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Kaysee Hood (83 KP) rated Attachments in Books

Nov 16, 2017  
Attachments
Attachments
Rainbow Rowell | 2011 | Fiction & Poetry
10
7.4 (10 Ratings)
Book Rating
Unconventional Romance (3 more)
Read Life Issues
Movie/Book References
Friendships
Love at First...E-mail?
I've seen some low scored reviews for this book on GR and I realized it may keep some people from reading it, but here are some points I think some should consider before not giving Attachments a chance:

1. This is Rainbow Rowell's first published novel, so of course for some it doesn't hold the magic like Eleanor & Park. Keep in mind many first books never hold against later published works, but are still good or why would the author be allowed to continue?
2. Even though it was published in 2011, it is based in 1999/2000 for plot reasons as to why Lincoln would have his job. This may offset some readers who might not realize how different 1999 is to 2017 Internet use wise for jobs.
3. The lack of reading into who and why the characters are as they are. In a way, it is the adult version of Fangirl, expect the roles are flipped a tad bit.

Anyway, I loved Attachments because it stayed true to Rowell's style, yet it felt raw compared to how she writes now. There is the unconventional love story of a man falling in love with a woman through the e-mails he reads as part of his job to ensure people are working and not nonsense while on the job. There's characters of all sorts with real world problems and real life flaws. There are topics covered of overbearing mothers and mothers who are too cruel both because of their own life. There is men who never want to be tied down, yet one does due to advice and the right woman. The book covers pieces life without taking from the plot whatsoever.

Lincoln O'Neil is a 28-year-old who could have been a successful man with a normal day shift job if a break up had not left him shattered nine years before. Maybe also if his mother had not coddled him, even though she clearly meant well as it is clear him and his sister, Eve, might have been her whole life. Yet we would not have the awkward, shy man working a the swing shift in the IT office as a "security officer" fixing computers in his spare time when he isn't reading through e-mails that come up flagged in the Webfence program. Apparently the security part was ensuring no one at the newspaper office was using the Internet to look at porn, gamble, or idle chit chat instead of working. Not quite was Lincoln had pictured and he doesn't enjoy reading people's exchanges, but the money is good and will grant him the chance to move out his mom's sooner rather than later.

His mundane routine and nothingness during his shift is filled with some enjoyment as Lincoln reads the e-mails flagged from Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder. There is nothing harmful. Innocent discussions of water cooler talk, life, relationships, and gossip. As much as he knows it is wrong to continue to read their messages about their lives without flagging them as he would anyone else Lincoln cannot help but to get a kick out of the e-mails.

However it soon becomes apparent Lincoln has fallen for Beth despite the fact he has no idea what she looks like or who is she outside of work. Not to mention she has a boyfriend, Chris, who even though she may rant about to Jennifer, she obviously has not intent on breaking ties with. Not for someone like Lincoln anyway. So he spends his time in turmoil trying to decide if a new job is in order, going back to college, or finding a woman to focus his attention on (which are the very things he tries to do). He even tries to ignore the e-mails, yet can't. He cannot help, but feel for Jennifer's worry over having a baby even though her husband wants one. He cannot help, but captivated by their friendship. He cannot help his feelings for Beth for who she is.

It doesn't help Beth has spotted him labeling him as "A Cute Guy" when he never realized she was around. It is like a game of cat and mouse between them then. Beth still unaware he is reading her e-mails. Lincoln unaware of how often she is close to him even when she is going out of her way to find him.

Thus a budding romance is born. But how much of a romance can it be when Beth has Chris and Lincoln can barely look a woman in the eyes?
  
Everything You Want Me to Be
Everything You Want Me to Be
Mindy Mejia | 2017 | Crime, Mystery
10
7.8 (5 Ratings)
Book Rating
It's not very often that I add a title to my list of favorite books, and I've never felt the burning desire to create a shelf for my favorite reads on Goodreads - that is, until this moment. After finishing up with Mindy Mejia's Everything You Want Me to Be, I am nearly speechless. What Mejia has pulled off in her book is nothing short of a impressive.

One of the things that caught my interest when I was browsing through titles to request on NetGalley was the synopsis for this novel, which I found to be unique. Most books give you a loose summary of the plot, sans spoilers. It's the information that you usually find on the back of a book, really. That little tidbit of information for Everything You Want Me to Be came defied the norm in that regard by blatantly telling potential readers that they would be following the life of a girl up until her death which, if you ask me, is a pretty big spoiler: one that leaves a challenge at that. If you tell your readers that the main character is dead, the question that remains is this: how are you going to keep them hooked? Mejia's reply to that query comes in the form of a plot full of nerve-wracking twists and turns that, no matter how certain a reader might be, is likely to still leave them searching for answers. (I was actually guessing until the very end how this book would play out, and I did not figure it out until the very last moment, when there were only lines left until the major reveal.)

Everything You Want Me to Be is a whodunnit novel - of that, I have no doubt. Eighteen-year-old Henrietta Hoffman, full of talent and with her whole life ahead of her, is murdered. It was someone close to her, according to evidence, and its left to the sheriff, who happens to be the girl's father's best friend, to find out who's behind it. It is also a psychological thriller. Reading this book, I felt things I did not want to feel. Where I felt I should be directing anger and disgust, I could not; in fact, my least favorite character is actually the victim, rather than the various suspects I encountered as I read.

