Jake HalpernCritiques

3.5 stars

This book actually scared me a little bit. Good job, cause that doesn't happen often in books. I really liked the atmospheric setting and the creepiness, but I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. I was expecting a more tragic ending, so I'm not sure if I'm happy that it wasn't or just disappointed, kind of a little of both. A lot of it was predictable but I don't think that detracted from the creepy vibes it gives. One thing that annoyed me was the characters actions and decisions. They made some of the most stupid and ridiculous decisions, and I really just wanted to smack them several times. But overall this was an entertaining read.

7/10

This is a graphic novel based on the true story of a refugee family from Syria, who arrive in the US the very day Trump is elected. The book developed out of a series of reporting by a journalist. The story illustrates the family’s entry in the US, the challenges of immigrating as Muslims with very little English, and the agony of leaving some family back in the Middle East, as well as the systems in place to help such families get settled. It also flashes back to the situation in Syria, the terror imposed on its people by the Assad regime, and describes the reasons the family must leave Syria. It is an enlightening story, presented with accessible illustrations.

1.5 Stars

This graphic novel takes a hard look at the struggles of a family of Syrian refugees who arrive in the US on the day of the 2016 Presidential election. The author showcases both teen and parent struggle of trying to fit in, the desire of achieving the American Dream, the worry of how long they will receive help from their sponsors, and the realization that they do not fit in, no matter how hard they try. The drawings are kept to a minimum, with only black and white used, so they don't take away from the story. The only issue I had was that the story ended abruptly, no indication of what happened to the family. It may be that the author chose to do so in order to leave the reader wondering and of the hope that, due to the fact that this was based on a real-life story, the reader my choose to seek out the answers for themselves.

for story lovers

Won this book as an ARC through Goodreads.

Started this book and couldn't put it down! A unique and interesting premise that kept me engaged enough to finish in one sitting.

I do feel like there could have been more character and scene buildup. Hopefully the next books do a good job of fleshing out some of the back story and emotional connections that are hinted at but so far lacking.

Excited to finish the series as soon as it's available.

It's...fine. I would have preferred it to be scarier, or more focused on the main character's survival, but I understand that it's middle grade and is what it is. I wish there had been more world building and a little but more of a conclusion.

On the very day Donald Trump is elected U.S. President, Muslim refugees from the Syrian civil war make their way from Jordan to Connecticut, hoping for a new and better life free from want and danger but coping when reality offers them more of a muddle. Their story is told by a journalist with the New York Times and originally appeared as a serialized comic strip in the paper, winning the Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning.

The story does a good job of capturing the vertigo of leaving behind the people and place you love for one that seems almost alien, the stress that puts upon you, and the relief that comes when caring people reach out to help you.

Quick read. The audiobook was a decent background while doing other tasks. It's best not to think too deeply about this one. It's an interesting premise, but the story falls apart under any scrutiny.

A prime example of why shelf browsing is so much fun. I spotted this on a library shelf yesterday, sat and read the first chapter and i was hooked. The remainder of the story was just as good. If you're looking for an unusual and intriguing fantasy story, this will do the trick.

Kept me going until the end, which is something. Lots of interesting ideas, especially the setting and the beginning of the book. The ending felt a little unsatisfying.½

3 1/2, closer a four than a three

Man. I've owned this book forever but could never seem to get into it and actually sit down and read it. The topic of celebrity worship fascinates me - the importance that we put on 'famous' people interests me, but I never could seem to dedicate the right amount of time to the book. Yesterday, I began the frightening process of reorganizing my books - now seemed the time to read it.

The book, of course, was surprisingly readable.

While some of the information in the book comes off as dated (and that shouldn't be surprising, the book is probably more than five years old now) the premises that it lays down still ring true. We still attribute a frightening amount of time and effort towards following celebrities and analyzing their every movement. Celebrities, maybe now more than ever, dominate our conversations in ways that our personal lives don't. Why is this?

Halpern sets forth a variety of reasons to explain why these things are true for most people. The book is peppered with interviews and studies, personal analysis and experiences. In the end, the decision that is come to is that it's all glorified escapism - we look to fame as a way to validate ourselves. The answer, while it may appear obvious, still has quite the grain of truth to it.

So, all in all, a fascinating read.

A harrowing journey from the edge of life into the next, like no one can imagine!

I read this book out loud to my 10 year old son. This was a creative and engaging adventure fantasy. The style that it was written in made it incredibly easy to read out loud; I didn't find myself stumbling over strange speech patterns or awkward dialogue.

The story is based on the creative premise of a society that performs exceptional activities while they sleep; for them wakefulness is a state of laziness. It was interesting and full of a ton of adventure and excellent action scenes.

There are quite a few plot holes and inconsistencies throughout the story. However, those didn’t bother my son. So this is probably one of those reads that kids will really love but adults will only feel so-so about.

The story is a bit drawn out and at times it felt like there was too much detail. However, the whole family enjoyed this and my son would like to continue with the series.

Overall this was a fun middle grade adventure read. My whole family ended up enjoying it. There are some plot holes and inconsistencies throughout the story but these didn’t bother my son. Only other complaint would be that at points the story gets a bit long because there is too much detail. Generally this was a good read and I might continue on with the series if my son wants to.

All of the reviews saying the first half of the book was great and the second fell flat were right. The beginning was interesting and frightening and a lot of fun to read. But when everything started to be revealed it was just...what happened? I mean, what the hell is all of this? I was really looking forward to the truth of what was on the island and why everyone had to leave. Unfortunately the answer was basic and uninteresting.

Unfortunately, this one just couldn't hold my interest enough to keep me reading. I think it had potential but the writing felt so young with the main characters only being 14 years old.

Well-written. Okay read.

