Search
Search results
Christine A. (965 KP) rated Someone Like Me in Books
Dec 29, 2018
See all of my reviews at philomathinphila.com.
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
M.R. Carey is known for writing "The Girl with all the Gifts" among many others. His latest, "Someone Like Me" has been shelved on Goodreads as fiction, fantasy, horror, thriller, and mystery. "Someone Like Me" is hard to categorize but easy to get sucked into. It is a long book with 500 pages so, if you have plans, make sure to set a timer. It was easy to keep reading without a break. I do not want to give too much away. It's a family drama about Liz, her children, her abuse ex-husband, and her neighbors but it is also much more. If M.R. Carey had left out the rest concerning Fran and Liz's alter-ego, the story would be a well written story about a single mom trying to raise two kids. It is the rest that makes the story extremely interesting. I have always been fascinated with Psychology, thrillers, and fantasy. Mix the three together, add some good writing, and an interesting story and I'm hooked. Carey's writing is descriptive but he does not overdo it.
If you like a book that opens with action and requires you to figure what is going on then this is for you.
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
M.R. Carey is known for writing "The Girl with all the Gifts" among many others. His latest, "Someone Like Me" has been shelved on Goodreads as fiction, fantasy, horror, thriller, and mystery. "Someone Like Me" is hard to categorize but easy to get sucked into. It is a long book with 500 pages so, if you have plans, make sure to set a timer. It was easy to keep reading without a break. I do not want to give too much away. It's a family drama about Liz, her children, her abuse ex-husband, and her neighbors but it is also much more. If M.R. Carey had left out the rest concerning Fran and Liz's alter-ego, the story would be a well written story about a single mom trying to raise two kids. It is the rest that makes the story extremely interesting. I have always been fascinated with Psychology, thrillers, and fantasy. Mix the three together, add some good writing, and an interesting story and I'm hooked. Carey's writing is descriptive but he does not overdo it.
If you like a book that opens with action and requires you to figure what is going on then this is for you.
Christine A. (965 KP) rated The Swallows in Books
Jan 30, 2020 (Updated Jan 31, 2020)
I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.
Lisa Lutz's latest, The Swallows, introduces Alex Witt, a teacher with a past. She is hired at Stonebridge Academy and asks her creative writing students to answer innocent questions so she can get to know them. "What do you love? What do you hate? What do you want?" The answers surprise Alex. They are not innocent and reveal much more about the students and the school's activities than she expects. The students reveal online bullying and a private message board. She encourages the female students to fight back and fight they do.
While I have not worked at a boarding school, I have worked at urban schools. The online bullying and message board are all too real. So is the school's attitude that "boys will be boys". Lutz uses her characters to show the dark side of technology and teenagers. This is not a young adult book. It is a book for adults which is set in a school.
The writing in The Swallows is witty while covering dark topics. Lutz's word choices and writing style keep the book from being too dark.
I added several of Lutz's books, including the Spellman Files series, to my "want to read" list.
This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 1/30/20.
Lisa Lutz's latest, The Swallows, introduces Alex Witt, a teacher with a past. She is hired at Stonebridge Academy and asks her creative writing students to answer innocent questions so she can get to know them. "What do you love? What do you hate? What do you want?" The answers surprise Alex. They are not innocent and reveal much more about the students and the school's activities than she expects. The students reveal online bullying and a private message board. She encourages the female students to fight back and fight they do.
While I have not worked at a boarding school, I have worked at urban schools. The online bullying and message board are all too real. So is the school's attitude that "boys will be boys". Lutz uses her characters to show the dark side of technology and teenagers. This is not a young adult book. It is a book for adults which is set in a school.
The writing in The Swallows is witty while covering dark topics. Lutz's word choices and writing style keep the book from being too dark.
I added several of Lutz's books, including the Spellman Files series, to my "want to read" list.
This 200-word review was published on Philomathinphila.com on 1/30/20.
Get into Medical School - Write the Perfect Personal Statement: Effective Techniques & Over 100 Examples of Real Successful Personal Statements
Olivier Picard and Dominique Pizzingrilli
Book
Written by experts in communication and medical recruitment, this book explains what medical school...
Selected and Last Poems 1931-2004
Book
The most beautiful and powerful of Milosz's poems from across his writing life This selection brings...
Transform Your Communication Skills: Speak Write Present with Confidence
Book
Invaluable advice to: Overcome Public Speaking Nerves, Write Effectively, Present Professionally....
Kids Arabic Letters School : Learn to write Arabic, Urdu Persian letters
Education and Book
8.0
Rate It
App
First time ever education app for Arabic letter tracing and writing for kids. This is equally must...
iSwimPlans
Sports and Lifestyle
App
The iSwimPlan app is designed for swimmers, coaches, managers and club administrators. However all...
Becbec (5 KP) rated Solar Bones in Books
Dec 13, 2017
The writing style (1 more)
Skillfully written
This is one of those books, a bit like Kent Haruf's books, in which not a lot happens. There is no full stop. I expected the full stop to be at the end but nope none there either. The author is very clever in how he manages to switch from one subject to the next without using a full stop. It is simply a man narrating his life. Not an original idea for a plot but well executed. There isn't really a big event until the end of the novel. You come to root for this man, ordinary and unremarkable as he is. Although i could see the ending coming i found it devastating. My only criticism was that it kept going after the 'big' ending but I suppose that's part of the writing style.
KatieLouCreate (162 KP) rated The End (A Series of Unfortunate Events #13) in Books
Jan 9, 2018
Mixed Feeling
I had quite mixed feelings reading these books. On the one hand, I loved the writing style. It was atmospheric. However, there were times when the repetitiveness was just too much.
I enjoyed the Violet, Klaus, and Sunny as characters and the three Quagmire triplets. The rest of the characters i hardly liked at all.
I think the book could be shorter. I liked the first three and the last four books but the middle could be taken out without much consequence. Towards the end I felt like I was just reading it because I had already come so far and I couldn't wait to finish them. On the other hand, I'm glad I read the ending because I enjoyed it.
I go into a lot more detail on my blog. Link is in my bio if you want to check it out.
I enjoyed the Violet, Klaus, and Sunny as characters and the three Quagmire triplets. The rest of the characters i hardly liked at all.
I think the book could be shorter. I liked the first three and the last four books but the middle could be taken out without much consequence. Towards the end I felt like I was just reading it because I had already come so far and I couldn't wait to finish them. On the other hand, I'm glad I read the ending because I enjoyed it.
I go into a lot more detail on my blog. Link is in my bio if you want to check it out.
Skye (14 KP) rated The Girl on the Train in Books
Jul 30, 2017
Great suspense.
This is a good book and I would recommend it to mystery/suspense fans. However, I found the main character, Rachel annoying. She whines often and many times is just off the rail. But, I like the writing and believe this is done intentionally. Rachel hates herself, she is often angry with herself, she is hitting rock bottom, and why would the reader not feel the same way in light of a first person narrative. The writing makes you feel for Rachel, your embarrassed for her, confused, angry, upset, you pity her, in a way you come to understand her, and it adds to the narrative of the novel. You think you have it figured out (and you might the clues are there), but at times your not sure (Rachel is an unreliable narrator). This book is worth a read.