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The Counselors
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I am really into YA books where teens are dying. Her previous thriller They Will Never Catch Us had be reading and not stopping because I had to know who the killer was and this read was just the same for me. The cover on this one caught my attention very Baywatch aka #pamcore then I saw it is a Jessica Goodman read and went straight to audible to make my pre-order and it did not disappoint.

The setting of the book is a bougie elite summer camp with a focus on three teens girls. I wouldn't so much call their situation Glamping since a dark secret is looming over a counselor who is waiting to share with her friends. Goldie might be ruining summer with her dark secret and not only that she is risking friendships. She isn't the only one that has been lying and keeping secrets. This becomes apparent when Ava has seen something and there is a death involved. yikes!
  
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated First Born in Books

Apr 28, 2022  
First Born
First Born
Will Dean | 2022 | Crime, Thriller
6
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Well, that was an interesting and head-bashing read and I don't even know where to start! You are either going to love it or not like it so much! If I'm honest, for most of the book, I was in the "not like it so much" camp but as the story unfolded, it grew on me more and more and by the end, I was totally invested.

I'm not going to go into any of the plot but will say that you need to be prepared to put aside reality at times, accept that the main character of Molly is not a particularly likeable character (for me anyway) and she does ramble on a bit, which became annoying at times, but if you can do that, you will enjoy this rollercoaster of a read.

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest, unbiased and unedited review.
  
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Chris Sawin (602 KP) rated Friday the 13th (2009) in Movies

Jun 20, 2019 (Updated Jun 20, 2019)  
Friday the 13th (2009)
Friday the 13th (2009)
2009 | Horror
8
6.6 (22 Ratings)
Movie Rating
**I wrote this review a decade ago. I was going to change some stuff (mostly the last couple lines of the last paragraph), but thought it was too crude and hilarious to remove. Hopefully you feel the same way. Thanks for reading.**


In 1980, Pamela Voorhees set out to kill all the counselors at Camp Crystal Lake. Several years ago, the counselors did nothing as Mrs. Voorhees' son, Jason, drowned in the lake. Now, as the camp is about to re-open, Mrs. Voorhees has returned to seek revenge for her son and she only has one more victim before she accomplishes that goal. Unfortunately for Mrs. Voorhees, she didn't count on this particular camp counselor decapitating her and ending her reign of terror once and for all. Unbeknownst to anyone at the time, Jason was still alive and witnessed his mother's gruesome death. Now, in the present day, Jason is the one who seeks revenge and anyone who even comes near Camp Crystal Lake is at risk of feeling his onslaught.
It's been something like five and a half years since we last saw Jason Voorhees in the theater. So was it worth the wait? Does the remake measure up to the rest of the franchise? Is it a remake worth seeing at all? Does it continue the trend with 2009 being a strong year for the horror genre? The short answer to all of these questions is yes.


I've always been partial to the Friday the 13th franchise. Jason Voorhees has always been my favorite when it comes slasher films. So I was beyond excited by the time today finally rolled around. The film opens with a flashback that chronicles what would be the ending to the original film. Jump to the present day. Some kids decide to hike out into the woods to have some fun and wind up about a half mile from Camp Blood. Everything is fun and games until one of them turns up missing. The survivors wind up exploring and get picked off one by one while Jason wears a bag over his head. After the scene in the trailer where Jason runs towards the girl on the ground and swings his machete, we get a black screen with "Friday the 13th" in red plastered across it.

Six weeks later, Clay is looking for his sister, Whitney. She was one of the victims of the attack we just witnessed. It seems as though everyone has given up hope looking for her except him. Meanwhile, Trent and his friends are going up to his dad's cabin for the weekend which just so happens to reside on Camp Crystal Lake. It's basically just more pigs being sent out to slaughter from there. Jason's bag gets pulled off right before he disposes of one of his victims in a barn. It's there that he stumbles across a hockey mask and things begin to pick up from there.
The film definitely delivers in all of the elements that make up the formula to a Friday the 13th film. There's plenty of T&A and sex for any sexhound. I haven't seen any R-rated film with this much nudity and sexual content in quite a while. The kills are also pretty satisfactory for a Friday fan. I think Trent's death is probably the most memorable, but I'm partial to Amanda's death because it was an interesting twist on the sleeping bag kill. Officer Bracke's kill was also a favorite of mine. Then, of course, there's Jason's death. It's interesting since it seems obvious how things are going to turn out for Jason, but it winds up happening in a round-a-bout way. Something is thrown in there to throw the audience off and that not many would see coming. Kind of like a, "Oh, maybe he'll die this way instead," kind of thing. Thinking back on it, it also felt like a throwback to one of the earlier sequels, which is pretty cool.

We can't finish this review without talking about Derek Mears as the man behind the hockey mask. I feel like he did a great job. I prefer him over Ken Kirzinger in Freddy Vs Jason. He kind of reminded me as a cross between C.J. Graham(part VI) and Kane Hodder(parts VII-IX). He also ran at times, which may put some people off. I actually enjoyed the running quite a bit. It reminded me of Jason in The Final Chapter, which is my favorite F13 film. He had the body movements down to perfection and is a worthy addition to the list of actors who have donned the hockey mask.

My one complaint is that it seemed like it was hard to see what was going on in certain scenes. The camera would be too shaky or scenes wouldn't have enough lighting and be too dark. It's really a minor complaint though as it usually only lasted a few seconds when it did occur.

So, all in all, I feel like it was well worth the wait for this film. I am really hoping it does well because I would welcome sequels with open arms. The remake follows the Friday the 13th formula extremely well. Right down to the ending. I guess the only thing that's not like some of the previous sequels is the acting, which seems to be top notch for a slasher film. As a Friday the 13th fan, I'm more than satisfied with the remake. To tell the truth, it was just nice to see a film with Jason Voorhees in theaters again. And as I've told quite a few friends, the feeling I had after walking out of the theater was equivalent to the way I feel after I blow my load. Not many films can plaster that on their movie poster, but this one could. And really, that's the biggest compliment of all.
  
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Suswatibasu (1701 KP) rated The Tattooist of Auschwitz in Books

Mar 2, 2018 (Updated Mar 2, 2018)  
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Heather Morris | 2018 | Biography, History & Politics, Religion
7
8.7 (74 Ratings)
Book Rating
Wish it hadn't been written like a screenplay
The Tattooist of Auschwitz reads like a fictional story set during the Holocaust, but what makes it remarkable is the fact that it is anything but formulated.

Lale Sokolov, a Slovakian Jew, was given the task of tattooing identification numbers on others at the notorious concentration camp. There he meets Gita, another Slovakian, and he sets himself on a mission to escape with her to freedom by trading food and jewels, revealing his incredible street smarts. If he had been caught, he would have been killed - many owed him their survival.

There are elements where you do think it has been written for the screen, as the scenes fail to connect to one another fluidly. As a result, I did believe it to be a fictional story because the writing failed to completely flourish and the author struggles with the prose. In this respect, it is rather disappointing, however, the memoir is wonderful and it leaves you with huge respect for the Sokolovs.