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books_with_tutusandsons's Reviews (438)
Nope. Just couldnt go over page 200...nothing that interested me enough to finish with the reading.
Sometimes you just want some books to turn out to be a 5 star reads. Not only because you havent had that kind of a read for a while, but also because your booksta soulmate thinks it was worth that much. Unfortunately, this didnt happen to me with this book.⠀
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All the premises were promising - historical fiction situated in Iceland in 17th century. Cold, mysterious and rough. And it is, all of the above. If you add witchcraft, icelandic mythology and position of women in the society of that time, you can get the whole feeling of this book. It is gripping, its brutal, and at moments it makes you feel breathless and angry. Angry at the whole women must obey their man philosophy of that time. Angry at no right for them to speak up, to fight for their rights and their wishes..angry at neglegance concerning most of the women. ⠀
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The first half of the book was slow. A bit too slow for me. It does serve its purpose to get you in the mood, but it just goes too long without anything actually happening. The second part was better, when you can see that all is not black and white, and that all the characters have a lot of history that made them the kind of people they ended up to be. It does have the atmospheric setting and the spooky vibe of Silent Companions, but I just needed more from this book. Or maybe just my expectations were a bit too high. ⠀
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All the premises were promising - historical fiction situated in Iceland in 17th century. Cold, mysterious and rough. And it is, all of the above. If you add witchcraft, icelandic mythology and position of women in the society of that time, you can get the whole feeling of this book. It is gripping, its brutal, and at moments it makes you feel breathless and angry. Angry at the whole women must obey their man philosophy of that time. Angry at no right for them to speak up, to fight for their rights and their wishes..angry at neglegance concerning most of the women. ⠀
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The first half of the book was slow. A bit too slow for me. It does serve its purpose to get you in the mood, but it just goes too long without anything actually happening. The second part was better, when you can see that all is not black and white, and that all the characters have a lot of history that made them the kind of people they ended up to be. It does have the atmospheric setting and the spooky vibe of Silent Companions, but I just needed more from this book. Or maybe just my expectations were a bit too high. ⠀
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3.5/4
I finished this book the other day and I still need to wrap my head around it. It is interesting. It is romantic and easy to read. It is bittersweet and so sad. And it is also too much. Too much of everything mixed into a story that should be a simple story about love. ⠀
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My high school years were ages ago. Damn, if were gonna count the years, more years has passed since finishing it than I had when I was graduating from it. But I still remember what being 16 feels like. How chaotic. How confusing. How exhilarating. That is why I always admire YA characters that seem so stable, so smart, so in order. The main character of this book - Shirin has a reason why, though. Her family moves almost every year. She has to adapt to new surroundings all the time. And she has learned that its easier to do it just shutting everyone out. Being a muslim in America after 9/11 is not helping her either. Same as her wearing a hijab.⠀
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And then she mets Ocean. A boy so opposite of her in most ways...open, honest, popular. And white. Ofc, they fall in love.⠀
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I loved their chemistry. I loved their story. I loved how Mafi through the eyes of Shirin showed how nothing matters but love. But also how things can get complicated. How people can be rude. Racist. Intoxicating. She opened my eyes about how often we make conclusions up front, and how first thoughts on seeing a girl in hijab for most of us will be the ones about her religion and not about her personality. She made us see that a girl is just a girl. Ordinary, foolish, curious girl, that just wants to feel loved and appreciated.⠀
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That is what I loved about this book. And what I didnt? At moments its inconsistency and in general, too many teen stuff. I get it, its a YA book. Maybe Im just too old for that
I finished this book the other day and I still need to wrap my head around it. It is interesting. It is romantic and easy to read. It is bittersweet and so sad. And it is also too much. Too much of everything mixed into a story that should be a simple story about love. ⠀
⠀
