Ayla > Recent Status Updates

Still a really good read! I really enjoy how Li speaks and tackles "grief" and "love" as words rather than concepts. I also really appreciate her notion of "placeholders" because I never suppose to have thought of people and navigating loss in that way. The chapter on children dying and parents living + things in nature growing and dying were really well written, albeit haunting and hard too.

So glad I'm reading this book <3 It definitely was a little hard to follow, only because I am not familiar with a lot of the readings Li keeps referencing. Even with her explaining them briefly, I find myself being confused. Regardless, she is a phenomenal writer. When she talks about how her "mother's intuition was wrong", I found myself letting out a bitter laugh. It's so raw and real, and I appreciate that a lot.

This book is getting more and more interesting! I'm really interested to see where it's going, especially with all the other characters. Marianna and Fosca are fascinating, and I really am starting to warm up to Fred. Though, I wish we were getting more with Zoe. I also wonder why the Inspector doesn't like Marianna poking her head around. Fosca is evil for kissing Marianna without consent. Let's see what happens!

Interesting premise so far! I don't know why the font was so huge but it's okay. I like the protagonist being a therapist and ACTUALLY having logic. The set up to this new world is realistic and very interesting. I do find myself a little bored with some of the pre-context context switching with present tense, but it's all good.

Seeing Pip fall into a spiral after the trauma she's endured is really accurate I think to her as an individual, and shows she's no superhuman. I'm really glad that was done, and the descriptions of her seeing things and not being on top of her a-game is really fitting. Still, I can't believe that she's being relatively careless and everyone seems to not fall for it around her. Her philosophy is interesting too.

Some parts of this book are really interesting..."Do masjid" & "Urdu is basically Hindi"...which I am not a fan of. I feel like the Muslim dynamic of Sana is sorta forced and like this is not really the best written experiences of Rachel either who is Mexican & Jewish, which I LOVE, but feels like forced representation. I do like the sass and anger they both have, but the pacing and family stuff is weird & a bit off.

Reading this for a solo date! Dude, some parts of this book REALLY made me laugh - the bit with "this is how kids end up on milk cartons missing" and "how sausages are really made". Things are slowly all coming together and I'm actually thoroughly enjoying the book now and it's SO fun! I really am wowed by how things are coming together, albeit still a bit confusing all things considered with reality and fantasy.

felt myself getting a little emotional with reading the part where Elsa is understanding how her grandmother isn't perfect and how she was prioritized as a GRANDDAUGHTER and her own daughter/Mum wasn't. That just made me think about Mom, me, and Falah, so that hit hard. I will say the topic of wurses and the drunk with the imagination world and past/present is getting harder to follow along with, but I do enjoy this!

truth be told it's a little hard following with everything happening in the book because we're hearing granny + elsa's story and how it comes into life with all the "real" characters. I'm having a hard track following through and understanding how the wurse is Wolfheart and not a dog but a human who is an addict...or has OCD? I am confused. But the book is so profound in bullying, grief, and some of it's humor!

not as much of a fan of this book as I was with a Man Called Ove. I think there’s a lot of world and character building right now, which is fine, but for some reason it’s a bit more hard to follow. I think Elsa and Granny have a fun dynamic, and the introduction of divorce/family is a good one, especially with the flat community too. Not a fan of the imagination world either but giving it a shot!

this book is really good! I find myself being really emerged in it because the storytelling is really captivating. I love the bit with the cat being in Ove's life. I feel like mental illness is really captivated in a profound way in this novel too which is a good bit of healthy representation. The switch between childhood, past, and present is usually confusing but I find that it's done SO well here! excited!

this book is SO good! I love how even when Ove is incorrect (i.e. about Arab vs. Iranian), we as readers learn when HE learns. That's such a nice touch. the part with the cat and with him mad me feel a little sad. but the part with TOM and the stealing broke me! It was nice to see how that worked out though with him meeting his wife. what a beautiful way we see how grief, compulsion, and mental illness coincide w Ove

really enjoying the book so far! I usually am not a fan of third person POV books but it REALLY works for this story building. The lil british refs are occasionally hard to follow but I really do love Ove as a character and the family being Arab makes me surprisingly super happy. The pacing can be a little hard to follow somehow but this is definitely a book that becomes a movie. I am excited to see where it goes!

A bit slower on these chapters but I did enjoy them relatively. I like the balance of the "I am" statements activity and centering God at the forefront even through times of grief. I think Smith's scientific explanation of how grief and loss can change the value of certain identities and how that is a loss of itself too is really impactful and something I definitely want to think about more.Looking forward to the end

This chapter on invisible grief was really nice and helpful to read through. I didn't realize that's also something I am juggling through the forefront presenting loss of Dad being gone. there's a lot of moving parts to this and being able to sit with it and get the advice for grief groups and finding people like me is oddly comforting and helpful. I really like the fact that there's support in here for this.

