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Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Miss Me Not in Books
Sep 3, 2019
Note: This has been on my Kindle for years--literally! I've decided every so often when there's not a book I've bought that I'm just dying to read that I'll start reading my backlog of books from the earliest bought. This was #1 - from 2013. I'm not doing bad, I only have one more book from 2013 before I start the ones from 2014. Yay!
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This covers some rather dark topics like suicide and physical abuse. On the first page we learn of a student's suicide and Madison's feelings about it. And then the fact that she has a sort of suicide pact with her only friend. It's quite a punch to the gut that these 17 year olds feel so low due to family situations that they want to end things.
Madison had a very unconventional childhood with parents who took no notice of her at all and in an effort to gain any sort of attention from them she acted out in the past until the unthinkable happened when she was just 13. I understand how stuff like that can warp you when it happens at such a young age.
Then a ray of light appears in the form of Dean--all round good guy. He's been asked to tutor her so she doesn't flunk a class. He's determined to be her friend after watching her for years and seeing her "fade into the background" behaviour. Things progress from friendship into romance over time and we get a rather sweet romance between Dean and Madison. He's very protective of her.
Of course, things don't always go the way you want and someone close to Madison commits suicide throwing her back into the darkness of grief. Luckily, she now has a strong support system in place with Dean and his family and they manage to keep her grounded.
I thought it ended a little abruptly but it was a sweet young adult romance that covered some hard hitting topics.
Another note: Suicide does seem to be a big issue in teenagers around the world and this book does a good job of highlighting it. It doesn't seem fair to me for teens to be that low that they take their own lives. They've barely started living and they ready to die already? That's not right. I've had a few good cries while reading this.
*-*-*-*-*
This covers some rather dark topics like suicide and physical abuse. On the first page we learn of a student's suicide and Madison's feelings about it. And then the fact that she has a sort of suicide pact with her only friend. It's quite a punch to the gut that these 17 year olds feel so low due to family situations that they want to end things.
Madison had a very unconventional childhood with parents who took no notice of her at all and in an effort to gain any sort of attention from them she acted out in the past until the unthinkable happened when she was just 13. I understand how stuff like that can warp you when it happens at such a young age.
Then a ray of light appears in the form of Dean--all round good guy. He's been asked to tutor her so she doesn't flunk a class. He's determined to be her friend after watching her for years and seeing her "fade into the background" behaviour. Things progress from friendship into romance over time and we get a rather sweet romance between Dean and Madison. He's very protective of her.
Of course, things don't always go the way you want and someone close to Madison commits suicide throwing her back into the darkness of grief. Luckily, she now has a strong support system in place with Dean and his family and they manage to keep her grounded.
I thought it ended a little abruptly but it was a sweet young adult romance that covered some hard hitting topics.
Another note: Suicide does seem to be a big issue in teenagers around the world and this book does a good job of highlighting it. It doesn't seem fair to me for teens to be that low that they take their own lives. They've barely started living and they ready to die already? That's not right. I've had a few good cries while reading this.
Eleanor (1463 KP) rated The Family in Books
Oct 2, 2019
A culty thriller with too much hand-holding
I was very keen to pick up this book with its culty feel blurb. With the 50th anniversary this year of the infamous Manson murders I always find how people are pulled into groups fascinating. The journey you see Laura and Tilly go through in this book nicely illustrates some of the emotions people go through when looking for a wider family to belong to. This book had a nice look at blood family vs chosen family as a central theme.
Struggling with finances after the death of her husband, Laura and her teenage daughter Tilly find support with a local community. While helping with the communities Organic business Laura and Tilly become more involved with the community run by the charismatic Alex. However the more involved they get the harder it appears to leave their newfound “family.”
Most of the book is told through Laura and Tilly’s POVs and although I didn’t love the characters their emotional journey was believable and interesting. Some parts were told from both of their viewpoints which seemed unnecessary and a bit tiresome, I can appreciate people interpret things differently without it being spelled out (especially when there is a teenage girl involved.)
I did love the premise of this book but unfortunately, the style it was executed in was not for me. I kept feeling I was being told to expect something sinister up ahead rather then having the story build it’s own ominous vibe organically (pardon the organic business pun) It was all too thrust in your face as if the author was afraid we wouldn’t get a feeling of tension without a prod that something big was coming. The characters whose POVs we were seeing through constantly referred to big secrets they were keeping and rather than build curiosity I just felt frustrated that they seemed to lording this knowledge over the reader when we were meant to be seeing from their POV. With all this build-up it meant that a lot of the big reveals fell flat for me; they were overhyped.
Overall an interesting story but as a thriller lost its impact for me with over-hyped twists that didn’t really deliver for me.
My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Struggling with finances after the death of her husband, Laura and her teenage daughter Tilly find support with a local community. While helping with the communities Organic business Laura and Tilly become more involved with the community run by the charismatic Alex. However the more involved they get the harder it appears to leave their newfound “family.”
