Narrative as Virtual Reality: Revisiting Immersion and Interactivity in Literature and Electronic Media
Book
Is there a significant difference between engagement with a game and engagement with a movie or...
Conflict Narratives in Middle Childhood: The Social, Emotional, and Moral Significance of Story-Sharing
Marsha D. Walton and Alice Joyce Davidson
Book
Conflict Narratives in Middle Childhood presents evidence from twenty years of research, examining...
Contemporary Scottish Plays: Caledonia; Bullet Catch; The Artist Man and Mother Woman; Narrative; Rantin'
Alistair Beaton, Rob Drummond, Morna Pearson and Kieran Hurley
Book
To paraphrase Alistair Beaton's Caledonia - the first play in this collection - 'The English have...
The Historian's Narrative of Frederick Douglass: Reading Douglass's Autobiography as Social and Cultural History
Book
To celebrate the bicentenary of Frederick Douglass's birth in 2018, this new annotated edition of...
Fish Wielder
Book
Fish Wielder is kind of like Lord of the Rings, set in Narnia, if it was written by the guys who...
Kelly (279 KP) rated The Magicians: Book 1 in Books
Nov 22, 2018
Quentin, the main character within the novel is not your usual hero, being the high achieving teenager who could never quite best his peers, is fixated by a Narnia style story from his child hood (Fillory), which he could never quite overcome. The narrative shares Quentins journey from joining a magical college, making friends to early adulthood and finding that Fillory is real.
Despite the obvious links to other stories, Lev Grossman intelligently uses his story to explore a range of issues such as sexuality and depression, making his characters more relatable to the reader. The villains and events in the story are a lot more sinister than you might expect from a tale that combines so many of our childhood favourites, demonstrating Grossmans clever use in adult emotions. All of this succeeds in engaging the reader even further.
Although this was a book I enjoyed reading from start to finish, I did find the pace was a little fast at times, speeding from one time period in Quentins life to another. I realise that this is because Lev Grossman is portraying the events happening over the course of Quentins late teens and early twenties, but It did become a little frustrating as a reader.
The end of the plot was bitter sweet and did not follow the typical ‘all live happily ever after’ ending that you would expect from this type of tale. Ultimately the book ends on a cliff hanger and left me wanting to know more about what happened next. To me this makes the book a success.
Mitchell Knutzen (16 KP) rated Till We Have Faces in Books
Feb 21, 2018
Tardy Bells and Witches' Spells
Book
Nerdy high school outcast, CLARISSA LAWRENCE, has always felt like she didn't belong in this world....
BookwormMama14 (18 KP) rated Can't Help Falling in Books
Jan 2, 2019
I like to think that Peter sounds a little bit like Benedict Cumberbatch...that voice! Peter is such a big teddy bear, but I would want him on my side in a fight. Despite his doubts, he is such a wonderful man. Someone who is fiercely loyal, a true man of faith, and kind. He is human though and has his shortcomings, just like the rest of us. I adore Emelia, between her personality, meticulous party planning abilities, and Narnia obsession I just want to track her down and be her best friend. The web of connections and past events kept me on my toes and guessing up until the final chapters. This book is also the cause of a few very late nights reading. I was so completely immersed into the story. Even now I find myself grinning at the beautiful flow of the story and romance.
Don't let the cute antics and adorable features of our characters fool you, they still have quite the journey of healing, forgiveness, and second chances. Emelia and Peter are both dragging around loads of guilt and fear of the past. While they continue to struggle for atonement. However, no matter how hard they strive, they cannot find freedom on their own. Despite their best efforts, Emelia and Peter can not find peace. She can not forgive herself, she can not let go of her past mistakes, and neither can he. Instead, Emelia works to make up for what she has done, hides in wardrobes looking for Narnia and tries to shield her heart from the Heavenly Father whom she cannot see as loving. Will she be able to finally find peace? Or will she continue to run? Something that really stood out to me in this book was the message of second chances. Not only for others, but for ourselves. When we do not see ourselves as God sees us, when we see ourselves as broken and soiled, we don't think we deserve a second chance. But He can make us whole and pure. Forgiven and radiant. Will we allow ourselves the freedom of forgiveness and a second chance? And will you choose to be a Susan...or a Lucy?
Picking my top favorite books for the year will be challenging, but both of Kara's books are definitely among my absolute favorites! While these books can stand alone, I recommend reading Close to You first. Otherwise, there will be some confusion with the secondary storyline. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a wardrobe to find.
I received a free copy of Can't Help Falling through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed are mine alone.