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Flynn (6 KP) rated An Abundance of Katherines in Books
Sep 10, 2018
Honestly, I don't think I can not like any of John Green's works, and An Abundance of Katherines was no exception. I tend to always feel some connection when I read his stuff, to the nerdy characters who are trying to discover themselves. I'm also drawn in by thought processes, their logic, and Colin's logic is wonderful to read. Of course, I'm a bit of a math geek, at least when it comes to seeing such a beautiful equation as Collin creates, so I loved the process of trying to predict relationships.
Through the book, Colin repeatedly says he wants to matter, and I understand his longing. I too want to make a difference, want to be remembered, though perhaps not ad direly as he did in the beginning, but I am nowhere near how Lindsey was in the beginning either, because I don't want to lay low. Not only was it lovely to see them change their minds, to learn more about themselves thanks to each other, but I stsrted thinking and learning about myself as I read. Green's works tend to get me thinking, but I was especially thoughtful while reading this book.
Through the book, Colin repeatedly says he wants to matter, and I understand his longing. I too want to make a difference, want to be remembered, though perhaps not ad direly as he did in the beginning, but I am nowhere near how Lindsey was in the beginning either, because I don't want to lay low. Not only was it lovely to see them change their minds, to learn more about themselves thanks to each other, but I stsrted thinking and learning about myself as I read. Green's works tend to get me thinking, but I was especially thoughtful while reading this book.
Mark @ Carstairs Considers (2099 KP) rated The Pigeon HAS to Go to School! in Books
Aug 14, 2019
Is Pigeon Ready for a New Experience?
Pigeon has just learned that he has to start attending school. Surely, he doesn’t have to do that. After all, he already knows everything. Will there be math? There are too many letters! And Pigeon is not a morning bird. Will anything be able to change his mind?
Author Mo Willems continues to find ways to tell stories using only pictures and dialogue that keep us engaged. This is another fast yet entertaining read. Most kids are excited about getting to go to school, but this book should help those who might be more reluctant and will entertain all kids. While Pigeon presents some reasons to not go to school that kids might not have thought of, by the end he is very excited about the prospect. (Personally, I still understand Pigeon’s concern about not being a morning bird.) I appreciated the nod to one of Pigeon’s earlier books. The stylized illustrations are a delight as always and really do help tell the story. Whether you have a kid starting school soon or not, you and your kid will enjoy this book.
Author Mo Willems continues to find ways to tell stories using only pictures and dialogue that keep us engaged. This is another fast yet entertaining read. Most kids are excited about getting to go to school, but this book should help those who might be more reluctant and will entertain all kids. While Pigeon presents some reasons to not go to school that kids might not have thought of, by the end he is very excited about the prospect. (Personally, I still understand Pigeon’s concern about not being a morning bird.) I appreciated the nod to one of Pigeon’s earlier books. The stylized illustrations are a delight as always and really do help tell the story. Whether you have a kid starting school soon or not, you and your kid will enjoy this book.
Kristy H (1252 KP) rated The Distant Dead in Books
Mar 4, 2021
A dark and well-written tale of sadness and forgiveness
Adam Merkel left his job as a professor in Reno to come to Lovelock, a small town, to teach math at their middle school. He was mostly mocked by his students, except for one, Sal Prentiss. After the death of his mother, Sal lives outside of town with his two uncles. Mostly friendless, he bonds with Mr. Merkel over math, chess, and more. So when Sal finds Mr. Merkel's body on his way to schoool--burned so that it's nearly unrecognizable--it turns his small world upside down. It upsets Nora Wheaton as well. A colleague of Adam's at the school, she thought she recognized a kindred spirit in him. Both seemed trapped in Lovelock: Nora had to return to care for her father. After Adam's death, Nora starts looking into his past to see what led to his horrible undoing. But so much of what she finds keeps leading back to the boy who befriended him--and found his body. As she tries to befriend the wary Sal, it opens up old wounds of her own.
I really loved Heather Young's book The Lost Girls, and The Distant Dead didn't disappoint either. She excels at creating excellent atmospheric novels with well-drawn characters. The Distant Dead perfectly captures small town life: how nearly everyone knows almost everything about everyone, but rarely interferes. How a small town can feel so stifling and claustrophobic. How the secrets and lies pile up until a man finds himself burned to death.
Young also covers the timely topics of drugs and addiction, which run as a thread across the book. Opiates don't seem like a tired trope here, though, but something that is eating up the town and ruining people's lives. It's no secret that I'm a sucker for a book with a good kid character, and I pretty much fell for Sal immediately. He's a great kid: real, vulnerable yet tough, and smart. He was an excellent narrator, with his portions telling what led up to Adam's death and Nora and Jake (a local EMT/firefighter) telling us what happened after. The book is surprisingly tense, with Young's beautifully written words jumping off every page. She's such a lyrical writer, weaving an amazing tale of sadness and redemption.
This isn't a fast read or a page-turning thriller. But it's a well-written book, with characters you won't soon forget. There's a lovely, albeit sad and dark, story here. Definitely worth a read. 4+ stars.
I really loved Heather Young's book The Lost Girls, and The Distant Dead didn't disappoint either. She excels at creating excellent atmospheric novels with well-drawn characters. The Distant Dead perfectly captures small town life: how nearly everyone knows almost everything about everyone, but rarely interferes. How a small town can feel so stifling and claustrophobic. How the secrets and lies pile up until a man finds himself burned to death.
Young also covers the timely topics of drugs and addiction, which run as a thread across the book. Opiates don't seem like a tired trope here, though, but something that is eating up the town and ruining people's lives. It's no secret that I'm a sucker for a book with a good kid character, and I pretty much fell for Sal immediately. He's a great kid: real, vulnerable yet tough, and smart. He was an excellent narrator, with his portions telling what led up to Adam's death and Nora and Jake (a local EMT/firefighter) telling us what happened after. The book is surprisingly tense, with Young's beautifully written words jumping off every page. She's such a lyrical writer, weaving an amazing tale of sadness and redemption.
This isn't a fast read or a page-turning thriller. But it's a well-written book, with characters you won't soon forget. There's a lovely, albeit sad and dark, story here. Definitely worth a read. 4+ stars.
Danny Bez (118 KP) rated Avengers: Endgame (2019) in Movies
Jun 9, 2019
AVENGERS
Contains spoilers, click to show
When first read it was going to be 3 hours long it was daunting however I was gripped from the get go and time wasn't an issue because I enjoyed all of it from the moment it started. Didn't expect see antman in this as I didn't even watch the trailer as wanted to be completely surprised when I watch it. It was a roller coater of emotions to see iron man had settled down with a kid after what thanks had done 5 years prior to then die at the end it was emotional to watch for a lot of viewers as for most didn't expect that to happen. Loved how captain America finally was worthy for thors hammer and it was just an epic moment for marvel fans to see such a patriotic character to be worthy of thors hammer. The final fight scene was intense and adrenaline was rushing while watching it then just when things seemed lost the rest of the hero's turned up with the lead of dr strange. Wow what an epic entrance. For me this was best avengers film for all the right reasons and even captain America got the ending he rightly deserved
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Proof (2005) in Movies
Sep 21, 2020
𝘋𝘶𝘮𝘣 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘏𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, a movie about advanced mathematics that couldn't possibly be more stupid. A quote on the back of the DVD case advertised this sappy drivel as "The kind of movie that's made for Oscar" - and I have to say, I couldn't agree more: in that it's overdramatized into ruin, sickeningly melodramatic to the point of near offense, talks a great deal but says nothing (has lengthy asides about conditioners and pointless math puns to pad out this pathetic non-story), everyone overacts, and it reeks of a pretentious stage production poorly translated to the screen with minimal effort. Overly literary for no reason whatsoever, despite the fact that it's nothing more than unnecessary, surface-level jargon which actively refuses to show even a hint of depth. What I'm sure would be at least *ever so slightly* more compelling on the stage absolutely falls apart on screen with no sense of what this should have kept/added/omitted/etc. to make it work. The only proof to come out of this is that John Madden remains one of the reigning kings of bad, intolerable Oscar bait. Glad he gave up this shit for worlds better stuff like 𝘔𝘪𝘴𝘴 𝘚𝘭𝘰𝘢𝘯𝘦. Lowpoint cringe cinema.
graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Sleeping Giants (Themis Files #1) in Books
Feb 15, 2019
Sleeping Giants is the first book in a new sci-fi series that is told epistolary-style, mostly in interviews and journal entries, with various other reports and articles thrown in for good measure. The basic synopsis is giant alien body parts were strewn across the globe millennia ago and (supposed to be) discreet teams go look for them while our "A-Team" -- as it were -- figures out how it works.
