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Thirteen Reasons Why
Thirteen Reasons Why
Jay Asher | 2009 | Children
10
8.4 (49 Ratings)
Book Rating
I will start with a confession, I requested this book because I knew the TV Series is out, it can’t be bad if it’s on telly right? And guess what, I was right. I loved this book.

This book is a quick read because it is tiny and really gripping. This book carries two stories at once, the story of Hannah and another one of Clay. This novel is filled with feelings and regret. I loved Hannah’s character in this book, yes, even though she is dead, she is still the main character in this book. I loved her courage for this confession and the secrecy and originality of all this “business”. The palette of characters is really wide in this novel and offers a great variety of personalities to choose from. The characters are very realistic, just like ordinary school kids, which most of us faced in our lives. The whole story is told by Clay and Hannah, but that is sufficient to showcase the feelings and powerful meaning of this novel.

I absolutely loved the message of this book, and I think that Jay Asher has done a great Job, by highlighting suicide and its causes. I loved the way he showed, how small and to some, unimportant actions might influence young people and what it can lead to. I loved the difficulty of relationships which Jay Asher was portraying in this book, and how it changed due to particular actions. The narrative of this book is flowing smoothly and there are no much twists or turns, but every chapter has a great cliffhanger, which creates suspense, makes you wonder of what is waiting on the next side of that cassette. One thing that made it difficult for me, was the merging of these two stories, I would’ve preferred that Hanna’s stories would be uninterrupted by Clay’s commentary and thoughts.

The language of this book was easy to read and understandable, and the chapters are reasonable length, so it is easy, quick and very powerful read. The ending of this novel is well-thought throw and shows to all of us, that life goes on. So, to conclude, it is very amusing and extremely deep book, full of friendships and teenage relationships, and I think this book is absolute must read to all the school goers (and others as well), as in my opinion, most of them can relate to this book and learn few great things about life as well.
  
The Blackbird Season
The Blackbird Season
Kate Moretti | 2017 | Mystery, Thriller
8
9.0 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
It's just another day in Mount Oanoke, Pennsylvania when the birds start to fall. Hundreds of dead starlings, dropping from the sky during a baseball game. It seems like the birds started it all, but really the secrets and lies began much earlier. Nate Winters, high school teacher and baseball coach, is beloved in the town. That is, until a reporter, in town to cover the birds, catches Nate hugging a student at a local motel. Suddenly, the birds are forgotten, and the story becomes much juicier: Nate; his student, Lucia; and their supposed affair. Lucia fuels the fire by affirming the affair and suddenly Nate and his wife, Alecia, are swept up in the story. The only who believes in Nate's innocence, even a sliver, is his friend and co-worker, Bridget. As Lucia's creative writing teacher, she has unique insight into the girl's mind. But when Lucia suddenly goes missing--with Nate as the prime suspect in her disappearance--not even Bridget may be able to save Nate. But is there more to Lucia's disappearance than an affair with her teacher?

<i>Wow, I was really impressed by this novel. It's a complicated novel that is just as much a character-driven study as it is a mystery.</i> It's incredibly well-written, and Moretti expertly embodies the voice of each of her characters, from beleaguered Alecia, who is worn down from mothering her autistic son, Gabe; to the cast of teenager characters; to Bridget, who lost her husband to cancer a year ago. It's <i>so well-done</i> that often with each chapter (which skip from various points of view -- Bridget, Kate, Lucia, Nate, etc.), I found my myself veering between whom I preferred or believed, constantly second-guessing my allegiances or what happened. This is very rare for me: typically I find my "person" in a novel and stick with them, no matter what.

But here, I was confused, wondering. Was Nate really a cad, who cheated on his wife every second he got, or was he the sweet, affable teacher and baseball coach that the whole town admired and adored? And Alecia--was she more than just a weary mom, broken down by years of staying at home with her autistic son, Gabe, unable to give to anyone beyond him? Did she push Nate away, into the arms of others? Or was the truth more complicated that all of this? I have to hand it to Moretti--she was excellent at creating confusion and doubt. In addition to different perspectives, the novel shifts in time (before the birds fell, after the birds fell, before Lucia disappeared, etc.). It's a little tough to keep track of, but it also keeps you on your toes and always wondering, as you piece various parts of the puzzle together.

