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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated Elmet in Books
Sep 30, 2017
Grim, intense and brutal
This is a rather disturbing and intense book, written in the point of a view of a young teenage boy, who describes his life and how he has ended up homeless and in search of his sister. It is a rather grim look at some aspects of British gangster culture, a feudal system, with a landowner exploiting the vulnerable through violent means.
It is gory, and grim for the majority of the book, which describes the boy living with a father, a hired thug who has escaped that lifestyle, and a scrappy sister, living off the grid. It is well written, even though I don't think it is Man Booker Prize worthy.
It is gory, and grim for the majority of the book, which describes the boy living with a father, a hired thug who has escaped that lifestyle, and a scrappy sister, living off the grid. It is well written, even though I don't think it is Man Booker Prize worthy.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Double Bind in Books
Feb 13, 2018
This book completely caught me by surprise. I couldn't put it down... it tells the tale of Laurel, a young woman who was attacked while in college -- an attack that left quite an impression on her. Currently Laurel works for a homeless shelter. When one of her residents dies, her boss gives Laurel (an amateur photographer herself) a box of his photographs. Convinced he was somehow tied to a rich family, quite infamous in Laurel's hometown, she goes on a quest to learn everything she can about the man and his family. The book adds an extra layer as it weaves much <i>The Great Gatsby</i> lore into its own story.
Karlaalyy (10 KP) rated The Selection in Books
Jul 14, 2018
Character development (2 more)
Romance
Not your average heroine
Dystopian fantasy
Contains spoilers, click to show
The story follows America, an unlikely heroine, in a futuristic USA where presidency has been overthrown and monarchy rules. In order to stop riots and rebellions across the country the monarchy organises a selection of women from different social classes (ordered by number) to compete to marry the crown prince. America is a singer, a woman of a lower class above only manual labourers, slaves and the homeless. Her large heart, rebellious spirit and social class endear her to both the prince and the people however the king sees her as a threat and will do everything in his power to get rid of her.
Camellia is a beautiful model whose life is not her own. She does everything that her parent’s want including paying all of their bills. At a photo shoot, she meets a handsome pastor and an abused homeless teenager. Through them, Camellia finds a purpose in life and a backbone to finally do what makes her happy.
Camellia develops through faith, prayer, and the support of other women to have a deeper relationship with God and to finally find happiness. This book is filled with hope, a little romance, a little mystery, and a greater understanding of church and faith.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Camellia develops through faith, prayer, and the support of other women to have a deeper relationship with God and to finally find happiness. This book is filled with hope, a little romance, a little mystery, and a greater understanding of church and faith.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Darren (1599 KP) rated A Street Cat Named Bob (2016) in Movies
Dec 18, 2019
Verdict: Delightful
Story: A Street Cat Named Bob starts as we meet homeless addict James (Treadaway) who spends his days singing for enough money that could get him a meal and a fix, when he overdoes, Val (Froggatt) gives him a chance to get emergency living to clean up with act. James is willing to make this happen and he ends up meeting a stray cat.
Reluctantly James decides to keep Bob the cat and learns to grab a new lease for life and that as a double act they could achieve things he could only dream of as a musician, as well as finding love in one of the neighbours Betty (Gedmintas).
Thoughts on A Street Cat Named Bob
Characters – James is a homeless drug addict who has an overdose. He is given a big chance to go on the path to recovery with an emergency home, where he meets a cat and suddenly he starts to see his life turn around, his busking lifestyle sees him make money, he meets a new woman and can support himself, he will need to go through the toughest test of his life, if he wants to break free of his addictions. Bob is the ginger cat that turns up in James’ life, he won’t leave his side as he helps him clean up his act. Betty is the neighbour that becomes James only human friend, she will show him about vegan life becoming a love interest, even though she has seen how being an addict has taken away somebody in her life before. Val is the person that pushes James into the program, believing he can change and will change, she supports him through the whole process.
Performances – Luke Treadaway in the leading role is brilliant to watch, he shows us just how desperate James is to turn his life around and what he must go through. Ruta Gedmintas and Joanne Froggatt are both great in the supporting roles in the film too.
Story – The story here follows a homeless drug addict that gets his life turnaround thanks to the help of one person and a mysterious ginger cat that gives him happiness. This is based on the real story of the man James and Bob the real cat, we see the recovery process, just how difficult it can be for somebody who is trying to turn their life around. We can see how the ending will come about because there is a book about the turn around, even though it does become entertaining throughout the film.
