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Checklist Inspector - Auditing & Safety Surveying
Productivity and Business
App
Carry out inspections quickly and efficiently with Checklist Inspector. Quick and simple scoring,...
Hohner-BbEbAb SqueezeBox - All Tones Deluxe Edition
Music and Entertainment
App
Mimicking the layout of Hohner's iconic Corona Classic diatonic accordion, this intuitive virtual...
ClareR (6230 KP) rated Circus of Wonders in Books
Mar 15, 2022
After reading The Doll Factory, I was on the look out for Elizabeth Macneal’s next book. Circus of Wonders has NOT disappointed me.
Elizabeth Macneal has described what it is like to be on the margins of society - an outcast because you don’t look the same as everyone else. Nell lives in a time where you are shunned for having birthmarks such as hers. She is considered to be bad luck, a curse. Not helped by the fact that her mother had died in childbirth. Her father constantly reinforces this, and won’t even touch her. Nell’s beloved brother is her sole comfort. He cares for her, and promises to take her with him when he marries.
But Nell’s father sells her to Jasper Jupiters Circus of Wonders. Jasper is a man who is hellbent on being a success, and thinks nothing of using Nell and others like her, to achieve greatness. Jasper and his brother Toby, are both survivors of the Crimean war, and clearly carry many secrets.
Themes such as exploitation, ownership, differences, power, sibling love, secrets, love and loss are central to this book.
Nell is a constant surprise. She goes from being a scared, vulnerable girl, to becoming the centre of attention, in control of all those who come to watch her. This is the other side to the P. T. Barnum story. We’ve probably all heard of ‘The Greatest Showman’, but there’s the other exploitative side that seems to have been brushed under the carpet. This book shows that side.
I loved this book, and I wouldn’t hesitate to tell you all to go out and buy it!
Elizabeth Macneal has described what it is like to be on the margins of society - an outcast because you don’t look the same as everyone else. Nell lives in a time where you are shunned for having birthmarks such as hers. She is considered to be bad luck, a curse. Not helped by the fact that her mother had died in childbirth. Her father constantly reinforces this, and won’t even touch her. Nell’s beloved brother is her sole comfort. He cares for her, and promises to take her with him when he marries.
But Nell’s father sells her to Jasper Jupiters Circus of Wonders. Jasper is a man who is hellbent on being a success, and thinks nothing of using Nell and others like her, to achieve greatness. Jasper and his brother Toby, are both survivors of the Crimean war, and clearly carry many secrets.
Themes such as exploitation, ownership, differences, power, sibling love, secrets, love and loss are central to this book.
Nell is a constant surprise. She goes from being a scared, vulnerable girl, to becoming the centre of attention, in control of all those who come to watch her. This is the other side to the P. T. Barnum story. We’ve probably all heard of ‘The Greatest Showman’, but there’s the other exploitative side that seems to have been brushed under the carpet. This book shows that side.
I loved this book, and I wouldn’t hesitate to tell you all to go out and buy it!
BrainyQuote - Famous Quotes
Reference and Education
App
BrainyQuote is available on all iOS devices, including Apple Watch! Create and share more than...
Bubblesreview (110 KP) rated The Alchemist in Books
Feb 12, 2019
Easy read (1 more)
Only 158 pages
Simple language (2 more)
Short
Unbelievable
Short and sweet
My standards were high for this book, everyone refers to it as a 'must read', in a sense it could be, for some people. If you are a bit lost in life, feel like you've hit a wall in your career or life and need a bit of inspiration to carry on and achieve your dreams then this is the book for you.
Don't get me wrong, it did make me smile and it is a beautiful book to read, but it's very short and very simple. The main character is referred to as the boy so you can't really build a relationship with the character, but then I guess that is the moral of the book and the lesson we should take from it.
For me, this book hasn't changed my life, but I feel pretty happy with my life right now so maybe I read it at the wrong time. If I ever become stuck in life and need a lift I will reread this as I feel it could be much more appreciated in times of need
Don't get me wrong, it did make me smile and it is a beautiful book to read, but it's very short and very simple. The main character is referred to as the boy so you can't really build a relationship with the character, but then I guess that is the moral of the book and the lesson we should take from it.
