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Eleanor & Park
Eleanor & Park
Rainbow Rowell | 2016 | Young Adult (YA)
Heartwarming (1 more)
Realistic
Amazing, beautiful book
When Park first sees Eleanor get on the school bus, he cringes. Everything about her is wrong - her size, her hair, her clothes. He knows the other kids will pick on her immediately. But for some reason, he tells her to sit down next to him, despite knowing it will attract attention -- exactly what Park doesn't want. However, over time, Park and Eleanor forge an unlikely friendship-- attention be damned.

I feel like reviewing this book can't do it justice. This was a lovely, amazing, heartwarming, heartbreaking novel. Rowell does an unbelievable job of capturing adolescent love, relationships, and high school life. And not your typical YA cool kids, easy romance, where the protagonists "meet cute" and fall in love on Day 1. Park and Eleanor's friendship isn't easy, their relationship isn't easy: their lives aren't easy. Rowell portrays all of this beautifully, even if it's agonizing to read, without making it seem trite. Park and Eleanor are two of the most developed characters I've read about in ages. They leap off the pages, to the point where I wanted to adopt Eleanor and hug and befriend Park.

The book slowed a bit for me in the middle -- the creep of an adolescent relationship can be a bit rough -- but it's worth it. The ending is crushing, in many ways, and I would just about kill for a sequel, even though I can grudgingly probably admit it's best the way it ended. No matter what, a beautiful read-- so worth your time-- and one I'll be recommending to anyone I can find who hasn't read it yet.
  
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Merissa (11938 KP) rated Tomboy in Books

May 7, 2018  
Tomboy
Tomboy
Janelle Reston | 2018 | LGBTQ+, Romance
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Tomboy by Janelle Reston
Tomboy is a short but sweet, dare I say gentle, novella about two young girls. One is the tomboy in the title, and one comes from a "traditional" family. The story is told through Harriet's eyes as she compares her upbringing and beliefs with those of Jackie, who is allowed to wear clothes more suited for a boy. Her mum isn't exactly 'normal' though, and this great attitude has rubbed of onto Jackie. We meet them as young children, and stay with them as they progress through school, until they've been to college.

This novella skips along quite merrily with the transitions from one age to the next being absolutely seamless. Jackie always knows (or at least that's the impression I got) who she is, and what she wants, whereas Harriet isn't too sure, and does some experimenting before coming to her senses. Rich in the history of the time, with references to films and actors that I loved, we see the support Harriet gets from her dad, the unusual attitude of Jackie's mum, and also mentions of the cold war. I found this to be an absolutely fascinating read, and loved every moment.

With no editing or grammatical errors to disrupt my reading flow, the time spent in this book sped by all too quickly. However, it has certainly given me another author to follow! A wonderful book that I would highly recommend.

* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and my comments here are my honest opinion. *

Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
  
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Eleanor (1463 KP) rated the PC version of Two Point Hospital in Video Games

Jun 10, 2019  
Two Point Hospital
Two Point Hospital
2018 | Simulation
Graphics (2 more)
Humour
Nostalgia (for Theme Hospital veterans)
Little on the easy side once nail the strategy (0 more)
Fun simulation game
Many moons ago (1997) I used to love playing the PC simulation game called Theme Hospital made by Bullfrog, this game from Sega is very much a spiritual successor.

You design and operate hospitals with the aim to cure patients of a number of comical illnesses. Some of my favourites include Emperor Complex where patients wander around naked; Emperor’s New Clothes style, and need a psychiatrist to put them right and Pandemic the description of which is:

“What were you thinking? Look, we know things can get a little heated in the kitchen… but, frankly, if you’re putting a pan on your head you’re just doing cooking wrong. However, we accept that sometimes these things just happen. We won’t judge.”

To cure pandemic you need to build, one of many illness specific treatment rooms, the Extract-a-Pan. It’s the fun illnesses and graphics for them and their cures that keep this lighthearted.

You take control of various hospitals each with their own specific issues and as we are following the US healthcare model here the aim is frequently to make loads of money!! You control what rooms to build, staff to hire and research to complete providing lots of micromanagement opportunities.

Unlike Theme hospital in the age of DLC more hospitals and illnesses are becoming available as well as more ways to customise your hospitals. I still feel nostalgic for the original and maybe just because I’m older I found this a lot easier but still very enjoyable experience.
  
Eleanor & Park
Eleanor & Park
Rainbow Rowell | 2016 | Young Adult (YA)
When Park first sees Eleanor get on the school bus, he cringes. Everything about her is wrong - her size, her hair, her clothes. He knows the other kids will pick on her immediately. But for some reason, he tells her to sit down next to him, despite knowing it will attract attention -- exactly what Park doesn't want. However, over time, Park and Eleanor forge an unlikely friendship-- attention be damned.

I feel like reviewing this book can't do it justice. This was a lovely, amazing, heartwarming, heartbreaking novel. Rowell does an unbelievable job of capturing adolescent love, relationships, and high school life. And not your typical YA cool kids, easy romance, where the protagonists "meet cute" and fall in love on Day 1. Park and Eleanor's friendship isn't easy, their relationship isn't easy: their lives aren't easy. Rowell portrays all of this beautifully, even if it's agonizing to read, without making it seem trite. Park and Eleanor are two of the most developed characters I've read about in ages. They leap off the pages, to the point where I wanted to adopt Eleanor and hug and befriend Park.

The book slowed a bit for me in the middle -- the creep of an adolescent relationship can be a bit rough -- but it's worth it. The ending is crushing, in many ways, and I would just about kill for a sequel, even though I can grudgingly probably admit it's best the way it ended. No matter what, a beautiful read-- so worth your time-- and one I'll be recommending to anyone I can find who hasn't read it yet.
  
The Sieve (Drakon Book 1)
The Sieve (Drakon Book 1)
C A Caskabel | 2016 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Very short book 1 of 4
This first instalment in the Drakon book sees a mysterious figure, Da-Ren, appear at a monastery looking for salvation, and then follows his memories of his coming-of-age journey as a 12 year-old boy. Dragged from his bed in the orphans camp of his tribe and thrown into The Sieve - a 6 week long trial to weed out the weakest of the tribe, he and his fellow tribe members are forced to stand barely clothed in the freezing field - if they don't fall they get the luxury of clothes and meat; otherwise its porridge. The story flows really well and only seems to drag in a couple of chapters - quite a feat considering the daily drudge being described!
This first part is very short indeed and I can't help but wonder why. I think the overall page count of the full 4 "book" series is about 1500 - so cutting it in to 4 sections seems a little far. This book is about 250 pages. While it tells the full story of Da-Ren's time in the sieve and concludes with his final rating (the role he will perform for the tribe for the rest of his life) I think more of the present story (the monastery) could have been added on the end. A story featuring flashbacks should absolutely not finish in the flashback - showing that this is not really a standalone book at all.
I will read the rest of the series in due course as I loved the storytelling, the world built and am intrigued as to what is next.