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Lee (2222 KP) rated She Dies Tomorrow (2020) in Movies
Sep 2, 2020
Pretentious waste of time
On paper, the concept behind She Dies Tomorrow is an intriguing one – “Amy thinks she’s dying tomorrow…and it’s contagious..”. And the trailer provided just enough mystery to make me want to seek it out too. Is it a portrayal of paranoia and anxiety, or is there something more sinister or supernatural at work, that they carefully and cleverly avoided showing us in the trailer?
We join Amy, already convinced that she is going to die tomorrow. She wanders aimlessly around her flat at night, drinking wine. Lying on the wooden floor, she traces her finger along the wood veins in the floorboards and presses herself against the wall, as if she is at one with the world and her surroundings. She also repeatedly drops the needle on a score by Mozart – a piece of music that I do not initially dislike, but come to loathe by the end of the movie.
Her close friend Jane pays a visit, but is dismissive of Amy and her insistence that tomorrow she will die. However, after Jane returns home to continue working, a sudden realisation crosses her face, and she also then has the feeling that she will die tomorrow. When Jane later joins a small party at her brother’s house, a similar pattern occurs, with everyone thinking she’s gone crazy. But eventually, they all start to think the same, with each realisation accompanied by a strange neon purple light flashing across their faces. It certainly does seem to be contagious…
The remainder of the movie deals with each character coming to terms with their impending death and passing the feeling onto a few other people. We see Amy trying to make the most of her remaining time, and we also flip back a few days to learn a bit more about her in the run up to today.
As I mentioned earlier – on paper, there’s definitely a great idea at the heart of She Dies Tomorrow, and reading back through my review certainly confirms that. Unfortunately though, nothing about this movie worked for me at all. I found the acting terrible, and was unable to connect with any of the characters. It’s less than 90 minutes long, but is such a dull, pretentious and badly written slow-burn that all mystery and intrigue generated by that trailer quickly vanishes. For a movie that wants you to ponder on your remaining time on this earth, it certainly does a pretty good job of wasting it. Oh and if you’re expecting some kind of explanation and ending that might help redeem the painful build-up, you’re going to be seriously disappointed.
We join Amy, already convinced that she is going to die tomorrow. She wanders aimlessly around her flat at night, drinking wine. Lying on the wooden floor, she traces her finger along the wood veins in the floorboards and presses herself against the wall, as if she is at one with the world and her surroundings. She also repeatedly drops the needle on a score by Mozart – a piece of music that I do not initially dislike, but come to loathe by the end of the movie.
Her close friend Jane pays a visit, but is dismissive of Amy and her insistence that tomorrow she will die. However, after Jane returns home to continue working, a sudden realisation crosses her face, and she also then has the feeling that she will die tomorrow. When Jane later joins a small party at her brother’s house, a similar pattern occurs, with everyone thinking she’s gone crazy. But eventually, they all start to think the same, with each realisation accompanied by a strange neon purple light flashing across their faces. It certainly does seem to be contagious…
The remainder of the movie deals with each character coming to terms with their impending death and passing the feeling onto a few other people. We see Amy trying to make the most of her remaining time, and we also flip back a few days to learn a bit more about her in the run up to today.
As I mentioned earlier – on paper, there’s definitely a great idea at the heart of She Dies Tomorrow, and reading back through my review certainly confirms that. Unfortunately though, nothing about this movie worked for me at all. I found the acting terrible, and was unable to connect with any of the characters. It’s less than 90 minutes long, but is such a dull, pretentious and badly written slow-burn that all mystery and intrigue generated by that trailer quickly vanishes. For a movie that wants you to ponder on your remaining time on this earth, it certainly does a pretty good job of wasting it. Oh and if you’re expecting some kind of explanation and ending that might help redeem the painful build-up, you’re going to be seriously disappointed.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated How Hard Can It Be? in Books
Mar 10, 2019 (Updated Mar 10, 2019)
Things have taken a bit of a turn for Kate Reddy--she's nearing 50, her husband has lost his job and spends most of his time cycling, and her kids are busy teenagers. With Richard out of work, Kate has to return to work. However, she finds that the financial community isn't welcoming to a woman on the cusp of fifty. When Kate decides to pretend she's seven years younger to enter the working world, she winds up working at the hedge fund she originally started. Once back at work, though, she finds herself overwhelmed dealing with everything: the unhelpful husband, the ungrateful kids, the demanding colleagues, and an unexpected appearance from an old flame.
