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Beckie Shelton (40 KP) rated The Treatment in Books

Oct 31, 2017 (Updated Oct 31, 2017)  
The Treatment
The Treatment
C. L. Taylor | 2017 | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Thriller, Young Adult (YA)
6
7.6 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm: https://www.beckiebookworm.com

The Treatment By C.L. Taylor was a decent enough read that I really quite enjoyed.


I also took into account when reading, that this was aimed at a much younger audience than myself, so I have been slightly lenient in my rating as I feel there were things I noticed that would probably go over the heads of this books intended demographic.


I would say this is a read my twelve and thirteen-year-old boys would really enjoy, Myself being a mum in my forties, well let's just say I enjoyed this, while not overtaxing my brain overmuch.


So The Treatment is about sixteen-year-old Drew Finch and her actions when her younger brother Mason gets expelled from yet another school and sent to Norton House, a residential reform academy.


so after being followed by the mysterious Dr Cobey and receiving a strange message about the treatment, her brother is receiving while residing at Norton House. Drew decides to investigate herself by getting herself admitted as a pupil.


So as I said this was an enjoyable read that does what it says on the tin.


There were no great surprises here, This was more, the underdog saves the day type of tale.


Drew herself, well I felt a bit sorry for her bullied by her ex-best friend (which there was no real explanation for).


Does one thing wrong and then gets shipped off to a reform academy, I know she needs to be for the story to work but jeez, her mum, hardly mother of the year actions are they.


Drew herself seems to be quite a resilient girl with a bit of a kick-ass attitude, more so maybe than I would expect from someone who's been bullied so relentlessly.<br/>But anyway she seems a very likeable pragmatic type of girl.


She teams up inside Norton with her roommate Mouse and the two try to coordinate an escape while steering clear of there other roomy Jude.


Jude is every mean girl cliche you can think off, horrid just for the sake of it. Shes even worse when Lacey, Drew's arch nemesis turns up like a bad penny and the two join forces to torment Drew.


I did find both Jude and Lacey to be slightly one dimensional in their behaviour.


So anyway to cut a long story short Drew strives to save the day, while rescuing her friends and brother along the way.


This is done in true kick-butt style with only the one extra unsurprising twist along the way.


So the wrap up of "The Treatment" I felt was a little bit rushed, I would have liked to have seen things eked out and explored in a little more depth.


But besides that, this is a great addition to the Young Adult/teen genre-leaning more heavily towards the Teen age group.


So I would definitely recommend this to the younger generation, It is a fun action packed clean read, that is well written and is sure to catch imaginations.


Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an Arc of "The Treatment" By C.L. Taylor this is my own honest unbiased opinion.


Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm: https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
  
Optograms
Optograms
Stephen Watt | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Everything (0 more)
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Great Collection
Stephen Watt is a poet and spoken word artist from Dumbarton. I stumbled upon his work by accident, and was drawn by his likeness in style to a favourite poet of mine, Raymond Carver. Delighted by what I had read, I preceded to watch some of his spoken word performances on You Tube. I was not disappointed. Watt’s poetry and indeed his spoken word delivery, is smart, punchy, intelligent and contemporary. I was delighted to be offered the opportunity to review his new poetry pamphlet Optograms, published by Wild Word press in 2016. Optograms is a wonderful representation of Watt’s finest work, and is a fresh new approach to Scottish poetry. The poet tackles some controversial topics such as prostitution, homelessness, and gender as well as delving into the more intimate topics such as miscarriage and Alzheimer’s. The imagery is his work is striking and each word and line carefully crafted, but it is the way in which the poems radiate emotion that make this work unique. The readers need look no further than the opening poem to get an understanding of the poet’s compassion and understanding of contemporary society. ‘Lipstick’ explores gender representation and discrimination,
I go to my room, wiping
the admirer’s lipstick clean
with tights beneath jeans
retrieved from a friend’s house,
and with the words
Big Girl’s Blouse
reverberating inside my head

This poem speaks volumes in so little words and the reader is forced to look inwardly at their own behaviour toward people who do not conform to the norm. Similarly, ‘Prayers to Aliens and Satellites’ is a raw and candid view of homelessness which digs deep into the readers conscience,
where bloodless, xylophonic fingers
sink into armpits –
petitioned hands closed to benefits
and the friendships of passersby.

