in any way? That all he has to do is be himself for him to be loved?? That's beyond hard to do, especially since he never had it before (again, I should know). It's one thing to know that you're worth it in a conceptual, abstract everyone-is-worthy-including-myself sense, but it's significantly more difficult to actually believe it fully, and I'm so proud of him!!!!!!

That being said, I will admit that, while enjoyable, this third novel definitely felt a little less impactful than the first two ones for me ("The Dream Thieves" still reigns supreme, and it's already carved a space for itself in my heart as a favorite book of... ever). Very excited to see how the events that have led us here play out in the finale, though (FINALE

2/3!!!!

This volume was definitely not as action-packed as the first one, yet I still enjoyed it a lot! Centering it around my babies, Les Amis de l'ABC, and around Marius-Cosette-Eponine helped understand the characters more and set the scene for what's to come.

Excited for volume 3, scared of what I KNOW will happen in it...