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U Is for Undertow (Kinsey Millhone, #21)
9.0
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Sue Grafton takes the mystery genre to new heights with this twisting, complex #1 New York Times...
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Stable Boy of Auschwitz [Audiobook] in Books
Mar 26, 2023
![The Stable Boy of Auschwitz [Audiobook]](/uploads/profile_image/894/4eea604c-e06f-47b8-99c8-008ccb3ac894.jpg?m=1679836550)
I have read a few books about the Holocaust during World War II but I have never listened to one before and, let me tell you, I found this audiobook just as powerful and heart-wrenching listening to William Hope's excellent narration.
Each book I have read about the Holocaust and World War II has provided another piece of history I was not fully aware of and The Stable Boy of Auschwitz is no different. It charts the remarkable life of Henry Oster before, during and after the war.
It is, as you can imagine, a very difficult book to read/listen to but it is also very powerful and inspirational and shows one boy's exceptional journey of survival from freedom, to the ghetto, to Auschwitz, on the forced marches, to Buchenwald and, finally, freedom again and is a story that should be shared as all survivors accounts should be.
I must thank Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of The Stable Boy of Auschwitz and for continuing to ensure that these stories continue to be published so they are not forgotten.
Each book I have read about the Holocaust and World War II has provided another piece of history I was not fully aware of and The Stable Boy of Auschwitz is no different. It charts the remarkable life of Henry Oster before, during and after the war.
It is, as you can imagine, a very difficult book to read/listen to but it is also very powerful and inspirational and shows one boy's exceptional journey of survival from freedom, to the ghetto, to Auschwitz, on the forced marches, to Buchenwald and, finally, freedom again and is a story that should be shared as all survivors accounts should be.
I must thank Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for enabling me to listen to and share my thoughts of The Stable Boy of Auschwitz and for continuing to ensure that these stories continue to be published so they are not forgotten.
Lindsay (1760 KP) rated Robbie Robin in Books
Nov 22, 2021
Robbie Robin teaches children and others about birds. A little about taking care of young birds. Your child or children will learn the life lessons that birds or some animals imply, letting go and living where they happened to exist.
This book follows that journey. However, most of the children in the book did not do much to care for the bird. It mainly was their mother. All family members learn what it is like to raise a baby bird. I know that a true story inspires this.
This book is really for children that can read. The print is a bit small for children. I would think this book means more geared more advanced readers. Otherwise, the book signifies achieved well. The pictures are well-drawn. I did enjoy the images. Images were great to look at, and they could somewhat tell the story.
What will the family do when it is time for Robbie to go? What will Robbie do? Does the mother seem to feel heartfelt when Robbie leaves the nest? This book does teach some tough lessons about wildlife and letting go.
This book follows that journey. However, most of the children in the book did not do much to care for the bird. It mainly was their mother. All family members learn what it is like to raise a baby bird. I know that a true story inspires this.
This book is really for children that can read. The print is a bit small for children. I would think this book means more geared more advanced readers. Otherwise, the book signifies achieved well. The pictures are well-drawn. I did enjoy the images. Images were great to look at, and they could somewhat tell the story.
What will the family do when it is time for Robbie to go? What will Robbie do? Does the mother seem to feel heartfelt when Robbie leaves the nest? This book does teach some tough lessons about wildlife and letting go.
The Imposter
8.5
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They say you can't choose your family . . . But what if they're wrong? Chloe lives a quiet life....
Psychological thriller
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Made You Up in Books
Jun 22, 2021
I'm big into books that deal with mental illnesses. When I heard about Made You Up by Francesca Zappia, I knew it was a book that was right up my alley. I was not left feeling disappointed.
