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ClareR (5674 KP) rated How To Save a Life in Books
Apr 16, 2024
This was a moving story about three school friends - one of whom goes into cardiac arrest on New Year’s Eve. Kerry begins CPR immediately, Tim freezes and finds himself unable to help, which is inconvenient as they both want to go to medical school. But when the paramedics arrive, Tim has at last started to help (even though Kerry has worked alone for about 15 minutes) and takes the praise as well as Kerry.
It’s here Tim starts to realise that being a doctor may not be what he thought it would be.
Kerry’s life takes a turn when she fails her A Levels, and Joel finds it hard to accept his heart condition and the changes he has to make in his life.
I liked that each of the characters had the chance to tell their story in alternating chapters. These characters experienced addiction, depression and other health conditions, and the main theme of the story, Joel’s heart condition, is revisited often. As are the mechanics of CPR, and it’s pointed out by the author that a persons life is more likely to be saved if you at least try.
This is a lovely, and often moving story. I really enjoyed it.
It’s here Tim starts to realise that being a doctor may not be what he thought it would be.
Kerry’s life takes a turn when she fails her A Levels, and Joel finds it hard to accept his heart condition and the changes he has to make in his life.
I liked that each of the characters had the chance to tell their story in alternating chapters. These characters experienced addiction, depression and other health conditions, and the main theme of the story, Joel’s heart condition, is revisited often. As are the mechanics of CPR, and it’s pointed out by the author that a persons life is more likely to be saved if you at least try.
This is a lovely, and often moving story. I really enjoyed it.
Bong Mines Entertainment (15 KP) rated Z for Zodiac - Single by Mxlcxlm in Music
Jun 17, 2019
Mxlcxlm Z is an up-and-coming rapper based in Denver, Colorado. Not too long ago, he released a freestyle lyric video for his “Z for Zodiac” single.
“I hope this video sparks some new found interest in raw hip-hop/bars again by inspiring folks with the creativity and the depth of thought. I hope it makes people want to rewind it and dissect the lyrics, catching things on listen #5 or #10 that they didn’t notice on the initial listens. Also, I hope a few of the bars about the Zodiac (the real ones, not the ‘clever’ ones) inspire people to pursue their own interest into the Houses of the Zodiac and their connection to religious texts/doctrine/allegories. Finally, I hope this song gives people a small but intriguing-enough look into my life and that they realize that I truly do rhyme about what’s going on in my real life, what my heart feels, and about real situations that often don’t get talked about enough.” – Mxlcxlm Z
The audiovisual video features Mxlcxlm Z rapping 116 witty bars based on the 12 houses of the horoscope.
This is the first no cut video the rapper has ever edited which proved to be a challenge. But overall, he was able to bring to fruition the vision he saw in his head.
‘Z for Zodiac’ contains an introspective storyline, lyrical rap vocals, and lush instrumentation flavored with a hip-hop aroma.
“My favorite bars in the song, partly because of the double entendre but mostly because of the reality, is when I say, ‘Jonny died I tried to act like that sh*t didn’t bother me. I do this sh*t for him (hymn) like when the choir sing’. Another of my favorites is the bar referring to mama Sarah, when I say, ‘Tried coping with sobriety, performed lobotomy with an acid tab and a pile of weed’. Which means that, though I attempted to deal with my problems in a sober way, I was able to help treat my mental illnesses with LSD and cannabis.” – Mxlcxlm Z
Mxlcxlm Z’s studies in metaphysics, the occult, and astrology heavily influence the way he views the world. Of course, those beliefs find their way into his music.
When he lost his brother Jonny and grandmother Sarah, he fell into a major depression.
Because of his experience with loss, he is thankful for the nieces and nephew he has from his sister who once thought she might not ever have children.
“I speak briefly [in this song] on my upbringing, my sister dealing with miscarriages, and how she’s since been blessed with 3 kids. Dealing with depression at a young age, I feel like it was the Creator/God that saved me.” – Mxlcxlm Z
https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/mxlcxlm-z-z-for-zodiac/
“I hope this video sparks some new found interest in raw hip-hop/bars again by inspiring folks with the creativity and the depth of thought. I hope it makes people want to rewind it and dissect the lyrics, catching things on listen #5 or #10 that they didn’t notice on the initial listens. Also, I hope a few of the bars about the Zodiac (the real ones, not the ‘clever’ ones) inspire people to pursue their own interest into the Houses of the Zodiac and their connection to religious texts/doctrine/allegories. Finally, I hope this song gives people a small but intriguing-enough look into my life and that they realize that I truly do rhyme about what’s going on in my real life, what my heart feels, and about real situations that often don’t get talked about enough.” – Mxlcxlm Z
The audiovisual video features Mxlcxlm Z rapping 116 witty bars based on the 12 houses of the horoscope.
