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Grateful American: A Journey from Self to Service
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The moving, entertaining, never-before-told story of how one man found his calling. "The book is...
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Saving Ruby King in Books
Jun 18, 2020
Ruby King is twenty-four-years-old when her mother, Alice, is found murdered in the home she shared with Ruby and Ruby's father, Lebanon. The police show little interest in--to them--another death in the King's black neighborhood, but Alice's death unhinges Ruby and leaves her alone with her violent, abusive father. Her only confidante is her best friend, Layla, who knows how long Alice and Ruby have suffered under Lebanon's wrath. But Layla is angry that Ruby won't do more to get away from Lebanon and she's even angrier at her father, a pastor, who has been close to Lebanon all these years, and yet never did anything to free Alice or Ruby from his abuse. Layla is determined to save Ruby, but as she works to rescue her friend, she starts to uncover a world of secrets and lies flowing back generations.
"I'm stitched together by the lies I tell myself and the lies people want to believe about me." ~Alice
I found this excellent and timely book to be incredibly well-written, with a power and tenderness to it that goes far behind your typical debut novel (I had to double check that this was actually West's first novel, I was so impressed).
West tells her story from a variety of points of view--Ruby; her late mother, Alice; her father, Lebanon; her best friend, Layla; Layla's father, a pastor; and more. We even hear from a central figure in all of these characters' lives--their church, via its omnipresent voice. The plot spans generations, with West giving a nuanced look at each of her complex characters. She does an amazing job of showing the power of family, for both good and bad. How choices can affect generations: one person's bad decisions can pass poison on, with children reliving dysfunction and sins.
"How can there be a me without her?" ~Ruby
No one is simply good or bad here, though Lebanon is not an easy-to-like man. Abused and neglected by his own parent, Sara, we see how Sara's neglect has turned Lebanon hard. But West is such a good writer that Lebanon is not a one-dimensional bad guy, as much as you want to hate him. I was incredibly impressed at how she could create sympathy for so many of her players, even when they did despicable things.
"Without Sara, who do I blame for...being me? Are children supposed to forgive their parents for the horrible things they've done?" ~Lebanon
This novel does an impressive job at delving into racism, domestic abuse, and sexual assault and trauma. The city of Chicago appears as its own character, springing to life via West's lovely prose. She expertly shows the difficulties black people face on the south side (and in general). I read this book during George Floyd's murder and found myself highlighting passages about police brutality that just hit me right in the gut. It's very powerful.
West's book features a variety of characters--they can be hard to keep track of at first, and I was glad to have the family tree in the beginning of the book. A few times the plot felt repetitious and the middle dragged a bit, but it picked up in the second half. There's a surprising amount of twists and turns. Overall, this is a realistic look at racism and domestic violence, but also friendship. It's quite well-written and layered with a twinge of hope throughout. I can't wait to see what West writes next. 4+ stars.
"I'm stitched together by the lies I tell myself and the lies people want to believe about me." ~Alice
I found this excellent and timely book to be incredibly well-written, with a power and tenderness to it that goes far behind your typical debut novel (I had to double check that this was actually West's first novel, I was so impressed).
West tells her story from a variety of points of view--Ruby; her late mother, Alice; her father, Lebanon; her best friend, Layla; Layla's father, a pastor; and more. We even hear from a central figure in all of these characters' lives--their church, via its omnipresent voice. The plot spans generations, with West giving a nuanced look at each of her complex characters. She does an amazing job of showing the power of family, for both good and bad. How choices can affect generations: one person's bad decisions can pass poison on, with children reliving dysfunction and sins.
"How can there be a me without her?" ~Ruby
No one is simply good or bad here, though Lebanon is not an easy-to-like man. Abused and neglected by his own parent, Sara, we see how Sara's neglect has turned Lebanon hard. But West is such a good writer that Lebanon is not a one-dimensional bad guy, as much as you want to hate him. I was incredibly impressed at how she could create sympathy for so many of her players, even when they did despicable things.
"Without Sara, who do I blame for...being me? Are children supposed to forgive their parents for the horrible things they've done?" ~Lebanon
This novel does an impressive job at delving into racism, domestic abuse, and sexual assault and trauma. The city of Chicago appears as its own character, springing to life via West's lovely prose. She expertly shows the difficulties black people face on the south side (and in general). I read this book during George Floyd's murder and found myself highlighting passages about police brutality that just hit me right in the gut. It's very powerful.
West's book features a variety of characters--they can be hard to keep track of at first, and I was glad to have the family tree in the beginning of the book. A few times the plot felt repetitious and the middle dragged a bit, but it picked up in the second half. There's a surprising amount of twists and turns. Overall, this is a realistic look at racism and domestic violence, but also friendship. It's quite well-written and layered with a twinge of hope throughout. I can't wait to see what West writes next. 4+ stars.
Neon's Nerd Nexus (360 KP) rated Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019) in Movies
Aug 21, 2019
The last crusade
Dora And The Explorer And The Lost City Of Gold maybe this years biggest shocker. A mix of Tomb Raider & Indiana Jones this one really does hit you right in the nostalgia gland. After not knowing anything about this character what so ever I was seriously expecting to walk out this movie shortly after it began, so imagine my surprise when just 15 minutes in I found myself not only highly entertained but actually full on laughing constantly at all the jokes too. Ok so Im not really sure who this movie is aimed at to be honest as theres not much in here that will apeal to young kids bar the strange inclusion of two horribly animated cgi characters (which I feel didn't fit at all with the look of the film & ruined the overall visual style of the movie). Dora the movie is also so self aware & full of strange adult humour/jokes that seemingly mock its own source material too which found hilarious. This along with how the overall tone was handled made such a fun & fresh aproach for a kids film that made it exciting & enjoyable to watch. Visually its beautiful with such vibrancy & vastness that sets feel alive/exciting to explore. They really captured the sense of adventure & discovery here & although most of the film is just a re-skin of Indiana jones and the last crusade it never felt stale or any less thrilling bringing back the same feelings I had while watching those films way back when I first saw them in my youth. Cast wise everyone one does a smashing job at over acting which only adds to the tone & humour with Michael Pena owning every scene he's in with his energy alone. Miles better than the last Tomb Raider & Indy films & filled with such randomness, strangeness, 4th wall breaking & fun Dora is a film recent Disney movies could learn a thing or to from, its genuinely hilarious, has great production values, a decent sense of threat, positive messages about leaving your comfort zone & a smart self awareness making it a really enjoyable watch. Oh & that Danny Trejo cameo 😂
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(app description below) 22.12.16 Lots of people killing during Robert Kocharyan presidential period...
Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Butterfly Summer in Books
Dec 7, 2018
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
The Butterfly Summer</i> is the latest novel by the Sunday Times bestselling author Harrier Evans. It is a story full of mystery and secrets that, although primarily set in 2011, whizzes back and forth in time. In London 2011 the narrator, Nina Parr, a young divorced woman of 25, is living with her mother and stepfather in the house she grew up in. In 1986 her father went on an expedition to Venezuela in search of the Glasswinged butterfly where he supposedly met his fate, thus never returned. However, after a brief but strange encounter with a confused old lady, Nina questions the truth about her father’s death.
Other mysteries begin to crop up from this moment forth. Nina hears of a woman named Teddy who she apparently looks like, and learns that the mansion from her favourite childhood book is a real place. But how are these things connected to Nina’s father?
As Nina begins to unravel her previously unaware of family secrets, the reader also learns more about Teddy – her past, her experiences and her connection with a house called Keepsake.
To begin with <i>The Butterfly Summer </i>was exciting and refreshing, the cryptic storyline pulling you in and not letting go. However from the midway point it began to considerably slow down and become rather dull, stale. Nina is such an interesting character that, by contrast, the snippets (rather extensive ones) about Teddy’s past were difficult to plow through.
