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Well-Read Black Girl: Finding Our Stories, Discovering Ourselves
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'Required reading.' - Cosmopolitan 'This should be read as a sacred text. Here, you will bear...
Toil & Trouble: 15 Tales of Women & Witchcraft
8.5
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A young adult fiction anthology of 15 stories featuring contemporary, historical, and futuristic...
The Most Beautiful Thing I’ve Seen: Opening Your Eyes to Wonder
8.0
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Lisa Gungor thought she knew her own story: small-town girl meets boy in college and they blissfully...
Gideon's Angel
10.0
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He came back to kill a tyrant. He found the Devil instead. An amazing historical novel with a...
LoganCrews (2861 KP) rated Happy Feet (2006) in Movies
Sep 3, 2021
Gets a pass exclusively on how weird it is - seriously, this thing is bananas. In fact, it's theoretically amazing: a cutesy dancing penguin movie gradually morphs into a surreal trek through racism, religion, existentialism, and environmentalism where Robin Williams has a thick Mexican accent and I'm still not sure how I feel about them giving the lady penguins those pseudo-titty mounds. For all intents and purposes this should be something I sing the praises of as a great, underappreciated freakish gem... but its oddness is all it has, since there's approximately zero emotional thrust to anything else here. Elijah Wood is totally nondescript as Mumble and I don't really care about any of the other characters either; not to mention it has no sense of pacing so the last act comes and goes in an anticlimactic flash. Miller's signature visual kinetic energy is cool as hell at least, but then the story is also utterly naïve - I'm pretty sure a viral video of a bunch of penguins dancing isn't going to stop humans from pillaging their ecosystem. And at this point I know I'm looking too deeply into this shit but in this happy penguin world where singing makes them who they are and keeps them alive or whatever that was all about, is it so hard to fathom that these things should be way less bigoted towards dancing? Like you're all out here jamming to Fat Joe but then tap dancing is where you draw the line? Okay I'm done now, still a nice movie for what is essentially the more eccentric 𝘚𝘪𝘯𝘨 (2016) with not-as-good animation (but better cinematography).
Hazel (2934 KP) rated The Secret Midwife in Books
Aug 6, 2023
I find books about the Holocaust difficult to review and rate because anything that highlights and keeps the memory alive of all those who perished under that despicable regime is deserving of 5 stars from me and The Secret Midwife is no different.
Although a work of fiction, the author bases her characters on real people who went through the horrors of World War II some of whom miraculously survived when millions of others did not.
The Secret Midwife focuses on the stories of Emelia and Aleksy. Emelia is a midwife who risks her life supporting ALL women regardless of race or religion to give birth safely. Aleksy is a doctor who tries to save his town during occupation. Unfortunately, both were discovered and transported to the hell-hole that was Auschwitz however, they continued to try and care and help their fellow prisoners despite having no resources or equipment and the ongoing risk of immediate selection and execution.
As you can imagine, this is an emotional, harrowing and heart-breaking story but it's also one of bravery and how, despite the ongoing threats, some people did everything they could to help ease the suffering of those around them and whilst Emelia, Aleksy and some of the other characters aren't real people, they and their story will stay with me for some time.
Highly recommended to those of you who enjoy reading historical fiction; this is a must read and I have to thank Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Secret Midwife.
Although a work of fiction, the author bases her characters on real people who went through the horrors of World War II some of whom miraculously survived when millions of others did not.
The Secret Midwife focuses on the stories of Emelia and Aleksy. Emelia is a midwife who risks her life supporting ALL women regardless of race or religion to give birth safely. Aleksy is a doctor who tries to save his town during occupation. Unfortunately, both were discovered and transported to the hell-hole that was Auschwitz however, they continued to try and care and help their fellow prisoners despite having no resources or equipment and the ongoing risk of immediate selection and execution.
As you can imagine, this is an emotional, harrowing and heart-breaking story but it's also one of bravery and how, despite the ongoing threats, some people did everything they could to help ease the suffering of those around them and whilst Emelia, Aleksy and some of the other characters aren't real people, they and their story will stay with me for some time.
Highly recommended to those of you who enjoy reading historical fiction; this is a must read and I have to thank Amazon Publishing UK, Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Secret Midwife.
ClareR (5879 KP) rated The Safekeep in Books
Jan 26, 2025
The house in The Safekeep is at the centre of this story. Isabel lives alone in the large family home in the countryside, whilst her brothers, Louis and Hendrik, live in the city. Isabel and Hendrik are invited to meet yet another of Louis’ girlfriends, and they don’t seem to take either one of them seriously. Shortly afterwards, Louis has to leave for France on business, and his girlfriend doesn’t want to stay in their city flat alone. So she asks to stay with Isabel.
Isabel lives a very rigid life. Not religious as such, but close to the Calvinist religion that their mother brought them up in. She’s paranoid about things going missing from inside the house, she constantly counts everything and tries to keep the house as her mother would have done. It becomes clear towards the end why she does this.
Isabel clearly doesn’t want Eva to stay. She wants to be alone in the house. Isabel also doesn’t want the attention of a rather over-enthusiastic male “friend”. She goes on dates with him, barely tolerating his company.
As Isabel and Eva’s relationship develops, we see another side of Isabel, and in the latter half of the book there are diary entries that explain a lot about her (I love a book with diary entries). This is a love story, but also a story about what happened to the property of returning Jews after WW2. It’s a psychological novel with a lot of secrets at its heart. It must have been a tough call for this book NOT to win the Booker in 2024.
Isabel lives a very rigid life. Not religious as such, but close to the Calvinist religion that their mother brought them up in. She’s paranoid about things going missing from inside the house, she constantly counts everything and tries to keep the house as her mother would have done. It becomes clear towards the end why she does this.
Isabel clearly doesn’t want Eva to stay. She wants to be alone in the house. Isabel also doesn’t want the attention of a rather over-enthusiastic male “friend”. She goes on dates with him, barely tolerating his company.
As Isabel and Eva’s relationship develops, we see another side of Isabel, and in the latter half of the book there are diary entries that explain a lot about her (I love a book with diary entries). This is a love story, but also a story about what happened to the property of returning Jews after WW2. It’s a psychological novel with a lot of secrets at its heart. It must have been a tough call for this book NOT to win the Booker in 2024.
Whatchareadin (174 KP) rated A Land More Kind Than Home in Books
May 10, 2018
In a small town in North Carolina, there is a small church by the river. The windows are covered with newspaper so no one can see what is going on inside. But what is going on in that church? Too many people in town refuse to question it and one person in particular has decided to remove herself from the church and take all of the children with her.
So how is it that Christopher Hall is now dead after going to the church? This was the very reason children were not supposed to be there in the first place.
Christopher is a mute and has been all his life. His brother Jess and he are always together. One day when they are playing around the house, they break the waterspout going into the rain barrel. They were trying to spy on their parents, but their mother has always told them that spying was wrong. After running from "the scene of the crime," Jess discovers that it's not his father that was in there making the strange noises with his mother. After this discovery, Jess is concerned when Christopher is called to go to church for healing.
Wiley Cash has written an amazing story that makes you question humanity and religion in America. Some people will believe just about anything in order to belong. The things you read in this book will have your mind reeling. Even though it took me a couple of weeks to read this book, if I hadn't been so busy I would have gotten it done faster. I read the last 100 pages in one night.
I look forward to reading what else Mr. Cash has to offer.
So how is it that Christopher Hall is now dead after going to the church? This was the very reason children were not supposed to be there in the first place.
Christopher is a mute and has been all his life. His brother Jess and he are always together. One day when they are playing around the house, they break the waterspout going into the rain barrel. They were trying to spy on their parents, but their mother has always told them that spying was wrong. After running from "the scene of the crime," Jess discovers that it's not his father that was in there making the strange noises with his mother. After this discovery, Jess is concerned when Christopher is called to go to church for healing.
Wiley Cash has written an amazing story that makes you question humanity and religion in America. Some people will believe just about anything in order to belong. The things you read in this book will have your mind reeling. Even though it took me a couple of weeks to read this book, if I hadn't been so busy I would have gotten it done faster. I read the last 100 pages in one night.
I look forward to reading what else Mr. Cash has to offer.
Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated Rebel of the Sands in Books
May 19, 2018 (Updated May 19, 2018)
Amani is a girl in a country that doesn't value women, and treats them as useless property only good for breeding sons. The country is basically occupied by another country that the Sultan is "allied" with, but lets run roughshod over his people. She has her sights set on escaping her backwoods, dead-end town, and running to the capital city, where the aunt she's never met lives. All of that is derailed when she meets Jin at an underground shooting competition, and then later hides him from the armed forces hunting him.
