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BookInspector (124 KP) rated 337 in Books

Dec 13, 2020  
337
337
M. Jonathan Lee | 2020 | Contemporary
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Slow life story
The protagonist in this story is Samuel, a man who lives quite a sad life, in my opinion. He is divorced, lives alone in his parent’s house, and doesn’t have many things going on, to be honest. He had quite a difficult life though. His mother left, the father was rigid and abusive, and his brother left as soon as that was possible. Samuel reflects a lot in this novel. He tells his life story, including the life of his grandmother, who is about to die. I didn’t really like Sam, he seems quite miserable and pretty dull. 😦

The narrative is told from a single, Samuel’s, perspective. There are quite a lot of thoughts and personal experiences shared in this novel. I kept waiting for that investigation and surprises, but they didn’t really come. There were attempts to it, but the time spent in a care home with grandmother took most of the narrative. The topics discussed in this novel were mental and physical abuse, children’s mental health issues, loneliness, drugs and alcohol use, controlling fathers and many more.

The atmosphere of this book is quite depressing, it is divided between sad memories and a dying grandmother. 😦 The writing style is quite thought-provoking and detail-oriented, and I did like the story that Sam shared with the readers. I also really liked the short and snappy chapters, that made the reading experience more enjoyable. I liked the ending of this book as well, it was very satisfying to have some sort of closure, and I do hope that Sam finally can have something positive in his life. 🙂

So, to conclude, it was an interesting experience to read a book focused on a man’s mental health issues and his relationships to his quite estranged family members. Even though this novel felt dark and sad, I think that Samuel’s life has thought-provoking experiences. Do give this book a go, and I hope you will like it. It is quite different…
  
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MasterSolace (19 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Mortal Kombat 11 in Video Games

May 12, 2019  
Mortal Kombat 11
Mortal Kombat 11
2019 | Action, Fighting
Fighting Mechanics (5 more)
Gruesome Finshers
Seemingly unlimited kustomization
Varied Kast of old school sprinkled with new
Story mode of story modes
The Vastness of the Krypt
Maybe TOO much Kustomization (2 more)
Some Tower Objectives are still too difficult.
The Vagueness of the Krypt
As BOON Intended
The king of gory fighters is back with this timeline bending story. Diverse cast? Check. Over the top Fatalities? You bet. Balanced gameplay? Yes it does.

The Story Mode is much improved on the "Family Reunion" feel of MKX. The Krypt is pretty cool. With less Jumpscares. But with some issues. But nothing too bad.

Kustomization... there is a lot of stuff, but it doesn't serve the same purpose as Injustice 2.

Towers of Time is a great touch. But there are some objectives behind modifiers that are just TOO impossible (so far Gauntlet Stage 2 and Stage 8 or 9, can't remember which one). I threw my controller.

Overall, it isn't a perfect game. But given that it released less than 6 months after announced, it is AMAZING. I touted the Gameplay of MKX, MK11 makes improvements over it.

No... I haven't played online yet. And I don't really intend to. So this review is only for Single Player content.
  
AG
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
The start with several different issues are address in this first book in the series. Rebecca is first having trouble conceiving a child of her own. She get a letter or will after her older sister and brother in law are killed in as automobile accident. She is left to raise two teenage girls.

Jessica and Lindsay are force to move and live with their Aunt and Uncle in this Amish Community. Jessica has a hard time adjusting to live in this small community. Jessica is found guilty of doing just about everything wrong. Lindsay on the other hand is adjusting just fine and fitting in with where is living. Lindsay start wearing plain dresses and start doing things the Amish way. Lindsay goes to work with Rebecca at the bakery for she likes baking. Jessica is sent to work with her Uncle Daniel at the Furniture store as an accountant. Though Jessica does not understand that she and Lindsay are done school though the Amish way of live. Lindsay does not seem to mind. Lindsay by the way try to make new friends and meeting her cousins and other family members. Can it be possible that Lindsay and Jessica are complete opposite of each other and every simpler to Rebecca and Grace?
  
BF
Breaking Faith
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy from the author in exchange for an honest (not necessarily positive) review.

It feels weird to say I enjoyed this book due to its subject matter, but I did. It's a very good perspective on just what it means to deal with addiction, from growing up with it due to a family member being involved in drugs to getting dragged down into it yourself.

I will agree with a few other reviewers that the beginning does seem to drag a little bit, as there's a lot of time spent describing her elementary school years, but it's necessary to show what the girls went through dealing with their mom and her addiction and the fallout from all of that. It really picks up after that as we're focusing more on Faith's issues from that point on rather than her mom's, and I was pulled into her story.

While getting my Master's in Forensic Psychology, I had to study addiction of all types, including drugs, and I found this to be a very accurate representation of what it's like to grow up with it, deal with it firsthand, and try to bring yourself out of it.

Very interesting read!

5 stars
  
Turtles All The Way Down
Turtles All The Way Down
John Green | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
7
8.4 (60 Ratings)
Book Rating
John Green's "Turtles All the Way Down" introduces us to sixteen-year-old Aza, a teenage girl with mental health issues who is desperate to blend in and just be a normal teenage girl. After giving in to Daisy's, her best friend, nagging, the two girls attempt to solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Russell Pickett and collect the reward. Aza was not planning on connecting back with Davis, Russell's son, whom she knew when they were kids, but she does.

Of course there is romance, but it is not the focus of the story. It is more than just a typical YA romance novel. It deals with handling mental illness, going to counseling, thinking you are crazy, and knowing your uncontrollable behaviors are not normal. It is about trying to manage the pressures of being a teenager - family, school, friends, and a boy.

John Green's novels have probably touched as many people today as had John Hughes's movies in the 80s. He focuses on real teenage problems and allows a glimpse inside their thoughts and feelings. He allows young adults to realize they are not alone, that others feel the same way, and “Your now is not your forever.”
  
Frankly in Love (Frankly in Love, #1)
Frankly in Love (Frankly in Love, #1)
David Yoon | 2019
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Thanks to Libro.fm and Penguin Random House Audio for letting me listen and review this book. I was curious about this book since everyone was talking about it so I decided to check it out and I'm glad I listened to the audio because I don't think I would have done as well reading it. It was a little challenging for me to finish it even with the audio as it was.
I liked the story idea and premise to the story with the fake dating trope and the insight into Korean culture and family and culture issues and differences. It was a good portrayal of YA/teen years and crushes and romances and other things. There were a few things that caught me off guard, but for the most part, it seemed to be pretty straight forward.
This isn't my usual reading genre, but I thought it was alright although my biggest things were 1-it seemed a bit long, which is one of the reasons why audio helped and 2 - the language - there was so much profanity and language that I didn't enjoy, so that's my two cents on that.
If you like romance, fake dating tropes and such then you'll probably like this.