I found the book to be swift, fun, and easy to read, except for a couple of sections that made my eyes cross at trying to visualize the science and math. Readers who are more adept at math would most likely find it easier to grasp. There is also plenty of humor right up my alley, dry oftentimes, with a side of sarcasm. The first character we are introduced to is Rose Franklin, a physicist and the head of the project, who also was the first to stumble upon a body part, quite literally, as a child. I had a hard time getting a feel for her personality as she often is describing or explaining things about the alien robot. The others are Kara Resnik, a helicoptor pilot for the U.S. Army, Ryan Mitchell, also a pilot of the Army, Vincent Couture, a linguist of a sort, Alyssa Papantoniou, a geneticist, and an unnamed interviewer who I dubbed The Handler. Kara is one of the best characters as she really comes to life in the text. She provides most of the sarcasm and is prickly to boot. So I won't give anything away, I enjoyed the different personalities as they came together and interact, although it's not the usual sort of interactions since the story isn't traditionally told. However, by far, my favorite character is The Handler as he is dry and witty in a very subtle way. Nothing personal is mentioned about him, or at least not much, but his exchanges with everyone are highly enjoyable and amusing.
I don't have anything really bad to say about Sleeping Giants, but it did have a slightly slow start as it was more info-dumpy than I'd like, and I thought there was a little too much personal relationship issues brought into it. Those are only little nit-picky things, and on the whole, I don't mind them. During my reading I couldn't help but think numerous times that this would make an awesome tv series, it's just ripe with imagery that would totally work in that medium. In fact, it reminded me of Stargate SG-1 on occasion. I'm a bit put out that I want to read the next book immediately and the first hasn't even come out yet. If you're into sci-fi with a bit of a humor and mystery, I'd definitely recommend giving it a read.
I found the book to be swift, fun, and easy to read, except for a couple of sections that made my eyes cross at trying to visualize the science and math. Readers who are more adept at math would most likely find it easier to grasp. There is also plenty of humor right up my alley, dry oftentimes, with a side of sarcasm. The first character we are introduced to is Rose Franklin, a physicist and the head of the project, who also was the first to stumble upon a body part, quite literally, as a child. I had a hard time getting a feel for her personality as she often is describing or explaining things about the alien robot. The others are Kara Resnik, a helicoptor pilot for the U.S. Army, Ryan Mitchell, also a pilot of the Army, Vincent Couture, a linguist of a sort, Alyssa Papantoniou, a geneticist, and an unnamed interviewer who I dubbed The Handler. Kara is one of the best characters as she really comes to life in the text. She provides most of the sarcasm and is prickly to boot. So I won't give anything away, I enjoyed the different personalities as they came together and interact, although it's not the usual sort of interactions since the story isn't traditionally told. However, by far, my favorite character is The Handler as he is dry and witty in a very subtle way. Nothing personal is mentioned about him, or at least not much, but his exchanges with everyone are highly enjoyable and amusing.
I don't have anything really bad to say about Sleeping Giants, but it did have a slightly slow start as it was more info-dumpy than I'd like, and I thought there was a little too much personal relationship issues brought into it. Those are only little nit-picky things, and on the whole, I don't mind them. During my reading I couldn't help but think numerous times that this would make an awesome tv series, it's just ripe with imagery that would totally work in that medium. In fact, it reminded me of Stargate SG-1 on occasion. I'm a bit put out that I want to read the next book immediately and the first hasn't even come out yet. If you're into sci-fi with a bit of a humor and mystery, I'd definitely recommend giving it a read.
Poetry Speaks Who I Am is a collection of classic and contemporary poetry aimed at addressing middle schoolers in their transition from child to young adult. There is a wide range in the collection: classic poetry like Edgar Allan Poe, Langston Hughes, and Emily Dickinson and newer and present poets, some of whom read their work on the accompanying CD.
