Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie – 5 stars
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is easily becoming one of my favorite writers. I loved We Should All Be Feminists and this was no different.
I love Adichie’s command of language. It’s conversational and yet, so powerful. I also love that she is able to put so much into such short snippets.
I think what made me really like this is that since the letter was written in response to a friend asking her how to raise a feminist, Adichie’s suggestions can be applied to any stage of life. Adichie tackles the concepts of gender roles, language, and equality with grace and ease. I just really loved reading this and it made me realize that I still have a long way to go in my own feminism.
Oh Sh*t, I Almost Killed You! A Little Book of Big Things Nursing School Forgot to Teach You by Sonja Schwartzbach, BSN, RN, CCRN – 3 stars
I read this since I had just graduated from nursing school and wanted a break from studying for my NCLEX. I was feeling defeated and like no matter what I did, I was nowhere near ready for what was to come.
There were parts of this book that really resonated with me and made me feel confident that I would be successful. There were other parts that I didn’t particularly care for. It felt a little repetitive at times and there wasn’t really that much new information from other books that I have read.
It’s always nice to read that others are scared about what they are about to go into and that others make mistakes. Nobody’s perfect and we all start off as newbie “baby” nurses. As long as we put in the work and have a fantastic team surrounding us, we’ll all be okay.
The Dark Prophecy by Rick Riordan – 5 stars
Have I mentioned how much I really like Apollo? Like, normally the character traits that he has would be annoying to me. But because he is a god trapped in a teenager body, the traits just make sense. Of course he’s a narcissist full of himself. He’s had Millenia to build that ego. But I also enjoyed that he did grow in character over the course of the novel.
And I just absolutely love the relationships forged in this book. Leo was one of my favorite characters from The Heroes of Olympus series and I was so freaking excited that he was a main character in this one. Also, he’s just too freaking cute with Calypso! And my precious daughter Meg was back. Josephine and Hemithea were just pure goodness and I loved their loving relationship. I just really thought that the characters and their relationships were the strongest part of this book.
Riordan’s plots are honestly not my favorite. I’ve mentioned it in a couple of other reviews, but they feel pretty generic and formulaic. There were a few twists here and there, but overall I wasn’t blown away by it.
But between the characters and the humor, I couldn’t help but love this book.
Down Among the Sticks and Bones by Seanan McGuire – 5 stars
I honestly think I love this more than I loved Every Heart A Doorway.
McGuire is a master when it comes to dismantling the idea of gender roles. I absolutely loved how McGuire showed from the beginning what happens when parents put too much pressure on their children to conform to preconceived norms. I can’t even put into words all of my thoughts when it comes to this aspect of the story.
Jack was honestly one of my favorite characters in Every Heart A Doorway and so I was so excited that she was going to be one of the main characters in the companion. I didn’t much care for Jill in either book, but that’s okay.
McGuire has such a fairytale-esque style to her writing that was just magical. I’m kind of sad we only got a glimpse of the Moors. But what we did see was just fantastic.
I am in absolute love with this series. I cannot wait to read about even more portals.
Windwitch by Susan Dennard – 4 stars
I’m actually kind of surprised at how much I ended up loving Aeduan. Like, I’m so excited that the next book is called Bloodwitch. Sign me the eff up. I can’t even explain why I love him. I just do.
I’m also surprised by how much Merik’s sister grew on me. I am looking forward to seeing the rest of her arc.
Merik was kind of annoying in this one. But at least by the end of the book, I felt like there was some character development. But I really enjoyed reading about Cam! Cam was the saving grace to any of Merik’s chapters, to be honest.
I’m so sad that Safi and Iseult aren’t together in this one. I really missed seeing their friendship. Yes, we get to see them worried about each other since they are separated, but they weren’t there to have each other’s backs like they were in Truthwitch.
I still really enjoy this world and these characters and cannot wait to read Bloodwitch.
NerdyNurseDaria 