
Gail (4 KP) rated The Possibility of Perfect (A Stand By Me Novel, #4) in Books
Jun 4, 2018
Four stars
The Possibility of Perfect was perfect. I fell in love with the characters and their story. Dane is the classic guy. With the good looks and even better manners. He had me wrap from the beginning. Josie was fierce, sweet and unapologetic about how she felt or what she wanted. She was a little shady. She held her ground when Dane wanted to give up. She had more back bone then most people. The story was interesting and didn’t hold a lot of drama. The author didn’t need to create extra people to fill the story. The word flow was really good I read it pretty fast. I would’ve liked more details about Josie's family. Overall great read. It kept me entertained and wanting to get through the book so I could read what was next. I look forward to reading more by this author. I liked how the characters flaws were brought out in their everyday life. Dane worried so much that he wasn’t seeing that he wouldn’t be the same as his mother. That he didn’t have all the details to make a clear choice. Josie let me down at first. I am the type of female that says what she wants no matter the consequences. We only have the right now. So why hide behind your fears? We have to learn to just live and both Dane and Josie learned that in this story. What a great life lesson.

BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated A Daring Venture (Empire State, #2) in Books
Jan 2, 2019
Tensions are high when this story begins. Water purification is something that even to this day people argue and fight about. I love, Love, LOVE, all the sciencey* things that are talked about. There is SO.MUCH.HISTORY. and even a few REAL people that show up on the page. Rosalind is a woman "ahead of her time" as a biochemist in the early 1900s. THIS is the kind of history that draws me in and grabs my attention.
I adore watching the romance unfold. They have a bumpy road, but it wouldn't be realistic if it was all sunshine and roses for Rosalind and Nick. Family drama, unforgiveness, revenge, fear, scandal, secrets...Oh.yes...This is a book you must get into your hands with all urgency!
I received a complimentary copy of A Daring Venture from the publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.

Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda in Books
Feb 14, 2020
So, this centres around 16 year old Simon who's in the closet, scared to come out to his friends and family. He's instead having an email conversation with someone else from his school - someone whose identity he doesn't know - sharing tales of his life while starting to fall for this someone.
I actually really enjoyed this from the first page. I was drawn into the drama as Simon is pretty much blackmailed by a fellow pupil into helping him get a date with one of Simon's friends. Things escalate and don't go great in the end and I really felt for Simon. Kids can be so cruel to each other and over stupid things that shouldn't matter.
I just fell in love with this group of friends. I loved how protective they could all be of each other and then when Simon and his crush/Blue finally got around to meeting each other...I was smiling like a lunatic. It was so cute. I fell in love with them even more. There was just something so believable about this group. Crushes, friendships, parents.
I cannot write a truly fitting review of this book but if you like young adult books with gay characters or just a sweet romance, then you really should give this book a read.
I definitely feel like I need to read more books by Becky Albertalli now, if they're anything like this one

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LeftSideCut (3776 KP) rated Inside Out (2015) in Movies
Sep 25, 2020
Inside Out ticks all these boxes without a shadow of a doubt.
The animation is wonderful as usual and is arguably Pixar's most colourful film to date. The concept of emotions can be complex at the best of times. It's a concept that most people will struggle with for their whole lives and is something that will truly never be understood. Inside Out tackles this with aplomb, using colour coding to make it accessible to kids, and exploring just how complicated feelings can become especially as puberty begins to hit. It's very clever in its execution as well.
The majority of the story takes place in Riley's head, as her emotions Joy, Sadness, Fear, Anger, and Disgust all struggle to keep everything balanced as she starts to hit roadblocks in her life. One thing leads to another before Joy and Sadness are ejected out of the "control centre" and desperately try to find their way back, leaving the other emotions to handle the pains of growing up.
It's one part emotional family drama, and one part bonkers sci-fi adventure, and it works really well with the help of a great voice cast.
Inside Out doesn't quite hit the lofty heights of the best Pixar efforts for me, but it's still damn good and surely will appeal to everyone in some way, no matter what age your are.