Review: Lion

 Lion
 Saroo Brierley


I had heard of the movie, but didn't know what it was about. A friend of mine (knowing what a bookworm I am) asked if I had watched/read it about a month ago, and since I hadn't, she explained what it was about.

So the next time I was in the bookstore, I picked it up.
It was read in one sitting.


An interesting and sometimes difficult read, this is the story of a boy who gets lost.

Saroo is 5 when he is separated from his family. An innocent mistake really.
He and his oldest brother go out one evening - scourging the city in hopes of finding food, money, or anything useful they bring home to their other siblings and mother.
His brother sits him down on a train and tells Saroo that he will be right back.

He doesn't return for quite some time, and Saroo falls asleep.
The train moves.

The journey that Saroo then faces being
a) 5 years old.
b) in an unknown city
c) unsure how far he is from home
d) with little-to-no language to explain who he is, and where he is from.

makes for a difficult one.
but the courage of this one little boy is very inspiring.

However, most of this is the memory of a 25 year old man who is recalling back to what happened in those infamous weeks where he was lost.

From his home town, he was carried away to live on the streets, to a home for delinquents, to an orphanage, to Australia where he was adopted.

This is the story of how he becomes lost
and finds his way home.



A beautiful story but heartbreaking. The description of the lifestyle/quality of life that Saroo sees around him in India goes into detail I am just not used to reading about (not that I am unaware of what happens around the world, but not seeing/hearing about it on a daily basis makes for a weak stomach).

This is a true story, and it is out of my comfort zone of YA fantasy but I liked it. it dragged at points, but it is understandable why. Everything that Saroo writes about is necessary for the story. There are also photos from when he finds his family and we see the journey he took as a 5 year old boy.
It is mostly a happy ending, which is a comfort as you read it.

I recommend it. 4 stars


Similar stories that I know of:
- Life of Pi, Yann Martel
- The Face on the Milk Carton, Caronline B Cooney
- The Deep End of the Ocean, Jacquelyn Mitchard
- Dawn, VC Andrews (Cutler series. Kidnapped child vs lost though)


 

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*I'm including the movie-tie in cover just because. Now that I've read it, this is actually one movie that I won't mind watching. Most book-turned-movies I avoid. 

Review: Carrie Fisher Autobiographies

Carrie Fisher passed away today.
I admit I cried; she was a beautiful person and her work and words will stay with us forever.
May she finally be at peace.

Wishful Drinking 

I've looked for this book everywhere - I finally find it, sit down to read it... and a day later, she has a heart attack. It's been a rough week thinking about her ...

I knew very little about her to begin with.
Yes, I've seen Star Wars, but I am not one to google "10 things you didn't know about.." or "the making of..." articles since I prefer to keep the magic real.

I went to this with an open mind, knowing that as she got older, she had some struggles and dealt with them in her own way.

Reading this book though, I felt like I met a small part of her.

She writes about her childhood, her famous parents, the marriages her parents went through, how she dealt with everything, random childhood/young adult memories.... but she just come across very real (as opposed to some autobios I've read that read like a script)

and she is hilarious.

She's just writing. She writes how she feels and what she is thinking in that moment.
Or how she remembering that moment in her life.

She writes about how this all came to be; how Star Wars changed her life (who knew that was going to happen?!) and what that dam hologram speech would do to her.  She opens her heart and mind to us fans and, while it's the most poetic thing ever written, it's absolutely beautiful.

This book is also an one woman show.

Shockaholic 
*language warning*

I've had this book on my shelf for years, thinking I had to read Wishful Drinking first. I didn't. I'm glad I waited to read them both together, but they aren't exactly written with a timeline in mind, so you can technically read them in any order. You do see a difference in her writing pre/post ECT.
Or maybe she just didn't care. That sounds like her too. 

Her second autobiography, memoir, diary, random thoughts ... whatever you want to call it... felt deeper to me. 

She talks a lot about her father. and their relationship; how it evolved over time.

She opens up about ECT treatments, and what her being diagnosed as manic and depressed meant for her and those around her.

She opens up about her relationship with Michael Jackson - not that I knew much about him, but it was an interesting chapter, nonetheless. 

and her time with a senator. 

She continues to talk about her mother, and her daughter, whom she loves very much.

 This book, as a whole, is definitely more focused in terms of chapters and about her father. 

She has lost memories from her ECT so she can only share so much with us, but her realness is constant. 

Her humor is constant. 

She may be "Princess Leia" and "General Organa" but in reality, she was just Carrie. 

and she is fucking amazing.

She didn't want her life to imitate art, she wanted it to be art. and it was. 

and I like to think she is up there now, partying it up with her father, catching up on these last few years apart. 

She will be missed. 

   

Review: Scrappy Little Nobody

 Anna Kendrick
 Scrappy Little Nobody


How could you not love this chick? Right from the introduction, you are already laughing at how awesome and funny she is.

This really is more of a fangirl rant rather than a review. I loved everything about this book.

Well, except when she hated on Canadian TV. Us Canadian's aren't really that bad.... but we apologize profusely for the ones who give us a bad rep.
Sorry.

Her life seemed pretty cool. Growing up in a small town in Maine may not have been all glamorous as a child, but it sounds cool to someone who grew up just outside of the big, scary city that is Toronto. (even at 26 I still think it's scary. have you ever tried to drive Toronto in rush hour? I rest my case.) and then she got to do all these kinds of crazy fun things with theatre people, and in NY and LA. As someone who's idea of an awesome time is netflix and crocheting or reading (because I've yet to master them simultaneously) that all seems pretty freakin' cool to me.

She writes like one would talk, which is fantastic. It's not stuffy and it's real. I devoured the book in 2 sittings, only because work got in the way and I like to eat so I got off my comfy couch and out of the sweatpants. (Which, if by some miracle Anna is reading this - I have harry potter sweatpants, They're pretty rad. come on over and let's do a HP movie marathon. just saying.... i'd be down. You seem like the mix of a hufflepuff and gryffindor to me. I'm a ravenclaw.)

Other points I made note of throughout:
- your twilight premiere dress was awesome. yay for LBDs.
- I named my car too. Paul, after my husband's middle name - because he hates it and i like to bug him.
- Zach Morris all the way! <3
- 'squirrely little weirdo' would have also been a good name for this book *nods wisdomly*
- ikea is the devil. but you gotta love it. *tosses some candle holders and a bookshelf in the cart*
- I agree about Christmas.
- You're my idol because you sneak away from parties to read.
- My brother is named Mike too. he's ridiculous but he's awesome. he doesn't play magic,but my weirdo hubby does. men are strange.
- That Tori chick totally did it!!!!

To those reading this, but have yet to read the book, those are just some of the awesome points that you will come across while reading this fantastic book.

I'm serious.
It's awesome.

There is also a reading guide at the end.
I made the post-it.
find it on one of my twitter posts, because for cereal, every part is my favourite.

Go read the book. You'll thank me later.

This is one of those biographies that I will reread. because she is just that funny.
and awesome.

Have I mentioned it's awesome?