Truthers (Fiction - Young Adult) - Geoff...

Two stars is being kind. Truthers has a good premise and I like the idea of the plot, a girl born after 9/11 is thrown into conspiracy theories and trying to figure out what happened. But I honestly can't see any high schooler or young adult actually enjoying this. The plot is weak, its a lot of facts about 9/11 thrown at you. I barely finished and got really bored.

 

I honestly skimmed a lot of it but feel like I didn't miss much. I'm not really into the whole conspiracy thing with 9/11 but even so this could have been done a lot better than it was. 

Ohhhhh, this book. I have so many complicated feelings when it comes to this book. I love it for some aspects and utterly detest it for others. My partner wanted me to read it because it's very similar to my own experiences when it comes to the family aspects of the book and, boy, was she right. Every time I read the bits having to do with the main character's family, I had to suppress a scream for how eerily similar it was to my own family. *Shudders* But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me tell you a little about this book.

 

The story follows Pen, a girl trying to figure out who she is and dealing with everyone else's bigoted way of thinking. The story itself sounds simple enough but the experiences she and her friends go through are a lot more complex and harrowing than that. She is in the middle of questioning her identity whilst also having to deal with family issues and a "friend" with a habit of manipulating those around him. We see Pen grow from someone who allowed everyone push her around to actually defending who she is. I enjoyed seeing her transformation throughout the book.

 

I really like that M-E Girard did an excellent job writing about queer teenagers and the many problems they must face especially with society being the way it is. I really like how she described what it's like having gender dysphoria though the term is never used within the narrative. It's something very personal to the individual experiencing it and it's something difficult to describe to those who "don't get it." I adore these parts and a part of me wish that the topic of gender was the only thing that was discussed within the book. Because when it ventures into talking about sexuality, it does a horrendous job.

 

I really hate the way sexuality is described in this book. The f-word is used multiple times throughout the narrative as if it's totally normal to look down on someone who is attracted to the same gender. Pen herself says it multiple times with disgust. I know she has a different view when it comes to her own gender but thinking it's "disgusting" being attracted to the same gender bothers me more so since it's never questioned within the book. This is why I can't really recommend this book 100% because it's great representation when it comes to gender, but it's horrible when it comes to sexuality. There's some self-homophobic hatred when it comes to Pen and it's never resolved in the book. It's a shame.

 

Another thing I feel the book got right was how Girard described what it's like being from a Portuguese family. I, myself, come from a Hispanic family and the two are similar when it comes to culture and beliefs. Both believe that "respect" matters more than "self-preservation" and it's not a healthy way to live which is why I kept having flashbacks to conversations I had with my own family whenever I read passages containing Pen's family. My parents are all about the "repeito" also. The amount of times I wanted to slam my head against the wall listening to them contradict themselves because respect only applies to them and no one else. Ugh! I can't! These parts were infuriating but they were also good for Pen to grow as a person. Because before this, she was a weak pushover.

 

Which brings me to her friendship with Colby. He is a douchebag. He uses people as he sees fit then throws them away when they are no longer "useful" to him. And Pen knows how much of a jerk he is... but she does absolutely nothing to confront him. She allows him to treat her, her girlfriend, her friends, like shit because "that's what it means to have loyalty." I feel it took Pen a really long time to finally stand up for herself, but I also think it was necessary for her to take as long as she did. There are a lot of people out there who are trapped in toxic relationships and, to them, they can't see a way out until it's too late. Pen's progression with Colby is realistic if a bit infuriating. However, I'll be honest, it was difficult to get through this book because of a lot of the decisions Pen took just because Colby told her to do so.

 

In short, this book was definitely a challenge to get through. I really liked some aspects but the majority of this book really made me upset. So all I can say is if you want to read good representation about gender identity, then this is a pretty good read. However, if you're looking for good book talking about sexual orientation, this is a poor example of one. If you do decide to pick it up, remember this book contains slur words, homophobia, drug use, and abusive relationships. If you can read about those topics, then I really hope you end up enjoying this book far more than I did. 

Exhume (Dr. Schwartzman Series Book 1) by Danielle Girard is an incredibly fast-paced book to read. It's action-packed and filled with suspense.

 

Annabelle Schwartzman has been stalked and tormented by her husband Spencer MacDonald, from whom she escaped over seven years ago. He's deviously clever in his methods and doesn't leave traceable evidence.

 

Dr. Schwartzman and her colleagues are all credible characters. I gave it five stars and look forward to the release of Book 2, Excise.

 

I received a complimentary Kindle copy from Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley. That did not change my opinion for this review.

 

Link to purchase: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DYC10PE

Inhaltsangabe

Jeff dachte immer, dass er ein Teenager ist wie jeder andere. Doch an seinem 16. Geburtstag erfährt er das Unglaubliche: Er ist ein Klon des Serienkillers Jeffrey Dahmer! Und es gibt weitere jugendliche Klone. Im Rahmen eines streng geheimen Regierungsprojekts, unter der Beobachtung von Wissenschaftlern, durften manche von ihnen wohlbehütet aufwachsen, andere erlebten dagegen die Kindheit ihres Originals. Nun sind einige von ihnen ausgebrochen. Gemeinsam mit  dem Polizisten Castillo, der die entflohenen Jugendlichen wieder einfangen soll, jagt Jeff den Killern quer durch die USA hinterher... 