This was a tough one for me. It was a slow read, although in its defense, I read it during a very busy time at work. I empathized with Kate's return to working motherhood--especially juggling kids and work and dealing with a male-driven workplace. I didn't enjoy the intense focus on how old Kate was, making her seem nearly decrepit at fifty. It's one thing to deal with turning the big 5-0 and its ramifications, but its another to make it seem like it's the end of the world. Even worse, while Kate could seem so strong in the workplace, she was such a pushover with her children. She was supposedly clueless with technology, unable to keep up with their exploits, and a complete doormat. (I also couldn't handle the endless endearments she used with her kids--there's only so many "sweeties" and "darlings" I can take.)
There are certainly humorous moments in the novel. This is a sequel to Pearson's first novel featuring Reddy and the parts I enjoyed here were the parts I liked about the first one: Kate's wit, her ability to take on the "big boys" at her fund, and the snippets of emails between her and her friend, Candy. There were definitely pieces of the novel that I found myself nodding along with--her moments of anxiety; her rants about how working moms are treated; some insights into kids and the social media era, etc. And Kate certainly doesn't have an easy go of it, with her clueless husband, helpless kids, crumbling house, aging parents, and stressful job.
That being said, I could see most of the plot twists coming a mile away, and you couldn't help but get frustrated that Kate couldn't see them too. Overall, while I found parts of this novel funny, refreshing, and quite apropos, I couldn't really get over Kate's obsession with her looks or her one-sided relationship with her children. In the end my rating is probably bumped up a bit for a little Kate Reddy nostalgia.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
This was a tough one for me. It was a slow read, although in its defense, I read it during a very busy time at work. I empathized with Kate's return to working motherhood--especially juggling kids and work and dealing with a male-driven workplace. I didn't enjoy the intense focus on how old Kate was, making her seem nearly decrepit at fifty. It's one thing to deal with turning the big 5-0 and its ramifications, but its another to make it seem like it's the end of the world. Even worse, while Kate could seem so strong in the workplace, she was such a pushover with her children. She was supposedly clueless with technology, unable to keep up with their exploits, and a complete doormat. (I also couldn't handle the endless endearments she used with her kids--there's only so many "sweeties" and "darlings" I can take.)
There are certainly humorous moments in the novel. This is a sequel to Pearson's first novel featuring Reddy and the parts I enjoyed here were the parts I liked about the first one: Kate's wit, her ability to take on the "big boys" at her fund, and the snippets of emails between her and her friend, Candy. There were definitely pieces of the novel that I found myself nodding along with--her moments of anxiety; her rants about how working moms are treated; some insights into kids and the social media era, etc. And Kate certainly doesn't have an easy go of it, with her clueless husband, helpless kids, crumbling house, aging parents, and stressful job.
That being said, I could see most of the plot twists coming a mile away, and you couldn't help but get frustrated that Kate couldn't see them too. Overall, while I found parts of this novel funny, refreshing, and quite apropos, I couldn't really get over Kate's obsession with her looks or her one-sided relationship with her children. In the end my rating is probably bumped up a bit for a little Kate Reddy nostalgia.
I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review (thank you!).
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Outliers (The Outliers, #1) in Books
Feb 8, 2018
Wylie and Cassie aren't exactly best friends anymore. Even though Wylie's mom has died recently in a car crash, and Wylie's anxiety has ratcheted up so much she hasn't left the house in three weeks, the once inseparable pair have barely talked in over a week. But when Wylie gets a pleading text from Cassie saying she needs help, Wylie knows she will be there for her friend. Along with Cassie's boyfriend, Jasper, Wylie summons the courage to leave the house and follow Cassie's odd texts and clues to find her. But it doesn't take long to realize that Cassie might be in serious trouble. Even worse, it seems like trying to find Cassie is going to put Wylie, Jasper, and their families in danger, too.
This was an odd book. I was expecting a "run into obstacles finding my troubled best friend, maybe learn a lesson along the way" Young Adult tale, but the book takes a turn about halfway through and the tale becomes one of psychological depth, focusing on the story of the "outliers." <spoiler>These "outliers" are those who have a special range of emotional intelligence that allow them to have an uncanny ability to read people, emotions, and situations. It's Wylie's father, a scientist, who has discovered them as an unintentional result of his latest study, and it seems like everyone wants a piece of them and what they might mean. So, suddenly, the book is no longer simply about friendship, but crazy Government and private contractor entities and other shadowy forces who are after Wylie's dad's work. We meet a whole host of characters, none of whom we can really trust, and things (at least for me) go a little bit downhill from there. </spoiler>
That's not to say that this isn't a good book. It's interesting and almost compulsively readable, even with the bizarre plot. I'd probably have enjoyed it even more if I'd just been mentally prepared for the plot turn, honestly. Wylie is a fairly intriguing and likable character, and I found myself getting rather invested in Jasper. The other characters, as I said, are set up as untrustworthy purely by the nature of the plot, but they are fascinating in their own way. The idea of the outliers is a compelling one, even if the danger behind it seems a little forced. It's also hard not knowing exactly who to trust or how much of the narrative to believe - it's so much it gets a little frustrating at time. Still, it's clear by the end that McCreight has set this up as a series, and I'll certainly be reading the next book. The one is an entertaining, quick read if nothing else.
I received an ARC of this book from Edelweiss (thank you!); it is available for publication on 5/3/2016. You can read a review of this book and many more at my <a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">blog</a>;.
This was an odd book. I was expecting a "run into obstacles finding my troubled best friend, maybe learn a lesson along the way" Young Adult tale, but the book takes a turn about halfway through and the tale becomes one of psychological depth, focusing on the story of the "outliers." <spoiler>These "outliers" are those who have a special range of emotional intelligence that allow them to have an uncanny ability to read people, emotions, and situations. It's Wylie's father, a scientist, who has discovered them as an unintentional result of his latest study, and it seems like everyone wants a piece of them and what they might mean. So, suddenly, the book is no longer simply about friendship, but crazy Government and private contractor entities and other shadowy forces who are after Wylie's dad's work. We meet a whole host of characters, none of whom we can really trust, and things (at least for me) go a little bit downhill from there. </spoiler>
That's not to say that this isn't a good book. It's interesting and almost compulsively readable, even with the bizarre plot. I'd probably have enjoyed it even more if I'd just been mentally prepared for the plot turn, honestly. Wylie is a fairly intriguing and likable character, and I found myself getting rather invested in Jasper. The other characters, as I said, are set up as untrustworthy purely by the nature of the plot, but they are fascinating in their own way. The idea of the outliers is a compelling one, even if the danger behind it seems a little forced. It's also hard not knowing exactly who to trust or how much of the narrative to believe - it's so much it gets a little frustrating at time. Still, it's clear by the end that McCreight has set this up as a series, and I'll certainly be reading the next book. The one is an entertaining, quick read if nothing else.
I received an ARC of this book from Edelweiss (thank you!); it is available for publication on 5/3/2016. You can read a review of this book and many more at my <a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">blog</a>;.
Louise (64 KP) rated He Said/She Said in Books
Jul 2, 2018
I was lucky enough to win an unfinished copy of this book on a Goodreads giveaway.
The year is 1999, Kit and Laura are down in Cornwall at a festival held for eclipse chasers, this will be their first one together and the start of many more to come. Kit has all the future eclipses planned out, he has been doing this his whole life and wants to share it with the woman he loves and future children. With it being cloudy the odds of a total eclipse is minimal, to try and get a better viewing angle the couple move out to the edges of the festival, but what they do witness changes their lives forever. Kit and Laura are embroiled in a rape case, Jamie Balcombe was witnessed attacking Beth Taylor – Will Laura’s testimony be enough for a conviction?
He Said/She Said is told from alternating point of views from Kit and Laura. They are also told from past and present, so will get a chapter from Kit in 2015 and 1999 and the same from Laura. This allows the stories to be interwoven and tells what happened and how it has affected them now. This is another slow paced book that feeds you small amounts of information at a time and when you think you know what has happened it takes an unexpected turn.
Laura in present day is an unreliable narrator, she suffers with anxiety and is extremely paranoid. We don’t find out for a long time how she has become this way all we do know that it’s related to ‘Beth’. In 1999, Laura has her whole life ahead of her, she has just met Kit and has this outgoing nature to her. As the story progresses you begin understand why she is so paranoid and why she is so anxious.
Kit seemed like a super relaxed guy that takes everything in his stride, Laura is his soulmate and have been together for 15 years and will protect her to no end. At points he could be very meticulous and other points very sloppy regarding their change of identity. I must admit that Laura is the stronger character of the two and her POV was much more enjoyable.
I felt this book especially the first half was very slow even when there were parts that really appealed to me. The story line was good not something I have read about before and I didn’t think it was predictable but when the twist happened it wasn’t anything majorly startling for me.My actual reaction was ‘oh’! but the second half was much better than the first and had more action to it.
There is a trigger warning of Rape, so if this is something you are uncomfortable reading about then this might not be the book for you.
I rated this book 3.5 out of 5 stars
The year is 1999, Kit and Laura are down in Cornwall at a festival held for eclipse chasers, this will be their first one together and the start of many more to come. Kit has all the future eclipses planned out, he has been doing this his whole life and wants to share it with the woman he loves and future children. With it being cloudy the odds of a total eclipse is minimal, to try and get a better viewing angle the couple move out to the edges of the festival, but what they do witness changes their lives forever. Kit and Laura are embroiled in a rape case, Jamie Balcombe was witnessed attacking Beth Taylor – Will Laura’s testimony be enough for a conviction?