Henrietta, or Hattie as she prefers to be called, is a typical teen-aged girl, facing the usual obstacles of small town life. Having been in her shoes, I was able to connect with her and, in some ways, relive my own past as I read through her dialogue. Born and raised in rural south Minnesota, Hattie has dreams of the Big Apple. Every moment of her free time is spent focusing on those dreams, and while she's browsing through a forum, she meets a guy that she ends up falling in love with. Through private messages, a relationship blooms, and she and this guy embark upon a journey with an unknown destination. It's a pretty easy web to get caught up in, especially when one spends most of their time pleasing other people, which Hattie obviously does.

The book is told from three perspectives in total: Henrietta's, Peter's, and Del's. Peter is a teacher at her school and Del is the town's sheriff. In addition to these three vastly different points-of-view, there is a plethora of minor characters and, surprisingly enough, they all have their own quirks and flaws. I have to admit I'm actually impressed by how much depth there is to Mejia's characters and that she's written them in such a way that it's easy to remember their traits. More often than not, when there's so many characters to flesh out, it is way too easy to lose track of individual character traits.

I can't say a whole lot about the plot's flow really. To be honest, it is a bit all over the place. Considering that Everything You Want Me to Be is written in a loose journal-style and one of the speakers is the sheriff, that is to be expected. Obviously there isn't much of a need to include him prior to the discovery of Hattie's body. Also, the story starts at the end, then hooks back to a year prior to the murder. Fortunately, each shift in voice is dated, so it's not too much of a challenge to keep up with.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advance copy for the purpose of an unbiased review. I can't wait for a chance to purchase a physical copy of this book for my shelf!
  
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Gareth von Kallenbach (971 KP) rated the PlayStation 4 version of Tom Clancy's The Division 2 in Video Games

Jun 19, 2019  
Tom Clancy's The Division 2
Tom Clancy's The Division 2
2019 | Action, Fighting, Shooter
Following up a hit game is never an easy task. The delicate balance
between keeping things familiar yet not repeating what has come before is
always tricky.

Such is the case facing Ubisoft with Tom Clancy’s The Division 2. I want to point out at the start that Ubisoft in no way helped
with the review process despite doing extensive pre-release coverage for
the game.

As such; there were elements to the game that I had question and issues with and the company would not respond to questions or even recognize the coverage that had been done prior.

The game follows up the events of the first game in that a virus named the
“Dollar Flu” has laid waste to the country after being passed around on
currency during the busy Christmas shopping season.

This time out the game
is set in Washington D.C. and players once again take on the role of a
member of an elite agency called “The Division”.

With the city in chaos and the survivors being tormented by criminal
factions and extreme militants; players must work solo and in groups to
complete various missions and objectives to reclaim the city.

Like the previous game players can customize their character to have a
look, weapons, and accessories that they want and can swap and update them
as they go along.

Playing from a third person perspective, the highly-detailed city is vast
and many points from the White House to the Lincoln Memorial, and
Smithsonian Institute are available to explore and even undertake missions
in.

The enemies are dangerous as the vicious Hyena gang as well as the
Outcasts roam the city. There is also a Military faction called The True
Sons who bring military tactics into their encounters.

Players will be able to gather loot and armor and weapon upgrades as they
go and can even use special power ups to heal, set mines, and other traps
to help even the odds.

Those abilities can be upgraded, swapped, and assigned, and make the game
very interesting as some players opt to have a Drone while others elect
for Turrets or other options.

Weapons can go from pistols, machine guns, shotguns, and sniper rifles,
and players can also use grenades to dispatch large groups.

While working solo is fine, the key to success is working with others and
players can now call for backup to get help in addition to the general
matchmaking and friend invites. There has also been a Clan system added
which is nice as players can create or join a group and have support
available when needed.

This is a great thing as the missions can be challenging as your level
rank rises and players are always outnumbered and outgunned in missions.
I found the game to be very impressive and lots of fun and the ability to
upgrade bases and take on side missions and patrols beyond the core
missions ensures lots of gameplay as was the case with the first game.

There have also been updates which add new content and based on the prior
game, we expect to see lots of new content released in the months ahead.

There were some annoying issues with the sound as some channels would
drop. One example was how voices became muted and how some sounds such as
radio messages utterly vanished. While it was not a deal-breaker; it was
annoying s the updates pre and post mission help give players a great
understanding of the unfolding story.
I did like the fact that the abundance of side missions was curtailed in
favor of more relevant missions and capturing control points and helping
end threats to the general population.

One time I took control of a mounted machine gun and found the sound
locked during firing and continued for several minutes even after I
respawned. I had to go back to the gun and fire it again to get the sound
glitch to stop.

There were also some annoying graphical glitches like textures and enemies
appearing late while I was walking after the last update. With a 2070 GTX
Graphics Card this should not happen and thankfully it seemed to abate
after a few annoying occurrences.

That being said; the game is very solid and enjoyable and it is a shame
that a company that has such great games is very difficult to work with
from the media and support side of things as The Division 2 is a solid
sequel and one of the more enjoyable games I have played in a while.

http://sknr.net/2019/04/08/tom-clancys-the-division-2/