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447 reviews by:
librarymouse
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
This book offers a nuanced perspective on the history of attempting to find biolo ical difference between individuals on the basis of perceived, nd often arbitrary categories. Rather than outr ght dismissing the possibility that there could be biological differences in ethnic groups that we have not discovered yet, Saini works from the perspective of the social impact of this type of race-based research and explores the ethical dilemmas that stem from it. One of her major points addresses the reality that the ways people are categorized or studies, in terms of race, are often arbitrary and poorly defined. The defining factors are social, and often lack rooting in scien ific application.
Saini also explores the history of weaponized race science, leading back to the Nazis. There's a common belief that after world war II not the ideology fell away to a more liberal worldview. Saini explores the ways and which this perceived history is incorrect and the outcomes of having a hidden ring of bigoted, attempting to work science to suit their beliefs. The same groups that claim that there is a secret Jewish cabal running the world actually do work in the shadows, funding or being funded by wealthy individuals and/or organizations for work intent on proving racial superiority in one way or the other, regardless of how many lies need to be told and test results need to be warped to reach that outcome. Saini covers many bases, addressing the issue of race science across the globe, but she pays special attention to the powder keg that is the United States, and the unique circumstances that lead to the current political climate and infrastructure.
Saini also explores the history of weaponized race science, leading back to the Nazis. There's a common belief that after world war II not the ideology fell away to a more liberal worldview. Saini explores the ways and which this perceived history is incorrect and the outcomes of having a hidden ring of bigoted, attempting to work science to suit their beliefs. The same groups that claim that there is a secret Jewish cabal running the world actually do work in the shadows, funding or being funded by wealthy individuals and/or organizations for work intent on proving racial superiority in one way or the other, regardless of how many lies need to be told and test results need to be warped to reach that outcome. Saini covers many bases, addressing the issue of race science across the globe, but she pays special attention to the powder keg that is the United States, and the unique circumstances that lead to the current political climate and infrastructure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Islamophobia
Minor: Pregnancy
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a fun, quick read. I read Kill Joy after A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, and it was really interesting picking up on the little Easter eggs in the prequel! The audiobook runs the exact length of the game in the novella, which is a fun tidbit.
There's also a really good depiction of the fear of the dark and the unsettling feeling of being seen by someone/something unseen.
It's unsettling to see Elliott interacting with the kids, knowing what he's done. It's funny that Ravi was actually the inspiration for the incept on of Pip's capstone, after his joke at the end of the first book.
There's also a really good depiction of the fear of the dark and the unsettling feeling of being seen by someone/something unseen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcohol
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was a fantastic read! Holly Jackson masterfully wove in foreshadowing and red herrings into the story. Even with big twists, the characters were so well fleshed out that the twists didn't feel like they came out of nowhere. Jackson does a great job making the characters and place feel very real. She creates a diverse cast of characters that I feel like I could meet on any street or at any high school event.
Ravi and Pip's friendship and then relationship was adorable. They're both very funny. I adore that once his brother was exonerated, he brought his parents to meet her, and that their families are close. Josh loving Ravi before he started dating Pip was a good set up to show the two getting together eventually.
Setting up Naomi's mental illness and then showing her father to be similarly unstable but to a greater degree, and him using her diaries as a way to learn information was a really interesting twist. I really wanted Mr. Ward to be innocent.
I was destroyed by Barney's death. His relationship with Pip and Josh is part of what made her so real. Her dancing with Barney and making up little songs about him was adorable and relatable.
I really thought H.H. was going to be the killer, and that it was the B&B owner's son. Maybe it'll come back up in later books, because I still don't think H.H. is Howie's House.
This book managed to embody elements from both the small town cozy genre and quintessential murder mysteries. I highly recommend it!
Ravi and Pip's friendship and then relationship was adorable. They're both very funny. I adore that once his brother was exonerated, he brought his parents to meet her, and that their families are close. Josh loving Ravi before he started dating Pip was a good set up to show the two getting together eventually.
Setting up Naomi's mental illness and then showing her father to be similarly unstable but to a greater degree, and him using her diaries as a way to learn information was a really interesting twist. I really wanted Mr. Ward to be innocent.
