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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Trying to Float: Coming of Age in the Chelsea Hotel in Books

Dec 17, 2018

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Written about a young girl by a young girl, Trying To Float is the amusing, witty story of Nicolaia Rips’ life thus far. About to graduate from LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts in New York City, Nicolaia talks the reader through her life from birth, through preschool and elementary school, before coming to rest at the end of her middle school experiences.

As the strap line Coming of Age in the Chelsea Hotel indicates, Nicolaia has lived in the Chelsea Hotel in New York for her entire life. Her unconventional father and travel obsessed mother decided to settle there after the birth of their only child, resulting in an unusual upbringing surrounded by avant-garde writers, artists and musicians, as well as the plethora of drug addicts, alcoholics and eccentrics.

Although Nicolaia’s lifestyle caused her to be the worldliest wise of five year olds, she was completely alien to the knowledge of friendships, hard work and the generally accepted behaviour of children. This resulted in numerous, often awkward, situations throughout her schooling which, although must have been soul destroying at the time, Nicolaia writes in a highly amusing tone.

Trying to Float reminded me of a television programme aired on the BBC last year: The Kennedys – a story of the daughter of highly peculiar and embarrassing parents, who was constantly surrounded by a mass of oddball characters. I could not help but see similarities even though there is absolutely no correlation between the two stories.

While Nicolaia has based this book on a journal she kept during her childhood, there are many scenes that have been warped by exaggeration and imagination to add comedic effect. Due to this, her original writing has been worked over so much in order for it to flow like a story, that it is more fiction than biographical.

It is not completely clear who the target audience is. Naturally a story about a child’s experiences at school would relate more to young adults, however the coarse language used by the inhabitants of the hotel make it more appropriate for adults. Whatever your age and background, you are likely to relate to something in this gem of a book. Nicolaia makes light of her experiences, but deep down it is a very heart-wrenching story.

Kudos

The Infinite Sea

Rick Yancey

7.9 (10 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The Infinite Sea is the second book in the phenomenal and bestselling 5th Wave series by...

The Last Star

Rick Yancey

6.8 (10 Ratings) Rate It

Book

The Last Star is the heart-stopping finale to the bestselling 5th Wave series by award-winning...

Micah Ulibarri (79 KP) rated Everything Sucks - Season 1 in TV

Apr 3, 2018

Everything Sucks - Season 1

2018 | Comedy, Drama, Romance

7.5

(6 Ratings)

TV Season Rating

It's a dramedy that takes place in the 90s. I'm talking so 90's it hurts. Three high school freshmen in Boring, Oregan start off their first year of high school in a big way. Hopefully they wont embarrass themselves.

I absolutely fell in love with this show. First of all, it is funny and feels more like a comedy. Nevertheless, the characters are complex and the situations are interesting and emotional.

The young actors, Peyton Kennedy, Jahi Winston, and Rio Mangini especially, do some great work. I think it's great that they actually look like young high school kids. Nonetheless, the are able to bring the emotion.

The show has themes of relationships, self-discovery, growing up, and how the 90s influenced that. There are some very positive representations of discovering sexuality. Not only as a young adult, but some of the older adults recently out of long term relationships also learn what it is to love and trust again.

Finally, one of the big plot points is the making of a movie in the kids AV club. It's actually really impressive when you see just how intensive a process that was not even 20 years ago.

All in all, the characters are the ones that sell the show. The show often ends on cliff hangers making you wanting to come back. My wife and I watched it through twice in one week. It's only 10 episodes and every single one of them is well worth it.

Also, shout out to the 90s tunes. Most of which are still songs on pretty much any of my playlists.

Kudos (1)

Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated Kingdom of Us (2017) in Movies

Oct 22, 2017 (Updated Oct 22, 2017)

Kingdom of Us (2017)

2017 | Biography, Documentary, Drama

9.5

(2 Ratings)

Movie Rating

Poignant, heartbreaking and complex

Another superb documentary film on Netflix exploring the complexities of bereavement, in this case, a family of seven children and their father who took his own life.

The filmmaker follows the journey of the Shanks children, now teenagers and young adults, who six years later are still trying to make sense of their loss. Issues include mental health problems, and dealing with trauma especially with four of the teens suffering from autism. Each person deals with it differently, ranging from creating music, becoming philosophical, to having a full-blown nervous breakdown.

Mother Vikie is incredibly stoic, attempting to keep order despite the horrendous upheaval from the death. There's some disturbing scenes in which the children discuss finding a note in which their father had originally planned to kill them before committing suicide. It is heartbreaking to watch how it has both scarred and shaped the family, but they courageously attempt to pull together as one unit. A must-watch documentary.

Kudos (2)

Suswatibasu (1703 KP) rated The Fault in Our Stars in Books

Sep 11, 2017

Bittersweet, but quite similar to others in the genre

There seems to be rave reviews for this book and its counterpart film, and while I understand that it is tragic I just feel I've read similar novels in the past.

The tone resembles My Sister's Keeper in many ways, written in the perspective of teenagers suffering from cancer and attempting to lead as normal a life as possible. And while it's sweet and sad, I just don't feel it was written that spectacularly. The story content is important, but the writing falls a little short - but I'm assuming that as this is more for young adults, it is geared in this way as well.

And I may sound completely heartless but the build-up to the reveal was overdone, and the ending was drawn out for far too long that it was an anti-climax. That could be the author's intention to make death seem as if a passing ship. A little disappointed overall.

Kudos

Booksnthreads (19 KP) rated Children of Blood and Bone: Book 1 in Books

Jun 2, 2018 (Updated Jun 2, 2018)

Children of Blood and Bone: Book 1

Tomi Adeyemi | 2018 | Paranormal, Young Adult (YA)

8.1

(28 Ratings)

Book Rating

I’ve been looking for a sci-fi/fantasy novel this good since reading The Hunger Games. So many books let me down, but this one it my new favorite.

Such phenomenal world building, weaving into the narrative rather than simply telling. Thank you Adeyemi for believing in the readers enough to trust that they can figure things out as the story is told!

So many of the books written for young adults now, especially those specifically designed as a series, fail to deliver characters that are nuanced instead of stereotypical. Adeyemi delivers. So many books work too hard to to extend the story into the next book; Adeyemi seems to effortlessly build the plot to a natural crescendo that, yes leaves you hanging, but with just enough resolution to be satisfied.

I am eagerly anticipating the next installment and, essentially, anything that this author puts out. She has a long career ahead of her, and I look forward to follow8ng her progress.