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Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2099 KP) rated A Time For Murder in Books
Nov 27, 2019
Jessica’s First Murder Mystery Comes Back to Haunt Her
When Jessica Fletcher sits down to be interviewed by a student from Cabot Cove High School, she is surprised to find the student bringing up Jessica’s first time solving a murder. No, it wasn’t at the launch party of her first book, but it was twenty-five years ago when she, her husband Frank, and their nephew Grady were living in Appleton, Maine. The principal where Jessica was a substitute English teacher was murdered, and Jessica helped solve the case. Jessica usually doesn’t talk about it, and she deflects again, but when she goes to apologize to the student later, she discovers that the woman who interviewed her wasn’t a student at the high school at all. Who interviewed her? What is her interest in the case?
Going into this book, I was concerned that this book was going to contradict things established in the pilot episode of the TV show, but it does a good job of explaining things so that this doesn’t happen. We do spend part of the book in the past, and all the transitions are easy to follow. I found both mysteries, past and present, to be very compelling, and I couldn’t put the book down until I reached the climax. Unfortunately, the climax is a bit over the top, which has happened in the books I’ve read in the series. Likewise, I did find that Jessica, Mort, and Seth spent more time sniping at each other than I remembered from most episodes of the show. On the other hand, Jessica has stopped swearing, which was a welcome return to normalcy for the character. This book is the fiftieth novel based on the show, and as a result manages to work in a few Easter Eggs that fans will enjoy. If you are a fan, you’ll enjoy this entry.
Going into this book, I was concerned that this book was going to contradict things established in the pilot episode of the TV show, but it does a good job of explaining things so that this doesn’t happen. We do spend part of the book in the past, and all the transitions are easy to follow. I found both mysteries, past and present, to be very compelling, and I couldn’t put the book down until I reached the climax. Unfortunately, the climax is a bit over the top, which has happened in the books I’ve read in the series. Likewise, I did find that Jessica, Mort, and Seth spent more time sniping at each other than I remembered from most episodes of the show. On the other hand, Jessica has stopped swearing, which was a welcome return to normalcy for the character. This book is the fiftieth novel based on the show, and as a result manages to work in a few Easter Eggs that fans will enjoy. If you are a fan, you’ll enjoy this entry.
Kim Pook (101 KP) rated My teacher, my obsession (2018) in Movies
May 31, 2022
The janitor of a school is closing up for the night. After hearing noises and a scream, he goes exploring to find a girl crying. He goes to help only to be told by another girl with blood on her hands to run and the movie starts.
Once the movie starts properly, we see both girls. One is the daughter of the hot new English teacher and the other being the yearbook photographer. Both girls get chatting after school in the computer room and agree to meet up to study. We soon discover that kyla (the yearbook photographer) has an ulterior motive, she is obsessed with rileys dad. It is more than a crush though. She doesn't want anyone else to get in her way of how she feels about him (Chris). At first it starts with her trying to keep Riley away from Trisha (another girl with a crush on Chris), and makes up lies to keep her mum and Chris from spending the night together, and even breaks them up before seducing Chris herself.
Personally I don't get the negativity surrounding this movie, I actually quite enjoyed it. OK a couple of scenes were a little cringy, such as when kyla was hitting herself, I couldn't help but laugh because it was so ridiculous.
It is very much like swimfan except its a student obsessed with a teacher, rather than another student.
I was disappointed with Chris as I didn't expect him to give in to kylas advances which he did, so the rest is on him really for leading her on.
In some scenes I found the music didn't really go with the scene, or there was music which wasn't needed, such as the end scene.
The movie was left open for a sequel which I personally don't see happening.
Once the movie starts properly, we see both girls. One is the daughter of the hot new English teacher and the other being the yearbook photographer. Both girls get chatting after school in the computer room and agree to meet up to study. We soon discover that kyla (the yearbook photographer) has an ulterior motive, she is obsessed with rileys dad. It is more than a crush though. She doesn't want anyone else to get in her way of how she feels about him (Chris). At first it starts with her trying to keep Riley away from Trisha (another girl with a crush on Chris), and makes up lies to keep her mum and Chris from spending the night together, and even breaks them up before seducing Chris herself.
Personally I don't get the negativity surrounding this movie, I actually quite enjoyed it. OK a couple of scenes were a little cringy, such as when kyla was hitting herself, I couldn't help but laugh because it was so ridiculous.
It is very much like swimfan except its a student obsessed with a teacher, rather than another student.