Poetry Speaks Who I Am has many poems that will apply to every feeling and thought, put words to what we can’t find words for, and prove that yes, there are other people out there who feel like you do now, you’re not the only one. You’re not alone. These poets talk about everything from the awkwardness of changing and showering in the fifth grade locker room to embarrassing bra shopping with mom, to a first kiss. There’s poems about segregation and ethnicity, homework and math class, sports, clothes, and even the emotions brought forth from reading poetry itself.
Not only does it have the poetry, there are pages in the back of artistic inspiring blank pieces of paper for the reader’s own poetry. The CD contains many of the poems read by the poets the way they were intended to be read.
Poetry Speaks Who I Am is a fantastic collection that every young lit-lover should have on their shelves.
Recommendation: Boys and Girls ages 8+
Poetry Speaks Who I Am has many poems that will apply to every feeling and thought, put words to what we can’t find words for, and prove that yes, there are other people out there who feel like you do now, you’re not the only one. You’re not alone. These poets talk about everything from the awkwardness of changing and showering in the fifth grade locker room to embarrassing bra shopping with mom, to a first kiss. There’s poems about segregation and ethnicity, homework and math class, sports, clothes, and even the emotions brought forth from reading poetry itself.
Not only does it have the poetry, there are pages in the back of artistic inspiring blank pieces of paper for the reader’s own poetry. The CD contains many of the poems read by the poets the way they were intended to be read.
Poetry Speaks Who I Am is a fantastic collection that every young lit-lover should have on their shelves.
Recommendation: Boys and Girls ages 8+
I spent a whole day without eating and the whole night without sleeping in order to think, but it was of no use. I got nothing out of it. Thinking cannot compare with studying - Confucius
Shing-Tung Yau along with Steve Nadis take us on a journey of a life in the pursuit of the universes hidden geometry. Their journey goes from China to Hong Kong and leads to San Francisco and Berkeley. Who knew looking for a topic for your dissertation at Berkeley would lead to a life long study in geometry. I found his realizations profound how Shing-Tung Yau made his decisions. This is a wonderful read for not just mathematician it goes beyond that it goes to the equation within all of us and the search we are all on to solve the Shape of Life. This wonderfully written book for a mathematician is a dream with the equations and answers with steps included allows others to understand the complex thinking of Shing-Tung Yau and Steve Nadis and why they found their conclusions are both profound and completely unique not that no one has not thought of them before but the way they found the conclusions was what made them so profound. The deeper meaning beyond the math makes this by far one of my most favorite books of all time.
Shing-Tung Yau along with Steve Nadis take us on a journey of a life in the pursuit of the universes hidden geometry. Their journey goes from China to Hong Kong and leads to San Francisco and Berkeley. Who knew looking for a topic for your dissertation at Berkeley would lead to a life long study in geometry. I found his realizations profound how Shing-Tung Yau made his decisions. This is a wonderful read for not just mathematician it goes beyond that it goes to the equation within all of us and the search we are all on to solve the Shape of Life. This wonderfully written book for a mathematician is a dream with the equations and answers with steps included allows others to understand the complex thinking of Shing-Tung Yau and Steve Nadis and why they found their conclusions are both profound and completely unique not that no one has not thought of them before but the way they found the conclusions was what made them so profound. The deeper meaning beyond the math makes this by far one of my most favorite books of all time.
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Destiny Gift (Everlast, #1) in Books
Jan 23, 2020
I'll admit first and foremost that just because I had to swap review dates with The Iron Traitor a few weeks ago, does not mean that I wanted to toss Destiny Gift right out the window and into the ocean. I almost lost part of my notes with the assumption that my Kindle was broken while in perfect condition when it really just needed charging.
Marking in ebooks is the only way not to get in severe trouble. x) I pity my poor planner with the chickenly scribbles of doom.
Destiny Gift is actually a really interesting book, being set in a futuristic (though not so far from today I'm assuming) New York with a hint (okay, more like a lot) of mythology hooray! and fantasy double hooray! mixed in. So much is made clearer about halfway through the book, but Haygert manages to keep us in suspense and not confuse readers in the process, which basically shows that the author has great writing potential and hopefully a very successful writing career too!
