#5 diamonds

[shezanenigma]

Book Review: The Sleepover

By, Keri Beevis

💎💎💎💎💎

The Sleepover

By, Keri Beevis

💎💎💎💎💎

5 Diamond Read

Keri Beevis' novel "The Sleepover" is a gripping psychological thriller that intertwines suspense, emotion, and the complexities of human relationships. This book captures readers' attention from the first moment and keeps them hooked until the very end, delivering an experience that is as unsettling as it is compelling.

The story is told through several viewpoints, but the main character is Hannah, who is an authentic and compelling person. We understand her thought process and her fierce protective instinct towards her friend Rosie. Hannah, Rosie, and their three other friends suffer a great loss and terrible trauma as children, and now, the past is coming back to haunt them. 

Beevis does a fantastic job of diving into the main characters, allowing us to really get to know and understand them, each with their own secrets and motivations, which adds layers of complexity to the story. Hannah, as the central figure, is particularly well-drawn, her vulnerability and determination making her a relatable and compelling protagonist. Beevis excels at creating a tense and eerie atmosphere, skillfully building suspense through her detailed descriptions and well-paced plot as well as her ability to craft unexpected twists and turns. Just when the reader feels they have a handle on the story, a new revelation is introduced that shifts the narrative in an unexpected direction. This keeps the reader engaged and constantly guessing, ensuring that the novel is difficult to walk away from.

I listened to the audio narration for this book and have to give a 5 Diamond shout out to Imogene Church. Her style brought the story to life, making it even more engaging and immersive. The way she breathes life into the words - I couldn’t stop listening to it. 

Overall, "The Sleepover" is a standout thriller that I wholeheartedly recommend. The combination of a great storyline, immersive narration, and palpable tension makes it a thrilling experience from start to finish. 100% recommended!

[kelenia]

Legacy

[cyancees]

yet another josuyasu comic THEY'RE SO FUNNY TO ME OK

[laynore-x]

jjba random images pt 1

[eyefoes]

dadtaro + uncle polnareff brainrot bc i can't stop thinking about them

[chosisbox]

Sun god personnification and his small wooden boat.Png

[beanyysoup]

My specialty is loving jobros with white/grey hair

[jackas6s]

my boys are fly as hell

[nothingbizzare]

Color pallete requests on twitter based on this

[bal0neysandwich]

ALL MY FELLAS ‼️‼️

[shezanenigma]

Born a Crime

By, Trevor Noah

5 Diamond book 💎 💎💎💎💎

Trevor Noah’s autobiography “Born a Crime” - this book has knocked Greenlights from my top position. Listening to Born a Crime was enlightening for me. He is four years older then my oldest daughter. So as he tells his story I compare the timeline to my daughter growing up. First. I don’t know much about South Africa. I had drawn an invisible line in my mind between Africa and South Africa. I have always envisioned South Africa as more developed then Africa in general. I did not know that the Zulu lived there, I didn’t realize any tribes were there- I thought they only lived in ‘Africa’ and not ‘South Africa’ - I also never thought about all ethnic groups. South Africa made every grouping register and carry a card with their ethnic grouping. They didnt just divide the blacks and whites. They also have ‘colored’ as a grouping. Which were South Africans with lighter skin then black and darker skin then whites. Also People from India, Japan and China. People from Japan were classified white, people from China were classified black, people from India could be black, white or colored. And your classification at birth could change later in life. Two white people could have a child that could be classified as colored because they were a little extra tan and one of the parents, usually the mom would have to move to the colored area to raise the child while the dad stayed white and worked to give them money never to see either of them again. Trevor Noah’s mom had to pretend she was not his mom at times and his dad had to pretend he was not his dad because she was black and he was white and Trevor was lighter than her and darker than him. He was given advantages when he was little while visiting his grandma and her area because he was ‘white’ - apparently, he explains that most black people never mixed with whites so they didn’t know what a white person or a colored person looked like. So to them he was white. And they called him white. He grew up identifying as black. He was labeled colored. Trevor learned several tribal languages and Afrikaans, and could talk with many different people. Which helped him greatly growing up. He said the government really divided people by the color of their skin and thickness of their hair. (You could look white as a dove, but if they put a comb in your hair and it didnt go through easily you were labeled colored or black even if you were white skinned.) but they then divided you by language. And you were not allowed to learn other languages in school. So the language divide was another barrier to segregate the people. People who dont speak the same language and cannot communicate cannot plan an uprising. After apartheid there are 11 official languages in South Africa.  When Trevor was a child there was one outhouse for six houses to use. Families had one or two room houses that the families slept on one floor mattress together. There was no running water in these houses. Food was rationed. Snacks were not a thing. And as I said he is only four years older then my oldest daughter. The truth and rawness of his book made me really ‘see’ life outside of the rose colored United States glasses.  He talks candidly about the physical, mental and emotional abuse that he and his mother suffered from his step father. The police who did nothing every time she tried to press charges reinforced the boys club to Trevor. The imagery of his words describing the pain he felt when he heard his mother had been shot in the head made me cry from the heart. 

This book really paints a realistic picture that I didn’t know existed in our time period in life. Trevor Noah uses humor, and sensitivity to tell his life experiences. He is an easy and amazing storyteller. I knew of apartheid when I was in jr high and high school. I knew a general idea of what it was. But this book gives a really good look at what it really was like and what it was like after for those living in South Africa. 