He Said/She Said is told from alternating point of views from Kit and Laura. They are also told from past and present, so will get a chapter from Kit in 2015 and 1999 and the same from Laura. This allows the stories to be interwoven and tells what happened and how it has affected them now. This is another slow paced book that feeds you small amounts of information at a time and when you think you know what has happened it takes an unexpected turn.
Laura in present day is an unreliable narrator, she suffers with anxiety and is extremely paranoid. We don’t find out for a long time how she has become this way all we do know that it’s related to ‘Beth’. In 1999, Laura has her whole life ahead of her, she has just met Kit and has this outgoing nature to her. As the story progresses you begin understand why she is so paranoid and why she is so anxious.
Kit seemed like a super relaxed guy that takes everything in his stride, Laura is his soulmate and have been together for 15 years and will protect her to no end. At points he could be very meticulous and other points very sloppy regarding their change of identity. I must admit that Laura is the stronger character of the two and her POV was much more enjoyable.
I felt this book especially the first half was very slow even when there were parts that really appealed to me. The story line was good not something I have read about before and I didn’t think it was predictable but when the twist happened it wasn’t anything majorly startling for me.My actual reaction was ‘oh’! but the second half was much better than the first and had more action to it.
There is a trigger warning of Rape, so if this is something you are uncomfortable reading about then this might not be the book for you.
I rated this book 3.5 out of 5 stars
Louise (64 KP) rated Goodbye Days in Books
Jul 2, 2018
*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
Jeff Zentner has received such high praise for his debut novel ‘The Serpent King’ that when I saw this book I thought I would give it a shot.
The goodbye days follows Carver Briggs on the aftermath of the death of his 3 best friends. The problem is Carver has this terrible guilt hanging over him, if only he hadn’t sent that text his friends might still be alive. Instead his life is turned upside down with funerals, grief,anxiety and the fact that people actually blame him for the boys deaths. He agrees to a Goodbye day in honour of his friend, doing everything they would do with his family. News starts to spread and the other families want their own goodbye days.
I enjoyed this book, it’s quite nice to read a Young adult contemporary written by a male author. The majority of contemporaries I read are written by women and was just so refreshing to read something from the male perspective.
The writing in this book was really good and had no problem understanding the conversations. I like that he chose to write about this topic to make young adults aware of the dangers of using your phones whilst driving. I thought the way that he wove all the stages of grief into the book was very clever.
So I wasn’t too sure about the plot, the main pointer for me was that Carver could actually go to prison for negligent homicide – contributing to his friends deaths. I don’t know too much about the criminal justice system so I couldn’t believe that this could really happen. It wasn’t like Carver made his friends text him back. They should have had the common sense at 17 years old to maybe get a passenger to respond not the actual driver.
I liked pretty much all the characters, there were great parents, siblings, grandmothers and friendships that gave the book depth. There were no annoying tropes in this book either, so that gets a big thumbs up for me. The book had the occasional moment when Carver was having flashbacks/memories of his friends, they would say something really immature for their age and then would counteract it with something quite profound.
The reason I can’t give this a higher rating than 3.5 stars is that I felt no emotional connection to the characters and got a little confused about all the boys and their family dynamics, however you do get more of an insight in to each of the boys lives and characters towards the end of the book but I just found it a little too late.
Overall this book is good and would recommend it as this seems to be getting 5 star ratings and you probably don’t have a heart of stone like me.
Let me know if you think I should read ‘The Serpent King’.
I rated this 3.5/5 stars
Jeff Zentner has received such high praise for his debut novel ‘The Serpent King’ that when I saw this book I thought I would give it a shot.
The goodbye days follows Carver Briggs on the aftermath of the death of his 3 best friends. The problem is Carver has this terrible guilt hanging over him, if only he hadn’t sent that text his friends might still be alive. Instead his life is turned upside down with funerals, grief,anxiety and the fact that people actually blame him for the boys deaths. He agrees to a Goodbye day in honour of his friend, doing everything they would do with his family. News starts to spread and the other families want their own goodbye days.
I enjoyed this book, it’s quite nice to read a Young adult contemporary written by a male author. The majority of contemporaries I read are written by women and was just so refreshing to read something from the male perspective.
The writing in this book was really good and had no problem understanding the conversations. I like that he chose to write about this topic to make young adults aware of the dangers of using your phones whilst driving. I thought the way that he wove all the stages of grief into the book was very clever.
So I wasn’t too sure about the plot, the main pointer for me was that Carver could actually go to prison for negligent homicide – contributing to his friends deaths. I don’t know too much about the criminal justice system so I couldn’t believe that this could really happen. It wasn’t like Carver made his friends text him back. They should have had the common sense at 17 years old to maybe get a passenger to respond not the actual driver.
I liked pretty much all the characters, there were great parents, siblings, grandmothers and friendships that gave the book depth. There were no annoying tropes in this book either, so that gets a big thumbs up for me. The book had the occasional moment when Carver was having flashbacks/memories of his friends, they would say something really immature for their age and then would counteract it with something quite profound.
