The First Secret (Hidden Portals Trilogy #2)
8.5
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Some secrets are best left buried. All Iris ever wanted was to have a peaceful life. Living...
Paranormal Romance
ClareR (5890 KP) rated Other Names for Love in Books
Jan 28, 2023
I think at the heart of this is the need of the main character to be accepted for who he is: his personality, his sexuality, his life choices. He doesn’t want to carry on with the family businesses of either farming or politics, and he likes his life in London. This is only reinforced for him when he needs to go back to see his ailing father.
The language is evocative of the places and times, especially when Fahad is living in the countryside. It’s a place that’s barely contained - the jungle wants to reclaim the farmland, much like Fahad wanting to claim his own life.
You can feel how repressed Fahad is by cultural and familial expectations, as much as the oppressive heat seems to smother him as well.
I enjoyed this melancholy read, and look forward to seeing what the author writes next
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Encanto (2021) in Movies
Nov 15, 2021
In the new Disney film “Encanto”; audiences are told the story of how the family patriarch founded the community with a magical candle and how upon reaching a certain age; all members of her family receive a “gift” from the magical house which gives them an ability to help the community. From being able to heal with cooking to talking to the animals and super strength; the family Madrigal is the beloved pillar of the community.
To every rule there is an exception and young Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz); is the only member of her family not to receive a gift of powers. As such she is seen as a pariah from the family and believes she is more tolerated than loved especially compared to her siblings who are endowed with amazing abilities.
Things change when a new member of the family goes through the gifting ceremony; the first one since Mirabel was denied, and receives an amazing gift and basks in the love of the town and family. Mirabel has a vision of the house cracking and falling into ruin. She tries to warn her family but they see the house in its usual pristine condition and blame Mirabel for being jealous for not having a gift and wanting to take attention away from those who do.
Mirabel believes in what she saw and learns that members of her family may know more than they admit and that they hold the key to saving the day. This leads to a quest to find the absent Uncle Bruno (John Leguizamo); who has been absent as many believe his gift of prophecy only leads to bad things coming to fruition and has gone into hiding as a result.
Mirabel is soon forced to look deep inside herself and find her strength to overcome her own insecurities and save her family and community.
The film has great animation and is awash in color as it brings the magical community to life. The music is lively and is what you would expect from Lin- Manuel Miranda as it brings joy and energy to the film that is in keeping with the Disney tradition of amazing music in their animated films.
The biggest issue that I had with the film is that while fun and entertaining; the story never took the next step forward and at times dragged. This is not to say that “Encanto” is a bad film as it is lively, colorful, and fun; however it does not reach the heights of Disney classics like “Frozen” “Moana” and other classics. Think of it this way; “Lilo & Stitch” is a fine animated film but few would hold it in the same regard as “The Lion King”, “Beauty and the Beast”, and “The Little Mermaid”.
In the end “Encanto” offers a fun experience for the family and fans to enjoy and shows how even when they do not hit the top of the mountain; Disney is still the Gold Standard in animation.
4 stars out of 5
Milleen (47 KP) rated City of Friends in Books
Nov 14, 2018 (Updated Nov 14, 2018)
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