I am more stone than flesh and bone... I've seen life, I've seen death. I never sleep, I keep good watch... For ghosts who'd steal my breath. For ghosts wI am more stone than flesh and bone... I've seen life, I've seen death. I never sleep, I keep good watch... For ghosts who'd steal my breath. For ghosts who'd steal my breath.
Weimar, a city in Germany is barricaded and the summer is at its peak. Vivi lives in a care home and longs for a life outside that very care home. When she's given a chance to work outside, she takes it but she's quite confused and scared. She meets another girl but that girl gets infested by a zombie attack and Vivi gets even more scared and she tries to commit suicide and then she's locked up in the dark room at the care home. Vivi also sees ghosts and beings that aren't there. She doesn't know if those are real or not.
She gets a chance to run away from the care home and on her journey she meets Eva and together they decide to make it to Jena, a city where the zombie bites have a cure. Vivi ends up discovering some things within her and makes her peace with the past.
This was set in a post-apocalyptical world where zombie attacks and infestation have happened and only some have survived. I had a hard time following the story in this and the art work was really sloppy too. Story and artwork didn't match a lot of the times. I know this was translated from German, may be there was something lost in translation, I don't know. Although, the story was not bad, I just couldn't enjoy it as much as I had expected myself to because a lot of the things were never answered.
I convinced myself that certain things would never happen to me.
Kim is a teenager and she gets pregnant. Her single mother didn't want this life for hI convinced myself that certain things would never happen to me.
Kim is a teenager and she gets pregnant. Her single mother didn't want this life for her. Her mother wanted her to finish studying and have a good job/career. It doesn't help that Kim's dad left them for another woman long ago. Kim's baby's father doesn't want her to have the baby. She is being pressured into looking at other options rather than having the baby but what decision would she make?
Ok so I don't know how to write this review without sounding insensitive but I'll try. I didn't care that Kim got pregnant or she was going to get abortion or not or whatever along those lines, that was not the issue I had at all. It was Kim herself. I hated Kim, she was a complete jerk. Just because she has her looks, she looks down upon her friend Nancy Lim. Mind you Nancy Lim was the only person beside her mother who actually sort of helped Kim out when she found out that she was pregnant. May be help isn't the right word but Nancy definitely got her the pregnancy test when Kim herself was ashamed to get one so you see what I mean. Help but not exactly help. Also, Nancy was the only one who didn't judge her. As if Luis would get with, let alone marry, Nancy! Aside from the fact that she looked like a walking cranium with her body only there to carry that cerebral matter from class to class. This is an actual excerpt from the book where the MC is thinking this about Nancy. Awful!
Then when she was at the doctors with her mother and the doctor says, 'do you want to know if you are having a boy or a girl?' She said, no thanks and please don't tell my mother either when clearly her mother wanted to know. But then as soon as her mother leaves from there, she asks the doctor about the gender. Are you kidding me? A jerk like I said. Yes, she told the gender to her mother later on but I didn't care for it then because I can't overlook the fact that when she knew her mother wanted to know, she didn't want to let her mother have that.
And the issue about teen pregnancy and the choices that she had to face, they weren't convincing for me. I don't know, if I had liked Kim, may be I would have liked this book but I just couldn't look past the fact that Kim was a jerk.
If they'd all stop and listen, I'd tell them about me. Inside I'm a boy. When I close my eyes and dream, I'm a boy. When I karate-chop the bad guys, I. If they'd all stop and listen, I'd tell them about me. Inside I'm a boy. When I close my eyes and dream, I'm a boy. When I karate-chop the bad guys, I. Am. A. Boy.
I think like a boy. I feel like a boy. I might look different from other boys, but yes, I'm sure I'm a boy.
What a beautiful book that shares an important message about transgender kids. A book that should be read by kids and adults alike to understand more about transgenders. It is based on the author's son's life and I am so glad that she shared this with the rest of the world.
I was in a world of hurry up, when all I wanted to do was slow down.
Zaida is a Martian. She's the first human born on Mars after a colony was set up tI was in a world of hurry up, when all I wanted to do was slow down.