I was disappointed with Chris as I didn't expect him to give in to kylas advances which he did, so the rest is on him really for leading her on.
In some scenes I found the music didn't really go with the scene, or there was music which wasn't needed, such as the end scene.
The movie was left open for a sequel which I personally don't see happening.
BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated The Drawing Lesson: A Graphic Novel That Teaches You How to Draw in Books
Jan 2, 2019
I was very impressed with this new approach to drawing lessons. Fresh and different there is a lot to learn. There are several "Chapters" touching on subjects such as: Shading, Using Negative Space, Checking Proportions, Simplifying Things, and more. Seeing the examples and poor David's frustration at constantly having to redraw lines, helps me feel a little more normal in my artwork. I love the interaction between teacher and student. David's eagerness to learn and study...And his teacher's guiding hand, bringing him back to earth. I recommend this book for those who have a basic concept of drawing, but would like to learn more. Have fun with it, and remember, art is NOT like math!
I received a free copy of The Drawing Lesson through Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
I received a free copy of The Drawing Lesson through Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.
Louise (64 KP) rated The Manifesto on How to be Interesting in Books
Jul 2, 2018
This was my first Holly Bourne novel and I had had it on my TBR for ages and kicked myself for not picking it up sooner. I love YA contemporary books, I love all the feels you get and how invested you get into the story. I was surprised how much I loved this book. I liked Bree and it was interesting to see how much she developed as a character. This book showed you that you didn’t need to be popular to be interesting but it also showed how uncomfortable it was trying to fit in with a crowd that is not the norm for you. It showed valuable life lessons and had really powerful messages. I would have rated this 5 stars but the ending didn’t turn out as I wanted it to but I still loved it. This book does have a teacher/student relationship, so if that’s not your thing I would steer clear.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Wayside School #1) in Books
Mar 23, 2020
When I heard that another book in the Wayside School series was coming out, I had to reread the book that started it all. These books were my childhood! I found out that I still love this series even as an adult.
Each chapter tells a tale about each individual student, and there are three chapter dedicated to each teacher of the class on the thirtieth story of the school. Some of the time, the stories of each child/teacher don't make much sense, but that's the beauty of this book. It leaves you to ponder on what that chapter was about and come to your own conclusions. There are a couple of chapters that teach some good lessons too.
One thing I also loved were the illustrations of each character before their chapter started. They are drawn very well. It was a nice touch, and it made it easier to picture that person in the story. I think it's a great idea for kids who feel like they are too old for picture books, yet they still like some illustrations in their book.
This is such an easy and fun novel to read. It's not very long which is perfect for the intended age group. I believe kids ages 8 - 13 will definitely love these stories the most although it's a fun book for any age.
I would definitely recommend Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar!
Each chapter tells a tale about each individual student, and there are three chapter dedicated to each teacher of the class on the thirtieth story of the school. Some of the time, the stories of each child/teacher don't make much sense, but that's the beauty of this book. It leaves you to ponder on what that chapter was about and come to your own conclusions. There are a couple of chapters that teach some good lessons too.
One thing I also loved were the illustrations of each character before their chapter started. They are drawn very well. It was a nice touch, and it made it easier to picture that person in the story. I think it's a great idea for kids who feel like they are too old for picture books, yet they still like some illustrations in their book.
This is such an easy and fun novel to read. It's not very long which is perfect for the intended age group. I believe kids ages 8 - 13 will definitely love these stories the most although it's a fun book for any age.
I would definitely recommend Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar!
Becs (244 KP) rated Final Draft in Books
Oct 29, 2019
MC overshadowed plot (2 more)
secondary characters were dry
self-hatred pushed onto others
Not my favorite read
You can also find this review on my blog: bookingwayreads.wordpress.com
I listened to the audiobook of Final Draft and it was honestly not my favorite. The whole thing was out of order and there were a variety of things that made me extremely uncomfortable with the plot.
Firstly, the relationship between Laila and Mr. Madison was a massive cringe-fest. It crossed a lot of lines, not sexual in any way, but it went from a professional student-teacher relationship to something more personal. Laila would email Mr. Madison things that just shouldn’t have been said to a teacher. It made the rest of the book awfully weird.
It was also difficult to relate to Laila as she seemed to overshadow the plot of the story more than was needed. Many of her actions were selfish and she projected self-hatred onto others. The secondary characters weren’t even fleshed out and the relationships between each of the characters were poorly written. The plot didn’t even stick with the whole creative writing aspect and was mainly more drama than anything else.