I was destroyed by Barney's death. His relationship with Pip and Josh is part of what made her so real. Her dancing with Barney and making up little songs about him was adorable and relatable.
I really thought H.H. was going to be the killer, and that it was the B&B owner's son. Maybe it'll come back up in later books, because I still don't think H.H. is Howie's House.
This book managed to embody elements from both the small town cozy genre and quintessential murder mysteries. I highly recommend it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Dementia
Minor: Fatphobia
adventurous
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Kim Philby's life and crimes frame an interesting intersection between ideology and identity that I've seen in my more volatile and conservative contemporaries. To be willing to knowingly orchestrates the deaths of possibly thousands of people for the sake of an ideology he'd most likely never read the foundational texts for even when the government who employed him began working with the third Reich, and his seeming need to collect and maintain friendships while actively betraying said friends marks Kim Philby as a fundamentally broken person. Blind loyalty is something terrible. Nicholas Elliott and the other of Philby's peers whose lives are explored in this book are interesting characters from a bygone era. The storytelling of this book makes them out to be empathetic characters. The afterword and the quotes direct from Elliott, in which he maintains that stiff upper lip and avoids the expression of emotion somewhat damage that image, in spite of it being expected.
The fact that the sanctity and safety of countries were left in the hands of their respective old boys clubs is upsetting, though not unexpected. The lack of security among exclusive upper class society is astounding.
The fact that the sanctity and safety of countries were left in the hands of their respective old boys clubs is upsetting, though not unexpected. The lack of security among exclusive upper class society is astounding.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Antisemitism, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Classism
Moderate: Genocide
Minor: Animal death, Pregnancy
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
This glimpse at the history of transplantation, also covering procedures on the periphery of the field, begs the reader to be more aware of the fragile state of medical ethics in the past, and the impact it has on the medical field today. It wraps up a bit quickly for my preference, spending less time with the more recent advancements, but it was an enjoyable and thought provoking read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Colonisation
Minor: Body horror, Infidelity, Slavery, Abortion
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This novella is beautifully written and disgusting. It seems I've developed a penchant for finding books that fit that description as of late. Cassandra Khaw's writing style is very immersive. That being said, the story feels like it finishes too quickly and I want to know more of the characters than what we're given. The initial pacing of the novella feels like an introduction to a far longer work, and we are thrown into the story without necessary context. It does well for setting an uncertain tone and pulling the reader's along with the characters in their interpersonal disputes, but the lack of resolution is unsatisfying.
To reiterate though, Cassandra Khaw's writing and the depth of her world building was enrapturing, and I would have happily read 500+ pages of this story.
To reiterate though, Cassandra Khaw's writing and the depth of her world building was enrapturing, and I would have happily read 500+ pages of this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury
adventurous
emotional
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I don't know that I enjoyed this book as much as I enjoyed the wayfarer's series. Dex is a likable character in the human world, but they become a little bit insufferable insufferable once introduced to Moss Cap and they have to face their feelings of inadequacy. They are very human, and their insecurity manifesting as shame and stress is incredibly understandable, but it makes them a bit frustrating as a protagonist. That being said, their character arc is made all the more satisfying because of their initial petulance. Moss Cap is a sweetheart. The novel had a great message about the search for meaning.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Surrealism and self-reflection reform as magic in this novel. It is disgusting, devoted, and drenched in adoration and bodily fluids.
I could read this novel a dozen more times and still have trouble categorizing it. It is angsty, lyrical, and shows the process of decontaminating oneself of the harshly imposed shame Christianity often ascribed to difference while avoiding the pitfalls of textual shame - the avoidance or curation of language. Hval writes this novel viscerally, with bodies, their parts, their fluids, and the conceptualization and actualization of sins being given true names and tangible descriptors. The struggle between the individual and externally oppressive religion is relatably detailed, and through that lens, this novel has the same impact when consumed as stained glass church windows divorced from their context.