Not the biggest fan of the chapter I just read, but I like the introduction of the dual-process model of coping with grief. It's something that I think can really apply beyond couples breaking up and I think it works for the Pandemic, loss of life, and also experiences because that is still a valid and very real thing to grieve. This chapter didn't feel as intimate as the others though which is why I didn't like it.

This past chapter has got to be my favorite one so far; answering "what's the meaning of this?" because when it comes to loss, maybe there is meaning, maybe there isn't -- and that's what I struggle with the most. I just am so filled with anger and sadness; but the themes of accepting love/forgiveness but also being able to extend it? It's hard to be the bigger and better person but it is a good way to be; as it may.

I do sincerely enjoy reading this book, but my goodness is it a long read, especially with adding the fact that I'm also annotating it at the same time. I want to be able to enjoy the book in its' entirety, which I am, but there's a lot to absorb while I am reading it. I love her way of weaving religious texts to practical theories and her own experience. Resilence and grief are not entwined and inherently the same.

though referencing the bible, I can see Quran parallels here. I do get so angry reading this sometimes because I feel seen and reminded by all the grief and hurt that I am in. and yet still, it helps a great deal. some of the activities are helpful, others are mediocre at best. Again, the balance of religion emphasis and using definitions/therapy is so wonderful. I really appeal to this sort of framework and it helps

Repicked this book up after a really long time. It's really good and I love to be able to annotate it and cry, it's a nice book because I do feel understood & seen through it. There's a part that made me think about Taniys and I text him, but the growth is still there. the letting go. I really appreciate her scientific, personal, and academic approach to tackling grief, it's been really helpful and a good read for it

So interesting and exciting! I really like the back and forth of present and past, albeit a little challenging to follow along sometimes. I wish there was more Vance and Sal development like there was in the beginning, but the context of Yal is so well done; even with Charo's pronoun switch when she started to understand Yal's trans identity. Super insightful, and Sal is super witty and funny.

really enjoying this so far! I like the switch between Sal and Charo, she's a really interesting character too. The writing of the book is a little confusing to follow at some parts - one of the characters is trans, one is explaining the difference of experiences, etc ? - but I love how we get inside Sal's head and his life, wondering why he's gay, historical molestation and queerness, and all else. it's so real.

A bit of a slowish fast start,but not too mad at it. First time in a LONG time (maybe ever?) I'm reading something in third person POV. the introduction of Sal missing his interview on purpose and his history being told through his mother and best friend's story is fascinating. A bittersweet and beautiful touch. The descriptions in this book related to queerness are that of any other I read - like the dances & bodies

haven't been able to read read in awhile, so locking in with this was so interesting section to read. I am a lot more suprised Yami's mom didn't push more for her to see her Dad, that was super unrealistic and doesn't make sense for the storyline in my opinion - just convenient for the plot. And then beyond that, her being over at Bo's is really cute and wholesome, but also trying to do way too much at the same time

The spelling errors have been SENDING me! What I will say I've been enjoying though is the timing/pacing of the book - like the months don't all blur together, and for a long book, it's clear when is happening when. Jamal's story is sad, but I like how he treats Yami. I wonder about Yami's dad, and forget she did tell him about herself. Bo definitely doesn't have a girlfriend. I think Cesear will be hospitalized!

A better chunk was this section of reading for sure. I really related to Yami wanting to act straight while drunk under a party, and how much easier it was for her at the party. The grind train was a bit wild to add but I can see how it led to the other scenes in the book. The punch was kinda random, and a weird scene to add - not sure how much I enjoyed reading through that portion. Interesting to see Hunter's POV

This book is giving Wattpad, middle schooler finds out they're queer and reads Kimberele Krenshaw once core. The scene where Cesear comes out to Yami as bi at first was really wholesome, and then they started...TWERKING? I was literally having secondhand embarrassment for them. The book just tries to tackle a lot of complexity with youth, but makes them seem more childish which cheapens the whole meaning of the theme

A bit of a corny read, but for what it's worth, a decent read. I keep forgetting Yami is supposed to be 16/17, because she speaks and acts almost as though she is still in middle school. The writing is not that of a teenager's at all, which makes it a little hard to read, but I am not complaining. I enjoy her relationship with her brother and mother, and seeing her father from a distance as well, because that's real.

find the constant food analogies to skin color a bit odd and slightly off putting. It's interesting that we learn about Nisha as newly as Lucky does. I can't believe how risque they have been getting. The dialogue with Tasha and Lucky is really interesting. The line about her having the rainbow bracelet was subtle but real; I get that "defiance". The part of Shayma's wedding and with Dave was hard but again, so real.