The ending was rushed and too much happened within the last few pages. Although Laila does explore her sexuality, she never officially comes out. There was a lot of female body positivity which is really nice to see in a book! But I feel that was about the only thing going for this story.
I listened to the audiobook of Final Draft and it was honestly not my favorite. The whole thing was out of order and there were a variety of things that made me extremely uncomfortable with the plot.
Firstly, the relationship between Laila and Mr. Madison was a massive cringe-fest. It crossed a lot of lines, not sexual in any way, but it went from a professional student-teacher relationship to something more personal. Laila would email Mr. Madison things that just shouldn’t have been said to a teacher. It made the rest of the book awfully weird.
It was also difficult to relate to Laila as she seemed to overshadow the plot of the story more than was needed. Many of her actions were selfish and she projected self-hatred onto others. The secondary characters weren’t even fleshed out and the relationships between each of the characters were poorly written. The plot didn’t even stick with the whole creative writing aspect and was mainly more drama than anything else.
The ending was rushed and too much happened within the last few pages. Although Laila does explore her sexuality, she never officially comes out. There was a lot of female body positivity which is really nice to see in a book! But I feel that was about the only thing going for this story.
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Hero in Books
Jan 15, 2018
This book was actually lent to me by a former student who loved it so much he asked me to read it. Of course what teacher could turn down a request like that!?
The book was good. I can see why it appealed to a 5th grade boy without a doubt. It tells the story of Zach Harriman who turns out to be a sort of super hero. Of course he doesn't know that he is until after his dad is killed in a plane crash. After that, he finds out that his dad had the same abilities & that his plane "crash" was most likely caused by "The Bads."
The story is a bit predictable. There is a good core cast of characters, but they felt a bit lacking...they could have been more fleshed out. Of course in saying all of this, I do realize that I am not the target audience for this book. I'm sure if the 5th grader who gave it to me were to rate it, he'd give it a 5!
The book was good. I can see why it appealed to a 5th grade boy without a doubt. It tells the story of Zach Harriman who turns out to be a sort of super hero. Of course he doesn't know that he is until after his dad is killed in a plane crash. After that, he finds out that his dad had the same abilities & that his plane "crash" was most likely caused by "The Bads."
The story is a bit predictable. There is a good core cast of characters, but they felt a bit lacking...they could have been more fleshed out. Of course in saying all of this, I do realize that I am not the target audience for this book. I'm sure if the 5th grader who gave it to me were to rate it, he'd give it a 5!
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Patti's Luck (Sleepover Friends, #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
My rating is based on how much I would have liked this as a ten-year-old. For some reason, I never read any books in the Sleepover Friends' series, even though it's a kind of a cousin-once-removed to the Baby-Sitter's Club series. So when I saw this and another one at a recent library book sale, I figured, why not?
This book has a little of everything most girls like: sleepovers (duh), junk food and baking, talk of boys, games, makeovers with purple hair gel, movies, the paranormal, school fairs, field trips, new friends, and who knows what I've forgotten! Plus, a moment when Stephanie's father cross-dresses as fortune teller at the school fair. That gave me some thoughts about secrets in that family. Maybe that's why they moved from "The City." There's some moments of suspended belief, the biggest is when Patti and Lauren chase after a car (homework was put on the bumper and apparently it stuck real good :P), Lauren (the narrator) loses track of Patti, gets back to school and tells their teacher that Patti's lost. The teacher, being told of a new student unaware of the area being lost, says not to worry(!), that someone will point her back to the school. What?! All I'm thinking is good thing this isn't the real world! Abduction, anybody? There's also a lot of baking these fifth-graders do, they talk surprisingly well, probably better than I do, and have heaps of common sense, but hey, it's a harmless kids' book that I would have gobbled up when I was that age. Overall, it's a cute book that I think even girls today would enjoy.
This book has a little of everything most girls like: sleepovers (duh), junk food and baking, talk of boys, games, makeovers with purple hair gel, movies, the paranormal, school fairs, field trips, new friends, and who knows what I've forgotten! Plus, a moment when Stephanie's father cross-dresses as fortune teller at the school fair. That gave me some thoughts about secrets in that family. Maybe that's why they moved from "The City." There's some moments of suspended belief, the biggest is when Patti and Lauren chase after a car (homework was put on the bumper and apparently it stuck real good :P), Lauren (the narrator) loses track of Patti, gets back to school and tells their teacher that Patti's lost. The teacher, being told of a new student unaware of the area being lost, says not to worry(!), that someone will point her back to the school. What?! All I'm thinking is good thing this isn't the real world! Abduction, anybody? There's also a lot of baking these fifth-graders do, they talk surprisingly well, probably better than I do, and have heaps of common sense, but hey, it's a harmless kids' book that I would have gobbled up when I was that age. Overall, it's a cute book that I think even girls today would enjoy.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated We Are the Goldens in Books
Jun 7, 2018
(This review can be found on my blog <a href="http://themisadventuresofatwentysomething.blogspot.com/">The (Mis)Adventures of a Twenty-Something Year Old Girl</a>).
