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Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) created a post in Pets!

Dec 4, 2018 (Updated Dec 4, 2018)  
Kira: sweet, sassy, and in between. I adopted her in March 2008. While my boyfriend was making a purchase at PetSmart near closing time. I wandered into the adoption area to check out the kitties. One of ours passed away 6 months before and we were heartbroken, as was that kitty's best friend and we'd been looking for a friend for her. As I walked past the cages of kittens, I stopped to open their cages to pet and talk to each one but didn't feel a connection to any of them. Then I got to the last cage. I saw a lovely tabby and unclasped the cage. She pushed the cage open with her head and immediately climbed into my arms, burying her head on my shoulder and purring loudly in my ear. My heart melted and I knew she was the one. She was 3 -1/2 years old and had lived in foster care for 3 years, spending every weekend in a cage at PetSmart. Due to the fear, loneliness, and anxiety, she experienced anorexia and had to be force-fed during the week, so she was overweight and had fatty liver disease. I wanted to take her home with me that second by the adoption agent was gone for the day so I had to wait until the next weekend to adopt her. I cried all week imagining her loneliness and stressful living condition. When I went back to adopt her, I took her on a shopping spree so she could pick out her favorite bed, toys, foods, and treats, then brought her home.

A few years after I adopted her, she had a stroke due to a cerebral hemorrhage. I heard her cry out and immediately ran to her. Her eyes could not focus and we're rolling around in her head. I scooped her up in my arms and drove her to the vet, calling them, them my boyfriend to let them know what was going on and that we were on our way there. Along with the brain bleed, she has vestibular syndrome, which makes her world look a little askew so she has a permanent head tilt, which makes her look adorable and gives her a cute walk. She had undiagnosed high blood pressure, which led to the stroke, so she takes medication to treat it. She had difficulty walking and jumping so I did physical therapy at home with her to make it easier for her. I put a wedge-shape physical therapy pillow on the floor at the foot of the bed that she could use it as a ramp so she could get on the bed whenever she wanted to snuggle.

Kira is incredibly sweet and is an absolute darling. She loves to lie in my lap and can be rather insistent about it. She's also demanding when she wants to be fed her canned food at night. There is always 3 types of Iam's dry food available for her but she loves her Fancy Feast at night. Between her fatty liver disease and vestibular disease, she develops nausea if her tummy is empty so the vet recommends keeping her well-fed. Kira approves of that advice.
  
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Taken in Books

Dec 17, 2018  
T
Taken
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>

Rosie Lewis, presumably a penname, has been a professional foster carer for over seven years. During this time, she has dealt with children and teenagers from all sorts of backgrounds who are usually facing some form of crisis or difficulty. In latter years, Rosie has begun to combine her love of writing with her fostering experiences by writing story-like memoirs. <i>Taken</i> is Rosie’s latest publication, which reveals how emotionally challenging fostering can be.

Rosie first met Megan when she was only a few days old, struggling with the effects of neonatal abstinence syndrome and a cleft plate. Removed from her mother’s care – a drug addict – Megan needs a temporary home to go to. Rosie is more than happy to take care of Megan until her “forever home” can be found.

As time goes on, Rosie and her children become attached to the little girl and include her as part of the family. Megan’s salient recovery turns her into an energetic, slightly precocious toddler who absolutely adores Rosie’s family as much as they love her. But Rosie knows she will eventually have to say goodbye, no matter what her feelings.

Rosie explains to the reader how difficult it is to function properly as a foster carer once strong emotions have got involved. She dreams of being able to keep Megan forever, but when a couple are found who desperately want a child, Rosie has no choice but to say goodbye.

It is heartbreaking to see the effects of the separation on Rosie as well as on Megan, who, despite Rosie’s attempts to elucidate the situation, does not fully comprehend what is going on. Guiltily hoping that Megan’s irascible behaviour, or a cataclysmic event, puts the new parents off adoption, Rosie says goodbye to the little girl she loves with all her heart. However, her hopes are raised when it becomes clear the adoption is not sitting as well with the new parents as much as they originally hoped. Perhaps Rosie has a chance to become Megan’s “forever mummy” after all?

Told from Rosie’s professional perspective, readers are taken on a journey from a child’s unstable beginning, to a time when they are at peace with the world. It is impossible to be unaffected by the events in Megan’s life, or experience versions of Rosie’s own emotions.

Many foster carers, social workers and nurses have put their experiences onto paper to share with the world. Most are good storytellers and are able to create a tale that could almost be fiction, with good use of vocabulary and imagery. At times, it felt like Rosie was attempting to tell a story, but instead ended up with a formal account of events. As the book progressed, however, the reader becomes so invested in Megan’s wellbeing that this issue becomes unnoticeable.

Unlike stories about older children in care, Megan’s life is easier to read about since, being fostered as a new born baby, she has no demoralizing past to overcome. Taken is by far the happier story within its genre, not least because of its satisfying ending, but from the joy Megan brings to the lives of everyone around her, too. Those new to this style of book may find <i>Taken</i> a good way of easing themselves into the genre, rather than jumping in with a story about a child with a background full of unspeakable things.
  
When Grace Sings (The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy, #2)
When Grace Sings (The Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy, #2)
Kim Vogel Sawyer | 2015 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This story continues with Alexa Zimmerman. We are back with the Zimmerman family, with Alexa bed and breakfast known as Grace Notes. We meet the Brauns and their daughter Anna-Grace. Stephen is gifted his grandfather's land. Stephen and Anna-Grace are to stay in Arborville. Alexa seems to be feeling that she is not fitting into the Zimmerman family. Alexa is having doubt about herself and feeling like she an imposter.

We know about Anna-Grace birth parents for we dealt with them in the first book called "When Mercy Rains". When Mercy Rains introduces us to Anna Grace birth parents. Anna Grace is given an envelope that has her birth parents names. Anna-Grace cannot decide if she wants to know or not know her birth parents names and why they gave her up for adoption.

Stephen is dealing with what he wants to do in life. He does not know if he want's his grandfather land in Arborville. He seems to want to sell it, but he does not know for sure. He seems to want to be a teacher. Can he tell his parents or Anna Grace that he wants to be? Stephen decides to have Anna Grace decide if she can stay there or not live in Arborville and if he should keep or sell his grandparents farmland.

We also meet Bailey Forrester who is a reporter and is sent to Arborville to find a story on this community. There are four people looking in the wrong places. Bailey has his Aunt Marit that come through to him. He also tries to want to feel important. Will they all find Grace? What will happen with Stephen and Anna-Grace?
  
The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner
Khaled Hosseini | 2003 | Fiction & Poetry
7
8.5 (40 Ratings)
Book Rating
Not entirely sure what to make of this book. At points, I was moved by the story at others I was frustrated and sometimes just bored. I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author, which is useful as I would have stumbled over all the words in Farsi peppered throughout the book; I assume just in case at any point we forgot the book was from the perspective of an Afghan man.

The first 3rd of the book gripped me, dealing with the childhood in Afghanistan of Amir a boy from a privileged background and Hassan the son of one of his father’s servants. I did feel the atmosphere and was moved at several points through this book.

Once the book moved to America I lost a lot of interest especially when we had to go through the descriptive struggle with infertility which seems to be covered in every other book I read at the moment and it’s not getting any more interesting. As a plot line it always leads to either a) a miracle baby b) Infidelity by the women to get pregnant by someone else or c) A combination of events that lead to a child needing adoption. Don’t think IVF ever seems to actually work but I digress….

Amir is fairly hard to like character and I did want to slap him on numerous occasions, as a tale of redemption, I didn’t find Amir much redeemed in my eyes by the end. I'd of loved to of had a perspective from Hassan. The last part of this book although more interesting then the American section did feel like it lost its way; becoming dependant on coincidences and cringe-worthy cliches.

Overall a worthwhile and interesting read.
  
The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012)
The Odd Life of Timothy Green (2012)
2012 | Comedy, Sci-Fi
8
7.0 (4 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Cindy and Jim Green are sitting in an adoption agency, where they’re trying to tell their story about Timothy and how they would be good candidates in adopting a child.
The story they tell, started when they were accepting their fact that they would never be able to conceive and of having a baby. They spend time trying to accept their situation but struggle to come to terms with the heartbreaking reality.

One day Jim decides that they should imagine how their kid would be and write it down on a paper. Going through ideas on how their ideal kid would be as well as imaging how it would feel to be parents, Jim and Cindy decide to lay their ideal kid to rest and bury the paper in a box in their garden.

Little did Cindy and Jim know but something magical happened while they were asleep. A thunder storm appears, raining over their house alone and during the storm, magically, a boy name Timothy appears.

Cindy and Jim was confused at first, but came to realize where Timothy really came from and try their best to make him into an ordinary boy. But, Timothy had a few special features of his own, that would change everything.

Jennifer Garner’s acting was very well convincing as was Joel Egerton, playing Jim Green, a strong supportive husband/dad, C.J. Adams, who played Timothy Green, was very well cast as C.J. made Timothy look like every parent’s ideal kid and made it believable from the start.
The movie is an emotional film that moved more than one member of the test screening audience to tears, but such is the magic of the movies. Taking a fantasy and touching so many people in a deep and personal way.

The film is a really good family movie and it will move you.
  
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BookInspector (124 KP) rated Mine in Books

Sep 24, 2020  
Mine
Mine
Clare Empson | 2020 | Crime, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Thriller
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
There are two protagonists in this story, Alice and Luke, and the story is told from their perspectives. Alice is Luke’s biological mother, and Luke only recently found her. Alice integrates into this family really quickly, until Luke realises that something is not right. Alice is sharing her story with the reader, her life in the seventies, when she was a young art student, that had a beautifully heartbreaking relationship, that caused her to give up Luke for adoption. I really liked Alice’s parts of this story, it was very absorbing and romantic. Luke’s parts were less interesting to me, even though that was were the mysterious events were happening, I found it a little slower paced. I think the author allowed me to connect with the protagonists through their thoughts and all the challenges the characters had to endure.

The narrative has a nice contrast between the past and the present, and this combination made this read more intriguing and absorbing. As I mentioned before, this novel breaks the barrier between genres, we have a romantic story and a domestic thriller mixed together, and I really enjoyed this way of storytelling. The plot had tendencies of kind of plodding along sometimes, and I would have liked a little more pace and twists added to it. It is a really emotional read, filled with depression, wishes to belong, secrets, abusive parenting and many more.

I liked the author’s writing style in this novel, it was creatively written and well delivered. I enjoyed the research done for this book in the music and arts industries, it was intriguing to read about the music bands lifestyle. The setting of this book constantly changes between seventies London and present day, and I really liked the ability to learn more about the past. The chapters had a decent length and didn’t drag to me. I really loved the ending, it left me shocked and nearly in tears, I really wasn’t expecting it.
  
TT
Tyger Tyger (Goblin Wars, #1)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Teagan is sure she’s just your average girl… until a horrible twist of events convinces her that she is being hunted by goblins, for a reason she doesn’t understand, and her father is kidnapped by them. She and her quirky brother, Aiden, and her cousin-by-adoption Finn set off into the world she never knew existed to try and solve the mysteries of her past.

And it would be a whole lot easier if Finn wasn’t so darn distracting. Because it’s really hard to concentrate on hiding and finding food and running from hell hounds when you’re head over heels in love.

I tore through Tyger Tyger as fast as Finn swept Teagan off her feet (very fast). The story is fast-paced, exciting, and irresistible, with a great combination of mystery, suspense, and romance.

Finn is the bad boy we all want… rough, tough, and willing to do anything from skipping a meal to breaking an arm for the girl he loves. His rough exterior and his cold demeanor only make his love for Teagan more special. He was certainly my favorite character, followed closely by Teagan’s little brother, Aiden. He’s a funny quirky sort of kid who seems to be able to cause problems and solve them at the same time.

The plot and the pacing were fantastic! There were so many secrets and questions, and the way they were revealed was perfect.

The things that weren’t perfect about the book were these: The writing was clear and descriptive, though a little hard to understand at times. The only thing that felt lacking was Teagan and Finn’s relationship. It felt like it just barely got started… and the book ended. But on the other hand, it was definitely real, and not any of that sappy love based solely on attraction stuff. Lastly, I don’t really think the title describes the book, and the cover—though breathtakingly artistic—doesn’t say much about the book either. But none of this really took away from the enjoyment and the satisfaction at the end—the end was really cute, by the way!

I adored Tyger Tyger and can’t wait for the next book in the series!
  
The Heart&#039;s Invisible Furies
The Heart's Invisible Furies
John Boyne | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
9.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

As always I do things back to front, John Boyne is famously known for writing ‘The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas’,I have not got round to reading this book but have watched the film adaptation and found it heart-breaking. Anyway on to his newest book on the market. This book is delightful, laugh out loud hilarious, an emotional rollercoaster and you will no doubt fall in love with Cyril Avery.

The story is told from our protagonist Cyril Avery, the story starts off when he is still in the womb and how he came to be put up for adoption and then every 7 years thereafter. The whole book follows Cyril throughout his whole life and the struggles he comes across living in Dublin in the 1950’s and coming to terms with his identity and sexuality.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I adored Cyril Avery, he had this awkwardness about him, and seemed to get in some truly awful situations. For him growing up was anything but ordinary, he was adopted by ‘The Avery’s’ but was continuously told that he wasn’t a real Avery and never would be. With his strange adoptive parents, Cyril takes everything in his stride until he meets Julian Woodbead and realises that he might just be attracted to boys.

John Boyne’s writing was breath-taking and I was enchanted from the start – I slowly read this book as I didn’t want it to end. The characters in this book were great and all had amazing personalities. It also shows how homophobic the country was back in the 1950’s and how people were scared to ‘come out’ for fear of being attacked and disowned by family members.

This book does delve in to Irish politics and was something that I had not read before but due to my lack of knowledge was not something that interested me.

This story told by Cyril Avery is about Love, Relationships, Politics, Religion, Violence and Identity.

I rated this 4.25 out of 5 stars
  
Brightburn (2019)
Brightburn (2019)
2019 | Horror
Super Nasty
Brightburn is a short film that moves at a blistering pace but its the calm moments where the movie truly shines. Brightburn successfully turns the entire superhero genre on its head going almost full horror movie on us & while it does fall into the trap of using to many horror cliches its a really interesting, fun & stand out movie. If I were to compare it I'd say its a mix of A Quiet Place, Midnight Special & The Children leaning towards the horror side of things more than anything else but there are sprinkles of Scifi & obviously dabs of Superhero here & there. Visually its such a looker the screen often painted fully in deep inky blackness with the only thing breaking it up being the warm glow of natural light coming from a lamp or street light. This not only helps create great atmosphere but heightens tension by limiting the viewers vision perfectly. There are neat swaps between camera techniques too eg from an almost raw found footage style to a really cool slightly obstructed first person scene. Action doesnt disapoint & the film makes the viewer wait for its violence & big pay offs making it more impactful when it finally hits. Acting is great & Elizabeth Banks clearly steals the show here. Theres a running comparison of Brandon to predatory animals such as a wasp, jellyfish or Wolf & I found the creepiest elements of the film were the slower paced scenes where we see him discover, adapt & learn how to evolve into a more successful killing machine (ie studying human anatomy) & also the impact of his actions begin to tear up his happy home & constantly disappoint his loving parents. Theres a big metaphore about adoption & the difficulties it can bring for both the new parents & the child (especially when the child hits the age where questions need to be answered) & at one point I wondered if that was really the overall message the film was actually trying to relay because this scene was so full of realistic emotion. Brightburn at times can be very predictable & show its budget constrains too but as a first film I really did dig its format & would definitely like to see a sequel or two to it for sure.
  
Broken Promise
Broken Promise
Linwood Barclay | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Promise Falls is a small town that is slowly losing itself. The amusement park has shut down along with the newspaper. Because of this latest incident, David Harwood is forced to move back in with his parents along with his son, Ethan. Eager to find a job he helps his parents with whatever they need around the house. As he takes some food to his cousin, Marla, he makes a startling discovery. She has a baby that she insists an angel has brought to her house. When the mother of that baby is found murdered, David does all he can to protect Marla despite her sorted past.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read and review this title. <u>Broken Promise</u> is the first in a new trilogy by Linwood Barclay. This book wasn't necessarily action packed, but it held my attention completely. By the end of the book there were 23 dead squirrels, 5 dead people, 2 unsolved murders and one strange adoption case. There is a cliffhanger at the end of the book that made me immediately go out and get the second book in the trilogy <u>Far From True</u>. Linwood Barclay is a great storyteller who keeps the reader wanting more.

This book had me asking many questions at the end and wanting to know what is going to happen next. Marla, who is David Harwood's cousin lives alone and posts reviews online for various companies. Less than a year earlier, she had lost her child and her life will never be the same. David was working for the Boston Globe, when he became a single parent, and decided to move back to Promise Falls so that his parents can help him with his son, Ethan. Detective Duckworth is celebrating his 20th year on the force, when these incidents take place. These characters along with the other residents of Promise Fall will spend the three days trying to solve the mysteries that are taking place in their small town. Will Marla be charged with murder? How did this baby really come to be in her possession? Will David be able to get to the bottom of the mystery before he becomes a part of it?

Look out for the rest of the books in the trilogy.

[bookcover:Far From True|25810392]
[bookcover:The Twenty-Three|29429982]