I would like to start this review by stating that I knew the big reveal before I picked up the book, as I was perusing through Amazon to see what anybody else had said about it and it was spoiled. Yet the fact that I knew what it was made me even more eager to read it, as I wanted to see how it came to this, and how it affected the story. Unfortunately, none of it lived up to my expectation. The premise didn't live up to his brilliant potential, it reminded me of maybe a book form of a very popular horror movie, only it ran out of steam early on. By the half way point, I had lost interest and didn't really care if the characters lived or died. I just wanted the back and forth to finally end, and an actual scary scene to happen. I understand they are children, they can't really fight back but no kind of hint was really made about these -scary- things other than the very beginning, and considering the story went on to say that there were many different -kinds- of ones, but only a few were ever given any kind of description and even then it was very vague. I just could not picture them in my head.

The other disappointing feature of this book was how it was written. A chapter would start with what would appear to be in a certain character's point of view, but then suddenly turn to 3rd Person for a few paragraphs and then go back to the first or drift off to another. It made it extremely difficult to care because I didn't feel like I was getting an actual insight into the characters, and it turned into a case of telling the reader exactly what the story needed the character to think, rather than letting it flow naturally.

And finally the third and final point against this book was that the ending just fell flat. It was undoubtedly in the hope that it would be open-ended, left to the reader's imagination but a sudden further change of a character, which made very little sense because there was a reason why he had become different in the first place, but then suddenly it didn't matter anymore. When he ended up at their final destination, which had a different sense of night and day, wouldn't it be noticed by everyone else how he was -unusual-?

Maybe the authors have a sequel in the works, though I don't think they could really make it interesting enough to build up their readership, and this is why the ending was so abrupt. I feel that if they had continued on, or at least had a shake-up of the characters and actually made -more- happen in the actual story, they might have managed to pull it off. Unfortunately, they didn't and this book feels as though it needs to be rewritten with the original premise, and expanded so that it goes further into the backstory, actually answers quite a few of the mini-plots running alongside the main one, and has some foreshadowing, especially in the case of one of the characters. Yes, there is a bit, but considering that the parents are just barely skirting along the edges and don't ever interact with anyone they are friendly with, it just makes it feel as though there is no understanding of why they are together, and how the family is perceived by the rest of the town.

It feels more like the novel of a movie, though if it was a movie it might have been successful. It's not something I would recommend to anyone else, and I will probably not pick up anything else the authors have written.

NIGHTFALL BY JAKE HALPERN kept me reading well into the night. This, I know is a YA book but even as a way older adult I couldnt put it down. Just when you think you have a handle on whats going to happen ne FRFW3700LW0xt the book takes a complete 360 degree turn and knocks you for a loop! It does drag a bit in the middle but picks right back up with another whammy of a twist!

I really was happy to see an new plot out there. Just think, fourteen years of sun then the sun starts setting, the people start packing & they get off the island before total darkness comes for fourteen years. Its not just the idea of the timeline but what happens when the darkness does come. For Marin, Line and Kana its a heart pounding race against not only the darkness , but whatever is out there in the night that is chasing th

The Night Fell & So Did The Ending... Yep, the ending sucked! It started out great, with the islanders preparing to leave and the tension building. Then something happened, I won't say what because I don't want to give the story away but basically it turns into a survival story for some of the residents. That was all good, I was still enjoying the story up to that point except I think they could have done a lot more with what they had though. They had the perfect makings for a great story -28 years of night, the isolated island and the night curse etc. but it just wasn't used to its full potential I don't think.Then we come to the end and it just fell flat on its face! I seriously got the feeling that the authors had a deadline coming up so they just threw together what should have been a good lengthy ending into like five pages. It was so blatantly rushed compared to the rest of the story that I can't honestly believe that it was suppose to be that way. It was unbelievable. I'm sure I'll probably still read the next one though because I'm always curious to see what happens next.

I found this deep-dive into the debt collection industry quite fascinating. But I must make two disclosures. I was a business reporter at a daily newspaper for several years, so I tend to eat up this kind of "stuff." Also, I'm a long-time resident of Buffalo, NY. "Bad Paper" is based in Western New York. I have a familiarity with some of the characters and venues that make up the narrative arc. Having said that, I'm convinced that anyone who has an interest in personal finance, credit-related issues, etc. would find this an entertaining and enlightening read. Halpern skillfully integrates insights into the debt collection industry with vivid character sketches of the key players. True, it does feel by the last quarter of the book that perhaps the tale could have been told with a bit more brevity. But for anyone who is interested debt collection, reading "Bad Paper" would be time well-spent.

I love books that have new ideas and concepts and this one hooked me from the first chapter! Imagine an island that is so placed on a slowly rotating planet that it has sunlight for 14 years gradually waning until there are 14 years of darkness and ice. Every 14 years Marin and Kana's family must leave the island and travel to the desert lands of the Equator to wait for 14 years until the sun comes back to their homeland. The twins are both 14 so they have never experienced a Leaving before and are baffled by the people of the island's insistence that plates are laid on tables and doors left open and everything left in readiness. For what? Is it superstition to ensure good passage to the equator, or is there something hibernating beneath the surface, ready to reclaim what is theirs?
Kana and Marin are destined not to know until their friend Line goes missing just as the boats are starting to leave. They go looking for him and rescue him from a hole, returning to discover that they have been left behind and it is getting colder and darker.
Awesome premise in Kana being blind but then starting to "see" as it gets darker and his metamorphosis int0 something powerful after he has spent his whole life weak in the sunlight. Also the whispers from the female creature, the cave, the paintings and the boat as well as the developing relationship between Line and Marin are great.
Loved the creepy nature of the book and the atmosphere it creates. Excellent stuff.½