S Reignite

‘No wonder you’re always so pleased with yourself‘-Harriet Wilson After Luce writes an essay that takes a disturbing turn, his adoptive parents and his teacher start to question who he really is. From the jump, Luce is the picture prefect student that you literally only see in movies, so I never trusted who he portrayed himself to be. But for everyone else his perfection is nothing to be questioned, because what’s better than an a child who you saved from a war torn country becoming the perfect son. But Ms Wilson’s revelation causes his mother to start to see him differently and wonder who her son truly is. Luce is so skilled at hiding who he is, that it’s difficult to trust anything he says and does. And that’s what makes him truly scary. Ms Wilson thinking that she, unlike everyone else, knows the real flawed Luce, still doesn’t stop her being fearful of him and his mind games. In return he invades her personal life and uses that against her, but Ms Wilson is no stranger to...

‘There are no two words in the English language more harmful than “good job”’- Fletcher Whiplash surges more intensity and suspense than you could think possible for a movie that at its core is just about jazz music. For Andrew Newman to prove that he deserves a place in his prestigious music school, he works tireless to prove his worth to acclaimed musician and conductor Fletcher who is hell bent on breaking him down. Immediately the power dynamic between Fletcher and Newman is made clear as he shouts musical styles at him before leaves in silence without giving Newman any feedback leaving the young drummer confused and drenched in his own sweat. There is always a tense atmosphere when Fletcher is in the room as he gives nothing away and lulls his students into a false sense of security before aggressively crushing their spirits. Not that he sees it that way. In Fletcher’s mind he inflicts necessary pain to push the musicians to their full potential. He implores outrageous tec...

‘She is in balance with the tempo and rhythm of the universe.’ -Rob Amanda Robson’s debut novel shows the consequences of asking questions that you don’t want the answer to. After wife and mother Carly asked her husband Rob what she thought was a harmless question about who he would sleep with, it puts their lives as well their best friends and married couple Craig and Jenni, in a constant battle to regain themselves. The book is promoted as one that Paula Hawkins fans would enjoy because it is a thriller that utilises viewpoint narration that Hawkins help popularise. However, it doesn’t compare to Hawkins’ thriller debut Girl on the Train . The first parts of the novel manage to build suspense and intrigue as the reader witnesses first-hand how Carly has let her husband’s response to a trivial question consume her and motivate her questionable decision making. But in the latter chapters, as the story starts to go in around in circles and relationships are constantly broken and m...

‘It was a depression so low and flat that I couldn't even envision suicide as a solution.’ Flynn The debut novel by Bobby Hall aka rapper Logic has its moments of ingenuity but those moments are overshadowed by over explanation and uninventive dialogue. From the opening chapter, it is obvious that Hall wants elements of his writing to shock and scare the reader, as expected from a psychological thriller, as he introduces a cliff hanger, but unfortunately this is the first of many unsuccessful attempts to intrigue the reader. This coupled with the over explanation of characters such as Ronda who works in the supermarket or action in the novel, impedes on the readers ability to engage and enjoy the story. Also, there were moments when Hall proudly broke the fourth wall. The first time I found it to be whimsical writing style but as it appeared more often it became another element that impeded on the action of the novel, causing me to lose more interest in the story th...

‘How much will you indulge in your flaws?’-Dr Wick Girl, Interrupted (1999) inspired loosely by the memoirs of Susanna Kaysen is a psychological thriller that follows Susanna (Winona Ryder) throughout her stay at a Claymore psychiatric hospital, after an attempt at suicide, although she strongly denies that is what it was. Upon initial arrival to Claymore Susanna maintains that she is not crazy and will be leaving soon but Dr Melvin Potts (Jeffrey Tambor) who works in the hospital suggests that she has borderline personality disorder. While trying to navigate this she begins to become friends with patients in the hospital, most notably Lisa (Angelina Jolie), the longest resident of the clinic who is considered a sociopath. Susanna becomes attached to Lisa and begins to follow what Lisa does such as not taking her medication, sneaking out of her room at night and at one point even running away with , to the new Disneyland Florida. On their way to Florida they stop by the ne...