wow, haven't read a book in one sitting in a WHILE, but this was so easy to read! the 4 stars is kinda just off a feeling because I'm not sure this book has any flaws, but due to the one sitting reading, I always find it goes by so fast I end up not being sure what to rate it. I honestly think everyone should read this because the commentary on intergenerational trauma is either something you can learn from, or relate to. a beautiful, and heartbreaking, novel. 

Wow did I love this. I can't get over that I picked this up at a time where I was grieving and I went into it not knowing anything about the plot. It doesn't replace therapy but I found it so cathartic to read. 

My biggest gripe with non-fiction is when the pacing/narrative is bad and my biggest gripe with true crime is when the narrative focuses on prosecutors or "villain" instead of the victim, but this didn't do either! a win! Plus, I really liked the connections the author made towards things such as the Me Too movement. I do wish she would have mentioned why these women felt compelled to join due to their circumstances, or the heightened danger of patriarchal ideals within NXIVM, but I think this was easily portrayed through her telling of the women's stories and how they got involve; hopefully people pick up on those reasons while they're reading. 

Such a cute book! Honestly it really made me miss being at concerts. You can tell Leah Johnson loves them too because she describes the feeling so beautifully. Despite a few misunderstandings that were a bit annoying to endure, and some teenage stupidity (which, we've all been there!), I think this was really cute!

super cute graphic novel about first love and coming out with a little mermaid-y twist to it. I really liked it and I can definitely see myself recommending it to customers and the store. I find graphic novels like this a bit hard to rate, just because they're so obviously out of my age-range and graphic novels have a much different formula that they follow. But nonetheless I thought it was cute and I enjoyed it, so 4 stars it is! 

I'm not sure that I can adequately describe why I'm giving this four stars, but I'll try. 
I liked what it did with immigrant families and the way they're given a rotten deal in Canada - and it's shown in a deeply true way in Scarborough. Given that the author immigrated from Congo to Scarborough, I can obviously assume this is an accurate narrative. The way girls and women - particularly Black and WOC - are treated as if their bodies are commodities, things which they have no autonomy over. I liked the way it was told, in vignettes, little stories within the larger narrative, that capture the life of a woman in moments that are major, or may not seem major at first but eventually come to shape one's life in major ways.
I didn't love the pacing, though, and found that despite the short length of the book, the narrative lagged a bit. The main character felt fully formed, but I felt that the side characters fell pretty flat.

need to gather some thoughts before I rate and review this..