Mariana Reuter

Black humour and preteen zombies.

Revisado: 08-07-19 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I received the audiobook version of this story from the author in exchange of a honest review.

An interesting story… It has a touch of paranormal because, in this story’s universe, certain abilities of people are exploited. For example: The MC, Whicker, is a necroti, a person who, using his own energy, helps souls to “move on” (after people die, in some cases, their souls linger rather than moving on to the afterlife, so the necroti helps them to walk to the “light” and leave). His mother is an enchati, a person with magical powers who can cast spells (don’t image a Harry Potter thingie with magic wands and flying brooms, it’s much less elaborate, but it’s a kinda magic anyway). And there’s a third character, this police detective, a telepati, who has some sort of (you guessed right!) telepathic abilities and can tell whether witnesses/criminals are lying to her or can pick a lead almost out of nowhere only by using a special “intuition”.

If you are fond of zombies, there are some of them here. If a soul does not “move on”, then there’s a chance the soul may go back into their original body and turn into an undead. Chances are this undead goes mental and ends up eating you or your dog, but not always. Watch out anyway.

Whicker’s mother, the enchanti, is grieving because husband and her daughter (Whicker’s sister) die almost one after the other (different reasons), so she wants to die too. She can’t (because of her magical powers) so her willingness to die is focused on Whicker who is, slowly albeit relentlessly, losing his vital energy so important for his necrotic job. You may understand Whicker wants to bring his mum out this state on the double, so he concocts this spooky plan of using an undead (a friend of his arranges the whole thing), a nine-year-old girl whom he plans to disguise as his dead sister to shock his mother. Pretty creative, isn’t it?

It’s here where the police detective appears because stealing dead bodies and forcing their souls back into them is a crime—no wonder. Things get even worse because the girl’s body starts decomposing—if you like gore, this is the right story, there’s plenty.

I won’t spoil the story for you, but I will certainly recommend it. It’s fast paced. It’s creative in a The Adams Family macabre fashion. It’s spooky, and has a touch of black humour. Talking about the audiobook, I so enjoyed it. It’s well read and well performed. The voice actor is good at recreating the different characters, even the zombie girl.

So, go for it if you like the macabre that is not straight forward horror, splashed with cute nine-year-old decaying zombies who eat dogs… raw.

Kiss,

Gacela

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Not Crichton at his best, but fairly good

Revisado: 03-06-18

This is not Chrichton's best story, but it's good enough. It's written in the fashion of Pirate Latitudes, but with much less intensity. However, if you wish to learn a lot about Victorian England, this is a good literary source.

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Ver y good story

Revisado: 07-29-17

Somehow short, but very interesting. Narrated from the point of view of a dreamy 11 year old boy, this is the story of how evil entered a small 1930's Canadian town without anybody realising so, except this boy. Evil dresses itself as good, the reason why it's so difficult to spot it.

Almost a horror story, very spooky, but very well narrated. Don't let yourself be discouraged by its apparent slowness, its part of its beauty, like it were a poem instead of a novel.,

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A classic!

Revisado: 07-17-17

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely yes. Dune is a classic, like Star Wars.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jessica. She's so strong, fighting against all odds, and she suffers a lot but is capable of facing it.

What does the narrators bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

This book is narrated using different actors. The result is awesome except that... (and this is the reason for my 4 star grading) only some parts of the book are narrated using different actors. By using different actors for different characters, the experience is enhanced, and it feels move lively. However, because only some chapters are read using different actors, part of the experience gets lost.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This is a classic, even though it's difficult to read (or listen too) because of the language and the many plots within the plot. The reader must immerse herself into the Dune world, and this is not something easy.

The above doesn't mean I'm not recommending the book. On the contrary, only that the readers must have their eyes, ears, and mind alert when reading Dune or otherwise it's easy to get lost.

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Agatha Christie is always the best

Revisado: 07-07-16

Another great Agatha Christie story. Hugh Fraser performance is amazing. He gives life to Hercule Poirot so well I can imagine perfectly well the little Belgian detective. Highly recommended.

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Not a homage to the LGBT community, but worth read

Revisado: 08-12-14

What other book might you compare Luna to and why?

Brian Katcher's Almost Perfect, but this one is FAR better.

