Search
-
SA
Simon A. Lack
Author
Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Love, Simon (2018) in Movies
Jul 8, 2019
Meet Simon, just your average teenage boy who loves to hang out with his best friends and spend time with his family. His life is seemingly perfect, except he has a secret. Simon (Nick Robinson) is gay. With news of a closeted gay kid at school, who only is known as Blue; Simon starts to venture out of his secret. However, as John Hughes taught us in the 1980’s it’s not easy being a teenager. As Simon tries to navigate this new friendship with Blue, he begins to affect the lives of his best friends Leah (Katherine Langford), Nick (Keiynan Lonsdale), and Abby (Alexandra Shipp) just to keep his secret safe. Even his mom (Jennifer Gardiner) and dad (Josh Duhamel) begin to realize something is up. So, the question is if his secret gets out how will he handle it?
Love, Simon is the coming of age story 2018 needed. Modern coming of age films lack critical aspects of the teenage condition; being selfish and having massive amounts of teen angst. That is what was special about the 1980’s classics Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles, they showed how teenagers actually felt.
Love, Simon also bring an LGBT love story into a heavily saturated heteronormative genre. Now for those who say, well why is this important? It’s important because representation in film matters. Being able to see yourself in a character on the big screen can mean so much.
Originally, going into this film I was a bit skeptical; as the film has been heavily advertised on all social media platforms. So, I began to worry if the hype would live up to the actual film. I was glad to be proven quite the opposite; as I ended up completely falling in love with this film. The wit shown in the script, and the delivery made by the actors was incredible. Watching this film was a breath of fresh air; as most coming of age films follow very formulated clichés and while this had some it used them in completely different ways. I would say more on this matter but truly you have to see it to experience it. Even the soundtrack exuded the teenage experience; completely complementing it from beginning to end.
Love, Simon is a film that shows being yourself is a freeing experience and it is definitely a film I will be buying once it hits Blu Ray. This film is for anyone who loved those coming of age movies from the 1980’s and anyone who loves a good love story
Love, Simon is the coming of age story 2018 needed. Modern coming of age films lack critical aspects of the teenage condition; being selfish and having massive amounts of teen angst. That is what was special about the 1980’s classics Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles, they showed how teenagers actually felt.
Love, Simon also bring an LGBT love story into a heavily saturated heteronormative genre. Now for those who say, well why is this important? It’s important because representation in film matters. Being able to see yourself in a character on the big screen can mean so much.
Originally, going into this film I was a bit skeptical; as the film has been heavily advertised on all social media platforms. So, I began to worry if the hype would live up to the actual film. I was glad to be proven quite the opposite; as I ended up completely falling in love with this film. The wit shown in the script, and the delivery made by the actors was incredible. Watching this film was a breath of fresh air; as most coming of age films follow very formulated clichés and while this had some it used them in completely different ways. I would say more on this matter but truly you have to see it to experience it. Even the soundtrack exuded the teenage experience; completely complementing it from beginning to end.
Love, Simon is a film that shows being yourself is a freeing experience and it is definitely a film I will be buying once it hits Blu Ray. This film is for anyone who loved those coming of age movies from the 1980’s and anyone who loves a good love story
The Boy on the Wooden Box: How the Impossible Became Possible ... on Schindler's List
Book
Leon Leyson (born Leib Lezjon) was only ten years old when the Nazis invaded Poland and his family...
RadioNowhere
Podcast
It's eclectic! It's eccentric! It's RadioNowhere! The official and original since 2002! ...
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated When You Disappeared in Books
Sep 16, 2022
167 of 230
Kindle
When you Disappeared
By John Marrs
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
All she wanted was the truth, but she’ll wish she never found out.
When Catherine wakes up alone one morning, she thinks her husband has gone for a run before work. But Simon never makes it to the office. His running shoes are by the front door. Nothing is missing—except him.
Catherine knows Simon must be in trouble. He wouldn’t just leave her. He wouldn’t leave the children.
But Simon knows the truth—about why he left and what he’s done. He knows things about his marriage that it would kill Catherine to find out. The memories she holds onto are lies.
While Catherine faces a dark new reality at home, Simon’s halfway around the world, alive and thriving. He’s doing whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of the truth.
But he can’t hide forever, and when he reappears twenty-five years later, Catherine will finally learn who he is.
And wish she’d stayed in the dark.
Holy crap that was a bit good! It was so different to what I thought it was going to be. I couldn’t put it down the characters drew you in. Who’d have thought one simple lack of communication in a perfectly happy relationship would cause so much destruction. I don’t think I’d have been able to stop where Catherine did at the end! Also do you have after hearing an authors voice automatically hear it when read their work? Nope? Just me than kinda weird 😂.
Kindle
When you Disappeared
By John Marrs
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
All she wanted was the truth, but she’ll wish she never found out.
When Catherine wakes up alone one morning, she thinks her husband has gone for a run before work. But Simon never makes it to the office. His running shoes are by the front door. Nothing is missing—except him.
Catherine knows Simon must be in trouble. He wouldn’t just leave her. He wouldn’t leave the children.
But Simon knows the truth—about why he left and what he’s done. He knows things about his marriage that it would kill Catherine to find out. The memories she holds onto are lies.
While Catherine faces a dark new reality at home, Simon’s halfway around the world, alive and thriving. He’s doing whatever it takes to stay one step ahead of the truth.