My high school years were ages ago. Damn, if were gonna count the years, more years has passed since finishing it than I had when I was graduating from it. But I still remember what being 16 feels like. How chaotic. How confusing. How exhilarating. That is why I always admire YA characters that seem so stable, so smart, so in order. The main character of this book - Shirin has a reason why, though. Her family moves almost every year. She has to adapt to new surroundings all the time. And she has learned that its easier to do it just shutting everyone out. Being a muslim in America after 9/11 is not helping her either. Same as her wearing a hijab.⠀
⠀
And then she mets Ocean. A boy so opposite of her in most ways...open, honest, popular. And white. Ofc, they fall in love.⠀
⠀
I loved their chemistry. I loved their story. I loved how Mafi through the eyes of Shirin showed how nothing matters but love. But also how things can get complicated. How people can be rude. Racist. Intoxicating. She opened my eyes about how often we make conclusions up front, and how first thoughts on seeing a girl in hijab for most of us will be the ones about her religion and not about her personality. She made us see that a girl is just a girl. Ordinary, foolish, curious girl, that just wants to feel loved and appreciated.⠀
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That is what I loved about this book. And what I didnt? At moments its inconsistency and in general, too many teen stuff. I get it, its a YA book. Maybe Im just too old for that
4.5 / 5 stars
If you're in a reading slump or you just have a feeling all books started to seem the same, then this is the right book for you. I have to admit, I started reading it with no expectations at all, and in the end it turned out to be an interesting and wonderfully written story, so unique and different from anything I've read in a long time. ⠀
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The story itself is quite simple - one day during her stay at her mentor's home, finishing birds watching experiment for her doctorate studies, Jo finds an 8year old girl on her doorstep. Covered in bruises, she claims her name is Ursa and she's an alien that has come to Earth in search for five miracles, after which she's gonna be returning to her galaxy. With worries of her own, now Jo has another thing on her mind - what to do with the girl that doesnt want to leave and claims she has no family of her own....⠀
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What I liked the most is the way this book is written, full of smart dialogues and realistic characters. All of them have their own imperfections and fears they're dealing with, but they still manage to do what is best in the given circumstaces. The only thing I expected more from are my emotions. I did get to warm up to the characters, especially the amazing Ursa, but somehow the ending didnt really get through to me, not in the way I expected it to. ⠀
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Nonethless, this is definitely one of the books I'd like to have on my shelf...a captivating story about discovering love and friendship in the most unusal places and a tale that will make you want to believe in magic.⠀ ⠀
Leaving you with a little question mark and a tiny "what if" lingering for a while in the corner of your brain, this for sure is a hidden gem of a book I'd reccomend to all of you to read. ⠀
If you're in a reading slump or you just have a feeling all books started to seem the same, then this is the right book for you. I have to admit, I started reading it with no expectations at all, and in the end it turned out to be an interesting and wonderfully written story, so unique and different from anything I've read in a long time. ⠀
⠀
The story itself is quite simple - one day during her stay at her mentor's home, finishing birds watching experiment for her doctorate studies, Jo finds an 8year old girl on her doorstep. Covered in bruises, she claims her name is Ursa and she's an alien that has come to Earth in search for five miracles, after which she's gonna be returning to her galaxy. With worries of her own, now Jo has another thing on her mind - what to do with the girl that doesnt want to leave and claims she has no family of her own....⠀
⠀
What I liked the most is the way this book is written, full of smart dialogues and realistic characters. All of them have their own imperfections and fears they're dealing with, but they still manage to do what is best in the given circumstaces. The only thing I expected more from are my emotions. I did get to warm up to the characters, especially the amazing Ursa, but somehow the ending didnt really get through to me, not in the way I expected it to. ⠀
⠀
Nonethless, this is definitely one of the books I'd like to have on my shelf...a captivating story about discovering love and friendship in the most unusal places and a tale that will make you want to believe in magic.⠀ ⠀
Leaving you with a little question mark and a tiny "what if" lingering for a while in the corner of your brain, this for sure is a hidden gem of a book I'd reccomend to all of you to read. ⠀