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A Wrinkle in Time
A Wrinkle in Time
Madeleine L'Engle | 2015 | Children
7
7.8 (37 Ratings)
Book Rating
Genre: Fiction, literary classic, children’s, young adult, science fiction.

Audience: children – young adult.

Reading level: middle school.

Interests: science fiction, fantasy, mythical creatures

Style: Fantasy Sci-Fi

Point of view: Third Person with a mix of first person.

Difficulty reading: Not at all! As easy as eating a piece of cake.

Promise: Ground-breaking science fiction.

Quality: Like a banana split with extra sprinkles and a cherry on top on a hot day. 🙂

Insights: I absolutely kick myself in the a** for the not reading this sooner. I think everybody should read it, no matter how old you are. And I didn’t know it was part of a 5 book series until today! SAY WHATTTT!!!??? I’m definitely purchasing the complete series brand new (the copy I have is my mother’s and it’s old and ragedy).

Ah-Ha Moment: THE ENTIRE BOOK. No joke. Like I wasn’t expecting the main character to be a girl, let alone so young and to have such an ordinary family. You don’t see that typically!

Favorite Quotes: “Like and equal are not the same thing at all.” – This is great, especially with our history as human beings. We need to be seen as equals not just ‘like’.

“Life, with its rules, its obligations, and its freedoms, is like a sonnet: You’re given the form, but you have to write the sonnet yourself.” – Be true to yourself, for there is nobody like you in the entire universe.

“Experiment is the mother of knowledge.” – You can’t just go into life expecting to know everything and how it’s all going to end. You have to experiment because then you gain the knowledge that others may have not known.

Aesthetics: My old first edition copy has a really neat cover, it’s what drew me in originally. I loved the take on the story and how in my mind, I can actually imagine the different characters and their surroundings. It’s a weird yet interesting book.

“People are more than just the way they look.”
  
Anna and the French Kiss
Anna and the French Kiss
Stephanie Perkins | 2010 | Romance, Young Adult (YA)
8
8.8 (12 Ratings)
Book Rating
What happens when your nouveau-riche father decides that his daughter needs to be more cultures? Your entire world is flipped upside-down as you're sent to a boarding school in a country where you don't speak the language. That's exactly what happens to Anna when she's sent to the School of America, in Paris. She now must make new friends, try to stay in touch with her old ones and the most terrifying ordeal of all? Ordering her meals in French. She might want some nice fresh <i>pain</i> (bread) but ends up saying <i>paon</i> (peacock). Yum, <i>paon</i> and <i>fromage</i> for breakfast.

It may seem strange, but I enjoy the use of language in this book. I think accents, like St. Clair's are written very authentically. Bridge's love of words is a great way to introduce readers to new worlds. (And seriously inspires me to see if I can find a set of Oxford English Dictionaries for my personal library.) The use of foreign languages in books can be tricky to do well, but I think the author struck a balance brilliantly.

I find Anna very relatable - it doesn't hurt that she's a fellow lefty. But I also feel like she reads older than she is. Throughout the novel, I feel like she is at University (aged 19-20) rather than still in high school. Her desire to be a film ritic is how I feel about books and reviewing. She says, "I just like... expressing my opinion. That possiblity of turning someone on to something really great." Reading is my passion and I wan to share that with people. If I can introduce them to a book I've fallen in love with and it touches them in some way - I'm happy.

When I read the novel, I can feel myself walking along the Seine or admiring Notre Dame. Paris is a beautiful setting adn the author represents it wonderfully. It is one of those novels that gives you wanderlust and an undeniable urge to visit the places that Anna does.
  
offyourface - Single by Sophia Messa
offyourface - Single by Sophia Messa
8
8.0 (1 Ratings)
Album Rating
Sophia Messa is a 19-year-old singer-songwriter from Manhattan, New York. Not too long ago, she released a rhythmic pop tune, entitled, “offyourface”.

“Something has changed. How I feel right now (2x). Used to talk 7 days. Had to take that down (2x). And if you had it your way, I’d be on a plane right now. But we’re heading south. Just tryna keep you safe. Keep you on the ground.” – lyrics

‘offyourface’ tells an interesting tale of a young woman who is seeing a guy who is head-over-heels in love with her.

She realizes that he’s addicted to her love, therefore, she recommends that they should take their time and not rush things.
Later, she admits that he’s the last one that she wants to hurt, but the tears running down his face tells a completely different story. She ends up leaving him with high hopes, and now he’s going psycho.

