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<b><i>I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
I'm generally not a memoir person. But if I'm going to read a memoir (or even nonfiction), I'll choose anything about the Holocaust (I find that time period sadistically interesting).

<i>Hidden Gold</i> deserves about as much praise as Anne Frank's <i>Diary of a Young Girl</i>. A story set in another part of Europe (Poland) during Hitler's reign, Burakowski tells us her family's survival, hidden away from society in the hopes that they won't be found out.

For two years, the Golds hid with the Lanskis in a small part of a barn in Kolkow, surviving with very little sustenance. During that time, their hope dwindles little by little, but the two families still cling on to their pasts, even if that life will be impossible to get back to after everything blows over.

I loved how Burakowski introduces us to her family and the people that the Golds were involved with, giving us lots of background information on how Leib met Hanna and how the Golds lived their life in the early parts of the war. Burakowski also gives us insight on the growing hypocrisy and horrors among society as Hitler's power and anti-Semitism grew, giving us visuals on how life was like for the Jews back in the late 1930s and early 1940s. We're also shown the inner turmoils going on with those who had good relations with Jews and now having to choose whether or not they should help Jews, or give in to the propaganda.

Shoshana, Hanna's daughter, is extremely admirable. She's willing to go out to the Germans, pretending to be one of them, to buy her family time. She is also willing to risk her life a few times to get her family's money from Pi?czów, and going back again <em>while</em> she felt ill. If I were in her place, I'd probably continue to curl up in a fetal little ball. (Despite the fact I'm considered living in "poverty," I'm pretty much a lucky duckling. Also, being an only child, I'm probably a <em>little</em> spoiled.)

David is perhaps one of those where all the feels will come. Like any little kid, he's full of mischief and mayhem, but going through such a dark time at a really young age, he's extremely brave, confident, and has the most hope for the family getting out alive.

Although most of <i>Hidden Gold</i> is focused on the Gold's survival during Hitler running rampant with the final solution, Burakowski finalizes the story from David's viewpoint with how each of the family members were impacted years later in the future. For those interested in what happened in other parts of Europe or a survival story outside of concentration camps, Ella Burakowski's <i>Hidden Gold</i> makes a fantastic contribution depicting the horrors of the Holocaust.

<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-hidden-gold-by-ella-burakowski/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
  
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Sheridan (209 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Shadow Of The Tomb Raider in Video Games

Sep 27, 2018  
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
2018 | Action/Adventure
Graphics are incredible (2 more)
Gameplay is flawless
Story is engaging and interesting
Bug in Achievements which only allows you to get the game to 98.92%, even though you've done everything (Xbox One) (0 more)
A Visual Masterpiece
I'll do my best not to gush too much, but holy mother of - this game, you guys - this game is utterly phenominal. The graphics, oh wow! The trees, the water, Lara's hair! It's all totally on point. Amazing all round, I spent the first ten minutes just looking around because let me tell you the graphics are just beautiful. The gameplay is similar to the other two Tomb Raider games but with a few new interesting ideas, the skill tree gives you a bunch of great perks that *really* help when you get further into the story. The collectibles are interesting and at some stages challenging to find, I honestly can't remember whether or not Rise of the Tomb Raider had the GPS caches but they've done away with that idea in SotTR and gone with Survival caches which are great for upgrading. They've also got a new idea where you find monoliths which give you a rare survival caches if you can solve the riddle ;) Another new feature are Crypts which are like mini challenge tombs, once you complete it you recieve an outfit which you restore at your base camps, and wearing those gives you extra game perks (they're also pretty which is fun too). The challenge tombs are great fun and give you perks in your skill tree, you can't get unless you complete them, so it's worthwhile doing them. Once you've finished the game, you have the option to have another crack at it in New Game +, you keep all your skills, outfits and weapons (at the moment I'm a bit of the way through this with the game on 'One with the Jungle' which is the hard setting). The story is really interesting and based on Mayan legends, which I won't spoil for you, needless to say it's fantastic :) TL;DR: It's f**king phenominal, get it, you won't be disappointed :)
  
    Safari Simulator: Lion

    Safari Simulator: Lion

    Games and Entertainment

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    Explore the wild savanna and live life as a Lion! Survive in a massive world filled with dangerous...

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Matthew Krueger (10051 KP) rated the Xbox One version of Outlast in Video Games

Nov 7, 2020  
Outlast
Outlast
Action/Adventure
Survivor The Asylum
Outlast- is a excellent survival first person horror game set inside a asylum.

The game revolves around a freelance investigative journalist, Miles Upshur, who decides to investigate a remote psychiatric hospital named Mount Massive Asylum, located deep in the mountains of Lake County, Colorado.

Outlast, the player assumes the role of investigative journalist Miles Upshur, as he navigates a dilapidated psychiatric hospital in Leadville, Colorado that is overrun by homicidal patients. The game is played from a first-person perspective and features some stealth gameplay mechanics. The player can walk, run, crouch, jump, climb ladders and vault over objects. Unlike most games, however, the player doesn't have a visible health bar on the screen and is unable to attack enemies. The player must instead rely on stealth tactics such as hiding in lockers, sneaking past enemies, staying in the shadows and hiding behind or under things in order to survive. Alternatively, the player can attempt to outrun their pursuer. If the player dies, the game will reset to the most recent checkpoint.

Most of the hospital is unlit, and the only way for the player to see while in the dark is through the lens of a camcorder equipped with night vision. Using the night vision mode will slowly consume batteries, forcing the player to scavenge for additional batteries found throughout the asylum. Outlast makes heavy use of traditional jump scares and audio cues, which alert the player if an enemy has seen them.

GameSpot gave the game a positive review as well stating that "Outlast isn't really a game of skill, and as it turns out, that makes sense. You're not a cop or a soldier or a genetically enhanced superhero. You're just a reporter. And as a reporter, you don't possess many skills with which you can fend off the hulking brutes, knife-wielding stalkers, and other homicidal maniacs who lurk in the halls of the dilapidated Mount Massive Asylum. You can't shoot them, or punch them, or rip pipes from the walls to clobber them with. You can only run and hide".

The aslyum setting is creepy, horrorfying, scary and terrorfying.

Its a excellent survival horror game.