skudiklier's Reviews (647)

Despite the first page having a rent listing that says "no Libras,"* I loved this book dearly! I didn't read the description entirely before reading it, so I had no idea about the more magical/sci-fi aspects of the book. That came as a huge plot twist to me about a quarter of the way in, but I really enjoyed it.

This book is a beautiful romance, an incredible mystery, and a lovely story of found family. And I knew going in that it was gay, but I didn't expect it be so queer. Like, fuck cops, fuck landlords, riot-level queer. I loved it. 

A couple minor things that kept it from being five stars for me:

The narrator repeatedly described August as being bad at making friends, and as things like "cranky"  when it comes to adjusting to having friends. But this didn't come across at all in the dialogue, as she seems witty and confident and casual. There's this narrative that was pushed that she's a cranky loner who will begrudgingly have amazing friends by the end of the book (no spoilers, I wrote this only 15% of the way into the book), but it felt super forced when there was pretty much no evidence to support these claims. She seemed to have settled into having friends quickly and painlessly. I get the feeling the author couldn't help having fun witty dialogue, but it just felt weirdly mismatched, and took me out of the story at times. 

I also did genuinely feel bad for Gabe. Like yeah he's kind of a dick in some ways, but the only times at actually see him, he's being helpful and earnest. The protagonists don't just use him to the extent they need to, but seem actively mean at times. 

Overall though, I loved this book. Its twists and turns, its beautiful writing, its politics and themes and sex and characters. I can't wait to read more by Casey McQuiston. 

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to review this ARC.

*I realized a bit late this might seem like I'm a Libra making a joke. I'm not; I just don't believe in astrology and hate things like that where people use it as a way to write off or exclude people just because of the time of year they were born.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the chance to review this ARC.

I'm coming at this book from a weird perspective—I'm a white woman who is largely unfamiliar with a lot of the pop culture and celebrities discussed in this book. I can't remember ever seeing the phrase "carefreeblackgirls" online (though to be fair I probably did and just don't remember). That said, I am so glad I read this book. These essays address so many things that are crucial to society as it exist right now. Blay handles topics like stereotypes, representation, "problematic" celebrities, body image, and sexuality, with so much nuance. She balances what is good and bad about ideas, actions, phrases, people, and media, without ever letting anything be oversimplified. I really respect her commitment to seeing the full story, even when it may not be in her best interests.

I learned a lot from this book, and I think Blay's insights are incredibly valuable. This book is a critique, and maybe a memoir, but also a tribute and celebration. 

I do have one extremely small complaint, that I wouldn't mention here if I weren't reviewing an ARC, at it is really just a small phrase said once in the entirety of the book: at one point she says "women-identified people." I find it hard to imagine a scenario in which that phrase is helpful, and cannot be replaced with "people who experience misogyny," "people who are read as women in public," or simply "women." I will allow that there may be a context in which that phrase is helpful, but this was not one of them. It just felt odd and trying too hard. Are there any "women-identified people" who are not women, in the author's mind? I don't believe so, as throughout the rest of the book she discusses transness and transphobia in ways that feel consistent and respectful. But in that case, just say "women," or whatever it is that is really meant by that. 

I don't know what to say about this book. Lyd Havens has long been one of my favorite poets, and I have so been looking forward to reading this. My head is swimming and my chest is ripped open and I feel like these poems are the key to something I don't know how to explain.

If you've ever read any of Lyd's poems and felt something, I can't urge you enough to buy this book. It's without a doubt one of my favorite poetry collections of all time.

This book is one of those amazing memoirs that at times feels like a novel, but that also feels so real and cuts deeper because of its truth. It's about a woman growing up in Chicago, her family, and her best friend, but it's also about race, luck, addiction, forgiveness, and the policies that shape people's lives.

I loved how real the relationships between the women in Dawn's life felt. Her relationship with her sister was the most impactful one for me (and I have a spoiler near the end of the review regarding that, when I talk about content warnings). 

The very beginning of the book took me a bit to get into, but by the fifth chapter I was completely pulled into this world. By halfway through, I knew this book was breaking me open, and that I would love it.

My only real complaint with this book is a meta one that hopefully won't apply to many people reading this after it comes out; because I am reading an advanced copy, there were no content warnings available online. I am not usually one to need them anyhow, but if I had been provided content warnings for this book, it would have been a better experience. This was especially the case for

the death of her sister. The relationship she had with her sister was so like mine with my own sister (I was and am the protective know-it-all older sister to a headstrong fun-loving younger sister), and the worry and grief impacted me a great deal.

I wish I could have prepared a little for that, and known what I was getting myself into emotionally.

All in all, I loved this book. It is such a moving portrait of so many types of people and paths, and covers such a range of time and experiences. The prose is written beautifully and as I said at the start, reading it often feels like a novel. I would recommend it to anyone, even people who don't usually like memoirs.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the chance to review this ARC. 

This book was amazing. I went into it not really knowing anything, but just having heard a lot of good things. I was so pulled in that sometimes I would stop reading (listening to the audiobook, really) and not know what I was doing or where I was. It felt like a whole different world, and I wish I could stay in it longer. 

I loved this book more than I can say. It's so unique and I honestly think almost anyone could love it; it's probably the only John Green book I will unreservedly recommend to anyone, regardless of their interests.

I've listened to every episode of the podcast The Anthropocene Reviewed, meaning I had kind of already read a great deal of this book before it came out. I do have to admit that I think some of the really impactful moments in these essays are more impactful when you hear them read aloud by John; however, they don't lose much in their written form, and he has gone back and added quite a bit too.

I also really love the mini reviews he has for things like back page book ads and the font used in the book. They gave me so much delight to notice.

You already know this, but I give The Anthropocene Reviewed five stars. 

It took me a long time to get into this book, and the intended audience was really confusing--it felt like a children's book most of the time, but definitely not all the time, in a really unusual way. But overall I liked it; it's really sweet and unique and I was more invested in the story the further in I got. 
Update: I've learned more about the author and what he based this story on and idk just any time I see stuff about the book/author I feel iffy. I never recommend it to anyone. So I'm bumping my rating down to 3.5 stars. 

God this book absolutely destroyed me. I'd read a few poems from it before, but actually sitting down and reading this all in a row? Megan Falley is an incredible poet. I'd highly recommend reading this. 

I'm genuinely speechless. Dez's writing is jaw-dropping and never fails to knock me over. I'm in awe of them and so grateful I could read this.