‘offyourface’ contains a relatable storyline, pleasing vocals, and rhythmic instrumentation scented with a danceable pop fragrance.

“‘offyourface’ is about jumping into a relationship, maybe a bit too quickly. But it also celebrates going with your gut when entering new relationships and the idea of going after what you want. Most importantly, I want my fans to tie the song into their own lives, and interpret it for whatever it means to them.” – Sophia Messa

Sophia Messa is a first generation American, born to self-made immigrant parents. Also, she is a dual citizen of Brazil and the United States.

She attended The Professional Performing Arts School (home to Alicia Keys) for middle and high school, where she was classically trained in vocal performance and opera.

Inspired by the world around her, she began writing original music in high school and recorded demos at a studio across the street from her apartment.

During her senior year, she was accepted into The Berklee College of Music. At just three weeks in, she signed a record deal and headed back to New York to launch her career.

https://www.bongminesentertainment.com/sophia-messa-offyourface/
  
La La Land (2016)
La La Land (2016)
2016 | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Don't understand the hype
I saw this first at the cinema and had such high hopes from all of the praise, and I really hated it. Having watched it again recently, I do appreciate it a little more now but it still doesn't deserve all the hype.

I love musicals, but this is not the right kind of musical. The songs and music are actually very good, but sadly there just isn't enough of them. Where's the people bursting into song every 5 minutes? I'm also not a fan of the old school musical, although i do appreciate why they've gone down this route.


Performance wise, I think Emma Stone does well and the dialogue between her and Ryan Gosling is quite funny and witty. Not too sure on Gosling, he seems to play the same character in everything and his singing voice isn't great. I also think JK Simmons is vastly underused, which is a shame as he's a fantastic actor.


Sadly not my kind of musical.
  
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Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Deadly in Books

Jan 15, 2018  
D
Deadly
6
6.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
This book tells a fictional account of real life events that center around Typhoid Mary. It is based on the actual life of Mary Mallon, an Irish immigrant living in New York City in the early 1900s. Mary worked as a cook for a number of wealthy families in the area while she was a healthy carrier of the typhoid bacteria. She would spread the disease to the families she worked for, even killing some of them. The thing is Mary didn't know she carried the disease...she had never even had symptoms.
The main character, Pruedence, is a 17 year old girl who leaves school to accept a job with the Dept of Health & Sanitation. It is written as a series of journal writings she makes & tells the story through her musings. She gets swept into the case & it ignites in her a passion for medicine & figuring out how the body works. Prudence makes the story. Without her character struggles this book would be forgettable. It's redeeming quality is the fact that you want to see her reach her dream.
  
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Awix (3310 KP) rated Raw (2017) in Movies

Feb 10, 2018 (Updated Feb 10, 2018)  
Raw (2017)
Raw (2017)
2017 | Horror
A Rare Treat
French language horror-drama with a you've-got-to-be-kidding-me premise that turned out to be one of the smartest and subtlest films of the year. It's the same old story we've seen a thousand times before - lifelong vegetarian goes off to vet school, is force-fed rabbit kidney, discovers an insatiable hunger for human flesh.

Ah yes, but as well as a degree of gore (weirdly, the most disturbing part of the film for me was watching someone receive a rather inept bikini wax), the film also has interesting and thoughtful things to say about peer pressure and the social demands placed on young women by the modern world - whether they don't even try to fit in or just try too hard, the results are often harsh.

The ending almost seems to be trying to reposition the film as a black comedy, but most of the way through this is ferociously intelligent and self-assured film helped a lot by Garance Marillier's remarkable performance. If you only watch one feminist cannibal allegory this year...
  
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Andy K (10821 KP) Feb 10, 2018

I loved this movie!

Piper’s ex-fiancee arrives in town hoping to get back together even though she has told him repeated they are over. However, the attention soon turns to the soccer team visiting from Italy and the mini-tournament against a team of locals. The Italian team’s manager was an exchange student when he was in high school, and his reappearance has opened old wounds from back then. When he is murdered, it becomes a question of which of those deeds from the past came back to haunt him in the present?

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were just as fun and charming as they were in the first in the series. The plot was wonderful with so many suspects and twists to the story I had a hard time putting it down. Yet things came together for a logical climax.

NOTE: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Read my full review at <a href="http://carstairsconsiders.blogspot.com/2015/02/book-review-license-to-dill-by-mary.html">Carstairs Considers</a>.