Zaida is a Martian. She's the first human born on Mars after a colony was set up there. So naturally all the people on Mars as well billions of people on Earth are interested in her life and all the activities each day. She makes video logs to keep everyone up to date each day. Now, she's got her college letter for Harvard and her parents want her to go back to Earth to study. All her life Zaida has been told what to do and what is expected from her but what does she want?
'Everyone wants us to decide what to be right now, to know what path we want to start down, what path we'll stick to for the rest of our lives. But we're seventeen.
Well, she wants to spend time with her best friend, Keiko and she also wants to tell Keiko that she likes her but doesn't because she doesn't want to ruin her friendship either. But when a life threatening incident happens and Zaida decides to change the way her life is and she takes a step towards a different approach.
The setup was quite unique in this story about a human Martian. But that's where the uniqueness stopped because the MC in this was no different than your average young adult (I know young adults can experience the same feelings and all no matter where they are but I would have liked to see something different here rather than just the setup). I am yet to decide whether it was a good or a bad thing. This was a sweet story otherwise about finding your place in the world/universe and dealing with your anxieties about sexuality, friendship, first love, expectations of others and college admittance.
Describing alien species is tricky because they're alien. Which sounds stupid, but it's actually profound if you think about it.
Damien Heong is preparDescribing alien species is tricky because they're alien. Which sounds stupid, but it's actually profound if you think about it.
Damien Heong is preparing to go for a trip in his spaceship with Tekura. He shares his secrets with her but she doesn't return the gesture. Then they come across the Palmeenee race and turns out that they are alien refugees and Damien and Tekura decide to help them. But then Earth politics intervene and things turn ugly.
I could not get into this story from the beginning even though it has two hindi/punjabi/urdu words. I say three languages because they are the same two words in each of these languages and I thought hmm interesting, may be it'll have more such words or may be the story will get better but that was the only time things were interesting for me. I really tried but it just wasn't for me. I get the message that refugees should be helped by the governments and things could be better but the whole space setup did not work for me. I also didn't like any of the characters. This story felt so long and it dragged and I stopped reading it multiple times and started reading it again and it's only a short story. My heart breaks for only giving it one star. It's the classic case of it's not you, it's me.
What is this thing, time, that we humans value it so highly? We will trade everything to hold on to one more minute, one more day.
Earth is swarming wiWhat is this thing, time, that we humans value it so highly? We will trade everything to hold on to one more minute, one more day.
Earth is swarming with winged creatures. Are they dragons, angels, or demons? Nobody knows what they are. Nora and her younger brother Robbie are out hunting for food when they are both followed by one of these creatures. Nora tells Robbie to hide and she says that she'll try to buy him sometime so that at least Robbie can escape. But then the creature talks to her and she understands the creature and the creature tells her that she is one of them and so is her brother Robbie.
I am forever, the creature explains. That is what I am.
This was an interesting story that started off really well. It captured my attention immediately as the vibe was dystopian and I love dystopia and fantasy but that ending was really disappointing. I wanted to know more. Why did the creature say that Nora and Robbie were one of them? Why were they waiting for them to join? If both Nora and Robbie were like the creatures, why was only Nora able to communicate with the creature? And other such questions. Like I said it was a fascinating idea that didn't fully develop.
“Be patient. Ordinary joys and sorrows will seem interesting enough, I promise you.”
On Ekaterina's fourteen birthday at midnight, she has a glimpse of“Be patient. Ordinary joys and sorrows will seem interesting enough, I promise you.”
On Ekaterina's fourteen birthday at midnight, she has a glimpse of a firebird in her family's orchard. When she follows the firebird, she gets lost in the forest that no on dares set foot it. Ekaterina tells the firebird that she doesn't know where she is and the firebird tells her that there is much she doesn't know.
It knows what it is—and its fruit is more delicious for it.
This story is based on Russian folklore. I haven't read the original story so I can't say how similar or different it is but I quite enjoyed this. It was an interesting story and I could not have guessed the twists it had. I liked the writing too.
It's a cruel fact of life that things often get worse before they get better.