One thing to commend the author on – although others may disagree – is the limit she put on romantic affairs. For me there was just the right amount of reference to these relationships to provoke the feeling of heartbrokenness yet not to detract from the main storyline.
For those who enjoy women’s fiction of a similar nature (e.g. Jill Mansell, perhaps) <i>The Butterfly Summer </i>is definitely a book to look out for. For me however, even though the first half I really enjoyed (four stars out of five), I had begun to work out the remaining mysteries myself and found the latter half less exciting.
The Butterfly Summer</i> is the latest novel by the Sunday Times bestselling author Harrier Evans. It is a story full of mystery and secrets that, although primarily set in 2011, whizzes back and forth in time. In London 2011 the narrator, Nina Parr, a young divorced woman of 25, is living with her mother and stepfather in the house she grew up in. In 1986 her father went on an expedition to Venezuela in search of the Glasswinged butterfly where he supposedly met his fate, thus never returned. However, after a brief but strange encounter with a confused old lady, Nina questions the truth about her father’s death.
Other mysteries begin to crop up from this moment forth. Nina hears of a woman named Teddy who she apparently looks like, and learns that the mansion from her favourite childhood book is a real place. But how are these things connected to Nina’s father?
As Nina begins to unravel her previously unaware of family secrets, the reader also learns more about Teddy – her past, her experiences and her connection with a house called Keepsake.
To begin with <i>The Butterfly Summer </i>was exciting and refreshing, the cryptic storyline pulling you in and not letting go. However from the midway point it began to considerably slow down and become rather dull, stale. Nina is such an interesting character that, by contrast, the snippets (rather extensive ones) about Teddy’s past were difficult to plow through.
One thing to commend the author on – although others may disagree – is the limit she put on romantic affairs. For me there was just the right amount of reference to these relationships to provoke the feeling of heartbrokenness yet not to detract from the main storyline.
For those who enjoy women’s fiction of a similar nature (e.g. Jill Mansell, perhaps) <i>The Butterfly Summer </i>is definitely a book to look out for. For me however, even though the first half I really enjoyed (four stars out of five), I had begun to work out the remaining mysteries myself and found the latter half less exciting.
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Silent Patient in Books
Sep 24, 2020
This complex story is told from two different perspectives, a story which was written down by Alicia, and another one, told by Theo, about his life. I really liked the characters in this book, they are very intriguing, some of them very charismatic, but at the same time very believable. I really liked Alicia’s story and her disturbed personality, but at the same time, I found her quite naive and sometimes annoying. Theo really surprised me, he is too messed up in his head to be a decent psychotherapist. His personality and thoughts were quite scary sometimes, but I absolutely loved the investigation he has done, to find out more about Alicia.
The narrative of this book is very layered, complex, and discusses many issues. The characters are sharing their thoughts about the relationships with their family and their spouses, and how that effected their present personalities. The author creatively incorporated his Greek heritage into this story, filled with Greek Gods and other bits and pieces. The story doesn’t stay still for long periods of time, there are plenty of surprising twists and turns throughout this book and it was a real page turner to me. The author discussed a very wide variety of topics, such as a difficult relationship with parents; blind love for their spouses; drugs; mental health issues etc.
The setting of this book feels very mysterious, and I liked that there are multiple locations used in this novel. The writing style is creative, well crafted, but easy and pleasant to read. The chapters are pretty short, and due to suspense, the pages just flew by for me. I really liked the ending of the book, it rounded the story well but there are many unanswered questions, which left me unsettled.
So, to conclude, this is a very amusing story, filled with complex and unique characters, and a plot, soaked in love, grief and betrayal. I strongly recommend to read this story and find out, whether Theo succeeds in his quest to make Alice speak again or not. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did
The narrative of this book is very layered, complex, and discusses many issues. The characters are sharing their thoughts about the relationships with their family and their spouses, and how that effected their present personalities. The author creatively incorporated his Greek heritage into this story, filled with Greek Gods and other bits and pieces. The story doesn’t stay still for long periods of time, there are plenty of surprising twists and turns throughout this book and it was a real page turner to me. The author discussed a very wide variety of topics, such as a difficult relationship with parents; blind love for their spouses; drugs; mental health issues etc.
