bookshelves: ya-books
Before the feeds, man and technology were separate entities. Man operated pieces of technology and carried laptops in briefcases. Now things are a lot better man and things are one and everything you ever wanted to know is on the feed. There is no need to read since if you wanted to know something, you just have to think about it and the feed will "enlighten you". Sounds good? See for yourself when you read Feed, in a future world where consumerism and brainwashing are the cornerstones of American society. ]]>
bookshelves: ya-books
The book Twisted examines the inner struggles of a typical American male teenager in his senior year. Told from the point of view of Tyler Miller, author Anderson brings us a story that takes us deeply into the desperate attempts of teenagers to fit in with the in-crowd while being ushered into adulthood. Twisted reveals that our society is quick to judge and slow to embrace differences. Because of this, Tyler performs the "Foul Deed" at the end of his junior year and lands him on probation with community service, hard labor and no car and no summer job (hence no money). Thus, senior year proves to be quite the struggle, when his altered physique (after working with the school maintenance crew and a landscaping crew over the summer) gains the attention of his crush. While that sounds good, Tyler is dealing with a probation officer, community service, failing grades, graduation, family conflicts, an explosive father and a drunken incident where inappropriate deeds happened during a party that he was not supposed to go to begin with. Anderson tells the story with humorous content, taut pace and reminiscent Tyler stories.
Tyler loves to play a video game where at the last level he gets to fight the Devil himself. At the end of the book, there is an analogy to Tyler coming to terms with his final conflict. Tyler is on the verge of starting his life as an adult, but which way will he choose to go? Read the book and judge by yourself!
I would recommend this book all teens in High School, to moms and dads of male teenagers, to those who work with teenagers, and to those who were teenagers over 20 years ago.....a lot has changed since then and this book will bring you up to date.
PS: My daughter read this book....twice! nuf-said! ]]>
bookshelves: adult
I read this book when I was about 33 years old. I met the authors at a bookstore in Miami, and listened to their message. It was inspiring and empowering to hear these women talk about their coming to grasp with their middle age. I have the opinion that midlife is between 30 and 45...since not many of us get to be 100 years old. Being the type that likes to know what's coming ahead I went and read the book. I would recommend this book to all women, not just us that are in midlife. It is a book about empowering women to take lives by the reins and taking control. It's message is sort of "If you don't like something, change it and make it better". This "something" could be your job, your lifestyle, your marriage.....but make it better, not just complain about it. This is a book written by real women for real women and we all need to keep it real and "Accept it"! ]]>
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Loanis Menendez-cuesta
took the never-ending book quiz.
| questions answered: | 12 |
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| skipped: | 9 |
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| questions added: | 0 |
bookshelves: adult
I picked up this book not knowing what to expect. The topic of Jerusalem and the Holocaust have always interested me and this book promised a lot of insights. I was very interested in the story of four women who are Holocaust survivors and became friends while in Auschwitz when they were very young. Their memories are recounted as flash backs within the modern times of the Israel/Palestinian conflicts of today. These women made a Covenant to help each other survive the evils of Auschwitz no matter what. Now in their late 70s or 80s, these women come together again to help the granddaughter of one of them, whose husband and five-year old daughter were Kidnapped by the Hamas.
The premise of Judaism that no matter what happens you have to keep on living for the future generation is profoundly described throughout the book. The four women are an inspiration to all in the sense that their strength permeates the story and help the character of the granddaughter deal with the tragedy of having her husband and daughter kidnapped by terrorists.
The author placed these women within a context of power and political connections that helped tremendously to develop the plot and eventually the climax of the book. At times it was a bit incredible that these women had such connections such as their ability to "hire" their own search and rescue team of mercenaries, connect with dignitaries in Russia, infiltrate Hamas, the Israeli police and even influence the Saudi Royal Family; however, it is not "WHAT" you know but "WHO" you know what gets you places! That in a nutshell is how these women got to be where they are now and to do what they did!
I felt that the historical background was believable and well researched and added to the emotional sentiment towards the characters. I identified with the characters whether Jewish or Muslim according to their allegiance (and mine) within the story and therefore felt that the author integrated a sense of balance to the characters where some regular citizens whether Palestinians or Israelites are simply caught in the antisemitism cross-fire when they really are just neighbors and want to act just like neighbors. I identified the sense of hatred towards radicals and terrorism and also with the sense that most human beings are intrinsically good and will strive to do the right thing by their fellow human beings.
This was a very powerful story about friendship, allegiance, survival, sacrifice, loss and renewed hope! I would recommend it wholeheartedly! ]]>