en-US Sun, 06 Apr 2025 21:38:37 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg 214331246 When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.]]> 387 Suzanne Collins 1546171460 maikko 5 favorites 4.60 2025
author: Suzanne Collins
name: maikko
average rating: 4.60
book published: 2025
rating: 5
read at: 2025/03/22
date added: 2025/04/06
shelves: favorites
review:
this book took my heart, dipped it in batter, deep-fried it, and served it up with a side of emotional fries that i didn’t order but somehow devoured anyway
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Once upon a time, a man who believed in fairy tales married a beautiful, mysterious woman named Indigo Maxwell-Casteñada. He was a scholar of myths. She was heiress to a fortune. They exchanged gifts and stories and believed they would live happily ever after—and in exchange for her love, Indigo extracted a promise: that her bridegroom would never pry into her past.

But when Indigo learns that her estranged aunt is dying and the couple is forced to return to her childhood home, the House of Dreams, the bridegroom will soon find himself unable to resist. For within the crumbling manor’s extravagant rooms and musty halls, there lurks the shadow of another girl: Azure, Indigo’s dearest childhood friend who suddenly disappeared. As the house slowly reveals his wife’s secrets, the bridegroom will be forced to choose between reality and fantasy, even if doing so threatens to destroy their marriage . . . or their lives.

Combining the lush, haunting atmosphere of Mexican Gothic with the dreamy enchantment of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, The Last Tale of the Flower Bride is a spellbinding and darkly romantic page-turner about love and lies, secrets and betrayal, and the stories we tell ourselves to survive.]]> 289 Roshani Chokshi maikko 5 favorites 3.68 2023
author: Roshani Chokshi
name: maikko
average rating: 3.68
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/01/27
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves: favorites
review:
a book about a complex & toxic girlhood friendship - it’s dark, twisted, mysterious, and reminiscent of a gothic fairytale. the prose is beautiful! not everyone's cup of tea (and that's okay) but the girls that get it will GET it
]]> 54304146 Gone Girl and the haunting emotional power of Room, Mirrorland is a thrilling work of psychological suspense about twin sisters, the man they both love, and the dark childhood they can’t leave behind.

Cat lives in Los Angeles, far away from 36 Westeryk Road, the imposing gothic house in Edinburgh where she and her estranged twin sister, El, grew up. As girls, they invented Mirrorland, a dark, imaginary place under the pantry stairs full of pirates, witches, and clowns. These days Cat rarely thinks about their childhood home, or the fact that El now lives there with her husband Ross.

But when El mysteriously disappears after going out on her sailboat, Cat is forced to return to 36 Westeryk Road, which has scarcely changed in twenty years. The grand old house is still full of shadowy corners, and at every turn Cat finds herself stumbling on long-held secrets and terrifying ghosts from the past. Because someone—El?—has left Cat clues in almost every room: a treasure hunt that leads right back to Mirrorland, where she knows the truth lies crouched and waiting...

A twisty, dark, and brilliantly crafted thriller about love and betrayal, redemption and revenge, Mirrorland is a propulsive, page-turning debut about the power of imagination and the price of freedom.]]> 320 Carole Johnstone 1982136359 maikko 5 favorites 3.56 2021
author: Carole Johnstone
name: maikko
average rating: 3.56
book published: 2021
rating: 5
read at: 2024/06/22
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves: favorites
review:
omg this was wiiiiild! the mix of fantasy and suspense!!! and the plot twists!!! crazy! i loved every minute of it
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At first, Wren internally resists her husband’s fate. Is there a way for them to be together after Lewis changes? Then, a glimpse of Lewis’s developing carnivorous nature activates long-repressed memories for Wren, whose story vacillates between her childhood living on a houseboat in Oklahoma, her time with her college ex-girlfriend, and her unusual friendship with a woman pregnant with twin birds.]]> 416 Emily Habeck 1668006499 maikko 5 favorites 3.95 2023
author: Emily Habeck
name: maikko
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/12/24
date added: 2025/03/05
shelves: favorites
review:
this is such a wild, beautiful book. it’s about a guy literally turning into a shark, but it’s also a super deep story about love, change, and how we deal with the impossible. the writing is so lyrical and hits you right in the feels. if you’re into stories that are weird in the best way but also super heartfelt, you HAVE to read this!
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With the passing of time comes Taliban rule over Afghanistan, the streets of Kabul loud with the sound of gunfire and bombs, life a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear, the women's endurance tested beyond their worst imaginings. Yet love can move people to act in unexpected ways, lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism. In the end it is love that triumphs over death and destruction.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a portrait of a wounded country and a story of family and friendship, of an unforgiving time, an unlikely bond, and an indestructible love.]]> 372 Khaled Hosseini 1594489505 maikko 5 favorites 4.44 2007
author: Khaled Hosseini
name: maikko
average rating: 4.44
book published: 2007
rating: 5
read at: 2022/01/12
date added: 2024/01/10
shelves: favorites
review:

]]> 31373633 A little book with a big heart!

