Search
Search results
Discovery (The Gifted #1)
8.0
Rate It
Book
All twenty-three year old Kate Sutton wants is a quiet relaxing summer after finishing her first...
Young Adult Urban Fantasy
Never Again
10.0
Rate It
Book
Struck by lightning on her annual birthday hike to a favorite mountain meadow in Colorado,...
Science Fiction
Whispers of the Gone
Book
Fifteen-year-old adventurer, Selli, is the last remaining Samúð in Haltasia – the only living...
young adult
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2532 KP) rated And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street in Books
Sep 26, 2024 (Updated Sep 26, 2024)
That’s Quite an Imagination You’ve Got There
In this book, we meet Marco, a young boy whose father is always encouraging him to observe the world around him to see what he can see. However, his trip home from school on Mulberry Street is rather boring. All he sees is a horse pulling a broken-down wagon. But what if, instead, he said he saw a new cart…drawn by a zebra. No, that’s not special enough. Where will Marco’s wild story stop?
I didn’t read this book too much as a kid, but even as an adult, it is easy to fall into the classic Seuss rhythm and rhyme. It does get a little repetitive since he repeats Mulberry Street so often, but that’s the only real complaint. Marco’s imagination is so much fun, although I appreciated that he told the truth in the end. The illustrations are classic Seuss as well, and the caricatures of everyone are so much fun. Fans will also enjoy seeing that the elephant looks remarkably like Horton. If you can track this book down, you and your kids will enjoy it.
I didn’t read this book too much as a kid, but even as an adult, it is easy to fall into the classic Seuss rhythm and rhyme. It does get a little repetitive since he repeats Mulberry Street so often, but that’s the only real complaint. Marco’s imagination is so much fun, although I appreciated that he told the truth in the end. The illustrations are classic Seuss as well, and the caricatures of everyone are so much fun. Fans will also enjoy seeing that the elephant looks remarkably like Horton. If you can track this book down, you and your kids will enjoy it.
Daniel Radcliffe: The Biography
Book
Daniel Radcliffe went from shy schoolboy to the world's most famous boy wizard overnight. Aged just...
CF
Contexts for Young Child Flourishing: Evolution, Family, and Society
Darcia Narvaez, Julia M. Braungart-Rieker, Laura E. Miller-Graff and Lee T. Gettler
Book
Human beings have the most immature newborn and longest maturational schedule of any animal. Only...
Emma @ The Movies (1786 KP) rated Peter Rabbit (2018) in Movies
Sep 25, 2019
An adaptation of Beatrix Potter's classic tale of a rebellious rabbit trying to sneak into a farmer's vegetable garden.
This was a pleasant way of starting my Saturday. There's nothing wrong with it, but I don't think I'd feel the urge to see it again.
Kids films always have those adult undertones to keep parents and films nerds entertained. But the ones in Peter Rabbit were frustrating in their fourth wall breaking. It felt like they were all saying, "you got that right?"
There were some laugh out loud moments, but writing this seven hours later I'm having trouble remembering any of them.
Before this one was released there was a lot of uproar about a food allergy scene. Those fluffy tailed little terrors deliberately set off Mr McGregor's food allergy and he ends up having to inject himself with his epi-pen. There were talks of a boycott because of this "food bullying" scene... okay, fine I can see your point... but do you take your family to see a Marvel/DC movie and tell them not to go around punching people and trying to wear pec-enhancing body armour? No you don't, because you bring them up to know right from wrong and how to make valid fashion choices. From a very young age you teach young children to be nice to other people, this isn't the first time they'll see a type of bullying in a film, it won't be the last. Use it as a teaching tool. I find it really difficult to be offended by content that should be counter balanced by common sense.
This was a pleasant way of starting my Saturday. There's nothing wrong with it, but I don't think I'd feel the urge to see it again.
Kids films always have those adult undertones to keep parents and films nerds entertained. But the ones in Peter Rabbit were frustrating in their fourth wall breaking. It felt like they were all saying, "you got that right?"
There were some laugh out loud moments, but writing this seven hours later I'm having trouble remembering any of them.
Before this one was released there was a lot of uproar about a food allergy scene. Those fluffy tailed little terrors deliberately set off Mr McGregor's food allergy and he ends up having to inject himself with his epi-pen. There were talks of a boycott because of this "food bullying" scene... okay, fine I can see your point... but do you take your family to see a Marvel/DC movie and tell them not to go around punching people and trying to wear pec-enhancing body armour? No you don't, because you bring them up to know right from wrong and how to make valid fashion choices. From a very young age you teach young children to be nice to other people, this isn't the first time they'll see a type of bullying in a film, it won't be the last. Use it as a teaching tool. I find it really difficult to be offended by content that should be counter balanced by common sense.
