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Nine Perfect Strangers
Nine Perfect Strangers
Liane Moriarty | 2018 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
9
6.9 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
Laugh-out-loud funny (2 more)
Engaging characters
Great plot
Pacing a little slow (0 more)
My Rating is 9/10! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
I love this book. It's a funny, entertaining, and imaginative book about the issues that affect many people from all walks of life. It's also a definite must-read for all Liane Moriarty fans out there.

Nine people, of all ages, have booked into a health resort called Tranquillum House for a break. They are all going there for their own reasons. Located in Australia, Tranquillum House is a "boutique health and wellness resort" where a new you awaits. The resort is owned and run by Masha, a ruthlessly ambitious Russian. She is a former company executive who, ten years prior, experienced a near-death experience leading to her to choose a different life direction. However, Masha, assisted by her loyal staff members, Yao and Delilah, has a dark and sinister agenda for her nine new customers, although she is driven by good intentions.

The guests get a lot more than they bargained for with their ten-day cleansing programme of diet, light exercise, therapy and spa treatments. First, we are introduced to Frances, a romance novel writer whose career has taken a nosedive. Then Tony, who is divorced and has recently lost his much-loved dog has booked into Tranquillum House for weight loss. Lars, a divorce lawyer, is a regular guest of health resorts. Ben and his wife Jessica have won millions on the lottery, but their marriage is in jeopardy. The Marconi family, Napoleon, a teacher, his wife, Heather and their daughter Zoe have booked in for stress relief and appear to be weighed down by grief and guilt. Carmel, a divorced mum of four girls, has lost her husband to a younger woman and is troubled by her very low self-esteem.

All of the characters are wonderfully developed and are all so hopeful for their stay at the health resort. Their interactions with each other are fabulously entertaining, particularly those including my two favourites, Frances and Yao. Frances, for me, was hilarious and I loved the portrayal of the obsessive and infatuated Yao. Masha, exotic, charismatic and narcissistic, has plans for all of the guests that she truly believes will transform their lives and will reward her a glorious and promising future.

Humour and wit in are both in abundance in this novel where people with little in common with each other come together in circumstances where they form unexpected bonds with one another. There are, however, some terribly sad experiences for some of them, including Masha, that eventually became apparent by the end. I did find the pacing a little slow at times but it picked up during a very suspenseful second half of the novel. I couldn't really guess how this book would end but I absolutely loved the way the story was concluded.

Whilst "Nine Perfect Strangers" might not be everyone's favourite novel by Liane Moriarty, including mine, (I think "Big Little Lies" is a better book), it was still a hugely enjoyable read. Overall, I would say that Liane Moriarty has created a book with engaging characters, a surprising plot and some very insightful writing, which I am extremely pleased I have read!
  
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    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please note, this application is for PiXL school members only and you will need to get your school id from your teacher if your school is a member of the PiXL club. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The PiXL Maths App (PMA) is a skills based assessment program. The app successfully highlights your strengths and your areas to develop. This is a very useful and accurate tool to use prior to any test to help rank which revision topics are of the most importance. The app is setup in such a way to guide you through a wide range of Mathematical topics. The PMA assesses generic skill based Mathematical knowledge; it therefore suitably matches the AQA, Edexcel or OCR schemes of learning. INSTRUCTIONS: After installation, you are presented with a login screen. You will need to create your own account following the on screen instructions. Keep your login details safe as all future results will be stored under your account. This incredibly powerful tool then helps you to start identifying areas you need to revise. By answering each of the online questions, the app highlights the objectives you have successfully completed and which ones you will need to work on. After some targeted revision, you can then return back to the app to see if you have improved. With each access, the questions are refreshed so you can assess yourself with a similar problem but with different numbers. To aid with closing the gap, therapy videos can be found within in question to help target specific skills. Take a challenge - select your target grade and you will be given a bespoke program of questions to help you achieve it. CONTENTS: The app covers the following range of topics: Statistics and Number - 1) Mean, mode, median and range 2) Pictogram and tally tables 3) Bar charts 4) Probability 5) Stem and leaf 6) Two-way tables 7) Scatter diagrams 8) Percentages and ratio 9) Pie charts 10) Frequency polygons 11) Cumulative frequency tables and graphs 12) Box plots 13) Histograms 14) Upper and lower bounds Number and Algebra - 1) Operating with integers, decimals and directed numbers (negatives) 2) Place value, BIDMAS and rounding 3) Factors, multiples, HCF and LCM 4) Indices and standard index form 5) Surds 6) Ratio and proportion 7) Fractions, decimals and percentages 8) Equations and simultaneous equations 9) Quadratics - factorising and completing the square 10) Sequences - inc. understanding of nth term rules 11) Linear graphs - y = mx + c 12) Real life graphs - speed, distance and time calculations 13) Inequalities - inc. interpretation of graphical inequalitites 14) Substituting into formulae 15) Changing the subject / rearranging a formula Geometry and Algebra - 1) Properties of shapes - inc. angles on parallel lines, interior and exterior angles 2) Circle theorems 3) Congruence and similarity 4) Area and perimeter 5) Volume and surface area 6) Transformations 7) Vectors 8) Direct and inverse proportion 9) Bearings and measure - inc. approximations and metric/imperial conversions 10) Algebraic manipulation and equations 11) Pythagoras' theorem 12) Trigonometry 13) Trial and improvement 14) Graph transformations 15) Dimensional analysis 16) Ratio and similarity 17) Loci 18) Nets, plans and elevations 19) Real life graphs SUPPORT: Before rating the app, please let me know of any suggestions you might have on how I might improve the app. Any topics you think I may have missed or you happen to perhaps find some glaring glitches, then please email me first at mrwslab@gmail.com. The app has taken a considerable amount of my personal time to develop so please give it 5 stars to say "thank you".