lostinplanetnumber5

[lostinplanetnumber5]

"But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated."

The old man and the sea, by Ernest Hemingway

[lostinplanetnumber5]

I died more than once in my life. Some people manage to balance dishes on sticks, others can hit all wheels playing golf on Pebble Beach, but few have so many passaport stamps on the other life like me. It is a gift, I believe, even if it is a gift that I don't wish for anyone. There will be one more crossing to me, as well as for all of us. But no one can say what awaits you on the other side, I can only speak of what I saw, because if your destination is to be the roofing or the boiler room, depends on you. Paradise or Hades, Heaven or Hell - they are made to measure. I know because I have been to both.

The damned, by Andrew Pyper

(posting a review this week!)

[lostinplanetnumber5]

Sometimes I wonder if addicts aren’t all that different from anybody else, they are just better at lying to themselves.

Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid.

I loved this book so, so much! Soon I'm posting a review about it, but if you haven't read it, add it to your TBR, I promise you won't regret. It became one of my favorite books, and Taylor, one of my favorite authors!

[lostinplanetnumber5]

What I'll start reading next:

This weekend I bought a book that I wanted a lot, by Harold Schechter. Its name is The Serial Killers files: the who, what, where, how and why of the world's most terrifying murderes. It is a True Crime book about real and terrifying events, with almost 500 pages. It was published in Brazil by Darkside some years ago in one amazing edition. The book is filled with details and pictures (attention: the book comes with a trigger warning)

I started reading some True Crime books after Lady Killers (there's a review about it here in my blog, just check the pinned post if you want to learn more about it 😉), and I'm looking forward to read this book and writing more about it in my blog.

I promise that I'll be more active now. I'll bring some posts about true crime and also about the other books I've been reading. For example, I just read Cinder, by Marissa Meyer, Misery by Stephen King, Maybe in another life and Daisy Jones & The Six, by Taylor Jenkins Reid (which is now one of my favorite authors), and I'm going to write about it as soon as possible.

The reason why I have been a little distant is, as always, school. For those who didn't know, I study in a technical school in Brazil (I'm currently in high school, my course is related to architecture and engineering). So I have 22 different subjects. Before the pandemic, I would have classes from 7am to 5pm. Yes, 10 hours at school every day, sometimes even on Saturdays. Besides all the high school subjects (15), I have one extra (Spanish) and six related to my course.

I want to talk more about my schedule and my school subjects, especially about my course, and why I have no free time 😂

I'll try to write about my routine and how I'm organizing my time during the isolation period.

Let me know if you have any questions, and I'll let you know when I start reading this book.

Stay safe and thanks for reading!

Sarah - Planet number 5

(original pic 📷)

[lostinplanetnumber5]

SHORT REVIEW: The dark descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, by Kiersten White.

I have said several times that Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley, is my favorite book. Everything about Frankenstein is incredible to me, and when I finished reading it, I had an immense desire to read more books within this universe. Some weeks ago I ended up reading a review about "The dark descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein", and when I read the synopsis I immediately knew I had to read it.

••••••••••

SYNOPSIS:

Elizabeth Lavenza hasn't had a proper meal in weeks. Her thin arms are covered with bruises from her "caregiver," and she is on the verge of being thrown into the streets . . . until she is brought to the home of Victor Frankenstein, an unsmiling, solitary boy who has everything--except a friend.

Victor is her escape from misery. Elizabeth does everything she can to make herself indispensable--and it works. She is taken in by the Frankenstein family and rewarded with a warm bed, delicious food, and dresses of the finest silk. Soon she and Victor are inseparable.

But her new life comes at a price. As the years pass, Elizabeth's survival depends on managing Victor's dangerous temper and entertaining his every whim, no matter how depraved. Behind her blue eyes and sweet smile lies the calculating heart of a girl determined to stay alive no matter the cost... as the world she knows is consumed by darkness.

••••••••••

I read the book in two days and it immediately became one of my favorites. In this retelling we can explore the story from Elizabeth's point of view, a character little explored by Shelley in the original work, but which is much more complex than we can imagine. We have lots of surprises, but the most impressive is when we discover Victor's true personality.

I had lived my whole life like this: ignoring and erasing, willingly, truths around me.

The author alternates between moments in the present and some reveries of Elizabeth in the past. We discover with the passing of the chapters, a strong character who was raised to "belong" to Victor. As we learn more about the characters' lives and stories, we discover how complex the relationship between them is.

To what extent are we shaped by those around us? What happens when everything we are depends on someone else?

And at the end of the book, we are surprised to discover that the real monster is not who we think we are.

I had accused Victor of creating a monster. But I had done the same.

If you like Frankenstein, add this book to your TBR.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thanks for reading this review!

Lost in planet number 5

[lostinplanetnumber5]

To what extent are we shaped by those around us? What happens when everything we are depends on someone else?

