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pineconek's reviews
785 reviews
Bite: An Incisive History of Teeth, from Hagfish to Humans by Bill Schutt
3.75
Teeth are, while visible, kinda gross. And apparently super weird.
I learned about dentures and the development of dentistry, tooth shapes and the ways in which they destroy or latch onto flesh, vestigial teeth and baby teeth, and those fish that swim up your urethra.
Recommended if the above, set against a backdrop of chuckle inducing jokes, sounds like a fun time. 3.75 stars
I learned about dentures and the development of dentistry, tooth shapes and the ways in which they destroy or latch onto flesh, vestigial teeth and baby teeth, and those fish that swim up your urethra.
Recommended if the above, set against a backdrop of chuckle inducing jokes, sounds like a fun time. 3.75 stars
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
3.25
I do appreciate some genre-bending YA.
I thought about lots of different genres and media as I read this book: mean girls, the secret history, a good girl's guide to murder, beartown, rebecca, the girl with the dragon tattoo, ninth house, heart stopper, silence of the lambs, skins/euphoria, sex education, recess, the end of the fucking world (did that one get another season?), and heathers. Several things happened that I didn't see coming, and a few were not something I could have predicted if I tried.
That said, there were several cons. The book relied on a suspension of disbelief and abided by YA lit rules (in other words, don't expect realism or an air tight plot). There are a few moments when lessons about social issues are occasionally spelled out in an unnatural ways, and characters will do or say things that are illogical, tropey, or inconsistent with how teenagers would act. I learned from another review that the book drags around the halfway mark, and then changed gears in the 60-65% range and suddenly A Lot Happens. I had considered DNFing this one, but am ultimately glad I didn't. The whole thing was a wild ride.
Recommended if adolescent gothic dark academia sounds like a good time, especially if it's contrasted with painfully comedic teen culture. 3.25 stars.
I thought about lots of different genres and media as I read this book: mean girls, the secret history, a good girl's guide to murder, beartown, rebecca, the girl with the dragon tattoo, ninth house, heart stopper, silence of the lambs, skins/euphoria, sex education, recess, the end of the fucking world (did that one get another season?), and heathers. Several things happened that I didn't see coming, and a few were not something I could have predicted if I tried.
That said, there were several cons. The book relied on a suspension of disbelief and abided by YA lit rules (in other words, don't expect realism or an air tight plot). There are a few moments when lessons about social issues are occasionally spelled out in an unnatural ways, and characters will do or say things that are illogical, tropey, or inconsistent with how teenagers would act. I learned from another review that the book drags around the halfway mark, and then changed gears in the 60-65% range and suddenly A Lot Happens. I had considered DNFing this one, but am ultimately glad I didn't. The whole thing was a wild ride.
Recommended if adolescent gothic dark academia sounds like a good time, especially if it's contrasted with painfully comedic teen culture. 3.25 stars.
Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson
3.75
2024 has been my year of (reading about) pestilence.
I picked up this book because I love Speak. But it ended up being one of many books about fictionalized but realistic epidemics I've read this year. Reading this so closely to the Doomsday Book and Shipwrecks really layered the imagery of rampant disease and the horrors that follow.
Fever 1793 was the middle grade version of these books. It was somewhat formulaic and predictable, but this worked well to deliver the story of how yellow fever decimated Philadelphia. This deceptively quick read features a lot of death, and helplessness, and history lessons (including real quotes from the period at the start of each chapter).
Recommended if you kinda miss the feeling of reading a book for 8th grade English class tbh. 3.75 star rounded up.
I picked up this book because I love Speak. But it ended up being one of many books about fictionalized but realistic epidemics I've read this year. Reading this so closely to the Doomsday Book and Shipwrecks really layered the imagery of rampant disease and the horrors that follow.
Fever 1793 was the middle grade version of these books. It was somewhat formulaic and predictable, but this worked well to deliver the story of how yellow fever decimated Philadelphia. This deceptively quick read features a lot of death, and helplessness, and history lessons (including real quotes from the period at the start of each chapter).
Recommended if you kinda miss the feeling of reading a book for 8th grade English class tbh. 3.75 star rounded up.
The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin
4.25
This book had my heart pounding.
Stepford Wives is a terrifying story of moving to suburbia as a wife and mother and losing yourself in that role. No social commentary is overtly said, yet each page is rich with it. I'm impressed and horrified.
I've heard people quote a study that allegedly shows that mariage makes women unhappier and die sooner, while the reverse is true for men. It's so good to have a wife, her stereotypes taken to an extreme - someone to cook, clean, look beautiful, take care of the children, all without fuss. At the end of the day, who wouldn't want a wife?
And who would actually want to become one?
Recommended if you enjoy stories of characters descending into madness (or are they?), understated domestic horror, and find nothing more frightening than being barefoot and pregnant. This was my first read by this author, and look forward to my next ones. 4.25 stars.
Stepford Wives is a terrifying story of moving to suburbia as a wife and mother and losing yourself in that role. No social commentary is overtly said, yet each page is rich with it. I'm impressed and horrified.
I've heard people quote a study that allegedly shows that mariage makes women unhappier and die sooner, while the reverse is true for men. It's so good to have a wife, her stereotypes taken to an extreme - someone to cook, clean, look beautiful, take care of the children, all without fuss. At the end of the day, who wouldn't want a wife?
And who would actually want to become one?
Recommended if you enjoy stories of characters descending into madness (or are they?), understated domestic horror, and find nothing more frightening than being barefoot and pregnant. This was my first read by this author, and look forward to my next ones. 4.25 stars.