Gifted!

Advantages: Just brilliant in every way
Disadvantages: None

...a joy to read from start to finish, and really had me sitting and thinking as I turned the final few pages. It is really a moral story, with a bit of magic thrown in to cheer it up, but come the ending everything comes together in a quite shocking ending which really made me sit up and reread what I had just read! Ahern seems to have the ability to create a magical world on paper which you can visualise yourself so deeply that you are thrown so deeply into the story, you want to keep reading right until the end all in one go! The shiny snowflake cover allows this book to be a great Christmas gift as well as a book that is going to be great to bring out for Christmas again and again. I borrowed by copy from the library but will getting myself a copy as soon as its out in paperback. Highly recommended, I absolutely loved it - this is one book...

mummy2harry 15.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of The Gift - Cecelia Ahern

A great gift of a book

Advantages: An adventure from start to finish.
Disadvantages: Lots of description and detail.

...THE GIFT *************** The Gift is the first book in Alison Croggon's Pellinor series, which begins with The Gift and ends with The Singing. This tetralogy (or quartet, as Croggon herself refers to the books), is aimed at young adults, and is a very descriptive account of the adventures of a young girl called Maerad. The story takes place in the world of Edil-Amarandh, and the books are based on ?The Riddle of the Treesong?, or ?Naraudh Lar-Chanë? in Annaren, the language spoken in Annar, which is a region in Edil-Amarandh. THE AUTHOR ************** Alison Croggon was born in the Transvaal in South Africa, and her parents moved to England before settling down in Australia when Alison was seven years old. Alison was a poet and playwright before she became a fantasy author, publishing The Gift in 2003. On her website (see below) you...

Nienke 26.10.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Gift - Alison Croggon

Looking a Gift Horse...

Advantages: Good acting by Mr Reeves and Cate Blanchet
Disadvantages: Story line a bit flat

...I often wondered if I was missing something after seeing this film and having read all the reviews and heard all the exclamations of wonder that seemed to be directed at this 2002 film. It was okay, I suppose, but I felt it had been done many times before and that I was wise to everything that was going to happen. Directed by Sam Raimi, of Spiderman and Evil Dead fame, The Gift tell the story of a woman with ESP who is requested to search for a young lady who has gone missing. Annie (the lady in question), who is played well by the lovely Cate Blanchett, is one of these village fortune-tellers, loved by many and hated by others. One of these people who hate her is the wife-beating Donnie Barksdale (Keanu Reaves). Mother of three, and a widow, Annie is menaced by Reaves. During her investigation and her consequent 'visions...

Borg 02.10.2001 (25.11.2007) · Read review
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Review of Gift, The

The Best Gift From Cecelia Ahern So Far!!

Advantages: Brill book
Disadvantages: it ended

...The Gift by Cecelia AHurn??. The Gift is the latest novel from Cecelia Ahurn and I do believe one of her best. I have read all of Ahurns works to date but felt that P.S I Love You, her first novel, was always the best. However since reading this latest edition to her collection have quickly changed my mind. The book is on sale now for around the £7 region in Woolworths or Tesco and it looks just like a little Christmas present as it comes with a detachable red ribbon and the front and back covers of the book are printed just like silver Christmas wrapping paper. Just looking at the book makes you want to buy it!!! The story is of a hardworking businessman called Lou and his everyday struggle to get to one meeting in time for the next. He was such a hard worker and wanted people to see him as someone fit for promotion! He...

newby2 18.11.2008 · Read review
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Review of The Gift - Cecelia Ahern

Sam Raimi's The Gift

Advantages: see review
Disadvantages: see review

...If you have seen Sam Raimi's Evil Dead series of movies then you might be expecting something a little different than what The Gift has to offer you. This shows a more mature Raimi, showing that he can indeed cut it in the world of 'serious' film-making, as opposed to hilarious schlock horror. The Gift however benefits from his directorial talents but unfortunately even he can not pull it up from being a simple painting by numbers thriller. The wonderful Cate Blanchett plays Annie, a psychic in a small southern town. Her husband died a few years previously and the only money she has to survive on is the small amount she gets from his life insurance and the money she gets from offering psychic readings to the townsfolk. Amongst her clientel is Valerie Barksdale(Hilary swank), wife of abusive husband Donnie(Keanu Reeves) who frequently...