Most of the book is told through Laura and Tilly’s POVs and although I didn’t love the characters their emotional journey was believable and interesting. Some parts were told from both of their viewpoints which seemed unnecessary and a bit tiresome, I can appreciate people interpret things differently without it being spelled out (especially when there is a teenage girl involved.)
I did love the premise of this book but unfortunately, the style it was executed in was not for me. I kept feeling I was being told to expect something sinister up ahead rather then having the story build it’s own ominous vibe organically (pardon the organic business pun) It was all too thrust in your face as if the author was afraid we wouldn’t get a feeling of tension without a prod that something big was coming. The characters whose POVs we were seeing through constantly referred to big secrets they were keeping and rather than build curiosity I just felt frustrated that they seemed to lording this knowledge over the reader when we were meant to be seeing from their POV. With all this build-up it meant that a lot of the big reveals fell flat for me; they were overhyped.
Overall an interesting story but as a thriller lost its impact for me with over-hyped twists that didn’t really deliver for me.
My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated It: Chapter Two (2019) in Movies
Sep 15, 2019 (Updated Oct 25, 2019)
If it ain't broke
The second chapter of the extremely popular reboot of Stephen King's It is more of the same...and that's a good thing.
The first film feels like a ghost train, with creepy imagery, and well crafted jump scares that don't feel too cheap.
Chapter Two takes the same formula, and if anything, actually does more with it. Pennywise seams more brutal and unforgiving in his ways this time around.
Bill Skarsgård once again is great as Pennywise, sinister, whilst remaining weirdly charming, and sometimes sympathetic.
The fantastic child actors from the first film are present once again via flashbacks, and are just as likable, but as the bulk of Chapter Two is set 27 years later, these characters are now grown up and played by a whole host of incredibly well casted adults.
Bill Hader in particular is a highlight throughout. I always have time for James McAvoy as well, the guy is an hugely underrated actor.
The scares arrive thick and fast after a slow start where we're reintroduced to everyone - and they are mixed...some are genuinely unsettling (as is the tone for a lot of Chapter Two). The Paul Bunyun statue is a memorable moment, as is the creepy old lady scene from the trailers.
Some others are more tame, and some occasionally cartoony CGI take away from the scares themselves.
The climax of the film is pretty fun, as The Losers once again prepare to battle Pennywise, and it's once again, a truly memorable sequence.
The overall ending suffers slightly from Return of the King syndrome, and feels unessecarily drawn out at the end of an already lengthy film.
Another thing that didn't quite sit well with me was the opening scene - I understand that said scene is in the original novel, and it's a way of reintroducing us to Pennywise, but it felt out of place. Homophobia is still a huge issue in 2019, and there is nothing wrong with shouting about it. But the scene is cruel, and ultimately has no connection to the larger narrative.
Nevertheless, it's a very chilling and effective opening to the film.
The duo of new It films is modern horror done pretty well - unnerving and at times scary, whilst still being accessible to a wider audience.
Certainly worth watching them!
The first film feels like a ghost train, with creepy imagery, and well crafted jump scares that don't feel too cheap.
Chapter Two takes the same formula, and if anything, actually does more with it. Pennywise seams more brutal and unforgiving in his ways this time around.
Bill Skarsgård once again is great as Pennywise, sinister, whilst remaining weirdly charming, and sometimes sympathetic.
The fantastic child actors from the first film are present once again via flashbacks, and are just as likable, but as the bulk of Chapter Two is set 27 years later, these characters are now grown up and played by a whole host of incredibly well casted adults.
Bill Hader in particular is a highlight throughout. I always have time for James McAvoy as well, the guy is an hugely underrated actor.
The scares arrive thick and fast after a slow start where we're reintroduced to everyone - and they are mixed...some are genuinely unsettling (as is the tone for a lot of Chapter Two). The Paul Bunyun statue is a memorable moment, as is the creepy old lady scene from the trailers.
Some others are more tame, and some occasionally cartoony CGI take away from the scares themselves.
The climax of the film is pretty fun, as The Losers once again prepare to battle Pennywise, and it's once again, a truly memorable sequence.
The overall ending suffers slightly from Return of the King syndrome, and feels unessecarily drawn out at the end of an already lengthy film.
Another thing that didn't quite sit well with me was the opening scene - I understand that said scene is in the original novel, and it's a way of reintroducing us to Pennywise, but it felt out of place. Homophobia is still a huge issue in 2019, and there is nothing wrong with shouting about it. But the scene is cruel, and ultimately has no connection to the larger narrative.
Nevertheless, it's a very chilling and effective opening to the film.
The duo of new It films is modern horror done pretty well - unnerving and at times scary, whilst still being accessible to a wider audience.
Certainly worth watching them!
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