For me--even more than the mystery of what exactly happened with Lucia--<i>the strength of this novel was the writing and the characters.</i> I felt for them, even when I was frustrated with them. Moretti captures the angst and meanness of high school extremely well, portraying the cliques of a small town quite superbly. (I was reminded of <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2115987339?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1">WHEN WE WERE WORTHY</a>, which I just finished.) I loved the juxtaposition of this being a small town, so the idea is that everyone knows everyone and everything, and yet there are so many secrets, so much unknown. Being a witness to Alecia and Nate's marriage is amazing-- you see firsthand how the events affect them and how they've reached this point. <i>It's an incredibly realistic portrayal of marriage and of motherhood.</i>

As you probably tell, I just really liked this novel. It's very well-written, with quite compelling characters. I worked out some of the plot, but it didn't stop me from reading at all. I think some of the emphasis on character development slows the story at places, but not in any detrimental way. This one will make you think, as well as intrigue you with what happened to Lucia. Quite worth the read. 4+ stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!) in return for an unbiased review; it is available everywhere as of 09/26/2017.

<center><a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">Blog</a>; ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/mwcmoto">Twitter</a>; ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a>; ~ <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KristyHamiltonbooks">Google+</a>; ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/justacatandabook/">Instagram</a>; </center>
  
Emma in the Night
Emma in the Night
Wendy Walker | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller
6
7.9 (8 Ratings)
Book Rating
Cassandra Tanner and her sister, Emma, disappeared on the same night three years ago. Cass was fifteen and her lovely, enigmatic older sister seventeen. Suddenly, Cass shows up on her mother's doorstep, desperately begging her family to find Emma, whom she claims is being against her will on a remote island in Maine. Immediately, the FBI is called back to the case, including forensic psychiatrist Abby Winter, who has been haunted by the investigation since Emma and Cass went missing. Abby had a lot of theories about Emma and Cass' case--and saw similarities in their mother to her own--but kept most of these thoughts to herself. But now that Cass is back, with a story that doesn't completely add up, Abby realizes she might not be so off track after all. And that there might be a lot more to Emma and Cass' disappearance then everyone thinks.

This book is a tough one for me. It started off in great fashion--completely sucking me in. It's an interesting novel, as in some ways it seems like a rather straightforward tale of two missing girls, but it's also incredibly puzzling and keeps you guessing from the start. I think my brow was probably actually furrowed as I was reading. It's hard to trust <i>anyone</i> in this novel, or know who to believe, and that has you frantically turning pages, trying to figure out what on earth is the actual truth.

The story flips between Cass' point of view and that of Abby's. I was intrigued by Cass' story, though not particularly attached to her and while I sympathized with Abby, wasn't really drawn to her as a character, either. I actually sort of wanted to rush through her sections so I could get back to Cass and what was actually happening (or had happened) to her, and by proxy, Emma.

Make no mistake--the Tanner/Martin family saga is a twisted one. This book will shock and bewilder you--this is not a nice set of characters. Emma and Cass' mother is hateful and downright despicable, as are many of the supporting characters. Even Emma--via stories--is tough to care for at times. The premise is that Ms. Martin, the mother, has narcissistic personality disorder--the same disorder that affected Abby's mother as well. At first, this works, as you're shocked by the treatment of Emma and Cass and what it's done to each girl.

But, admittedly, after a while, I grew a little weary of this plot device. The disorder and its effects are explained repeatedly. If Walker could have explained it and moved on, I would have enjoyed the novel a lot more. I found myself skimming over some of the repetitive psychological descriptions, so I could get on with the story. As the story continues, the family almost seems <i>too</i> fractured and horrible; I was shocked at the continuing tale of horror regarding her mother, stepfather, stepbrother, and sister that Cass kept weaving. Goodness--they come across as diabolical, but not real.

