Alice Greenfingers 2 Lazy Uncle Berry, the bad seed of the Greenfinger family, needs Alice's help to get things growing on his decayed farm. Grab a shovel and dig in to make Berry's farm blossom. Grow crops, raise animals, and sell your wares at the market. ![]() Use the cash and farm upgrades you earn to expand your agricultural empire. Win trophies and badges for your achievements. The full version of Alice Greenfingers 2 features: • 13 crops to grow • 7 badges and 11 trophies to win • 48 items to purchase Cultivate a bumper crop of fun when you play this super sequel today! Keep the fun growing when you play the original. Free Online Games and More Shockwave is the ultimate destination to play games. ![]() Try our free,,, and multiplayer games. Shockwave has for everyone! Shockwave has games in great categories like,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and. Shockwave adds games frequently so there are always new games available. Shockwave is the premier destination for and premium download games. Gamers looking to have some serious fun can subscribe to. As a member, you'll enjoy unlimited play on hundreds of download games, ads-free gaming, and brand new titles each week — as many as 20 new games per month! Looking for more? Shockwave has a large selection of fun online and download dress up games. Part of the Addicting Games network. Build a blooming garden! Download and play for free! • • • • • • • •. Are you up for a green-fingered challenge? Then you should play the wonderful Alice Greenfingers games! In these intriguing farm games, you step into the gardening business and build and decorate your own garden of beautiful flowers, cute animals and healthy vegetables. Follow the market trends, learn to know your customers and sell ripe crops down at the busy town market to win Awards. Farm through the challenging Alice Greenfingers games In Alice Greenfingers 2 you help bring Uncle Barry's old farm back to life. Plant and grow a wide variety of colourful crops and enrich his land with farm animals to win batches and trophies. Make sure not to forget to feed your animals and to water your crops in time! ![]() ![]() You can choose to play this exciting time management series at your own pace. So what are you still waiting for? Try the Alice Greenfingers games and let your creativity loose by designing your very own garden!
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Lyrics: I'm dying to catch my breath Oh why don't i ever learn I've lost all my trust though i've surely tried to Turn it around Can you still see the heart of me? All my agony fades away When you hold me in your embrace Don't tear me down For all i need Make my heart a better place Give me something I can believe Don't tear me down You've opened the door now Don't let it close I'm here on the edge again I wish I could let it go I know that I'm only one step away From turning around Can you still see the heart of me? Temptations – All I Need lyrics All I need Writers eddie holland, frank wilson, are. Dean taylor (Forgive this fool, my darling.) Oh, this heart of mine, carries a heavy load. When I think about how I've hurt you so. After you've been, been so good to me. I've been unfaithful, darling, I've caused you misery. The feeling of guilt, oh, it tortures me. And only you, my darling, oh, can set me free. And darling, all, all I need Is just to hear you say, You'll forgive me, forgive me baby. ![]() ![]() All, all I need, to have you touch my hand, Say you'll understand, baby. A moment of weakness, darling, caused me to stray. Your trust in me, dear, I threw away. When I look, look into your eyes. I can see the hurt, baby, that you feel inside. Although I hurt you baby, you never once complained. It makes me feel, sweet darling, that much more ashamed. ![]() Tears of guilt, tears of guilt running down my face. Tears that only you baby, only you can erase. And darling, all, all I need Is just to hear you say, You'll forgive me, forgive me baby. All, all I need, to have you touch my hand, Say you'll understand, ooo. [Instrumental] (Forgive this fool, my darling.) I know, I made a big mistake. When all your love, darling, yes I did forsake. It's on my mind, it's in my heart. This guilty feeling tearing me apart. With every step I make, every breath I take. I'll make it up to you, I'll make it up to you. Undo the wrong I've done, undo the wrong I've done. I've been unfaithful, I know it's true. But I'll make it up to you. Baby, all, all I need Is just to hear you say, You'll forgive me, forgive me baby. ![]() All, all I need To have you touch my hand, Say you'll understand. Baby, all, all I need Is just to hear you say, You'll forgive me, forgive me baby. Lyrics taken from http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/t/temptations/all_i_need.html. If this song really means something special to you, describe your feelings and thoughts. ![]() Don't hesitate to explain what songwriters and singer wanted to say. Also we collected some tips and tricks for you: • Don't write just 'I love this song.' Hidden between the lines, words and thoughts sometimes hold many different not yet explained meanings • Remember: your meaning might be valuable for someone • Don't post links to images and links to facts • Write correctly • Don't spam and write clearly off-topic meanings • Don't write abusive, vulgar, offensive, racist, threatening or harassing meanings • Do not post anything that you do not have the right to post • Please note: We moderate every meaning Follow these rules and your meaning will be published. This page is accessible to. Verified artists on the song; The song 'All I need' from Within Temptation's album 'The Heart of Everything', with lyrics ^^. All I Need Lyrics: I'm dying to catch my breath / Oh why don't I ever learn? / I've lost all my trust / Though I've surely tried to turn it around / Can you still see. Lyrics to All I Need by Within Temptation: I'm dying to catch my breath / Oh why don't I ever learn / I've lost all my trust that I'm sure. Within Temptation All I Need (WT) Lyrics. All I Need (WT) lyrics performed by Within Temptation: I’m dying to catch my breath Oh why don’t I ever learn? Sep 17, 2012 Mix - The Temptations - All I Need W/ Lyrics! YouTube; YouTube The Temptations All I Need - Duration: 3:17. MsCsykes 17,176 views. Development and release In 1994, Jean Martial Lefranc who was the CEO of Cryo Interactive charged Nicolas Choukroun, a French video game author, to build a small team in order to create an adventure game based on the Aliens comic book published by Dark Horse Comics. Mindscape was the publisher and Fox gave their authorization as long as the game would not have any characters from the movies and would have a realistic movie style. The new ideas from the Dark Horse comic inspired the team who created an adventure with a lot of innovation. In the game, the player can use synthetic Aliens in order to study the real Aliens. Also the concept of a military base, using the Aliens to build an army against the Earth was original and was opening new horizons. The main