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Solo Dance by Kotomi Li
“There’s a limit to how much misogyny and heteronomrative bullshit a story can have.” Solo Dance follows a millennial woman from Taiwan working an office job in Tokyo who feels alienated from her colleagues and their daily conversations about marriage, the economy, and children. Chō, our protagonist, is a lesbian, something she keeps ‘hidden’ from […]
1st pov, 2.5 STARS, Adult, ALIENATION, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about books, books about writers, break-ups, Contemporary, contemporary malaise, cultural dissonance, DEPRESSION, existentialism, f/f, female authors, heartbreak/breakups, japan, Kotomi Li, LESBIAN, lgbtq+, Li Kotomi, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, navel gazing, office, published in 2018, queer, rape, read in 2022, reading, sapphic, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, she is not feeling good at all, social issues, Solo Dance, subject over characters/story, suicide, taiwan, taiwanese author, the female malaise, tokyo, TRANSLATED FICTION, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, work culture, youth -
Boy Parts by Eliza Clark
disclaimer: i did not like this book. the opinions and impressions i will express in this review are entirely subjective and i am not in fact stating ‘irrefutable facts’. it has come to my attention that this author has a history of going on twitter to ‘bemoan’ reviewers who have given her book a negative […]
1 STAR, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, beauty, BISEXUAL/PANSEXUAL, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, books i hate, Boy Parts, British author, class, Contemporary, dark, dark humor, Eliza Clark, england, female authors, feverish, graphic content, grotesque, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LONDON, My reviews, navel gazing, Newcastle, offensive, photographers, PHOTOGRAPHY, PRIVILEGE, psychological, psychopaths, published in 2020, queer, rape, read in 2022, reading, satire, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, she is not feeling good at all, slow pacing, style over character, subject over characters/story, the female malaise, trying and failing @ feminism, unreliable narrators -
The Break by Katherena Vermette
The Break is a harrowing yet lucidly written intergenerational family saga that examines the repercussions of a horrific act of violence.The book opens with Stella, a young Métis mother, witnessing a violent attack on some land near her house. Although torn, Stella doesn’t rush to the victim’s rescue and calls the police instead. When they […]
3 STARS, addiction, Adult, body dysmorphia, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, canada, canadian author, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), family, FAMILY SAGA, female authors, ghosts/spirits, grandmothers, indigenous, indigenous author, Katherena Vermette, LITERARY FICTION, MAGICAL REALISM, motherhood, mothers & daughters, My reviews, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, published in 2016, rape, read in 2022, reading, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, The Break, trauma, violence, violence against women -
Monkey Beach by Eden Robinson
“Names have power. This is the fundamental principle of magic everywhere. Call out the name of a supernatural being, and you will have its instant and undivided attention in the same way that your lost toddler will have yours the second it calls your name.” First published in 2000 Monkey Beach is a deeply evocative […]
1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 1st pov, 4 STARS, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, addiction, affairs, bildungsroman, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, british columbia, canada, canadian author, CHILDHOOD, coming of age, DEATH, Eden Robinson, family, female authors, ghosts/spirits, girlhood, GRIEF, growing up, haisla, haisla author, identity, indigenous, indigenous author, introspective, MAGICAL REALISM, MEMORY, monkey beach, My reviews, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, place as character, published in 2000, rape, re-reads, read in 2021, read in 2022, reading, rural setting, sea, sexual assault/abuse/rape, siblings, social issues, YOUNG ADULT -
Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
She wondered if the rest of early adulthood would be like this—avoiding roommates, getting ripped off for bad fusion food, and the peculiar loneliness of being smothered by people she didn’t want to spend time with. Having recently fallen in love with Choi’s most recent novel, Yolk, I was eager to read more by her. […]
3.75 stars, 3rd pov, academia, addiction, America, American, anxiety, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, BOOKS ON WRITING, campus, coming of age, Contemporary, drama, emergency contact, favourite authors, female authors, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, friendships, identity, korean american author, Mary H.K. Choi, mary hk choi, My reviews, NEW ADULT, published in 2018, rape, read in 2021, reading, ROMANCE, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social media, texas, toxic relationships, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, uplifting reads, YOUNG ADULT -
