Becs

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Hartford, United States

10. September

Joined: Aug 9, 2018

I love all genres of books, food/cooking, and animals.

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Mystery

Paranormal

Romance

Science Fiction/Fantasy

Thriller

Young Adult (YA)

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Items Added (69)

Travels with Sushi in the Land of the Mind

Eduard Shyfrin

6.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Added: Feb 10, 2020, 11:02:33 AM

Marrow Charm

Kristin Jacques

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

'In his pursuit of the occult, the Third Reich opened the Gate to a realm of magic and brought the...

Added: Dec 20, 2019, 6:56:24 AM

An Unholy Magick

Kali Rose Schmidt

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

She’s an assassin with a gift her parents died for. He’s a reluctant prince content to drink...

Added: Dec 2, 2019, 4:04:16 AM

Nothing Wee About Me!

Kim Chaffee and Laura Bobbiesi (illustrator)

10.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

Equipped with her trusty magical ladle, Liesel is ready to embark on an epic adventure…and be home...

Added: Nov 12, 2019, 3:31:42 AM

Final Draft

Riley Redgate

4.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The only sort of risk 18-year-old Laila Piedra enjoys is the peril she writes for the characters in...

Added: Oct 29, 2019, 4:15:28 AM

Max Einstein: Rebels with a Cause

James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein

9.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

Book

"A fast-paced, science-filled caper." --The Wall Street JournalMax Einstein is the first and only...

Added: Oct 8, 2019, 3:56:32 AM

Max Einstein: the Genius Experiment

James Patterson and Chris Grabenstein

9.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

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Albert Einstein + James Patterson = A Must Read! The world's #1 bestselling author has teamed up...

Added: Oct 8, 2019, 3:49:48 AM

The Viscounts's Christmas Temptation

Erica Ridley

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

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Added: Oct 2, 2019, 10:24:51 AM

Maga High

Lindzi Mayann

6.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

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Added: Oct 2, 2019, 10:21:21 AM

I Do Not Trust You

Melinda Metz and Laura J. Burns

8.0 (1 Ratings) Rate It

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Added: Oct 2, 2019, 10:20:09 AM

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Becs (244 KP) rated Travels with Sushi in the Land of the Mind in Books

Feb 10, 2020

Trigger Warnings: violent threats, kidnapping, murder, death, violence

I received a physical ARC from Smith Publicity to read and review for my honest opinion. I would firstly like to thank the author and publisher for the ARC. I would secondly like to say that everything stated down below is my own honest opinion and is no way skewed to be positive just for the sake of the free ARC.

When I first started Travels with Sushi in the Land of the Mind, I was absolutely intrigued with the story and the characters. This story was basically an Alice in Wonderland inspired novel about Quantum Mechanics and Morals. It was an instant love kind of thing and I started holding a higher expectation for the story right then and there. And the story held my interest for the first couple of chapters, wowing me as I wasn’t expecting the turn the story took. But things soon turned and I started dragging through the reading, not wanting to even pick it up to finish.

As I grew further into the book and closer to the end, the story lost a bit of it’s lackluster. I just felt like the story dragged on and was adding far too many details than what was needed. There was also the fact that parts of the plot grew confusing. What really threw me for a loop were the specific scenes and topics that were shown / talked about. These scenes and topics were defiantly not something that I would have expected to see in a children’s middle grade novel. Especially when the audience was perceived to be a younger age group.

The one positive thing that really drew my interest into the story and actually kept me reading, were all of the Quantum Mechanics and Moral lessons that were littered throughout the text. These lessons really shone brighter than the negatives and I am thankful that they were included. And honestly, this was a nice touch to this story.

Overall, this was an entertaining read but the author seemed to want to include far too much in such a small book. Resulting in an overwhelming world where each element was overlooked more than what was needed. Leaving these elements to seem like a bore.

Kudos (1)

Becs (244 KP) rated After The Shot Drops in Books

Feb 10, 2020

After The Shot Drops

Randy Ribay | 2018 | Children, Sport & Leisure

10.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Trigger Warnings: talk of death, violence, shooting, threats, blood, hospitals, gunshot, prison, underage drinking, underage party

Representation: POC, LGBTQ+, own voices, poverty

I was a bit worried that I wouldn’t have truly liked this book as it was a sports related young adult contemporary book, and I just am not that into sports fiction. Boy, was I completely wrong!! I read this entire book in one sitting and I just could not get enough of it. I, no joke, devoured the entire thing and was flipping through pages like my life depended on it.

After the Shot Drops starts off at a rather typical pace for a young adult contemporary book. It was neither rushed and boring nor screamed at me to keep going. It lied in that perfect middle ground of – you should definitely keep reading as you’re not going to want to miss this story. The plot follows a multi POV setup with Bunny and Nasir being the main POVs. Bunny is a high school junior who decided to leave Whitman High to go to a prep school as he wanted more out of his life and basketball career. Nasir was Bunny’s best friend before Bunny decided to up and leave without saying anything to anybody until the last minute.

There were other minor characters as well that really added parts to the story, so we can’t forget them. Wallace, Nasir’s cousin and close friend after his friendship with Bunny fell through. Wallace was one that couldn’t seem to ever make the right choices in life. And in the end, karma bit him back real hard. Then there was Keyona, who was Bunny’s girl and the long time crush of Nasir. She was constantly there for Bunny since his friendship with Nasir was non existent.

Can we take a moment and talk about the representation that was packed into this book? Because holy cow. This is my first five star read of the year and it did not disappoint one bit. There was multiple of POC (person of color) rep, a bit of LGBTQ+ rep, and this novel really focused on showing the different sides of poverty and a bit of the wealthy side as well. It also had the “don’t judge a book by it’s cover as you don’t truly know what someone is like behind the facade they have up” trope and I was living for it every step of the way in After the Shot Drops.

For me to rate this so highly, was honestly really surprising as I was not expecting such a high star rating! As I read and the more I read, I grew to care for each of the characters. I was saddened and heartbroken that some characters were living extremely rough and happy when moments of happiness popped through. This novel really hit home to me as I grew up in a poverty stricken household. I was almost brought to tears multiple of times within this novel as well. I was into this story for the characters and the plot, not the sports – but those did add an appealing nature to the story.

Randy’s writing was music to my ears. It was easy to comprehend every little thing that happened, every little detail, every heartbreaking moment, and every plot twist that befell this remarkable story. The writing was just what I needed to pull me out of my reading slump. It was crisp, beautiful, well thought out, and an instant adoration on my part.

This is one story that I will not only highly recommend to middle and high school students, but also to adults as well. As the story is not only something everyone needs to read, but also the meaning behind every action taken within this novel is something that everyone needs to reflect on. The build-up will leave you wanting more of Randy’s writing and will leave your emotions in shambles. Please, please, please, read this one!!!

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