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howlinglibraries's Reviews (1.85k)
No great mind has ever existed without a touch of madness.
I know a lot of people feel that asylum settings in horror are overdone, or insensitive, and I can fully respect that and see where those people are coming from! That said, even as a woman who probably (definitely) would’ve been locked up with the key thrown away if I’d been alive a couple hundred years ago (I say this only half-jokingly 😂), I adore a good retired asylum setting in a scary story, so when I found out about this little series, I was pretty excited to check it out!
It was a house for those who could not take care of themselves, for those who heard voices, who had strange thoughts and did strange things. The house was meant to keep them in. Once they came, they never left.
And I have to say, the setting in Asylum really is great. It’s claustrophobic at times, atmospheric as anything, and struck me as the kind of place that I would pay good money to be allowed to explore or even just take a tour through. It seemed like a building that absolutely ought to exist in a million places all over the world, run-down and decrepit and probably terrifying the locals on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the positive things I have to say for this book begin and end there.
It was a fight against the madness, he felt like he was losing. Maybe he already had...
The characters are all solidly awful, and I don’t think I ever had a moment of liking a single one of them. On top of that, I literally predicted the ‘twist’ a few pages into the book, and having guessed it so early on made it difficult to enjoy the rest, because I kept wondering why the hell these teens couldn’t come anywhere near guessing the truth. I was frustrated, disappointed, and altogether unimpressed that I spent my money on this book or its immediate sequel, which I don’t know if I’ll ever even bother picking up.
2.5 stars
———
Buddy read with Kaleena!
DNF @ 63%
I really was intrigued by this plot, and I've heard so many people say the series becomes amazing a few books in, plus it's a quick read—all of these being the excuses I kept making for myself as yet another week passed and I still had no desire to finish this book.
Today, I sat down with my kindle, determined to knock the rest of it out in one go, and realized that, at some point over the last MONTH of trying to read it, I've grown to hate Mac as a character so much that I can't handle another freaking chapter of her Mary Sue, whiny, argumentative, idiotic character design.
I know a lot of people say she improves later in the series, and maybe, MAYBE, I'll find out for myself someday, but right now, all I keep thinking is that there are so many better paranormal fantasy series in the world, so why waste my time with one I'm not enjoying?
I really was intrigued by this plot, and I've heard so many people say the series becomes amazing a few books in, plus it's a quick read—all of these being the excuses I kept making for myself as yet another week passed and I still had no desire to finish this book.
Today, I sat down with my kindle, determined to knock the rest of it out in one go, and realized that, at some point over the last MONTH of trying to read it, I've grown to hate Mac as a character so much that I can't handle another freaking chapter of her Mary Sue, whiny, argumentative, idiotic character design.
I know a lot of people say she improves later in the series, and maybe, MAYBE, I'll find out for myself someday, but right now, all I keep thinking is that there are so many better paranormal fantasy series in the world, so why waste my time with one I'm not enjoying?
Be Prepared is a (mostly) autobiographical graphic novel about the author's experience at a Russian summer camp as a child. It's neat to read about, and it's a cute graphic novel with some good humorous moments, though I thought it was a little bit longer than it needed to be.
Like many other reviewers, I felt like Nightlights was one of the most stunning books I've ever read, but the story lacked where the illustrations excelled. I enjoyed the overall theme — especially the surprisingly creepy aspects of later story developments — but I felt like something was missing from the ending and I couldn't quite place my finger on what. That said, I can still happily give this 4 stars just because it was so stunning and, regardless of not totally "clicking" with the story, I had a lot of fun reading it.
This is my favorite children's book of the year so far. I grabbed it from a neighboring branch to check out for an upcoming story-time theme and seriously giggled throughout the entire thing. The art is so freaking cute, there's a really good theme of friendship, and it highlights how important it is that we remember that, when someone else starts to like something we like, we don't need to become territorial - instead, we should be grateful to have a new friend to enjoy that thing with!
Most of all, though, the art... oh, man. Shawn keeps dressing up as a shark to begin with, and in each page where he's in his costume, his cat is in a fish costume. Later in the book, he switches to a leopard seal costume, so his cat... switches to a penguin costume. 😂 I'm still snickering.
