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The Snow Angel
The Snow Angel
Lauren St. John | 2017 | Children, Fiction & Poetry, Young Adult (YA)
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
It tells a story of 11-year-old girl Makena, who lives in Nairobi, Kenya. Her parents died because of a cruel disease, leaving Makena an orphan. Due to some events, she ends up in the slum, where she meets her one true friend Snow.

I really enjoyed this book and its complex characters. The protagonist in this novel is Makena. She is a very smart person for an eleven-year-old. Her thoughts about life, survival and friendship were so inspiring to me, that’s why, I think, this book is superb for young readers. Makena teaches so many great values and shows great appreciation for things that matter in life. I really loved that the author chose such unique and original characters. They all had very intriguing personalities and their input in the story was irreplaceable. The story was mostly told from Makena’s perspective, and it was fully sufficient for me.

The narrative was absolutely gorgeous. It has a lot to offer to the reader, it is serious, educational but at the same time playful and magical. I think the author has done a great research for this book, and her personal experience was very well utilized in this novel. There is plenty of surprises in this story, which kept me glued to this book. I really loved the topics which the author was discussing, such as Ebola and its effects on the families they left behind, poverty and fight for survival, charity workers and their lives, and many more. The setting and atmosphere always change in this book, from Mount Kenya to slums, to the Scottish Highlands, so, your imagination will not be bored and will be taking you to various places…

I really enjoyed the writing style of this novel, I think it was very well crafted and I found it easy, and pleasant to read. The chapters are not very short, but for me, they just flew by because I was absorbed by the story itself. It has absolutely stunning illustrations by Catherine Hyde, and it makes the whole reading experience even more pleasant. I did enjoy the ending of this book, I think it rounded the story very nicely and gave the closure which left me very satisfied.

So, to conclude, this is a very beautiful story, filled with inspiring and motivating characters, who made me smile and cry on multiple occasions, and I do strongly recommend this book not only to children but to adults as well. There are plenty of things to learn from little Makena.
  
The Strangers (2008)
The Strangers (2008)
2008 | Horror
10
6.9 (21 Ratings)
Movie Rating
The suspense is off the charts. Bryan Bertino creates tension like very few can. You can't even breathe at times, especially on a first viewing. (5 more)
The Strangers themselves are crafted to perfection from the iconic masks to their mannerisms to their lack of a true motive.
The symbolism is heavy throughout. It takes multiple viewings to catch it all. Look at the busted windshield at the end for one example.
The use of music as another character is absolutely brilliant. Each tune was used to perfection.
The camerawork and set design are off the charts given the budget Bertino had to work with.
The ending. Not every horror story has a happy ending. This one was a beautiful and glorious gut punch.
The very last scene. If Bertino had been allowed to keep the exact ending he wanted this would've been 1000 times more impactful. (1 more)
The sound. When things are quiet you can hear a pin drop, but when a noise comes it blows out your eardrum.
Why are you doing this to us?
Because you were home.

This is my favorite film of all time. To me, this film is literally horror nirvana. This remains to this day the only film to ever truly scare me. This isn't some fake supernatural hocus pocus. This is reality. While the film may only be INSPIRED by true events, and not something that actually happened, it could happen, and it does happen...every day, whether you want to come to terms with it or not. The crazy thing is that if Bertino had been able to do this his way without any studio intervention, this film would've been 10 times darker and 10 times better. I don't care what anyone says, this film is a horror heavyweight that pays true homage to the birth era of horror.
  
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Jamie (131 KP) rated The Grave Tender in Books

Jul 30, 2017  
The Grave Tender
The Grave Tender
Eliza Maxwell | 2017 | Fiction & Poetry
10
9.5 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
An honest story about domestic abuse (0 more)
Mild plot holes (0 more)
A haunting southern gothic
The Grave Tender is a haunting and beautifully woven southern gothic about a broken family and the love that binds them together. The story starts slow as the story introduces Hadley, her friends, family, and their small town which on the surface seems idyllic. It’s the sort of town where everyone knows each other over generations, but the smiling town hides many secrets.

What I loved most about this book was how it dealt with matters of appearance. It’s easy to point fingers and blame those that look the most guilty, who are the most eccentric. It’s the folly of letting appearances dictate our perception of the people around us. Evil is committed every day by seemingly normal people, and true monsters masquerade under the guise of banality.

The book deals with some of the most horrible situations a person can go through with extreme delicacy. Not everyone has a happy ending, sometimes there are crimes that go unpunished, sometimes victims never receive justice, some wounds heal but many more never do. I cried so much while reading this book because of how close to home it hit for me, I was honestly touched.

