Search

Search only in certain items:

    IQ Test Classic

    IQ Test Classic

    Utilities and Education

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Measures your intelligence quotient (IQ). There are 10 million downloads worldwide since 2010! ...

    Weight Loss Fitness

    Weight Loss Fitness

    Health & Fitness and Lifestyle

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Slim down in 6 weeks with Fitness for weight loss. Get your personal training plan of short and easy...

    Route Tracker Lite

    Route Tracker Lite

    Navigation and Travel

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    • The simplest way to Track your Route and Share it in real-time with Friends, Family and...

40x40

Ali A (82 KP) rated Practice Girl in Books

May 24, 2022  
Practice Girl
Practice Girl
Estelle Laure | 2022 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Jo always seems to fall fast for boys - boys who, for some reason, don’t fall for her. One night at a party, she hears why - the boys who are on the wrestling team she manages, consider her a girl who’s good enough to hook up with, but not someone to date, aka, a “practice girl”.

After hearing those two words, Jo feels a lot of things - hurt, angry, ashamed, betrayed… but overall, she refuses to let those words define who she is. As she works on herself and her relationships, Jo begins to unpack and find out more uncomfortable truths about herself and her connections with all those around her. And in doing so, helps her understand her real worth.

I loved the authentic voice of Jo. I was a bit worried when I first started the book, not really knowing how a YA novel was going to handle the topic of sex. But, after reading the first few chapters, I was very interested in Jo’s story, and my mind changed.

My father was killed in a work accident when I was 12 (3 days into my 7th grade school year), and in the past, I have wondered what has done towards male relationships for me… This book had what I felt like an authentic take on a high school girl’s insecurities and vulnerabilities involving boys and relationships during that time. High school is hard enough as it is, a death of a parent sure doesn’t make it any easier.

I absolutely loved Jo’s rekindling with Leah and making friends with Jen and Amber. The talk those four had about boys and relationships while sitting around in a circle was exactly what Jo needed and allowed for multiple viewpoints that I don’t feel like are seen or heard about often in YA (like a lot of stuff, it’s getting more and more common though!)

I’m also super proud of Jo for her stance in her relationship with Sam at the end of the book. They both had stuff they needed to figure out and kudos for her to kind of force him to acknowledge that.

Overall, I enjoyed this YA novel about reputation, double standards, relationships, and empowerment. I recommend it to those who like contemporary novels that have a strong female lead, who learns lessons that I believe are important for young girls to hear.

*Thank you Bookish First and Viking Penguin for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review
  
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017)
2017 | Action, Sci-Fi
I was disappointed... sorry
I can't believe I'm writing this, but The Last Jedi was a big disappointment for me. I saw it last night and it still hasn't quite sunk in. After the triumphant return to the Star Wars universe with The Force Awakens, expectations for this were pretty high, and the trailers for this next episode didn't disappoint either. More Rey! More Kylo! More Snoke! And Luke is back!!

It's difficult for me to describe exactly where my problems with the movie lie. Very early on in the movie there is a very odd attempt at comedy which just didn't sit right for me. Yes, there has always been moments of humour in Star Wars movies, but this is different. This comedy continues throughout the movie, with varying levels of success.

For two thirds of the movie I found myself slightly bored. Continuous changes of tone and none of the thrills or goosebump moments that I got when watching The Force Awakens. Even the return of Luke is an anti-climax and disappointment for such a huge chunk of the movie. And it is a long movie too, one which could have seriously benefited from a trimmed down run time.

All of this sounds a little harsh. I guess The Force Awakens was more of a nostalgia trip for me, and for many others too, but at some point you have to move on. The Last Jedi is all about doing away with the old to make way for the new, and there's still a big old universe of characters and stories out there to explore. At the end of the day, this is still an enjoyable Star Wars movie, which I'll hopefully appreciate more on repeat viewings.
  
Show all 4 comments.
40x40

Dean (6927 KP) Jan 3, 2020

Thankfully rise of skywalker was better than this!

40x40

Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) Jan 4, 2020

By like a little bit, rise of skywalker is watchable.