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Forensic Group Psychotherapy: The Portman Clinic Approach

Andrew Williams and John Woods

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Forensic Group Psychotherapy: The Portman Clinic Approach stands as a comprehensive account of...

Normative Plurality in International Law: A Theory of the Determination of Applicable Rules

Carlos Ivan Fuentes

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This book provides a theoretical framework for explaining the choices made by international...

Kim Pook (101 KP) rated Gerald's Game (2017) in Movies

Dec 24, 2020

Contains spoilers, click to show

A middle aged couple go away for the weekend to spice up their marriage. Whilst reinacting one of Gerald's fantasys, Jessie asks him to stop which makes him angry, has a heart attack and dies, leaving Jessie handcuffed to the bed unable to move. Stuck with nothing but a dog eating her husband and figments of her imagination for company, she must fight for survival.
When I first saw the trailer I expected it to be one of those single character movies, so I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't like that at all. I found the storyline interesting and well played out, I also liked that there was a small backstory to Jessie's childhood.
Admittedly, until it was mentioned in the end credits I had no idea it was based on a Stephen King book. This really shocked me as i would have never guessed. It's still a good movie though and now going to have to find and read the book.

Kudos

Kristy H (1252 KP) rated Our Own Private Universe in Books

Feb 18, 2021

A great book for gay teens finding their way

This is the fifteenth book in my #atozchallenge! I'm challenging myself to read a book from my shelves that starts with each letter of the alphabet. Let's clear those shelves and delve into that backlist!

Aki Simon is ready to start living her life. At fifteen, she believes she's bisexual, but she's only dated boys, and only her best friend, Lori, knows about her feelings. So when Aki and Lori go on a church trip to Mexico, Aki vows to stop sitting around and start living. This becomes possible when she meets Christa, another student on the trip. Christa, older and more worldly, clearly seems to like Aki as much as Aki likes her. But how does Aki--whose father is a pastor and along on this trip--experiment with Christa on this trip? How does she figure out if she likes, or even loves, Christa? And if she does, how does she tell her religious parents?

I've read several books by Robin Talley and really loved them all. This one was a little young for me, but I think it would be an excellent read for the teen age group. It covers a range of vital and big themes for teens: bisexuality, coming out, safe sex, parental expectations, religion and being gay, etc. There's a moment when Aki is trying to track down dental dams, and she's researching how to use them. I'm honestly not sure I've ever seen that in a book, and it's so important and honestly, really cool. I would have loved to find a book like this when I was a teen trying to figure out a lot of various things.

Unfortunately, a lot of the plot of UNIVERSE is based on the premise of one character lying to another, which I really do not care for. It gets off to a slow start. And there is a lot of teen drama, with Lori and other kids on the trip at the center. Maybe it wouldn't seem so melodramatic for teens, who live in that world, but it's a bit much and gets repetitive.

Still, I love how important this book is, covering coming out and featuring such a diverse cast of characters. It's serious yet romantic. I would certainly recommend it for teens grappling with their sexuality, those coming out, or those wanting to support their queer friends or kids. 3.5 stars. (Also, if you are older and queer (or even if you're not), read Robin Talley's PULP. It's amazing.)