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Merissa (13197 KP) rated Unspoken (The Dust Series #1) in Books
Aug 4, 2025
UNSPOKEN is the first book in the Dust series, and we meet Ruby Lee, Will, Earl, Beck, and Willa Mae for the first time. They live in the Dustbowl and are struggling, not only to succeed with their crops, but to just survive. The story starts with a funeral, to give you some idea of how well they're doing.
The story follows Ruby Lee as she is separated from her family for health reasons, and what happens next in her life. It is told mostly from her perspective, but you also get parts from her mother.
This isn't an easy story to read. It deals with triggering topics, so be careful if you have any. You get inside information (so to speak) on what State Homes for Children were like, as well as asylums. The Second World War is also a part of this story, as it goes from the late 1930s to the early 1950s.
Now, here comes the part that you may not agree with, and is wholly my own opinion. While I enjoyed (if that's the right word) the events of this story, and learning about life in the Dustbowl, even the State Home and the asylum, I didn't particularly enjoy Ruby Lee's character. I know she was a child when it started, but I couldn't understand her mindset or the decisions she made, even when she was older. The same could be said of other characters, too.
The ending came abruptly, with Ruby Lee about to marry someone who is all kinds of wrong, possibly pregnant, and her brother coming home from the war. However, this IS the first book, so I'm sure it will follow on from where this one finishes.
This is a long and slow-paced story that is richly detailed, even if those details aren't 'pretty'. There are an abundance of supporting characters, some of whom you will follow along with, and some who stay at the wayside. I would recommend this story to anyone who likes family sagas, women's fiction, and books full of history.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 11, 2025
The story follows Ruby Lee as she is separated from her family for health reasons, and what happens next in her life. It is told mostly from her perspective, but you also get parts from her mother.
This isn't an easy story to read. It deals with triggering topics, so be careful if you have any. You get inside information (so to speak) on what State Homes for Children were like, as well as asylums. The Second World War is also a part of this story, as it goes from the late 1930s to the early 1950s.
Now, here comes the part that you may not agree with, and is wholly my own opinion. While I enjoyed (if that's the right word) the events of this story, and learning about life in the Dustbowl, even the State Home and the asylum, I didn't particularly enjoy Ruby Lee's character. I know she was a child when it started, but I couldn't understand her mindset or the decisions she made, even when she was older. The same could be said of other characters, too.
The ending came abruptly, with Ruby Lee about to marry someone who is all kinds of wrong, possibly pregnant, and her brother coming home from the war. However, this IS the first book, so I'm sure it will follow on from where this one finishes.
This is a long and slow-paced story that is richly detailed, even if those details aren't 'pretty'. There are an abundance of supporting characters, some of whom you will follow along with, and some who stay at the wayside. I would recommend this story to anyone who likes family sagas, women's fiction, and books full of history.
** Same worded review will appear elsewhere. **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book; the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Jul 11, 2025
Darren (1599 KP) rated Amadeus (1984) in Movies
Jun 20, 2019
Story: Amadeus starts as an elderly Antonio Salieri (Abraham) admitting that he killed Mozart, leading to him getting taken to the insane asylum. Salieri recounts his story of his small town beginnings dreaming of being a composer and after a moment of fate he ends up in a position where he can learn music leading to him job as head conductor to the king of Austria. Mozart (Hulce) is the world renowned composer that has taken the notice of all around him with Salieri dreaming of one day being as good as Mozart.
We see how Mozart constantly ends up out shinning Salieri with his music leading to the rivalry between the two, with Salieri serious look on life and Mozart’s flamboyant style of just getting through each moment. Salieri moves into the position of being the connection to the Emperor to get his unique work out there but he is really just building him up for failure trying to break him down with criticize of his work.
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Amadeus gives us a brilliant look at one of the greatest musical minds in the history of man. We know the basic idea of what happened to him but now we get to see it through the eyes of one of his closest friends even if he is filled with envy for him. What starts as envy is filled with respect and seeing how a talented person can get used by all the people close to him which will drive him into his bad ways. Overall this really is a brilliant drama that is told in a way we can just enjoy.