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
“Fear and hatred, fear and hatred: often, it seemed that those were the only two qualities he possessed. Fear of everyone else; hatred of himself.” A Little Life is a heart-wrenching tour de force. Dark, all-consuming, devastating, moving, stunning, brutal, dazzling, beautiful, disturbing, A Little Life is all of these and so much more. This […]
5 STARS, A Little Life, ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, actors, Adult, ALIENATION, all of the trigger warnings, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, anxiety, ART/CREATIVITY, ARTISTS, beautiful prose, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, child abuse, chronic pain, cliques, Contemporary, dark, DEPRESSION, different styles (1st/2nd/3rd povs), disabilities, distressing reads, female authors, film industry, forgiveness, found family, friendships, gay, graphic content, GRIEF, GUILT, Hanya Yanagihara, identity, Italy, lesbian side characters, lgbtq+, LITERARY FICTION, loneliness, m/m, male friendships, masculinity, monasteries, morocco, NEW YORK, Pedophelia, psychological, published in 2015, queer, rape, read in 2021, self-harming, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SEXUALITY, suicide, tragedy, trauma, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, violence -
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
DISCLAIMER: If you are thinking of reading this novel I recommend you check out some more positive reviews, especially ones from #ownvoices reviewers (such as Brandann Hill-Mann’s review). I didn’t hate this book it but I would be lying if I said that it didn’t really, really, really frustrate me (because it did). I would […]
1st pov, addiction, America, Angeline Boulley, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, canada, coming of age, CRIME, DEATH, drama, FANTASY, female authors, Firekeeper's Daughter, gay side characters, GRIEF, indigenous, indigenous author, insta love, INVESTIGATION, kidnapping, lgbtq+ side, Michigan, MURDER, My reviews, MYSTERY, native american & first nation, Native American & First Nation authors, Not Like Other Girls, Ojibwe/Chippewa, Ojibwe/Chippewa author, psychopaths, published in 2021, rape, read in 2021, ROMANCE, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, sports, SUSPENSE, THRILLER, trauma, trying and failing @ feminism, UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE, why the hype, YOUNG ADULT -
Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage
“Desire places people in dangerous positions. This was a fact I’d yet to learn and something Richard knew all too well.” Dio mio, this book was so stressful.Equal parts gripping and horrifyingYes, Daddy is one hell of a debut novel. This is not the kind of book one enjoys reading. In fact, most of the […]
2000s, 2010s, 3.5 STARS, abuse, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, Adult, age gap, all of the trigger warnings, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, bad love, BOOK REVIEW, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, books about writers, class, Contemporary, courtroom drama, dark, film industry, forgiveness, gay, graphic content, GUILT, Jonathan Parks-Ramage, journalism, kidnapping, lgbtq+, LGBTQ+ Author, male authors, netgalley, NEW YORK, Pedophelia, psychological, Psychological thriller, published in 2021, queer, rape, read in 2021, Religion, sex, sexual assault/abuse/rape, social issues, SUSPENSE, terrific prose, theatre, THRILLER, trauma, violence, Yes Daddy -
A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar
“How do you explain the unique physiology of girlhood friendships, the telepathy formed fast and fierce between hometown strangers?” In A Prayer for Travelers Ruchika Tomar disrupts the traditional coming-of-age story by rearranging the chronological order of her narrative, so that the novel’s opening chapter is actually chapter number 31. The non-chronological chapter order takes […]
1st pov, A PRAYER FOR TRAVELERS, abuse, America, American, AMERICAN AUTHOR, BOOK REVIEWS, Booklr, coming of age, female authors, female friendships, friendships, girlhood, growing up, interesting structure, LITERARY FICTION, missing girls, missing persons, MYSTERY, nevada, non-linear narrative, orphans, place as character, psychological, published in 2019, rape, read in 2021, RUCHIKA TOMAR, sexual assault/abuse/rape, SMALL TOWN, small town crime, Summer, summer reads, THRILLER, violence -
Consent: A Memoir by Vanessa Springora
Written in spare yet unflinching prose Consent, as the title would suggest, is a memoir that examines its author’s relationship’ to a renowned French author, Gabriel Matzneff. At the time Springora was 14 and Matzneff was 50. Springora looks back to that time in her life, evoking the feelings and emotions her teenage self was […]
1980s, 1st pov, 20th century, ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS, all of the trigger warnings, AUTOBIOGRAPHY, bad love, books about writers, child abuse, Consent, Consent: A Memoir, female authors, feminism, FRANCE, FRENCH, French author, graphic content, MEMOIR, Nonfiction, Pedophelia, published in 2020, rape, read in 2021, sexual assault/abuse/rape, TRANSLATED FICTION, Vanessa Springora
luce [is reading] 