For me, this book hasn't changed my life, but I feel pretty happy with my life right now so maybe I read it at the wrong time. If I ever become stuck in life and need a lift I will reread this as I feel it could be much more appreciated in times of need
This is the companion novel to ‘No Virgin’ which I read in November 2016. This is the court trial that Stacey has to go through to get justice. She wants to see the man who raped her sent to prison and for him not to be able to prey on innocent young girls and carry out such a heinous act again. We see Stacey question herself whether she is strong enough mentally to go through with the trial and face her attacker once again. Stacey needs this to start rebuilding her life and looking to the future of university. She tries to convince another girl who has been attacked to go to the police to build a stronger case. I really think that both of these books could have been one book together than two separate novellas, However I did like seeing the court case and how brutal it can be when things are twisted and people appear to be something they are not. We still had her best friend included and the court case brought her family closer together. This again had powerful messages of seeking justice and support.
I rated this 3 out of 5 stars
I rated this 3 out of 5 stars
This is a reality show where 10 people have to commit a robbery, and evade the police for 2 weeks to be able to keep their cut of the money.
The actual robbery is planned and set up for them, they just have to carry it out, to the point that they are given a copy of the van keys. I’m guessing this is so that people cannot copy it.
I enjoyed this show as you saw the people trying to spend and hide their money, sometimes making questionable decisions and also saw the police and the methods they used to try and catch the criminals. If the police had enough evidence to charge them they had to hand over their cut and anything they had already bought.
It was an entertaining series and I guess a similar premise to Hunted, it was short so covered everything without too much repeating or dragging on. At the end there was a race between the surviving contestants and the police to see if the final people could evade the police and keep their share, which was pretty intense.
The actual robbery is planned and set up for them, they just have to carry it out, to the point that they are given a copy of the van keys. I’m guessing this is so that people cannot copy it.
I enjoyed this show as you saw the people trying to spend and hide their money, sometimes making questionable decisions and also saw the police and the methods they used to try and catch the criminals. If the police had enough evidence to charge them they had to hand over their cut and anything they had already bought.
It was an entertaining series and I guess a similar premise to Hunted, it was short so covered everything without too much repeating or dragging on. At the end there was a race between the surviving contestants and the police to see if the final people could evade the police and keep their share, which was pretty intense.
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated One Past Midnight: The Langoliers in Books
Mar 28, 2020
Just Because
Stephen King does it once again with this book. The first short story in Four Past Midnight will keep readers up well past midnight trying to finish it in one sitting.
When a plane flies through a natural phenomenon mistaken for the Aurora Boralice something very strange happens. All of the passengers (including the piolet) who were awake disappear and only those who were asleep find themselves still on the plane. This mismatched group must figure out how to land the plane safely and decide what just happened. They manage to land in a strange area that resembles an airport like what they are used to but there are no people, sounds carry weird, and the food is tasteless, plus there is a chewing noise getting closer and closer to them.
When a plane flies through a natural phenomenon mistaken for the Aurora Boralice something very strange happens. All of the passengers (including the piolet) who were awake disappear and only those who were asleep find themselves still on the plane. This mismatched group must figure out how to land the plane safely and decide what just happened. They manage to land in a strange area that resembles an airport like what they are used to but there are no people, sounds carry weird, and the food is tasteless, plus there is a chewing noise getting closer and closer to them.
AT (1676 KP) rated Food Wars!: Shokugeki no Soma in Books
Apr 23, 2020
I know that the anime is popular, but I haven't gotten around to watching it yet. I wasn't sure that I'd like the manga, but I grabbed volume 1 recently, and was pleasantly surprised! I had expected it to be like a textbook cookbook type of manga that gets too into the recipes and ends up being boring. However, Food Wars is a good mix and keeps the storyline light and interesting. You're not turning page after page of the same diagrammed, cutely drawn recipe. The main characters do talk their way through their cooking times, but it's not overly drawn out. Some manga series have that magical "it" factor, and some definitely don't. This one seems to have it. It's cute, funny, has a good protagonist, and everything that revolves around him on the outskirts is interesting in its own way, as well. There's enough to carry an actual story, and enough motion in the plot to keep the action moving. Volume 1 also includes the short that was originally featured in Shonen Jump, but I'm glad the details were reworked. Overall, I think it will be a cute series.
Politics in a Time of Crisis: Podemos and the Future of Democracy in Europe
Book
'Now is a time of systemic change, at all levels. This is a call for rejuvenation, radicalization,...