The wealth of education in this book and its rawness told with such easy flow makes this my favorite autobiography over all. This is a five Diamond book. I recommend that everyone read or listen to it.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hm..im kinda shy about asking this, because maybe it's just an english language thing that i don't get (it's not my first language lol) but ive always wondered what the difference between "prefect" and "housewarden" was,, like, wouldn't the mc/yuu technically also be a housewarden, since they're the only one running ramshackle? aaa sorry if it's a bit of a silly question lol, but i just don't understand the difference,,, thank you, and i love your work very much!! 🩷🩷

So to clarify, Yuu is called 監督生 (“kantoku-sei/kantoukusei”), which roughly translates into “prefect”. Dorm leaders (or housewardens, as they are called in EN) are called 寮長 (“ryōchō”), which refers to “dormitory managers/leaders/superintendents”. The two positions are treated very differently in-game (and generally, prefect is NOT the same as a dorm leader), but it may be different in real life depending on the institution you’re looking at for comparison.

As I've mentioned in this post, I see dorm leaders as NRC's version of RAs (resident advisors/assistants). They’re students who work with school administration to oversee and to conduct activities for their respective dorm buildings/residence halls […] Similarly, the dorm leaders in TWST have certain responsibilities but are also granted power within their own dorm as well as certain privileges which extend beyond that. Common duties of a RA (I'll list some examples from TWST) include, but are not limited to:

Organizing and overseeing student educational programs and dorm activities (Riddle helps his students study to avoid failing, including Cater in Riddle's Dorm Uniform vignettes; he states that not a single Heartslabyul student has dropped out since he has become dorm leader. Various activities are orchestrated by dorm leaders, such as unbirthday parties, renting out their dorm for events, throwing banquets, etc.)

Planning accommodations for students and conducting new student orientations (dorm leaders canonically assign rooms to their dorm members, the prologue shows the dorm leaders escorting newly sorted freshmen to their dorms and showing them around, etc.)

Cleaning up and conducting monthly facility inspections (under the instruction of the dorm leader, members help with setting up and cleaning after events)

Enforcing rules and regulations, reporting incidents and recommending or enacting disciplinary actions as needed, and resolving conflicts between students in the dorm (most obviously seen with Riddle collaring students in the main story, but we've also seen other instances like Leona and Idia dealing with unruly mob students from their own dorms, each in their respective Dorm Uniform vignettes)

Acting as a liaison or representative between the school and students, or between the school and the community (Vil and Riddle especially stress the importance of their dorm members keeping in line, as it reflects poorly on them as the leaders if their students do not behave)

As you can see, many of the duties of a RA are carried out by TWST's dorm leaders. It is these responsibilities that define what a "dorm leader" is. A prefect is described by the Oxford Dictionary as “a senior student authorized to enforce discipline”. The definition implies that a prefect has fewer responsibilities and power than a RA (ie a dorm leader). We see this lack of responsibilities and power reflected in Yuu (who, again, is often called "prefect" in characters' voiced lines place of their name). For example, Yuu is NOT present in dorm leader meetings and does not participate in planning committees for events such as the cultural festival of book 5 or the interdorm tournament of book 2.

It is likely that Yuu is not acknowledged in the same capacity as a dorm leader for various reasons:

Yuu is not a full student (Grim is their "other half) and lacks magical capabilities at a school that is known for training mages. They are also not from Twisted Wonderland. Therefore, they are not a good "representative" of NRC.

Ramshackle is no longer considered a dormitory since it has fallen into disrepair; even if it was still considered a dormitory, Yuu has no students to watch over since the Ramshackle Ghosts are not students and Grim only counts as half of a student.

Since Ramshackle is not a dorm anymore, it likely does not receive funding for dorm-wide activities, maintenance, etc. Yuu has very few resources to do anything.

Yuu does not command any real authority through their title alone (which largely has to do with their status as a non-mage + otherworldliness and the “illegitimate” nature of their dorm); even the main cast has to be shown their merits through actions before Yuu earns a modicum of their respect.

If we put it like that, Yuu's only formal prefect responsibilities are to basically to keep Grim out of trouble and do whatever odd jobs Crowley saddles them with. I guess you can also say that Yuu "enforces discipline" on the NRC students when they get out of hand, but this depends on your interpretation of what Yuu does in the main story. In my opinion, Yuu does very little to actually "enforce discipline" and often relies on other students to do the heavy lifting for them; Yuu is just the one initially sniffing out the root of the problems.

It should also be noted that while the formal definition of "prefect" refers to a "senior" student, Yuu is considered a first-year student along with Grim. Seniority does not play a role here. (Although please keep in mind that being a "first year" does not necessarily mean Yuu is 16 by default; there are exceptions to the age = grade thing.)

In summary, dorm leaders are presented in TWST as generally "higher up" on the food chain compared to a prefect. They have more powers and tasks to carry out; the prefect, by comparison, does not.

[w4rigari]

My babies !!! 🌟🌟🌟

[laynore-x]

This is what rohan finds on his home security cameras every weekend at 1:00 a.m.

(extra but outside koichi's house)

[dekuboya]

banished to the jojo family kiddie table

[m0ss-sauce]

late day 6 of jojotober- jobros!

i was gonna include ceasar and kakyoin in agony but i was too enamored with oku and mista being fucking stupid