Lucy Faris is travelling from Canberra to Melbourne on the night coach. SIt's a cruel fact of life that things often get worse before they get better.
Lucy Faris is travelling from Canberra to Melbourne on the night coach. She's all settled in until she realizes that Cameron Webber would be sitting next to her. The same Cameron Webber whom she befriended and whom she kissed three years ago and then he did something awful that she remembers instantly and feels horrified and helpless all over again.
This was a nice enough story about meeting someone years after and realizing that the hurt they caused back then is still fresh. Cameron did something awful back then and he never apologized mainly because he didn't know how to and then his family moved to another state.
We get POVs from both Lucy and Cameron and that was really helpful. I liked both of them and I liked the story too and that ending was really good. That ending met my expectations.
Anyone can be born a prince. But no one is born a leader.
Maxim has decided to enter the Night of Knives which is made of four trials. Each trial is deAnyone can be born a prince. But no one is born a leader.
Maxim has decided to enter the Night of Knives which is made of four trials. Each trial is designed to challenge a different kind of strength. Isra warns him to not enter because she entered and quit in the second trial and no one has ever gotten to the fourth door. Maxim still enters. Would he make it? We'll find out in the next part.
This story is getting really interesting now. I still don't know how the magic works but the story is getting mysterious and I can overlook the magic part. Art is definitely better than The Steel Prince.
They chose you, Fantine. They must have had their reasons.
Fantine works in the Ministry of Changes sorting keys. She doesn't know where the keys come They chose you, Fantine. They must have had their reasons.
Fantine works in the Ministry of Changes sorting keys. She doesn't know where the keys come from. Her father had disappeared after he criticized the government’s handling of the choleric tertiary plague five years before. Her neighbor, Mrs. Wu tells her one day to follow the tubes. Pneumatic tubes in this case. When she follows the tubes, she finds many secrets from years ago and she wonders what other secrets lie there?
“It’s not what you can lose, it’s what you can win. We’ll just . . . we’ll just have to use the things we still have. And win back more of what we still have, yes, Fantine?”
It was a really nice, dystopian premise and my heart was thumping really really hard. I was wondering what would we find here? I liked the writing too but the story felt incomplete, unresolved and didn't make a lot of sense at the end.
Prince Maxim is staying in Verose even after the pirate queen is dead. He wants to change things around herYou cannot be their better and their equal.
Prince Maxim is staying in Verose even after the pirate queen is dead. He wants to change things around here and wants the soldiers to train properly but the soldiers don't respect him and they think that he is a danger here in Verose. There's also someone who's been killing the soldiers and Maxim finds out who it is. And to win the soldiers' respect, he gets a suggestion and it is called Night of Knives.
The story continues from The Steel Prince and I like where it is heading. Art was better in this mainly because there weren't really any action sequences save for a couple. But I liked this way better than I expected myself to.
There are a lot of people in this city who have money that comes from no transparent source, but as far as I know the vampire is the only one who is aThere are a lot of people in this city who have money that comes from no transparent source, but as far as I know the vampire is the only one who is a literal monster.
Rosamunde moves to a big city to follow her dream of becoming a published writer. She lives in a small apartment with four other people. She befriends a vampire or vampire befriends her. She finds work in editing and vampire spends time with her and also helps in editing.
I came here with my pockets full of dreams but the people-clotted streets are lonelier than anywhere I’ve known. The place I left behind never got cold enough to kill you.
She edits books after books about stories of teenaged girls caught up by destiny, torn between the love of an angel and a werewolf, or an angel and a vampire, or a vampire and a werewolf, or a renegade hero and a post-apocalyptic dictator.
All these girls, hoping for monsters. Once a beauty finds her beast, she blossoms.
Am I safe? I can’t tell. In this city, in this century, I don’t know what the word means anymore.
Rosamunde with her amulet, her sky full of stars. Rosamunde, a vessel waiting to be filled. Rosamunde, a blank slate, a mirror, a girl made easy to long for. Rosamunde who will never, not ever, be as sad as any of us.
Of all the demons I know, the vampire is the most real and the least unkind.