Actor Review
F Murray Abraham: Antonio Salieri admits that he killed Mozart, but now he is confessing to how he believes he was responsible for the death from inside an insane asylum. We watch how he got his dreams of working with music and constantly found himself lacking the complete flair and natural ability of Mozart leading to jealous and planning to bring him down slowly. F Murray gives us a brilliant and well deserved Oscar winning performance in this role.seleir
Tom Hulce: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the flamboyant and brilliant composer who lives life on the edge spending every penny he ever received for his work, he pushes the boundaries to what is accepted even if his work is loved. He gains inspiration from his personal stories which will gain him enemies from his own confident in the government. Tom gives a performance that could easily have won him an Oscar too.morzart
Elizabeth Berridge: Constanze Mozart is the wife of Wolfgang, she supports him in all the work he does but just wants him to actually get paid for the work so they can look after the family, even after she lives him she feels guilty. Elizabeth does a good job in this role.
Roy Dotrice: Leopold Mozart is the overbearing father who pushed Amadeus into this career path making him the puppet when he was younger as he was leading him to become the biggest name in music of his time. After his death we learn about the control he had over Amadeus. Roy is good in this supporting role.
Support Cast: Amadeus has a well performed supporting cast that each hold their own in the characters they are playing.
Director Review: Milos Forman – Milos gives us one of the best biographical films of all time.
Biographical: Amadeus shows the troubles of the great man and how it was his eventual downfall.
Music: Amadeus uses all the music of the great man and how it would have look on stage for the fans witnessing it all.
Settings: Amadeus recreates all the settings that would have been used during the time the film is set.
Suggestion: Amadeus is one that could have been watched by anyone to learn about a part of history. (Watch)
Best Part: The performances are brilliant.
Worst Part: If you are not a fan of classical music you will struggle.
Believability: Yes
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: Won 8 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor, Director and Writing also nominated for a further 3.
Box Office: $51 Million
Budget: $18 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 40 Minutes
Tagline: Everything you’ve heard is true.
Trivia: When the movie won Best Picture at The 57th Annual Academy Awards (1985), Sir Laurence Olivier was presenting the award. He went up to the podium, opened the envelope and said “Amadeus.” The problem was he forgot to read the nominees first.
Overall: Brilliant drama about one of the greatest musicians of all time
https://moviesreview101.com/2016/01/06/amadeus-1984/
We see how Mozart constantly ends up out shinning Salieri with his music leading to the rivalry between the two, with Salieri serious look on life and Mozart’s flamboyant style of just getting through each moment. Salieri moves into the position of being the connection to the Emperor to get his unique work out there but he is really just building him up for failure trying to break him down with criticize of his work.
REPORT THIS AD
Amadeus gives us a brilliant look at one of the greatest musical minds in the history of man. We know the basic idea of what happened to him but now we get to see it through the eyes of one of his closest friends even if he is filled with envy for him. What starts as envy is filled with respect and seeing how a talented person can get used by all the people close to him which will drive him into his bad ways. Overall this really is a brilliant drama that is told in a way we can just enjoy.
Actor Review
F Murray Abraham: Antonio Salieri admits that he killed Mozart, but now he is confessing to how he believes he was responsible for the death from inside an insane asylum. We watch how he got his dreams of working with music and constantly found himself lacking the complete flair and natural ability of Mozart leading to jealous and planning to bring him down slowly. F Murray gives us a brilliant and well deserved Oscar winning performance in this role.seleir
Tom Hulce: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the flamboyant and brilliant composer who lives life on the edge spending every penny he ever received for his work, he pushes the boundaries to what is accepted even if his work is loved. He gains inspiration from his personal stories which will gain him enemies from his own confident in the government. Tom gives a performance that could easily have won him an Oscar too.morzart
Elizabeth Berridge: Constanze Mozart is the wife of Wolfgang, she supports him in all the work he does but just wants him to actually get paid for the work so they can look after the family, even after she lives him she feels guilty. Elizabeth does a good job in this role.