There was something about this book that intrigued me. Maybe it was the forbidden romance between a student and her teacher. I decided to give this book a try. Although it wasn't as great as I thought it would be, it was still an alright read.
I love the title, and I feel that it fits in really well with the book. These two sisters have always had each other's back and have done nearly everything together.
The cover is okay. I think it looks a bit too cavemanish though instead of two beautiful girls as what is described in the book. Maybe if both girls were looking up and the lighting was different, the cover photo wouldn't look like I was looking at two cavemen.
I enjoyed the world building. We learn about the world through Nell's letters to her sister Layla. (At least it sounded like she was writing a letter(s) to her sister. The author made it easy to understand Nell's and Layla's relationship from the beginning through her fantastic prose.
I thought the pacing held up rather well. There were times when I thought I'd be able to put the book down so I could go to bed or do something else, but I'd always end up reading a few more chapters. It thoroughly held my attention. Plus, I enjoyed the back story leading up to everything immensely.
The plot of the whole teacher-student relationship has been done before. However, Reinhardt makes her story interesting and unlike the other stories. I liked the close relationship that Nell and Layla used to have before Layla started dating her teacher. I was saddened to see it start to unravel over a forbidden romance. There's no plot twists that I read about, but that doesn't hurt the book any. The only thing that annoyed me was the ending. I would've liked to know a bit more such as what happened to Mr. Barr and Layla. That's all I'm saying because I don't want to give away anything that could be deemed as a spoiler.
Nell was instantly likable. There was a certain innocence and vulnerability with her. It was easy to empathize with what she was going through, and I felt like her struggle with keeping her sister's secret was my own as well. I also thought Layla was a fantastic character as well. We get to know her through Nell's letters, and we learn that she too is also very vulnerable and just wants to find her one true love. I loved the character of Felix except that I had a hard time believing that he was into girls as it said in the book. I found his speech to be very effeminate. He reminded me of Damian from the film Mean Girls. Every time Felix was in a scene, I always was picturing Damian. We don't really learn too much about Mr. Barr (the teacher in a relationship with Layla) other that his students all think he's the coolest teacher and the best looking. We also learn that there's rumors about him being with other students previously.
The dialogue flows very smoothly and is never awkward. The speech fits my perception of how teenagers speak. It suits a young adult book. There is some swearing and some sexual references although none that are graphic. There is no violence in this book.
Overall, We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt is an enjoyable read save for the ending. The characters are well written as is the whole entire book. This book deals with subject matter that happens at every school.
I'd recommend this book to those aged 15+ who enjoy realistic fiction and characters that are easy to relate to.
<b>I'd give We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt a 3.5 out of 5.</b>
(I was provided with a free ebook of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review).
There was something about this book that intrigued me. Maybe it was the forbidden romance between a student and her teacher. I decided to give this book a try. Although it wasn't as great as I thought it would be, it was still an alright read.
I love the title, and I feel that it fits in really well with the book. These two sisters have always had each other's back and have done nearly everything together.
The cover is okay. I think it looks a bit too cavemanish though instead of two beautiful girls as what is described in the book. Maybe if both girls were looking up and the lighting was different, the cover photo wouldn't look like I was looking at two cavemen.
I enjoyed the world building. We learn about the world through Nell's letters to her sister Layla. (At least it sounded like she was writing a letter(s) to her sister. The author made it easy to understand Nell's and Layla's relationship from the beginning through her fantastic prose.
I thought the pacing held up rather well. There were times when I thought I'd be able to put the book down so I could go to bed or do something else, but I'd always end up reading a few more chapters. It thoroughly held my attention. Plus, I enjoyed the back story leading up to everything immensely.
