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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2603 KP) rated Ditched 4 Murder in Books
Sep 8, 2020
Weddings and Killers
Sophie “Phee” Kimball is settling into her new life in Arizona, but it’s about to get crazier thanks to her aunt’s recent engagement. Phee keeps getting asked to help plan the wedding, and finds herself juggling her job as the accountant for a PI, the wedding, and her mother’s phone calls of outrage about the wedding. Phee’s PI boss is working on a murder that took place near her mother’s house, and as Phee works on the wedding, she begins to wonder if there is a connection. Can she solve the case?
I loved the first book in the series, so I was looking forward to revisiting the characters. Sadly, this one didn’t live up to the first. The mystery was overshadowed by the wedding plans. I expected they would come together at some point, but that point came a little late in the book for my tastes. Meanwhile, the climax to the mystery was a little weak as well. Some of the characters walked a fine line between funny and annoying in the first book, and I found them more annoying than funny here. That’s not all the characters. Phee herself is still a strong and sympathetic main character, and I really like several of the supporting characters. And that isn’t to say I didn’t laugh over the course of the book either. I especially laughed at the climax. Considering how much I enjoyed the first book, I’m definitely going to give Phee another visit.
I loved the first book in the series, so I was looking forward to revisiting the characters. Sadly, this one didn’t live up to the first. The mystery was overshadowed by the wedding plans. I expected they would come together at some point, but that point came a little late in the book for my tastes. Meanwhile, the climax to the mystery was a little weak as well. Some of the characters walked a fine line between funny and annoying in the first book, and I found them more annoying than funny here. That’s not all the characters. Phee herself is still a strong and sympathetic main character, and I really like several of the supporting characters. And that isn’t to say I didn’t laugh over the course of the book either. I especially laughed at the climax. Considering how much I enjoyed the first book, I’m definitely going to give Phee another visit.
Eating Viet Nam: Dispatches From a Blue Plastic Table
Book
A journalist and blogger takes us on a colorful and spicy gastronomic tour through Viet Nam in this...
The Next to Die
8.5
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The New York Times bestselling author of The Monogram Murders and Woman with a Secret returns with a...
Fiction Mystery Thriller Psychological
Sarah (7800 KP) rated The True Adventures of Wolfboy (2021) in Movies
Mar 1, 2021
Nice but lacking in magic
The Adventures of Wolfboy, also known as The True Adventures of Wolfboy, is a 2021 coming of age style drama and the feature film debut from Czech director Martin Krejcí. It follows Paul, a teenager with a life changing physical condition called congenital hypertrichosis that causes an abnormal and excessive amount of hair growth across his entire body, as he journeys to meet his estranged mother.
Paul (Jaeden Martell) lives an isolated life with his father in New York, where he hides away from everyone and only ventures out under the cover of a woolly balaclava, despite his father’s (Chris Messina) attempts to coax him into accepting his condition and revealing himself to the world. After a failed trip out to the local carnival for his 13th birthday, Paul returns home to find a mysterious gift from his mother (Chloë Sevigny), who he’s never known as she left when he was a child. Following a confrontation with his father over his proposal to send him to a special school, Paul runs away from home in search of his estranged mother. Along the way, he meets a number of colourful characters including carnival owner Mr. Silk (John Turturro), complicated and friendly Aristiana (Sophie Giannamore) and the daring and roguish Rose (Eve Hewson).
The Adventures of Wolfboy is undoubtedly a film for young adults or teenagers, meant as a coming of age, ‘accepting yourself’ type of road movie and in this it succeeds, although its message is rather more subtle than you’d expect. It expertly deals with the theme of loving yourself and others just as you are in a very low key manner, to the point where you almost miss the subtle hints at a character’s backstory (which is definitely true for Aristiana). For some this might be a problem, but a lot of films go out of their way to be heavy handed, virtually shoving a message down your throat so for me, I enjoyed the subtleties on display here. They’re helped by an unassuming performance from Jaeden Martell and charismatic turns from both Eve Hewson and Sophie Giannamore, who altogether with a story that doesn’t play out quite as predictably as first thought, make this an entertaining and heartwarming watch.
