Lör K.'s Blog
November 6, 2017
The Angel
A few months ago this year, in June, I was at a very low point in my life. To spare the grisly details, my eating disorder was running rampant and making things extremely hard. That same month, I found the Korean pop group, EXO, and one of their members, truly had an affect on me that no one else really could have at that moment in time. I wrote the following poem a little while after that, and finally, decided to share it. This is, slightly promotional, as I'm releasing a poetry book soon, dedicated to the man who saved my life.
-----------------------------
And the winds that night came howling,
blowing through the house as though they
belonged; papers whipped around, chairs
were upended, and it left behind it a hunger.
A hunger for food, not seemingly, food was
not an issue. The cupboards were not bare,
but seemed to groan, bending under the weight
of food and fruit, stacked beyond belief.
No the hunger was not for food, in fact; the
hunger was for no food at all. To feel an empty
pit and to stand strong, strengthened by weakness,
strengthened by biting pain deep within the gut.
Four days ticked by and not one person saw,
the growing illness slipping through, leaving
nothing but pain and dizziness, leaving a gasp
of breath and a hand clutching a tummy.
One person saw, on the fifth day as it passed,
but said nothing, other than uttering a single
word. Pathetic. Over and over it played,
a scratched record looping constantly.
The record didn’t stop as the sixth day came,
and music was the only cure. Earphones in,
the wind out, the monsters held at bay as the
voice of his saviour harmonized notes.
Words came and went, the lyrics unknown;
he didn’t speak the language, and yet, there
was comfort found in just one voice, hidden
amongst nine, or twelve, depending on the song.
The voice, he found, was of an angel, although
he didn’t know just yet. He did not know the angel
would smile, and bring to him a cure, for the wind
that still howled through the house, leaving him
shivering in its wake.
He did not know it was an angel, until he began
to look. Upon the internet, inside albums, learning
everything he could. The angel smiled, and for once,
the wind no longer made him cold.
Warmth spread around his body, the more the angel
sang. Shaking fingers tapped a beat, a stone cold foot
blue with freeze, bounced up and down as he began
to learn the words he heard so much.
The eighth day now came to pass, and weak,
he could barely stand from his bed. But he
forced himself downstairs, and sat at the table
with a fake smile, ready to see his angel.
More studying began, and this time he went back,
five years to the past. His eyes began to widen as
the words and photos came to pass, through his
retinas, into his brain, never to escape.
The angel was troubled, himself, seemingly with
the same howling winds. He read and read and
watched the past show, the angel once more
finding his wings.
And just like that he found the strength, and
he felt the pain in his back. His own wings
sprouted, small but there, and he slowly
found his feet.
To the cupboards he walked, still groaning,
ever louder as he opened them. The howling
wind could be heard no more, as he cracked
a can, and heated up the thick liquid inside.
Breaking the load of a bread in half, he tore
small portions from the half, and dipped it
in the thick red liquid. Irony, he thought
as he slowly began to chew.
An hour on he struggles with the final swallow,
but finally, manages to get it down. He feels
the lump go down his throat, but for once,
regret no longer exists.
The howling winds can no longer, call him
their victim, no longer can they bend his
flowers, and break down the bushes of hope.
No longer do they hold power.
Because his angel now holds the power, his
voice planting new seeds, just as soon as the winds
knock the flowers down. As soon as the roots begin
to show, the angel plants three more.
This angel's name is Kim Minseok, a Korean man
who has no idea I exist. He showed me light in
my darkest times, and taught me how to smile.
His voice brings happiness, smiles, and laughter.
Xiumin, he goes by, and some of you may know of him,
he's the short one, with the gummy smile, and the
laugh that lifts everyone. He stands proud and tall
whenever he can, and that man, lifted me
From the depths of despair.
-----------------------------
And the winds that night came howling,
blowing through the house as though they
belonged; papers whipped around, chairs
were upended, and it left behind it a hunger.
A hunger for food, not seemingly, food was
not an issue. The cupboards were not bare,
but seemed to groan, bending under the weight
of food and fruit, stacked beyond belief.
No the hunger was not for food, in fact; the
hunger was for no food at all. To feel an empty
pit and to stand strong, strengthened by weakness,
strengthened by biting pain deep within the gut.
Four days ticked by and not one person saw,
the growing illness slipping through, leaving
nothing but pain and dizziness, leaving a gasp
of breath and a hand clutching a tummy.
One person saw, on the fifth day as it passed,
but said nothing, other than uttering a single
word. Pathetic. Over and over it played,
a scratched record looping constantly.
The record didn’t stop as the sixth day came,
and music was the only cure. Earphones in,
the wind out, the monsters held at bay as the
voice of his saviour harmonized notes.
Words came and went, the lyrics unknown;
he didn’t speak the language, and yet, there
was comfort found in just one voice, hidden
amongst nine, or twelve, depending on the song.