protagonist, Lt. Henricksen, is a nod to famed sci-fi actor Lance Henriksen, who played the android Bishop in Aliens and Alien³, and Charles Bishop Weyland in Alien vs. This game had some interesting and innovative concepts. At the end of the game, the 'Space Jockey', the huge dead creature found in the spaceship in the first Alien movie appeared, rendered in a 3D modeled form, and was coming to save the player in extremis. This game created the concept of a war between the two Alien races shown in the first Alien movies but was never exploited by Fox. In October 1994, the USA version was finished and Mindscape duplicated 120,000 pieces for Christmas sales. In December 1994, Fox sued Mindscape for copyright violation and gave Mindscape the right to sell the stock, but not to continue to duplicate and market the product. Talk:Aliens: A Comic Book Adventure WikiProject Video games (Rated Stub-class, Low-importance) This. This article is within the scope of WikiProject Alien. The whole staff in Mindscape US and Mindscape UK were fired and the German and French version of the game were released unfinished. Reception Upon its release, the game received mixed and mostly mediocre reviews, but also got some good scores such as an 80% in Polish magazine Secret Service. In a retrospective article, Alexa Ray Corriea and Danielle Riendeau of Polygon wrote Aliens: A Comic Book Adventure 'not only made the Aliens feel scary, but added a little more to the franchise by spinning different plot threads through the game.' According to Pete Worth of Thunderbolt, 'The game featured some high-end graphics and a certain degree of tension but the inventory-based puzzles and grid-based combat were often tedious. Still, it was interesting to see xenomorphs regain their fear-inducing deadliness after being reduced to mere cannon-fodder so often in other games.' On the other hand, Stephen Cleckner of GamesBeat opined ' Aliens: The Comic Book Adventure is a frustratingly plodding and tedious excuse of a game.' He recommended to 'sit through a Let's Play video if you need to experience this thing. For your sake, don’t actually try to play it.' ![]() In 1996, Computer Gaming World ranked it as the #24 Worst Game of All Time as 'bad art, plot and action shame the Dark Horse comic series on which it was based.' ![]() ![]() ![]() 'I agree with the reviewer from Foreward Magazine who said 'ALL OR NOTHING is funny, relentless, haunting, and highly readable.' I am half way through the first half and it is cracking me up. Some fairly dark deeds are being done, but I can't help but laugh at times. It takes nothing away from the seriousness of the subject matter, your tone, and in fact makes P and his plight more endearing to the reader. I am rooting for him, though I do not suspect it will turn out all right. I am tempted to skip to the end to find out. How does a writer write seriously but humorously at the same time?' ![]() Thanks for the question. I used to think I knew the answer to that question, but now I am not so sure that I am right. I used to think that a sense of humor was innate in some of us, a talent some of us had, and I had it, oh lucky class clown me... Now upon reflection, I suspect that the watching in my youth of self-deprecating comedians--such as Woody Allen (at one extreme) and Richard Pryor (at the other)--coupled with a freshman composition instructor who had us read Ken Macrorie's textbook TELLING WRITING, in which he emphasized the jotting down of 'fabulous realities,' might have had something to do with it. The collecting of fabulous realities was an excellent exercise for a young writer such as I. ![]() Get All or Nothing setlists - view them, share them, discuss them with other All or Nothing fans for free on setlist.fm! Download FLAC Subways, The - All Or Nothing 2008 lossless CD, MP3, M4A. The Great Greats! What a fantastic band, it's good to see somebody going something new and making it work! Clearly with these two it's all about the music, they don't. History will show the management of the 2008 St. Louis Cardinals did not make an external move to improve their club at the trade deadline. Brian Walton understands the log. I don't remember exactly how it was done, but I think we were told to go out and 'see' the truth in things and then to create a list of them, written down honestly and without adornment. When we read them to the class, there were many that got oohs and ahs and occasional titters of laughter. I began to see that truth, though it made us uncomfortable, was funny. I also learned that trying too hard to be funny, unless you were very good at it (which I was not), almost never made anyone laugh. It was an important lesson for me. Though people often laugh at the situations my characters find themselves in, I NEVER try to be funny. I just try to be honest. This is what the best comedians know: the truth of the human condition is... Great question! (I guess that means I like my answer to it.) Thanks. 'First I have a suggestion/comment about your book and then I have a question. The last time I asked you that question about the character named 'U,' you made a good point about not analyzing your own characters because it ruins it for the reader. However, this time I am going to make a suggestion. In your novel, the character 'U' is arguing that gambling is not an addiction it is more like baseball and chess like the examples he gives. I don't know if I agree with him or with P, who says that it is an addiction because there are many professionals such as 'U' who play poker as a sport and don't seem to be addicted to poker anymore than baseball players are to baseball. For them it is a profession. Do you agree with 'P' or with 'U'? Second, I have a friend/associate who has an agent that helped him to sell his book. I have a self-published book that is selling decently online and I am seeking an agent so that I can sell it to a major publiser. I have hinted to my 'friend' several times to put in a good word for me with his agent but he has never done so always making excuses about how busy she (the agent) is every time I bring it up. Is he trying to say that he thinks my book is not good enough for his agent? Thanks, a writer/reader.' Okay, let's take the easy question first. I agree with both P and U. I believe that gambling is an addiction and very, very few people who play it at that high level are free from its addictive powers, despite what they may believe about themselves as professionals. Poker, a form of gambling, is similar to baseball (or any sport) in that it is a game that must be learned, can be mastered, and it can be played at a professional levels by professionals. The difference between poker and professional baseball is that a gambler uses his own money--baseball players, and other athletes, are paid to play. If they lose a game of baseball, they still earn a paycheck... If a boxer loses a match, he is still paid... If a boxer puts up his own money, betting on himself to win, and he loses, not only does he go home with a bruised nose and ego, but with a bruised bank account. If they extend the