This story doesn't really have a story or a plot. It's about a girl moving into the big city where she hopes to fulfil her dreams but can't. She is surrounded by people and yet feels lonely and feels overwhelmed with those very people. It is a sad story to put it simply. I actually guessed the ending/twist at the very beginning but still it makes you think. Is there really a vampire or is this her way of coping with her loneliness and her failures and emotions? I was not a fan of the writing but still in an odd way, I didn't totally dislike this.
He could do some work. Being the King of Myth and Shadow wasn’t a lazy man’s job. The stories weren’t just going to write themselves—except, more and He could do some work. Being the King of Myth and Shadow wasn’t a lazy man’s job. The stories weren’t just going to write themselves—except, more and more, they seemed to.
King of myth and shadow land had been a king for five centuries and then he started to get bored. So he decided to go to New York City and he falls in love with a girl who is known as The Princess of Everywhere and Nowhere. They get married and start to live together in the land of myth and shadow but the princess starts to get bored. And the king keeps imagining and building houses for her but still she keeps getting bored as she wants to find her own and build her own life until one day the king realizes what she wants.
‘I don’t want you to write me into any story. I want to make up my own story. You can be in it, if you like, but that’s all.’
I liked the writing and this was a nice enough story crossing between fantasy and contemporary but I felt there was something amiss.
We've all heard the stories about the Witch Queen. She dances in the drains, and if you bring her a treasure, she'll tell you your destiny.
Meg and OonWe've all heard the stories about the Witch Queen. She dances in the drains, and if you bring her a treasure, she'll tell you your destiny.
Meg and Oona are best friends and have been since they were kids. Oona is eccentric and wild, Meg is the opposite of Oona. Meg wants to be with Oona but doesn't know how to tell her. And Oona wants to fall in love so she decides to go the Witch Queen to ask about her destiny. But the Witch Queen can't be found by everyone, only those who really seek her can find her. So, Oona leaves to find the Witch Queen and Meg follows.
'The truth sends you wild, but only for a time.'
It was a mystery that kept on getting more mysterious and darker as the story progressed and my heart was hammering in my chest like crazy. Two friends going down and down and down the drains where no light reaches and the world turns into a crazy hallucination? Or is it real? This story gave me John Green book vibes sometimes. Although I liked the ending, I didn't like the reasoning at the end. It is still an enjoyable read.
When he is in the greenwood, he tells her, he can feel its heartbeat. It throbs, he says, although not quite like the human heart. Slower, deeper, movWhen he is in the greenwood, he tells her, he can feel its heartbeat. It throbs, he says, although not quite like the human heart. Slower, deeper, moving the leaves and bark of every tree, holding firm against the wind and the rain and the journeys of the sun and stars.
The green man and the lady in the tower are friends and they have been friends for as long as they can remember. The green man loves greenwood and feels like he is a part of it.
“Because he is the spirit of the trees. The green man. Wasn’t born like that, but the wood has taken him, and now he is taking the wood. And a man—a spirit—like that, I must follow.”
She is the lady in the tower, who steals secrets and sometimes kisses; and he is the archer in the forest; and she loves him, she loves him, she loves him.
This is a re-telling of Robin Hood. It is quite familiar and at the same time quite different. It is more on the darker side and very violent where Robin Hood isn't the hero we all know of and it isn't from his POV. Dark and fabulously told.
so you wonder if the two of you could have been happy when you followed Zeus while she worshiped Wotan, but, of course, religion hadn’t been the problso you wonder if the two of you could have been happy when you followed Zeus while she worshiped Wotan, but, of course, religion hadn’t been the problem between the two of you
A man is telling a story about his ex and then he wonders and wanders into the land of what if this happened, what if that didn't happen, what if and what not.
imagine what the world could have been like if some band of early Homo sapiens wandering up out of Africa through the Middle East hadn’t turned left at Anatolia, gone into Europe, and wiped out the Neanderthals they didn’t interbreed with
We have all been there contemplating what if this didn't happen in the history, would I still be here or what of things took a different turn, would that mean different turns for my life too? It was a unique experiment which was impressive and not impressive at the same time. The writer staying true to the title of the story never uses a period in the story.
and you come to the mournful and melancholy conclusion that, regardless of what you do to the world and its past, there is no period, no period at all
'Everything ends. Life is meaningless and relationships are pointless. No-one sticks around and nothing lasts. We're all going to die alone anyway.'