The reason I can’t give this a higher rating than 3.5 stars is that I felt no emotional connection to the characters and got a little confused about all the boys and their family dynamics, however you do get more of an insight in to each of the boys lives and characters towards the end of the book but I just found it a little too late.
Overall this book is good and would recommend it as this seems to be getting 5 star ratings and you probably don’t have a heart of stone like me.
Let me know if you think I should read ‘The Serpent King’.
I rated this 3.5/5 stars
Louise (64 KP) rated Relativity in Books
Jul 2, 2018
When I was asked to join the blog tour for Relativity I jumped at the chance. The blurb really intrigued me and also there is stunning praise on the front cover from three authors that I have read before: Graeme Simsion, S J Watson and Christos Tsiolkas. With such high praise from these authors I knew I had to read it.
Relativity follows Ethan Forsythe, twelve years old and a very clever young man who has a particular obsession with physics and astronomy. Ethan lives with his single mother Claire in Sydney, as he is getting older he is asking more and more questions about his fathers whereabouts which Claire is particularly hesitant about answering and very mysterious much to Ethans annoyance.
When Ethan gets taken ill, secrets start to unfold and the reasons for his current illness are revealed and how it's connected to his past and father.
I had never heard of Relativity until I was asked to do this Blog Tour, I like to go into books knowing as little as possible so I can form my own opinions and not waiting for twists and turns. Relativity took me by surprise,this is what you would classify as family drama/literary fiction and I devoured this book, needing to know what happened, why Ethan was ill? Why his father wasn't around?
I thought the writing style and prose of this book are beautifully written. I also liked the science parts even sometimes when I couldn't get my head around (I am not great at science). You don't have to be great at physics to follow this book but I think Antonia Hayes must have put a lot of research into the topics that were explored within.
The story is told from third person past tense narrative from the perspectives of Ethan, Claire and Mark. The characters are well-developed,complex and three dimensional. Ethan's character was written really well and believable for a twelve-year-old boy, he would say some profound things and had me laughing out loud.
Mum,want to know something crazy? Statistically, the probability that I exist is basically zero. Did you know you were born with two million eggs?
I could really empathise with Claire, being a parent myself you will do anything to protect your child and what you feel is best for them. Her anxiety that she was experiencing was palpable, what with introducing Mark back into Ethan's life but there were points where I felt she made some bad decisions and should have discussed it more with Ethan.
I liked reading from Marks perspective, especially towards the end when you get more of a back story, though there is parts sprinkled throughout the book about their relationship and extended family.
Relativity is beautiful, realistic and a well researched novel and definitely recommend picking it up. This is a great debut novel and I am excited to see what Hayes does next.
Relativity follows Ethan Forsythe, twelve years old and a very clever young man who has a particular obsession with physics and astronomy. Ethan lives with his single mother Claire in Sydney, as he is getting older he is asking more and more questions about his fathers whereabouts which Claire is particularly hesitant about answering and very mysterious much to Ethans annoyance.
When Ethan gets taken ill, secrets start to unfold and the reasons for his current illness are revealed and how it's connected to his past and father.
I had never heard of Relativity until I was asked to do this Blog Tour, I like to go into books knowing as little as possible so I can form my own opinions and not waiting for twists and turns. Relativity took me by surprise,this is what you would classify as family drama/literary fiction and I devoured this book, needing to know what happened, why Ethan was ill? Why his father wasn't around?
I thought the writing style and prose of this book are beautifully written. I also liked the science parts even sometimes when I couldn't get my head around (I am not great at science). You don't have to be great at physics to follow this book but I think Antonia Hayes must have put a lot of research into the topics that were explored within.
The story is told from third person past tense narrative from the perspectives of Ethan, Claire and Mark. The characters are well-developed,complex and three dimensional. Ethan's character was written really well and believable for a twelve-year-old boy, he would say some profound things and had me laughing out loud.
Mum,want to know something crazy? Statistically, the probability that I exist is basically zero. Did you know you were born with two million eggs?
I could really empathise with Claire, being a parent myself you will do anything to protect your child and what you feel is best for them. Her anxiety that she was experiencing was palpable, what with introducing Mark back into Ethan's life but there were points where I felt she made some bad decisions and should have discussed it more with Ethan.
I liked reading from Marks perspective, especially towards the end when you get more of a back story, though there is parts sprinkled throughout the book about their relationship and extended family.
Relativity is beautiful, realistic and a well researched novel and definitely recommend picking it up. This is a great debut novel and I am excited to see what Hayes does next.
