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Autumn (3 KP) rated Breaking Beautiful in Books
Jan 19, 2018
this book wasn't what I was expecting. most YA novels aren't when I think about it. anyway, this was wonderful. I think of it as a story of a girl discovering who she is and what she needs.
thankfully I have about zero experience and only academic knowledge about abusive relationships. therefore my only complaint was that there was no explanation in how Allie got into this destructive relationship. from a moralistic standpoint this is probably one of the worst books to give a teenager in an abusive relationship. it demonstrates no means of prevention or plausible solutions of extracting oneself from such a situation. apparently your only means of escape are 1. getting the shit beat out of you until your partner thinks you're dead or 2. your partner dies. not terribly plausible.
points for self-actualization and having a character with CP; big WTF for not helping anyone.
thankfully I have about zero experience and only academic knowledge about abusive relationships. therefore my only complaint was that there was no explanation in how Allie got into this destructive relationship. from a moralistic standpoint this is probably one of the worst books to give a teenager in an abusive relationship. it demonstrates no means of prevention or plausible solutions of extracting oneself from such a situation. apparently your only means of escape are 1. getting the shit beat out of you until your partner thinks you're dead or 2. your partner dies. not terribly plausible.
points for self-actualization and having a character with CP; big WTF for not helping anyone.
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated The Toad in Books
Jun 18, 2018
<a href="https://awindowintobooks.wordpress.com">Full Review</a>
The Toad by Elise Gravel is part of the Disgusting Critters Series. It is a non-fiction picture book about all things toads. The book shows how toads relate to frogs, their habitat, and food. It also shows that there are different kinds of toad breeds. Beyond talking about the different kinds of toads, the readers learn about their skin and the bumps. Readers learn that the pests that toads eat help to keep the insects at a reasonable amount so we humans don't have to deal with them as much.
The text in the book is presented in an easy way to read which is both entertaining and funny. The illustrations are a great visual that accompanies the text.
I received an advanced readers copy from Penguin Random House Canada and Tundra Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Toad by Elise Gravel is part of the Disgusting Critters Series. It is a non-fiction picture book about all things toads. The book shows how toads relate to frogs, their habitat, and food. It also shows that there are different kinds of toad breeds. Beyond talking about the different kinds of toads, the readers learn about their skin and the bumps. Readers learn that the pests that toads eat help to keep the insects at a reasonable amount so we humans don't have to deal with them as much.
The text in the book is presented in an easy way to read which is both entertaining and funny. The illustrations are a great visual that accompanies the text.
I received an advanced readers copy from Penguin Random House Canada and Tundra Books via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This one is definitely gonna stick in my head for some time. Now I've decided on a rating I'm gonna have to think hard about an upcoming review...as I have no idea where to start.
Update: 17/05/15
_____ 5 Star Rating
The sign of a truly excellent book IMO is that it will stay with you for a long time after you have read it and this is certainly one of those books. It was, in many ways, a perfect read for me. My reasons are that it is dark, disturbing, vile, twisted, extreme, evil and just plain disgusting...I loved it. This is a very well written, original story about good vs evil and about the deepest, darkest secrets hidden in the minds of those around us. I'm so glad I picked this up from the library, it sounded like my sort of thing and it certainly was.
Update: 17/05/15
_____ 5 Star Rating
The sign of a truly excellent book IMO is that it will stay with you for a long time after you have read it and this is certainly one of those books. It was, in many ways, a perfect read for me. My reasons are that it is dark, disturbing, vile, twisted, extreme, evil and just plain disgusting...I loved it. This is a very well written, original story about good vs evil and about the deepest, darkest secrets hidden in the minds of those around us. I'm so glad I picked this up from the library, it sounded like my sort of thing and it certainly was.