That said, despite the well meaning and heartwarming intentions, this film does falter. The title itself and the fairytale storyboard chapter titles throughout the film give this a magical sense of fantasy that just doesn’t quite materialise. I feel like it’s meant to be whimsical and adventurous, but the actual finished article falls short. It isn’t helped by John Turturro’s Mr Silk, who despite being the villain just comes across as weird rather than sinister, and what becomes of his character is a little lacklustre too. Generally if feels like it’s missing some ‘oomph’, a magical whimsical boost to turn this into something more than an average coming of age movie.
The Adventures of Wolfboy is a nice heartwarming film, and it’s refreshing to see a subtle take on a subject that has been done many times before. I just wished they’d have taken the magical and whimsical angle further, as this would have made it more than just average.
Paul (Jaeden Martell) lives an isolated life with his father in New York, where he hides away from everyone and only ventures out under the cover of a woolly balaclava, despite his father’s (Chris Messina) attempts to coax him into accepting his condition and revealing himself to the world. After a failed trip out to the local carnival for his 13th birthday, Paul returns home to find a mysterious gift from his mother (Chloë Sevigny), who he’s never known as she left when he was a child. Following a confrontation with his father over his proposal to send him to a special school, Paul runs away from home in search of his estranged mother. Along the way, he meets a number of colourful characters including carnival owner Mr. Silk (John Turturro), complicated and friendly Aristiana (Sophie Giannamore) and the daring and roguish Rose (Eve Hewson).
The Adventures of Wolfboy is undoubtedly a film for young adults or teenagers, meant as a coming of age, ‘accepting yourself’ type of road movie and in this it succeeds, although its message is rather more subtle than you’d expect. It expertly deals with the theme of loving yourself and others just as you are in a very low key manner, to the point where you almost miss the subtle hints at a character’s backstory (which is definitely true for Aristiana). For some this might be a problem, but a lot of films go out of their way to be heavy handed, virtually shoving a message down your throat so for me, I enjoyed the subtleties on display here. They’re helped by an unassuming performance from Jaeden Martell and charismatic turns from both Eve Hewson and Sophie Giannamore, who altogether with a story that doesn’t play out quite as predictably as first thought, make this an entertaining and heartwarming watch.
That said, despite the well meaning and heartwarming intentions, this film does falter. The title itself and the fairytale storyboard chapter titles throughout the film give this a magical sense of fantasy that just doesn’t quite materialise. I feel like it’s meant to be whimsical and adventurous, but the actual finished article falls short. It isn’t helped by John Turturro’s Mr Silk, who despite being the villain just comes across as weird rather than sinister, and what becomes of his character is a little lacklustre too. Generally if feels like it’s missing some ‘oomph’, a magical whimsical boost to turn this into something more than an average coming of age movie.
The Adventures of Wolfboy is a nice heartwarming film, and it’s refreshing to see a subtle take on a subject that has been done many times before. I just wished they’d have taken the magical and whimsical angle further, as this would have made it more than just average.
Trigger Warnings: abuse, assault, dating violence
Sparrow is about 17-year-old ballet prodigy Savannah Rose, aka Sparrow, and her journey after being violently assaulted by her boyfriend, Tristan. The story jumps between Sparrow's POV and her friend's Lucas as they both confront their ghosts and demons of the aftermath.
Through most of this story I felt like I was just missing chunks of it. Before we went into Lucas' POV we seemed to just jump around with Sparrow. She has her first date with Tristan and then all of a sudden she's afraid of him. Then, when she'd have fights with Lucas, we'd get half with Sparrow's POV and then a few chapters later we'd get the other half with Lucas' POV which most of the time changed the whole fight. Pieces were almost always missing - like the fact that I thought Sophie was Sparrow's stepmom or her dad's girlfriend, not her aunt for the first hundred pages.
Because of all this, I really had no connection to Sparrow. I did, however, feel more connected with Lucas and what happened with him. Some things that happened with him tugged on my heartstrings. I feel bad for not really caring about Sparrow's story, but the only reason I knew of her story was because I wanted to read more about Lucas'.
Overall the book was good, but I wish it was fleshed out a bit more. A lot of characters had such great potential in the beginning but seemed to fade out/be glossed over in the middle and end. There were many distractions and an empty hole around the plot that I wish were filled in.