Biopic/Comedy – The biopic side of this film does show how James does turn his life around, it is shown in a way that could see the struggle he will be facing. The comedy of the film does give you a couple of laughs with how Bob interacts in life.
Settings – The film is set in London which does show how the culture of the homeless people being able to survive around town that is filled with a drug culture that could end their fight.
Scene of the Movie – First day out with Bob.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Nothing really.
Final Thoughts – This is a delightful little comedy that brings to life one man’s journey to salvation with his new friend Bob the cat.
Overall: Feel Good Movie.
Story: A Street Cat Named Bob starts as we meet homeless addict James (Treadaway) who spends his days singing for enough money that could get him a meal and a fix, when he overdoes, Val (Froggatt) gives him a chance to get emergency living to clean up with act. James is willing to make this happen and he ends up meeting a stray cat.
Reluctantly James decides to keep Bob the cat and learns to grab a new lease for life and that as a double act they could achieve things he could only dream of as a musician, as well as finding love in one of the neighbours Betty (Gedmintas).
Thoughts on A Street Cat Named Bob
Characters – James is a homeless drug addict who has an overdose. He is given a big chance to go on the path to recovery with an emergency home, where he meets a cat and suddenly he starts to see his life turn around, his busking lifestyle sees him make money, he meets a new woman and can support himself, he will need to go through the toughest test of his life, if he wants to break free of his addictions. Bob is the ginger cat that turns up in James’ life, he won’t leave his side as he helps him clean up his act. Betty is the neighbour that becomes James only human friend, she will show him about vegan life becoming a love interest, even though she has seen how being an addict has taken away somebody in her life before. Val is the person that pushes James into the program, believing he can change and will change, she supports him through the whole process.
Performances – Luke Treadaway in the leading role is brilliant to watch, he shows us just how desperate James is to turn his life around and what he must go through. Ruta Gedmintas and Joanne Froggatt are both great in the supporting roles in the film too.
Story – The story here follows a homeless drug addict that gets his life turnaround thanks to the help of one person and a mysterious ginger cat that gives him happiness. This is based on the real story of the man James and Bob the real cat, we see the recovery process, just how difficult it can be for somebody who is trying to turn their life around. We can see how the ending will come about because there is a book about the turn around, even though it does become entertaining throughout the film.
Biopic/Comedy – The biopic side of this film does show how James does turn his life around, it is shown in a way that could see the struggle he will be facing. The comedy of the film does give you a couple of laughs with how Bob interacts in life.
Settings – The film is set in London which does show how the culture of the homeless people being able to survive around town that is filled with a drug culture that could end their fight.
Scene of the Movie – First day out with Bob.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Nothing really.
Final Thoughts – This is a delightful little comedy that brings to life one man’s journey to salvation with his new friend Bob the cat.
Overall: Feel Good Movie.
Wittsend (43 KP) rated Slenderman, Slenderman, Take this Child in Books
Aug 2, 2017
Amazing read!!!!! I could not put the book down. I was unsure how this horror story was going to play out as I am not familiar with the myth but can say that it was very well written and not in the slightest gory. This story is very chilling, creepy, fast paced, and above all nail biting exciting. The writer has created characters that drew me in from the beginning, from Jemima, her Great Uncle Tomaz, crazy Mary (homeless lady), the kids at school (bullies/school crushes), to the hateful school governess. These characters were beautifully crafted and well written.
NOTE: A few may find the sexual element of this book unsettling; however, I think the author was tactful in writing about the taboo subject in this horror novel and handled it very well.
NOTE: A few may find the sexual element of this book unsettling; however, I think the author was tactful in writing about the taboo subject in this horror novel and handled it very well.
Nicole Hadley (380 KP) rated On Our Street: Our First Talk about Poverty in Books
Jun 18, 2018
On Our Street: Our First Talk About Poverty by Jillian Roberts; Jaime Casap is a book that talks about poverty, homeless, refugee, and all the difference between people in they basic way of loving. The story is easy to use with kids to show them how they are lucky to live the way of live they have, to make them aware of social issues and to explain to them how we can all play a part to make others lives better.
A direct and clear way to talk about the issues of poverty, I like how it's framed as questions with the answers, nice photographs from around the world illustate the points well.
I received this ARC from Orca Book Publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A direct and clear way to talk about the issues of poverty, I like how it's framed as questions with the answers, nice photographs from around the world illustate the points well.