The Art of Concealment: The Life of Terrence Rattigan
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The Berenstain Bears Learn About Heaven
10.0
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The Berenstian Bears Children Kids Living Light Animals Christian
ClareR (6074 KP) rated Anxious People in Books
Jan 25, 2022
I loved this - Anxious People isn’t so much about anxiety, but it is a book about mental health as a whole. It’s about finding a reason to keep going when you feel that there is no reason to keep going. It shows the strength and importance of human contact and understanding: how we can help those who are struggling with empathy and, sometimes, practical help.
But this isn’t a self-help book. Fredrik Backman weaves his magic and has written a book that has made me laugh and cry in equal measure. I keep telling myself that I shouldn’t like his books (please don’t ask me why, because I don’t think I really know!), but every Backman book that I’ve read has made me feel that humans are essentially decent and will come up trumps in the end. And we all need a bit of that sometimes, don’t we?
But this isn’t a self-help book. Fredrik Backman weaves his magic and has written a book that has made me laugh and cry in equal measure. I keep telling myself that I shouldn’t like his books (please don’t ask me why, because I don’t think I really know!), but every Backman book that I’ve read has made me feel that humans are essentially decent and will come up trumps in the end. And we all need a bit of that sometimes, don’t we?
Kayleigh (12 KP) rated The Lightning Thief in Books
Jan 2, 2019
This one has been on my ‘to-read’ list for a couple of years now, since the film came out and I saw how much enthusiasm my teenage American cousins showed for the books. I must say, I enjoyed it and I’ll be reading further in the series.
It’s probably for the best that Percy finds out about everything at the same time as the reader – I only know the basics of Greek mythology, and it kept me reading to find out why Percy (or Perseus, to use his full name) was coming so much under attack. I should probably mention that when I’m reading books on my Kindle, I have usually downloaded a lot of books at once, and then don’t bother re-reading the blurb before I start the book. It’s well paced, with a lot of action making it a book I got through quickly, although I also think it would have worked well slowed down a little.
I must say, I was struggling a little to talk about this book. While it is good, I think the characterisation could be worked on just a weeny bit more. Throughout, Percy refers to people as either friends or bullies, and, whilst he is immersed in camp and the reader is ‘just’ reading, I don’t think I was told quite enough about characters like Clarisse and Luke for them to have much of an impact in terms of how I should feel about them for Percy’s sake. Then, though I really liked that nothing romantic was introduced between 12 year-olds Percy and Annabeth, and I also liked her feistiness, I wasn’t all the way there in rooting for Annabeth either. I could even have hated Smelly Gabe (Percy’s detested stepfather) more. This may just be me, or possibly because I’ve just read The Hunger Games, which I find has so far beaten off competitors fairly well! Saying that though, I reckon this will get a lot better in the following Percy Jackson books.
I thought it was a great idea to use Greek mythology, and it was a great part of the plot to see gods using the trio as pawns to get their own way and/or create havoc. I loved the sub-plot about Medusa, and often wondered how Percy was going to get out of certain situations. I’ve just read a great <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/28756899">review</a>; that links the similarities of The Lightning Thief to Harry Potter, particularly the first book. They are definitely big similarities, and as the review author puts it, The Lightning Thief is like methadone when trying to come off Harry Potter. I thought that was an awesome way to put it, and probably accurate – Percy Jackson is a watered down version of Harry Potter!
It’s probably for the best that Percy finds out about everything at the same time as the reader – I only know the basics of Greek mythology, and it kept me reading to find out why Percy (or Perseus, to use his full name) was coming so much under attack. I should probably mention that when I’m reading books on my Kindle, I have usually downloaded a lot of books at once, and then don’t bother re-reading the blurb before I start the book. It’s well paced, with a lot of action making it a book I got through quickly, although I also think it would have worked well slowed down a little.
I must say, I was struggling a little to talk about this book. While it is good, I think the characterisation could be worked on just a weeny bit more. Throughout, Percy refers to people as either friends or bullies, and, whilst he is immersed in camp and the reader is ‘just’ reading, I don’t think I was told quite enough about characters like Clarisse and Luke for them to have much of an impact in terms of how I should feel about them for Percy’s sake. Then, though I really liked that nothing romantic was introduced between 12 year-olds Percy and Annabeth, and I also liked her feistiness, I wasn’t all the way there in rooting for Annabeth either. I could even have hated Smelly Gabe (Percy’s detested stepfather) more. This may just be me, or possibly because I’ve just read The Hunger Games, which I find has so far beaten off competitors fairly well! Saying that though, I reckon this will get a lot better in the following Percy Jackson books.
