Katie

This was a DNF. I guess maybe what I was really looking for was a dystopian fiction about climate migration. Instead I got a chapter about how climate change is bad and is really coming. Then a chapter about how people have always migrated throughout history. Then a chapter about how migration is great for rich countries. Etc. While everything she says is very factual, there's a huge divide between what she says needs to happen and what is actually going to happen, based on politics, human nature, etc. Maybe she addresses that in the chapters after I gave up...

I loved this book. The characters were really sweet and lovable (which seems sort of weird to say because of all the graphic sex...), the story was interesting, the history lesson footnotes were informative without being annoying. A truly enjoyable read.

Wow, I would say the Goodreads summary of this book (or maybe it's the publisher's) captures nothing about it. It's about family and generational trauma and how systemic harms create and pass on that trauma. The characters were all lovable and relatable, and the stories were so compelling.

Reading this was the intellectual equivalent of scrolling though Facebook. Couldn't bring myself to finish.

This is probably a 3.5 for me. The story was interesting and really showed how generational trauma can impact a family. The writing was a little cliched (things “spread like wildfire” at least three different times). I'm glad I read it.

I really enjoyed this book. It was really a collection of essays (I guess that's what they meant by “in pieces,” but I was expecting something different). The writing was superb and the stories were interesting.

My three stars are based more on how difficult this was to read than on the quality of the writing. A lot of gruesome scenes in here, but still an interesting read.

These stories were all so different and so well done. It's amazing to think that one brain came up with all of these. I was completely pulled into the world of each story.

This was a very well-written horror story.

This was very well done. It was gruesome in parts, for sure. I liked how it included both the story of the one specific crime and an indictment of our justice system and of our whole society for how much it values the lives and safety of women. A good read.

Oooh, this was so great. It read like the beginning of a series, and was fairly formulaic as these things go, but it was so much fun that it took place in Albuquerque and other spots around NM. Plus, the addition of art to a typical police detective story really brought some depth. Looking forward to following Rita on her journeys.

I got 2/3 of the way through this before giving myself the gift of not finishing it. I know it won the Pulitzer, and so it must be great writing, but it was very unpleasant reading.

Another 3.5-3.75 for me. I'm just not a huge fan of third person, especially when little history book excerpts are thrown in to the narration. But I liked the main character, and she didn't do too many (??) stupid things, so it wasn't frustrating to read in that way.

This was probably a 3.75. The author writes very matter-of-factly, but she has some beautiful sentences, too. I'm not a huge fan of multi-generational family sagas, which this turned out to be, and there were a lot of loose ends. But I enjoyed the historical perspective and learning about a country I don't know much about.

Sometimes “lyrical” writing annoys me, but I really enjoyed the long, long sentences in this book, which was simple and straightforward but also very thoughtful and moving.

This was probably a 3.5 for me. I'm not sure how I felt about the fictionalization of the events, and about the author making money from this book on the back of others' suffering. But it was good to see how complicated problems and solutions can be.

This reminded me a bit of A Little Life. It was a great read.

I love reading about people's journeys of self discovery, and this one was clear, honest, and funny.

This was probably a 4.5 for me. The stories were charming, moving, funny, and sad. Excellent writing, except for one that I thought was a bit gimmicky. I got a tiny window into an immigrant community/diaspora.

I listened to the audio book of this and that was pretty fun since each character has their own actor. The ending was unexpected. :)

This book was definitely not written for the white gaze, for which I am grateful. I love getting to know an author from essays like this and learning all about their life.

Anthony Marra must just be the best guy because he creates such wonderful characters. His writing is hilarious and also the most devastating. I didn't cry at this one like I did at the end of the Tsar of Love and Techno, but it was still a wonderful book. I would like to know what parts of the fiction are based on fact, too.

This was a 3.5 for me. I think it should have been titled the times I didn't know I was gay, since most of the book is about her being confused or in denial about who she was. Still, and enjoyable read and, unlike some graphic novels, it was very easy to follow.

It's possible there was some useful information in here, but it was buried in florid language, pointless, drawn-out metaphors, and endless anecdotes about women the author made feel SO MUCH BETTER. Could not bring myself to finish. Maybe I'm just not suffering enough (yet).

I think this book is going to stick with me a long time. I picked this up because of how much I loved True Biz, and while it was very different, both taught me a lot about a culture or a time I knew almost nothing about. I can't wait to read her next book.