‘STRANGER THINGS’ BOOK TAG

Ever since I have seen STRANGER THINGS my life has gone completely UPSIDE DOWN, I binged the entirety of season 1 and 2 in 3 days, needless to say, I was confounded and flabbergasted. The whole series is an eloquent piece of art, I forced all my friends to watch STRANGER THINGS including my brother and evidently, they all loved it. The plotline to the plot twist, to the dynamic characters to the cinematography, and definitely the background score and soundtrack, it is all so prodigious. I should make a series review of Stranger Things ( I will think of it as I have seen Stranger things way back in November). Since I am not able to get over the fact that I have to wait a year to binge-watch season 3, I can only at this point go through fanfics and tags, and I am very honored to be tagged by Prarthana her blog CLICK! to do this wonderful tag. Stranger Things and Books, what else do I need now, oh yes can I have MIKE and STEVE. dang, it !! I simply adore all my Hawkings dwellers especially the main clique.

Spoiler Free Review Of “BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY” by RUTA SEPETYS

“Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother’s was worth a pocket watch.”  

This is a spoiler-free review of BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY by RUTA SEPETYS, here I am just talking about the plot and pace of the book.

In 1941, fifteen-year-old Lina is preparing for art school, first dates, and all that summer has to offer. But one night, the Soviet secret police barge violently into her home, deporting her along with her mother and younger brother. They are being sent to Siberia. Lina’s father has been separated from the family and sentenced to death in a prison camp. All is lost.

Lina fights for her life, fearless, vowing that if she survives she will honor her family, and the thousands like hers, by documenting their experience in her art and writing. She risks everything to use her art as messages, hoping they will make their way to her father’s prison camp to let him know they are still alive.

It is a long and harrowing journey, and it is only their incredible strength, love, and hope that pull Lina and her family through each day. But will love be enough to keep them alive?

Between Shades of Gray is a riveting novel that steals your breath, captures your heart, and reveals the miraculous nature of the human spirit.

Writing a book review can be a daunting experience sometimes, especially when you love a book as much as I loved Between Shades of Gray, I love historical fiction genre. for some reason, I find historical fiction poignant and exquisite which teaches you about the history and some unsung stories. You could feel the torment and agony of the protagonist in the pages, of course, there are some sanguine and lively novels within the genre.  I tend to incline towards novels that are set in World War or any Wartime period, I find such stories fascinating to read about, you learn not only about the state of mind of the soldiers around that time but also about the affected civilians’ obscure stories.  I have heard and read nothing but prodigious rave reviews and praises on Ruta Sepetys’s debut novel, It has all the traits of a historical fiction novel I was searching for at that time, so without thinking twice, I picked-it-up.

I absolutely loved Between Shades Of Gray, this book is one of my all-time favorites and I recommend this to everyone. Let’s talk about the book’s 4 scales, I usually measure a book on (Writing, Pacing, Characters, How much it affected me)

“We’d been trying to touch the sky from the bottom of the ocean.”

Spoiler Free Review Of “AND THEN THERE NONE” by AGATHA CHRISTIE

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“Best of an island is once you get there – you can’t go any farther…you’ve come to the end of things…” 

If I look at my bookshelf and categorize them by genres, I’d find contemporary and magical realism books in a great number, I read fewer fantasy books and even lesser thriller/mystery books, actually, the number stands next to none in that case.  Recently I have come across Agatha Christie, it’s not that I never knew her I remember watching her biopic in 7th and getting fascinated by her enthralling life and as a writer, she did accomplish a lot, I hadn’t read any of her books but that changed with “and there were none” book. I bought the book last month and read in 4 days when I say 4 days I meant that I read it fast. I am a slow reader and I read for the sake of the hobby I have, not at all competitive with it, slow as a sloth. I did hear a lot about Agatha Christie and not gonna lie but for the first time my expectation for a certain book was skyrocketing and it did deliver that. Let’s us get into the review and rate the book through and through.

this is a spoiler free review of AND THEN THERE WERE NONE by AGATHA CHRISTIE, here I am just talking about the plot and pace of the book.

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First, there were ten – a curious assortment of strangers summoned as weekend guests to a private island off the coast of Devon. Their host, an eccentric millionaire unknown to all of them, is nowhere to be found. All that the guests have in common is a wicked past they’re unwilling to reveal – and a secret that will seal their fate. For each has been marked for murder. One by one they fall prey. Before the weekend is out, there will be none. And only the dead are above suspicion.