concept of poker leagues that pay professional poker players to compete with each other for the viewing pleasure of others, then that type of poker playing will be different from gambling and similar to what we see in professional sports. If Tom Brady announces to Peyton Manning, 'I will win a Super Bowl this year.' That is a prediction. But if Tom Brady says, 'I will win a Super Bowl this year, and I will put up my salary this year against Peyton Manning's salary this year to back it up.' That is gambling. Big difference. And Tom Brady loses either way. If he does not win a Super Bowl, he has to fork over his salary to Peyton Manning. If he wins a Super Bowl and wins the bet, taking Peyton Manning's salary, then he gets hooked on that feeling and becomes a gambler. In a few years he will be broke making those kinds of bets. Your second question. Some writers, for whatever reason, tend to be jealous of their agents, and unless they really like your book and think you are talented and can trust you not to steal their agent's attention away from them, then they will give your their agent's info and put in a good word for you. A writer who does that for you is showing a great deal of confidence in you. A great deal. Thanks, Preston. 'I am enjoying the book so far. I just finished the CORINTHIANS Chapter and I had to email you to tell you how excellent that part is. As a religious man myself, I completely get it--the title of the chapter and all. I noticed that the gamblers in your book seem to represent many levels and many types of addiction; however, the gambler you named 'U' stands out from the rest as being not so depraved. What if anything does 'U' represent or symbolize? I did not miss the fact that his name is 'U'.' Thanks for sending me the email. The CORINTHIANS chapter is special for me, too. In some ways gambling becomes a gambler's religion: the devotion, the belief system, the hope, the sacrifice. But gambling offers the gambler a false covenant and transforms him in ways that are the exact opposite of that postulated by Paul about love (charity) in that famous section in the Corinthians. As concerns U... U is the successful gambling celebrity. He does everything right. He makes it seem easy, but he works hard at it. Harder than you. He too is quietly suffering from the effects of his addiction, and you choose not to notice the suffering because you want to be U. But you can never be U. You are in too deep. Wow that was deep. What did I just say? It sounded kinda good. I have no idea what I just said. I hope it makes sense to you or to any future literary scholars interested in deconstructing the novel for their students. If a student of mine had written what I just said, I would have given him a B, okay a B+. It is a good answer. But not the only answer. In truth, I am uncomfortable with literary questions like this. I'm just a writer. I just tell the story; you the reader have to decide for yourself what it all means. And when it comes down to who is right, me the writer or you the reader, well, of course the reader is always right. A writer, because of her implied, but false authority, ruins the story if she establishes set explanations for things. The story exists in your head. It is now your story. So what, it differs from mine just a little bit. I will gladly discuss the symbolism in someone else's book, but not my own. I am the writer. I don't want to ruin what it means for you. On the other hand, I am very interested in listening to others discuss the book, or sharing with me their opinions of things in the book. In fact, I am honored by it. (Joyce Carol Oates once responded in like kind to a question about her famous story 'WHERE ARE YOU GOING WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN.' If anyone can find her well articulated response to a student who was asking her to analyze her own story and to comment on his analysis of it, please email it to me so that I can link it to the blog.) Thanks, Preston. 'Preston, good job on the blog. Here's my question. Do agents charge a fee for reading? Young writer.' Thanks for the question, young writer. From my experience agents do not charge a fee. Some of the smaller houses may charge a small sum at the beginning for postage and even this is rare. Agents make their money in the commission they earn from your book (about 15%). If an agent feels that he/she can make money from your book, then they will represent you. If they feel they cannot make a sale from your book, then they will not sign you. Think about it. If an agent could make $100 for reading your book, he/she would never really need to make a sale. There are so many people out there with books... All the agent has to do is sign, say, 500 people at $100 a pop, and he/she has just earned fifty grand, and believe me with the number of unpublished writers out there it would be a piece of cake to sign 500 clients. Trying to sell their books would not seem a very profitable venture compared to that easy hundred. Thanks, Preston. 'My b/f is just like the gamblers in your novel, especially P. He has stopped gambling many times and then gone right back to it. Why do you think a gambler just can't quit when he really means it and says he is going to quit?' Thanks, I'm sorry to hear about your b/f, but you would have to ask a professional that question for the best answer. I am just a novelist and, unfortunately, a gambler myself. I do not go to the casino anymore, but I think about it every day. GA helped me to get a grip on the behavior, and so did my love for my family and the things that I would potentially destroy if I continued to go. The fact that I am a control freak probably helped too--I did not like the fact that I was being controlled by an external force. But every day that passes I see a number combination that tugs at my 'intuition,' and I get this urge to play it on the slots. One of the things I have learned through my experiences and from the gamblers I know is that gambling is fun. Gambling is a thrill. Gambling is an opportunity for good things to come. With gambling, anything is possible. Gambling is like childhood all over again. You know, like when you were a child--it seemed like anything was possible. In a casino, it seems like anything is possible. If you're lucky. I was at a casino in the middle of the night playing poker and one of the regulars asked if I could give him a lift home. He had no car and he had, as was his habit, arrived there on foot. Sure, I told him. But there was no need to do that. He hit a royal flush jackpot at our table for $25,000. They paid him off in the manner he requested: $10,000 in cash and the rest in check. He waited for the sun to come up and walked across the street to the car dealership, bought a spiffy little Toyota (in cash!), and drove himself home. Anything is possible we all said, watching. A dealer we all knew and loved started annoying us with his complaints about the way he was being treated at the casino by management: shorting him on his hours, giving others with less seniority preferential treatment, over-criticizing