All posts by Joey @ thoughts and afterthoughts

a guy who word vomits about books.
2016, alternatives, Movie Review

[Alternatives] – Movie Review – A Monster Calls (2016)

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Alternatives is the tagline to discuss entertainment outside of literature. It may encompass television, movies, games, and music.

Alternatives
Movie Review –
A Monster Calls (2016)

Genre: Contemporary, Fantasy/Magical Realism, Bullying, Death
Duration: 108 Minutes
Directed By: J. A. Bayona
Written By: Patrick Ness
Starring: Lewis MacDougall, Liam Neeson, Signourey Weaver, Felicity Jones, Toby Kebbell 

A boy seeks the help of a tree monster to cope with his single mom’s terminal illness.

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2016, top ten tuesday

[Top Ten Tuesday] – #126 – Villains in Books

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Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish.

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This Week’s Theme:
Villains in Books

Initial Thoughts:

I’ll be honest: I find myself enjoying villains more than their heroic counterpart as they’re simply more interesting to me. (Not saying I’m interested in evil things though.) What I appreciate is when villains are bad (but good) but actually but (but actually good).

It’s all in perspective.

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2016, Book Review

[Review] Vassa in The Night — Sarah Porter (feat. Excerpt from the Book)

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Book Title: Vassa in the Night (Standalone)
Author:     Sarah Porter
Number of pages:  304

Synopsis:

vassa in the night - sarah porter - book coverIn Vassa’s neighborhood, where she lives with her stepmother and bickering stepsisters, one might stumble onto magic, but stumbling out again could become an issue. Babs Yagg, the owner of the local convenience store, has a policy of beheading shoplifters—and sometimes innocent shoppers as well. So when Vassa’s stepsister sends her out for light bulbs in the middle of night, she knows it could easily become a suicide mission.

(re: Goodreads @ Metaltown by Kristen Simmons)

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr review:

– Retelling of Vasilisa the Beautiful
– This Brooklyn is all kinds of dark and fantastical; longer nights, anthropomorphic creatures, and whimsically vivid imagery
– The prose is a hit/miss depending on the reader’s tolerance to sugary, purple prose
– There is romance but it is not the focus of the story (therefore does not necessarily hi-jack the plot)
– Though Erg, the talking wooden doll, is a secondary MC, there are moments the Deus Ex Machina trope is exhibited from her

Initial Thoughts

“What the fuck did I just read?” — literal reaction upon finishing.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of Vassa in the Night  from Indigo Books.

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