The plot of the whole teacher-student relationship has been done before. However, Reinhardt makes her story interesting and unlike the other stories. I liked the close relationship that Nell and Layla used to have before Layla started dating her teacher. I was saddened to see it start to unravel over a forbidden romance. There's no plot twists that I read about, but that doesn't hurt the book any. The only thing that annoyed me was the ending. I would've liked to know a bit more such as what happened to Mr. Barr and Layla. That's all I'm saying because I don't want to give away anything that could be deemed as a spoiler.
Nell was instantly likable. There was a certain innocence and vulnerability with her. It was easy to empathize with what she was going through, and I felt like her struggle with keeping her sister's secret was my own as well. I also thought Layla was a fantastic character as well. We get to know her through Nell's letters, and we learn that she too is also very vulnerable and just wants to find her one true love. I loved the character of Felix except that I had a hard time believing that he was into girls as it said in the book. I found his speech to be very effeminate. He reminded me of Damian from the film Mean Girls. Every time Felix was in a scene, I always was picturing Damian. We don't really learn too much about Mr. Barr (the teacher in a relationship with Layla) other that his students all think he's the coolest teacher and the best looking. We also learn that there's rumors about him being with other students previously.
The dialogue flows very smoothly and is never awkward. The speech fits my perception of how teenagers speak. It suits a young adult book. There is some swearing and some sexual references although none that are graphic. There is no violence in this book.
Overall, We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt is an enjoyable read save for the ending. The characters are well written as is the whole entire book. This book deals with subject matter that happens at every school.
I'd recommend this book to those aged 15+ who enjoy realistic fiction and characters that are easy to relate to.
<b>I'd give We Are the Goldens by Dana Reinhardt a 3.5 out of 5.</b>
(I was provided with a free ebook of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review).
BookInspector (124 KP) rated The Last Act of Hattie Hoffman in Books
Sep 24, 2020
The first thing what attracted me to this book was the cover, a lonely barn in a lovely setting. Another thing was – small town. There is such a low possibility of a crime, that when it happens, it is a centre of attention. It was the same thing in this book; no one expected it to happen, once it did, it became the main talk of a town, which brought out some very interesting and unexpected events and a very boring murderer.
As it was already mentioned in the description, this story is told from three different perspectives: Del’s, Hattie’s English teacher and Hattie. To be honest, the most interesting parts of this book were, when Hattie and her teacher told their story, I believe Del was just an add-on, because his investigation was not the best, and the whole story was opening up very nicely without Del. I think the characters lacked charisma and personality in this book, except for Hattie; she was well rounded and interesting. I really liked Hattie as a character because of her amazing talent of acting and manipulation, she knew what people wanted, and very nicely provided it to them.
The plot of this book didn’t really impress me. I did enjoy the story and the character’s feelings, but I think it lacked some spice in it. The twists and turns were not very story changing and the whole investigation just flowed smoothly. I really liked, that author opened quite a difficult topic of teacher-student love, and why teachers fall for it. I think that aspect was interesting, and along with Hattie’s personality, these were the things which kept me going. There was not much action going on in this novel, but I did like the way author was trying to sidetrack the reader with different possible killers.
The writing style of this novel was easy to read, but the length of the chapters dragged for me. (What can I say, I love short chapters) The ending of the book explained everything really nicely and I did like the conclusion and outcome of this book. So, even though it lacks some action, I still found some parts to enjoy, and if you like small town crime investigations, give it a try, you might like it.
As it was already mentioned in the description, this story is told from three different perspectives: Del’s, Hattie’s English teacher and Hattie. To be honest, the most interesting parts of this book were, when Hattie and her teacher told their story, I believe Del was just an add-on, because his investigation was not the best, and the whole story was opening up very nicely without Del. I think the characters lacked charisma and personality in this book, except for Hattie; she was well rounded and interesting. I really liked Hattie as a character because of her amazing talent of acting and manipulation, she knew what people wanted, and very nicely provided it to them.
The plot of this book didn’t really impress me. I did enjoy the story and the character’s feelings, but I think it lacked some spice in it. The twists and turns were not very story changing and the whole investigation just flowed smoothly. I really liked, that author opened quite a difficult topic of teacher-student love, and why teachers fall for it. I think that aspect was interesting, and along with Hattie’s personality, these were the things which kept me going. There was not much action going on in this novel, but I did like the way author was trying to sidetrack the reader with different possible killers.
The writing style of this novel was easy to read, but the length of the chapters dragged for me. (What can I say, I love short chapters) The ending of the book explained everything really nicely and I did like the conclusion and outcome of this book. So, even though it lacks some action, I still found some parts to enjoy, and if you like small town crime investigations, give it a try, you might like it.