Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs by Dave Holmes

Release date: June 28, 2016
My rating: ★★★★☆

I'm not a big fan of memoirs and biographies. It's not that I dislike the person it talks about, but rather the way the facts and bits of information are displayed. This person was born this day, did this stuff, then died. Not my thing.

This book, though, changed a bit my perspective of this genre. It showed me that getting to know someone's life can be fun. The anecdotes in here, for example, were just plainly hilarious, and so was the author's way of telling them.

A thing that I particularly enjoyed, and that I haven't seen in any other book, is how Holmes links certain songs to each stage of his life. I listened to some of them while reading this, and they really set the vibe and the tone of how he felt at that time, and what he was going through.

I started reading this novel as open-minded as I could, but I guess that wasn't really necessary, since it would've won me anyway. It is fast-paced, and as entertaining as it is thought-provoking.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

Stranger Things Review

Have you heard about a Netflix show called Stranger Things? You probably have. It's been around for little over a month, and already 14 million people have seen it. Crazy, right? Even the critics seem to love it. Well, shows this famous are usually a bit overhyped. This one, though, deserves every single praise it is given and more, a lot more. It combines science fiction with mystery, and its 80's vibe is really on point, with all the clothes, hairstyles, and trends of those times.

The characters are pretty cool, even the ones you just want to punch and send to space. A fan favourite seems to be Barb; I like her, though not that much, as Eleven is kind of the real deal in here. Everything has to do with her, and being as badass as she is, almost nothing can stop her. Millie Bobby Brown, the actress portraying her, has some serious acting skills. The other kids are awesome, too; and what can I say about cute, toothless Dustin.

Winona Ryder's character, Joyce, is pretty interesting. You can see, from her point of view, how the events in the series affect her, and the extreme measures she could take to ensure her children's safety. The other characters are fascinating, too, but if I wanted to talk about all of them, it would take me hours, so I will just stop here.

The concept of the Upside Down is intriguing and creepy, but like, really creepy. I had never seen anything like it before, so I found it quite appealing. I want to know more about it and its technicalities (does time work the same way there?), but also about that weird-looking-ugly thing, and where it comes from.

With this show you'll get scared, maybe even totally freaked out, but it will all be worth it, because it  will leave you thinking: how far would humankind go for the sake of 'progress'?

Netflix | IMDb

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by Jack Thorne

»Release date: July 31, 2016
»Page count: 343
»My rating: ★★★☆☆


I had such low expectations for this book that I was convinced I would hate it, but at the same time I was so willing to like it that I ended up doing it. It was good, but it had many flaws that bugged me a lot, so I couldn't enjoy it as much a I would have wanted.

The characters were both great and awful at the same time. Some were complex and had a clear development, such as Scorpius, though even that is debatable. Others were almost completely plain, like Rose and Albus. I still don't understand how his mind works, if he's just selfish or plainly stupid for putting so many lives at risk and not thinking about the consequences his actions would bring.

Harry, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Draco are just ghosts of what they used to be; and don't even get me started on Snape, whose presence in this book was totally unnecessary, as it was just for his long-awaited redemption.

I also found irritating the queer baiting, although I'm not 100% sure if it was intentional. It looked like it, but maybe I was just seeing what I wanted to.

The plot was a total failure. It was really, really loose and purposeless. The quest that Albus embarks on was just a silly attempt of bringing back the sadness that Cedric's death caused in many of the original series' fans, and it really read a bit like fan fiction.

Despite everything I've mentioned, the Harry Potter books hold such a dear place in my heart that I can't hate them or give them less than three stars. The Wizarding World is as great as ever, and going back to it was awesome. Cursed Child was exceptionally funny, even more than its predecessors, I dare say. I gasped, I squealed, and overall, I had a good time while reading it, even with all its blemishes.



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Reseña | The Archived, por Victoria Schwab

Calificación: ★★★★★

  Releyendo The Archived, el primer libro de la trilogía del mismo nombre, me di cuenta de que está muy subestimado. Puede que no sea el mejor libro del mundo, pues tiene sus pros y contras, al igual que todos; sin embargo, logra hacerte sentir cosas muy diversas, cumpliendo con su propósito. El mundo está muy bien creado y es súper interesante; la autora sabe exactamente cuándo dar información y en qué medida, para dejarte expectante en todo momento. 

  El concepto es bastante innovador, incluso refrescante, ya que hoy en día hay tantos clichés en las novelas que éstos te terminan cansando. En ésta, a pesar de haber uno que otro por ahí, están tan bien manejados que apenas te das cuenta.

  La protagonista, Mackenzie Bishop, puede llegar a veces a ser tan real que puedes sentir que está al lado tuyo. Lidiar con la muerte de su hermano y tener que guardar el secreto que es su misión nos ayuda a darnos cuenta de que todos tenemos problemas, por lo que nos conectamos con ella sin importar lo extravagante de la situación. Su forma de pensar es, además, cercana y realista, y por ende, es fácil sentirse cercano a ella.

  Mackenzie es fenomenal, pero mi personaje favorito es, sin duda alguna, Wesley. Me gustaría haber visto un poco más de él, pues es simplemente un encanto. Su sentido del humor es deslumbrante, y su personalidad en general basta para iluminar cualquier lugar. Sus comentarios alegran cada escena, y alivian un poco la tensión que comúnmente reina en Mac.

  Por otro lado, Owen es un completo imbécil. Desde la primera vez que lo vi supe que traería problemas, pero la forma en que Mac lo describe me bajaba siempre la guardia. Sus motivaciones, eso sí, no me quedaron muy claras. Mataron a su hermana, claro, y el Archived era corrupto; pero, ¿valía la pena tomar tales medidas? Carmen, eso sí, nunca me cayó bien. Aunque suene raro, me gustaría saber de su pasado, pues la única información que da Victoria es que fue Crew de Owen. Sería interesante leer una historia sobre ella, aunque fuese publicada online, y lo mismo podría decir de Roland, quien se me hace bastante misterioso.

  Da, también, se me hace intrigante, pues apenas se sabe de él. Es mencionado bastante, pero si uno lo piensa, sólo se sabe que era el abuelo de Mac. Me pregunto, ¿quién le pasó el rol de Keeper? ¿Quién fue su Crew? No creo averiguarlo jamás, pero vale la pena plantearlo. 

  Como se puede ver, muchos coincidirían en que el punto fuerte de esta historia son los personajes. En mi experiencia, sin embargo, creo que lo que más me llamó la atención fue la escritura. Está redactado todo de tal forma que te quedas enganchado con cada frase, con la necesidad de leer más y más hasta el punto de que lo terminas en un tiempo récord. Ese fue mi caso, al menos, y sé que el de otros también.

  Recomiendo esta novela a todos los fanáticos de la fantasía, la acción, o simplemente, a todas las personas que quieran pasar un buen rato. Es fácil y rápida de leer, la idea y la trama son geniales, y las enseñanzas que deja son muy significativas.