We Are Okay
7.4
Rate It
Book
From the award-winning author of Hold Still comes an achingly beautiful novel about grief and the...
LGTBQ Young Adult
Acanthea Grimscythe (300 KP) rated The Coldest Girl in Coldtown in Books
May 16, 2018
Actual rating: 3.5. Rounded to 4.
I don’t really tend to read a lot of vampire books anymore, especially when they’ve been labeled young adult. Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is definitely an exception to that habit. I needed a break from flipping pages and wanted to get in a little bit of time gaming. When I saw The Coldest Girl in Coldtown available for an immediate audio book borrow from OverDrive, I decided to give it a shot. I’d heard of Holly Black, even if I hadn’t read any of her work.
Black’s novel takes vampirism and spreads it in the same manner that most post-apocalyptic novels spread the infectious diseases that create zombies. Vampires are romanticized, as they often are, especially in young adult books, and in this case, they no longer live in the shadows; rather, they have taken up residence in government organized areas known as Coldtowns. Those that have been infected with the vampire virus are also holed up within the walls of this cities, and there’s no shortage of food, because people are dying to get in.
Waking up after passing out at a party, the main character, a young woman named Tana, finds herself amidst a massacre: people she knows have been slaughtered by vampires. The only survivors are her, an ex-boyfriend, and a strange boy. Her ex is infected, and the boy is a vampire. Deciding to turn him in for a bounty, and worried that her ex will become a vampire himself, the trio travel to Coldtown. It isn’t long before Tana finds herself caught up in what could loosely be described as vampire politics. Amongst betrayal, she must persevere in order to guarantee her own survival.
The majority of the story is told from Tana’s perspective, with a few chapters written in Gavriel, the vampire’s, and another one, maybe two, from her younger sister’s, Pearl’s, point-of-view. These changes exist solely to expound on certain events that have led the characters to where they are, such as Gavriel’s past — which is, undoubtedly, one of my favorite parts of the book. Each chapter also begins with an excerpt, usually from a poem that deals with death, the undead, or vampires.
Voices make a huge impact on listening to audio books, especially for me. If I can’t stand the voice, I will not finish the book more than likely. In the case of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, the narrator, Christine Lakin, is absolutely amazing. Her voice is pleasant to listen to, and there is a clear difference between the way each of the characters speak.
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown isn’t among my favorite reads, perhaps because I prefer the more traditional approaches to vampires, but it is, undoubtedly, an fun journey. If you like your vampires a bit on the softer side of the spectrum, this one is definitely worth picking up.
I don’t really tend to read a lot of vampire books anymore, especially when they’ve been labeled young adult. Holly Black’s The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is definitely an exception to that habit. I needed a break from flipping pages and wanted to get in a little bit of time gaming. When I saw The Coldest Girl in Coldtown available for an immediate audio book borrow from OverDrive, I decided to give it a shot. I’d heard of Holly Black, even if I hadn’t read any of her work.
Black’s novel takes vampirism and spreads it in the same manner that most post-apocalyptic novels spread the infectious diseases that create zombies. Vampires are romanticized, as they often are, especially in young adult books, and in this case, they no longer live in the shadows; rather, they have taken up residence in government organized areas known as Coldtowns. Those that have been infected with the vampire virus are also holed up within the walls of this cities, and there’s no shortage of food, because people are dying to get in.
Waking up after passing out at a party, the main character, a young woman named Tana, finds herself amidst a massacre: people she knows have been slaughtered by vampires. The only survivors are her, an ex-boyfriend, and a strange boy. Her ex is infected, and the boy is a vampire. Deciding to turn him in for a bounty, and worried that her ex will become a vampire himself, the trio travel to Coldtown. It isn’t long before Tana finds herself caught up in what could loosely be described as vampire politics. Amongst betrayal, she must persevere in order to guarantee her own survival.
The majority of the story is told from Tana’s perspective, with a few chapters written in Gavriel, the vampire’s, and another one, maybe two, from her younger sister’s, Pearl’s, point-of-view. These changes exist solely to expound on certain events that have led the characters to where they are, such as Gavriel’s past — which is, undoubtedly, one of my favorite parts of the book. Each chapter also begins with an excerpt, usually from a poem that deals with death, the undead, or vampires.
