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K-12 (2019)
K-12 (2019)
2019 | Drama, Fantasy, Musical
At a mesmerizing crossroads between 𝘈 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘞𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 and 𝘓𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘥𝘦, didn't know what the fuck I was watching half the time and I think that's precisely why I loved it. Blurs the line between sick and sweet exactly the way it wants to. Point of note that I've never been a huge Melanie Martinez fan, so this is my first 'real' experience with her. I think her passion (she co-wrote, directed, starred in, and costumed the thing) clearly shows in this endearingly clunky phantasmagoria of absurdist gore, demon cringe, political hostility, and demented babycore. The type of product where there's people throwing bowls of cockroaches at others, vomiting up orange liquid, then tearing out their eyeballs and swapping them between blunt critiques on American exceptionalism and musical numbers about body image and identity reclamation. The photography, sets, and costumes/wigs/makeup is seriously next level and it helps that the acting - shockingly - doesn't suck. The back half of the album has some clinical bops. For sure the one of these album-long music videos that feels closest to an actual movie, if this were any other artist you all would have adored it 🤐

Strawberry Shortcake > Class Fight > Lunchbox Friends > Fire Drill (should have been on the album) > Teacher's Pet > Detention > Orange Juice > Wheels on the Bus > Recess > The Principal > High School Sweethearts > Drama Club > Show & Tell > Nurse's Office.
  
The Name of the Rose
The Name of the Rose
Umberto Eco | 2008 | Fiction & Poetry
10
8.4 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
A labyrinth of mystery with multiple dimensions, pitfalls, dead ends and revelations. (2 more)
The story and structure are brilliant.
The characters are genius and the narrative is written in way that you get sucked into and are part of the narrative.
Brilliant and entertaining introduction to semiotics.
I first read this book in my freshman or sophomore year in college after having seen the Sean Connery film adaptation. Like most novels that movies are based on, the book was far better than the movie. The movie was just a superficial touching on the themes of the book but the book was a multi dimensional journey through art, philosophy, literature and theology while captivating the reader in a very good murder mystery. The tragedy of the book is the revelation to the reader that our tendency to try to form connections between random events as and ideas is futile. The library is an allegory to the house of cards that comes crashing down when we create false narratives on tenuous connections between randomn events and ideas; connections that don't really exist.

Eco takes all of his academic experience that he has absorbed in the years and uses fiction to not only tell a good story but also to challenge us on how we see the world and interpret the signs and symbols we come into contact.
  
Great and Small Easter
Great and Small Easter
B&H Kids Editorial Staff | 2021 | Children
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Looking forward to the spring. Well, this book I found is just right. It is called Great and Small Easter. It is a good one to have on your little ones' bookshelves. It is a flap book. Which is good for the little one to open the flap.

You and your child can open the flaps and learn new animal sounds. I am rating this book 4.5 only because I got it in the format of a digital and not the board book. I could not open the flaps like in a physical copy. This one should be only in a physical copy and not a digital copy. Other than that this book is good.

The pictures are done well. The picture is pretty to look at. The rhyming is sweet. The animals that are shown tell about a new spring and holiday is about. It is not too complicated. If I had received his book in the physical copy I would have reviewed it and then sent it to my little cousin who would be enjoying them.

I do enjoy these little flap books. They can be enjoyed by all and little ones throughout the year. Any child or children would enjoy opening the flaps and learn different animal sounds or sounds that deal with the spring-like weather.
  
Broken Beauty (Broken Beauty Novellas #1)
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I received this ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars.

This is a novella length story, the first of six, and deals with the aftermath and issues surrounding rape. It was a tough read at times but a good strong story.

I felt sorry for Mia. Being brought up in a political family and then being raped…and her father wants to glorify it to get more voters so he can win his election. How twisted can your life get? Her family do and say things to get voters, whether it’s helping Mia cope or not–mainly not–and I wanted to scream and shout at them in her defence.

And despite all that, some people do care. Dom, the policeman that found her in the first place, tries to help her realise that the only way her attackers will not get away with it, is to tell the truth and stop following her family’s wish to let it drop. He’s so nice and gentle with her. Her friend, Ari, tries to do whatever Mia wants but seeing how she’s struggling…what can you do?

It’s an emotional and sometimes tough story to read but after finishing this, I’m looking forward to the next part in the series to see what Mia does next. I hope she’s strong enough to go against her family.
  
Delinquent (Academy of Misfits #1)
Delinquent (Academy of Misfits #1)
Bea Paige | 2020 | Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
213
Kindle
Delinquent (Academy of Misfits book 1)
By Bea Paige

Once read a review will be written via Smashbomb and link posted in comments.

 
I’m the kid your parents warned you about…

Eighteen months in prison or doing time at Oceanside Academy.
Reform school has met its match in me, even if it is full of young offenders. Thieves, graffiti writers, drug runners and other petty criminals reside within the walls, and I'm just like them.
But what they didn't tell me was that I'd be one of only a handful of girls in a hoard full of boys. It'll take more than just street smarts to keep my wits about me.
Everyone here has a chip on their shoulders, and I'm no different. Mine's one of the biggest, that's why they call me Asia because I have one as large as a continent.
Rules or not, these bad boys are about to discover I've earned my label for reason...
I'm the biggest misfit of them all.



Not the usual school/academy I’m used to reading for this one has no actual magic! But I have to say I really enjoyed the set up, the story and the characters! Growing up in a broken home is not easy and I think Bea captur these kids well! Those stick in a situation they can’t control or get out of!
  
    Halloween ®

    Halloween ®

    Music and Entertainment

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ClareR (6037 KP) rated Below the Big Blue Sky in Books

Jul 30, 2020 (Updated Jul 30, 2020)  
Below the Big Blue Sky
Below the Big Blue Sky
Anna McPartlin | 2020 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Humor & Comedy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I read this wonderful book, not having read the book that comes before it: ‘The Last Days of Rabbit Hayes’. This didn’t spoil my reading enjoyment at all though, and stood on its own perfectly well. Saying that, I have now bought Rabbit Hayes - mainly because I don’t want to let go of the wonderful characters in this book just yet!

This is the story of how Rabbits family and best friend cope after her death. It’s the story about their grief, their loss and how they go about getting on with their lives in the aftermath.

I can’t even tell you how often this book made me cry, but I can say that I laughed in equal measure. The author has created these highly likeable, realistic characters, and it’s so easy to empathise with them.

I just loved it. I was an absolute mess whilst reading it (thank god for reading during the summer holidays!), but I loved it. Oh, and when I grow up, I want to be just like Molly Hayes. That woman is the mistress of the one liner and rules in the art of foul language. As my son would say: #goals.
I would highly recommend this book.
Thank you to The Pigeonhole for serialising this, and to Anna McPartlin for joining in!