KJ's Book Reviews

  The Anthropocene Reviewed Essays on a Human-Centered Planet Written by John Green (Paperback) originally published in 2023 About 300 pages Rate 4.5/5 Back when I was attending Snow College I took a creative writing course. It was the first English elective credit I had taken during college.  During my time at Snow College I was adjusting to living on my own. I was learning to take care of my needs and I was overall incredibly vulnerable.  I wouldn't say that the creative writing class changed my life by any means, but that class was the one that got me out of bed in the mornings most of the time. The professor teaching the course would find some of the most earth shattering works of literature I'd ever heard. I didn't really feel like I fit in with the people in the room, but the content within the course made me feel seen. One day in class the professor shared an essay written by John Green called The Sycamore Tree. I was enthralled by his words. I didn't know how...

  I'm Glad My Mom Died Written by Jennette McCurdy Originally published in 2022 About 300 pages Rate 5/5 I'd seen this book on Instagram so much when it first came out and thought, "wow that's a really bold title, I should read that." However, I saw that it was nearly $30 and thought, "damn, nevermind." Thankfully, my cousins were gifted two copies of the book and were kind enough to give me one of their copies.  What is I'm Glad My Mom Died about? This is a memoir about not only Jennette's awful relationship with her mom, but the unhealthy habits that formed because of their dynamics. Jennette didn't want to act, her mom wanted to live vicariously through her before she was even eight years old. She only ever wanted to make her mom proud, but that was a very difficult thing to do. And so, she developed an eating disorder and an addiction to alcohol. This is a story about realized the difficult truth, sometimes the people you were born to lo...

  One Last Stop Written by Casey McQuiston Originally published in 2021 About 410 pages Rate 3/5 Happy pride month! I had seen this author's other books frequently pop up on Instagram ( Red, White and Royal Blue as well as I Kissed Sara Wheeler ) so I had my hopes up. However, I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would have. A big part of that was the pacing, maybe if this book was closer to 300 pages then I would have enjoyed it more. The concept of the book was really cool so the story wasn't too much of a bore though. What is One Last Stop About? August just barely moved to New York and is just getting use to permanent places. On her way to work, she meets Jane, and instantly is attracted to her. August tries to find every opportunity to run into Jane and realizes it's not as hard as it seems. My thoughts on One Last Stop The concept of this book was very interesting. The characters were all interesting and unique. But... the book felt like it dragged on foreve...