This is the first no cut video the rapper has ever edited which proved to be a challenge. But overall, he was able to bring to fruition the vision he saw in his head.
‘Z for Zodiac’ contains an introspective storyline, lyrical rap vocals, and lush instrumentation flavored with a hip-hop aroma.
“My favorite bars in the song, partly because of the double entendre but mostly because of the reality, is when I say, ‘Jonny died I tried to act like that sh*t didn’t bother me. I do this sh*t for him (hymn) like when the choir sing’. Another of my favorites is the bar referring to mama Sarah, when I say, ‘Tried coping with sobriety, performed lobotomy with an acid tab and a pile of weed’. Which means that, though I attempted to deal with my problems in a sober way, I was able to help treat my mental illnesses with LSD and cannabis.” – Mxlcxlm Z
Mxlcxlm Z’s studies in metaphysics, the occult, and astrology heavily influence the way he views the world. Of course, those beliefs find their way into his music.
When he lost his brother Jonny and grandmother Sarah, he fell into a major depression.
Because of his experience with loss, he is thankful for the nieces and nephew he has from his sister who once thought she might not ever have children.
“I speak briefly [in this song] on my upbringing, my sister dealing with miscarriages, and how she’s since been blessed with 3 kids. Dealing with depression at a young age, I feel like it was the Creator/God that saved me.” – Mxlcxlm Z
https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/mxlcxlm-z-z-for-zodiac/
Night Reader Reviews (683 KP) rated The Secrets of the Forest in Books
Mar 19, 2020
Honest Review for Free Copy of Book
The Secrets of the Forest by Helena Brady is a creepy-pasta in a slightly longer book. It takes on elements of the 2016 movie “The Forest” and Slenderman who showed up sometime around 2009. It also talks of depression and suicide a lot, along with murder, death, and abuse. If these topics bother you please be advised.
Sarah-Rose has entered the hardest time of her life. Her father has recently died and her mother blames Sarah-Rose for his death. Not only is Sarah-Rose’s mother blaming her but she has turned to alcohol and beating her daughter as a way to cope. Understandably enough Sarah-Rose can not handle all this, even more so because it is her sixteenth birthday.
To escape all of this Sarah-Rose heads into The Forest that is on the edge of town, the one no one goes into for fear of death. She is hoping that the stories are true and like everyone else who has entered The Forest that she either won’t come out or will come out as a corpse floating in the river. What Sarah-Rose didn’t expect was that The Forest had its own plans for her. Upon entering The Forest, Sarah-Rose starts discovering secret after secret about her town’s past and herself. The only question that remains is if and when The Forest plans on claiming her as well.
It was well thought out as to what the requirements were for someone to become a spirit or not. The same goes for if said person’s spirit becomes bound to The Forest or if they can leave it of their own free will. I did not find this book to be very original at all. It seemed to be a combination of a few different popular stories of recent years. The name and cover even immediately made me think of other things.
This is a young adult book, but it is largely about depression and suicide. With these extremely tough subjects being at the front of the story I encourage anyone extremely sensitive about these topics to put the book down. All others, please enjoy it. I rate this book 2 out of 4. Overall the story was good. It was just too unoriginal for my taste. I do believe this book will be enjoyed by those who choose to read it. There are a few small surprises that the unsuspecting reader will find interesting.
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Sarah-Rose has entered the hardest time of her life. Her father has recently died and her mother blames Sarah-Rose for his death. Not only is Sarah-Rose’s mother blaming her but she has turned to alcohol and beating her daughter as a way to cope. Understandably enough Sarah-Rose can not handle all this, even more so because it is her sixteenth birthday.
To escape all of this Sarah-Rose heads into The Forest that is on the edge of town, the one no one goes into for fear of death. She is hoping that the stories are true and like everyone else who has entered The Forest that she either won’t come out or will come out as a corpse floating in the river. What Sarah-Rose didn’t expect was that The Forest had its own plans for her. Upon entering The Forest, Sarah-Rose starts discovering secret after secret about her town’s past and herself. The only question that remains is if and when The Forest plans on claiming her as well.