The country is definitely middle-east inspired, but there's a lot of religion-bashing, and complaining about the culture oppressing women. It's the same problem I have with a lot of knight-and-castle era fantasy - just because historically in OUR world those time periods weren't kind to women, doesn't mean they have to be the same in fantasy. It's FANTASY! It can be anything you want! Break the tropes! It's a fine line to walk, taking the good parts of a culture without just cherry-picking and appropriating the culture, and who's judging what the good and bad parts are, anyway? So I understand it's difficult, but bashing the culture in a book inspired by their mythology is not quite cool, either. I feel like City of Brass, another fantasy book set in the middle east, hit a better middle ground of embracing the culture of the inspiration without bashing parts of it.
That gripe aside, I really enjoyed the world-building. I'm not quite sold on the characters yet - Amani is far too quick to abandon things she should fight for - but I'm interested enough to see how they progress in the next two books.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
The country is definitely middle-east inspired, but there's a lot of religion-bashing, and complaining about the culture oppressing women. It's the same problem I have with a lot of knight-and-castle era fantasy - just because historically in OUR world those time periods weren't kind to women, doesn't mean they have to be the same in fantasy. It's FANTASY! It can be anything you want! Break the tropes! It's a fine line to walk, taking the good parts of a culture without just cherry-picking and appropriating the culture, and who's judging what the good and bad parts are, anyway? So I understand it's difficult, but bashing the culture in a book inspired by their mythology is not quite cool, either. I feel like City of Brass, another fantasy book set in the middle east, hit a better middle ground of embracing the culture of the inspiration without bashing parts of it.
That gripe aside, I really enjoyed the world-building. I'm not quite sold on the characters yet - Amani is far too quick to abandon things she should fight for - but I'm interested enough to see how they progress in the next two books.
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Rachel King (13 KP) rated Moon Called in Books
Feb 11, 2019
I recently recieved the fifth book in the Mercy Thompson series, Silver Borne, for reviewing purposes, and decided to start the series at the beginning like a good bookworm. I was not sure if I would like the series, but imagine my surprise when mechanically-inclined, shapeshifter Mercy Thompson has a penchant for the Christian religion! She likes to attend church, and she chooses to wear a lamb on a necklace instead of a cross because she finds it sick to display the instrument of Christ's torture, and one of Christ's names is the Lamb of God. I gotta say, how cool is that?
Anyways, I find it interesting how non-chalant Mercy is about what she is and can do. She does not seem to know much about being a "walker", but it doesn't bother her. It's the other preternatural beings who give her bits of information about her kind in well-timed accidents. She reminds me a bit of Rachel Morgan from the Kim Harrison series. (Oooh, cross-over potential...)
I also liked the complexities of the different cultures that the various preternatual beings originate from, and most expecially the impossible-to-pronounce names to match, such as Elizaveta Arkadyevna Vyshnevetskaya and Siebold Adelbertsmiter. The book was heavy on politics and violence, while light on romance, which I can appreciate in light of the storyline, but I look forward to things heating up between Mercy Thompson and her two wanna-be boyfriends, Adam and Samuel. I got a bit confused when trying to remember who's who in the cast of characters, especially since many of the lesser werewolves all tended to behave the same, and I really hope that future books will explain who or what the Gray Lords are.
Anyways, I find it interesting how non-chalant Mercy is about what she is and can do. She does not seem to know much about being a "walker", but it doesn't bother her. It's the other preternatural beings who give her bits of information about her kind in well-timed accidents. She reminds me a bit of Rachel Morgan from the Kim Harrison series. (Oooh, cross-over potential...)
I also liked the complexities of the different cultures that the various preternatual beings originate from, and most expecially the impossible-to-pronounce names to match, such as Elizaveta Arkadyevna Vyshnevetskaya and Siebold Adelbertsmiter. The book was heavy on politics and violence, while light on romance, which I can appreciate in light of the storyline, but I look forward to things heating up between Mercy Thompson and her two wanna-be boyfriends, Adam and Samuel. I got a bit confused when trying to remember who's who in the cast of characters, especially since many of the lesser werewolves all tended to behave the same, and I really hope that future books will explain who or what the Gray Lords are.