Most of all, though, the art... oh, man. Shawn keeps dressing up as a shark to begin with, and in each page where he's in his costume, his cat is in a fish costume. Later in the book, he switches to a leopard seal costume, so his cat... switches to a penguin costume. 😂 I'm still snickering.
This is a hard graphic novel to rate for me. There's a lot of poignancy and well-meant subtext surrounding girls discovering what society is like for women and how easy it can be to fall prey to internalized misogyny and tearing each other down, but at the same time, I don't think any of it is addressed clearly enough for the target demographic. If this were a graphic novel geared towards adults or the older YA range, I wouldn't think twice about the fact that nobody really calls Rose out on calling other girls "sluts" and saying that it's "their fault" for being abused, but I don't think it's entirely safe to hand a book this vague to a middle-grade or early YA reader (which is the group I think this story most strongly appeals to, but that could just be me!) and to simply assume that they'll understand the tongue-in-cheek meanings the creators tried to present.
On a less serious note, I also went with 3 stars because, while the art is lovely, the plot is mostly extremely boring.
On a less serious note, I also went with 3 stars because, while the art is lovely, the plot is mostly extremely boring.
I have heard it said we are the uninvited.
We are the unwelcome.
We should take our misfortune elsewhere.
Wow. Wow. This is such a powerful little poetry book. In just a few pages, Khaled Hosseini paints an absolutely gut-wrenching picture of a family beginning their journey to seek asylum. I can't even begin to fathom how truly privileged I am to not live in that position, but Sea Prayer offers a tiny window into the terror and hurt that refugees must face — especially a parent trying to save their young child(ren).
If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hug my little one very tightly and thank my stars a little extra tonight.
I don't usually pick up sports-related memoirs as they don't typically interest me, and I know next to nothing about figure skating, so Spinning almost wasn't on my radar at all. The only reason I picked it up is that I learned it involved queer rep, and I'm actually really glad that I did.
Spinning offers such an insightful, though clearly somewhat traumatized take on what it's like to grow up as a kid who's all-in obsessed with a particular sport, hobby, etc. It's clear that Walden holds a lot of resentment for the sport and the atmosphere it created in her life, but at the same time, I didn't feel like her stance ever seemed unjust or overly bitter. As a kid who wasn't able to be in any sports like this, I remember sometimes feeling jealous of the kids who had their "thing" that they always did, but after reading this memoir, I'm a little bit grateful that my parents weren't the sort to let me half-kill myself over something like this (as it's made pretty abundantly clear that Tillie's parents, her mother especially, turned a wholly blind eye to the ridiculous toll figure skating took on her body and mental health at times).
I also thought the bits about her coming out process and her first girlfriend were really tender and sad, but valuable — they weren't very heavy-handed in the storytelling process, but it was still lovely to see that side of her and even to think back on my own experiences with coming out. I think nearly any queer person could read this and relate to Tillie's experiences, whether it's the friends she lost, the friends she was pleasantly surprised by, or the struggles of re-building bonds with her family members after their reactions came about.
Spinning offers such an insightful, though clearly somewhat traumatized take on what it's like to grow up as a kid who's all-in obsessed with a particular sport, hobby, etc. It's clear that Walden holds a lot of resentment for the sport and the atmosphere it created in her life, but at the same time, I didn't feel like her stance ever seemed unjust or overly bitter. As a kid who wasn't able to be in any sports like this, I remember sometimes feeling jealous of the kids who had their "thing" that they always did, but after reading this memoir, I'm a little bit grateful that my parents weren't the sort to let me half-kill myself over something like this (as it's made pretty abundantly clear that Tillie's parents, her mother especially, turned a wholly blind eye to the ridiculous toll figure skating took on her body and mental health at times).
I also thought the bits about her coming out process and her first girlfriend were really tender and sad, but valuable — they weren't very heavy-handed in the storytelling process, but it was still lovely to see that side of her and even to think back on my own experiences with coming out. I think nearly any queer person could read this and relate to Tillie's experiences, whether it's the friends she lost, the friends she was pleasantly surprised by, or the struggles of re-building bonds with her family members after their reactions came about.
WOW. What a read! I can't believe I've been a horror fan my entire life and have never picked up this little short story until today, but it's definitely an instant favorite. It's mostly tragic and sad, sure, but there were moments that gave me absolute chills, and that ending stopped me right in my tracks. Amazing. No wonder this is such a widely beloved classic!