The idea behind the Destiny Gift is also pretty intriguing, so let me toss some basic word math in: Visions + Made Up Mythology (Because then one has full control of making of legends. So much fun.) + Other Goody Elements = Cooking Up A Pretty/Really Good Story.
I hope that sums up my entire thoughts in a nutshell of good old math. No Algebra needed (YES). But I'm not exactly finished, because I still need to talk about the characters, and having no clue about the characters is pretty much a book losing an arm or leg (ouch).
Victor and Micah, the lovely guys one can go swoon over if they so choose but no thanks. I'm focusing on good old days of Finals seemed to be too perfect. Well, I take that back. They're not perfect. They just seem too perfect in looks. Not that I mind.
I also like Micah's humor. Victor seems more of a "I'm a poisonous snake. You know, red on yellow. Stay away if you want to live." type of person. Not exactly the most pleasant image, since this is the snake I'm talking about:
<img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YI9vO_3_YLQ/UqYxHxURzOI/AAAAAAAACIo/L09fY3iu8Ic/s1600/thCAIAE0RF.jpg"; />
Freaking out? It's not the actual poisonous one. I didn't really want to... "poison" my blog with snakes you know. :p
I was sort of thinking about Biology at the time the review was written.
I suppose it isn't a terrible comparison. Why? I'm not giving spoilers....
<blockquote>"All right, let's change the question. What* are you three?"
"Power Rangers, ever heard of them?"</blockquote>
--------------------
Review copy provided by author for review
Original Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Owls
This review and more can be found at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2013/12/review-destiny-gift-by-juliana-haygert.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gi5Rk5yLloA/UtliaUbdL3I/AAAAAAAACbE/J27z92_qrYU/s1600/Official+Banner.png"; />
Marking in ebooks is the only way not to get in severe trouble. x) I pity my poor planner with the chickenly scribbles of doom.
Destiny Gift is actually a really interesting book, being set in a futuristic (though not so far from today I'm assuming) New York with a hint (okay, more like a lot) of mythology hooray! and fantasy double hooray! mixed in. So much is made clearer about halfway through the book, but Haygert manages to keep us in suspense and not confuse readers in the process, which basically shows that the author has great writing potential and hopefully a very successful writing career too!
The idea behind the Destiny Gift is also pretty intriguing, so let me toss some basic word math in: Visions + Made Up Mythology (Because then one has full control of making of legends. So much fun.) + Other Goody Elements = Cooking Up A Pretty/Really Good Story.
I hope that sums up my entire thoughts in a nutshell of good old math. No Algebra needed (YES). But I'm not exactly finished, because I still need to talk about the characters, and having no clue about the characters is pretty much a book losing an arm or leg (ouch).
Victor and Micah, the lovely guys one can go swoon over if they so choose but no thanks. I'm focusing on good old days of Finals seemed to be too perfect. Well, I take that back. They're not perfect. They just seem too perfect in looks. Not that I mind.
I also like Micah's humor. Victor seems more of a "I'm a poisonous snake. You know, red on yellow. Stay away if you want to live." type of person. Not exactly the most pleasant image, since this is the snake I'm talking about:
<img src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YI9vO_3_YLQ/UqYxHxURzOI/AAAAAAAACIo/L09fY3iu8Ic/s1600/thCAIAE0RF.jpg"; />
Freaking out? It's not the actual poisonous one. I didn't really want to... "poison" my blog with snakes you know. :p
I was sort of thinking about Biology at the time the review was written.
I suppose it isn't a terrible comparison. Why? I'm not giving spoilers....
<blockquote>"All right, let's change the question. What* are you three?"
"Power Rangers, ever heard of them?"</blockquote>
--------------------
Review copy provided by author for review
Original Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Owls
This review and more can be found at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2013/12/review-destiny-gift-by-juliana-haygert.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Gi5Rk5yLloA/UtliaUbdL3I/AAAAAAAACbE/J27z92_qrYU/s1600/Official+Banner.png"; />
BankofMarquis (1832 KP) rated Good Will Hunting (1997) in Movies
Jul 9, 2021
Well Deserved Oscars for Williams, Damon and Affleck
One of the benefits of “Secret Movie Night” is that it forces me to watch (or rewatch) a film that I would not seek out on my own. Such is the case with this month’s selection - GOOD WILL HUNTING - the film that made Matt Damon and Ben Affleck stars and earned the late, great Robin Williams his only Academy Award.