The plot and world building felt very realistic although I'm not Schizophrenic nor do I know anyone who is. I could not tell what was real and what was a delusion by Alex. Kudos to Zappia for giving us a brief glimpse into how a Schizophrenic would feel. I kept second guessing myself throughout Made You Up. Sometimes it would be obvious that Alex was hallucinating, but there were many times everything felt too real to be a hallucination. I would be wrong, and something realistic would be a hallucination. As you can imagine, there were many plot twists throughout this book. There was one major plot twist which I had predicted towards the beginning which turned out to be true thanks to subtle hints the author would throw in, so be sure to be attention to every word on the page to try to grasp what is Alex's reality and what is not. I did feel like the main storyline of Made You Up was whether or not Miles, the boy Alex met briefly when she was a young child, was actually real or not since she meets him again her senior year of high school. It was fun trying to guess if Miles was real or not and if he was the same boy Alex met as a child.
All of the characters in Made You Up had a lot of depth to them. They were all easy for me to imagine as real people instead of characters in a book. I enjoyed reading about Alex and her thought process and what all she had to go through all the time due to her Schizophrenia. Alex, like all the characters in this book, was a very likable character. Miles was interesting. I didn't really know what to make of him throughout the book (mainly because I was trying to figure out if he was real or imaginary). I did enjoy him, and I was definitely intrigued by his back story. It was great learning about him. I loved little Charlie and how much she seemed to love her big sister, Alex. Alex loved Charlie so much as well, and I loved reading about the tight sisterly bond between them.
Trigger warnings for Made You Up include some profanity, some violence, death, minor gore, some child abuse, mental illness, a minor sexual situation, bullying, references to Nazis, attempted murder, and death.
All in all, Made You Up is a very interesting read with a fantastic plot and well developed characters. It's obvious the author did her homework before writing this novel. I would definitely recommend Made You Up by Francesca Zappia to those aged 16+ who are seeking a book full of twists and turns. Just be warned that this book will have you second guessing almost everything (which isn't a bad thing).
The plot and world building felt very realistic although I'm not Schizophrenic nor do I know anyone who is. I could not tell what was real and what was a delusion by Alex. Kudos to Zappia for giving us a brief glimpse into how a Schizophrenic would feel. I kept second guessing myself throughout Made You Up. Sometimes it would be obvious that Alex was hallucinating, but there were many times everything felt too real to be a hallucination. I would be wrong, and something realistic would be a hallucination. As you can imagine, there were many plot twists throughout this book. There was one major plot twist which I had predicted towards the beginning which turned out to be true thanks to subtle hints the author would throw in, so be sure to be attention to every word on the page to try to grasp what is Alex's reality and what is not. I did feel like the main storyline of Made You Up was whether or not Miles, the boy Alex met briefly when she was a young child, was actually real or not since she meets him again her senior year of high school. It was fun trying to guess if Miles was real or not and if he was the same boy Alex met as a child.
All of the characters in Made You Up had a lot of depth to them. They were all easy for me to imagine as real people instead of characters in a book. I enjoyed reading about Alex and her thought process and what all she had to go through all the time due to her Schizophrenia. Alex, like all the characters in this book, was a very likable character. Miles was interesting. I didn't really know what to make of him throughout the book (mainly because I was trying to figure out if he was real or imaginary). I did enjoy him, and I was definitely intrigued by his back story. It was great learning about him. I loved little Charlie and how much she seemed to love her big sister, Alex. Alex loved Charlie so much as well, and I loved reading about the tight sisterly bond between them.
Trigger warnings for Made You Up include some profanity, some violence, death, minor gore, some child abuse, mental illness, a minor sexual situation, bullying, references to Nazis, attempted murder, and death.
All in all, Made You Up is a very interesting read with a fantastic plot and well developed characters. It's obvious the author did her homework before writing this novel. I would definitely recommend Made You Up by Francesca Zappia to those aged 16+ who are seeking a book full of twists and turns. Just be warned that this book will have you second guessing almost everything (which isn't a bad thing).
MoneyWiz 2 - Personal Finance
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Simplify your financial life with MoneyWiz. Have all your accounts, budgets and bills in one place!...
