Search

Search only in certain items:

The Hate u Give
The Hate u Give
Angie Thomas | 2017 | Children
7
8.4 (54 Ratings)
Book Rating
Good but a little one sided
This is one of those books that has been lauded because it’s relevant and moving subject matter, and for this I’d have to agree with them. it features a very emotive subject and deals with it in a fairly appropriate manner. Starr and her family are well rounded characters all likeable and flawed in their own ways, and there are a lot of conversations and family interactions during the book that had me smile or laugh out loud. I do have an issue with Starr herself, as she can be an irritating petulant teenager at times. I also have a general issue with this book. It’s about racism and raises a lot of valid issues and points, however it sometimes come across as very one sided. There is no justification for any actions of the police in this, however racism is a wide ranging issue and this book only tackles one side. It doesn’t address or even acknowledge when any of the main characters are being racist towards white people, or people are being accused of racism even when that may not be the case. Police brutality and racism is a big problem and there’s no denying that, and this book does a good job in tackling and raising some of these issues. But I feel like the true solution to racism is equality for all, and it doesn’t really address any thing like this.
  
40x40

ClareR (5950 KP) rated Elefant in Books

Jul 24, 2018  
Elefant
Elefant
Martin Suter | 2018 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
A morality tale with a glow in the dark, pink elephant....
An alcoholic, homeless man (Schoch), wakes up to see a small pink, glow in the dark elephant in his sleeping place. He puts it down to the drink, and goes back to sleep. The thing is, it's still there when he wakes up. Schoch later discovers that the small pink elephant has been genetically engineered solely to make money, and those who created it couldn't care less about it's welfare. These people want their elephant back and will do anything to get it.
This is a story about the ethical treatment of animals (and of the way that the homeless are treated and regarded), friendship, and what people will do to save the vulnerable.
I really liked all of the characters in this book: Schocha homeless man who takes on the responsibility of caring for the elephant; Kuang the elephant trainer and 'oozie' (I've never heard of this term before), the vet who gives up her house and job to care for the elephant, Roux the immoral geneticist (now he was a rather amusing character at times!).
I liked the style of this - I think that may be partly from the translation process (it was originally written in German). It was a fast, easy and very entertaining read.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.
  
40x40

HLD (99 KP) rated The Alienist - Season 1 in TV

Aug 22, 2018 (Updated Aug 22, 2018)  
The Alienist  - Season 1
The Alienist - Season 1
2018 | Drama
Superb scenery (2 more)
I imagine a close representation of the time period
Character development is slight in some of the main cast, but it is there
Dakota Fanning never smiles. Not once (1 more)
For all the terrible things that happen, I don't feel, as a viewer, the terrible people got what they deserved
Engaging and thrilling
Much like 'Hannibal', or 'Mindhunter', this show attempts to put our protagonist in the mind of the monster he is hunting. Although it takes him a while to realise that is indeed what he is doing.

This is in interesting idea for a show. Before Psychology was a respected field of medicine, you have alienists. Essentially doing the same job, but categorised differently.

Every character appears to have demons of their own. By the end of the season, they confront those demons simply by talking about them aloud to another person.

Also, was paedophilia as accepted 118 years ago as this show portrays? Is it merely an exaggeration of some historical accounts? Who knows, but it definitely created an unhealthy dynamic within society.
Everyone cares so much about the murders of these young men, but nobody cares about the children living on the streets. Or the people having sex with them.

The filming of the show does out-perform some of the acting, but the scenery added to the storylines that occur are sure to keep you entertained until episode ten.
  
40x40

Ronnie (304 KP) rated We Are Young in Books

Jan 26, 2020  
We Are Young
We Are Young
Cat Clarke | 2018 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Recently I have been struggling to find a good book but 'We Are Young' hooked me in immediately! I loved that the book started in such a dramatic way, leaving the reader with a need to find out what happened.
I loved seeing the changes in all the relationships throughout the book, but the two loved in particular were Evan’s with her Dad and her relationship with Lewis.
Evan needed to know what happened that night because no one in the car had any reason to be there with those people and with Lewis being the sole survivor, Evan had to find out what happened on her own. I loved Evan’s hard work to find out what had happened, and it made me love her.
Clarke has an amazing way of changing the way feel about certain characters change throughout the book and that is something I love because it helps you see that some people are just misunderstood… or evil.
I have to say that my favourite element of the book was the casual use of LGBT+. Many authors would make a big deal out of it, but Clarke was not like that. I have been trying to find a book with casual mentions of LGBT+ and I managed to stumble upon it here!
Overall, it was an amazing book and I look forward to reading more by Cat Clarke in the future!