The voice, he found, was of an angel, although
he didn’t know just yet. He did not know the angel
would smile, and bring to him a cure, for the wind
that still howled through the house, leaving him
shivering in its wake.
He did not know it was an angel, until he began
to look. Upon the internet, inside albums, learning
everything he could. The angel smiled, and for once,
the wind no longer made him cold.
Warmth spread around his body, the more the angel
sang. Shaking fingers tapped a beat, a stone cold foot
blue with freeze, bounced up and down as he began
to learn the words he heard so much.
The eighth day now came to pass, and weak,
he could barely stand from his bed. But he
forced himself downstairs, and sat at the table
with a fake smile, ready to see his angel.
More studying began, and this time he went back,
five years to the past. His eyes began to widen as
the words and photos came to pass, through his
retinas, into his brain, never to escape.
The angel was troubled, himself, seemingly with
the same howling winds. He read and read and
watched the past show, the angel once more
finding his wings.
And just like that he found the strength, and
he felt the pain in his back. His own wings
sprouted, small but there, and he slowly
found his feet.
To the cupboards he walked, still groaning,
ever louder as he opened them. The howling
wind could be heard no more, as he cracked
a can, and heated up the thick liquid inside.
Breaking the load of a bread in half, he tore
small portions from the half, and dipped it
in the thick red liquid. Irony, he thought
as he slowly began to chew.
An hour on he struggles with the final swallow,
but finally, manages to get it down. He feels
the lump go down his throat, but for once,
regret no longer exists.
The howling winds can no longer, call him
their victim, no longer can they bend his
flowers, and break down the bushes of hope.
No longer do they hold power.
Because his angel now holds the power, his
voice planting new seeds, just as soon as the winds
knock the flowers down. As soon as the roots begin
to show, the angel plants three more.
This angel's name is Kim Minseok, a Korean man
who has no idea I exist. He showed me light in
my darkest times, and taught me how to smile.
His voice brings happiness, smiles, and laughter.
Xiumin, he goes by, and some of you may know of him,
he's the short one, with the gummy smile, and the
laugh that lifts everyone. He stands proud and tall
whenever he can, and that man, lifted me
From the depths of despair.
September 20, 2017
Books to Read
It's been a long time since I actually wrote a blog post, rather than just a review, and I'm really just here asking for opinions.
I need to kick my reading ass into gear, and I have no clue what to read! I have much too many to read at the moment, and I'm trying to figure out what I should read, from the following:
The Throne of Glass series
Twisted [Laurie Halse Anderson]
The Lunar Chronicles
Love Letters to the Dead
The Lovely Bones
Artemis Fowl series
Zom-B series
Lies My Girlfriend Told Me
Red Queen series
The Heir series
Stephen Kings collection
Richard Laymon's collection
Please help!
I need to kick my reading ass into gear, and I have no clue what to read! I have much too many to read at the moment, and I'm trying to figure out what I should read, from the following:
The Throne of Glass series
Twisted [Laurie Halse Anderson]
The Lunar Chronicles
Love Letters to the Dead
The Lovely Bones
Artemis Fowl series
Zom-B series
Lies My Girlfriend Told Me
Red Queen series
The Heir series
Stephen Kings collection
Richard Laymon's collection
Please help!
June 11, 2017
Say Goodbye (2017) -- Gaming Review
From developer and publisher morojenoe's empire comes Say Goodbye, a casual free to play indie adventure game. Released at the start of 2017, this has become a relatively popular game, but has extremely mixed reviews on the Steam store. After being recommended this by a friend, I decided to download it and play it.
This is just a visual novel about Michael, an ordinary man living a mundane life. Then, it turns out he has a distant cousin who just died and left behind a daughter. Now he's got to become a Father... and then things start getting even stranger.
I'm going to admit straight away. I sat for 107 minutes playing this in one play through. The achievements are all relatively easy to get, so I thought it would be a nice, simple play through and something I could enjoy.
This game is the worst game I have ever played.
It's much too long for what it is and I got bored around the half hour mark, but I started it and I was going to finish this game before I left it and never came back to it.
The language of it is so grammatically incorrect, it makes the story really hard to follow. Obviously, the creator isn't English, but ideally, they should have had it run by an English speaking person so that they could correct it and make the story flow a lot better.
The artwork of the characters wasn't amazing at all, and didn't appeal to me.
The characters themselves were horrendously boring and so flat, there was nothing about them that interested me.
There was just nothing in this game to keep me playing other than the achievements, and even that was a struggle, and I almost left this numerous times because the game was just so horrendous. It almost sent me to sleep a few times.
Honestly, I wouldn't recommend this. It's too long of a game to just be used to up completion percentage, and the achievements take so long to get. It's horrendous. Honestly, the worst game I have ever played. I'd rate this zero stars if I could.
This is just a visual novel about Michael, an ordinary man living a mundane life. Then, it turns out he has a distant cousin who just died and left behind a daughter. Now he's got to become a Father... and then things start getting even stranger.
