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How Do You Like Me Now?
How Do You Like Me Now?
Holly Bourne | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Okay, so I think I’m the only person left who hasn’t read anything by Holly Bourne before this point. I didn’t even realise she was a YA author before checking out her twitter, and I’m definitely going to get some of her YA novels now.

Tori is an author of a self-help novel about how to survive your twenties. Now in her thirties, she’s lost, unhappy, and worried about where her life is going. On top of that, she has got another inspirational book about how brilliant and perfect her life is waiting to be written.

Only her life isn’t perfect. She’s falling out of love with ‘The One’, constantly worried about looking too old and not seeming perfect enough on social media for her fans, and she feels unsuccessful.

It was really nice to read an honest book for once that shows that someone’s persona on social media is not who they really are. Tori is constantly posting on social media about how perfect her relationship is and how successful she is, when really, her life is the exact opposite.

The novel focused on Tori trying to find her happiness again without hurting people around her, and trying to write her next novel that thousands of people are desparate for.

The whole book was a nice surprise, as it was brutally honest and still an entertaining read. I devoured it in a couple of days, never wanting to put it down.

I did feel that the plot was lacking a bit. It did just seem like the whole thing was a bit of a sub-plot, but that did make it a nice, easy, and quick read.

I will definitely be checking out more of Holly Bourne’s books now.
  
Notes on a Nervous Planet
Notes on a Nervous Planet
Matt Haig | 2018 | Health & Fitness, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences, Science & Mathematics
10
9.4 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Let’s just start off with the compulsory statement: I would read absolutely anything written by Matt Haig. I’ll link my reviews of his other books at the end of this post.

Notes is a follow-on book to Reasons to Stay Alive, and focuses on her the world is effecting your mental health. It’s in quite small chapters so it’s really easy to get along with and read in short bursts rather than being a book you need a large amount of free time to read.

I really loved Haig’s commentary on the roles of social media towards your mental health. He points out how social media can both help and hinder people’s mental health, and how social media is full of the best parts of people, not every part.

The thing I love about his writing is that he’s straight-talking. He says it as it is throughout the book, and definitely puts a strong point forward about exactly what can make a large difference to your mental health.

I’m happy that in Notes, Haig points out that there is no difference between mental and physical health in their effects, making a brilliant argument on why mental health should be taken more seriously by everyone.

When this book came in the post I told myself I was going to savour it, because I was so excited to get a new book by Matt Haig that I didn’t want to rush it. So in the end I read it in two days instead of one!

Notes on a Nervous Planet is definitely necessary reading for everyone, whether you have mental health struggles or not. It gives many ways to stop letting the world into your head and not wasting your energy worrying. It’s made me glad I read it.
  
Friend Request (2016)
Friend Request (2016)
2016 | Horror, International, Mystery
Social media has come to play a vital role in our lives. Whether it is Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or any other service, we cannot seem to escape the hashtags or trending topics. Social media has us feeling more and more connected with each day that passes. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for all who have access to the internet.

In Friend Request audiences are introduced to Laura, a popular college student, who befriends a lonely girl, Marina, when a friend request comes through her social media feed. She recognizes something unique about the young girl and feels the need to at least reach a hand out to her. This move proves to be a mistake as Marina becomes very clingy and eventually prompts Laura to push her away and back to her lonely existence. Laura and her friends are quickly thrown into a world where they are haunted and pursued by demonic beings.

The film is ambitious in trying to be more layered than a film with the similar premise of having the internet play an important role in terrorizing the characters. Sadly, the Friend Request becomes to complex. There are several aspects of the story that are inconsistent and raise eyebrows as it makes one question where the story is going. It disappoints in not investing enough time in making the audience actually fear the demon that Marina eventually becomes. The opportunity for a building of tension, paranoia, and claustrophobia is completely missed because of a lack of depth with the characters and a running tally on screen to demonstrate how Laura is continuously losing friends due to the meddling of Marina’s spirit hacking her interfering with her Facebook account.

Friend Request misses the mark in trying to be a truly inventive horror film as it finds itself without an identity.

http://sknr.net/2017/09/22/friend-request/
  
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The Passengers
The Passengers
John Marrs | 2019 | Contemporary, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller
10
9.3 (7 Ratings)
Book Rating
Now that was a thriller that had me totally hooked. It's fairly relentless from the beginning and with the audiobook, I listened to read between 6 different narrators (all of a high standard) I couldn't put it down.

You do have to be willing to suspend a good level of belief for this one but, with some brilliant writing and plenty of different moving parts, it's easy to let yourself get swept along. Set in the not too distant future 8 driver-less cars are hijacked and it's broadcast around the world for all to chime in on who lives and who dies.

I tend to find books that try to tackle the issues around social media or that use social media heavily in their storyline painful to read; causing much eye-rolling, but this was so well written I didn't have any issues for a change with its use. Although I felt the end let up too much on the earlier pace I thoroughly enjoyed this thriller.

I'll be checking out some more John Marrs ASAP based on this; it was a great ride (pardon the pun.)