 

Meine Meinung

Wem dieser Klappentext ein wenig bekannt vorkommt, der irrt sich nicht, denn dieses Buch gibt es bereits als Erwachsenenbuch. Bereits 2014 wurde „Verdorbenes Blut“ von Geoffrey Girard bei Bastei Lübbe veröffentlicht. In diesem Buch geht es um die Klone der Serienmörder, ihre Taten, ihre Opfer, ihre Charakterzüge. Man lernt auch den kleinen Jeff als einen der Klone kennen, dieser steht jedoch nicht im Fokus. In „Verdorbenes Blut“ verfolgt man die Geschichte um Castillo, der die Klone jagt.

 

Die Grundstory ist absolut die gleiche. Allerdings sind Faktoren, wie Gewalt und Blut in „Mein Böses Blut“ deutlich herabgesetzt. Auch die Informationen zu den einzelnen im Buch vorkommenden Serienmördern wurde nicht so explizit im Buch besprochen und wenn wurde brutale Details vorwiegend weggelassen. Es ist halt wirklich eine Young Adult Version von „Verdorbenes Blut“.

 

An dem Schreibstil und dem Aufbau des Buches selbst, hatte ich auch hier keinerlei Probleme während des Lesens. Ein flüssiger Schreibstil trifft auf kurze Kapitel und ein paar grafische Auflockerungen. Denn der liebe Jeff macht sich zur Aufgabe Castillo bei der Suche nach den anderen jugendlichen Klonen zu helfen. Um sie aufzuspüren muss er seltsame Zeichnungen seines Vaters lösen. Dieses Detail kannte ich schon, aber die Idee ist einfach gut gemacht und gut ins Buch eingebracht.

 

Natürlich hat dieses Buch nicht nur eine oberflächliche Handlung, sondern auch ein tiefgründiges Thema, welches behandelt wird.

Wird der Klon eines Serienmörders ebenso gewalttätig?

Ist eine gegebene DANN durch Erziehung und Umweltfaktoren zu beeinflussen?

Und allein der Gedanke, ob es dieses Klonen wirklich gibt?

 

Auch der 16-jährige Jeff stellt sich die Frage, ob er so werden wird wie der bekannte Serienmörder Jeffrey Dahmer oder ob er dagegen ankämpfen kann und ein ganz normales Leben führen wird. Vergleicht er die Wesenszüge, stellt er doch so einige Gemeinsamkeiten fest…

 

Eigentlich hatte ich vor, „Verdorbenes Blut“ noch einmal zu lesen, um meine fehlende Rezension auszuarbeiten, aber im Moment reizt es mich so gar nicht, weil die Story doch sehr identisch ist.

____________________________________________________________

 

Wie bereits im Erwachsenenband kann mich das Ende des Buches absolut nicht begeistern. Der Ausgang hätte realistischer sein können bzw. für mich sein müssen, denn so wird die Thematik fast ins Lächerliche und Unmögliche gezogen.

Bei einem Vergleich mit „Verdorbenes Blut“ kann dieses Buch natürlich nicht mithalten. ABER ein Jugendlicher liest wahrscheinlich lieber aus der Sicht eines Jugendlichen, als auch der Sicht eines erwachsenen Polizisten. Demnach werde ich es auch als Jugendbuch bewerten.

 

Beide Bücher direkt hintereinander sollte man nicht lesen, da sie sich doch sehr gleichen.

 

Mein Fazit

Allein stehend ist dieses Buch eine Leseempfehlung für alle Serienmörderfans wert.

Im Vergleich mit „Verdorbenes Blut“ schneidet es nicht ganz so gut ab. Ich entscheide mich dann doch für die Erwachsenenversion.

Dennoch bewerte ich es als Young Adult Version.

first communions - Geoffrey Girard review copy from LibraryThing

This is my first time reading an anthology
This book is a collection of short horror stories , they are all different from each other .I didn't think they were that scary or exciting, but i loved some of them, they had a touch of science fiction and Fantasy and can be seen as YA and Adult stories.
Here are my thoughts on each one:

"Translatio " _ a strange story of black balloon shaped aliens and a man with a gift of seeing future horrors.

"Collecting James "_ a man who collects chips from people's skulls...it was fun to read.

"For restful death i cry _ people are kept alive longer thanks to technology and a man who has to remove them. I found this one confusing yet enjoyable.

"Dark Harvest"_ a monstrous black creature and it's story with the town's people who kept him. Not one of my favorites.

"Not fade away " _ a young girl working at a nursery home and when a misfortune happens, she sticks with them . I liked this one .

"Unto the lord new song _ one of the best , who doesn't like Zombies? Yet it was so much more.

"Release Me "_ a ghost story of a giant woman, this one was my number one in this book ,it's dark and keeps you interested.

"Psychomachia" _ a story about working in coal mines, i didn't quite get it , it's confusing.

"Universal adaptor "_ i don't know for sure , but i didn't enjoy it and had a hard time getting into it.

"Misdirection"_ i absolutely loved it! It's a story of a young Algerian boy and a French wizard , i understood all the references because I'm Algerian , Maybe that's why i loved it!

"What you know "_twisted and fun to read .

"H.E double hockey sticks "_ dark and funny! A story of two demons and a bad hockey team..

"Where the shadow ended"_ it's about a young boy and demons of shadows , overall it's good , not my favorite though.

"Dead in the water" _ Pirates , Zombies and Action.. do i need to say more?

"Crawl "_not my best read , Only if you like spiders?

"First Communions"_ i felt like it was nice way to end this collection .

Those notes at the end were a nice addition.

I really enjoyed reading this book , some stories were fun and wonderful, others , not so much. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy horror and creepy stories.