Hij wil eindelijk iets voorstellen. Eindelijk even aan het leven ontsnappen dat hij niet wil leiden. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge...but have not love, I am nothing." 1 Cor. 13:2 Tijden veranderen. Attractieparken ook. Dus ik ben héél benieuwd wat Escape mij brengen zal. *Muahahahahaaa* (een gemene lach) While the case ramps up, Harney cannot help but find distraction in his personal life, which could prove detrimental, but also somewhat necessary. Harney’s past collides with the present as he does battle with himself and the killer in tandem. Even when things appear to be clear-cut, there’s a twist and the story reaches a tense climax, with Harney in the middle. Patterson and Ellis offer up a decent piece of writing here, sure to find a number of readers eager to explore Billy Harney a little more. Alexander's descriptions of scenes were so detailed that I felt like I was actually experiencing what Cody and his friends were going through. What would be even more intriguing would be to see the perspectives of the other kids involved in the storyline, especially during the competition.

This book is so much better than The Sound of Gravel, that I read earlier in 2016. It gives a true glimpse into the core of polygamy, into the crazy world of (insane) prophets. Into a world of complete obedience, where control is being achieved in unimaginable ways. Control preventing the minimum necessity, spreading hate and quarrel between the women, spreading fear and using threats that become terrible reality. Creating helplessness and frustration, isolation and loneliness as a strategy. Many small things could be considered as committing a sin unto death, the day-to-day basics are neglected and used to punish and control.

Here are 10 of my favourite great escapes, because sometimes Steve McQueen’s motorcycle does make it over the barbed wire fence.

In the wake of the recent raid that removed hundreds of children from an FLDS ranch in Texas (a sister community to Jessop's that is reportedly now run by her ex-husband) I heard a lot of talk about freedom of religion. Those who think the State of Texas acted too overzealously would do well to read this book. If there is anything that Jessop's account makes abundantly clear, it's that women who have had obedience beaten into them since they were children are anything but free. The question of how much the government should intervene in groups like these is, to say the least, a thorny one, particularly when most victims are too terrified to go against everything they have been taught to testify against their abusers. Jessop's disturbing recitation of how things got even worse after Warren Jeffs rose to power is also chilling reminder of how easily blind obedience to irrational doctrines can be horrifically abused by ambitious, power-hungry men like Jeffs. Jessop also does a great job making it crystal clear how a grown woman could put up with all this. She shows with example after example how children are indoctrinated into believing this is all normal, then with chilling detail, shows how impossible it is for a woman to leave FLDS. That she had a sense of self, and a sense that this was all terribly wrong, is only a small indication of what a strong woman she is. What one puts faith in matters. Carolyn Jessop's story debunks the popular, 60s era thought that "It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere." Ayaan Hirsi Ali takes it farther in Infidel and Nomad, her memoirs of leaving fundamentalist Islam, when she asserts that some religions and cultures--for her those that promote or permit the abuse of women and children--are inferior to others. It's all anyone talks about, and it's all Cody dreams about. It's the biggest adventure park in the world, and it's more than mere rides and rollercoasters: At ESCAPE, you can do anything you want, be anyone you want, and there are no adults to tell you no. Second thing. Horrible, horrible, horrible writing. If the story wasn't so compelling by itself, I never would have kept reading. I don't think this ever got past a second editor review. Awkward sentences, bad grammar, rotten phrasing, boring and confusing voice. It was terrible. Terrible. Terrible!!!!

Cody's a nobody, but for some reason he receives an invitation and the opportunity of a lifetime. At first, it's the most fun he's ever had. But after a few days, everything in the park starts to go haywire. One at a time, rides malfunction. Simulations turn deadly. His fantasy world glitches, and the games become races for survival. A voice comes over the intercoms, then-ESCAPE was never a theme park for the rich and famous. It was a place for punishment. They have less than a week to escape from the park before it floods. Only five kids will be allowed to leave. I was quite a few years into writing my novel Patience before I realised it was – among other things – a kind of prison-break story. The prison is a Catholic children’s home in 1979, and the prisoner is a boy called Elliott who can move only one finger, but the basic obsessive situation of confinement/escape is the same. Elliott yearns to be free. Ellis, who served as legal counsel to the Illinois legislature, garnered public attention for leading the impeachment proceedings against former Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich. In 2014, he was sworn in as the youngest-serving Justice of the Illinois Appellate Court, where he now spends his days writing judicial opinions. While not engaged in that staid and formal work, Ellis writes legal thrillers. His experience and solid writing ability are present in his solo novels, which make for enjoyable reading. I admire Ms. Jessop's courage, tenacity and survivor spirit. No one in love with being a victim could ever have the spark of hope of leaving that nightmare on earth, much less made a concrete plan under the circumstances with which she had to work. Escape is an interesting case because it butts up against two conflicting mindsets that I have: that I should be free to judge a book as much as I want to as seriously as I feel vs my expectations should be tempered because this is a book for children. An author should be allowed to write whatever they want - within reason, of course, if it’s offensive or factually incorrect all bets are off - however, there are objective standards I feel a book should be able to meet. There’s also the fact that sometimes regardless of the author feeling like their way is the best way the story could be told I disagree. On top of that there’s also also the fact that depending on the demographic for the book, say 6 to 8 compared to 9 to 12, I might be wanting too much; personal preference makes things extremely dicey when I’m trying to judge under these circumstances.

Het verhaal is geschreven vanuit Cody, en zijn emoties en gevoelens komen duidelijk over. Een tiener die geen goed zelfbeeld heeft, ruziënde ouders thuis en zichzelf afvraagt waar hij thuis hoort in de wereld. Joehoe, daar is weer een nieuw verhaal van de Horrorland reeks verschenen en dit keer speelt het verhaal zich af in een vreemd, mysterieus attractiepark! Escape‘ is alweer het achtste boek in de Horrorland serie van uitgeverij Kluitman, en ik als volwassene, ben enorm fan. However, unlike Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Escape does not do anything to make the theme park feel fantastical or like this huge, bustling place a person would be desperate to visit. All of the locations are pretty generic: Ancient Egypt, Intergalactic Adventure, King Arthur’s Kingdom, Deep Sea Domain, and Prehistoric Paradise. I chalk some of this up to the writing. It’s very rote and functional. It was effective in communicating the story, but did not have any substance.

Cody kan niet geloven dat hij heeft gewonnen en stiekem gaat hij naar het pretpark. Al gauw merk je dat er dingen niet kloppen, maar hee... alles klinkt geweldig! Het zal dus vast wel meevallen. Tony Campolo theorizes in The Power Delusion that in personal and corporate relationships, those that love least have the most power. His point is that Christians are called to love, but instead often erroneously seek power while jettisoning love. Good lighting is crucial for certain observation-based puzzles. That recommendation of a magnifying glass might come in handy too, especially if you have trouble seeing small details. I'm glad I reached out to lonely Veronica in my College days at Dixie and realized she was likely going through something similar to Carolyn. I wondered if Veronica was the third or fourth wife to some old guy or was she sent to college because she was plain and would likely never marry. Gelukkig heeft K.R. Alexander gezorgd voor een realistische ontwikkeling wat Cody betreft, door de lezer te laten zien welke gevolgen bepaalde keuzes hebben. En wat het met anderen doet als je je anders voor doet dan je bent. Hiermee geeft hij de jeugdige lezers ook een duidelijke boodschap mee.