Denali_Christianson
Jefferson County Public Library
Denali_Christianson's Completed Shelf
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Gay Girl, Good GodGay Girl, Good God, BookThe Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been
by Perry, Jackie HillBook - 2018Book, 2018
Added Jan 15, 2023
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Added Dec 23, 2021
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added Dec 23, 2021
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added Nov 15, 2021
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added Nov 15, 2021
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added Sep 28, 2021
The Rise and Fall of Mount MajesticThe Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic, BookBy Professor Barnabas Quill, Historian of the Island at the Center of Everything
by Trafton, JenniferBook - 2010Book, 2010
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added Sep 19, 2021
Comment:
I really loved parts of this book, and then there were other parts that I just wasn't a fan of.
I'll start with the things I liked:
I thought the world-building was great. Everything about the Island at the Center of Everything was well-formed and interesting to read about. Since this book is written for kids, it was deliberately whimsical throughout, and I appreciated that the author didn't break from that.
I loved Persimmony's character. She's hilarious, and a literal copy of me when I was that age! I thought it was amazing the way Trafton wrote her as being hungry for adventure as being something out of the ordinary at first but then at the end realizing that every day is an adventure. I thought that was great.
King Lucas was hilarious. I loved him. His temper tantrum over not having pepper? 😘 (not that I condone his actions, but it was amazing!)
All in all, I loved the diversity of the characters.
Now for the cons:
There were moments when I was absolutely shocked that a nine-year-old girl would do anything like some of the things Persimonny was doing. There were some slight disconnects in age.
I didn't like that Trafton left us with so many unanswered questions.
All in all, there was just something about the book that didn't resonate with me, and I can't quite put my finger on it. I think part of it was the lack of emotion. This is clearly due in part to the fact that the book is written for kids. However, there were absolutely no moments when I actually felt sad or felt like I was joining the characters on their journey. I felt like a disembodied observer floating somewhere high above the island. I don't like this kind of writing. I need to feel the characters' emotions. I need to feel the nitty-gritty of the plot and the actions and the choices. But I didn't while reading this book. That's mostly why I rated it so low.
I would definitely recommend this book for kids anywhere from 7 to 12.I really loved parts of this book, and then there were other parts that I just wasn't a fan of.
I'll start with the things I liked:
I thought the world-building was great. Everything about the Island at the Center of Everything was well-formed and…
Added Sep 19, 2021
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added Sep 19, 2021
Comment:
This book was definitely the best of the Starlore Legacy so far. The action picked up another notch along with the tension and character development. There are also a ton of plot twists that no one is expecting and I'm also currently very mad a Chuck Black for the ending!!! And I thought the ending of Flight was bad! Anyways, I'll not rant about frustrating cliffhangers. The writing style, dialogue, and plot were wonderful and I was blown away by Black's amazing talent of writing allegories without being invasive about it! There was a ton of creativity that went into this book and I loved how far the story moved along. This is definitely not a filler book! I think the only problem I had with it were there were multiple typos and I HATED THE ENDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But neither of those things are good enough reasons not to read - and love - this book! Highly recommend!This book was definitely the best of the Starlore Legacy so far. The action picked up another notch along with the tension and character development. There are also a ton of plot twists that no one is expecting and I'm also currently very mad a…
Added Sep 19, 2021
Added Sep 19, 2021
Comment:
Well...
I was both unimpressed and impressed. At the same time. It's disgusting.
I'll stop being dramatic now. The beginning information section was what got me kinda mad. It's literally just a repeat of everything we already know. I enjoyed some parts of it, like the detailed descriptions of some of the places, since some of them aren't as clear in the books. I also LOVED the activities section, especially the recipes and quizzes! They were really fun and I enjoyed the extra perks. The pictures were gorgeous, and there weren't enough of them. That being said, I think the info book would have done MUCH better had it been a bunch more of that, and some actually exclusive info that we haven't learned from the first 8 books, instead of being a repeat load of information about characters and stuff etc etc etc blah blah blah. I got really bored and skimmed most of it. I would have given the information book maybe 3 stars.
The novella was great. I thought it was a great improvement from how far the series has fallen. That being said, it still felt like more unnecessary ramp up to a non-existent finale. And let's face it: the ramp up has started to ramp down. There's too much of it. We really need to start getting answers. The first three books of the series were brilliant because stuff actually HAPPENED. After that it was like stuff started repeating itself. I remember during the first three books I was actually getting anxious for the characters towards the finale of the books because I was actually invested. Shannon has lost some of her tension and her foundation as the series has gone on. At first, I knew she had the answers, and she just wasn't sharing them. That was hard to live with, but still awesome because it made me keep reading. However, as time has gone on, she's created such an intense network of secrets that we're either about to be very impressed or realize exactly how far Shannon has fallen since beginning the series. I'm betting on the latter of the two. I'm an author, which means I can spot when the author doesn't know where their story is going. That's what's happened with Messenger. At first she knew what she was aiming at. Now she's lost sight of that and is stalling because she's scrambling to get a hold on where she used to be. Quite frankly, it makes me sad. She's listened to the fans too much instead of just sticking with what needed to happen from the beginning. Anywayyyy back to the review of the novella... It definitely had a lot of deja vu elements. My main issue was the whole Stellarlune debacle. I'm sorry. It's great that you're trying to build suspense, Shannon, but at this point it's blatantly clear that you have absolutely no clue what on earth Stellarlune even is! That being said, I think we're finally starting to get somewhere with the characters. Honestly, instead of growing, the characters have fallen a couple of notches lower than when they started. With the Novella, they're finally back to where they're supposed to be. We're starting to see hints of change in Sophie *breathes sigh of relief* which makes sense considering just how much she's been through... Then there's Ro. I LOVE Ro. And we get to see a whole side of her that she keeps buried and hidden. I absolutely LOVED it. It was really touching. Fitz is finally back to being the proper bro that he was at the beginning the series after his foray into a land with a bunch of random anger issues that made no sense. And Keefe wasn't himself... but let's cut the kid some slack. He's been through WAY too much!