The book is based on the poem by Frank Green (he isn’t john and hank green’s descendant or cousin)

“Ten little Indian boys went out to dine; One choked his little self and then there were nine.
Nine little Indian boys sat up very late; One overslept himself and then there were eight.
Eight little Indian boys traveling in Devon; One said he’d stay there and then there were seven.
Seven little Indian boys chopping up sticks; One chopped himself in halves and then there were six. 
Six little Indian boys playing with a hive; A bumblebee stung one and then there were five.
Five little Indian boys going in for law; One got in Chancery and then there were four.
Four little Indian boys going out to sea; A red herring swallowed one and then there were three. 
Three little Indian boys walking in the Zoo; A big bear hugged one and then there were two.
Two little Indian boys sitting in the sun; One got frizzled up and then there was one.
One little Indian boy left all alone; He went and hanged himself and then there were none.” 

the book opens up with letters by an anonymous person, all of the letters had an undersigned by the name of U.N Owen in illegible handwriting, the letter invites the first 8 guests to the island called soldier island and two of the ten were present there already for service purpose. (are you getting something) the contend in the letters had a very vague description of the event yet it sounded familiar to our guests, each of them was asked to join the island for work, party or for some other reason like spy job in the book. Once they reached the island the murder play began, that’s not a spoiler the book itself says that. the action of the book begins right away, you will not have to wait a while for the 1st murder, it’ll happen on the spur of the moment, the book kept me on the edge of the seat. I dedicated my hours reading it and foreshadowing the next instances but ya none happened.

I seriously couldn’t put it down, I had to know the murderer and had to reach the end. ohh my wild theories and all.

“In the midst of life, we are in death.”

The whole book is filled with mystery, you couldn’t possibly guess the murderer until the very end and the plot twist well you gotta wait for it and read it to believe it. the drama is packed full.

The writing style is very lucid and you will not have any difficulty grasping the plot and the speakers besides unlike any other classic book this book doesn’t use that kind of metaphorical language that would bamboozle your mind, which is great. The book is divided into small paragraphs by numbers, each has another person’s perspective if that makes sense. it is written differently and for that, you have to grab your copy as soon as you can.

I love the theme of the book, it is that you can’t escape the ghost of your crime, it’ll haunt you forever, the subconscious guilt inside your head. The guest present on the island had some dark secrets hidden and the one string connecting the secret they have in common is that the guests had committed one dreadful crime which they try to cover with cloth so dearly. told you so the book is the full package.

the whole soldier island is well built and its backstory primely its existence and owner story, the atmosphere created by AG is phenomenal, I love the way Ag had depicted mental health issues in the book, how the murders slowly spread its roots of panic and anxiety to our alive guests. the survival instinct and the tension among them are well written, I could feel a growing tension and betrayal and that content suspicion factor. the book is a dark and psychological delight to some who enjoys it but for the rookies like us well you couldn’t find a better mystery book to start off with.

 

Me, after reading the plot twist wow wow

 

“Be sure thy sin will find thee out.” 

If we talk about the character then out all of the ten I love knowing about Vera and Lombard’s character, they intrigued me a lot especially Vera and her past. Every character has something to offer to the story, with their dark and deceiving past, you will find it hard to figure out what is true and what is not.  all of it is very nicely woven and presented. The flow of the books is fast paced, you will not feel bored at all rather you’ll dig more and more into the next scene. The murders again were executed in perfection. Saluting Agatha Christie for her perfect work, I will be looking forward to her next work and she opened the door for my mystery/thriller book genre.

Definitely gonna watch the TV show now. I was watching the trailer of this TV Show, not gonna lie but Mr. Lombard woof he looks fine, more than fine. damn man. 

yup, I ship it, dude Mr. Lombard in the show is perfection ( add chandler’s voice over )

Please give a SPOILER WARNING if Your Comment contains any SPOILERS 🙂

Let me know your thoughts 🙂 about the book, what you like what you didn’t like about the book if you haven’t read the book yet then when are you planning to read 🙂

if you haven’t read the book then when are you planning to read it 🙂

Let’s Chat ….

 

Don’t spoil it for others