the few mistakes he made while dealing (he was one of the best--he rarely made mistakes dealing). Then he disappeared, and a few weeks passed before we saw him again. This time he was there as a player. I was at the table with him as he was telling everyone about what had happened: He won half a million dollars on the slots at one of the other local casinos and he quit his job the next day. Anything is possible. Stuff like that happens in casinos all the time. People hit amazing amounts of money that change their lives. They can quit their jobs, they can buy a new car, a new house. I have seen it. No problem is too big that the casino can't solve, it seems. And maybe that is the problem. See, once people like your b/f get so deep in debt from their indiscriminate gambling, the only place they can go and not feel bad about their desperate situation is, believe it or not, the casino. Because the casino, if they hit it big, represents the solution to the finanacial hole that they are buried up to their eyeballs in. As long as there is a casino, there is a hope that they can get out of their misery. And it is at times like these that they conveniently forget the impossible odds they have to overcome in order to win, and most of all they forget that it is the casino that has put them in their misery in the first place. They just keep pressing PLAY and wishing like children on a star. Anything is possible. Anything is possible. Anything is possible--except for quitting gambling, no matter how strong you think you are. Thanks, Preston. 'I just finished ALL OR NOTHING and could not wait to write a review for it on Amazon.com, which I did, and to contact you to ask a couple questions. First of all, I think it is a great book, I have never read anything like it and I do not see how you would be able to write a sequel. You covered all angles in the first book. What is your formula to make this otherwise vile character so endearing to the reader?' Thanks for the questions. Okay, the sequel deals with P's son, and while I did cover pretty much the entire spectrum of addiction in the first book, I am a writer who loves to explore character and there are layers and layers of P's son's character that merit exploring. While P was a poor bus driver born in the early sixites, this son is a young, good-looking athlete coming of age in present day... Note also that this is the age of online gambling... And P's wife now becomes the MOTHER of a gambler... And the kid is... And Question # 2. I have no formula for making P lovable, except that I withhold judgment and allow you to experience him the way the characters in the story experience him--he is truly a nice guy, that is not fake, and so you will like him as they like him. So if there is a formula to creating likable charatcers, then it is this: State the facts without bias or adornment, let the character be on the page who he is. Thanks, Preston. 'Preston, I see that you like John Cheever. I am also a fan of John Cheever! What is your favorite John Cheever story? My favorite is THE CHASTE CLARISSA.' Easy question. I admire John Cheever's body of work--my favorite story of his is THE COUNTRY HUSBAND, which resonated for me way back when. Though I was not a quietly suffering yankee suburbanite of manners, I was quietly suffering. I liked the story so much that I retyped the first five pages of it as practice--then I wrote my first Elwyn and Sister Morrisohn story using the identical sentence pattern of that story--then I wrote a poem based on it. Then, like Francis Weed in the story, I tried to sleep with the babysitter. I did not succeed. Please email me at with your gambling questions and your publishing world questions. I will use this site to post your questions and answer as many of them as I can. Scroll down to the bottom of the page to see a list of Reading Group Questions for Discussion and a list of video interviews of writing heavyweights Joyce Carol Oates, Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, J California Cooper and others. Also, feel free to purchase any of the books on this site to support the best writing talent in the country. Thanks, Preston My other blog, which has a wider range of topics, can be reached. For those of us who had him as a teacher at the University of Florida in the mid 80s--you know why he is here on my page. What a teacher. What an experience. I remember walking to his office for one of those jam sessions (I made some mistake or another in one of the essays that I had submitted to him), and I spied on his wall a poster for the Francis Ford Coppola movie the Cotton Club. I noticed for the first time that the words 'based on the James Haskins book' were embossed on the poster. I blurted out, 'Oh, Professor Haskins, you're THAT James Haskins!' He rolled his eyes at me and spit out, 'So what are you telling me, Allen? That a black man can't write a book?' I stuttered my apology as I would stutter many apologies to him that semester, and he launched into me for a half hour berating--reminding me loudly and sarcastically that in my introductory essay to his class I had indicated that my career ambition was to be a novelist. How then could it surprise me that he was THAT James Haskins? I had no answer for him, as so often happened that semester. I was quite humbled. He was a difficult man, to say the least, but over time I came to enjoy his class, though he often put me on the spot in front of the others. I was the only African American in the class besides himself. He was my CHILDREN's LIT professor, and I must say I learned a great deal from him, though not about children's lit. At some point in the middle of that semester, I began to give serious consideration to becoming a college professor when I grew up. I thank James Haskins for that. Rest in Peace. New York Times--'... A cartographer of autodegradation... Like Dostoyevsky, Allen colorfully evokes the gambling milieu — the chained (mis)fortunes of the players, their vanities and grotesqueries, their quasi-philosophical ruminations on chance. Like Burroughs, he is a dispassionate chronicler of the addict’s daily ritual, neither glorifying nor vilifying the matter at hand.' Foreword Magazine--'Not shame, not assault, not even murder is enough reason to stop. Allen’s second novel, All or Nothing, is funny, relentless, haunting, and highly readable. P’s inner dialogues illuminate the grubby tragedy of addiction, and his actions speak for the train wreck that is gambling.' Library Journal--'Told without preaching or moralizing, the facts of P's life express volumes on the destructive power of gambling. This is strongly recommended and deserves a wide audience; an excellent choice for book discussion groups.' —Lisa Rohrbaugh, East Palestine Memorial P.L., OH LEXIS-NEXIS--'By day, P drives a school bus in Miami. But his vocation? He's a gambler who craves every opportunity to steal a few hours to play the numbers, the lottery, at the Indian casinos. Allen has a narrative voice as compelling as feeding the slots is to P.' Betsy Willeford is a Miami-based freelance book reviewer. November 