Tariana

This volume focus on Charlie's eating disorder. I thought it to be very educational for teenagers who are going through the similar situation, specially that the author has demonstrated through the story the importance of creating a support network with Nick and Charlie looking for the support of their parents, specialist in the field, teachers and friends. That is an important message for teenagers, that tend to try to solve things by themselves, which can be dangerous for their health and potentially harmful to their relationship. At the end, as they sought for support, neither of them got emotionally overwhelmed and their relationship became stronger. Very wise!

Things I had forgotten from 1st read:
How Tolkien wannabe Paolini is: very descriptive, creating languages and showing it off throughout the book...
How obvious are Saphira's comments. 
How Roran arc is much more interesting than Eragon's
How philosophical Eragon's training was. I have even highlighted to remember in the posterity.

Another thing I noticed is the bring up of people's prejudices against other races. I hope the next books will develop it better, it would be interesting.

That was educational. I find it weird that the parents kept talking about the issues that were happening in the country with so many details despite the child being present. At the same time, it was a difficult time, no time for overthinking the effects of such conversations in front of a child.

I felt that this one was a little bit slower than the previous ones, like if  it was a second act.

The only reason I am not giving 5 stars is because from 20 to 60% of the book it was sooooo slow, too much details about sword fights, military strategies, extensive descriptions, which must be great for those that understand it and are into it, but for me it was boring, it was like the story was stuck. The whole thing happened in less than a year for the characters but for me it was like an eternity. In spite of that, the whole book is amazing. At two different moments I had to hold my tears, I have ene highlighted the passages. They were:
62%: “Rin... what am I going to do?”
88%: I heard what you did to that Hesperian soldier.

I was afraid I would not enjoy it as my past experiences with sci-fi ended up with me pausing the reading. But I really enjoyed this one and I am motivated to keep reading the remaining books of the series. 

What a tense book! I didn't give much credit to the reviews when I started listening this, but they didn't lie. It really gave a John Steinbeck's vibe. Most of the story is about father and son walking towards the coast on a post apocalyptic world, looking for food, running away from bad guys and trying to find hope in the midst of desolation. Through the story we see the father evolving from being super understanding with the child to becoming short tempered as the control starts to slip from his hands together with the realization that he won't be able to protect the boy forever. At the same time, the boy starts to see his father with new eyes, no longer a hero, but failing to realize that his father is afraid. I confess that at a certain point the boy would die and the father would finally be free from his self imposed responsibilities and put an end to his suffering. But as he says at the end, he wouldn't be capable of doing so. 

I'd love to give this book 5 stars, but I don't know if it was because the book was longer than the previous ones or if it was the story or if it was just my anxiety, I've thought the development of the story pretty slow and I got into a reading slowdown from 20% up until 80%. Despite that, the story is great, the ending was divine. Don't know if I'll read the next book (not an Ahnna's fan), but I'm definitely looking for other Danielle's books.

Still in love with those two. Seeing Nick growing, learning about himself and starting to realize what kind of friends he had and that those friendships didn't make sense for him anymore was inspiring, there are many adults that are still unable to let go of bad friends for their insecurities. I how Nick will really go through with it. I had to hold my tears when Nick came out to his mom. One last thing: Charlie,15, saying he never thought something like that would happen to him got my eyes rolling. Teenagers... 😁

It's not a masterpiece but I really need a light reading to help me manage my PMS. It was fun and light as expected and not deep, as it is a children's book.

So heartwarming! Nick and Charlie are really cute together. Excited for the next volumes.

I got really mad at Frances, she was acting like a mad scientist. I just hoped there was more character development, some characters descriptions were unimportant for the story and I saw no reason for existing like mentioning that Frances husband is bissexual and that's it, it doesn't make any difference to the story.

One word only: disturbing 😳


But a little bit more..., I don't know what to make out of it. The story really caught me and made me angry and sad and depressed and made me feel impotent.

I read the Wikipedia about the book before starting it so I could have an overall idea to the references Dickens did. The book made me hate pretentious rich people even more than I already do. Moreover, I had to hold my tears when Meg decides to go to the river, as that was a real story that happened in England at the time.

A must-read for all those suffering some kind of disability. The book clarifies a lot about how lupus affects mind and body of those suffering with the illness, going from the struggles for getting a diagnosis until making peace with herself. She tells about prejudices, loneliness, depression, abandonment, and brings awareness to how we live our lives, emphasizing the need to connect with those who care about us as career, money don't matter when your body is taking over your life.

Very moving story, a good reminder that wild animals are not pets, and that animals are not at a lower category compared to people,  in fact they are better than us. And it's human responsibility to keep them safe in their original environment. The book also shows a little bit of how life was in US back in 1920s, with racisms, misogyny, poverty and the illusion of California as the land of honey. The beginning of the audiobook was a little tough for me as the narrator way of speaking and the narrative that keeps jumping back and forth past and present days got me lost in the story. It was o my after reading the first 20% that I was able to start listening again. 

No doubt Dickens was one of the greatest authors of English literature, and no doubt David Copperfield was his masterpiece. The book brings up with naturalism discussions about topics, as feminism, classism, under employment, and public policies, that are still relevant today, which demonstrates how ahead of his time Dickens was (or how behind on those topics society still is). 

So cute 

This is a reread so it was interesting to pay attention to how I felt the first time I read it and now that I am older. In the past I would have given 5 stars but now I am giving only 4. It was good to read but it is not a masterpiece. Eragon is annoying and arrogant, which I totally understand as he is still a teenager, but I do hope he'll evolve with the next books. I don't remember much about his behavior on the 2nd and 3rd book and I haven't read the 4th and 5th yet, morevoer, as this is the first book of the series there was not much character development as it was already expected.

It was a fun reading (even with the tough French vocabulary), I compare it as the suspenseful male version of Judy Leigh books, but there's not much character development. I am still not sure if I liked or not how the assassin is described. I'll give some time to reflect about it and update the review when I have an opinion about it.

I am not giving 5 stars only because the book is short for its potential. It left me wondering about the healing process of Shaira and Simi. However, the story is amazing, literally breathtaking, very well written, a mix of prose and poetry like I haven't seen for a longtime.

It was fun to read, there was a moment that I was so devastated about something that happens that I didn't want to continue. However I felt like something was missing and after much thought I realized that even though the book brings a lot of discussions regarding feminism, it lacks depth, I say that having in mind that the story happens on the 1960s and some resolutions to the conflict were easily solved which I don't think it would be the same if that had really happened in the 60s, for example, Elizabeth starring for a long time on TV preaching about feminism without men revolting against it and taking measures to restrain her.

After chapter 6, I was really into knowing what was happening, what great mystery laid ahead, but the end was pretty disappointing.
I almost DNF at 96%, 
it was somehow disgusting, non creative to the point of reminding me of the last book of Twilight when Jacob imprinted Esmee. 
On a side note, I wonder what is the point in describing the skin color of characters when the white characters are never described or when the description adds nothing to the story beyond stirring the readers prejudices? 

It didn't add much to the story, even though it shows how the council and the people has reacted to Lara's return. Beyond that, the book consisted mostly of Aren and Lara enjoying themselves. 

I've started reading it because I was in love with Aren and Lara and wanted to know more about them even though I knew this book was about Keris and Zarrah. However, for my surprise I ended up loving Keris and Zarrah even more as the characters are much better developed than the previous couple. I just couldn't stop reading and wonder what was going to happen to them.