Any additional comments?

Warning: minor spoilers.

Back in the 70's, the gay novels were the controversial ones, usually with sad endings up to the MC commiting suicide. Nowadays, the transgender novels are the contoversial ones, where the TG character is the one whom nobody understands and whom struggles to find his/her identity. Both in the 70's novels and in the present days ones, there's an acceptance and tolerance message towards the gay/transgender character that is contrasted with other characters' lack of understanding. It's implied that the TG character has the right to "transition" (as mentioned in this novel) and the rest of the world has to accept his/her decision as if it were everyday stuff, like changing socks. Whether the rest of the world has a vision and values that openly crash with being transgender or even gay (e.g. many religions are openly against homosexuality, not to say transgender people) it doesn't matters. The TG characters have the divine right to do their transition.


Luna/Liam, an obsessed 17 yo boy-transitioning-to-girl teenager, is a very selfish character who only thinks in herself. According to her, she's a girl in the wrong body and everybody else must accept it not mattering what they think. Not mattering whether the situation is driving her mother nuts up to the point that her mother needs to take pills. Not mattering whether her father is incapable of understanding her--mainly because she never comes clean explaining him what the hell is going on. Not mattering whether her sister is permanently stressed and even lacks sleep because every night she goes into her sister's room to dress like a girl.


Luna is so obsessed with transitioning that she is incapable of thinking in her family and friends. In the end, she destroys her family (it's not explained, but after the way in which the novel ends, I would expect her parents to divorce), she hurts her best friend (a girl who was actually in love with Liam in his masculine form), and she deeply hurts her sister and novel-narrator Reagan.


Is the novel worth reading? It certainly is! Don't expect a homage to the LGBT comunity, but a rough account of how being TG affects other people. Yes, nowadays it's politically correct to be in favour of gays and TGs, except that there are many people that because of their religious or personal values cannot accept the idea, and even get deeply hurt when a relation openly accepts his/her gay/TG state. The fashions is to cry that acceptance must be excersised. However, inmersed in this acceptance-overall politicaly-correct fashion, nobody stops to think how difficult acceptance may be. Whether being gay or TG is good or bad, I don't know. What I know is that accepting gays or TG is very difficult for many people, and even more if deep religious beliefs are in between.



This novels presents the struggle of those people closely related to a TG person. Also, how selfish the TG person can be, inmersed in her/his idea which turns in his/her exclusive goal. It's not like Wendy Darling saif, that Reagan is selfish, but on te contrary. This is a very well narrated story that shows that there should be tolerance and understanding... from both sides.

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Great story, bad ending--not worth reading.

Revisado: 07-26-14

What disappointed you about Almost Perfect?

In YA books, it 's typicall that the characters come of age or grow both gaining and losing something. In Almost Perfect, the 2 main characters loss everything without any of them gaining experience. Logan's wrong decisions lead both of them to a disastrous ending where Sage is about give up all for what she has been fighting all her life (it's not clear whether she did) and Logan gets no learning and thus doesn't grow as a person. The ending was soooo bad it runied the whole novel. Okay, this is not a Disney Princesess story, but please don't obliterate the main characters.

Would you ever listen to anything by Brian Katcher again?

Most likely not. If his other novels are like this one, where a very good plot is ruined by a crappy ending, I 'm not interested.

Which scene was your favorite?

This is a spoiler. Don't read beyond if you prefer to learn by yourself.

The love scene at the university campus. Wondefull scene!

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The plot is actually good and is well knitted, but the ending is sooo bad that I ended up angry. Not worth reading.

Any additional comments?

Don't buy this book unless you enjoy sad endings where all the characters' hopes end crushed beyond repair.

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Very well told and read story.

Revisado: 06-04-14

If you could sum up Alice I Have Been in three words, what would they be?

Intense, passionate, coming-of-age.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Alice I Have Been?

There are several, and that's why I have used the word "passionate" when answering the previous question. There are two very intense and memorable moments in the first part when she was with Lewis Carol: the moment when the beggar/gypsy photograph was taken, and the moment at the train that caused the breaking between them. Memorable moments during her romance with prince Leopold are many. Finally, when she is notified that 2 of her sons were killed in WWI, is two memorable moments very intense. If the listener has children, they will understand how intense and passionate they are.

