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Đang hiển thị bài đăng từ Tháng 8, 2017

An Unwilling Heroine, a Ruthless Champion, a Dying Queen . . . and Epicness ⇉ Review of The Reluctant Queen by Sarah Beth Durst

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A world where the very elements of the land are out for human blood? Where young women must put their lives on the line to train to become the next queen that protects humanity?  Speak no more and  let me read this awesome book in peace . That's how I started my review of The Queen of Blood . The feelings hold strong for The Reluctant Queen , the second novel in the Queens of Renthia  series by Sarah Beth Durst. Even better? Because the main heroine is new, you don't necessarily have to have read book one to read this one. (But I highly recommend reading it because it is wonderful.) I love books that combine the perspectives of new characters while keeping us in touch with the old. Some series I love that do this include Tamora Pierce's Tortall  books and Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles . WHAT I LIKED Don't trust the fire, for it will burn you. Don't trust the ice, for it will freeze you. Don't trust the water, for it will drown you. Don't trust the air...
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When Life Hands You a Heavy Bag of Heartache, Write About It ⇉ Review of Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

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I enjoy contemporary novels that feel like they could have taken place "for reals." Like they aren't just a story with drama added for the sake of drama. Letters to the Lost  provides just that. Juliet and Declan are from different walks of life. In another time and place, their paths probably wouldn't have crossed. (Okay, that part is pretty cheesy.) What's pretty neat about this book is that it shows us how death and grief have the power to cross social barriers and unite hurting people. Juliet is more than the girl whose mother died, and Declan is more than the boy who got thrown in jail. They are real, living, breathing humans who are hurting so much that they don't know what to do with their grief except to write about it. What I don't like so much is how the two become so reliant on their anonymous letters to each other. It's understandable given their age, but it has a cautionary Romeo & Juliet feel (except there is no caution involved). The...
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Movie Monday: Room

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Room Directed by: Lenny Abrahamson Genre: Drama, Thriller Running time: 117 minutes Released: 2015 Distributed by A24 Films Held captive for years in an enclosed space, a woman (Brie Larson) and her 5-year-old son (Jacob Tremblay) finally gain their freedom, allowing the boy to experience the outside world for the first time. Room seems like a small-scale film, but it does so much with so little. Most of the film centers on just two characters, a mother and her son, and takes place inside of a small room. However, even with the seemingly small focus of the film, there are heavy internal struggles as they adjust to a completely different world and their new lives in it. Half of the film centers around 5-year old Jack and his mother who is simply referred to as Ma and their lives as they are contained to a single 10-square foot room that they call ‘Room.’ Ma was kidnapped and held captive 7 years ago by a man they call Old Nick and has since had a son five years ago. There is a daring e...
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Movie Monday: Jurassic World

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Jurassic World Directed by: Colin Trevorrow Genre: Science Fiction Adventure Running time: 124 minutes Released: 2015 Produced by Amblin Entertainment Located off the coast of Costa Rica, the Jurassic World luxury resort provides a habitat for an array of genetically engineered dinosaurs, including the vicious and intelligent Indominus rex. When the massive creature escapes, it sets off a chain reaction that causes the other dinos to run amok. Now, it's up to a former military man and animal expert (Chris Pratt) to use his special skills to save two young brothers and the rest of the tourists from an all-out, prehistoric assault. Review The dinosaur amusement park that John Hammond dreamed of setting up has finally been created, and Jurassic World is a real spectacle. While the characters feel flat and the writing is nothing special, the film brings incredible scenery, great camerawork and visuals, and thrilling action. It does a great job of breathing life back into the Jurassic P...
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Review: Change Places With Me by Lois Metzger

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Change Places with Me Lois Metzger Genre: YA  mystery ,  science fiction Hardback: 224 Pages Publication: June 14, 2016 by Balzer + Bray Rose has changed. She still lives in the same neighborhood and goes to the same high school with the same group of kids, but when she woke up today, something was a little different. Her clothes and hair don’t suit her anymore. The dogs who live upstairs are no longer a terror. She wants to throw a party—this from a girl who hardly ever spoke to her classmates before. There’s no more sadness in her life; she’s bursting with happiness. But something still feels wrong to Rose. Because until very recently, she was an entirely different person—a person who’s still there inside her, just beneath the thinnest layer of skin. Review Lois Metzger has a talent for writing dark, unsettling novels. Novels that, despite their dark mysterious nature, draw you deeper and deeper into the story. That, plus the complex nature of humanity that Metzger showcases...
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