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Liar, Dreamer, Thief by Maria Dong
“Once upon a time, there was a girl with a vivid imagination, one who was not entirely sane. She was afraid of many things that weren’t real, but she didn’t tell anyone. They would’ve sent her far, far away, and she wasn’t ready to go.” Liar, Dreamer, Thief had all of the ingredients to be…
1st pov, 3 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, amateur detective, America, anxiety, cat and mouse, Contemporary, DEATH, female authors, feverish, gay side characters, hallucinations, korean american author, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, Liar Dreamer Thief, loneliness, Maria Dong, mental health, MYSTERY, NEW YORK, obsession, OCD, psychological, published in 2023, read in 2023, she is not feeling good at all, stalking, suicide, SUSPENSE, the female malaise, unreliable narrators, work culture -
Daughters of the New Year by E.M. Tran
Xuan and her children never talked about this dance. They did it over and over again, playing their parts faithfully and acting as though the other had not transgressed. While I appreciate the conceit of Daughters of the New Year, its execution did not win me over. The summary may be somewhat at fault, as…
1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2.5 STARS, 20th century, Adult, asian american, asian diaspora, astrology, beauty contest, belonging, bullying, Contemporary, cultural dissonance, Daughters of the New Year, DEATH, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), drama, E.M. Tran, f/f side, family, female authors, generational trauma, HISTORICAL FICTION, history, intergenerational, interwoven narratives, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+ side, MEMORY, migration/immigration, Mississippi, motherhood, mothers & daughters, New Orleans, OCD, polyphonic, published in 2022, queer side characters, read in 2022, reality shows, SISTERS, snapshots, Southern America, trauma, Vietnam, Vietnamese American Author, womanhood/femininity -
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 -
THE WEIGHT OF OUR SKY: BOOK REVIEW
The Weight of Our Sky by Hanna Alkaf ★★★✰✰ 3 of 5 stars This is a promising YA debut. While there were a few elements that stopped me from being fully ‘immersed’ by the story and its characters, first I want to praise Alkaf’s depiction of OCD. The story follows Melati Ahmad who is a…