I'm going to admit straight away. I sat for 107 minutes playing this in one play through. The achievements are all relatively easy to get, so I thought it would be a nice, simple play through and something I could enjoy.
This game is the worst game I have ever played.
It's much too long for what it is and I got bored around the half hour mark, but I started it and I was going to finish this game before I left it and never came back to it.
The language of it is so grammatically incorrect, it makes the story really hard to follow. Obviously, the creator isn't English, but ideally, they should have had it run by an English speaking person so that they could correct it and make the story flow a lot better.
The artwork of the characters wasn't amazing at all, and didn't appeal to me.
The characters themselves were horrendously boring and so flat, there was nothing about them that interested me.
There was just nothing in this game to keep me playing other than the achievements, and even that was a struggle, and I almost left this numerous times because the game was just so horrendous. It almost sent me to sleep a few times.
Honestly, I wouldn't recommend this. It's too long of a game to just be used to up completion percentage, and the achievements take so long to get. It's horrendous. Honestly, the worst game I have ever played. I'd rate this zero stars if I could.
May 27, 2017
Emily is Away (2015) - Gaming Review
Rating: 4 / 5
Review can also be found here on TrueSteamAcheivements
From developer and publisher Kyle Seeley comes the interactive, choose your own path game, Emily is Away. First released in 2015, it became a popular game extremely quickly, leaving a lot of gamers wondering just why this was so well renowned in the Steam Community. A play of it for yourself really answers this question.
I thought this was just going to be another massively hyped up game when I saw Markiplier, Jacksepticeye and CrankGamePlays upload videos for this. I thought it was just one of those games that everyone said was amazing but no one really enjoyed. However, it showed to be a short game, with a bunch of easy achievements to get and that was what really drew me into this game.
What I found, was absolute beauty.
Emily is Away totally stunned me. I wasn't expecting anything like this. In AOL Messenger, you log on to talk to your friend Emily as you both go through high school and college and explore what is happening between you both and what's going on in your lives. It sounds really simple, but Seeley has created an absolute stunning story within this game. It's so quick, and yet it's really stuck with me for a long time already. I felt a lot of emotions when playing this game, most noticeably, heartbreak. Maybe I got a bad ending, I don't know - it seems everyone got the same ending I did that I know of - but boy, oh, boy, did this game hurt.
I really wasn't expecting anything so simple and beautiful from this game and it's left me in shock.
With 20 easy achievements to grab (all the guides to the icon achievements can be found on the guides for the achievements), and it being a short game that took me just over 40 minutes to play, I would highly recommend Emily is Away.
Emily is Away Too, the second game in this series, has just come out, and I cannot wait to see what Seeley has created in this game as well. A pure beauty of gaming. Definitely give this one a try.
Review can also be found here on TrueSteamAcheivements
From developer and publisher Kyle Seeley comes the interactive, choose your own path game, Emily is Away. First released in 2015, it became a popular game extremely quickly, leaving a lot of gamers wondering just why this was so well renowned in the Steam Community. A play of it for yourself really answers this question.
I thought this was just going to be another massively hyped up game when I saw Markiplier, Jacksepticeye and CrankGamePlays upload videos for this. I thought it was just one of those games that everyone said was amazing but no one really enjoyed. However, it showed to be a short game, with a bunch of easy achievements to get and that was what really drew me into this game.
What I found, was absolute beauty.
Emily is Away totally stunned me. I wasn't expecting anything like this. In AOL Messenger, you log on to talk to your friend Emily as you both go through high school and college and explore what is happening between you both and what's going on in your lives. It sounds really simple, but Seeley has created an absolute stunning story within this game. It's so quick, and yet it's really stuck with me for a long time already. I felt a lot of emotions when playing this game, most noticeably, heartbreak. Maybe I got a bad ending, I don't know - it seems everyone got the same ending I did that I know of - but boy, oh, boy, did this game hurt.
I really wasn't expecting anything so simple and beautiful from this game and it's left me in shock.
With 20 easy achievements to grab (all the guides to the icon achievements can be found on the guides for the achievements), and it being a short game that took me just over 40 minutes to play, I would highly recommend Emily is Away.
Emily is Away Too, the second game in this series, has just come out, and I cannot wait to see what Seeley has created in this game as well. A pure beauty of gaming. Definitely give this one a try.
May 13, 2017
Disturbed (2016) -- Gaming Review
Rating: 3.5 / 5
From publisher and developed Brad Moore, comes the indie horror game Disturbed. Released on the 3rdof October, 2016, this is a casual adventure simulation game where you go about your adventures and try not to die (although you get a lot of achievements for dying).
Play as a farmer who struggles to manage a failing farm. You come to a point where there is no more hope, and you must do something.
You figure that you will die and it is just a matter of how and where. What difference is there to make? What can a simple farmer do? Only you can answer these questions.
This game is powered by the Ren’py Engine and the visuals are 800 by 600 by default. The game runs really smoothly and there’s no connection issues (thank goodness for offline play).
