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Beyond the Red (Beyond the Red, #1)
Ava Jae | 2016
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
“I can be trusted with responsibilities again!” the reviewer says as she slowly climbs out of the reviewing hiatus hole.

“You're delusional,” the hiatus whispers menacingly, just a voice from the dark depths. “You've still got a few books from 2016 left! And what about all those books you abandoned reviewing even though you want to review? I still have their souls! And I will have yours!”

<b>I'm not going to get out of this, aren't I? &#x1f622;</b>

<i>Beyond the Red</i> is one of the last books I read back in 2017 that I haven't gotten around to reviewing yet, and here we are, a year later, with shenanigans but no review yet.

And when I want to write a review, I'm staring at a blank document in Google Drive for hours upon hours wondering what to say.
<h2 style="text-align: center;"><b>Four Things About <i>Beyond the Red</i></b></h2>
<div style="text-align: left;">Generally I write a list of either the good or bad (primarily just good. Bad I've been skipping or writing little paragraphs for), but my brain is crying on the forgetfulness of this book, so I'm going to go with generic little things you should be aware of before picking up the book.</div>
<h3><b>There are two perspectives and they are polar opposites</b></h3>
We have a half-blood who loses everything and becomes a slave, and then we have a queen who technically has everything. I thought it was really cool to see Jae’s world from two different sides of the spectrum.
<h3><b>I don't think I'm a fan of the language</b></h3>
I don't mind made up languages in a book (within boundaries, of course, because my brain cannot wrap itself around overly complex words sometimes), but <em>Beyond the Red’s</em> world language is very similar to ours yet different.
<blockquote class="tr_bq">I know three different ways to break out of this kinduv brace, and everything inside me screams that I use one of them.

I won’t feel bad, not for her, not after what she did, and yet I can’t fight this fucken ridiculous need to fix this, to hold her until it’s okay.</blockquote>
Is it <i>meant </i>to be similar? I'm assuming so based on how humans are still around and the Sepharon are very similar to humans in <i>Beyond the Red</i>. <b>Either way, I'm confused.</b> Or I missed something. Who knows. <strong>I've been out of it lately. :/</strong>
<h3><b> </b><b>But the world building is super cool despite language</b></h3>
Jae’s world building is well developed, and it's shown constantly throughout the book. And is it just me, or did anyone else think of this as Star Wars just a little? Am I just assuming Star Wars is going to be like this because if so, I'm going into the box of shame. (Lupe, help.)

Now that I look at the ARC I have, it's the blurbs. I blame the blurbs. Help me.
<h3><b>Thankfully, the names aren't complicated</b></h3>
Sometimes books go all out and the characters have strange names that are hard to pronounce, so my brain cries in terror and starts wailing. <i>Beyond the Red</i> has its strange names, but they're not complicated. They're an average of two syllables and my brain won't start tearing itself to shreds figuring out the right pronunciation. “Is this right?” wonders the reviewer, as she puzzles over all the possible ways to say the name.

Honestly, if you're looking for an adventure on a new planet that's a nod to Mars with not complicated names, <i>Beyond the Red</i> might be perfect for you. If you don't mind the language, that is.

<a href="http://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/beyond-red-ava-jae-review/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
  
Fists in the Pocket (1965)
Fists in the Pocket (1965)
1965 | Drama
(0 Ratings)
Movie Favorite

"From the moment Lou Castel literally falls from the sky into the film, one knows that one has signed up for one darn crazy ride. Of all the films in the collection this is the one that spells y-o-u-t-h with the greatest virulence. It captures its never abetted sense of social claustrophobia and, its consequence, its recurrent fantasies of murder and mayhem. For anyone, anywhere, at any time, who uttered, “Families, I hate you!” this film should be the Bible. Nervy, hilarious, and bleaker than bleak, it manages to make you believe the impossible, namely that a filmmaker could take a trip on the Rimbaud side of the street and not come out looking ridiculous. And, as an added bonus, for those who want to understand the sixties beyond the banalities that are ritually uttered about them, every scene of Fists in the Pocket, with the convulsive beauty of its framing and composition, amply proves how much this period was made by people so steeped in classical culture that they fantasized it could be solid beyond its fragility, shaking it to the core and ultimately ushering in a world they could themselves hardly live in."

Source
  
    Caste

    Caste

    Isabel Wilkerson

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    Book

    Beyond race or class, our lives are defined by a powerful, unspoken system of divisions. In Caste,...