4, 2007 Publisher’s Weekly--'Allen’s dark and insightful novel depicts narrator P’s sobering descent into his gambling addiction... The well-written novel takes the reader on a chaotic ride as P chases, finds and loses fast, easy money. Allen (Churchboys and Other Sinners) reveals how addiction annihilates its victims and shows that winning isn’t always so different from losing.' Kirkus Review--'We gamble to gamble. We play to play. We don't play to win.' Right there, P, desperado narrator of this crash-'n'-burn novella, sums up the madness. A black man in Miami, P has graduated from youthful nonchalance (a '79 Buick Electra 225) to married-with-a-kid pseudo-stability, driving a school bus in the shadow of the Biltmore. He lives large enough to afford two wide-screen TVs, but the wife wants more. Or so he rationalizes, as he hits the open-all-night Indian casinos, 'controlling' his jones with a daily ATM maximum of $1,000. Low enough to rob the family piggy bank for slot-machine fodder, he sinks yet further, praying that his allergic 11-year-old eat forbidden strawberries—which will send him into a coma, from which he'll emerge with the winning formula for Cash 3 (the kid's supposedly psychic when he's sick). All street smarts and inside skinny, the book gives readers a contact high that zooms to full rush when P scores $160,000 on one lucky machine ('God is the God of Ping-ping,' he exults, as the coins flood out). The loot's enough to make the small-timer turn pro, as he heads, flush, to Vegas to cash in. But in Sin City, karmic payback awaits. Swanky hookers, underworld 'professors' deeply schooled in sure-fire systems to beat the house, manic trips to the CashMyCheck store for funds to fuel the ferocious need—Allen's brilliant at conveying the hothouse atmosphere of hell-bent gaming. Fun time in the Inferno. ALL OR NOTHING Reading Group Questions for Discussion 1. Based on her upbringing, her typical reaction to P’s gambling throughout All or Nothing, and her decision to nurse him back to health after the shooting, how would you describe P’s wife Hon? Discuss the use of setting in the novel, particularly how Las Vegas gambling compares to gambling in Miami. What aspects of P’s personality and his upbringing, including his relationship with his father, might have contributed to his becoming the kind of gambler that he is? Using his wife (Hon), C.L., S’s wife, Missy and his fat girl as particular examples, discuss what role romantic love plays in P’s life. How are P’s attempts to properly parent his children undermined, or otherwise impacted, by his gambling? In what ways does E.V.’s gradual decline, which P is a witness to, affect his feelings about his own addiction? What is meant by the quote, “The only addiction stronger than gambling is charity,” and how is it supported (or contradicted) by the actions of P? The professor? P complains to C.L. About outsiders that “they don’t understand us.” What is it that outsiders do not understand about gamblers? How do outsiders view gamblers? What explains Missy’s decision to come to the aid of P’s son? To what extent are the gamblers in All or Nothing superstitious? Explain the professor’s theory of “roundness” and its connections to P’s epiphany after he shoots his son. How do the quotes and the parenthesized headers at the beginnings of some of the chapters assist in the development of the plot? How do they assist in the development of P’s character? How do gamblers feel about money? Where do they get it from? What is its purpose? At the GA meeting, P calls himself 'the sickest one here.' What is the sickest thing, in your opinion, that P does in the book? What is the sickest thing any of the gamblers do in the book? Why does C.L. Partner with someone other than P to cheat the casino? What important truth was P trying to teach our friend D about the nature of addiction after their fist fight at the GA meeting? At the funeral C.L. Tries to sum up P's life by exclaiming with tears in her eyes that P had a great life, he had fun. How does this sum up P's life? Gambling addiction? 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And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.' S son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. ![]() That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family. Engrossing and suspenseful, All These Things I've Done is an utterly unique, unputdownable read that blends both the familiar and the fantastic. Let's be clear, I did a lot of skim-reading and not-reading after the 150 page marker because there was nothing much - actually, nothing at all - about this book that I can say I enjoyed. I'm not surprised after reading a lot of my friends' negative reviews, but I do admit to a little curiosity sparking in me when this arrived from the publishers claiming to be The Godfather with a dystopian twist. This is nothing at all, slightly, remotely like The Godfather beyond the mention of mafia - and I Let's be clear, I did a lot of skim-reading and not-reading after the 150 page marker because there was nothing much - actually, nothing at all - about this book that I can say I enjoyed. I'm not surprised after reading a lot of my friends' negative reviews, but I do admit to a little curiosity sparking in me when this arrived from the publishers claiming to be The Godfather with a dystopian twist. This is nothing at all, slightly, remotely like The Godfather beyond the mention of mafia - and I'll get to that ridiculous plot element in a minute - and it's not really much of a dystopia either, though who's surprised about that anymore? So this is supposed to be about the mafia, mobsters, crime lords. I wanted a terrifying boss sat behind a desk, creating fear with a single look, dealing in all kinds of horrendous underground business; I wanted shoot outs, car chases and mysteries; scandals and betrayal. What did I get? Chocolate, caffeine and a love story. I kid you not. ![]() All These Things That I've Done This song is by The Killers and appears on the album Hot Fuss. Watch the video, get the download or listen to The Killers – All These Things That I've Done for free. All These Things That I've Done appears on the album Hot Fuss. Lyrics to 'All These Things That I've Done' song by The Killers: When there's nowhere else to run Is there room for one more son One more son If you can hold on. All those big mafia thugs with their illegal activities, you know what it's really all about? Chocolate and caffeine. After reading a book like which contains a perfect mix of mafia action, family betrayals and a touch of magic, this book is so. I can't think of a better word for it, it's just lame. Plus, there's an extreme lack of world-building beyond this bizarre decision to ban chocolate, caffeine and paper without a license (or something to that effect). When there's nowhere else to run Is there room for one more son One more son If you can hold on If you can hold on, hold on I want to stand up, I want to let go You know, you know - no you don't, you don't I want to shine on in the hearts of men