The setting of this book feels very mysterious, and I liked that there are multiple locations used in this novel. The writing style is creative, well crafted, but easy and pleasant to read. The chapters are pretty short, and due to suspense, the pages just flew by for me. I really liked the ending of the book, it rounded the story well but there are many unanswered questions, which left me unsettled.
So, to conclude, this is a very amusing story, filled with complex and unique characters, and a plot, soaked in love, grief and betrayal. I strongly recommend to read this story and find out, whether Theo succeeds in his quest to make Alice speak again or not. I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated The Music Man: Other Dimensions in Books
Feb 11, 2020
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
Before you read this review I just want to mention that I do like the idea behind this book and do not want to discourage anyone from reading it. This was just my personal opinion as all my reviews are.
The Music Man: Other Dimensions by Moonyani Write picks up directly where the previous one left off. It has the same writing style as the previous one for those who enjoyed that. However, at the time of my writing this the book could still use some work (although keep in mind I am just a reader and not an editor).
This second book welcomes back The Music Man (Cornelius), Jimmy, and his friends at a boarding school for the musically gifted. At first, Jimmy believes all the previous events are just a dream but he soon pins down Cornelius, who just happens to be a teacher at his school and learns the truth. The bad news is Hornsbury and the witches have returned in the other dimension and are trying to steal the other Jimmy’s talents and take over the world.
Before Jimmy and his friends can stop Hornsbury and save everyone they must complete a few other tasks. The first of these tasks is to save Chris from his possession and return the book he stole to its rightful owner, Priala. Priala is a powerful witch and on the side of good who has agreed to help stop Hornsbury so long as she gets her spellbook back first. They also want to help Phillip regain his human form and free all those already possessed by Hornsbury. Sadly all seems lost when both Jimmy’s and Cornelius’s girlfriend are captured by Honsbury. It then becomes a race against the clock to stop him before it is too late.
I enjoyed how the students from our dimension and those from the other dimension interacted with each other. It was interesting to see how the friendships formed almost instantly between many of them. Of course, the surprise at the end was nice, although it mirrored the ending of the first book. The amount of repetition is this book was a major issue for me and made it extremely hard to read. To be honest I got bored with it quickly. The story is slow to make progress and it seems like there are character descriptions thrown in at random which interrupts the flow of the story. It could be the format that I received this book in but yet again there were few paragraphs and almost every sentence started a completely new line.
This book is ideal for children as I found nothing inappropriate in it. It might be a bit on the long side for some younger readers but making one chapter at a time a reading goal should help with that issue. I rate this book 1 out of 4. Unfortunately, I found this book to be way too repetitive and slow to be enjoyable. In contrast, the big battle at the end that everything was leading up to was over so quickly that it didn’t create any tension or excitement. I do not like doing this but in this book’s current condition I can not recommend it.
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The Music Man: Other Dimensions by Moonyani Write picks up directly where the previous one left off. It has the same writing style as the previous one for those who enjoyed that. However, at the time of my writing this the book could still use some work (although keep in mind I am just a reader and not an editor).
This second book welcomes back The Music Man (Cornelius), Jimmy, and his friends at a boarding school for the musically gifted. At first, Jimmy believes all the previous events are just a dream but he soon pins down Cornelius, who just happens to be a teacher at his school and learns the truth. The bad news is Hornsbury and the witches have returned in the other dimension and are trying to steal the other Jimmy’s talents and take over the world.
Before Jimmy and his friends can stop Hornsbury and save everyone they must complete a few other tasks. The first of these tasks is to save Chris from his possession and return the book he stole to its rightful owner, Priala. Priala is a powerful witch and on the side of good who has agreed to help stop Hornsbury so long as she gets her spellbook back first. They also want to help Phillip regain his human form and free all those already possessed by Hornsbury. Sadly all seems lost when both Jimmy’s and Cornelius’s girlfriend are captured by Honsbury. It then becomes a race against the clock to stop him before it is too late.