It was well thought out as to what the requirements were for someone to become a spirit or not. The same goes for if said person’s spirit becomes bound to The Forest or if they can leave it of their own free will. I did not find this book to be very original at all. It seemed to be a combination of a few different popular stories of recent years. The name and cover even immediately made me think of other things.
This is a young adult book, but it is largely about depression and suicide. With these extremely tough subjects being at the front of the story I encourage anyone extremely sensitive about these topics to put the book down. All others, please enjoy it. I rate this book 2 out of 4. Overall the story was good. It was just too unoriginal for my taste. I do believe this book will be enjoyed by those who choose to read it. There are a few small surprises that the unsuspecting reader will find interesting.
https://www.facebook.com/nightreaderreviews/
https://smashbomb.com/nightreader
https://nightreaderreviews.blogspot.com/
Haley Mathiot (9 KP) rated This Little Prayer of Mine in Books
Apr 27, 2018
This Little Prayer of Mine is a beautiful prayer book that every kid—and parent—should read and pray. It gets down into the heart, disclosing what's really there and how we all really feel. I was surprised how much I as an 18 year old related to this book. I pray the same prayers—though not in such beautiful verse—as this prayer.
It targets just about everything: the biblical command to be joyful: "help me to be happy," the search for the God's will: "show me what the right path is and help me follow you," and even loneliness and depression: "please let me know you're here with me and everything's alright," and then our end path, what really matters: "but most of all I'm grateful for your love that never ends." I had shivers running down my spine while I read this prayer.
Not only is it a wonderful prayer in itself, but the rhythm of the verse is enchanting and perfectly smooth. The illustrations are beautiful, and instantly reminded me of Max Lucado's children's book You Are Special (those of you who don't know, another highly recommended book and author).
This Little Prayer of Mine may be short, but it's a prayer that needs to be read by the big and the small.
Recommendation: Ages 4+
It targets just about everything: the biblical command to be joyful: "help me to be happy," the search for the God's will: "show me what the right path is and help me follow you," and even loneliness and depression: "please let me know you're here with me and everything's alright," and then our end path, what really matters: "but most of all I'm grateful for your love that never ends." I had shivers running down my spine while I read this prayer.
Not only is it a wonderful prayer in itself, but the rhythm of the verse is enchanting and perfectly smooth. The illustrations are beautiful, and instantly reminded me of Max Lucado's children's book You Are Special (those of you who don't know, another highly recommended book and author).
This Little Prayer of Mine may be short, but it's a prayer that needs to be read by the big and the small.
Recommendation: Ages 4+
Sarah (7798 KP) rated The Bell Jar in Books
Mar 18, 2020
A worthy classic
The Bell Jar is one of those well known classic books that pretty much everyone has heard of, but yet for me I hadn't a clue what the story was actually about. The story centres around a young woman's mental breakdown and descent into depression, and her subsequent slow path to recovery. It's not in the slightest what I was expected, but this is actually a rather good and worthy classic novel.
I wouldnt say Esther is a particularly endearing protagonist, there's a lot about her tale that doesn't make sense or seems a little lacking but I'm guessing this is because it's meant to represent her rather unhinged state of mind. It can get a little frustrating when things aren't explained properly, but for the most part the plot and story is very interesting and I struggled to put this down. It's well written without being pretentious, and it seems to be a very realistic tale about mental illness. The metaphor of the bell jar itself is a rather wonderful term despite the subject matter and one of the best metaphors I've ever come across in literature, as it's so true.
Overall this is a great classic and whilst it may seem a little dated, it's a really good study on mental health.
I wouldnt say Esther is a particularly endearing protagonist, there's a lot about her tale that doesn't make sense or seems a little lacking but I'm guessing this is because it's meant to represent her rather unhinged state of mind. It can get a little frustrating when things aren't explained properly, but for the most part the plot and story is very interesting and I struggled to put this down. It's well written without being pretentious, and it seems to be a very realistic tale about mental illness. The metaphor of the bell jar itself is a rather wonderful term despite the subject matter and one of the best metaphors I've ever come across in literature, as it's so true.
Overall this is a great classic and whilst it may seem a little dated, it's a really good study on mental health.
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