Book: The dark descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein, by Kiersten White

I have to say: I love everything related to Frankenstein, as it is my favorite book. Mary Shelley is an inspiring woman who also wrote one of the most amazing books ever... So it was quite obvious for me that I'd like The dark descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein from the begining, as the story now is told by Elizabeth's point of view (and she is such an amazing character!). As I loved the book and I had a really good time reading it, I'm posting a review about it this weekend. Hopefully you'll guys will enjoy it as much as I did.

[lostinplanetnumber5]

Hey everyone!

I just finished reading Maleficent, and I really enjoyed it, so if you like stories about villains, here is a recommendation 🖤

At its heart, Maleficent is a story about the sentiment behind the age-old saying: "The difference between a hero and a villain often depends on the perspective."

(original 📷)

[lostinplanetnumber5]

REVIEW: CORALINE BY NEIL GAIMAN

It took me a long time, but I finally read Coraline.

I started reading the book and soon realized that it would be a quick read because the author's writing is very light and easy to understand. The edition came with an introduction written by Gaiman, where he says he started to write the book for his daughter Holly and finished for his other daughter, Maddy. I was already looking forward to the beginning when in the introduction he talks about how he wanted to write a story that his little girl liked, and she, just like me, loves stories about brave girls.

I read the book in two days so amused that I felt myself in the adventures of Coraline. She is a curious girl, who likes to explore. I was like this as a child (not to mention that I still am), and if you were like that, you know very well that this desire to understand and explore everything often puts us in some complicated situations, but none that compares to Coraline's, who on a beautiful day decides to venture into the new house and ends up finding a portal to a new world where people have buttons instead of eyes, mice sing and cats talk. Ah, we must not forget: where the other mother wants to keep Coraline forever with her, forbidding her to return to our world.

Going back to the real world will be very complicated, and for that Coraline, a very brave and smart little girl makes a bet with her other mother, where if she loses, she stays forever with her in that macabre world, but if she wins, she will go home.

When I thought the situation couldn't get any weirder, it did. Coraline goes on a complicated mission to get home and encounters many macabre things on the way, but with the help of a stone with a hole in the middle and a black cat with no name and a little arrogant, she runs against the clock to escape the other mom.

I was surprised in many parts of this book, even a little tense by the main character. I felt extremely enchanted by her because she is the definition of what it is like to be a child, to have a fertile imagination, and an enormous desire to explore, but at the same time brave and smart as an adult.

The book taught me some things about courage and fears in a very natural way, all because the story takes place in the life of a little child, who faced a lot but still has a pure heart.

"Because courage is when you are afraid to do something, but you do it anyway, it is when you face fear"

If you are looking for a short and interesting book, give Coraline a try. The book is amazing, and I'm sure anyone would fall in love with her.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Amazingly, what we are made of is so attached to the bed where we wake up in the morning, and the most frightening thing is the fragility of it."

Thank you for reading my review!

Just another planet 🖤

(original photos 📷)

[lostinplanetnumber5]

"For the most wild, yet most homely narrative which I am about to pen, I neither expect nor solicit belief. Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad am I not -- and very surely do I not dream. But to-morrow I die, and to-day I would unburthen my soul."

The Black Cat • Edgar Allan Poe

(wondering which book by Allan Poe I should read next...)

[lostinplanetnumber5]

"Numbing the pain for a while will make it worse when you finally feel it."

Albus Dumbledore • Harry Potter and the goblet of fire

[lostinplanetnumber5]

REVIEW: Lady Killers, by Tori Telfer

Hey everyone!

Let me start with some questions:  Are women capable of killing? And if so, would they be able to commit crimes of a greater proportion than Jack the Ripper, for example?

The answer to both questions is a big yes. Not only are women capable of killing, but several women have already committed far more brutal crimes than Jack the Ripper. But would you know how to name one of them? Because honestly, before reading this book, I wouldn't know. And why is that? Darya Nikolayevna Saltykova has been charged with 138 murders for example. Mary Ann Cotton was indicted for 21 crimes, with 3 of the victims being their husbands and another 12, her children.

Telfer quotes:

"Some say that Jack, the Ripper, was the first serial killer in England, but that is only because the others have been forgotten".

The book is not suitable for minors under 18 precisely because it addresses very delicate topics, but even so, the reading flowed in a very pleasant way. Okay, I confess that at certain times I had to take a break to assimilate what I had just read, like women who killed their children in the cruelest ways you can imagine, dismembered the bodies of their victims or put their heads inside a pan (I remember reading a case where the woman made a "soup" with the blood of one of her victims and not only drank it later, but also offered it to her son and the rest of the neighborhood).

The author's writing is very good, and the way she portrays each event in this book is incredible, making us analyze the topic from a different perspective. Many cases of these crimes are not so widely reported, and what people say to justify their crimes are the most absurd, as apparently, they have a hard time believing that women in full conscience can kill. The female sex is still often seen as fragile sex. It is hard to believe that a woman can kill in cold blood.

The women featured in this book killed their victims in several different ways: arsenic, torturing them to death, beheading them, among many others, and their motivations were also the most diverse: a husband who was too strict, money, or simply the pleasure of torturing and killing.

Now, what happened to these women?

Well, some have been sentenced to prison, sent to psychiatric hospitals, or even sentenced to death.  Many were sexualized to the point of being released for having "an angelic appearance"

"... blond curls or black eyes seem to have the ability to make judges forget the most overwhelming evidence."  

Other women ran away, but some died at the fire pit: they were considered witches and condemned to be burned.

This book not only portrays the lives of several women but also addresses many relevant issues today, such as: "why should women be considered the weaker sex?"

Tori Telfer unites two themes that I love: criminology and feminism. So, if you're a fan of real crime stories, Lady Killers should be your next read.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

(In case you want to research a little more about it, here are some names: Kate Bender, Elizabeth Báthory, Tillie Klimek and Alice Kyteler)

Thanks for reading my review!

Bye, Sarah.

(original photos 📷)

[lostinplanetnumber5]

“You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve," said Aslan. "And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor on earth. Be content.”

The Chronicles of Narnia - Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis

(review coming soon!)

[lostinplanetnumber5]

But of course that is because I do not respect myself. Can a man of perception respect himself at all?

...

Come, can a man who attempts to find enjoyment in the very feeling of his own degradation possibly have a spark of respect for himself?

...

I invented adventures for myself and made up a life, so as at least to live in some way.

Notes from the underground, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

[lostinplanetnumber5]

Even broken in spirit as he is, no one can feel more deeply than he does the beauties of nature. The starry sky, the sea, and every sight afforded by these wonderful regions, seems still to have the power of elevating his soul from earth.

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

(my favorite book 🖤)

[lostinplanetnumber5]

Currently reading: Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher.

"I guess that’s the point of it all. No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue. Yet we push it just the same."

I started this book two days ago, and I'm about to finish it now. So far, I've been loving it. I watched the series (only season one) but I have to say, reading the book is a whole different experience. I'm posting a review here, as soon as I finish it. Let me know what you think about 13RW!

Bye, Sarah.

[lostinplanetnumber5]

REVIEW: Heartless by Marissa Meyer

Here I am to write about one of the best books I read this year: Heartless, by Marissa Meyer. 

SYNOPSIS:

Long before she was the terror of Wonderland—the infamous Queen of Hearts—she was just a girl who wanted to fall in love.

Catherine may be one of the most desired girls in Wonderland, and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but her interests lie elsewhere. A talented baker, all she wants is to open a shop with her best friend. But according to her mother, such a goal is unthinkable for the young woman who could be the next queen.

Then Cath meets Jest, the handsome and mysterious court joker. For the first time, she feels the pull of true attraction. At the risk of offending the king and infuriating her parents, she and Jest enter into an intense, secret courtship. Cath is determined to define her destiny and fall in love on her terms. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

I love everything related to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and I also love to read stories about villains and how they became who they are. Heartless is the perfect mix between those two.

I loved the way, Marissa Meyer wrote a whole different story about Wonderland but it felt like an original one by Lewis Carroll. The author writes in such a light and pleasant way that I didn't even see time go by during the more than 400 pages I read. I was enchanted by everything in Cath's world, and I spent the entire book wondering what would happen to a person as lovely as she was (and such a big dreamer!) become the feared queen known for the phrase: "cut off their heads!" (we have an explanation for that in the book by the way).  During a ball at the king's palace, Cath meets the famous joker. Soon something special starts to emerge between them, but nothing can happen because she is royalty, destined to get married to the king and the joker is ... well, just a joker.

I had so much empathy for Cath with all the things she was forced to go through, that I just wanted everything to work out and she would soon be able to fulfill her big dream ... but obviously, it doesn't happen. After all, we are reading the story of how she became a villain. Heartless is the kind of book I already knew that something very bad would happen in the end: I just didn't imagine what could happen to change the course of that story. The ending was very well written, surprising, and very sad. I fell in love with all the characters: The Cheshire cat, Hatta (Mad Hatter), Jest/joker (oh, how I fell in love with Jest) ... 

To sum up: this book was a roller coaster of emotions, it was a delicious reading that, ironically, broke my heart. It had a little bit of all the things I like: good writing, good character construction (I cheered and suffered for them), and I was also surprised (countless times). I also loved how the author was able to put elements and some lines from Carroll's story in that book: it made me feel like I was in Wonderland.

I gave this book five stars and also added it to my list of favorites. If you have not yet read Heartless I guarantee you will not regret it. I am soon going to start reading Cinder, by the same author, Marissa Meyer. Hopefully, It'll also surprise me. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ + ❤️

Have you read Heartless? Let me know your opinions about the book or if you're planning to read it. Thank you so much for reading this review!

(I'm also thinking about making a playlist on Spotify with songs that remind me of this book and then share it here. Is it a good idea? If so, let me know. I'll also share some of my favorite quotes about this book here, as I already did on my last post).

Bye, Sarah.

(original 📷)

[lostinplanetnumber5]

"Are you a doctor?" She asked.

He looked up at her and smiled that disarming smile again. "I'm a joker, my lady, which is even better."

"How is that better than a doctor?"

"Haven't you ever heard that laughter is the best medicine?"

Heartless by Marissa Meyer

(by the way, I'll post one review about this amazing book this week ❤️)