That review went WAY longer than I was intending... apologies! I would recommend this book to KOTLC fans, but be warned...it's not everything you're hoping for.Well...
I was both unimpressed and impressed. At the same time. It's disgusting.
I'll stop being dramatic now. The beginning information section was what got me kinda mad. It's literally just a repeat of everything we already know. I enjoyed some…
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added May 29, 2021
Comment:
Okay so I have super mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the writing and plot impressed me seeing as how this was Denmark's first novel. The character development was a masterpiece to behold and the ending made me satisfied and hungry at the same time. I love Grey. She's literally me. And then there's Blaise, who stole my heart from the very beginning. Seree is so courageous and Whit is amazing for doing what he does and Marina is just... Marina lol. So after that very long rant... I'm now wondering why I didn't give it five stars. The cons list is shorter. Honestly, the only things I didn't like were the genre and how confused I got. Of all the perfection of this book, I thought the author did a sad job of explaining the whole potion thing. Maybe I'm completely crazy, but I never once understood how the Chemist's system works. I obviously didn't like that. And steampunk isn't really my genre, so I lost interest multiple times. Even with those flaws, I would still recommend this book to pretty much anyone. Yes, it's weird and complicated, but I honestly found it rewarding in the end. And honestly, the last five chapters makes the entire book worth it.
Sooo... In other words, if you're having doubts about reading a book where a girl gets trapped in a cabinet full of live porcelain figures, your doubts doth be unfoundedOkay so I have super mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, the writing and plot impressed me seeing as how this was Denmark's first novel. The character development was a masterpiece to behold and the ending made me satisfied and hungry…
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No TalesPirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, DVD
DVD - 2017DVD, 2017
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added May 11, 2021
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added May 11, 2021
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added May 07, 2021
JudgeJudge, Downloadable Audiobook
by Larson, R. J.Downloadable Audiobook - 2012Downloadable Audiobook, 2012
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added May 07, 2021
How to Train your Dragon 2How to Train your Dragon 2, DVD
DVD - 2014DVD, 2014
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added Apr 27, 2021
Comment:
I loved this movie! Equal parts inspiring and heart-wrenching, I connected with the characters on a deep level and enjoyed the plot even more than I did that of the first movie. I enjoyed the villain and loved the mysteriousness of multiple scenes. I definitely recommend for family movie night!I loved this movie! Equal parts inspiring and heart-wrenching, I connected with the characters on a deep level and enjoyed the plot even more than I did that of the first movie. I enjoyed the villain and loved the mysteriousness of multiple scenes.…
Hiding in the LightHiding in the Light, BookWhy I Risked Everything to Leave Islam and Follow Jesus
by Bary, RifqaBook - 2015Book, 2015
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added Apr 26, 2021
Comment:
I love this book! It was so inspiring to read Rifqa's story and all she went through. Her faith is beautiful and I strive to be like her. She told her story in riveting detail, and my heart ached for her when I read of her time as a Muslim, hiding her faith. It was amazing to see how God came through for her time and again, and I just loved seeing her personality come through! Highly recommended!I love this book! It was so inspiring to read Rifqa's story and all she went through. Her faith is beautiful and I strive to be like her. She told her story in riveting detail, and my heart ached for her when I read of her time as a Muslim, hiding…
Pirates of the Caribbean, on Stranger TidesPirates of the Caribbean, on Stranger Tides, DVD
DVD - 2011DVD, 2011
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added Apr 26, 2021
Comment:
Ugh... why did they leave Will and Elizabeth out??? Other than the painful lack of my two of my favorite characters, this movie was pretty good. I died laughing for a straight 20 minutes at the beginning, but after that the story kinda just flopped. I dunno... not very impressed... although I did like it better than the third movie. Fingers crossed that the fifth one is better!Ugh... why did they leave Will and Elizabeth out??? Other than the painful lack of my two of my favorite characters, this movie was pretty good. I died laughing for a straight 20 minutes at the beginning, but after that the story kinda just flopped.…
Pirates of the CaribbeanPirates of the Caribbean, DVDAt World's End
DVD - 2011DVD, 2011
Denali_Christianson's rating:
Added Apr 25, 2021
Comment:
The first third of this movie was just plain weird, the second third was really good, and the last third was a mixture of wonderful and utterly horrible. The cinematography was wonderful as always, as was Hans Zimmer's amazing score, but I can't say I was very impressed with the storytelling. It started out very interesting, and it was fascinating watching all of our friends from the first two movies trying to figure out how to navigate World's End. However, there were lots of red herrings with Davy Jones and later Calypso, which I didn't appreciate because the felt like loose ends that a better story would have tied off. I also don't understand how the end of the movie squares with what we saw in the second movie. Why couldn't Elizabeth go you know where? I will never understand. To sum that long rant up, this movie was a perfect storm of satisfying and disappointing mixed together. The results for me remain inconclusive and wait for me to watch it again. And probably cry at the end again. That's all.The first third of this movie was just plain weird, the second third was really good, and the last third was a mixture of wonderful and utterly horrible. The cinematography was wonderful as always, as was Hans Zimmer's amazing score, but I can't say…
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