I actually really enjoyed Walker's previous novel, <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26114146-all-is-not-forgotten">ALL IS NOT FORGOTTEN</a> - particularly because the ending lived up to the earlier parts of the novel and shocked me. Here, I am pretty sure the intent was the same, but it didn't quite pan out. By the time we reached the end, I was tired of the psychological drama and ramblings. I hadn't exactly figured out what had happened--I'll definitely give Walker that--but I knew something was up. I also felt so much of all of this could have been avoided from the start by Cass, but I won't go into that for spoilers sake.

So, alas. As I started this one, I really thought it was going to be a novel that I was going to recommend to everyone. By the end, I was a bit let down. I'll go with 3 stars overall, since it certainly did keep me flipping the pages.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Netgalley (thank you!); it is available everywhere as of 08/08/2017.

<center><a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">Blog</a>; ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/mwcmoto">Twitter</a>; ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a>; ~ <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KristyHamiltonbooks">Google+</a>; ~ <a href="https://www.instagram.com/justacatandabook/">Instagram</a>; </center>
  
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated Suckers in Books

Jan 12, 2018 (Updated Feb 4, 2018)  
S
Suckers
Z. Rider | 2015 | Horror, Paranormal, Thriller
8
8.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This is not only a pretty good horror novel but an excellently written story about friendship.

The main players in this book are extremely well developed and their different characters explored well. The story builds from the start and ends up being a thoroughly engrossing read. The characters are believable and act accordingly - they do things in situations that I would see myself doing which makes the book even more enjoyable. The Suckers are great creatures and the way their “birth” was described was a really well done “wow” moment and left me feeling quite nauseous - I love it when that happens!

The only little gripe I have, in what is a great story, is I would have liked a bit more interaction and perilous scenes with the “infected” - this is the only thing I think the book missed out on and would have taken it from a great read to a fantastic one.

Overall, a very enjoyable that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys this particular genre and I would like to thank www.netgalley.com and the publisher, Dark Ride Publishing, for providing me with a copy in return for a review.

https://readingstuffnthings.blogspot.co.uk/2014/12/suckers-horror-novel-by-z-rider.html
  
Halo: Hunters in the Dark
Halo: Hunters in the Dark
Peter David | 2015 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
9
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Very Enjoyable
Having a massive video gaming background, I'm finding it strange that I never really bothered with Halo. I'm beginning to wonder why that is... It's an interesting world to say the least. My Dad let me borrow this novel after he read it because he knows I love my sci-fi. If I'm honest I was a little skeptical about it, having never actually played Halo I was worried it wouldn't make much sense, but it was quite good, it wasn't bogged down with too much information, yet still explained things so that someone who hasn't ever played Halo could still enjoy the novel. I liked the characters and all their differences from each other. Some interactions between characters were particularly amusing at times. If I had one negative thing to say about this one was the ending was a tad predictable. I knew how it was going to go from around the end of chapter ten. Other than that it was an interesting read with a few gripping moments that had me walking around with my nose in the book :) You like sci-fi and aliens? Pick this one up, it's not overly taxing to weave your way through the Halo world, and it's enjoyable too.
  
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ClareR (5674 KP) rated Hold in Books

May 9, 2018  
Hold
Hold
Michael Donkor | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
9
9.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A coming of age story
A coming of age story, set between Ghana and London, this is the story of Belinda, a housegirl, who moves to London to help the daughter of her employers friends. Amma (the friends daughter) has become withdrawn and is struggling with something in her life - not her studies though, she's a straight A student. She won't talk to her parents about it, and to begin with, it doesn't look as though she'll talk to Belinda either. Their friendship builds over a period of weeks and months. In this time, Belinda goes back to school in order to gain some qualifications. She seems to feel guilty of having left her fellow housegirl, who she refers to as sister (even though the 12 year old Mary is not her sister by blood, they have bonded over being in the same circumstances of separation from their families at young ages).
This novel explores African attitudes towards sexuality, family and responsibility. It's funny at times, but also incredibly moving. I really enjoyed it. We can see the contrast between life in a Ghanaian city and village, and the difference again between those places and London. A fascinating novel.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this fantastic book.
  
A Note Of Madness
A Note Of Madness
Tabitha Suzum | 2007 | Music & Dance, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Young Adult (YA)
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Mental health awareness (1 more)
Likeable chapters
Long chapters (0 more)
This novel was the authors debut, for a debut novel it's well written and flows fairly well. The portrayal of bipolar disorder / manic depression is realistically unsettling. It really shows how damaging a misdiagnosis could be and the serious effect of being dismissed. To avoid spoilers I'm not going to say if this story ends with a happy or an unfortunate end. I will advise you NOT to read this if you suffer from a mental illness and are triggered easily, this could be a serious trigger.
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Following on, although I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and really appreciate the mental health awareness in it which is a rare find in a book, I found this a hard one to score higher than 7/10. This is solely due to the fact that the chapters are long, ranging on average at about 25+ pages. This made it difficult to stay focused and I found myself having to read back a couple of pages to recap. This is completely my own problem as I enjoy shorter chapters and I really dislike stopping half way through a chapter.
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Overall I 100% recommend this book. It's very underrated and deserves more awareness
  
Mind Games (Kaely Quinn Profiler, #1)
Mind Games (Kaely Quinn Profiler, #1)
Nancy Mehl | 2018
8
9.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
FBI Behavioral Analyst Kaely Quinn’s methods may be highly unorthodox, but her talent is undeniable. She’s done her best to establish a new life for herself after being demoted and transferred to St. Louis when a reporter revealed she’s the daughter of an infamous serial killer. But when that same reporter claims to have received an anonymous poem predicting a string of murders, ending with Kaely’s, it seems her old life has followed her. When a body is found that fits the poem’s morbid predictions, Kaely and her new partner, Special Agent Noah Hunter, are forced to move past his skepticism of her approach and work together to unravel the deadly riddle. With a brazen serial killer who breaks all the normal patterns on the loose, Noah and Kaely are tested to their limits to catch the murderer before anyone else, including Kaely, is killed.



My Thoughts: This is a great suspense novel written by a good author. It's full good mystery, intrigue and keeps the reader guessing.


Nancy Miehl has a wonderful style of writing that keeps the reader entertained. Truly a great book from start to finish. I look forward to read more from Nancy Miehl






A wonderful novel for suspense lovers.
  
Bram Stoker&#039;s Dracula (1992)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
1992 | Horror, Romance, Sci-Fi
Stays true to the book
This is by far the best adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel and aside from the hilarious Dracula: Dead and Loving It, there has never been a decent Dracula film since. The fact that it stays true to the novel is the best thing about this, there’s very little difference between this and the book and I’m so grateful about this. The effects are very old school and in parts a little bit cheesy and very dated watching it back now, but I think that’s part of the charm. It was made in the early 90s after all.

Gary Oldman does a fantastic performance and Anthony Hopkins too is wonderful as Van Helsing, and it’s these two that really make this film as good as it is. The rest of the cast range from good (Richard E Grant), unremarkable (Cary Elwes), to downright awful. And yes, I am talking about Keanu Reeves. I know he was a big star when this was made, but he really is a terrible actor. And he’s even worse when he’s trying to put on a horrendous English accent. I wish they’d have found a decent actor to play Harker, if they had I would’ve scored this a little higher!
  
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Eighth Grade Bites (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod, #1)
Heather Brewer | 2007 | Fiction & Poetry
6
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Book Rating
This review is really hard to write mainly because I did not have any feelings about this book after I read it. It was a quick read, only taking me two hours; yet it was hard to stay focused. I felt so unmotivated to read this book, which I sometimes had to force myself to keep going.

I am not saying it is a bad book. In fact, I think quite the opposite. While it was not anything to heavy or thought provoking, Brewer did a good job at creating a practical storyline with realistic characters and an in-depth vampire society I felt that she teased us with all the glimpses into the vampire society. It was obvious this novel was the first in the series. We are introduced to Vlad and the people important to the storyline. I wish she had shown us more because I am not interested in reading the rest of the series to find out.

The only thing that truly annoyed me, however, was Brewer’s lack of subtly. She brings up subjects that are supposed to be revealed later in novel/series, but she makes it so obvious that you are supposed to be interested.