I can’t say much more about the book because it’s really the sort of story that needs to be experienced without spoilers. I will however note that the content in this book is difficult to stomach. For a survivor of abuse it can be either cathartic or utterly horrifying, which is why I’ve added a trigger warning in the list of warnings below. I cautiously recommend this book for those ready for a poignant and unflinchingly honest exploration of domestic abuse.
  
House Of Leaves
House Of Leaves
Mark Z. Danielewski | 2000 | Fiction & Poetry
9
8.4 (14 Ratings)
Book Rating
Unique (1 more)
Creepy
Confusing (1 more)
Some people will simply give up on it
Not for everyone, but if you like weird try it!
This book is definitely unique and of course it was its uniqueness that first interested me.

This is a book put together by a guy named Johnny who finds an incomplete mass of manuscript and notes in a chest in a room of a blind man who just recently died, named Zampano. He supposedly died of old age, but even that was questionable. The scatter of pages are written about a serious of videos about a house. This house is by no means your average house. The chilling oddity begins with the discovery that the house is actually bigger on the inside than it is on the outside... I cant say any more on this without possible spoilers... The whole story is presented as true, and the videos referenced were shot by the family living in the house.

 The manuscript gets into incredible detail with a million footnotes and at first glance some pages could be out of a text book. Johnny, who has compiled the mass into book form, has decided that 95% of the references don't actually exist. Johnny makes his own notes and includes his own story in amongst the footnotes.

At first, I was not at all interested in Johnny's story or his many sexcapades, but the further in you go, the more the book ends up intruding into his own life. Also, the first many pages of Zampano's writings are difficult to get into. The flip flop between Johnny and Zampano's radically different writing styles takes a bit to get used to.

However, once you've gotten into the book, you're in completely and tangled in its labyrinth. This is not your average story, book, anything.
  
Devil's Cry : Shade of Devil Book 2
Devil's Cry : Shade of Devil Book 2
Shayne Silvers | 2019 | Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
If you like Classic Vampires mixed with a bit of Urban Fantasy then you will love this book (0 more)
If you dont like Fantasy or are easily offended then dont read it. (0 more)
I'd Follow This Devil Anywhere!
What a great Continuation of Sorin's story.
Gosh! I loved every minute of this book. Shayne has a true talent for making us fall In love with his main characters. Sorin Is no different! He is powerful, charismatic and Sexy with a very human side that makes him extremely endearing for a Vamp. You either want to bed him or be his best mate and frankly, when you see who he hangs out with you will be biting at the bit ... or the neck ...to join the gang!

The story continues with Sorin's quest to take Down Dracula, but straight of the bat several new threats make themselves known, the least of them the Witches who complicate matters For Sorin and add some great action scenes to this story.

The emotional and sexual build up in this book creates a lovely tension that sits nicely in between the action and all the story driven sequences and I found that I flitted from emotion to emotion. From feeling sad for his losses, Angry that he was wronged, Affection for his love Interests.... and a couple of spicy scenes that made me sit up a little straighter in my seat.

All In all I really enjoyed this book. It had a feeling of familiarity as it very much reminds me of a classic vampire tale.... but then it surprises you with some lovely new mysteries.
I really can't recommend this book enough!
And Can't wait to see were the next book takes me!
  
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Sara Cox (1845 KP) rated Slumber in Books

Feb 23, 2020  
Slumber
Slumber
Becky Bird | 2019
9
8.0 (2 Ratings)
Book Rating
I love a good twist on a classic fairy story. This fairy story was Sleeping Beauty. But what if the true love’s kiss that woke her wasn’t her’s?
In this story a vein Prince is in need of a Princess to marry to rule his kingdom. He hears of the sleeping princess and her beauty, and so decides that she shall be the one he marries. Of course there has to be some source of evil and in this case it’s the royal family’s advisor and holy man – his character remind me a little of Disney’s Jafar (not a bad thing I might add). And so because of the magic and this evil sorcerer’s desire to have the kingdom to himself, our Prince gets into a bit
of bother. He meets a orphan girl and her friend along the way and they set off on the Prince’s quest fighting all evils along the way. I love her character, a “I don’t need a man” heroine. Someone a bit rough around the edges Someone who is quite vocal about his vein and unrealistic views. No need to say their personalities clash a bit. But they teach each other a lot along the way. Their relationship is written well, if you’ve read enough and seen enough love stories you can see where
this relationship will end up.
When Aurora awakes, I must admit I find her character tedious and shallow. I found her quite unrealistic and unbelievable. Prince Phillip was an interesting character to read; honest, sly and manipulative – but not in any malicious way. I actually really enjoyed his character. He I found was written far better than Aurora, and therefore I thought that their characters wouldn’t blend that well. But this story isn’t really about them, is it?