I enjoyed how the students from our dimension and those from the other dimension interacted with each other. It was interesting to see how the friendships formed almost instantly between many of them. Of course, the surprise at the end was nice, although it mirrored the ending of the first book. The amount of repetition is this book was a major issue for me and made it extremely hard to read. To be honest I got bored with it quickly. The story is slow to make progress and it seems like there are character descriptions thrown in at random which interrupts the flow of the story. It could be the format that I received this book in but yet again there were few paragraphs and almost every sentence started a completely new line.
This book is ideal for children as I found nothing inappropriate in it. It might be a bit on the long side for some younger readers but making one chapter at a time a reading goal should help with that issue. I rate this book 1 out of 4. Unfortunately, I found this book to be way too repetitive and slow to be enjoyable. In contrast, the big battle at the end that everything was leading up to was over so quickly that it didn’t create any tension or excitement. I do not like doing this but in this book’s current condition I can not recommend it.
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Lee (2222 KP) rated Star Wars: Episode VIII - The Last Jedi (2017) in Movies
Dec 15, 2017
I was disappointed... sorry
I can't believe I'm writing this, but The Last Jedi was a big disappointment for me. I saw it last night and it still hasn't quite sunk in. After the triumphant return to the Star Wars universe with The Force Awakens, expectations for this were pretty high, and the trailers for this next episode didn't disappoint either. More Rey! More Kylo! More Snoke! And Luke is back!!
It's difficult for me to describe exactly where my problems with the movie lie. Very early on in the movie there is a very odd attempt at comedy which just didn't sit right for me. Yes, there has always been moments of humour in Star Wars movies, but this is different. This comedy continues throughout the movie, with varying levels of success.
For two thirds of the movie I found myself slightly bored. Continuous changes of tone and none of the thrills or goosebump moments that I got when watching The Force Awakens. Even the return of Luke is an anti-climax and disappointment for such a huge chunk of the movie. And it is a long movie too, one which could have seriously benefited from a trimmed down run time.
All of this sounds a little harsh. I guess The Force Awakens was more of a nostalgia trip for me, and for many others too, but at some point you have to move on. The Last Jedi is all about doing away with the old to make way for the new, and there's still a big old universe of characters and stories out there to explore. At the end of the day, this is still an enjoyable Star Wars movie, which I'll hopefully appreciate more on repeat viewings.
It's difficult for me to describe exactly where my problems with the movie lie. Very early on in the movie there is a very odd attempt at comedy which just didn't sit right for me. Yes, there has always been moments of humour in Star Wars movies, but this is different. This comedy continues throughout the movie, with varying levels of success.
For two thirds of the movie I found myself slightly bored. Continuous changes of tone and none of the thrills or goosebump moments that I got when watching The Force Awakens. Even the return of Luke is an anti-climax and disappointment for such a huge chunk of the movie. And it is a long movie too, one which could have seriously benefited from a trimmed down run time.
All of this sounds a little harsh. I guess The Force Awakens was more of a nostalgia trip for me, and for many others too, but at some point you have to move on. The Last Jedi is all about doing away with the old to make way for the new, and there's still a big old universe of characters and stories out there to explore. At the end of the day, this is still an enjoyable Star Wars movie, which I'll hopefully appreciate more on repeat viewings.
Merissa (13169 KP) rated Immortal Girl5 in Books
Apr 4, 2019
Immortal Girl5 by Griffin Stark
Immortal Girl5 is a fast paced short story about five girls who are made immortal to 'save the world'. The introduction to each girl is perfect, and suited to the individual. It felt like we found out more about Skylar than most of the others, but it still seemed to fit.