Formula Cartoon All-Stars – Crazy Cart Racing with Your Favorite Cartoon Network Characters
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Get ready to race with your favorite Cartoon Network characters on spectacular 3D tracks full of...
Dianne Robbins (1738 KP) rated Adrift (2018) in Movies
May 25, 2019
Confusing (1 more)
Grim
Contains spoilers, click to show
You are immediately thrown into the action of Tami coming to after being tossed about below deck from the hurricane. Had I not been reading a play-by-play on IMDB, I might have been more confused than I was but I was intrigued by what I read so I wanted to see how it all played out onscreen. I would have preferred to see the hurricane shown because I'm a fan of disaster films, but instead, we are shown the aftermath and flashbacks of the couple's first meeting and the romance that followed. I would also have liked to see more of the actual rescue and her telling her story to the Japanese sailors and/or people in Hawaii when she was taken to the island instead of brief and vague glimpses of it.
The doldrums of trying to survive aboard a broken vessel and all the boredom of hours upon hours of being adrift is shown.
The acting is decent enough.
There is very little excitement to hold one's interest. I was disappointed that in the movie but it wasn't my story to tell. This is based on the true story of Tami Oldham Ashcraft, who is listed as one of the writers and is shown briefly at the end of the movie.
It's not great. Reading about the actual story online is more satisfying. I am curious about Ashcraft's book but it's probably as boring as the movie.
The doldrums of trying to survive aboard a broken vessel and all the boredom of hours upon hours of being adrift is shown.
The acting is decent enough.
There is very little excitement to hold one's interest. I was disappointed that in the movie but it wasn't my story to tell. This is based on the true story of Tami Oldham Ashcraft, who is listed as one of the writers and is shown briefly at the end of the movie.
It's not great. Reading about the actual story online is more satisfying. I am curious about Ashcraft's book but it's probably as boring as the movie.
Fred (860 KP) rated Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) in Movies
Jun 3, 2019
Long Live the King!
Funny how people complained about the 2014 Godzilla movie saying there wasn't enough Godzilla in it. Anyone who is a fan know most Godzilla movies don't have a lot of Godzilla in it. Anyway, now they're complaining about too many monsters. Ridiculous. Let me tell you, this film is for Godzilla fans & boy does it deliver. The story is good enough. I won't give too much away, but the monsters (Titans as they are called here) are woken up & only Godzilla can stop them.
The movie is still pretty heavy on the human story, but it's just the right amount. It ends with a grand Godzilla fight. I'm sure you all know which monsters are involved in the film. By using CGI, they not only look spectacular, but you can get many angles & views of them that you couldn't get by guys in rubber suits. There are so many cool scenes, my favorite maybe being Rodan against the jets. Mothra also appears in the film. Sorry, no tiny singing ladies. But, the song is in the movie! In fact, all of the songs are in the movie! It was great hearing the monster's themes play when they appeared on the screen. Nothing gets you going more than hearing the Godzilla theme playing while he stomps towards the enemy.
The human actors do the job moving things along. There's some corny dialogue (You're a monster!") but we're not talking Shakespeare here anyway. If you're looking for something fun to see, go right out & see this now!
The movie is still pretty heavy on the human story, but it's just the right amount. It ends with a grand Godzilla fight. I'm sure you all know which monsters are involved in the film. By using CGI, they not only look spectacular, but you can get many angles & views of them that you couldn't get by guys in rubber suits. There are so many cool scenes, my favorite maybe being Rodan against the jets. Mothra also appears in the film. Sorry, no tiny singing ladies. But, the song is in the movie! In fact, all of the songs are in the movie! It was great hearing the monster's themes play when they appeared on the screen. Nothing gets you going more than hearing the Godzilla theme playing while he stomps towards the enemy.
The human actors do the job moving things along. There's some corny dialogue (You're a monster!") but we're not talking Shakespeare here anyway. If you're looking for something fun to see, go right out & see this now!