I received this ARC from Orca Book Publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Felicia (44 KP) rated People Kill People in Books
Sep 23, 2018
Contains spoilers, click to show
This book first interested me when I read it was a book written about guns and gun control by a person who grew up in a household that supported guns. This is a voice that I had not really heard from in YA literature. Sadly what was given to me was a book that lacked depth for the characters and was quite predictable.
The story follows a group of teen to early adults. 2 of them are white supremacists, 2 are married with a young child, 1 is a homeless teen, 1 is a victim of gun violence who has epilepsy and is also homosexual, and 1 is the greatest person ever. The group itself is so entwined by siblings, marriage, relationships, friendships it isn't weird to wonder just how big of a town it could be they are living in.
The book is full of poor choices, dealing drugs with a toddler present, constant fantasizing about killing a certain person, a lot of time spent in the minds of white supremacists.
The whole book we know someone is going to die. Most of the book is framed to make you think it will be the homeless youth at the hands of the white supremacists. But it is actually the great girl that is anti gun and everyone loves because a toddler got a hold of a gun his parents couldn't be bothered to properly store. The end murder affects the lives of everyone else so they mostly die or want to, to demonstrate that guns aren't the problem. Too bad the gun and people's selfish nature was an unaddressed problem in the whole book full of problems.
The plot was too weighed down for anything to stick and the characters fell very flat despite Hopkins best efforts.
The story follows a group of teen to early adults. 2 of them are white supremacists, 2 are married with a young child, 1 is a homeless teen, 1 is a victim of gun violence who has epilepsy and is also homosexual, and 1 is the greatest person ever. The group itself is so entwined by siblings, marriage, relationships, friendships it isn't weird to wonder just how big of a town it could be they are living in.
The book is full of poor choices, dealing drugs with a toddler present, constant fantasizing about killing a certain person, a lot of time spent in the minds of white supremacists.
The whole book we know someone is going to die. Most of the book is framed to make you think it will be the homeless youth at the hands of the white supremacists. But it is actually the great girl that is anti gun and everyone loves because a toddler got a hold of a gun his parents couldn't be bothered to properly store. The end murder affects the lives of everyone else so they mostly die or want to, to demonstrate that guns aren't the problem. Too bad the gun and people's selfish nature was an unaddressed problem in the whole book full of problems.
The plot was too weighed down for anything to stick and the characters fell very flat despite Hopkins best efforts.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2099 KP) rated The 17th Suspect in Books
May 15, 2018
I Suspect You’ll Enjoy This Book
Yuki has taken on a potentially explosive assault case in which a man is accusing his female boss of assault. Is it as straightforward as it seems? Meanwhile, Lindsay has been given a tip about someone killing the homeless in the city. Unfortunately, the killings are outside of her jurisdiction, and her efforts to investigate start an inner department skirmish. Can she figure out who is killing these people?
Fans of the series will be pleased with the latest outing. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep them reading, and the cases are both compelling. Of course, the usual weaknesses are there, including Cindy and Claire being under used and all the characters being thin. Additionally, I thought the discussion of Yuki’s case was much more graphic than it truly needed to be.
Fans of the series will be pleased with the latest outing. There are plenty of twists and turns to keep them reading, and the cases are both compelling. Of course, the usual weaknesses are there, including Cindy and Claire being under used and all the characters being thin. Additionally, I thought the discussion of Yuki’s case was much more graphic than it truly needed to be.
Andy K (10821 KP) rated The Fisher King (1991) in Movies
Aug 9, 2018
I miss him every day!
It's truly astonishing that on August 11th, 4 years ago already, we lost this genius. Taken before his time was up. He brought all of us so much joy. His comic and dramatic ranges were amazing. He could have us crying with laughter or tears at any moment. He was that good.
His range in The Fisher King is right up there with his best performances. He plays the tormented homeless man with such raw emotion. You are not sure what to make of him at first, but eventually you fall in love with Parry and want him to triumph over his extreme adversity in every way.
Jeff Bridges is also fantastic as both the straight man and the knight in shining armor (literally) who wants to rescue his new friend.
His range in The Fisher King is right up there with his best performances. He plays the tormented homeless man with such raw emotion. You are not sure what to make of him at first, but eventually you fall in love with Parry and want him to triumph over his extreme adversity in every way.
Jeff Bridges is also fantastic as both the straight man and the knight in shining armor (literally) who wants to rescue his new friend.