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Christine A. (965 KP) rated Losing Normal in Books

Mar 15, 2019

Losing Normal

Francis Moss | Science Fiction/Fantasy, Young Adult (YA)

7.0

(1 Ratings)

Book Rating

Appropriate for those as young as middle school but adults would enjoy too. (0 more)

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

Losing Normal by Francis Moss is relatively short, less than 300 pages, but do not let the length fool you into thinking it does not have a lot to say. There is a lot of action in this short book.

Alex, a highly-functioning autistic boy, likes things to stay the same. He knows how many steps it is from school to home and, to him, that is normal. He knows all the answers in math. That is normal. The strange giant television screens that are being put up all over are making him forget and that is not normal. Only the "defective" kids, those that are immune to the televisions, like Alex can save the world from becoming television watching zombies. What ensues is an interesting novel that shows how quickly technology could take over.

Losing Normal is not a post-apocalyptic novel. It shows the collapse of society by our rapidly advancing technology getting out of hand and beginning to think for itself.

This novel would be appropriate for those as young as middle school to read but it is an interesting story adults would enjoy too. I found it to be a quick, easy, enjoyable, and thought provoking read.

Review published on Philomathinphila.com, Smashbomb, Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble on 3/14/19.

Kudos

Sassy Brit (97 KP) rated Emma in the Night in Books

Jun 5, 2019

Emma in the Night

Wendy Walker | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry, Mystery, Thriller

7.9

(8 Ratings)

Book Rating

Emma in the Night is a cleverly written psychological suspense story about two sisters who disappeared from their family’s life and the mystery surrounding why only one came back – three years later.

The opening sentence explaining what a narcissist is had me hooked right from the very beginning and as I continued to read it became quickly apparent the girls came from a dysfunctional family with several problems of their own to contend with.

I found the pace a little slow at the beginning, however, it was Cass’ voice (the unreliable narrator) who kept me reading, and I am so glad I did! Does Cass know more than she is letting on? Are her actions justifiable? What would you do in the same position? These are just many questions I asked myself as I read along.

The story unravels via two points of views; Cass, the sister of the missing Emma, and the FBI forensic psychologist, Detective Abby Winters. Bit by bit Cass reveals her side of the story, whilst Abby tried to piece together every little bit of evidence and information there is in an effort to discover Emma’s whereabouts. Is she still alive? Can she be saved?

Overall, Wendy Walker weaves an entertaining mystery about two vulnerable and impressionable young girls, with well researched flair and panache.

Delve into the darker side of human experience in this thought-provoking tale of messed up childhoods, mental illness and the effect it has on family members dealing with their own demons.

Kudos

Sarah (7799 KP) rated Surviving R. Kelly in TV

Oct 21, 2019

Surviving R. Kelly

2019 | Crime, Documentary

7.3

(9 Ratings)

TV Show Rating

A disturbing watch

I've never been a R Kelly but I remember how huge he was during my childhood and teenage years and it's horrible for me to think that this was going on during that time

This is not a pleasant watch. Like the Michael Jackson documentary before it, this really doesn't shy away from the disturbing and rather graphic detail about R Kelly's crimes. It's a fascinating watch and hugely interesting, especially for someone like me who is mostly unaware of the true extent of everything that has been going on. This is truly awful to watch, yet in a gripping and interesting manner. To think that this has still not been resolved to this date and these events are still happening makes me sick to my stomach, especially when there's still people that believe his innocence (and probably still do even after watching this).

The documentary series itself is well made although it is irritating in parts when it constantly recaps bits from earlier in the same episode or other episodes, or when it repeats the "parental guidance" message multiple times during each episode. I'm assuming it was meant to be shown on TV with multiple ad breaks, but even still these bits are overkill even for someone with the shortest of attention spans. They really should've been cut out for the Netflix version.

Despite this slight issue, this is still a thought provoking yet highly disturbing series that I'd encourage everyone to watch and raise awareness.