Roy Dotrice: Leopold Mozart is the overbearing father who pushed Amadeus into this career path making him the puppet when he was younger as he was leading him to become the biggest name in music of his time. After his death we learn about the control he had over Amadeus. Roy is good in this supporting role.
Support Cast: Amadeus has a well performed supporting cast that each hold their own in the characters they are playing.
Director Review: Milos Forman – Milos gives us one of the best biographical films of all time.
Biographical: Amadeus shows the troubles of the great man and how it was his eventual downfall.
Music: Amadeus uses all the music of the great man and how it would have look on stage for the fans witnessing it all.
Settings: Amadeus recreates all the settings that would have been used during the time the film is set.
Suggestion: Amadeus is one that could have been watched by anyone to learn about a part of history. (Watch)
Best Part: The performances are brilliant.
Worst Part: If you are not a fan of classical music you will struggle.
Believability: Yes
Chances of Tears: No
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Oscar Chances: Won 8 Oscars including Best Picture, Best Actor, Director and Writing also nominated for a further 3.
Box Office: $51 Million
Budget: $18 Million
Runtime: 2 Hours 40 Minutes
Tagline: Everything you’ve heard is true.
Trivia: When the movie won Best Picture at The 57th Annual Academy Awards (1985), Sir Laurence Olivier was presenting the award. He went up to the podium, opened the envelope and said “Amadeus.” The problem was he forgot to read the nominees first.
Overall: Brilliant drama about one of the greatest musicians of all time
https://moviesreview101.com/2016/01/06/amadeus-1984/
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Ultraviolet (Ultraviolet, #1) in Books
Jun 7, 2018
(This review can be found on my blog (<a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.com/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>).
Wow, wow, wow! This is one of the best books that I've read this year! I absolutely loved this book!
Alison is in a mental institution after she went crazy the night she claimed to have killed Tori Beaugrand, the most popular girl in school, by making her disintegrate. However, Tori's body hasn't been found. Alison also has the weird ability to see numbers as colors and to taste words amongst other things. Ali just wants to know what's wrong with her and why people won't help her find out what happened to Tori.
To be honest, I didn't really know what to think when I saw the title. It doesn't really capture my attention. While the title does have something to do with the book, I think there could've been better titles. But please, don't let the title fool you. Ultraviolet is amazing!
I felt the same with the cover as I did with the title. I feel like the cover is a bit bland which is a shame because there is an excellent story underneath. I just feel like the cover could've been a bit more interesting so that people would actually pick up the book.
I loved the fact that this book was mainly set in a mental asylum. Anything to do with those kind of institutions makes me want to read a book instantly! The world building is definitely believable. I felt as if I was right beside Ali in everything she did. I loved getting a glimpse at the inside of this institution. Even when the plot takes a twist, I still found everything to be quite believable.
The pacing was fantastic! I was always reading a few words ahead just because I wanted to see what was coming next. Ultraviolet is a real page turner, and I couldn't read this book fast enough. Most of the time, I felt like shutting myself in a room where no one could disturb me. I am even saddened that it ended because I was enjoying it so much.
The plot was fantastic! While the whole girl locked up in mental institution even though she thinks she's fine thing has been done before, Anderson puts her own spin on it to make it her own. I even enjoyed the plot twist even though it was kind of predictable. I also enjoyed the fact that there was minimal romance in this book. I'm not big on romances, so this was perfect for me.
The characters were fantastic! I loved Alison! I felt that she was such a strong character especially with what she had to endure. I sympathized with her a lot of the time, and I even felt what she was feeling most of the time. I just wish she would've chose to tell her therapist about her condition rather then hiding it although I can totally understand why she was scared to tell him. I found Kirk to be annoying, but I think that's how the author wanted us to feel about it. Faraday was an interesting character. I loved how he was willing to listen, and I mean really listen, to what Ali had to say. I loved his helpful nature as well. Tori was super interesting as well, but I'll just leave it at that because of spoilers.
