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Sam (74 KP) rated How Do You Like Me Now? in Books

Mar 27, 2019

How Do You Like Me Now?

Holly Bourne | 2018 | Fiction & Poetry

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Okay, so I think I’m the only person left who hasn’t read anything by Holly Bourne before this point. I didn’t even realise she was a YA author before checking out her twitter, and I’m definitely going to get some of her YA novels now.

Tori is an author of a self-help novel about how to survive your twenties. Now in her thirties, she’s lost, unhappy, and worried about where her life is going. On top of that, she has got another inspirational book about how brilliant and perfect her life is waiting to be written.

Only her life isn’t perfect. She’s falling out of love with ‘The One’, constantly worried about looking too old and not seeming perfect enough on social media for her fans, and she feels unsuccessful.

It was really nice to read an honest book for once that shows that someone’s persona on social media is not who they really are. Tori is constantly posting on social media about how perfect her relationship is and how successful she is, when really, her life is the exact opposite.

The novel focused on Tori trying to find her happiness again without hurting people around her, and trying to write her next novel that thousands of people are desparate for.

The whole book was a nice surprise, as it was brutally honest and still an entertaining read. I devoured it in a couple of days, never wanting to put it down.

I did feel that the plot was lacking a bit. It did just seem like the whole thing was a bit of a sub-plot, but that did make it a nice, easy, and quick read.

I will definitely be checking out more of Holly Bourne’s books now.

Kudos

Gareth von Kallenbach (980 KP) rated Friend Request (2016) in Movies

Jun 19, 2019

Friend Request (2016)

2016 | Horror, International, Mystery

5.1

(8 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Social media has come to play a vital role in our lives. Whether it is Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat or any other service, we cannot seem to escape the hashtags or trending topics. Social media has us feeling more and more connected with each day that passes. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case for all who have access to the internet.

In Friend Request audiences are introduced to Laura, a popular college student, who befriends a lonely girl, Marina, when a friend request comes through her social media feed. She recognizes something unique about the young girl and feels the need to at least reach a hand out to her. This move proves to be a mistake as Marina becomes very clingy and eventually prompts Laura to push her away and back to her lonely existence. Laura and her friends are quickly thrown into a world where they are haunted and pursued by demonic beings.

The film is ambitious in trying to be more layered than a film with the similar premise of having the internet play an important role in terrorizing the characters. Sadly, the Friend Request becomes to complex. There are several aspects of the story that are inconsistent and raise eyebrows as it makes one question where the story is going. It disappoints in not investing enough time in making the audience actually fear the demon that Marina eventually becomes. The opportunity for a building of tension, paranoia, and claustrophobia is completely missed because of a lack of depth with the characters and a running tally on screen to demonstrate how Laura is continuously losing friends due to the meddling of Marina’s spirit hacking her interfering with her Facebook account.

Friend Request misses the mark in trying to be a truly inventive horror film as it finds itself without an identity.

http://sknr.net/2017/09/22/friend-request/