Have you listened to any of Samantha Eggar’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, but this performance is outstanding and coveys the main character's strength and passion in a superlative manner. I really loved her performance.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

the book actually very long and I would not rather listen to it in one sitting--which I think would be the equivalent of a page turner. I would not listen to it in one sitting because it's long, or not because it's not a page turner, but because there are so many passions in the book that it rather needs to be digested by the listener's both heart and mind, something that cannot be done in one sitting.

Any additional comments?

This is not a biography and some passages are not true at all, or at least there is much speculation around them and there is no evidence that they might have taken place as Melanie Benjamin tells them. Also, it's impossible to tell now what did the real Alice though of all what it's exposed. That said, I feel this novel is much like Price and Prejudice: the account of the life of a woman with a strong capacity to feel and who was able to transmit strong emotions to those around her. Plus, it is also an interesting account of the XIX century life. Whether this is an accurate story of the true Alice is not important any more. Alice's voice is powerful and passionate, and that shakes the listener. There's a coming of age in the story. Interestingly, it doesn't happen when Alice is young, like at the end of almost every YA novel, but at her old age. That detail closes the book in a powerful way and leaves the reader a satisfactory taste of a life well lived. Listen to Alice I Have Been, You will enjoy it.

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Nice novel, important literary flaws, read it anyw

Revisado: 05-21-14

What did you like best about Cycler? What did you like least?

The premise needs to be accepted up front or else it doesn't make sense. But it's okay. It's like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The reader needs to accept that it's possible to brew a potion capable of transforming a man into his devilish alter ego, and then Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde comes to full life as a classic. In the same fashion, Jill transforms into Jack 4 days before her period. A full guy in mind and body. Then she goes back to being a girl. I actually found the premise fascinating. The ensuing struggle because of this transformation is well done and believable. It's understandable that Jill would hate her alter-ego that is ruining her life and transforming her into a monster.

However, at the beginning of the story, Jill explains that, after she began transforming at 14, her mother took her to doctors and institutions. No need. If that would happen in real life, the poor girl would have turned into a sort of circus attraction and nobody would ever leave her alone for the rest of her life. Thus, that's an author's flaw. It seemed to me that the author needed to justify Jill's awkward situation, but truly, there is no need. The reader can accept the premise as the reader accepts Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde premise, and from that point on it's a natural thing.

Jack is too stereotyped. As a teenager, he only things in porn and masturbating. While it may be valid for many teenagers nowadays, not all teenage boys are like that. Moreover, one that only exists 4 days a month, even if forced to remain locked, would be far more interested in the world around him, which he can only enjoy 4 days a month, rather than only watching porn and masturbating.It's a sort of teenage-girl concept of teenage boys.

Jill is also stereotyped, but not as much as Jack. She's obsessed with finding a date for the prom and ignoring her little secret. The novel could have been far closer to a masterpiece hadn't the author stereotyped her characters so much. Also, she missed the opportunity of their communicating with each other (the only communication that exists are little notes sent by Jack asking for more porn), understanding each other, and finally concluding that they are two faces of the same coin, making the most of their duality. Pity.

The relationship with Jill's BFF is also underused as a literary element. At the very end, it is hinted that she knew that Jack was Jill, which meant that she might have had a crush for Jill, but that rich vein is not further explored.

Would you be willing to try another book from Lauren McLaughlin? Why or why not?

I actually read Re-Cycler because, despite the literary flaws--and re-Cycler has many of them as well--I actually enjoyed the story. Could have been better, but it's not bad and it's an easy and nice YA reading.

Have you listened to any of Maxwell Glick and Melissa Strom ’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Melissa Strom is a wonderful performer. Maxwell Glick is good, but not as good.

Any additional comments?

In spite of the important literary flaws, the novel is enjoyable. Read it. You'll like it. It'm to picky, but if you aren't, you'll end up satisfied with a simple story about a teenage girl endevour to fit, despite what makes her different. It's a situation common to many teenagers who are different and stand out of the crowd. A sort of coming of age story where Jill finally discovers herself. Jack's coming of age is missing (as said, the novel falls short), but read it anyway.

You'll highly enjoy it.

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