I thought it was a great idea to use Greek mythology, and it was a great part of the plot to see gods using the trio as pawns to get their own way and/or create havoc. I loved the sub-plot about Medusa, and often wondered how Percy was going to get out of certain situations. I’ve just read a great <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/28756899">review</a>; that links the similarities of The Lightning Thief to Harry Potter, particularly the first book. They are definitely big similarities, and as the review author puts it, The Lightning Thief is like methadone when trying to come off Harry Potter. I thought that was an awesome way to put it, and probably accurate – Percy Jackson is a watered down version of Harry Potter!
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Hands Down in Books
Jan 15, 2021
Borrowed this from the Kindle Unlimited Library.
This starts with Bianca at work and taking a call from her cousin who asks her to go and get NFO star and his best friend Zac, since they haven't been able to get hold of him to tell him that his Paw-Paw has been admitted to hospital. It's been about ten years since Bianca last saw Zac, her teenage crush, and is reluctant to see him again but because she loves her cousin like a brother, she agrees to go see Zac and let him know what's happened. Before she realises it, Zac is a major part of her life again and the friendship they used to have has come back into full force. Only those pesky feelings she used to have for him haven't completely disappeared.
Mariana Zapata is the Queen of slow burn romances. You only ever see the woman's POV in her books and have to read the body language of the males to figure out what they're thinking and I think she is brilliant at it. Zac's facial expressions in this gave a lot away about how he was feeling but it still took somewhere around the 90% mark for the words to be spoken - the "I love you"s.
Her books are always long - I've pointed out several times I'm not the biggest fan of long books - but most of the time you don't even realise it because you're so engrossed in the story. The same could be said of this one although I did find Bianca a bit annoying at times with her persistent belief that Zac was only hanging around because he felt guilty for losing touch with her when he made sure she was there for everything and always wanted to hang out with her. I did feel like giving her a slap every now and then because it was pretty obvious he cared about you, you donut!
I also love how she writes the characters from her previous books into her latest. We see several of them in this one including characters from From Lukov with Love and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me and even DeMaio House gym plays a vital part in this book.
P.S. I can't help feeling like we've met Enzo somewhere before...?
This starts with Bianca at work and taking a call from her cousin who asks her to go and get NFO star and his best friend Zac, since they haven't been able to get hold of him to tell him that his Paw-Paw has been admitted to hospital. It's been about ten years since Bianca last saw Zac, her teenage crush, and is reluctant to see him again but because she loves her cousin like a brother, she agrees to go see Zac and let him know what's happened. Before she realises it, Zac is a major part of her life again and the friendship they used to have has come back into full force. Only those pesky feelings she used to have for him haven't completely disappeared.
Mariana Zapata is the Queen of slow burn romances. You only ever see the woman's POV in her books and have to read the body language of the males to figure out what they're thinking and I think she is brilliant at it. Zac's facial expressions in this gave a lot away about how he was feeling but it still took somewhere around the 90% mark for the words to be spoken - the "I love you"s.
Her books are always long - I've pointed out several times I'm not the biggest fan of long books - but most of the time you don't even realise it because you're so engrossed in the story. The same could be said of this one although I did find Bianca a bit annoying at times with her persistent belief that Zac was only hanging around because he felt guilty for losing touch with her when he made sure she was there for everything and always wanted to hang out with her. I did feel like giving her a slap every now and then because it was pretty obvious he cared about you, you donut!
I also love how she writes the characters from her previous books into her latest. We see several of them in this one including characters from From Lukov with Love and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me and even DeMaio House gym plays a vital part in this book.
P.S. I can't help feeling like we've met Enzo somewhere before...?