I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand Another head aches,. Why would chocolate be illegal??? You're making no sense to me!!! This is another romance. Yep, that's right, another one of those, posing as a dystopia naturally. The love interest is nothing to write home about, but the protagonist annoyed me so much I simply refused to give this book anymore than one star. She's bitchy and horrible and I really hated being in on her thoughts when she's watching her 'best friend' flirting with Win, the way she so snidely criticises the poor girl for being 'obvious' and 'full-on' when she is strictly a good catholic girl who cannot possibly have sex before marriage because she will go to hell. I just can't. The first chapter is called 'I defend my own honour' - oh please, are you joking? Yeah, sure, the guy's an asshole but 'defending her honour'?? Let me just quote this for you: 'I didn't believe in sex before marriage. I was a mostly good catholic girl, and I knew exactly where the type of behaviour he was suggesting would get me: straight to hell.' If you don't want to have sex, that's just fine, but preaching shit about going to hell for it in a young adult book that's going to be read by a lot of teenage girls? And straight from our 'heroine's' mouth too? Well, fuck you. This is a book crammed full of slut-shaming and a load of anti-sex bullshit. Only for girls, though. There's a lovely scene where Anya (protag.) is out at a club with her friends and sees her brother and some girls dancing. The girls, she notes, are sluts. Sluts because of that suggestive way they're dancing with her brother! But, but, but. He's bloody dancing with them too! And, of course, these girls are from this point onward referred to as 'the slutty girls' or individually as 'one of the sluts'. I don't care whether this is the author's opinion or a character trait of Anya's - I DO NOT LIKE. Even without the poor world-building, slut-shaming and my complete annoyance at the main character, this would still not have been a good book. It's just a case of jumping on the dystopian trend with a crappy story. I wasn't expecting to be wowed, but it's rare that a book manages to offend me so much. 2.5 stars Mixed feelings about this book. At first, I was enamored with. Mainly because of its originality. Even though the novel is pushed as another dystopia, it is more of a mafia crime drama, at least in the beginning. The setting is futuristic - 2083, but hardly dystopic. The end of the century US is overrun by lawlessness, corruption and rationing, however there is nothing particularly oppressive about it. In fact, it actually reminded me of 1990s Russia - the civ 2.5 stars Mixed feelings about this book. At first, I was enamored with. Mainly because of its originality. Even though the novel is pushed as another dystopia, it is more of a mafia crime drama, at least in the beginning. The setting is futuristic - 2083, but hardly dystopic. The end of the century US is overrun by lawlessness, corruption and rationing, however there is nothing particularly oppressive about it. In fact, it actually reminded me of 1990s Russia - the civilization is still there, but the change in political regime destroyed the country's infrastructure and order, not irreparably though. 16-year old Anya Balanchine is the daughter of the deceased head of the Russian-American mafia family. Although she still gets the perks of being affiliated with this organization (money, connections, easy access to illegal substances - chocolate among other things!), she is not a part of the criminal network. Anya is busy going to school, looking after her mentally disabled older brother, little sister and dying grandmother and fighting off her good-for-nothing ex. Her life is moderately difficult and later becomes even more so, when she finds herself attracted to the wrong boy (a new DA's son) and when her ex gets poisoned by what appears to be the chocolate bar Anya gave him. Up to that point the book was great, except the occasional misspellings of Russian words and chocolate-is-now-a-drug bit which I thought was almost as ridiculous as premise. And then something happened in the second half of the novel. The crime subplot is almost completely abandoned then. No new backstory or external information is introduced, there is hardly any conflict. What is in there is a lot of Anya's immediate family repetitive drama and romance. The strange thing is, all of this is written in a very detached way. You no longer feel like you are with Anya being a part of the events or romantic scenes. Everything reads as recaps, many plot points (proms, school theater production, dates) are introduced and then recounted in a couple of sentences. Even all the lovey-dovey stuff is recapped! Yes, a string of recaps and very poor and uninteresting dialog. My connection to this story was lost then. My interest was killed by excessive telling and minimal showing. Could have been so much better with more mafia, more crime, narrower time frame, and less recapping. Such a wasted premise! Probably won't be back for the sequel. This book was a total air ball for me. The premise sounded so fun— a futuristic society with a Prohibition-era-type ban on chocolate,a black market run by mobster families, and a teenage heir to the family empire. Oh, and tepid romance and a selfish MC. Imagine all the places this book could’ve gone. Yeah, that’s right, I’m thinking total badass teenage girl threatening her way across NYC and putting her dysfunctional family business back in order. (I mean, This book was a total air ball for me. The premise sounded so fun— a futuristic society with a Prohibition-era-type ban on chocolate,a black market run by mobster families, and a teenage heir to the family empire. Oh, and tepid romance and a selfish MC. Imagine all the places this book could’ve gone. Yeah, that’s right, I’m thinking total badass teenage girl threatening her way across NYC and putting her dysfunctional family business back in order. (I mean, wouldn’t it be totally normal to have a Boondock Saints type situation in a YA book? No?) I enjoyed several of Zevin’s other books (, ) but reading this book made me want to go back and reread them to see if they were read by delusional Flann. I found it rather annoying that the narrative would stop every once in a while for the narrator to speak to the reader. Dear reader, if you are reading this review, you might notice that it is mostly personal feelings about the book with absolutely no objectivity. See how annoying that is? Another thing: this book dragged. So many plot points just kept coming up, and up, and up, and WE FREAKING GOT IT ALREADY, ANYA. You don’t want your brother to work at the Pool. You and Win really like each other but you shouldn’t be together. You run the household because Leo can’t—we seriously got that point the first four times it was mentioned. (note: I was reading an ARC of this so perhaps the editor realized the repetition and remedied the situation before publication. *crosses fingers*) The beginning of the book was promising. I went into it with the attitude