I did feel like this book raised questions that weren't answered though. For example, who were Alistair and Isabelle? You are under the impression they are 'good', but nothing really backs that up. What actually was the job of the Immortal Girl5, because it seemed like they exacted vengeance and then spent the followings years doing... what? With Joan of Arc, Anne Frank, and Jack the Ripper all making an appearance, I would have liked it to be a bit more in-depth, giving more detail and story to these scenes.
There is also a MASSIVE case on insta-love going on, that managed to make the whole ending confusing. There were plenty of things alluded to, but nothing was made clear. I'm not sure if this is book one in a series, or if it's a standalone. The ending suggests it could go further.
I did enjoy this book, but in my opinion, it could do with a bit... more. A bit more story, a bit more editing and formatting so the differences in times and characters become clearer. I would definitely like to read 'more' from this author, and about these characters.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
I did feel like this book raised questions that weren't answered though. For example, who were Alistair and Isabelle? You are under the impression they are 'good', but nothing really backs that up. What actually was the job of the Immortal Girl5, because it seemed like they exacted vengeance and then spent the followings years doing... what? With Joan of Arc, Anne Frank, and Jack the Ripper all making an appearance, I would have liked it to be a bit more in-depth, giving more detail and story to these scenes.
There is also a MASSIVE case on insta-love going on, that managed to make the whole ending confusing. There were plenty of things alluded to, but nothing was made clear. I'm not sure if this is book one in a series, or if it's a standalone. The ending suggests it could go further.
I did enjoy this book, but in my opinion, it could do with a bit... more. A bit more story, a bit more editing and formatting so the differences in times and characters become clearer. I would definitely like to read 'more' from this author, and about these characters.
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Sarah (7800 KP) rated Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018) in Movies
Jun 14, 2018 (Updated Jun 14, 2018)
Slightly ruined by the final trailer...
I'm so frustrated that this film has been spoilt by the decision to release the final trailer that pretty much showed the entire film. And not only that, this trailer was shown ahead of Infinity War for the whole world to see. Genius...
This is the main problem with this film. I think parts of it would be fairly predictable anyway, but this trailer has ruined main parts of the film that were never shown in the original trailers. That said, I do feel like some of this is a little cliched and obvious (are they really that naive they can't spot a smarmy bad guy?). But despite all this, I actually still enjoyed watching it.
There are some great scenes in this with the dinosaurs, and had they not gone for a 12A rating, they could've been truly terrifying. This also nearly made me cry on more than one occasion, and it's not often you can say that about a dinosaur film! The ending itself though was entirely unexpected and I'm glad at least they didn't spoil this in the trailer, I'm interested to see where they're going to go with this next. The only thing that confused me was the subplot around Lockwood's granddaughter, there didn't seem to be a massive point to it really even at the end. And was I the only person to see the similarities with Lost World?
If it hadn't been for the trailer, I probably would've rated this slightly higher as I actually found it pretty enjoyable.
Does anyone else hope that they bring back the original trio (Grant, Malcolm and Sattler) for the next film? I'd kill to see that.
This is the main problem with this film. I think parts of it would be fairly predictable anyway, but this trailer has ruined main parts of the film that were never shown in the original trailers. That said, I do feel like some of this is a little cliched and obvious (are they really that naive they can't spot a smarmy bad guy?). But despite all this, I actually still enjoyed watching it.
There are some great scenes in this with the dinosaurs, and had they not gone for a 12A rating, they could've been truly terrifying. This also nearly made me cry on more than one occasion, and it's not often you can say that about a dinosaur film! The ending itself though was entirely unexpected and I'm glad at least they didn't spoil this in the trailer, I'm interested to see where they're going to go with this next. The only thing that confused me was the subplot around Lockwood's granddaughter, there didn't seem to be a massive point to it really even at the end. And was I the only person to see the similarities with Lost World?
If it hadn't been for the trailer, I probably would've rated this slightly higher as I actually found it pretty enjoyable.
Does anyone else hope that they bring back the original trio (Grant, Malcolm and Sattler) for the next film? I'd kill to see that.