wampyrii 06.10.2001 · Read review
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Review of Gift, The

not the perfect gift

Advantages: good acting by well-known stars
Disadvantages: poor plot line that drags on a little too long

.... Although she does not have a huge part, she does bare more of her flesh than usual. There are no real twists in the film, and the ending is pretty predictable. Overall, my opinon of the film is that it is not right cracking. With all the acting ability available, it does not make the most of it. The film is boring in more parts than one and drags on alot, with little excitment. If you like exciting and tense thrillers - you should give 'The Gift' a miss. Some could call it a psychological thriller, not sure if I would agree or notIt is neither tense or exciting. The film overall is a real miss and I believe it does not live up to my expectations. Thanks for reading my op and all comments and reviews are welcome. Thanks. Rob :)...

RobStead 06.11.2002 · Read review
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Review of Gift, The

The Gift - A Gift to Watch

Advantages: acting
Disadvantages: plot is a bit 'seen before'

...- who plays Joey in Dawson's Creek) who seems to be the local…(how do I put this politely?!) ‘sexpot’ (as I read in one review) who seems to not be too serious about the prospect of marriage to the principle. The story does not follow Jessica though, it mainly follows Annie Wilson, (Cate Blanchett) a widowed mother of three young boys. Annie has this psychic gift (hence the title of the film surprisingly) which she uses to tell peoples’ fortunes. It is mainly the troubled locals that go round to her house to see Annie play with some cards, lay them out on a table and tell the future. What she sees are purely for other peoples benefit, and so she only accepts donations from them, rather than a payment. Annie’s best friend seems to be Valerie Barksdale (Oscar-winner Hilary Swank), who is repeatedly hit by...

danradders 14.04.2001 · Read review
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Review of Gift, The

A gift for baby

Advantages: cute
Disadvantages: fragile

...which will encourage baby to eat. This set would be ideal as a birth gift particularly if the [parents like Winnie the Pooh...

mumsymary 07.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of Royal Doulton Winnie the Pooh Baby 2 Piece Gift Collection

THE GIFT by ALISON CROGGON 2002

Advantages: Compelling, Exciting, Rich Storyline, Interesting Characters
Disadvantages: And so the journey just keeps going on....

..."The Gift" is the first book of Pellinor Series by Alison Croggon, an award-winning Australian Poet. I borrowed this from my friend who claims that if I liked Phillip Pullman's "His Dark Material", then I would like this one. When I first received it, I immediately hope it wasn't a heavy and long-winded book as "Lord of the Rings (LOTR)", as I gave up on that one after a few chapters. As I flicked through it, I began to dread it. It contains illustrations of hand-drawn maps (LOTR comes to mind), notes to explain how words are pronounce (LOTR again). At the back of the book, it consists of several pages of a brief history of Edil-Amarandh, where the story is set. Credit to the author for making such effort. She has thought about every single detail and has created an exhilarating fantasy world. Since I have borrowed it, and need...

Moogiekupo 13.01.2006 · Read review
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Review of The Gift - Alison Croggon

Beware The Gift

Advantages: Excellent performances by cast
Disadvantages: Unoriginal script, bad ending

...I had high hopes for "The Gift". Co-written by Billy Bob Thorton, directed by Sam Raimi and an interesting cast (Cate Blanchett, Hilary Swank, Giovanni Ribisi and Keanu Reeves). Supernatural thrillers have to be very good to interest me but I thought this would be good. Cate Blanchett plays Annie Wilson, a widowed mother of three who provides for her children by reading the fortunes of the other town folks. Her clients include Buddy (Giovanni Ribisi) a very disturbed local mechanic and Valerie (Hilary Swank) who is suffering serious physical abuse from her husband. She finds herself attracted to her children's headmaster, Wayne Collins (Greg Kinnear) who is engaged to Jessica King (Katie Holmes), a little rich girl who is not being faithful to her intended. Very quickly things start to go wrong for Annie when Valerie's husband...

Ork1927 05.03.2001 · Read review
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Review of Gift, The