cedence's reviews
119 reviews

I quite enjoy Ann Liang's contemporary books. They are fun, and have substance beneath the surface. I am not Jessica Chen discusses identity, jealousy and perfectionism (Esp. in school) within an asian immigrant family in the US. 

This one also has fantasy elements to it. The main character, Jenna, swaps body with her cousin and is forced to live as her for a while. Where Jessica went when Jenna overtook her body was a lingering question and it did get answered by the end, but I didn't like it that much. It definitively require the reader to have a lot of suspension of disbelief to accept the beginning and just roll with the story to the end.

It has a small romansy subplot which was cute.

En ny bok fra Suzanne Collins som tematisk gjør hva den lover - stiller oss til veggs, denne gangen omkring temaet propaganda. Hun gjør det bevisst in en tid hvor "hva som er sant og usant, den fulle historien eller et tilpasset utklipp" er høyst aktuelt. Spesielt mot slutten kommer en uforglemmelig og langt eksempel på hva det betyr når hva som blit vist og husket styres av mektige folk med en agenda. Haymich historie viser hvor vanskelig dette kan være i praksis kjempe bra. Og hva dette kan bety av overgrep for de som ikke blir hørt eller ansett som noen av verdi.

Ny verdensoppbygging var det ikke mye av, og sånn sett ser vi mye av Haymich's historie i Katniss og Peetas. Dette kan være med hensikt, og er nødvendigivs ikke et onde. For meg, som elsker verdensoppbygging så hadde jeg ønsket litt mer. Vi lærer nye nyanser av hvordan Dødslekene har utviklet seg gjennom årene, noe som alltids er spennende. Vi får en helt ny arena, som forventet, og hører om noen eldre arena design og hvordan arenaene styres.

Bruken av poesi og sangtekster blir bare mer og mer innfløkt. Noen stammer fra trilogien, noen fra Balladen, og andre er introdusert i dette verket. Det som treffer meg med dette er at sang og poesi er en måte å holde historier i livet på. Det er slik mennesker fortalte historier før vi kunne skrive de nede. Og det er slik hendelser i Balladen vedvarer i folkesjela etter at de er forbydd av Capitol og folk ikke lengre "vet" hva som skjedde med Lucy Gray. Hintene ligger i sangene som huskes.

Karaktermessig er Haymich aldri vært en av mine favoritter. Går jeg ut fra da jeg leste Dødslekene (og ikke bare så filmene igjen og igjen) så var det en tid i livet mitt hvor favoritt karakter var det samme som hovedpersonen. Nå har Collins utdypet hans liv før og etter det andre kvartesekelspillet, og - slik vi forventet - er det en tragedie. Utdypingen har ført til at jeg liker Haymich mye mer enn før, og den tok tid til å dra oss inn i tvilen og skammen som fulgte han for å "mislykkes" på en arena som er laget for å drepe deg på grusomme måter.

Prosaen er grei. Noen gang ønsket jeg at vi brukte mer tid noen steder siden mye, spesielt fram til Kvartsekelspillet begynte, gikk i en noe monoton dur. Det er ikke før mot slutten at Soloppgang på Arenaen hamrer inn budskapet klart og tydelig.

Også veldig glad for å se at Collins er anti-AI i boka. 

Jeg sliter med å lese ferdig bøker for tiden. Denne boken er ikke dårlig, men jeg la den bort for dagen og tok den ikke opp igjen. Kanskje blir jeg ferdig senere en gang. Kanskje var dette alt.

Vi er Ulver er en historie om overlevelse under andre verdenskrig. Den tyske familien Wolf flykter fra nærliggende krigshendelser, Russerne og sult i øst-Preussen. Der blir familien, en etter en, separert til kun barna er igjen og tvunget til å gjøre det som kreves for overleve i skogen på egenhånd.

En tidvriktig og akutell historie. 
Skrevet for barn. 

Originally written in July, 2018.

About a month ago I got accepted to a galley of The Light Between Worlds by Laura E. Weymouth on Edelweiss. I went into it with an adoration for the cover and considerable hope that the book lived up to what I'd read about it. Keywords like woodlands, stags, what happens after the story is presumably told are some of what lured me inn. If I for a moment didn't think this book would deliver, my inclination towards melancholia surely overcame that thought, as well as the parallels to one of my favorite, childhood chronicles. It's easy to say that Light exist on a line with The Chronicles of Narnia. Ultimately the story presents a scenario for what could have happened between the novellas as well as after, something I for one have found myself wondering about more than once. Nonetheless, it's its own book and should be read without this kind of tags. Do yourself a kindness, love the characters for who they are and not what you may want them to be. The Light Between Worlds is an adumbral story about lost girls finding their way home. 

