Tatyana Drotenko

Truly wonderful

Revisado: 01-13-25

A truly wonderful book that gives an insight (in a fictional way) into the mind of a Giant Pacific octopus (a highly intelligent sea creature). Though the monologues of the octopus were short and far in between, they were enough to get to know the creature better than rest of the characters in the story.
The book made me get to know more about these intelligent creatures.
Great narration job!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Beautifully written

Revisado: 01-02-25

Beautifully written memoir of the life at sea, of love for marine beings, about ways of water.
Very informative, adventurous, and at times sad; a perfect balance of strength and vulnerability.
Great narration.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

My least favorite from the series.

Revisado: 12-13-24

My least favorite from the series.
I loved the series, until this book. I hated that for 16 hours I was witnessing the terrible and ugly side of Nesta, and only last 90 minutes led me to believe there is a good side, which Nesta showed at the very end. Too much of this book was dedicated to Nesta hurting people around her, including her sisters, friends, and her future mate. Her hating the characters we got to love throughout the books is not the best way to build up her character, Cassian, who was my favorite characters in the series was portrayed as a weaker man in this book than in previous books, willing to sacrifice safety of his court and family for Nesta while she spat on him and his status in the court. The short positive moments at the end did not make up for the long hours of ugliness of Nesta's behavior.
Narrator was over exaggerating the character by all the overly emotional reading. I wish this book was read by the same narrator that read the series, the voice who built up these characters for us. Why switch on readers on the last book?

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Interesting, tragic

Revisado: 11-05-24

This book wrecked me. Until this book, I didn't know about the 1888 blizzard that unexpectedly covered the Great Plains on an unusually warm day, when children were at school without their warm winter clothing. It's knows as Children's Blizzard because hundreds of children in rural areas died while trying to walk home from school.
The novel is based on stories of several teenage teachers in remote farming villages who were responsible for their pupils in freezing schools with no fuel after harsh winds broke windows and dismantled roofs. They were barely older then their students and had to decide between freezing do death in school rooms, or trying to keep them alive on the walk to the closest homestead in zero visibility.
In the age of social media, it is hard to imagine that the world knew of this disaster ONLY what several journalists were instructed to write. The aftermath of this disaster was severely downplayed by the newspapers because the blizzard hit an immigrant-majority area during an active campaign to entice immigrants into the US.
Such sad story, lots of tears shed.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

I wish I never started this book

Revisado: 08-27-24

I decided to read this book because of the hype around it. I hated it. I wish I never read it. I wish I stopped when I wanted to stop.
It starts depressing, it ends depressing, and in between there's 32 hours of constant self-pity and repetitive reasons. I hated that self-destruction was glorified throughout the story. Jude's self-harm was presented as something one has to do in order to deal with fear and hurt, something understandable after abusive childhood, something that helps and restores. I also hated that the book made it seem like one kid is surrounded by child-molesting-gay-perverts everywhere he goes or turns, like Jude's memories from truck stops, orphanage, etc. I wish I never started this book. i wish I never continued with it, and I really wish i didn't get to such pointless ending.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Great depiction of alien species

Revisado: 08-27-24

It was hard for me to understand the first 20% of the book since the story jumped from Mri, regul and humans without much explanation who they are, where they are and what is happening between the species. Later in the book, when all the bureaucracy was explained and characters opened up more, I saw them as while very different, still an equal species in the their influence in the matter, equally wanted to survive, maybe dominate if possible. I liked that none of the species were portrayed as superior or inferior to the other two.
I would have loved to see more description of planets they were on to have a clearer picture of the elements they are dealing with, but overall, this beautifully written Si-fi novel is one of the best depictions of alien life and intelligence I've ever read.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

The reading ruined the story for me

Revisado: 07-15-24

Awful choice of narration for a story with so many dialogue and accents. While the story sounded promising, it was ruined by the narration. The narrator sounds choppy and angry through out the book, makes every dialogue sound like an argument, and her portrayal of the accents is very cringe.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Strong start, unfulfilling ending

Revisado: 05-06-24

Strong start, unfulfilling ending. I loved the first part of the book about how the 'Theo' came about. I connected with Alice and wanted to see how this book impacted or changed her life while it was changing lives of the readers. I was disappointed not knowing how the book impacted some of the readers too.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Great details

Revisado: 04-29-24

Fascinating read.
Written and narrated by Zarifa Adiba about her life in Afghanistan. Zarifa lived in a typical Afghani household, secretly attended the only music school in the country, conducted for the only all-female Orchestra in the country, while working to be the sole provider for her family from early teens.
Fascinating read with so many details about the life of women and girls in Afghanistan amidst wars, Taliban, poverty, Islamic rules, lack of education, complicated relationships after arranged marriages (often within extended families), and very rare opportunities for a better future available to very few who overcome their fears or risk their lives to pursue their dreams.
It was great to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel for some, but left me heartbroken for so many that do not get an opportunity to break out of that difficult life. The only minus for me is that Michelle Obama was mentioned too many times and even her book was promoted.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Beautiful story

Revisado: 04-25-24

I absolutely loved this book. It's beautiful. The book follows a life of Esme and her father and friends from her early childhood to the end of her life and beyond. The story described a decades-long process of compiling the Oxford Dictionary, and a daughter of one of the lexicographers collecting supplemental, unimportant or rejected words used by women and lower class of society.
I loved how the author opened up each character and showed something beautiful about everyone in the book, no matter the place in society. Williams was able to weave the beauty of the words with reality and pain of hardship, pain and loss at war time, as well as in friendships between unlikely allies in peaceful days.
I recommend this book to everyone who appreciates the depth of words.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña