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Bubblesreview (110 KP) rated The Maze Runner in Books

Mar 13, 2019

The Maze Runner

James Dashner | 2011 | Children

8.0

(55 Ratings)

Book Rating

Pros:
▪ Lots of action
▪ Suspense from page 1
▪ Fast paced (once past the slowish start)
Cons:
▪ More questions than answers at the end
*deep breath* ok here we go. So, this took me slightly longer to finish than I'd hope. I watched the films only days before starting this, I don't think that helped. I should've learnt my lesson by now, read the book before watching the films! My issue was, the film was almost entirely different from the book, if it weren't for the same character names and wording than you could easily mistake the film for not even being connected to the book, it's that bad. Ok, not that drastic but seriously though it's pretty bad.
The first half of the book was a little slow but still had plenty of suspensful moments and action. The second half is when it really began to pick up and from here is when it got interesting for me because it had no similarity to the film so it was like I was reading a story I had no idea how it was going to end. The ending really smashed it and made it for me but it did leave me with too many questions than answers, which is what the author usually aims for but perhaps TOO many questions is not that great.
Overall this is a really fun book to read, the characters are all really well described and you quickly gain strong connections with them, I really like the strong use of descriptive writing when it comes to the smell of things.
I do have the rest of the series which I plan on reading but for now I feel I need a break between each book but I'll definitely be picking up book 2 soon!

Kudos

KatieLouCreate (162 KP) rated HelloTalk Language Exchange in Apps

Feb 5, 2018

HelloTalk Language Exchange

Education, Social Networking

7.0

(1 Ratings)

App Rating

Great to Learn About New Cultures (0 more)

Not Reliable for Learning Significant Amounts (0 more)

This app is great to speak to native speakers of the language you want to study. You can follow people you are interested in, or who provide useful information for you and you can even message, call, and send pictures to HelloTalk friends. It is a great app to learn about culture because you are learning from the natives themselves, not just from a textbook. You can even ask people questions if you're nice enough.

However, by way of learning a significant amount of your studied language. It would take some dedication and patience. Firstly, it can be difficult to find someone who is willing to teach and not be taught. Secondly, it can be difficult to call people because of the different time zones, and then of course there can be language barriers. I find that when I message people it is usually the same generic conversation starters and questions:
Hello, how are you?
What is your name?
How old are you?
Where are you from/where do you live?
What is your job?

ect
It can be difficult to get to know someone well enough to move past these types of conversations, but not impossible. It just might take some time to root out a good candidate.

Nevertheless, I love using the app. I like to post on my memories and help other people learn about my culture. It is rewarding. And it is easy to like, and ask other people questions about their home town.

If you use the app right, you can gain a lot from it. If you only use it halfheartedly, you will probably gain hardly anything of value to you.