that it was ridiculous to have chocolate be illegal and to have a black market for it. Funnily enough, I was on board rather quickly. The setup was fun and I was ready to see where the story would go. Basically nowhere. At one point in the story, Anya ends up in a detention center. I was evilly tapping my fingers together at the prospects. I don’t want to spoiler it but if you’ve been paying attention, I’m pretty sure you know what happens. [It’s over in a few pages. She is put in solitary and then her lawyers get her out. ] Reading about the justice system was really frustrating--evidently in this future, due process rights are just tossed out the window. And the eeeending. At least there was no cliffhanger. The thing about this book is that if it lost at least 70 pages, stopped repeating itself, and maintained a single narrator, I might’ve given it four stars. Anya was an annoying and self-centered character but there was potential there. I’m sorry to say that I don’t think I’m interested enough to read the next book in the series. Let me know what happens. The status comments I made for this book do a lot to explain my descending feelings. I'm just flat bummed that Zevin took things in the direction she did, because I started out absolutely LOVING this story. To be honest, the only reason I was initially engaged in the book is because I liked Anya and her family. The worldbuilding is practically nonexistent, and for any book that touts itself as a dystopian, that's not good. Chocolate and caffeine have been outlawed, and there's little-to-no expla The status comments I made for this book do a lot to explain my descending feelings. I'm just flat bummed that Zevin took things in the direction she did, because I started out absolutely LOVING this story. To be honest, the only reason I was initially engaged in the book is because I liked Anya and her family. The worldbuilding is practically nonexistent, and for any book that touts itself as a dystopian, that's not good. Chocolate and caffeine have been outlawed, and there's little-to-no explanation as to why. I struggled to suspend my disbelieve that a society would attack caffeine but leave out alcohol. I mean.really? Explain to me how caffeinated, hand-snapping beatniks are more deviant and dangerous than angry drunks, seriously. So I never felt particularly drawn to the plot, because all things considered, there really was none. This is primarily the story of a deceased mob boss's daughter trying to make her way in the world. And that's cool, but this reads more like a futuristic realism novel. Dystopians usually need a little more engagement. There were some interesting elements, like the poisoning of Anya's ex-boyfriend and the [brief but extremely random time she spent incarcerated for the crime ], but mostly, the plot didn't come full-swing until the last 50 or so pages. By then, I'd lost interest. So the only thing this book really had going for it was characterization. I loved the main character, Anya, because she seemed so different from the multitude of other YA heroines. She had a maturity that I crave in characters. She seemed grounded, and while she wasn't religious in the personal devotion, private faith sort of way, she had a moral code/set of values that she clung to. And that made me all kinds of happy. But what happens when that's taken away? For me, Zevin quite abruptly withdrew the one major positive I had with this book, the one thing that really had me caring, the one thing that made any sort of personal connection with me. A basic, forward-moving plot was hardly existent and there there wasn't a lot of action, so the whole likability of this book rested on the characters. And in my opinion, Zevin destroyed the main character's credibility. It made Anya's somewhat preachy declarations and internal monologues about her beliefs seem like nothing but talk. And the love interest, Win, had almost no likability whatsoever. He came across as manipulative in an emotionally pushy sort of way. Plus, I never like it when [love interests brag about their previous conquests. Just like.good for you, I guess? So that's what nagged at me as I struggled to finish this. It's like watching a strong, self-assured character turn codependent. I do want admit that Anya attempts to regain a proactive, strong personality by the end of the novel, but by then, I had just checked out. What I also realized (I obviously didn't notice this from the synopsis, which was my bad) is that ATTID is really a retelling of 'Romeo and Juliet' with a semi-dystopian backdrop. Since I've already biased up this review, I might as well admit that I think 'Romeo and Juliet' is one of the LEAST ROMANTIC stories of all time, so I am definitely not one to buy into the whole 'starcrossed lovers make the best lovers' idea. And the ending of this book really sets up for more 'Romeo and Juliet' drama. Secret relationships and the whole 'I really love you but I'm going to act like I hate you to protect you!' Is just hogwash storytelling, in my opinion. Mostly, I'm just sad that at how this book turned out. Here's the thing: It seems like most trilogies start out very solidly, then meander on through the second book, which is where we get the phrase 'middle book syndrome.' With this series, though, the FIRST book is the one that meanders. I bet the second book will make way more sense, and perhaps even be exciting. Because of the melodramatic way this book ended, though, I don't plan on catching that sequel. All These Things I've Done was surprisingly good. I was completely captivated by this intriguing and tension filled story. I have been reading quite a bit of dystopia lately and I loved that this novel did not focus on matching people or the government trying to control everybody. In the year 2083 they are plenty of problems and changes but overall it feels more like a realistic future. Chocolate is illegal (EEK! No chocolate would make me crazy) together with a million other things like caffeine All These Things I've Done was surprisingly good. I was completely captivated by this intriguing and tension filled story. I have been reading quite a bit of dystopia lately and I loved that this novel did not focus on matching people or the government trying to control everybody. In the year 2083 they are plenty of problems and changes but overall it feels more like a realistic future. Chocolate is illegal (EEK! No chocolate would make me crazy) together with a million other things like caffeine, paper without a permit, phones, cameras. I felt the world was very convincing as it feels similar to the stories of the 1920's when alcohol was banned and smuggled in. This is the first book of Zevin's I have read. I found her prose sharp and alluring. Writing that draws you in immediately. It was perfectly paced story that had a cleverly constructed plot and world. Anya is part of the Balanchine Family, one of the most well known crime syndicates in the world. Her father use to be the head of it before he was murdered. Anya mother was also killed in a hit gone wrong. Now Anya is trying to do the