nila's Reviews (526)

The Princess Bride

William Goldman

5.0

adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing tense fast-paced

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The Handmaid's Tale

Margaret Atwood

4.25

challenging dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

The Catcher in the Rye

J.D. Salinger

2.0

challenging reflective slow-paced

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Holden Caulfield hates everything:

Movies
Football games
Girls that are too ugly
Girls that are too pretty
Phony people (seriously I think the word "phony" was used over 200 times)
People who are bad at dancing
People who are too good at dancing
People who are poor
Intelligent conversations
Stupid conversations
+ many more

The writing style was in my opinion really tedious. It was like reading a long rant, embedded with 3 or 4 tangents per chapter.

However I really liked the plot and there were many things we learned about Holden's character that I would've loved to learn more about. I also liked the relationship between him and his sister.
All in all, I don't think I quite understand this book, but because of the writing I'll have to give it 2 stars. I'll definitely consider re-reading it though.

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

3.5

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Part II was so great, I highly enjoyed seeing this part of the "monster". I wish more of the book had focused on him rather than Frankenstein.

On The Come Up

Angie Thomas

4.0

challenging emotional informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

4.25

emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I didn't really connect to much with the actual romance plot, though I loved reading about Jane and her own journey and character development, I found Mr. Rochester quite rough and unlikeable. I still don't understand what happened with the whole psychic lady-scene... A rather slow beginning, as classics tend to have, but when it was good, it was really engaging

The Hidden Oracle

Rick Riordan

4.0

adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A solid Riordan. Half a star for the Percy Jackson appearance, alone

The War of the Worlds

H.G. Wells

2.0

dark reflective tense slow-paced

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

The Penelopiad

Margaret Atwood

3.25

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I struggled to connect with the "voice" of this book. The story itself felt genuine and was very interesting to read, but then it would occasionally become more of a commentary on the characters' situation, in a "breaking-the-fourth-wall"-kind of way. It would just take me out of the story, and lessened my enjoyment of the book as a whole.

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen

4.0

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

A heavier Austen read, compared to the others I've read. It's also quite confusing as there are both Ms and Mrs. Dashwoods and two Charles and many others, but maybe that's just me

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