Louise (64 KP) rated A Semi-Definitive List of Worst Nightmares in Books
Jul 2, 2018
*I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*
I read Krystal Sutherland’s debut novel earlier this year for my #beatthebacklist challenge and whilst it wasn’t great I decided to give this writer another chance. I usually give authors a second chance, I like to see how they develop and whether it’s just the story or characters that rubbed me up the wrong way.
I was pleasantly surprised with this book, I definitely think it is an improvement from her debut novel and will read further books of her’s if the blurb intrigues me.
This story follows Esther Solar, she is not your typical 17-year-old, she doesn’t conform to fashion trends and has her very own unique style of dressing up in costumes every day, one day she might be Audrey Hepburn, she might be a cow girl the next. She is not a popular girl and her family would maybe deemed eccentric or different from the norm.
Esther’s grandfather proclaimed that he met death (several times) since this revelation his family has had a bout of bad luck. Esther has a twin who is petrified of the dark and has all the lights and candles going continuously, her father is agoraphobic and hasn’t left the cellar for 6 years and her mother has a fear of bad luck. Esther deems herself as the normal one of the family, however that’s only because she has avoided anything she thinks might induce fear and so she creates a list, these are: Lobsters, small spaces and anything else she thinks of, this is her list of semi-definitive list of worst nightmares.
Esther comes in to contact with Jonah Smallwood, a boy who used to be in her class but then moved away to another school. Jonah seems to take a liking to Esther and keeps turning up at her door or the same part. They develop this friendship,when Jonah discovers Esther’s list he takes it upon himself to help conquer these so-called fears and live life fear free.
There were several things that I enjoyed about the book, one was I thought the characters were good and fleshed out, we got a back story to how they came to their current situation. I liked that there was a magical realism/supernatural element to the book. This book had its quirks and then also some serious topics such a phobia’s,anxiety,depression, gambling,child abuse, dementia, selective mutism and suicide. Whilst you might be thinking that is some heavy stuff, it doesn’t always feel like that through the book. Sutherland has managed to handle these heavy topics with a lot of care.
Sutherland’s writing style is easy to read but the pacing was a bit up and down and sometimes it just didn’t hold my attention. I would definitely recommend reading this book, however there are trigger warnings.
I read Krystal Sutherland’s debut novel earlier this year for my #beatthebacklist challenge and whilst it wasn’t great I decided to give this writer another chance. I usually give authors a second chance, I like to see how they develop and whether it’s just the story or characters that rubbed me up the wrong way.
I was pleasantly surprised with this book, I definitely think it is an improvement from her debut novel and will read further books of her’s if the blurb intrigues me.
This story follows Esther Solar, she is not your typical 17-year-old, she doesn’t conform to fashion trends and has her very own unique style of dressing up in costumes every day, one day she might be Audrey Hepburn, she might be a cow girl the next. She is not a popular girl and her family would maybe deemed eccentric or different from the norm.
Esther’s grandfather proclaimed that he met death (several times) since this revelation his family has had a bout of bad luck. Esther has a twin who is petrified of the dark and has all the lights and candles going continuously, her father is agoraphobic and hasn’t left the cellar for 6 years and her mother has a fear of bad luck. Esther deems herself as the normal one of the family, however that’s only because she has avoided anything she thinks might induce fear and so she creates a list, these are: Lobsters, small spaces and anything else she thinks of, this is her list of semi-definitive list of worst nightmares.
Esther comes in to contact with Jonah Smallwood, a boy who used to be in her class but then moved away to another school. Jonah seems to take a liking to Esther and keeps turning up at her door or the same part. They develop this friendship,when Jonah discovers Esther’s list he takes it upon himself to help conquer these so-called fears and live life fear free.
There were several things that I enjoyed about the book, one was I thought the characters were good and fleshed out, we got a back story to how they came to their current situation. I liked that there was a magical realism/supernatural element to the book. This book had its quirks and then also some serious topics such a phobia’s,anxiety,depression, gambling,child abuse, dementia, selective mutism and suicide. Whilst you might be thinking that is some heavy stuff, it doesn’t always feel like that through the book. Sutherland has managed to handle these heavy topics with a lot of care.
Sutherland’s writing style is easy to read but the pacing was a bit up and down and sometimes it just didn’t hold my attention. I would definitely recommend reading this book, however there are trigger warnings.
Louise (64 KP) rated Flight of a Starling in Books
Jul 2, 2018
* I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
After reading Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield last year I knew that I needed to read her latest book out. Lisa is UKYA author and I don’t think she gets enough credit for her work. This is another book that delivers a believable story with such rawness and emotion.