The dialogue was fantastic! I enjoyed reading about what Alison was going through and what she was thinking. It was super interesting. It did annoy me that we were told over and over what a certain noise looked like or what color a number was, etc. I really wish there was just a bit less then that. Overall though, I found the dialogue to flow quite well and feel natural. There was also no swearing in this book.
While this book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. The second book in the series is about another character that was mentioned in the book and is more of a companion novel.
Overall, Ultraviolet was a fantastic book that has an incredible plot as well as interesting characters. This book taught me a bit more about Synthesia which I was thrilled about learning. This is one of those books that I know I'll be thinking about for a long time.
I'd recommend this book to everyone aged 13+ because it is just that amazing!
Wow, wow, wow! This is one of the best books that I've read this year! I absolutely loved this book!
Alison is in a mental institution after she went crazy the night she claimed to have killed Tori Beaugrand, the most popular girl in school, by making her disintegrate. However, Tori's body hasn't been found. Alison also has the weird ability to see numbers as colors and to taste words amongst other things. Ali just wants to know what's wrong with her and why people won't help her find out what happened to Tori.
To be honest, I didn't really know what to think when I saw the title. It doesn't really capture my attention. While the title does have something to do with the book, I think there could've been better titles. But please, don't let the title fool you. Ultraviolet is amazing!
I felt the same with the cover as I did with the title. I feel like the cover is a bit bland which is a shame because there is an excellent story underneath. I just feel like the cover could've been a bit more interesting so that people would actually pick up the book.
I loved the fact that this book was mainly set in a mental asylum. Anything to do with those kind of institutions makes me want to read a book instantly! The world building is definitely believable. I felt as if I was right beside Ali in everything she did. I loved getting a glimpse at the inside of this institution. Even when the plot takes a twist, I still found everything to be quite believable.
The pacing was fantastic! I was always reading a few words ahead just because I wanted to see what was coming next. Ultraviolet is a real page turner, and I couldn't read this book fast enough. Most of the time, I felt like shutting myself in a room where no one could disturb me. I am even saddened that it ended because I was enjoying it so much.
The plot was fantastic! While the whole girl locked up in mental institution even though she thinks she's fine thing has been done before, Anderson puts her own spin on it to make it her own. I even enjoyed the plot twist even though it was kind of predictable. I also enjoyed the fact that there was minimal romance in this book. I'm not big on romances, so this was perfect for me.
The characters were fantastic! I loved Alison! I felt that she was such a strong character especially with what she had to endure. I sympathized with her a lot of the time, and I even felt what she was feeling most of the time. I just wish she would've chose to tell her therapist about her condition rather then hiding it although I can totally understand why she was scared to tell him. I found Kirk to be annoying, but I think that's how the author wanted us to feel about it. Faraday was an interesting character. I loved how he was willing to listen, and I mean really listen, to what Ali had to say. I loved his helpful nature as well. Tori was super interesting as well, but I'll just leave it at that because of spoilers.
The dialogue was fantastic! I enjoyed reading about what Alison was going through and what she was thinking. It was super interesting. It did annoy me that we were told over and over what a certain noise looked like or what color a number was, etc. I really wish there was just a bit less then that. Overall though, I found the dialogue to flow quite well and feel natural. There was also no swearing in this book.
While this book is part of a series, it can be read as a standalone. The second book in the series is about another character that was mentioned in the book and is more of a companion novel.
Overall, Ultraviolet was a fantastic book that has an incredible plot as well as interesting characters. This book taught me a bit more about Synthesia which I was thrilled about learning. This is one of those books that I know I'll be thinking about for a long time.
I'd recommend this book to everyone aged 13+ because it is just that amazing!
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