Jen P

Great themes for kids

Revisado: 01-24-25

An exciting adventure with complicated characters - I love how the perspective Sai has of her dad matures. She also learns that, often, our first judgements of people are not always correct. I loved some of the surprises later in the book that open Sai’s mind and her growing understanding of the effects of our decisions on others - human and otherwise. She gains a lot of wisdom in her quest for freedom, status and money - and finds more important things in the end. Great novel for kids, with a lot of depth. An enjoyable read for adults too!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A classic - great narration

Revisado: 12-16-24

I absolutely love this story and Hugh Grant does a wonderful job! Bravo! I listen every year when I am wrapping.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Heartwarming story - music was distracting

Revisado: 11-14-24

I loved this story. I am adult and listened to it as a Battle of the Books coach (this title was selected for 2024-25). It’s a very sweet and heartwarming story. I love the themes of caring for other living things, problems that come up when you tell a lie and the repercussions, learning that people are complicated and not all bad, and how to do the most right thing when faced with a problem that doesn’t have an easy answer. The reader was fantastic - I loved his accent to really bring alive the characters and how they would actually sound in the south. The only thing I didn’t love was the random music that would play at certain points out of nowhere. It was distracting to me.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Good story and character development

Revisado: 02-15-24

My daughter and I enjoyed listening to this together and I loved the character development and that even some of the “bad” people were presented as more complex than just good or bad by the end. I always appreciate when books have characters who are complex. The songs/poems at the beginning of each of the chapters were interesting- my daughter didn’t love those parts. Overall, a really sweet story. We enjoyed it a lot.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Fantastic story and performance

Revisado: 01-11-24

I loved this story! Fascinating scenario and wonderful cast of interesting characters with depth. The performance was incredible - each character had their own voice and accent/inflection - it was so entertaining to listen to. I won’t give anything away, but the way one of the main characters voices was produced in this audio version adds so much to the story that would be missing just reading text of the book. I highly recommend listening to this. I couldn’t wait to find out how it would end and was sad when it was over. I found all the science fascinating- even if I didn’t totally understand everything, I felt like it made me a little smarter. 😅 Andy Weir does such an incredible job of melding science with humanity and creating “edge of your seat” scenarios and problems you become invested in because his characters are so likable. I absolutely loved listening to how the characters solved each problem that came up. Endearing, entertaining, inspiring and such creative writing. And the performance was 10/10 - Bravo! 👏🏼

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

I love Trevor’s mom! And you will too. ♥️😃

Revisado: 03-10-23

Absolutely incredible story! So many parts that made me laugh out loud, parts that made me gasp, and parts that really made me think about race and privilege and the heavy burden many women in other countries and other times have carried because they are simply born the “lesser sex” in society’s eyes. This was a story of Trevor Noah’s life, but I felt like his mother was really the thread and theme through every chapter because she sacrificed so much to give him the opportunities he had. It makes me so happy for her that not only was he able to escape the cycle of poverty and racism she had survived through - but his meteoric “worldly” success is a tribute to her faith, hard work, sense of humor, and hope. What an inspiring woman! I will say - if this matters to anyone - there are a lot of F words in this book. I hate that word and it was so frequent I almost stopped listening (maybe I’m a prude - I’ll own that) - but I am so glad I kept with it. Trevor’s story and point of view is so enlightening, inspiring, and many times, hilarious. I found myself telling my family some of the stories at dinner. Excellent book. I only give five stars if I feel like I learned something that makes me a better person - open my eyes to new perspectives and thoughts that help me see and understand the world and others better - and I can say this book and Noah definitely delivered.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Sweet story of a family working together

Revisado: 03-01-23

I listened to this with my daughter for Battle of the Books. We never would have picked this book otherwise, but we both agreed this was a really GREAT story. It was a stressful and scary situation that the kids were in, but it was not too scary for my 9 year old at all. In fact, it was very inspiring to listen to kids facing a very scary situation and watching them overcome each challenge with resilience and love for family - I would highly, highly recommend this - such a wonderful message to kids that they can be braver, stronger and more resilient than they think. And as dog lovers we LOVED Moose! ♥️🐕

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Wow

Revisado: 02-11-23

Absolutely heartbreaking, maddening, gripping and beautiful story. I listened to this book in just a few days - I absolutely loved learning more about a country and culture I know little about. I loved learning more about Afghanistan’s history, customs, and people. But it’s the characters and their resilience that will stay with me for a long time. Such an inspiring story of the strength of the human spirit.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Wow - such an incredible and moving story

Revisado: 01-28-23

To give a book 5 stars I have a few requirements - beautiful writing that immerses you in the setting, believable and real characters who are likable, relatable, and flawed, a strong plot with a story that leaves me wanting to know what happens next, and most importantly - a book that makes me think about it when I’m not reading it - a book that inspires me to broaden my thinking and to be a better person and understand a new point of view. This hit every single one of those requirements by a mile - I loved this book so much and will add it to my list of books I would love for my daughters to read. The audible performance was incredible - I loved the different voices, accents, and the emotive tones the narrator used - she is extremely talented and really brought this beautiful story to life. This book is one I love so much, I will likely buy a hard copy to add to my small collection of most beloved books. I absolutely loved this book.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Wonderful performance!

Revisado: 01-09-23

I read this book a member of a review committee, so it is not one I would have chosen to read (listen to) for myself, but I quite enjoyed these stories of Ulysses. They were brought to life by an incredibly talented narrator, which made this such an enjoyable book to listen to. It made me want to look into other books featuring characters and stories in mythology.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona