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Sammeh Lowry (15 KP) rated Insurgent in Books

Jul 13, 2019  
Insurgent
Insurgent
Veronica Roth | 2013 | Children, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)
10
8.3 (59 Ratings)
Book Rating
The plot thickens! Many times in this book I have screamed words such as NO! WHAT! YOU *add whichever naughty word you would like to here* So this is the follow up to divergent,sides are chosen,people who you wouldn't think would do such things do,secrets are spilt and Tris is on a journey of guilt and grief all rolled up in one. I absolutely loved this book,it kept me hooked till the very end and now I cannot wait to read the last one,although I don't think I'm mentally prepared!
  
The Book Of Love (2017)
The Book Of Love (2017)
2017 | Drama
7
7.0 (1 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Story: The Book of Love starts when architect Henry Herschel (Sudeikis) loses his pregnant wife Penny (Biel) in a car accident, broken he needs to take time away from work, he notices homeless teenager Millie (Williams) searching for scraps.

When Henry learns what Millie is planning, he decides to jump in and help her with the project to build a raft to sail across the Atlantic, this gives him a new lease for life, to help someone follow their dream.

 

Thoughts on The Book of Love

 

Characters – Henry Herschel is an architect on the verge of a big promotion to partner in the company, and a baby, his life however is turned upside down when his wife is killed in an accident. Filled with grief he meets teenager Millie who he helps with her project, taking his mind off his loss. Millie is a homeless teenager, well she is forced to live with her estranged Uncle and she wants to build a raft like in the journal she finds. She believes she is doing the right thing as she is dealing with own problems. Penny is Henry’s wife who even after her death gives him guiding light to help Millie. Julia is the mother-in-law wanting the best for Henry as her own way of dealing with the loss of her daughter.

Performances – Jason Sudeikis continues to show that he is delightful to watch in these drama-comedy roles, he shows enough grief and hope to make you believe that he has been the one to lose his wife. Maisie Williams is good for the most part, but she does struggle to maintain the accent through the film. Jessica Biel and Mary Steenburgen both give us good performances in the supporting roles.

Story – The story follows a grief ridden man that decides to help a teenager with her own problems in an attempt to cure his own problems only to there to help cure her problems. This does have sweet moments as we see how the lives have been turned upside down by their own tragic losses and the moments where they can help support each other, we do however deal with grief in a realistic way, being left empty in need of something to keep us going. The glaring problem is the repeating of the facts about people dying, we just don’t need this on repeat to get the point, as we know the focus on the story is, enjoy life however difficult moments have been.

Settings – The film is set-in small-town America, well the suburbs, which shows us how life can change in an instant in this world no matter who or where you are.


Scene of the Movie – Closing shot.

That Moment That Annoyed Me – Maisie Williams accent.

Final Thoughts – This is a charming movie that gets the message across well, we get to see just how grief can be processed by the people suffering from it.

 

Overall: One of the dreamers to see where people can make it.
  
After He Died
After He Died
Michael J. Malone | 2018 | Crime, Fiction & Poetry, Philosophy, Psychology & Social Sciences
8
8.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
The main protagonist in this novel is Paula, a middle-class housewife, who just became a widow. A young woman – Cara, is trying to shine a different light on Paula’s deceased husband Thomas. This novel is told from two different perspectives – Paula’s and Cara’s. This book is soaked with grief, both of these characters lost people in their past, and they are still dealing with their grief. I really liked Paula in this book. I could feel her pain and her confusion, and to be honest, I was confused with her because all those little clues and words left me as much baffled as Paula herself. I really wanted to like Cara in this novel, but I couldn’t bond with her. I did like what she represented and I did like her attitude, but I couldn’t warm up to her.

The narrative of this novel is very masterfully delivered. It covers a really wide spectrum of events: we have a domestic noir, filled with family relationships and grief, and at the same time we have murders and mystery which are unfolding very slowly. I really liked the topics M. Malone discussed in this book, such as poverty and homelessness; how people deal with grief and what death brings to the families; drugs and how it influences people and their future, etc. I think this novel is more character driven than the investigation itself, but all these talks about feelings and sadness were too much for me at times, I wanted more pace and more unexpected findings. 🙂 Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of surprises and twists, but I needed more. 😀

I really enjoyed M. Malone’s writing style, it is a very well crafted novel, and his way of sharing Scottish lingual nuances was absolutely adorable and I really liked them. 🙂 This book has a very strong “rich vs. poor” accent, and the setting is changing between luxury, wellness, and shady areas with homeless people, and I found it very well balanced in this book. The chapters were pretty short, and the whole novel was quick and easy to read. The ending of this book rounded this novel very well and it did leave me satisfied. So, to conclude, this is a very sensitive novel, where the pain after someone’s death is very raw and haunting, but at the same time, it is a great thriller filled with very realistic and casual characters and a very unexpected plot. I really liked this novel, and I hope you will give this book a try and enjoy as much as I did.
  
After Life - Season 2
After Life - Season 2
2020 | Comedy, Drama
Exploring the aspects of mental health (3 more)
Storyline
Characters
Honesty
Truthful, honest and brutal
Afterlife Season 2 continued to follow the story of Tony, a brutal but honest character who is trying to become a better friends to those around him, whilst still struggling with the immense grief of losing his wife. Although maintaining his brutal honesty and hard shell, you see this character develop more and more into a more kindhearted, supportive and better person whilst still battling with the loss of his wife. We also see how he mentors a new aspiring journalist, and tries to brighten up what essentially isn't the greatest job/career choice for her. We see how each one of his friends are battling their own problems and how he manages to finally face his own, in order to help others. With the loss of his wife, the potential loss of his job and dealing with the loss of his father twice (due to dementia and then passing away) - we see the reality of loss and stigma around mental health, rather than falsely painting the issues in the programme to be positive, we view the harsh reality of everyday life. It is refreshing to see the reality and harshness of issues such loss, grief, addiction, loss etc.