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Beckie Shelton (40 KP) rated Close To Me in Books

Oct 6, 2017 (Updated Oct 31, 2017)  
Close To Me
Close To Me
Amanda Reynolds | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
7
6.3 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
Really enjoyed Close To Me by Amanda Reynolds, wasn't sure what to expect this being a debut author but I certainly wasn't disappointed.


Close To Me tells the story of Jo Harding after she falls down stairs hitting her head and losing her memory of the past year.


On coming home things feel different and disjointed, Jo feels there is an undercurrent of deceit, secrets being kept from her by her husband and children and as she unravels the mysteries of the past year things escalate to a shocking conclusion.


So this was a great psychological read, it kept my interest and pulled me in, the writing was superb, and the storyline very easy to follow.


Close to me is told in two parts, real-time and snippets of the past year, though it has a slow build this is not a bad thing as you get to understand Jo's life and how she is the person she is.


The characters here felt real and human, some you could sympathise with others not so much.


If I had to pick my least favourite person in this, it would have to be the daughter I found her very self-centred and immature, but she's a product of her overindulged upbringing.


I myself have grown up children there is no way on this planet I would be paying for their accommodation.
what a right spoilt brat Sash is.


Close to me delves into the dynamics of family and the resulting aftermath when things ultimately implode.
I did kind of guess where this was going but it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment reading this.


Would I recommend this? Hell Yeah!!!
It was an engaging read.


Thank you to NetGalley, publisher and the author for providing me with an arc of Close to me


This is my own honest unbiased opinion.


Arc Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/

https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
  
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated The Giver in Books

Dec 7, 2018  
The Giver
The Giver
Lois Lowry | 2012 | Children
10
8.5 (84 Ratings)
Book Rating
<a href="http://fuzzysparrow.tumblr.com/post/101435382283/review">October 2014 Book of the Month</a>

<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>

It has been over twenty years since Lois Lowry’s controversial children’s story <i>The Giver</i> was published and it certainly deserves its status as an essential modern classic. Jonas has grown up in the perfect world of the Community whose survival relies on strict rules and rituals. Adults are assigned spouses and children (one boy and one girl) as they take up their role within the society. At the beginning of the book Jonas is approaching then end of his eleventh year and feeling apprehensive about the Ceremony of Twelve where he will be assigned a job for him to do for the rest of his adult life. Jonas gets selected as the Receiver of Memory – a very rare position – and begins to experience memories from humans who lived a long time ago. For Jonas this is exciting until he begins to see the flaws in his perfect world.

Dystopian literature has become popular over the past few years and it would not be surprising if it were <i>The Giver</i> that inspired these contemporary works. Lowry claims that she did not intend for The Giver to have a sinister feel about it; she was writing an adventure story and exploring the concept of the importance of memory, but it turned out to be something much more thought provoking. As the children’s novelist Margaret Mahy (<i>The Haunting</i>) pointed out, up until the publication of this novel in 1993 Lowry was best known for her funny stories about Anastasia Krupnik resulting in <i>The Giver</i> being even more shocking and unexpected.

<i>The Giver</i> highlights that attempting to produce perfection can often result in the loss of good things as well as the bad. The notion of the ideal world may seem like a wonderful proposal, but in order to achieve it humans would have to do away with free choice as in ironing out the inequalities and injustices of the present world would result in everything becoming the same for each individual.

This is a difficult concept to grasp, particularly for a child. Although intended as a children’s series, <i>The Giver</i> and its following installments are more suitable for young adults and older. The only issue with this is that the writing style was target at a younger audience meaning that the overall story is short and lacks depth. If it were to have been written for older readers then there would have been the scope for it to become a much lengthier novel.

There are a lot of mixed reviews surrounding this book although they have changed greatly since the original publication. To begin with <i>The Giver</i> was banned in some areas however the dystopian theme has become accepted in today’s society. What many people comment on now is the oversimplification of such strong ideas. Then again, as already mentioned, it needs to be emphasized that this book was aimed at children, thus the language reflects the reading skills of its target audience.

<i>The Giver</i> is a gem of a book that not only is enjoyable but also can educate the reader on the dangers of attempting a utopian society and why it is important to retain human memories – even the bad – in order that wisdom can exist. Those who have become fans of contemporary dystopian novels, for example <i>Divergent</i> by Veronica Roth or <i>Delirium</i> by Lauren Oliver, will be sure to love this series.
  
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WC
We Cast a Shadow
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This was a difficult book for me to get through. Not because of the writing but by seeing too much of myself in the main protagonist. I am a multi-racial father of a multi-racial son. This story resonated so much with me and wanting to 'protect' my son from the injustices of this world and this country. As a white skinned latin-x person, I've struggled so much with the changes of peoples moods and attitudes when they find out my name or my heritage from many different means. So many of the moments where the narrator struggles with his own identity within his heritage context as well as the context of society made me have to stop and take stock of my own life.

So many don't realize the struggle of a parent trying to find one's identity amidst the current racism. Especially for Latin-x people during the reign of Trump and Trumpian ideals within the United Sates. We are being equated with animals and the worst of the worst that share our heritage. Yes, there are some bad people out there, but there are bad people of every skin color or heritage. I want so much to protect my son, and ensure that he gets every opportunity without the problems that this evil presents currently.

This is a near future story, that says so much about who we are today. Especially for those of us who are Multi-Racial. Many of us aren't even accepted in either societies that are full heritage-ly made up. This book was not without it's issues, but it is a very important story. It is a great read for those trying to understand the struggle of Multi-Racial Parents and children. Highly recommend.
  
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    Games and Entertainment

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