But he can’t hide forever, and when he reappears twenty-five years later, Catherine will finally learn who he is.
And wish she’d stayed in the dark.
Holy crap that was a bit good! It was so different to what I thought it was going to be. I couldn’t put it down the characters drew you in. Who’d have thought one simple lack of communication in a perfectly happy relationship would cause so much destruction. I don’t think I’d have been able to stop where Catherine did at the end! Also do you have after hearing an authors voice automatically hear it when read their work? Nope? Just me than kinda weird 😂.
Lyndsey Gollogly (2893 KP) rated Chasing the Dragon in Books
Feb 14, 2024
28 of 220
ARC
Chasing the Dragon
By Mark Towse
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A town on its knees, dread's bony fingers wrapping around its throat and squeezing, death rattles soon to follow.
Drugs, filth, and a lack of human decency are starving it of hope.
Introducing Simon Dooley, our trauma-driven wannabe superhero, the relentless voice of his dead mother pleading with him to "end the chaos." Dressed in a leotard and armed only with a dozen dog poop bags, Simon's plight will find him falling in love and going head to head with the seediest characters walking the streets.
The town needed a hero... it got Reformo.
This was honestly such a fun read. This dude has some parental issues that’s for certain. So Simon decided on the advice of his dead mother that he’s going to clean house and the neighbourhood. So he invents Reformo the super hero everyone needs. Now all the way through this book I couldn’t stop laughing which when you’re on a bus full of people you get crazy looks. You can tell the author has poured everything into this book and it really has paid off. It’s dark, funny, bloody , violent and even a little emotional at the end there. Please read any trigger warnings as it does touch a few and it is dark and violent with some graphic details.
I was kindly given this to me by the author in return for an honest review.
ARC
Chasing the Dragon
By Mark Towse
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
A town on its knees, dread's bony fingers wrapping around its throat and squeezing, death rattles soon to follow.
Drugs, filth, and a lack of human decency are starving it of hope.
Introducing Simon Dooley, our trauma-driven wannabe superhero, the relentless voice of his dead mother pleading with him to "end the chaos." Dressed in a leotard and armed only with a dozen dog poop bags, Simon's plight will find him falling in love and going head to head with the seediest characters walking the streets.
The town needed a hero... it got Reformo.
This was honestly such a fun read. This dude has some parental issues that’s for certain. So Simon decided on the advice of his dead mother that he’s going to clean house and the neighbourhood. So he invents Reformo the super hero everyone needs. Now all the way through this book I couldn’t stop laughing which when you’re on a bus full of people you get crazy looks. You can tell the author has poured everything into this book and it really has paid off. It’s dark, funny, bloody , violent and even a little emotional at the end there. Please read any trigger warnings as it does touch a few and it is dark and violent with some graphic details.
I was kindly given this to me by the author in return for an honest review.
Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era
Tony Wagner and Ted Dintersmith
Book
The basis for a major documentary, two leading experts sound an urgent call for the radical...
Leanne Crabtree (480 KP) rated Written in Red (The Others, #1) in Books
Aug 26, 2019 (Updated Sep 3, 2019)
Well I thought this one started on a bit of intrigue. Where had Meg come from? What were these scars she had? How had she so new to...life?
I found this really hard to put down, if I'm honest, the story really pulled me in and despite there not being much of a romance, I'll admit I was hooked. I loved the innocence of Meg and her just being really nice to everyone, which equally confused them and made them want to protect her. It was nice seeing them turn from scary "other" beings to almost friendly. Especially with Meg. She became one of them. Part of their family.
Despite its lack of romance--I can't decide if something may happen between Meg and Simon in the future--I enjoyed this. It had a few elements of horror style things in--at the beginning and towards the end some trespassers are eaten alive and then some detailed snow related deaths towards the end--but although I didn't enjoy that bit so much, I forgot about it quickly enough.
I loved how every species of other in the Courtyard had their own little traits. The Crows with the "shiny". The wolves with their "arroooo" greetings. Tess with her living hair. The Hawks and their love of rats and mice. The elementals and their horses.
It was really well thought out and though it was almost 500 kindle pages long, I didn't lose interest once.
I'm interested enough in this group of characters to carry on the series. I even read the excerpt for the next book and it HAS given me hope for something more between Meg and Simon so I will be buying the next book at some point in the future.
I found this really hard to put down, if I'm honest, the story really pulled me in and despite there not being much of a romance, I'll admit I was hooked. I loved the innocence of Meg and her just being really nice to everyone, which equally confused them and made them want to protect her. It was nice seeing them turn from scary "other" beings to almost friendly. Especially with Meg. She became one of them. Part of their family.
Despite its lack of romance--I can't decide if something may happen between Meg and Simon in the future--I enjoyed this. It had a few elements of horror style things in--at the beginning and towards the end some trespassers are eaten alive and then some detailed snow related deaths towards the end--but although I didn't enjoy that bit so much, I forgot about it quickly enough.
I loved how every species of other in the Courtyard had their own little traits. The Crows with the "shiny". The wolves with their "arroooo" greetings. Tess with her living hair. The Hawks and their love of rats and mice. The elementals and their horses.
It was really well thought out and though it was almost 500 kindle pages long, I didn't lose interest once.
I'm interested enough in this group of characters to carry on the series. I even read the excerpt for the next book and it HAS given me hope for something more between Meg and Simon so I will be buying the next book at some point in the future.