Like the previous poem, ‘Prayers to Aliens and Satellites’ urges the reader to become more aware of the social problems in society. If these poems are not enough to capture the heart of the reader, Watt surprises us with his heart crushing honesty in poems such as ‘Clinics Lip’ – a grief stricken account of miscarriage,
  A husband, once the acme of affection,
now lollygagging in the garden;
crossmaker in waiting
for the small plot earmarked for the hill’s crest.

My own personal favourite is ‘Trouble was Someone Else’s Kid’, a short account of childhood memories, like a fragment of memoir condensed into neatly arranged stanza’s. There is something funny yet tragic about this poem that brought to me both nostalgia and a desire to relive my own fading youth.
We moved in shadows, kept the lid
on, as if peanut butter sandwiches
had pasted our lips together.
Other neighbourhoods sizzled
with pyromaniacs and politics,
alcoholics who played tin whistles
when Di and Charles got hitched.

These are only a few of the delights that can be found in this little treasure of a pamphlet and I would urge poetry lovers as well as those who are new to poetry to seek out a copy of this work. With twenty-six wonderful poems Optograms, is undoubtedly one of the best collections of contemporary Scottish poetry that I have read.
To learn more about the Stephen Watt you can visit The Scottish Poetry Library, http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poetry/poets/stephen-watt or like his Facebook page @StephenWattSpit. Optograms, can be purchased from stephenwattspit299@gmail.com or the publisher Marc Sherland marcsherland@me.com at Wild Word Press.
  
Terror by Night: the true story of the brutal texas murder that destroyed a family, restored one man’s faith, and shocked a nation.

by Terry Caffey with James H. Pence

Genre: True Crime, Christian, memoir

Rating: 5

My summary: Terry woke up one night and saw his daughter’s ex-boyfriend standing in front of him with a gun. Charlie shot him several times, killed his wife, then him and his friend brutally killed his two sons. They set the house on fire, thinking everyone was dead. Terry managed to escape by God’s life-preservation alone, and made the long trek through the woods to the neighbor’s house. All Terry wanted was to die and live in Heaven with his family. But he stayed alive through sheer will-power and God’s grace. He made it to the neighbor’s house, identified the killer, then colapsed, hoping never to wake up again.

He woke up.

and He has to live with what happened for the rest of his long life.

Terry suffers from suicidal thoughts and depression, overdoses on his drugs, and can’t sleep at night because of his fear.

But God can take any situation and turn it around… Terry went back to where his house was to have a heart-to-heart with God. Terry found something there that was preserved through weeks of rain and wind, and yet was still readable. It was a page from James Pence’s novel Blind Sight (though he didn’t know it at the time) and the first lines he read were these: “I couldn't understand why You would take my family and leave me to struggle along without them. And I guess I still don’t totally understand that part of it. But I do believe that You’re sovereign; You’re in control.” Terry eventually found out through some hard hunting that the character in the book who was speaking had lost his wife and children. It was as if that book was written about him.

Terry’s life changed drastically. He went into ministry, he got re-married… and he learned what unconditional love, forgiveness, and trusting God really meant.

Review: Terror by Night was an absolutely stunning book in every sense of the word. The awful things that happened to Terry, and how God restored him, are amazing. Terror by Night is like Job all over again. God took everything away from Terry—his family were dead and his house was charcoal. Terry suffered tremendously, but God restored him. God used him to restore other people. And God blessed him and gave back what he had taken away.

This book is a testimony of how God can take anything and turn it around for good, how everything that happens is His will, and how He is the one and only thing we can always trust.

A powerful message, an amazing testimony, a picture of forgiveness, uplifting, encouraging, and brutally beautiful, Terror by Night will stay with you for the rest of your life.

Content: 100% clean

Recommendation: I whole-heartedly recommend Terror by Night to everyone over the age of 14. Terror by Night is extremely emotional, several times I had to stop and put it down. There were also some disturbing images of how the children were killed. It would probably make you cry if you read it in one sitting. However, I still think everyone should read it.