morganjanedavis's Reviews (396)

I devoured this YA book in an afternoon. This left me in tears at multiple points. Beautifully written, powerful, and modern. Rhodes does an astounding job of linking the past to the present in a way that keeps readers wanting more from the storyline while highlighting groundbreaking cases of the lynchings of young Black boys across time. I found myself wanting a happy ending but it’s evident and pertinent that Rhodes did not include one, as this is the reality many Black people (especially young boys) face today. This is a MUST read. I would recommend this to anyone with middle school aged children as well as yourself. This is the perfect catalyst to start a powerful conversation between you and someone else. PLEASE pick this up!

I refuse to believe colleen wrote this.....I did not like this at all. I felt that Ben was a douche bag and the only time I found him redeemable was towards the middle of the book when tragedy struck. I don't understand how Fallon was supposed to just fall head over heels for this man...he was manipulative and very odd the entire book. I really wish she would have ditched him for real. Along with this, the whole "meet on Nov 9" thing when they literally BARELY KNEW ONE ANOTHER was not charming or romantic to me. If it were me I would have agreed and never shown up. Maybe I enjoy Colleen's other works because they're more of an enemies to lovers/complicated past/~we shouldn't be together but we are~ type of beat but this one just did not do it for me. Overall, this was extremely disappointing and while I still love CoHo I did not love this :(

4.5...this book was so special. As a person who has been through it the past few years, seeing Nora's hurt felt so relatable. This story unfolds beautifully and I felt like I could see everything as Nora glided in and out of her different lives. The character development displayed throughout this made me emotional and the ending (while a little predictable but like it had to be this way) was everything I could have asked for to solidify the theme presented throughout. Overall, I feel that this is a feel-good must read that anyone would enjoy.

3.5 Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised with this book! It starts out slow and really picks up towards the middle. I assumed that this would be more of a supernatural story but, as it progressed it was evident that wasn't the case. The story really gets down to the meat of humanity and showcases this through real life events that are hard to cope with and work through in general, let alone by Aaron who is a young adult living in poverty, taking care of his declining Mam. The characters interactions are raw and authentic, making the story so much more believable and well thought out. While this is a short read, it definitely packs a punch and had such a feel-good ending for the main character to have endured so much throughout. My only issue is that there are some loose ends that didn't get tied up neatly and I'm not sure why. It sort of drives me crazy that they did not :-). If you want something short that reflects real life struggles, this is a good choice!

I mean ?????????????????

Okay first of all I feel like the beginning of the story really hooked me and I was excited to dive in! As it progressed, that wore off because I felt like the same events were happening over and over. I was bored AF by about 50% in and that on top of the very forced and weird religious aspect was enough for me to dislike it after listening to it which literally took TWELVE DAYS bc it was 24 hours long. The book could have made its boring Christian fiction point and ended at about the 65% mark. The main character Christopher was supposed to be 8 but acted as if he was at least 12-13 and I couldn’t tell the difference between the imaginary and the real world half the time but I was too bored to care. Overall, I feel like Chbosky used cliche horror to disguise a Christian message which I do not appreciate. I’m not against the religion it’s just if I wanted to read a Christian fiction book instead of a horror book I would have done that.

I loved this clever literary work so much. Snicket's writing style is refreshing and makes me think about things critically but in a way that feels effortless and carefree. This is not a traditional Snicket book with a clearly written and fast paced plot, but instead a book that follows a slow burn storyline that takes you on a journey though Snicket's head. If you're looking for something parallel to A Series of Unfortunate Events, this is not the book for you. If you admire the peculiar writing style Snicket has cultivated throughout his works and want a reflective philosophical read, you will not be disappointed.

Man oh man was this a GREAT read! I love a final girl trope and the unique way in which this novel was executed made me devour this book more quickly than my normal. Being a horror fan, a book revolving around two sets of murders decades apart piqued my interest from the get go—I had no idea it would be THIS good! Finlay does a fantastic job of making the chapters short and suspenseful, which kept me on the edge of my seat. While there are multiple twists and turns, they were so intentional and thought out it doesn’t feel like overkill to read, it instead left me floored at the puzzle pieces laid out and perfectly fit together right in front of me. This story unfolds with perfect timing and each piece of the story fits together so smoothly and perfectly! If you’re looking for a good murder novel with lovable (and hatable—

3.5, this was a good collection of scary short stories! This is a quick read with a variety of works that are all terrifying in their own rite. My favorites were Meat, The Lookout, The Well, and The Kids Who Came Back. While the majority of these stories were satisfying reads, I felt that others fell flat. The Dangers of Smoking in Bed was too short a read with too many droning details to pack a punch. Adversely, I felt Back When We Talked to the Dead focused on minor details that took the focus away from the plot and the ending was lackluster. The concepts of every story fascinated me, I just wish that a few of them were executed in a more concise manner so they would have actually been scary. I did enjoy the way that Enríquez ended each story in a way that felt like closure but, it wasn't black-and-white. If you're looking for something short, spooky, and quick to read in October, this is a good contender.

While this book gave me a literal nightmare about someone trying to break into a large house and kidnap me, this story just didn't fully live up to the hype. I loved the idea of the killer and I felt that the actual events solely surrounding The Whisper Man, trying to figure out how this was happening, and the events that related to the current killer were interesting! The strained father/son relationship, family death, and Karen and her dates were so boring to me. The inner monologue of a parent nervous to leave their child at home to "put themselves back out there" no matter the circumstances is just boring to me. The ending of the book was impeccable though and what really made me not think that it was just an OK read. I feel like the novel wouldn't have fallen short if the details unrelated to The Whisper Man were more sparse or just not included at all. North's writing style doesn't include anything characteristically unique but, I am interested to read another work by him to see if I enjoy them more without the unnecessary details or if this is just a trademark of his LOL. If you're looking for a niche genre such as cold cases return or unhealthy father/son relationships plus murder then this will do!

I say this every time but I am a sucker for Grady Hendrix. His writing style is unique and always leaves me feeling something, to which I can't say the same of every author. This book of short stories that is very loosely based on real events was so fun to read! With the 1800's jargon and general rapport between the characters I felt like I was transported back to this time period. The social commentary on political figures and events during the time felt perfect to read during 2021, when the world feels still slightly ablaze from the shit show that was 2020. My favorite aspect of the stories was the unabashed racism, sexism, exploitation, and white privilege the main characters utilized to reach their goals. Augustus is extremely open with his tools used to oppress others and get what he wants while William seemingly feels worse about it but continues on with any and all plans despite a nagging conscience. V on brand for American history as a whole. This is different from any Hendrix work I've read in the past but if your a fan of him, history, and/or books that call out terrible white folks on their terrible actions, read this!