I got this game around Halloween 2016, just to have a look at what it was, and found the achievements were relatively easy to get. Due to college, I abandoned my old Steam account, and forgot completely about the game. Coming back to Steam at the start of this year, I was delighted to find this again. I was really enjoying it on my old account, so to start it again and see how it went and if there were any updates was really exciting.
I found the game quite easy to remember. I managed to click most of the achievements in ten minutes of play, and then it became a lot of clicking around, seeing where my choices took me, and trying to click the last of the achievements. There was a lot to discover in this game, and it was fun to sit down for forty minutes and click around for a bit.
It was exciting to see where my choices took me, to find the horrors that waited to kill me, and to eventually beat the game.
The art style is very simplistic, however, it was still really enjoyable to look at. The sound work did well – there wasn’t much sound unless something happened, which added a tiny aspect of jump scares if you weren’t expecting them. These are easy to adjust to, however, and the jumping ceases during the game.
This game really doesn’t take too long to complete at all. As I said earlier, it only took me forty minutes (I think Steam said thirty nine minutes) to fully complete all the achievements. Achievement hunters, I’d recommend this one. It’s quite simple, although some of the achievements take a lot of time to come across, especially if you make more wrong choices than right.
I’m really glad I decided to come back to this game and give it another try. I would definitely recommend this to choice-based simulator lovers, and for achievement hunters as well. Indie horror fans would likely enjoy this one as well, so give it a try! This is definitely one of my favourite games for sure.
From publisher and developed Brad Moore, comes the indie horror game Disturbed. Released on the 3rdof October, 2016, this is a casual adventure simulation game where you go about your adventures and try not to die (although you get a lot of achievements for dying).
Play as a farmer who struggles to manage a failing farm. You come to a point where there is no more hope, and you must do something.
You figure that you will die and it is just a matter of how and where. What difference is there to make? What can a simple farmer do? Only you can answer these questions.
This game is powered by the Ren’py Engine and the visuals are 800 by 600 by default. The game runs really smoothly and there’s no connection issues (thank goodness for offline play).
I got this game around Halloween 2016, just to have a look at what it was, and found the achievements were relatively easy to get. Due to college, I abandoned my old Steam account, and forgot completely about the game. Coming back to Steam at the start of this year, I was delighted to find this again. I was really enjoying it on my old account, so to start it again and see how it went and if there were any updates was really exciting.
I found the game quite easy to remember. I managed to click most of the achievements in ten minutes of play, and then it became a lot of clicking around, seeing where my choices took me, and trying to click the last of the achievements. There was a lot to discover in this game, and it was fun to sit down for forty minutes and click around for a bit.
It was exciting to see where my choices took me, to find the horrors that waited to kill me, and to eventually beat the game.
The art style is very simplistic, however, it was still really enjoyable to look at. The sound work did well – there wasn’t much sound unless something happened, which added a tiny aspect of jump scares if you weren’t expecting them. These are easy to adjust to, however, and the jumping ceases during the game.
This game really doesn’t take too long to complete at all. As I said earlier, it only took me forty minutes (I think Steam said thirty nine minutes) to fully complete all the achievements. Achievement hunters, I’d recommend this one. It’s quite simple, although some of the achievements take a lot of time to come across, especially if you make more wrong choices than right.
I’m really glad I decided to come back to this game and give it another try. I would definitely recommend this to choice-based simulator lovers, and for achievement hunters as well. Indie horror fans would likely enjoy this one as well, so give it a try! This is definitely one of my favourite games for sure.
May 12, 2017
Carpe Diem (2015) -- Gaming Review
From Eyzi and Moonlit Studios comes Carpe Diem; a free to play, casual, anime visual novel. This features one steam achievement, and an extra package that requires purchase.
In this very short kinetic novel, you will play as Jung who's meeting up and hanging out with a girl named Ai. Spend your time wisely.
What makes someone perfect? Experience this short bittersweet story in the shoes of the main character, Jung, where you will spend your time hanging out with a girl named Ai. Ai is everything Jung wishes for in a woman... except for one very important thing. A thing he prefers to disregard in order for them to have the best time of their lives.
You have a day to enjoy your date and see the world from Jung's point-of-view.
I completed this game extremely quickly. I played it for a minute, unlocked the achievement, and then just deleted the game.
First of all, the art is really nice to look at. It's got a good style and I found it enjoyable. The story, I found extremely boring and ended up speed clicking through it after making my decision on where to go.
The achievement is unmissable - you get it via playing the game, simple as.
I feel like the whole idea behind this game is about wasting your life, what are you doing with your life, etc. I wasn't keen on it, and the twist at the end felt like a total let down. I actually felt like I had wasted money downloading this game - a free to play game.
Then again, it's one achievement, it's easy to grab so achievement hunters, this may be an easy one for you to grab and just get the achievement to up your numbers a little bit.