Ga'Everything ends. Life is meaningless and relationships are pointless. No-one sticks around and nothing lasts. We're all going to die alone anyway.'
Gabrielle is at a party with her friends Lou, Lara, Cam, Claire and Tommy. Cam and Claire are a couple and have been together for four years and the rest of the group is really invested in their relationship. When they find out that Cam and Claire have mutually broken up, rest of the group feels disoriented. They are all dealing with different things with their own families too so this news comes out of the blue and hits them harder than they ever expected it to.
I couldn't get into the story until halfway through and for a short story this felt too long with not much happening. A group of friends is dealing with changes, not just within the group but within their families as well as soon graduating high school and going to uni. I totally understand the feelings and anxiety of dealing with changes and I liked how the writer was trying to show this but as I couldn't really get into the story until a lot later, I couldn't enjoy it as much as I had wanted to. I also understand finding solace in your friend group and not expecting things to change and when they do even a tiny bit, how it affects everyone involved.
Another problem for me was not being able to connect with the main character and this story is pretty much her inner-thoughts, monologue and inner-struggles. I think if I had been able to connect to her, I would have liked the story better. I liked Lou and I adored Tommy.
And for a story titled Sundays, it actually takes places on a Saturday night going into Sunday. So, I don't know why it was titled, Sundays. May be it was the memories/anxieties associated with Sundays or they were getting brekky early Sunday morning or what but I didn't get it.
'You just need to find your tribe. The people around you can make a big difference.'
Rachel Watts along with her family has just moved to the city from'You just need to find your tribe. The people around you can make a big difference.'
Rachel Watts along with her family has just moved to the city from the countryside. She lived all her life in the countryside and had a distance ed so this makes for her first day at a high school ever. She's nervous but her family is supportive and they try to calm her in their own ways. Rachel meets Mai and Mycroft on her very first day and she becomes friends with them. She has a hard time adjusting in the congested city after the open and wide countryside.
This story started out very strangely like there was something amiss. From the very start I just couldn't feel the connection. I couldn't like any of the characters. The premise was definitely a promising one, new girl moving into the big smoke and trying to adjust and find her place and find her people and at the same time missing the place that she left behind. I can certainly relate to moving to a new place.
I have found out that it is a prequel to a series, may be that's another reason that I couldn't enjoy this as I am not familiar with the series it is prequel to. I really wanted to like it, love it even but I wasn't able to. I definitely liked the set up as I am familiar with all the places mentioned in the story but that was still not enough for me.
“Although,” I continued, “being sad is only looking at it from our perspective. Everyone goes at some point. Perhaps from the other side, it does not “Although,” I continued, “being sad is only looking at it from our perspective. Everyone goes at some point. Perhaps from the other side, it does not matter how many years we have here.”
Is there a heaven or a hell? Are there other forms of life in the universe? Is there life beyond what we know of? Is there really a far side of the universe?
This story touches such questions and honestly there were no answers and only more questions in this story. This was too short a story to make an impression on me. I don't know why I even bothered with this.
Does it prove anything? Probably not. It’s all part of my wild guessing. I don’t have any hard evidence. I’m just a low-level technician—I don’t have access to critical information.
On command, the dog put both paws in front of her and bowed prettily to the sheriff, as in a performance. She then tugged at a string on the leather cOn command, the dog put both paws in front of her and bowed prettily to the sheriff, as in a performance. She then tugged at a string on the leather case, and it fell open. Inside was a strange contrivance, rather like a camera: a leather bellows and straps, brass fittings, glass lenses, and rosewood and bamboo casings. Creel bent down to pick it up.
This story pays homage to steampunk quartet according to the writer's notes. It was a whimsical and too short a story. I could have liked it more if I had read the original story as it certainly held my attention throughout. That twist was pretty good too, only if it were longer.
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