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ClareR (5784 KP) rated The Other Half of Augusta Hope in Books
Sep 29, 2020
Alongside the story of Augusta, chapters are alternated with Parfait and his story. He lives in Burundi - a country torn apart by Civil War. Parfaits family is destroyed by the horrors of this war, so he and his younger brother leave for what they feel will be a better life in Spain. Life has more sadness to throw at Parfait, though - and Augusta is dealt a cruel hand as well. She finds solace in Spain, which is where Parfait and Augusta are destined to meet.
I liked the alternating chapters of Augusta and Parfait - this device really highlighted the huge differences in their lives early on. As the story progresses though, it also shows that no matter how different we may all appear, there are actually more similarities than differences. We are all human; we all experience love and loss.
This was such a good way to highlight the refugee crisis in Europe. At a couple of points in the story, Parfait announces to the Spanish town how many people had died in the Mediterranean that year in their quest to live a better life. This book is heartbreaking in more than this one way. Both characters suffer unimaginable loss, and both learn to value life, a feeling of home and belonging.
It’s a wonderful book, and one that I’d heartily recommend. Many thanks to NetGalley and The Borough Press for my ebook copy.
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Doodle on Photo – Write Text and Draw on Pictures
Lifestyle and Photo & Video
App
Make your pics more interesting and funny! You can now paint on photo and add text as much as you...
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Ookii Squiggles by Baby First & Lazoo
Education and Entertainment
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It’s okay to color outside the lines! No one is too young (or too old!) to create! Join Ookii,...
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Pacifica for Stress & Anxiety
Health & Fitness and Medical
App
Stress, anxiety, and depression can get in the way of you living your life. Pacifica gives you...
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Hazel (2934 KP) rated A Child for the Reich in Books
Dec 4, 2022
Anna Dankova and her family live in Nazi-occupied Prague. Her husband and brother-in-law have joined the Czech Resistance leaving them to try and raise their children with the ever present danger of the Nazi soldiers, the Gestapo and the much feared Brown Sisters; female nurses who were dedicated to the Nazi cause. They worked for the Nazi Welfare Organization and searched through villages and towns for Aryan-looking children.
Anna and her sister's children are blonde-haired and blue-eyed and their fears are only too real but they are powerless against the might of the Nazi regime and one day, Anna's daughter, Ema is literally ripped from her arms in broad daylight leaving Anna, understandably, distraught and determined to get her back whatever the risks before she is lost forever.
Anna uses all her skills, courage and guile to find her daughter, infiltrate the children's home where she has been placed to be indoctrinated into the German way and to figure out a way to get her out of there whilst under the ever present threat of exposure and certain death.
This is a story full of tension and heartbreak and one mother's determination to find her daughter no matter what and it was absolutely gripping and I have no hesitation recommending it to those of you who 'enjoy' reading historical fiction based on true stories and events.
Thank you to HarperCollins UK, One More Chapter and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of A Child for the Reich.
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Payoff: The Hidden Logic That Shapes Our Motivations
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Every day we work hard to motivate ourselves. We spend much of our time trying to motivate the...
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Love Your Sister
Samuel Johnson and Connie Johnson
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Born a year apart, Connie and Samuel Johnson have always been close. Faced with the devastating news...
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John Krasinski recommended The Verdict (1982) in Movies (curated)
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Dating DNA Plus
Dating, Entertainment and Social Networking
App
Dating DNA is the #1 dating app in the iTunes store with 100% FREE SERVICE. NO Monthly Fees! NO...
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Andy K (10823 KP) rated The Legend of Tarzan (2016) in Movies
Mar 30, 2019
This isn't really an origin story of Tarzan, more of him coming back to where he was raised to attempt to save the day. His origins are revealed in flashback which helps the audience understand his motivations and reservations for returning to his homeland.
When the bankrupt king summons an evil henchman to help him cleanse the land of its inhabitants for the raw diamond lot, our heroes are summoned to stop them.
Alexander Skarsgård, Margot Robbie and Samuel L. Jackson were all really good and believable. For some reason I normally love Christoph Waltz, but I think he's played the villain too many times now and this time it felt a little generic to me.
CGI for the most part was acceptable, although any CGI gorillas will always be compared to the recent Apes reboot trilogy which is still far superior.
The action scenes were decent if you can accept humans battling giant gorillas an kept me entertained throughout.
You will certainly not be disappointed with this one in my opinion.