Voices make a huge impact on listening to audio books, especially for me. If I can’t stand the voice, I will not finish the book more than likely. In the case of The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, the narrator, Christine Lakin, is absolutely amazing. Her voice is pleasant to listen to, and there is a clear difference between the way each of the characters speak.
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown isn’t among my favorite reads, perhaps because I prefer the more traditional approaches to vampires, but it is, undoubtedly, an fun journey. If you like your vampires a bit on the softer side of the spectrum, this one is definitely worth picking up.
Hazel (1853 KP) rated Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, #1) in Books
Dec 7, 2018
<i>This eBook was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review</i>
<i>Grave Mercy</i> is the first book in Robin LaFevers’ trilogy <i>His Fair Assassin</i> set in Brittany in the middle ages. Young Ismae Rienne escapes from her new, abusive husband to the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where she learns that she was sired by the god of death. She, like the other sisters of the convent, has been blessed with certain gifts as a result. Their job is to be the handmaidens of death and help to kill people on behalf of St. Mortain.
Ismae’s task is to live in the high courts with a man named Gavriel Duval in order to remove the traitors that threaten the soon to be crowned duchess, Anne. While she is there she begins to suspect that one of the allies is a traitor, but whom? She also begins to fall in love and feels torn in two when the convent demands his death.
It takes a long time to understand what is going on in <i>Grave Mercy</i> especially as a lot of it involves politics of an era of long ago. Towards the end it begins to become more exciting once the reader has worked out who are the good characters and who are the bad and all that is left is to discover how it all resolves itself.
There is something about death and murder in historical fiction that is more gruesome than in contemporary novels. This is another reason why the book was difficult to read.
Initially the amount of names listed on the “Dramatis Personae” at the start of the book was a little daunting however not all of them are key to the plot. The main character, Ismae, is likable and her strength and independence is admirable especially as women did not have much control over their lives at that time. Most of the other characters also existed in real life as, although in part a fantasy novel, LaFevers’ has kept it as historically accurate as possible.
Looking at the reviews on <i>Goodreads</i>, over 900 readers have listed <i>Grave Mercy</i> as Young Adult. After reading the book there is nothing to suggest that it was written for that age group. Admittedly the characters are very young: Ismae, 17, and Anne, 12; but in the 1400s they would have seemed older than society regards people of that age today. The romantic element of the novel is the kind you would expect to find in adult historical novels rather than books for younger readers.
Overall this is a book for people who appreciate historical and political fiction but also like an element of fantasy and romance. It is written really well but to be able to engage fully with the story you need to be really interested in the subject matter.
<i>Grave Mercy</i> is the first book in Robin LaFevers’ trilogy <i>His Fair Assassin</i> set in Brittany in the middle ages. Young Ismae Rienne escapes from her new, abusive husband to the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where she learns that she was sired by the god of death. She, like the other sisters of the convent, has been blessed with certain gifts as a result. Their job is to be the handmaidens of death and help to kill people on behalf of St. Mortain.
Ismae’s task is to live in the high courts with a man named Gavriel Duval in order to remove the traitors that threaten the soon to be crowned duchess, Anne. While she is there she begins to suspect that one of the allies is a traitor, but whom? She also begins to fall in love and feels torn in two when the convent demands his death.
It takes a long time to understand what is going on in <i>Grave Mercy</i> especially as a lot of it involves politics of an era of long ago. Towards the end it begins to become more exciting once the reader has worked out who are the good characters and who are the bad and all that is left is to discover how it all resolves itself.
There is something about death and murder in historical fiction that is more gruesome than in contemporary novels. This is another reason why the book was difficult to read.
Initially the amount of names listed on the “Dramatis Personae” at the start of the book was a little daunting however not all of them are key to the plot. The main character, Ismae, is likable and her strength and independence is admirable especially as women did not have much control over their lives at that time. Most of the other characters also existed in real life as, although in part a fantasy novel, LaFevers’ has kept it as historically accurate as possible.
Looking at the reviews on <i>Goodreads</i>, over 900 readers have listed <i>Grave Mercy</i> as Young Adult. After reading the book there is nothing to suggest that it was written for that age group. Admittedly the characters are very young: Ismae, 17, and Anne, 12; but in the 1400s they would have seemed older than society regards people of that age today. The romantic element of the novel is the kind you would expect to find in adult historical novels rather than books for younger readers.
Overall this is a book for people who appreciate historical and political fiction but also like an element of fantasy and romance. It is written really well but to be able to engage fully with the story you need to be really interested in the subject matter.