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Never Be Alone
Never Be Alone
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Joon is eight years old when her parents are killed and she is put into the foster care system. For 4 years, she is with the same family, but the way they treat her is worse than you would an enemy. When Joon has her chance, she runs away an tried to make a life for herself on the streets. She sees more in her short life than many people experience in an entire lifetime. Will Joon be able to survive on the streets or will she succumb to the pressures of drugs and prostitution?

Thank you to NetGalley and Fiction With Meaning for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is a book that every person should read. We have all seen a homeless person and I'm sure many of us judge them without knowing their situation and how they got to where they are. For some, maybe living on the street is better than their other choices.

In this story, I could see myself as Joon, going through life trying to survive, but I don't think I could have done all she did. This book will make you cry, it is absolutely heart wrenching. You want to jump in and try to save Joon. According to the Author's Notes(yes I read those), this book was taken from her own experience with homelessness.

Again, this is a book everyone should read. It will make you look at the world and the people in it very differently. We are all human and we all are just trying to make it through life with the cards we were dealt. Some of us were given a great hand, and others the worse, but it's what we do with it that makes all the difference.
  
If I Die Before I Wake
If I Die Before I Wake
Emily Koch | 2018 | Mystery, Thriller
8
7.7 (6 Ratings)
Book Rating
An accomplished debut
A who-dunnit story with a difference; told completely from the perspective of Alex who is trapped within his own body and with only the ability to speak to himself inside his own head trying to piece together the clues from the snippets of conversations he can hear and from his own fragmented memory as to how he got where he is.

This was an intriguing read and I really enjoyed that it was told from Alex's point of view - the sense of complete frustration and, at times, desolation at being completely helpless - was excellent and, at times, heart-breaking. I imagine it was extremely difficult to write and it must have taken great restraint not to introduce other concepts or parts of the story that may have helped to move it on but would have reduced the impact of Alex's situation.

This is a very original psychological mystery told in a unique way and I did feel constant anticipation that something was going to happen but, unfortunately, it never really seemed to ... well not until the end that is. Now don't get me wrong, I enjoyed it; it's a good book with great characters and I can't fault the writing style, the flow or the concept, but it just left me with a sense of "is that it?" when I finished when I feel it could have been a fantastic book.

Overall though, this is an accomplished debut novel for the author so if this book is anything to go by, I await the next with eager anticipation.

Many thanks to the publisher, Random House UK Vintage Publishing, via NetGalley for my copy in return for an honest and unbiased review.
  
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Sarah (7798 KP) created a post

Jun 13, 2018  
As we haven't got event reviews on here yet, I thought I'd post a quick review of where I was last night: the Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience.

Other than there being an orchestra and a video screen showing clips, I had no idea what to expect but it was actually very well done. As well as playing music to clips from the series, they also had a lot of physical effects that really added to the experience. The orchestra itself were fantastic, apart from the key musicians the rest of the orchestra and the choir were all from the local area and they timed the music perfectly with the clips they were showing, it was impressively done. Ramin Djawadi was hosting & conducting the show, but it wasn't until he said so that we realised he was the actual composer for the show, and this just made the experience even better. They played their way through music from all 7 seasons, the only drawback being that how much of the music do you remember apart from the title theme?

Still it was a different experience than I was used to, and I'm glad I went. I did get discounted tickets through work, I'm not entirely sure I would've liked to pay full price at £60+ a ticket. I'm also not entirely sure of the venue. They played in the Manchester Arena which is pretty big and although it's great for the physical effects, I'm not too sure if it's the best place to really appreciate the music. I'd be interested to see it again in a smaller venue built for orchestras and unamplified sound, to see the difference.
I'd give it an 8/10.
     
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Andy K (10821 KP) Jun 13, 2018

I would like to see this. Thanks for posting!

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KatieLouCreate (162 KP) Jun 13, 2018

I didn't even know this was a thing haha so thank you for your review! :D

Oversight (The Community #2)
Oversight (The Community #2)
Santino Hassell | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
8
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
Oversight is the second book in The Community series, and you do have to read book one to fully understand what is going on as events that happened in Insight are constantly referenced. The story this time focuses on Holden. He is the owner/manager of Evolution, the LGBT club that featured in book one. The fall out from those events are still going on, but Holden is doing his best with what he has. His father turns up (and caring and emotional are NOT words I would use to describe him!) and basically gives Holden to a babysitter. Six is someone Holden remembers from his youth, but it is hard to equate the two as Six has changed - or been changed - so much.

Once again, the story is full of mystery and suspense. I think I know who one of the mystery characters is, and now I just need to wait to see if I am correct! We also reacquainted ourselves with Trent and Nate, who continue to be favourites of mine. This story is excellently written, with major character development, especially in Holden. I didn't much like him in the first book, but saw a different side to him in this one. There were no editing or grammatical errors that disrupted my reading flow, so I would not hesitate to recommend this book.

One difference to book one though is no epilogue for our main characters Instead, it ends with things very much in the air, which will definitely leave you wanting more!

* 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!
  
Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)
Jumanji: The Next Level (2019)
2019 | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Same characters and some new (0 more)
Bit slow in places (0 more)
The movie seems to be set a couple of years after the first, all 4 friends have gone their seperate ways but come together to meet up at their local coffee shop, all except Spencer. Worried about him, fridge, Martha and bethany go to his house where they meet spencers grandad and his ex business partner Milo but spencer is nowhere to be seen. They hear the familiar drums coming from the basement and decide to go investigate, they notice the smashed games console and spencers phone and realise he has gone back into the game. They know They need to go back in and rescue him so they all touch the console and get dragged back into jumanji, but this time there's a difference. Everyone except martha are in different bodies and not only that but grandad and milo are somehow dragged in too.
Once again they have to complete different levels in the game but with 2 old people in tow instead of spencer and bethany with funny consequences. Dwayne johnson and kevin hart had the new characters down to a tea, the way they spoke and everything.
The storyline was along the same lines as the first movie but their play through was different. I liked how Martha was much more confident than last time and took the lead this time around. There was some laughs but not as much as the first film and i found some scenes dragged on longer than they should but overall it was a good movie and by the looks of the mid credits scene there is room for a 3rd to finish it off.
  
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