450 reviews by:

electraa

Filter

Daughter of the Salt King

A.S. Thornton

DID NOT FINISH

rape scenes. super icky feeling overall.
mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

‘What do we think of race is made up - It’s a social construct. What we think of as colour is a trick of the light.’

‘Remember that little eyes are watching and learning from everything including your silence.’

Uju Asika Is a blogger who was encouraged by her cousin to write this book about bringing up race and how to raise children in a prejudiced world. The chapters are arranged by theme including mixed heritage, skin colour, conversations with kids, history, being a global citizen, hair, different shades beauty. At the end of every chapter there is a Q&A where people bring up every day issues that arise and solutions for them. Overall I think the structure of the book works really well for what it is.. 

As far as the content is concerned, I believe that it can be something for everyone with little nuggets of wisdom that we all need to hear one way or another. A small disclaimer here: I am a white woman so a lot of the things explained or addressed are more relevant towards people of colour on how to deal with them and accept who they are. That being said, it was refreshing and informative to see another perspective of it as I’m a constant learning myself regarding race and the history behind it..

The book includes a lot of references of famous people, scientists, studies, films, documentaries, as well as personal experiences with her own kids, friends and family. That made it both a read with serious and credible sources yet not as abstract and detached  way as many non-box tend to be.

I do recommend this book for everyone whether they have kids or not. As a new mum myself I am trying to learn as much as possible and try to be the best I can be for my little one.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

You Had Me at Hola

Alexis Daria

DID NOT FINISH

Was bored. Didn’t care to get through it. Gave up relatively early.
lighthearted medium-paced
emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

What If It's Us

Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera

DID NOT FINISH

it was sooo boring and with extremely priviliged characters.
mysterious tense medium-paced
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: N/A
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

All Systems Red

Martha Wells

DID NOT FINISH

Great main character but very boring plot :(
lighthearted sad medium-paced

Oh that story had so much potential.
I was immersed in it because of the writing style that I enjoyed so much that reminded me of old fashioned third person narration that is witty and likes word play.
I really enjoyed the characters' backgrounds and flashbacks to get to know them better and it was done masterfully.
But that is where the good points ended for me.
I could not believe the romance between David and Ameena and I was being put off by the dialogue that seemed unrealistic. But brushing aside the fact that the get together pretty fast considering we do not get to experience the build up to it, I was hoping that the writing and the characters (individually) would keep my interest. 
In the middle of the book, we have a condescending David who is mansplaining jazz and the latter happens more than once who was appalling for me to read.
Second of all, I really do not understand how someone can assume you are Jewish just by appearance. Why does that have to always be the center of a character's identity when there is very little to connect him to it and appearance is certainly not one of them.
I couldn't handle the last points so I am sadly giving this a 2 star rating for those reasons. Some people may get passed it or even enjoy it but it was certainly not the case for me