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Kristy H (1252 KP) rated About a Girl (Metamorphoses, #3) in Books

Feb 13, 2018  
AA
About a Girl (Metamorphoses, #3)
Sarah McCarry | 2015
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book tells the story of Tally, who at age 18, seems confident that her life will turn out just as she had planned - summer spent with her best friend, Shane; head to college; become an astronomer... But when Tally starts wondering about her past, she finds herself on a quest to learn more about mother and father, and her neatly ordered life is quickly turned upside down.

This is third book in the Metamorphoses trilogy - Tally, we learn, is the daughter of Aurora, whom Aurora left on her best friend's (now termed "Aunt Beast") doorstep to raise, along with Aunt Beast's best friend, Raoul and his husband, Henri. (All characters easily recognizable if you've read the first two books.)

Needless to say, this is an interesting book. I actually really liked Tally. She's different from Aurora and Maia and even Cass. Tally finds relief in the order of planets and stars. She is a good kid, overall, with a pretty common upbringing, despite the fact it was by her "Aunt" and her friends.

However, when Tally is shown a picture of Jack (and Aurora) and sent off to the West Coast by the shadowy Mr. M - whom she just knows as her friendly neighbor - everything changes. She finds herself sucked into the strangeness of the town where Jack lives, where she can't remember things and time just slips away. As always, the "weirdness" in McCarry's writing comes out, and I'm always not 100% sure I'm following things correctly. I won't spoil the book, but I can point out that Tally meets Maddy there, for whom she falls for deeply.

I probably liked this book the best of the three - I rooted for Tally, and I loved that this book featured a transgender character (Tally's friend Shane) and a lesbian relationship (between Tally and Maddy). Great to see that thrown into a YA book without it truly being the focus of anything. As always, the mystical side of McCarry's novel threw me a bit, but I found it less disconcerting in this one than the previous two, for some reason. While I would have loved more resolution to the story of everyone, this book did seem a fairly fitting bookend to the tales McCarry has woven for these characters.

(Note: I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in return for an unbiased review.)
  
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Ross (3284 KP) rated Bird Box (2018) in Movies

Jan 14, 2019 (Updated Jan 14, 2019)  
Bird Box (2018)
Bird Box (2018)
2018 | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
6
7.1 (144 Ratings)
Movie Rating Watch
Drama and acting (0 more)
Nobody bumps their head (0 more)
Slightly flawed premise for a film
Contains spoilers, click to show
The premise of the film, that there are mysterious beings that, once seen, will drive sane people to suicide and insane people to do their bidding is intriguing. That is, until you realise that this means a film where people are either stuck inside, afraid of those mad "helpers" knocking on their door, or people wandering blindfolded around looking for food, water and shelter. Neither of these for me make for a particularly compelling watch. This film is split between the two.
The former aspects of the film are by far the best, people locked in a house together, running out of food (but somehow with plenty of electricity and running water) and considering venturing outside. However, with only those insane helpers likely to come to the door, we don't have the same level of jeopardy as your normal zombie/apocalypse film.
The latter aspects, people wandering around blindfolder, are just a nonsense. People driving in a car with blacked out windows and barely bumping into anything and sat-nav somehow getting them right to the front door (and the people know they are at the front door) was just totally unbelievable. Sat-nav frequently tells me I am in the sea when driving anywhere near the coast, so the chances of it accurately delivering me to the front door of a shop I programmed it for are minimal. Similarly when people are wandering around, they rarely bump into anything at all, and when they do it is always a trip (which would be easily avoided).
And finally the premise - the mysterious beings were not explored at all. While I am happy to have some mystery around the likes of this and actually hate it when they attempt to explain circumstances and fail, I felt this was just omitted completely. There is no real rhyme or reason for what happens in the film and I didn't like that. Its really just 2 hours of people afraid of some leaves.
The rating of this was for the suspense of the film and the acting within the house section, and for the epic opening sequences where the cataclysm unfolds, despite the glaring flaws in the premise and people miraculously getting around without concussion.