Search

Search only in certain items:

The Salt House
The Salt House
Lisa Duffy | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Hope and Jack Kelly's life changes irrevocably when their young daughter, Maddie, doesn't wake up from her nap. Hope, working a few rooms away from Maddie's crib, is paralyzed by grief and unable to return her to freelance writing job or really, most portions of her life. Jack, meanwhile, throws himself into work to escape the pain: spending hours away from his family on his lobster boat. Maddie's two older sisters, Jess and Kat, are forced to deal with the loss of their sister while watching their parents fall apart. Young Kat is trying to make sense of it all, while teenage Jess struggles watching her parents argue constantly. Then Jack's childhood rival, Finn, returns to town: threatening Jack's fishing territory and sanity.

This is a raw, heartbreaking novel full of real emotion. It's honestly awful and a little gut-wrenching at times: it's so powerfully written that it made me want to hold my two young daughters extra close. The brutal reactions and grief of poor Hope and Jack are tough to read, as is watching their children struggle.

Duffy is an excellent writer: the book is quite well-done. The story unfolds a year after Maddie's death and is told in varying perspectives by each member of the Kelly family. She captures each of their voices perfectly, even young Kat, who may be the best of all.

There is certainly some drama in this novel, though it's mainly the story of two hurt people coping in their own (stubborn) way. My heart went out to Hope, and I quite liked her two daughters, but I found myself often frustrated with Jack, even though I recognized he was grieving. Even so, his stupidity and inability to communicate drove me a bit crazy at times.

This is a well-written story of family, grief, and love. It's not always an easy read, but it's a certainly a worthy one.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher and Edelweiss (thank you!); it is available everywhere as of 06/13/2017.

<center><a href="http://justacatandabookatherside.blogspot.com/">Blog</a>; ~ <a href="https://twitter.com/mwcmoto">Twitter</a>; ~ <a href="https://www.facebook.com/justacatandabook/">Facebook</a>; ~ <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/+KristyHamiltonbooks">Google+</a></center>;
  
Dark Wake (2018)
Dark Wake (2018)
2018 | Horror
Awesome Creature creations, the concept is cool, its pretty unsettling (0 more)
The lead actor seemed indifferent, no answers, the ending (0 more)
A Dark Indie Film
Contains spoilers, click to show
Most likely to the dismay of my friend- who I forced to watch this with me- I had stumbled across this little weird gem of a short film on one of my favorite websites- The 7th Matrix. This is a super easy watch as it is only 17mins long, and, so far, I have only been able to find it on 7th Matrix and www.alldark.net. Dark Wake, directed by Abdul Ali, is about a man who wakes up in his small apartment with no memory of who he is. The odd gets odder in this short film, as a red and black hole appears in the wall. A 'person' on the other side of the hole, of whom we only see a wrinkled and scarred lower half of their face, tells the confused man that they have talked before and that he must remember something in order to save himself, then almost happily says that they have a guest. The creatures of the film- of which there is three, not including the thing in the wall- show up pretty quickly and had pretty cool designs to them, even though you could guess at the practical parts that made them up. The sole purpose of the creatures seemed to be to eat the man over and over again, along with whoever else was in the same oblivion the man was in- which the thing in the wall said was not Hell, despite it's continued use of the words "Down Here." The ending was odd and left much to go, wtf over, as the man was finally able to escape his room, which seemed to upset the thing in the wall. Aside from the ending, the only thing that stood out as an issue was how calm the main character was with everything that was happening to him, except when he was getting eaten. Be sure to give this a watch if you are into the odd indie film.
  
Favorite Flavor by Virgin Miri
Favorite Flavor by Virgin Miri
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Virgin Miri is a singer-songwriter from Sweden. Not too long ago, she released a bouncy Scandi-pop tune, entitled, “Favorite Flavor”.

“When I wake, I wanna bake ya and hide your clothes. You can stay with me forever, I wanna overdose. I can’t get enough of you. Can I keep you in my room? Wear you like a new perfume. I can’t get enough, you’re my favorite flavor. Spicy chili, baby, hotter than a fever.” – lyrics

‘Favorite Flavor’ tells a slightly psychotic tale of a young woman who enjoys a perfect sleepover with her significant other.

Apparently, she has no self-control when he’s around, and every day she can’t seem to get enough of him.

Later, she admits that when she’s done with him, she’s going to wrap him up like candy and save him for later.

‘Favorite Flavor’ contains a dreamy storyline, pleasant vocals, and bouncy instrumentation flavored with playful synths and sticky kicks.

Also, the likable tune was partly inspired by a friend who hugged her bunny so hard it suffocated.

“‘Favorite Flavor’ is a love song about the honeymoon phase. When you can’t sleep because the butterflies in your belly keep you up. And you just want to hang out and make out forever.” – Virgin Miri

As a teen, Virgin Miri co-founded the controversial pop-duo, Cupid Kidz, “Sweden’s most dangerous band” according to Channel 4 News.

After a few age-restricted music videos and getting banned in the city of Falun, she moved to New York to chase the American dream.

Two years later, she found herself with an expired visa and a broken heart. She quit her job, boyfriend, and hairstyle. Also, she bought a one-way ticket to Mexico, where she crashed her best friend’s honeymoon.

Under a palm tree by the Caribbean sea, she ate 200 tacos and wrote 200 songs. With a new sound, she returned home to reside and create bedroom pop in her dad’s Stockholm office.

‘Favorite Flavor’ is the first single from Virgin Miri’s upcoming debut EP, which was written and produced with Hessam Esfahani.

https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/virgin-miri-favorite-flavor/
  
Every Day
Every Day
David Levithan | 2013 | Children
6
7.6 (13 Ratings)
Book Rating
Every Day is an amazing story about an entity named A, that gets to wake up in a new body every day. A doesn’t know if it’s going to be male or female, or the person’s ethnicity. A has to adapt to a whole new person every day. Until one day, A wakes up as Justin, a less than stellar individual. Enter Rihannon, Justin’s girlfriend, and A is smitten. Unable to think of anyone else A tries every day after to get back to Rihannon in some way.
I love how this book was written. I thought it was brilliantly done. I can’t imagine how hard it would be to write and develop so many characters while moving the story forward at the same time. Levithan does this with ease. A is a great character, easy to root for, but also easy to hate. I didn’t agree with some of the decisions that A made, but that didn’t detract from the story, for me.
Rihannon is a great character. My heart broke for her. I pitied her. She has this terrible boyfriend, then an entity who jumps bodies every day enters her life and piles onto her already heaping plate. Her family life isn’t the greatest either which we get to see a couple of times throughout the book.
This book is fast paced, the constant new characters keeps the experience fresh and the reader turning the page. I loved this book…Until the end. Then I was just angry. The way this book ended left me hurling expletives into the dim empty bedroom around me. I absolutely hated the way this book ended. There could easily have been another 200 pages of story. I know there is a companion novel but it’s written from Rihannon’s point of view. I need a continuation of A’s story. I need a second novel.
If you’ve read this book, please let me know what you thought of the end.

*Note: I just found out that there is a sequel called Someday being released on October 2nd of this year.
  
    Herald Sun/Sunday HS Edition

    Herald Sun/Sunday HS Edition

    News and Magazines & Newspapers

    (0 Ratings) Rate It

    App

    Experience today's Herald Sun like never before. This app brings you the complete news of the day...