From the New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry, and Britt-Marie Was Here comes an exquisitely moving portrait of an elderly man’s struggle to hold on to his most precious memories, and his family’s efforts to care for him even as they must find a way to let go.

With all the same charm of his bestselling full-length novels, here Fredrik Backman once again reveals his unrivaled understanding of human nature and deep compassion for people in difficult circumstances. This is a tiny gem with a message you’ll treasure for a lifetime.]]> 97 Fredrik Backman 1501160575 maikko 5 favorites definitely need it T.T]]> 4.34 2015
author: Fredrik Backman
name: maikko
average rating: 4.34
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2019/09/04
date added: 2022/11/03
shelves: favorites
review:
if you're an emotional wreck like me, make sure there are tissues nearby because you will definitely need it T.T
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Then Mr. Fakhri, with a keen instinct for a budding romance, introduces Roya to his other favorite customer—handsome Bahman, who has a burning passion for justice and a love for Rumi’s poetry—and she loses her heart at once. Their romance blossoms, and the little stationery shop remains their favorite place in all of Tehran.

A few short months later, on the eve of their marriage, Roya agrees to meet Bahman at the town square when violence erupts—a result of the coup d’etat that forever changes their country’s future. In the chaos, Bahman never shows. For weeks, Roya tries desperately to contact him, but her efforts are fruitless. With a sorrowful heart, she moves on—to college in California, to another man, to a life in New England—until, more than sixty years later, an accident of fate leads her back to Bahman and offers her a chance to ask him the questions that have haunted her for more than half a century: Why did you leave? Where did you go? How is it that you were able to forget me?

A poignant, heartfelt new novel by the award-nominated author of Together Tea—extolled by the Wall Street Journal as a “moving tale of lost love� and by Shelf Awareness as “a powerful, heartbreaking story”—explores loss, reconciliation, and the quirks of fate.]]> 337 Marjan Kamali maikko 5 favorites 4.28 2019
author: Marjan Kamali
name: maikko
average rating: 4.28
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2022/04/20
date added: 2022/04/20
shelves: favorites
review:
such a beautiful and emotional story T.T i cried a lot reading this but i cry all the time
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Now she reclaims her identity to tell her story of trauma, transcendence, and the power of words. It was the perfect case, in many ways–there were eyewitnesses, Turner ran away, physical evidence was immediately secured. But her struggles with isolation and shame during the aftermath and the trial reveal the oppression victims face in even the best-case scenarios. Her story illuminates a culture biased to protect perpetrators, indicts a criminal justice system designed to fail the most vulnerable, and, ultimately, shines with the courage required to move through suffering and live a full and beautiful life.

Know My Name will forever transform the way we think about sexual assault, challenging our beliefs about what is acceptable and speaking truth to the tumultuous reality of healing. It also introduces readers to an extraordinary writer, one whose words have already changed our world. Entwining pain, resilience, and humor, this memoir will stand as a modern classic.]]> 384 Chanel Miller 0735223718 maikko 5 favorites 4.69 2019
author: Chanel Miller
name: maikko
average rating: 4.69
book published: 2019
rating: 5
read at: 2019/11/06
date added: 2022/04/18
shelves: favorites
review:
thank you, chanel miller, for this book.
]]> 35133300 From the bestselling author of Start Where You Are comes a vibrantly inspiring look at making peace with fear--to become our truest selves

On the heels of her bestselling journal Start Where You Are, author and illustrator Meera Lee Patel takes us deeper into her artistic vision and emotional journey in this stunning new four-color book. A mix of personal reflections, inspirational quotes, questions for reflection, and breathtaking watercolor visuals, My Friend Fear asserts that having big fear is an opportunity to make big changes, to discover the remarkable potential inside ourselves.]]> 176 Meera Lee Patel 0143131575 maikko 5 favorites 4.16 2018
author: Meera Lee Patel
name: maikko
average rating: 4.16
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2019/07/09
date added: 2022/04/18
shelves: favorites
review:

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Leigh, who is half Asian and half white, travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time. There, she is determined to find her mother, the bird. In her search, she winds up chasing after ghosts, uncovering family secrets, and forging a new relationship with her grandparents. And as she grieves, she must try to reconcile the fact that on the same day she kissed her best friend and longtime secret crush, Axel, her mother was taking her own life.

Alternating between real and magic, past and present, friendship and romance, hope and despair, The Astonishing Color of After is a novel about finding oneself through family history, art, grief, and love.]]> 480 Emily X.R. Pan 0316464007 maikko 5 favorites 4.12 2018
author: Emily X.R. Pan
name: maikko
average rating: 4.12
book published: 2018
rating: 5
read at: 2020/04/29
date added: 2022/04/18
shelves: favorites
review:

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A convict with a thirst for revenge
A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager
A runaway with a privileged past
A spy known as a Wraith
A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums
A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes

Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they dont kill each other first.]]> 479 Leigh Bardugo maikko 5 favorites 4.37 2015
author: Leigh Bardugo
name: maikko
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2015
rating: 5
read at: 2021/05/15
date added: 2022/04/18
shelves: favorites
review:

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