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Love Letters to the Dead
Love Letters to the Dead
Ava Dellaira | 2014 | Young Adult (YA)
7
6.8 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
Great for fans of Perks of Being a Wallflower!
Contains spoilers, click to show
Trigger warning. This book deals with some deep stuff.

This was a super interesting idea. The story was deep, and it was the first book I've ever come across that told its story through letters to dead celebrities. So bonus points there for sure!
The overall story reminded me a lot of Perks of Being a Wallflower, which is one of my all time favorites.

I did not LOVE the POV/writing of the book but that wasn't because the author didn't do well. In fact I'd say that means she did amazing given the book is told from the POV of a teenage girl. She's young, and the writing reflects that. So while it wasn't my personal cup of tea, it made sense for the book. Bear that in mind when going into this one.

We follow Laurel venting to dead celebrities about her life and the loss of her sister. How did she die? Why does Laurel feel guilty? Why isn't her mom around anymore? Through letters to her idols she reminisces and vents, and we get to see her navigate life and relationships without her big sister.

*Potential trigger warnings for domestic abuse, rape, molestation, drug/alcohol use, and suicide.
  
The Green Mile (1999)
The Green Mile (1999)
1999 | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Contains spoilers, click to show
A wonderful film about selflessness. This is what it really seems to come down to. It is a story about doing what is right no matter the cost.

Tom Hanks is Paul Edgecomb, a guard for the death row inmates. Michael Clarke Duncan is John Coffey, the newest inmate on death row for the rape and murder of two young girls. But Paul soon discovers that John can heal illnesses and injuries

After both Paul and a pet mouse are healed by John, the guards risk their jobs, their lively hoods, to sneak John out so he is able to heal the warden's dying wife.

Each time Coffey heals someone it takes something out of him. Taking the darkness of disease and injury costs Coffey a piece of himself. The jail break could have cost the guards their lives in a manner of speaking.

The execution of Coffey remains one of the most tragic deaths on screen. It effectively drives home the darkness of the world we live in and the need for goodness in it.

The whole film is brilliantly acted by a stellar cast. The script has a good flow and a few touches of humor. It never loses its impact.
  
Blood Slave (The Nightlife)
Blood Slave (The Nightlife)
Travis Luedke | 2012 | Erotica, Paranormal
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
If you are expecting all things fluffy and light, then my god, you're in for a shock! This is dark, gritty and extremely raw - in places quite literally! This is the story of a young prostitute, who has had a rough childhood that goes through to adulthood. She is making the best she can in a bad situation. Things take a turn for the worse after she meets a client, and she resists (without even realising) a hypnotic trance. This threatens her life, well, that and the gun in the client's hand. It is only later that Hope realises that she could have been killed even without the gun. Hope's story continues as she tries to find her feet and survive in this strange new world.

Dealing with childhood prostitution, adult prostitution, rape, kidnap, torture, and drugs; this is not for the faint-hearted. It is gripping and enthralling though, also being well-written and with no editing or grammatical errors that I found.

If you want to have a dark read, that is painful and hopeful, then I can definitely recommend this.

* I received this book from the author in return for a fair and honest review. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Mar 19, 2016
  
A False Report
A False Report
T. Christian Miller, Ken Armstrong | 2018 | Biography, Crime
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
When I learned of this book, I knew it was either going to be really good or really awful. I loved the concept of this book. I've worked as a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) Coordinator and I was a Victim Advocate so this book was completely up my alley. I was lucky enough to get an advanced reader copy from NetGalley so I jumped right in the second I could.

T. Christian Miller & Ken Armstrong were able to show all of the intricacies that go into investigating a rape. They also showed how one wrong move on an investigator's part can derail an investigation. Though I liked how detailed they were, I felt that they got stuck too much in certain areas. It seemed that they would go off on a tangent on how or why something was created. This pulled you out of the story and most of the time, I would ask myself why this was in the book. It really dragged down the flow of the book and in the first half of the book, it almost made it unbearable.

I did almost DNF this book. I felt that the first half dragged on and on and jumped from tangent to tangent. I understand that some of the details needed to be in there but not everyone here needs to know how a rape kit was invented or how other tools were created. Several pages could have easily been written as a paragraph explaining why this was important and how it was useful to investigators. I found myself thinking "we got it, move on" on more than one occasion. Honestly, it broke up the story and made it less powerful.

One of the things that I did love about this book is how it portrayed the victims. It didn't vilify them. It was matter of fact and I really appreciated it. Though the authors focused on details, I truly appreciated how they did not give too many details on the sexual assaults. I think that too many authors would sensationalize what these victims went through so it was refreshing to get a "this is what happened" without going into the gory details.

Once the first half was over, the last half was quick paced and fascinating. I enjoyed learning more about the story and how it unfolded. I remember seeing this on the news (I live in Colorado) and being thankful that they caught the guy. The last half of this book salvaged it. I'm glad I stuck with this book. It was insightful though slow.

Ultimately, I would rate this book 2 1/2 stars which is why I rounded it up to 3 stars.