So many readers who came of age on the internet were first introduced to the concept of a queer tenderness or queerness treated like literary fiction rather than something inherently pornographic, through the realm of fanfiction or short stories written to Tumblr prompts, as was very common in the 2010s. Rather than pulling me out of the story, despite how tenuous my grasp on the continuity of this book was, the narrator intermittently addressing the reader directly as "you" harkens back to that very specific reader insert fanfiction feeling, and the love expressed by the narrator for the reader creates that gorgeous, fluid, and velvety sense of adoration. This is an effect that I remember keenly feeling and craving at the young age of the girl in the puberty portrait that is so often brought up in this novel. I don't know that I can claim this specific tone to be authorial intent, but the mood created for the reader by the form and language of this book, with specific focus on the intersection between naturalism and internet subcultures, intertwines beautifully with the content.
I really don't know if I can recommend this novel to others. It is a lot, but it is also gorgeous.
I could read this novel a dozen more times and still have trouble categorizing it. It is angsty, lyrical, and shows the process of decontaminating oneself of the harshly imposed shame Christianity often ascribed to difference while avoiding the pitfalls of textual shame - the avoidance or curation of language. Hval writes this novel viscerally, with bodies, their parts, their fluids, and the conceptualization and actualization of sins being given true names and tangible descriptors. The struggle between the individual and externally oppressive religion is relatably detailed, and through that lens, this novel has the same impact when consumed as stained glass church windows divorced from their context.
So many readers who came of age on the internet were first introduced to the concept of a queer tenderness or queerness treated like literary fiction rather than something inherently pornographic, through the realm of fanfiction or short stories written to Tumblr prompts, as was very common in the 2010s. Rather than pulling me out of the story, despite how tenuous my grasp on the continuity of this book was, the narrator intermittently addressing the reader directly as "you" harkens back to that very specific reader insert fanfiction feeling, and the love expressed by the narrator for the reader creates that gorgeous, fluid, and velvety sense of adoration. This is an effect that I remember keenly feeling and craving at the young age of the girl in the puberty portrait that is so often brought up in this novel. I don't know that I can claim this specific tone to be authorial intent, but the mood created for the reader by the form and language of this book, with specific focus on the intersection between naturalism and internet subcultures, intertwines beautifully with the content.
I really don't know if I can recommend this novel to others. It is a lot, but it is also gorgeous.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Xenophobia, War
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Antisemitism
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The gore and viscera of this novella sheaths a love that is tender in that it is beautiful, and tender in that it is raw to touch.
the narrator growing to look more human in the epilogue harkens back to the miss the reference of the falsehood earlier on about a mermaid's ability to become human if they love a prince deeply enough. The plague doctor's empathy becomes the narrator's upon their eviceration and subsequent death. The space and tenderness the plague doctor holds for the children being mutilated by the surgeons who killed and revived them over and over again is transmuted in their death to make the desire to preserve life something tangible to the narrator.
I enjoyed the way readers were dropped into the story after the narrator had taken a sort of revenge, and is figuring out where to set herself in the world after, and I enjoy that some things are left unexplained.
I enjoyed the way readers were dropped into the story after the narrator had taken a sort of revenge, and is figuring out where to set herself in the world after, and I enjoy that some things are left unexplained.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Baaz's choice to tell this story as an unreliable narrator is an interesting one, and I don't necessarily mean this as a compliment. In removing Nesbit from the story titled after her, in place of her husband, making him out to be sympathetic before revealing he had perpetrated the violence he'd been accusing of, and begining and ending the book with two VERY different accounts of Nesbit's sexual encounter with White makes for interesting storytelling, but it doesn't lend credibility to the story being told. This book sheds light on the judicial and law practices of the late 19th and early 20th centuries inAmerica. It is understandable that the author would want to use the same title as Nesbit's biopic to tell her story, but in doing so, and then telling another story for 2/5 of the book, I nearly forgot the book was meant to be about Nesbit.
Well written, overall, but I don't know that the author actually stuck with the truth of the situation, or if he sensationalized it like the journalists he notes to have sensationalized Nesbit's testimony. Had this book been framed differently, I think my rating would be higher
Well written, overall, but I don't know that the author actually stuck with the truth of the situation, or if he sensationalized it like the journalists he notes to have sensationalized Nesbit's testimony. Had this book been framed differently, I think my rating would be higher
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity
Minor: Slavery, Abortion