In this very short kinetic novel, you will play as Jung who's meeting up and hanging out with a girl named Ai. Spend your time wisely.
What makes someone perfect? Experience this short bittersweet story in the shoes of the main character, Jung, where you will spend your time hanging out with a girl named Ai. Ai is everything Jung wishes for in a woman... except for one very important thing. A thing he prefers to disregard in order for them to have the best time of their lives.
You have a day to enjoy your date and see the world from Jung's point-of-view.
I completed this game extremely quickly. I played it for a minute, unlocked the achievement, and then just deleted the game.
First of all, the art is really nice to look at. It's got a good style and I found it enjoyable. The story, I found extremely boring and ended up speed clicking through it after making my decision on where to go.
The achievement is unmissable - you get it via playing the game, simple as.
I feel like the whole idea behind this game is about wasting your life, what are you doing with your life, etc. I wasn't keen on it, and the twist at the end felt like a total let down. I actually felt like I had wasted money downloading this game - a free to play game.
Then again, it's one achievement, it's easy to grab so achievement hunters, this may be an easy one for you to grab and just get the achievement to up your numbers a little bit.
Carpe Diem -- 2015 (Gaming Review)
From Eyzi and Moonlit Studios comes Carpe Diem; a free to play, casual, anime visual novel. This features one steam achievement, and an extra package that requires purchase.
In this very short kinetic novel, you will play as Jung who's meeting up and hanging out with a girl named Ai. Spend your time wisely.
What makes someone perfect? Experience this short bittersweet story in the shoes of the main character, Jung, where you will spend your time hanging out with a girl named Ai. Ai is everything Jung wishes for in a woman... except for one very important thing. A thing he prefers to disregard in order for them to have the best time of their lives.
You have a day to enjoy your date and see the world from Jung's point-of-view.
I completed this game extremely quickly. I played it for a minute, unlocked the achievement, and then just deleted the game.
First of all, the art is really nice to look at. It's got a good style and I found it enjoyable. The story, I found extremely boring and ended up speed clicking through it after making my decision on where to go.
The achievement is unmissable - you get it via playing the game, simple as.
I feel like the whole idea behind this game is about wasting your life, what are you doing with your life, etc. I wasn't keen on it, and the twist at the end felt like a total let down. I actually felt like I had wasted money downloading this game - a free to play game.
Then again, it's one achievement, it's easy to grab so achievement hunters, this may be an easy one for you to grab and just get the achievement to up your numbers a little bit.
In this very short kinetic novel, you will play as Jung who's meeting up and hanging out with a girl named Ai. Spend your time wisely.
What makes someone perfect? Experience this short bittersweet story in the shoes of the main character, Jung, where you will spend your time hanging out with a girl named Ai. Ai is everything Jung wishes for in a woman... except for one very important thing. A thing he prefers to disregard in order for them to have the best time of their lives.
You have a day to enjoy your date and see the world from Jung's point-of-view.
I completed this game extremely quickly. I played it for a minute, unlocked the achievement, and then just deleted the game.
First of all, the art is really nice to look at. It's got a good style and I found it enjoyable. The story, I found extremely boring and ended up speed clicking through it after making my decision on where to go.
The achievement is unmissable - you get it via playing the game, simple as.
I feel like the whole idea behind this game is about wasting your life, what are you doing with your life, etc. I wasn't keen on it, and the twist at the end felt like a total let down. I actually felt like I had wasted money downloading this game - a free to play game.
Then again, it's one achievement, it's easy to grab so achievement hunters, this may be an easy one for you to grab and just get the achievement to up your numbers a little bit.
May 7, 2017
Fallout: Shelter (2015) -- Gaming Review
Rating: 7 / 10
In Fallout: Shelter, you are a Vault Overseer. You must ensure that your dwellers are happy, you have to make sure everything is full - make sure you don't run out of power, food or water - and you must ensure that your shelter is safe for your dwellers to live in.
As a fan of the Fallout series on Xbox, I saw this on Steam and thought that I would grab it and see what it was like. I was expecting something a lot more like the original gaming series, maybe walking through the vault itself. It's not like that at all. It's very much a one dimensional game, with just the layout of your vault in front of you. However, there's a lot that can actually be done in this game and it exceeded the expectations when they dropped upon seeing it when I first opened the game.
This game isn't at all what I thought it would be like. It's a lot of strategy and being ahead of the curve, a lot of being mindful of resources and having to know when to send dwellers out, when to rush things, when to build things. There's a lot that needs to be considered at the same time. It's a little hard on this aspect, but it's actually really fun. I'm having a blast with it, and the achievements definitely make it worthwhile to play, if you're an achievement hunter. This isn't what I thought it would be, but it's a lot funner that I originally expected.
It's definitely a bit of fun and it's free to play on Steam, which is a total bonus!
In Fallout: Shelter, you are a Vault Overseer. You must ensure that your dwellers are happy, you have to make sure everything is full - make sure you don't run out of power, food or water - and you must ensure that your shelter is safe for your dwellers to live in.
As a fan of the Fallout series on Xbox, I saw this on Steam and thought that I would grab it and see what it was like. I was expecting something a lot more like the original gaming series, maybe walking through the vault itself. It's not like that at all. It's very much a one dimensional game, with just the layout of your vault in front of you. However, there's a lot that can actually be done in this game and it exceeded the expectations when they dropped upon seeing it when I first opened the game.
This game isn't at all what I thought it would be like. It's a lot of strategy and being ahead of the curve, a lot of being mindful of resources and having to know when to send dwellers out, when to rush things, when to build things. There's a lot that needs to be considered at the same time. It's a little hard on this aspect, but it's actually really fun. I'm having a blast with it, and the achievements definitely make it worthwhile to play, if you're an achievement hunter. This isn't what I thought it would be, but it's a lot funner that I originally expected.
It's definitely a bit of fun and it's free to play on Steam, which is a total bonus!
May 6, 2017
Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson
<i>You can also read my review on Goodreads, here</i>
This beautiful books gets five solid stars from my eating disordered ass.
Where can I even start with this book?
Well, first of all, let me start this review with saying THIS is the book about eating disorders you want to read. In a world with a lot of books like Sad Perfect, horribly triggering, non researched, and disgustingly dangerous to the eating disorder community, we have Wintergirls. This book is well researched, so well written, and Laurie Halse Anderson has created a beautiful piece that is so respectful to those with eating disorders. I was really reluctant to start this, as a lot of books about eating disorders in the young adult genre are terribly written and have absolutely no concern for those with eating disorders that will read them, but I am so glad that I decided to sit and read this.
Lia is an 18 year old girl with an eating disorder. She wants to be skinny, wants to be the perfect 85 pounds and to look fragile and delicate; bones are her drug of choice, they’re her addiction. She needs them.
I cannot talk about this book enough. This is THE book to read about eating disorders, and it was published all the way back in 2009;why is it all the old fiction books about eating disorders are the best ones to read<?. Anderson has done so much research and has portrayed such a beautiful character that I could connect with so easily. Lia broke my heart, and mended it, so many times throughout this book. She’s a wonderful character, and as weird as this sound, I’m kind of honoured she’s a character that represents eating disorders.
Anderson has such a way with writing that took me away. The writing style in this is unique for sure, and I’ve seen a few low star reviews that didn’t like the writing style – I think this is a Marmite situation, you either love it, or you hate it. I loved the chapter styling, how each chapter number was written up as though it were a weight on a scale. I think that was a really sweet touch, and I loved it so, so much. Everything was all connected, and it made me feel a lot more at ease reading this book with my ED. It made me feel like everything made perfect sense.
I think there are a few issues with the book and the writing, I will admit that. Number one (which isn’t really the book and more of a content warning) is that this is HEAVILY triggering dor those with an eating disorder. I’m not gonna lie, this triggered me more times than I can count, and that number is definitely in the double figures. It’s so beautifully seductive, if you are at risk of an eating disorder – do not read this. This is portrayed from the point of view with someone of an eating disorder, so, of course, it’s quite glorified in certain ways and this should be taken into account before you read this. If there is even the slightest risk you could develop, or be triggered, or dragged out of recovery by this, please do not read it .
The one thing that did annoy me about the writing was theconstant crossing out of lines as Lia spoke to herself in her head. I mean, I understand it, I do the exact same thing with my daily thoughts throughout the day, but it’s really hard to read. I mean, I’ve done it a lot in my own writing, but not to the degree Anderson has done in this. There’s nothing wrong with using lines through sentences and words, but with the amount it happens in this book, it is rather frustrating, and you have to keep trying to reconnect to the story.
The plot was wonderful, even I couldn’t figure out where it was heading. I think Anderson did such an amazing job creating this book, a much better job than what I could do. I salute her. This is a hard story to write, and Anderson has even said that this was inspired by the readers that wrote to her about their eating disorders – this must have been hard to write as well for that connection. I applaud her, truly.
I can’t sell this book enough. I am so happy with this book and the way that it portrays eating disorders. I think this is a brilliant representation, and that it has really helped shape how people see people with eating disorders – how we really are, and not what society thinks we are.
This beautiful books gets five solid stars from my eating disordered ass.
Where can I even start with this book?
Well, first of all, let me start this review with saying THIS is the book about eating disorders you want to read. In a world with a lot of books like Sad Perfect, horribly triggering, non researched, and disgustingly dangerous to the eating disorder community, we have Wintergirls. This book is well researched, so well written, and Laurie Halse Anderson has created a beautiful piece that is so respectful to those with eating disorders. I was really reluctant to start this, as a lot of books about eating disorders in the young adult genre are terribly written and have absolutely no concern for those with eating disorders that will read them, but I am so glad that I decided to sit and read this.
Lia is an 18 year old girl with an eating disorder. She wants to be skinny, wants to be the perfect 85 pounds and to look fragile and delicate; bones are her drug of choice, they’re her addiction. She needs them.
I cannot talk about this book enough. This is THE book to read about eating disorders, and it was published all the way back in 2009;
Anderson has such a way with writing that took me away. The writing style in this is unique for sure, and I’ve seen a few low star reviews that didn’t like the writing style – I think this is a Marmite situation, you either love it, or you hate it. I loved the chapter styling, how each chapter number was written up as though it were a weight on a scale. I think that was a really sweet touch, and I loved it so, so much. Everything was all connected, and it made me feel a lot more at ease reading this book with my ED. It made me feel like everything made perfect sense.
I think there are a few issues with the book and the writing, I will admit that. Number one (which isn’t really the book and more of a content warning) is that this is HEAVILY triggering dor those with an eating disorder. I’m not gonna lie, this triggered me more times than I can count, and that number is definitely in the double figures. It’s so beautifully seductive, if you are at risk of an eating disorder – do not read this. This is portrayed from the point of view with someone of an eating disorder, so, of course, it’s quite glorified in certain ways and this should be taken into account before you read this. If there is even the slightest risk you could develop, or be triggered, or dragged out of recovery by this, please do not read it .
The one thing that did annoy me about the writing was the
The plot was wonderful, even I couldn’t figure out where it was heading. I think Anderson did such an amazing job creating this book, a much better job than what I could do. I salute her. This is a hard story to write, and Anderson has even said that this was inspired by the readers that wrote to her about their eating disorders – this must have been hard to write as well for that connection. I applaud her, truly.
I can’t sell this book enough. I am so happy with this book and the way that it portrays eating disorders. I think this is a brilliant representation, and that it has really helped shape how people see people with eating disorders – how we really are, and not what society thinks we are.
May 5, 2017
The Moon Pool -- Book Review
"You don’t get to choose from a menu of tragedies and losses, don’t get to consider which you can survive and which will crush you. God simply serves them up and there you are; you either play the hand He deals, or you give up."
Rating: 3 / 5
Publication Date: 2nd September, 2014
Review Date: 03rd May 2017
Trigger warnings: some slight ableist language, the r slur is used in chapter fourteen, ableist language, r slur again in chapter fifteen, and n word used in chapter sixteen, possible Native American / Native Indian (my apologies, I don’t know the correct term) slur in chapter twenty seven.
Spoilers are not hidden. For a spoiler free review / spoilers marked review - please read this review on my GoodReads here
Are y’all ready for what is probably my longest review so far?
Twenty-year-old Taylor Capparelli and Paul Mitchell go missing in Lawton, North Dakota, where they have been working on rigs owned by Oasis Energy. The boys stayed in Black Creek Lodge, a "man camp" providing room and board. The mothers of the two boys come to Lawton to find out what happened to their sons and form an uneasy alliance. Shay Capparelli, a 41-year-old single grandmother, has more grit than resources; for wealthy suburban housewife Colleen Mitchell, the opposite is true. Overtaxed by worry, exhaustion, and fear, they question each others' methods and motivations—but there is no one else to help, and they must learn to work together if they are to have any chance of breaking through the barriers put up by their son’s employer, the indifference of an overtaxed police department, and a town of strangers with their own secrets against a backdrop of a modern day gold rush.
When I first got The Moon Pool, I was really excited to start reading it. The premise seemed really good, and the plot sounded like it was going to be exciting. However, when I first started it, I found that it was extremely slow paced and I struggled to get into it. I was ready to completely throw this book aside when there was a twist introduced at the end of chapter fourteen that captured my attention and dragged me straight in the book.
In my opinion? Chapter fourteen / chapter fifteen is way too late in a book to begin introducing the interesting part of the story. If I had quit out one more chapter before, I wouldn’t have discovered the twist.
One thing straight away that bugs me a lot is the characters and the point of view changes. It’s hard to tell which mother is who, who all the characters are, and the point of view changes are really harsh. It’s hard to tell when they happen and it took me to read the whole chapter when the first point of view change happens to actively understand that the point of view had changed and to get everything that Littlefield wanted the reader to get. This was really disappointing, I hate having to reread whole chapters just to get that one piece of information in it to understand what’s happening and it shouldn’t have to happen.
There are a few spelling and grammar mistakes in here – through instead of thought, to instead of too. I’m really not sitting here trying to pick holes but surely, surely, being published through an actual publisher rather than being self-published, that means that an editor has to read it, someone who is meant to pick these details up? It’s rather infuriating as these things stand out and drag you out of the mood of the book and it takes a few sentences to get back into the story. Careless mistakes that should have been picked up countless times, by not only word processing, but also editors, human eyes, and readers. These mistakes should not have made it to publication.
I feel the characters are very weak. Colleen seems to be like a little lost lamb, just trailing around after Shay. She takes way too long to become useful to the actual story line. Of course, it’s her story we are following, mainly, but she just feels so weak. She bored me, and I didn’t want to read more about her. Honestly? I wanted way more of Shay. She was definitely the stronger mother, and the stronger character. It’s almost as if Shay got more brainstorming as to what Littlefield wanted her to be.
That being said, the characters definitely get better around 60% of the way through the book. Shay is one bad ass mother fucker and I have such infinite respect for her. I relate to her a little bit too much with the way she loses her cool and tends to say things she goes on to regret. She’s a cool character, with a lot of pent up anger. I do feel, however, Shay could have been so much more than just the one with the brains and the mouth. I think she deserved better than what she got. She could have been a lot more, and it saddens me to see that her character isn’t really fully utilised, in my opinion.
Colleen also gets better and actually becomes useful to the story. She becomes a much better character and more likeable – for me, personally. In my opinion, though, this development should have happened earlier, rather than at 60-65% of the book. I spent a large portion of this book just scowling a lot at Colleen’s actions, and seeing how long I had until the next point of view change.
However, this does fall a little short. With the amount of twists and turns, I felt like I was lost in the countryside, desperately trying to find my way back to the correct path that would take me home. I enjoyed this, I admit, but at the same time, there is a lot going on, and Littlefield could have done with a few less plot twists and turns. We find out this girl is pregnant with one of the boy’s child, and then it turns out it’s not actually her, it’s her cousin, who is underage by a few months and has to keep everything a secret. This just felt like too much to divulge in only a few chapters. This could have been spaced out more, and it feels like as the book begins to draw to the conclusion, Littlefield was trying to get everything out instead of spacing it all out. Maybe she was writing to a deadline. I don’t know. But it was annoying as hell, and I felt breathless trying to keep up with it.
The chapters dedicated to T.L. really didn’t need to be added in. Each chapter I just groaned and rolled my eyes. Luckily, they’re only short, so they go by very quickly, but they weren’t needed! They were really distracting from the plot and I kept forgetting things trying to understand what T.L. was trying to do and it was so aggravating. I understand that these were put in to prepare the reader for chapter thirty-one, and so that we know who T.L. is. However, when chapter thirty-one came, I felt like I had no clue who this person was, I didn’t really care what was happening, I wanted to follow what was happening in chapter thirty. Like, come on! One of them finds their son and they find out what happened to the other son! I just wanna follow on from that and find out what’s happening! I don’t really care about T.L. right now!
All this being said, though, it twists again. I was getting pretty sick of twists at this point in the story, but this one. This one tells us everything that happened, everything we’ve been waiting on. And damn did Littlefield do good. I was completely taken aback. Everything was brand new, everything we knew was shattered out of perspective and we were left wondering what the hell is now going on. (It was also vaguely annoying to me personally, but I won’t go into that.)
Shay loses a lot of character development, who can blame her after her son dies, but it was painful to read. She just spiralled and spiralled into a mess that I just couldn’t wrap my head around. I understand why, I understand, but I feel like she just spiralled too much and lost too much character development. There are times where the 60% BAMF Shay comes through again, but dear l-rd, she lost so much. It was heartbreaking to see such an amazing character just become someone I couldn’t even bring myself to like. Colleen also becomes a total fucking bitch and I couldn’t stand her at the 80% mark.
I love how this book continues past 86%, going on after the book has seemingly come to a close. They find Taylor’s body, and Littlefield takes us on one last adventure to say goodbye to the boy we never knew, but felt a pang of sadness for when we discover he died. I think this was really sweet, on Littlefield’s part, even if it did take the book longer and slowed the pace right down. Personally, I would have done the same thing, and it’s nice to see and to read.
This ended absolutely beautifully and really brought the book to a close. It was a stunning last few chapters that honestly had me in tears once or twice. I wasn’t keen on this at all, but these last chapters definitely made it worthwhile to read. It’s just a shame the writing wasn’t 100% like the writing at the end, I think that would have made this a little easier to read for me, personally. The writing at the end felt a lot more emotional, and more heartfelt. It made everything just fall into place and the rest of the book felt quite rushed, quite out there and like Littlefield was trying to get everything out as soon as possible – especially with how the twists kept coming and coming like they were on some kind of convoy, being deposited one after the other.
The one last thing that really annoys me is the title. The Moon Pool. What is a moon pool? What relevance did it have to the story? Am I being a total idiot and it refers to (serious spoiler) Tyler falling through the cracking ice Is that what it is? It’s the only thing I can think of and the only thing that really makes sense. Why is it called The Moon Pool damn it, what it the relevance???
Now, please do not get this review wrong. This book is a good one; in my opinion, it’s pretty mediocre. That being said – I have read a lot better books in my life time. Littlefield has great talent, and I think that this might just be one of her weaker books.
Please, if you want to read the book, give it a chance! It’s got a good premise and it’s only my personal reading opinions as to why I didn’t like it. It might be your ultimate book of the year!