<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/6DfkKrGznukr6/giphy.gif"; width="200"height="200"alt="description"/>
Our story follows Rita and Lo, two sisters that are travelers and the trapeze act in their circus that moves around England on a regular basis. Life is how it has always been for the girls, set up their tent, do a few shows and move on to the next village – they haven’t known any other life and don’t really question it. They travel with another family and it’s presumed the girls will marry the boys of the other family and carry on the legacy of the circus. One evening when they explore the local area they start talking to some of the locals and sparks start to ignite between Lo and ‘a flattie'(a term for non traveler folk). With Lo slowly falling in love she starts to question her life,her role and existence in the circus – with wanting her freedom she finds cracks starting to appear and her life crumbling around her.
‘Flight of a Starling’ didn’t fail to deliver, I knew from past works that this was going to be an emotional, gritty and raw read. Heathfield has a great writing style that manages to evoke emotions – even from me who has a heart of stone. The story is told in dual perspective, swapping from Rita to Lo with just the right sized chapters. The first half of this book is rather slow what with it building a picture of what it was like to be in a travelling community and their traditions and beliefs. I loved learning about the performances that the girls were involved in such as the trapeze and their big costumes.
I must admit that I wasn’t too keen on the romance side of the book, It was lacking emotion and connection between the characters, I wanted the warm fuzziness that you get from reading about a couple that first meet, the excitement of it…which didn’t happen and it’s sad as it has such a big part of the story.
The second half of the book takes a change in pace, it was amazing and what really made the story for me. My heart was in my mouth and I could feel the blood pulsing around my body with anxiety. I was scared for the characters,I was hoping for a silver lining but Heathfield never shies away from her writing and sucker punches you in the gut.
I recommend if you want something gritty yet believable.
I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars
After reading Paper Butterflies by Lisa Heathfield last year I knew that I needed to read her latest book out. Lisa is UKYA author and I don’t think she gets enough credit for her work. This is another book that delivers a believable story with such rawness and emotion.
<img src="https://media.giphy.com/media/6DfkKrGznukr6/giphy.gif"; width="200"height="200"alt="description"/>
Our story follows Rita and Lo, two sisters that are travelers and the trapeze act in their circus that moves around England on a regular basis. Life is how it has always been for the girls, set up their tent, do a few shows and move on to the next village – they haven’t known any other life and don’t really question it. They travel with another family and it’s presumed the girls will marry the boys of the other family and carry on the legacy of the circus. One evening when they explore the local area they start talking to some of the locals and sparks start to ignite between Lo and ‘a flattie'(a term for non traveler folk). With Lo slowly falling in love she starts to question her life,her role and existence in the circus – with wanting her freedom she finds cracks starting to appear and her life crumbling around her.
‘Flight of a Starling’ didn’t fail to deliver, I knew from past works that this was going to be an emotional, gritty and raw read. Heathfield has a great writing style that manages to evoke emotions – even from me who has a heart of stone. The story is told in dual perspective, swapping from Rita to Lo with just the right sized chapters. The first half of this book is rather slow what with it building a picture of what it was like to be in a travelling community and their traditions and beliefs. I loved learning about the performances that the girls were involved in such as the trapeze and their big costumes.
I must admit that I wasn’t too keen on the romance side of the book, It was lacking emotion and connection between the characters, I wanted the warm fuzziness that you get from reading about a couple that first meet, the excitement of it…which didn’t happen and it’s sad as it has such a big part of the story.
The second half of the book takes a change in pace, it was amazing and what really made the story for me. My heart was in my mouth and I could feel the blood pulsing around my body with anxiety. I was scared for the characters,I was hoping for a silver lining but Heathfield never shies away from her writing and sucker punches you in the gut.
I recommend if you want something gritty yet believable.
I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars
OMG!! This book is the feels of FEELS! I loved it and couldn't put it down! Rainbow Rowell is now one of my favourite authors.
Sypnosis:
Fangirl is about identical twins Cath and Wren, these two do everything together even so as going to the same University.
Wren is the more outgoing of the two who just wants to party, make friends and enjoy everything university has to offer. Cath on the other hand is a shy, geeky fan fiction writer that wants to appear invisible to everyone and just get her head down.
Cath has an obsession with a book series called Simon snow and launched her own fan fiction page that carry the story on in different scenes and she is quite a success at it, but it's literally all she can think about
As the girls have two very different ideas of University they decide not to live together so Cath has to share with Reagan, she has a boyfriend that is always there, encouraging Cath to go out bowling and parties.
Then there is the boy in her fiction writing class that wants to be writing buddies.
Cath soon finds love, but with whom?
<blockquote> I don’t just kiss people. Kisses aren’t... just with me.</blockquote>
My thoughts:
Fangirl is written in a 3rd person POV and started off pretty slow for my liking and I couldn't see what all the hype was about! At 100 pages in things started to get interesting and the pace was set.
The characters in this book are so relatable and realistic, with Cath and her social anxiety, daily worries and awkwardness, her fathers mental health and Wren going off the rails.
Levi is just the most amazing character I have come across always happy and just there! when you need him. He's a listener and patient and OMG!! I think I have a fictional crush!
I HATED!! the Simon Snow fan fiction parts I thought it was just a rip off of Harry potter and was not interested in this part at all that I started to skip all these parts and unfortunately there was so much of it
Rainbow Rowell is a contemporary romance genius! I was even thinking about the book at work, trying to think what was going to happen and what I had already read, that's how hooked I was on this book.
I never wanted it to end it just made me all warm and fuzzy inside, this would have been a five star book if it wasn't for the Simon Snow parts
I have read Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell and I loved it, but I definitely will not be picking up carry on as it's all about Simon bloody Snow-sorry!
I recommend this to anyone that enjoys contemporary and romance novels.
I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars
Sypnosis:
Fangirl is about identical twins Cath and Wren, these two do everything together even so as going to the same University.
Wren is the more outgoing of the two who just wants to party, make friends and enjoy everything university has to offer. Cath on the other hand is a shy, geeky fan fiction writer that wants to appear invisible to everyone and just get her head down.
Cath has an obsession with a book series called Simon snow and launched her own fan fiction page that carry the story on in different scenes and she is quite a success at it, but it's literally all she can think about
As the girls have two very different ideas of University they decide not to live together so Cath has to share with Reagan, she has a boyfriend that is always there, encouraging Cath to go out bowling and parties.
Then there is the boy in her fiction writing class that wants to be writing buddies.
Cath soon finds love, but with whom?
<blockquote> I don’t just kiss people. Kisses aren’t... just with me.</blockquote>
My thoughts:
Fangirl is written in a 3rd person POV and started off pretty slow for my liking and I couldn't see what all the hype was about! At 100 pages in things started to get interesting and the pace was set.
The characters in this book are so relatable and realistic, with Cath and her social anxiety, daily worries and awkwardness, her fathers mental health and Wren going off the rails.
Levi is just the most amazing character I have come across always happy and just there! when you need him. He's a listener and patient and OMG!! I think I have a fictional crush!
I HATED!! the Simon Snow fan fiction parts I thought it was just a rip off of Harry potter and was not interested in this part at all that I started to skip all these parts and unfortunately there was so much of it
Rainbow Rowell is a contemporary romance genius! I was even thinking about the book at work, trying to think what was going to happen and what I had already read, that's how hooked I was on this book.
I never wanted it to end it just made me all warm and fuzzy inside, this would have been a five star book if it wasn't for the Simon Snow parts
I have read Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell and I loved it, but I definitely will not be picking up carry on as it's all about Simon bloody Snow-sorry!
I recommend this to anyone that enjoys contemporary and romance novels.
I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Weathering with You (2019) in Movies
Feb 1, 2020 (Updated Feb 1, 2020)
Change The World
Weathering With You is such an original and blissfully delightful tale that it successfully draws you in and immerses you into its breathtakingly realistic world the moment you enter it. I think we can all safely say that when Makoto Shinkai makes a movie he turns heads because he's without a doubt up there with Studio Ghibli in regards to quality, imagination, beauty and magic. Whats great about Weathering with you is just how grounded in reality it is and as we meet our lead character we get to see/feel just how tuff life can be for a young adult trying to live/survive in the world especially with no help, guidence or someone to look up to. This really helps form an instant connection to him as a character and while some of his actions maybe considered bad you sympathies and relate to him on a personal level just the same. As the film plays out a more spiritual/fantasy like plot starts to unfold and at first I did struggle to grasp what the film was actually trying to say over all but this does become clear the further in you get. To me its a story about pressure/burdens we ourselves and the world put on our heads which eventually/inevitably will lead to anxiety, emotions running wild, stress, depression and in some cases giving a person such a warped negative outlook on life that they may be lead to believe that their existence is what is causing the pain and misery of everyone else. Surprisingly climate change is a big theme here too and this has become a huge stress in its self weighing down on not only us but on our characters heads equally. However the film does have a lovely way of looking at this issue towards the end which helps manifest a more positive way of dealing with/coming to terms with this huge problem helping to take some of that pressure off us and giving us peace of mind. As you can imagine all this does get extremely heavy at times but it gives what moments of happiness we get such power and weight that by the time they appear I guarantee you will be struggling to contain your emotions as they try to escape from you. With clear influences from the likes of Spirited Away Weathering with you is animated flawlessly and is so beautiful to watch that it even makes simple actions such as preparing food absolutely captivating. Huge cassical scores gracefully a company the striking visualls too but every so often these pices distort, fracture and skip giving them a more modern/slightly futuristic feel to them which i was really impressed by. Makoto Shinkai has done it again and its nice to see his films are getting the attention they deserve with every seat filled in our showing. Honestly go see this film it really is a perfect example of animation at its absolute finest.