Leaning hard on the mantra “write what you know”, GOOD WILL HUNTING tells the tale of a generationally talented math prodigy, who grew up in South Boston and fights his demons to find his place in this world.
Famously, the screenplay of this film earned Damon and Affleck Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and it is well deserved. They paint a picture of life of these “Southies” that appears to me real and genuine. The “family” feel of the friendship of the main characters rings true and Damon and Affleck have real chemistry with each other - like old friends playing off each other.
However, the relationship between Affleck and Damon’s character in this film is only the 3rd best relationship in this film. The best, of course, is the relationship between Will Hunting (Damon) and the shrink that is assigned to him, played by Robin Williams. It is a haunting, raw, emotional and REAL performance by Williams - one very deserving of the Oscar - and I was more than a little sad to watch this performance knowing that this uniquely talented performer is no longer with us.
The surprise to me in this rewatch of the film is the performance of Minnie Driver as a young lady that becomes emotionally attached to Will. Driver’s performance as Harvard student Skylar is also real and the struggles of her character to get a connection with Will was heartbreaking to watch.
Good Will Hunting also features strong supporting work by Stellan Skarsgard as the MIT Math Professor who discovers - and then becomes jealous of - Will’s talents and Ben Affleck’s younger brother, a then unknown Casey Affleck, who steals almost every scene he is in.
All of this would not have worked without the magnificent, Oscar nominated, Direction of Gus Van Sant (DRUGSTORE COWBOY). He was the perfect choice to direct this intimate, personal drama and he has a way of drawing out the emotions and rawness of the characters on the screen without being cloying or overdramatic. He was a strong contender for Best Director that year (as was Good Will Hunting for Best Picture) but it ran into a roadblock that was James Cameron and TITANIC.
If you have never seen this film - or if you haven’t seen this in quite some time - check out GOOD WILL HUNTING, it is well worth your time.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)
Leaning hard on the mantra “write what you know”, GOOD WILL HUNTING tells the tale of a generationally talented math prodigy, who grew up in South Boston and fights his demons to find his place in this world.
Famously, the screenplay of this film earned Damon and Affleck Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and it is well deserved. They paint a picture of life of these “Southies” that appears to me real and genuine. The “family” feel of the friendship of the main characters rings true and Damon and Affleck have real chemistry with each other - like old friends playing off each other.
However, the relationship between Affleck and Damon’s character in this film is only the 3rd best relationship in this film. The best, of course, is the relationship between Will Hunting (Damon) and the shrink that is assigned to him, played by Robin Williams. It is a haunting, raw, emotional and REAL performance by Williams - one very deserving of the Oscar - and I was more than a little sad to watch this performance knowing that this uniquely talented performer is no longer with us.
The surprise to me in this rewatch of the film is the performance of Minnie Driver as a young lady that becomes emotionally attached to Will. Driver’s performance as Harvard student Skylar is also real and the struggles of her character to get a connection with Will was heartbreaking to watch.
Good Will Hunting also features strong supporting work by Stellan Skarsgard as the MIT Math Professor who discovers - and then becomes jealous of - Will’s talents and Ben Affleck’s younger brother, a then unknown Casey Affleck, who steals almost every scene he is in.
All of this would not have worked without the magnificent, Oscar nominated, Direction of Gus Van Sant (DRUGSTORE COWBOY). He was the perfect choice to direct this intimate, personal drama and he has a way of drawing out the emotions and rawness of the characters on the screen without being cloying or overdramatic. He was a strong contender for Best Director that year (as was Good Will Hunting for Best Picture) but it ran into a roadblock that was James Cameron and TITANIC.
If you have never seen this film - or if you haven’t seen this in quite some time - check out GOOD WILL HUNTING, it is well worth your time.
Letter Grade: A
9 stars (out of 10) and you can take that to the Bank(ofMarquis)