TheStoryGraph Synopsis: Six years ago, sisters Evelyn and Philippa Hapwell were swept away to a strange and beautiful kingdom called the Woodlands, where they lived for years. But ever since they returned to their lives in post-WWII England, they have struggled to adjust. Ev desperately wants to return to the Woodlands, and Philippa just wants to move on. When Ev goes missing, Philippa must confront the depth of her sister's despair and the painful truths they've been running from. As the weeks unfold, Philippa wonders if Ev truly did find a way home, or if the weight of their worlds pulled her under. Walking the line between where fantasy and reality meet, this lyrical and magical novel is, above all else, an exploration of loss and healing, and what it means to find where you belong.

Loss, belonging and hope are some of the themes the novel is touching, and it gives a voice to mental health issues like depression and self-harm ━ a voice that is been told to arise from Weymouth's own experiences. The writing style is beautiful and lush. It's hard not to bathe in the bittersweet of it all, to not want to dwell in between the despair and hope that fill the pages. It's highly atmospheric and anyone who loves cloudy skies, rain, forests, or museums will find a home in it. Both main characters hit a string with me. Evelyn, for being unable to let go or being stubborn enough to not let reality limit her hopes. Philippa, for moving on and standing strong for the ones she loves, as well as herself after a hard time. It's a story that's haunted me since I read it, and I'm sure it won't let go just yet.

The incorporation of poetry and paintings added another layer. The Lady of Shalott, for example. Literature often reflects universal longings, and how it's used made me feel through the characters that there's a reason we share our depths through creativity - we all want to belong somewhere or to someone, and that was a struggle for both our main characters, especially Evelyn. This as an element in the book gave it profound depth.

That being said, I relished the book. I found that the alternate chapters between the present 1949 and the Woodlands, 1944, gave a slow but steady phase to the story which I enjoyed. The more you read, the further you got dragged into their lives and gained feelings for the characters. Mostly, the book is carried by Evelyn’s point of view, but as the story begs to change, we're taken to the end through Philippa’s. It has pieces of romance, but it does in no way overtake the story.

I would absolutely recommend you get yourself a copy when it releases in October. Especially if you enjoy the somber kind of books.

Trigger warnings from the author's site: The Light Between Worlds portrays characters dealing with depression, self-harm, post-traumatic stress disorder, illness, disordered eating, and the loss of a loved one. It refers to a possible suicide, contains scenes of violence and war, and brief mentions may be unsettling to readers with emetophobia.

Rating: 4\5 

Description & Setting by Ron Rozelle is a great place to start when you want to strengthen how to use setting in your story. It will offer you tools on how to become a better descriptor, using literary devices like metaphors and similes, how your plot idea limits your choice of settings, using the senses to pull the reader into the story, and so on. It also has one chapter on describing characters.

Overall, I found this book helpful, and will keep it by my side when I continue working on my wip's.

This is my least favorite in the series. Too scifi for this fantasy lover. But the next two books in the series are amazing. 

"How to keep a house while drowning" offers options on how to view and navigate household tasks while struggling. Some may work for you, some may not - but the point is to find something that keeps you floating and to accept that "good" is usually enough. You don't need the picture-perfect.

Funnily enough, some of the ways to manage household tasks are already some I use from trial an error. For example, I prefer having a day of the week dedicated to certain tasks, and I do not function with "clean as you go" (too exhausting on so may levels). To have a plan is something that often help me and surely something I will take more serious when I get my own place. 

If you need a household cleaning system that is adaptable to your needs and want you to suceed, this book is for you.

This book is for us people pleasers. The I will rather choke in silence than bother someone ; the I will neglect myself to see others fed-people. I feel seen in the main character even if I lack her academic prestige. It was nice to have a influence for a little while that it's okay to take up space, be direct, confront, swear, party and not fold to other people's needs all the time. A balm to my bones.

This is a fast read and it is intense. As a academic rivals enemies-to-lovers it has a lot of bickering, and throwing insults at each other. If can become tiresome and I wish we had even more time to slow down here and there, but it also kept the story moving. 

It was fun. Entertaining. A easy read. Some of what I've e needed to read for a while. When I am ready for another romance, I'll pick up her new adult romantasy, I think. 

PS, the cyber security lady... She had a day (tm). 

I am still trying but I need a fast pace. May try to read The Girl In the tower instead. 

Yes. Learn from different genres to improve your own writing in your genre(s). Invaluable!