Sparrow is about 17-year-old ballet prodigy Savannah Rose, aka Sparrow, and her journey after being violently assaulted by her boyfriend, Tristan. The story jumps between Sparrow's POV and her friend's Lucas as they both confront their ghosts and demons of the aftermath.
Through most of this story I felt like I was just missing chunks of it. Before we went into Lucas' POV we seemed to just jump around with Sparrow. She has her first date with Tristan and then all of a sudden she's afraid of him. Then, when she'd have fights with Lucas, we'd get half with Sparrow's POV and then a few chapters later we'd get the other half with Lucas' POV which most of the time changed the whole fight. Pieces were almost always missing - like the fact that I thought Sophie was Sparrow's stepmom or her dad's girlfriend, not her aunt for the first hundred pages.
Because of all this, I really had no connection to Sparrow. I did, however, feel more connected with Lucas and what happened with him. Some things that happened with him tugged on my heartstrings. I feel bad for not really caring about Sparrow's story, but the only reason I knew of her story was because I wanted to read more about Lucas'.
Overall the book was good, but I wish it was fleshed out a bit more. A lot of characters had such great potential in the beginning but seemed to fade out/be glossed over in the middle and end. There were many distractions and an empty hole around the plot that I wish were filled in.
El Lissitzky
Book
El (Eleazar) Lissitzky (1890-1941) was a vital force in the revolutionary period in Russia. Having...
Introduction to Probability with Statistical Applications: 2016
Book
Now in its second edition, this textbook serves as an introduction to probability and statistics for...
Shakespeare's Women and the Fin de Siecle
Book
Shakespeare's Women and the Fin de Siecle illuminates the most iconoclastic performances of...
Perfect on Paper
8.0
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A bisexual girl who gives anonymous love advice to her school friends is hired by the hot new kid to...
ClareR (6253 KP) rated Sweetness in the Skin in Books
Mar 18, 2025
Sweetness in the Skin by Ishi Robinson is a heartbreaking AND a heartwarming story. It’s about Pumkin Patterson, a 13 year old girl living with her grandmother, Aunt Sophie and her mother. They live together in a tiny 2 bedroom house on the wrong street in Kingston, Jamaica.
Pumkin has a dream to follow her aunt to live in Paris and open a Patisserie. She just has to get the grades at the school paid for by her aunt. But things conspire against Pumkin, and she has to work harder to get what she wants. She works hard at school, and on top of that, she has to make money by baking and selling her frankly delicious sounding cakes.
I couldn’t help but cheer Pumkin along and hope that she would achieve what she wanted. She’s such a strong character, with some of that fiery teenage attitude (particularly towards her French teacher!).
I listened to this and read it in parts, too, which I’m glad I had the opportunity to do. The spoken Jamaican English was much easier to understand when I listened to it, spoken by Deja Bowens (the narrator). I think it’s important, when possible, to hear the rhythm and cadence of a language and/ or dialect to really understand it.
This was a really strong story with some serious themes - if it’s a YA book, I would be inclined to keep it to older teenagers. Pumkin does suffer some physical abuse at the hands of her mother.
I loved reading about Pumkin’s determination to leave a difficult life behind her - she’s an admirable, courageous character.
Pumkin has a dream to follow her aunt to live in Paris and open a Patisserie. She just has to get the grades at the school paid for by her aunt. But things conspire against Pumkin, and she has to work harder to get what she wants. She works hard at school, and on top of that, she has to make money by baking and selling her frankly delicious sounding cakes.
I couldn’t help but cheer Pumkin along and hope that she would achieve what she wanted. She’s such a strong character, with some of that fiery teenage attitude (particularly towards her French teacher!).
I listened to this and read it in parts, too, which I’m glad I had the opportunity to do. The spoken Jamaican English was much easier to understand when I listened to it, spoken by Deja Bowens (the narrator). I think it’s important, when possible, to hear the rhythm and cadence of a language and/ or dialect to really understand it.
This was a really strong story with some serious themes - if it’s a YA book, I would be inclined to keep it to older teenagers. Pumkin does suffer some physical abuse at the hands of her mother.
I loved reading about Pumkin’s determination to leave a difficult life behind her - she’s an admirable, courageous character.