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In Limbo: A Graphic Memoir by Deb JJ Lee
“I love you when you’re at your lowest just as much as at your best. Growing up is about being sad and angry sometimes.” What could have been a depressing and angsty coming-of-age is ultimately saved by a rewarding & bittersweet narrative arc. As a Korean-American teen girl in the very white New Jersey suburbs,…
3 STARS, abuse, America, ANGST, anxiety, ARTISTS, asian american, asian diaspora, belonging, bullying, coming of age, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, Deb JJ Lee, DEPRESSION, Graphic Novels, growing up, HIGH SCHOOL, In Limbo, In Limbo: A Graphic Memoir, Korea, korean american author, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, loneliness, MEMOIR, mental health, mothers & daughters, new jersey, published in 2023, queer, RACE, read in 2023, school setting, Sequential Art, suicide -
A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents by Mary-Alice Daniel
Drawn by its stunning title & cover, I requested an arc for A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing. For some reason or other I ended up neglecting to read it but at long last decided to give it a try, and I’m really glad that I did get round to it. Written with clarity and…
1990s, 2000s, 3.5 STARS, A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing, A Coastline Is an Immeasurable Thing: A Memoir Across Three Continents, Adult, America, belonging, biography, Black & Black heritage authors, black diaspora, CHILDHOOD, Christianity, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, elementary school, england, family, female authors, generational trauma, girlhood, growing up, HIGH SCHOOL, history, identity, Islam, language, Mary-Alice Daniel, MEMOIR, MEMORY, migration/immigration, Nigeria, nigerian american author, Nonfiction, otherness, published in 2022, RACE, read in 2022, Religion, school setting, snapshots, social issues, story within a story -
Stay True: A Memoir by Hua Hsu
This memoir is definitely all about the vibes. Hua Hsu captures the aesthetics and culture that characterized his college experiences. Hsu recollects the music, clothes, and cultural influences that shaped this time in his life. The memoir is also about his unlikely friendship with Ken, someone whose tastes didn’t really match Hsu’s. The two nevertheless…
1990s, 1st pov, academia, Adult, adulthood, America, ART/CREATIVITY, asian american, asian diaspora, belonging, biography, BOOKS ON WRITING, California, campus, coming of age, Contemporary, friendships, GRIEF, grunge vibes, Harvard, Hua Hsu, identity, it’s about the *aesthetics*, male authors, male friendships, MEMOIR, MEMORY, no plot just vibes, Nonfiction, nostalgic reads, Stay True, Stay True: A Memoir, style over character, taiwan, Taiwanese American Author, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE -
I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
If you are boo-booing this book just because of its title…kindly fck off. It is intentionally provocative and I am here for it. To place ‘the mother’ figure on a pedestal is ultimately detrimental to mothers since by idealizing them we cease to see them as real flawed human beings. I’m Glad My Mom Died…
1st pov, 4 STARS, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, actors, Adult, America, AMERICAN AUTHOR, anxiety, biography, body dysmorphia, California, cancer, celebrities, child abuse, CHILDHOOD, coming of age, Contemporary, dark humor, DEATH, DEPRESSION, eating disorders, female authors, film industry, gay side characters, GRIEF, growing up, I'm Glad My Mom Died, illness, Jennette McCurdy, lgbtq+ side, MEMOIR, mental health, mothers & daughters, Nonfiction, OCD, PSYCHIATRISTS & THERAPISTS, published in 2022, read in 2022, Religion, the female malaise, toxic relationships, trauma -
Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief by Victoria Chang
“Maybe our desire for the past grows after the decay of our present.” Dear Memory: Letters on Writing, Silence, and Grief is a deeply affecting work that struck me for its beauty and empathy. Victoria Chang’s lyrical writing is not only aesthetically pleasing but it demonstrates admirable emotional intelligence, sensitivity, and insight. Not only I…
4 STARS, America, asian american, asian diaspora, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, belonging, China, chinese american author, Contemporary, Dear Memory, Dear Memory Letters on Writing Silence and Grief, eating disorders, ESSAYS, experimental, family, female authors, GRIEF, identity, intergenerational, language, lyrical prose, MEMOIR, MEMORY, migration/immigration, mothers & daughters, Multimedia, Nonfiction, POETRY, published in 2021, RACE, read in 2022, Victoria Chang, writing about writing -
Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America by Laila Lalami
Drawing from her own experiences as a Moroccan immigrant living in the States, in Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America Laila Lalami presents us with an impassioned and thoughtful social commentary. With piercing clarity, she touches upon Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism, and sexism. She reflects on the many flaws and conditions of citizenship, specifically American citizenship,…
1st pov, 2000s, 2010s, 4 STARS, America, American dream, belonging, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, Conditional Citizens, Conditional Citizens: On Belonging in America, cultural dissonance, ESSAYS, female authors, history, identity, Islam, Laila Lalami, MEMOIR, migration/immigration, Moroccan American author, morocco, Nonfiction, politics, published in 2020, RACE, read in 2022, reading, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues -
I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki by Baek Se-hee
“I wonder about others like me, who seem totally fine on the outside but are rotting on the inside, where the rot is this vague state of being not-fine and not-devastated at the same time.” There was something about the title and cover of this book that brought to mind Ottessa Moshfegh’s My Year of…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, anxiety, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, Baek Se-hee, BOOK REVIEW, Booklr, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, DEPRESSION, dialogue heavy, female authors, I Want to Die But I Want to Eat Tteokbokki, Korea, korean author, loneliness, MEMOIR, mental health, My reviews, Nonfiction, PSYCHIATRISTS & THERAPISTS, psychological, published in 2018, read in 2022, reading, self-help, the female malaise, TRANSLATED FICTION -
Black Girl, Call Home by Jasmine Mans
“A woman stretched her body for me, and I have no words to describe her in wholeness, but without shame, I want you to know her. My mother.” I have said (or ‘written’) it before but I don’t feel particularly qualified to review poetry collections. This is why I am planning on reading more poetry…
3.5 STARS, Adult, America, American, belonging, Black & Black heritage authors, Black Girl Call Home, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, Christianity, Contemporary, female authors, female poet, girlhood, GRIEF, identity, Jasmine Mans, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, lyrical prose, MEMOIR, mothers & daughters, My reviews, Nonfiction, POETRY, published in 2021, queer, RACE, read in 2022, reading, Religion, SEXUALITY, social issues, social media -
Men We Reaped: A Memoir by Jesmyn Ward
“How could I know then that this would be my life: yearning to leave the South and doing so again and again, but perpetually called back to home by a love so thick it choked me?” Devastating, heart-wrenching, and full of love and sorrow, Men We Reaped is an unforgettable memoir. Jesmyn Ward recounts her…
1st pov, 4 STARS, addiction, Adult, America, American, beautiful prose, Black & Black heritage authors, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, CHILDHOOD, class, Contemporary, DEATH, distressing reads, family, female authors, GRIEF, growing up, introspective, Jesmyn Ward, Longing, MEMOIR, MEMORY, Men We Reaped, Men We Reaped: A Memoir, Mississippi, My reviews, Nonfiction, Poverty, published in 2013, RACE, read in 2021, reading, siblings, SMALL TOWN, SOCIAL COMMENTARY, social issues, Southern America, strong sense of place, suicide, tragedy, trauma -
Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T Kira Madden
“I wanted to be the diametric opposite of who I was; am. To get gone.” T Kira Madden’s bold and unsparing storytelling makes for a brutal yet ultimately kaleidoscopic coming of age. This is easily one of the best memoirs I’ve read this year. Madden’s memoir makes for a bittersweet read, one that I look…
1990s, 1st pov, 2000s, 20th century, 4 STARS, addiction, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, CHILDHOOD, coming of age, family, fathers & daughters, female authors, female friendships, FLORIDA, friendships, GRIEF, growing up, hawaii, HIGH SCHOOL, identity, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, loneliness, Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, MEMOIR, mental health, middle school, mothers & daughters, My reviews, nostalgic reads, published in 2019, queer, RACE, read in 2021, reading, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, T Kira Madden, teen angst, trauma
luce [is reading] 