best she can caring for her ill grandmother, her older brother Leo, who has a learning disability and her younger sister Natty. Anya is a mature, brave and compelling character. I love that she always but her family first. I found the secondary characters to be just as well crafted and likeable as Anya especially Leo and Natty. Win, is the son of the head of the District Attorney Department and Anya's love interest. So it is has a little bit of the star crossed lovers thing going on. The romance between Anya and Win was passionate and yet sweet at the same time. The mafia part of the storyline was probably the highlight for me though. I found myself fascinated by this mysterious and dangerous element of the story. I would definitely like to see it play an even bigger part in the next installment. I am so happy All These Things I've Done is going to be a trilogy. Even though it ended in a good place I felt like the story was just getting started and it has left me desperately craving more. Overall, I found All These Things I've Done to be a clever and engaging read. Zevin definitely delivers all the right elements in this impressive novel. To make myself feel like an equal-opportunity teacher, I like to force myself to read some 'YA chick books' so I can pitch them to reluctant reader girls the way I do so many sports, war, and horror books to reluctant reading boys (and girls, as girls seem less bothered by a book's gender target audience). But mea culpa, I'm here to confess I am a fraud. I cannot bring myself to read a single sentence of the Twilight series. Ditto anything by the much beloved Sarah Dessen (#1 with 8th-grade girl To make myself feel like an equal-opportunity teacher, I like to force myself to read some 'YA chick books' so I can pitch them to reluctant reader girls the way I do so many sports, war, and horror books to reluctant reading boys (and girls, as girls seem less bothered by a book's gender target audience). But mea culpa, I'm here to confess I am a fraud. I cannot bring myself to read a single sentence of the Twilight series. Ditto anything by the much beloved Sarah Dessen (#1 with 8th-grade girls year in, year out). All of which is my way of saying thank you, Gabrielle Zevin. When I read her study on life after death, Elsewhere, a few years back, I was smitten. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac wasn't bad, either. It missed a great opportunity, but it was readable start to finish. And here, All These Things I've Done, seemingly a rip-off of Gordon Korman's Son of the Mob, has won me over, too, despite initial reluctance. It seemed at first that she had simply taken the reluctant son of a mobster and replaced him with a daughter of a mobster. Then she had her lead fall in love with a new boy in school who is (gasp) the son of an ambitious new district attorney. Sound promising? How about derivative. But she broke down my resistance. My weak spot. Characterization and voice. I'm a sucker for it when done well, and I felt myself liking this 16-year-old Anya more and more because she was smart and strong yet vulnerable. Here her chocolate don dad is dead, as is her mother, and she is trying to hold her family together as her grandmother tries to hold her life together on life-support. I even forgave Zevin the fact that the boyfriend is predictably perfect (I swear, girls who grow up to become YA writers make these guys up out of the frustrations they felt while waiting for 'him' to appear). And as the romance ran side-by-side with a crime subplot (intrigue in the family), the book gathered legs and hit its stride. Things happen. Anya, of course, is in the wrong place at the wrong time. The fragile balance of her family is constantly in jeopardy. And I'm buying because it's dumb fun and I like her (so sue me or park a horse head in my bed). One final gripe. This is the first of a series. I'm sure it wasn't Zevin's choice. I'm sure her publisher, like every YA writer's publisher, told her she MUST start a series. Well, a pox on series, says I. With rare exception, I tend to read the first and no more. And so, in some ways, poor Anya's plight will hang in the balance, if for me then at least NOT for many a young reader, especially female, who will embrace the book and anxiously await its sequel. Meanwhile I'll keep feeling like big man on campus, book talking a book for the girls. And a few guys, too. I once had an 8th-grade boy who read Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak and when he was challenged in the classroom by another boy ('Why are you reading a GIRL'S book?' ), cooly replied, 'So I know how they think.' The silent pause that followed this rejoinder told me that he'd made his point. Guess the other guys didn't think of that. Nor that he'd win a prized date with a really nice girl to the spring dance shortly thereafter. Don't you love happy endings? Let me first say that the first half of this book deserves 3 stars. I really enjoyed the setting even though I still don't quite understand why the world is the way it is. Annie, Scarlet, Natty, Leo, and Win were all great characters in the beginning. I felt like the story moved along pretty well and that things were really going to get good with Annie's mafia family background. Unfortunately the second half of the book did not deliver at least for me anyway. I got tired of waiting for the actio Let me first say that the first half of this book deserves 3 stars. I really enjoyed the setting even though I still don't quite understand why the world is the way it is. Annie, Scarlet, Natty, Leo, and Win were all great characters in the beginning. I felt like the story moved along pretty well and that things were really going to get good with Annie's mafia family background. Unfortunately the second half of the book did not deliver at least for me anyway. I got tired of waiting for the action to start and by the last stretch of the book I just wanted it to be over. The plot is basically about a girl, Annie, who is trying to keep her family together and safe after her Father who was the mob boss dies. The drug here is chocolate which I found a little weird but this is a YA book so I can understand why something like chocolate would be used as opposed to an actual drug. Annie has to care for her younger sister Natty, her older brother Leo who was hurt physically and mentally after their mom died, and her Grandmother who is falling fast away. Annie's mob family is of concern to her because they have recruited Leo to help them out and Annie doesn't want anybody in her little family to end up like her parents. So the story begins with her trying to keep her family together and keep her life as normal as possible. When the book focused on the mafia part I really enjoyed it, but when the author would switch to the normal everyday problems of a 16 year old I got bored. I would have loved to have known more about her family and what they did behind the scenes. If you are looking for a mob type YA book check out Holly Blacks. I remember reading Elsewhere and Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin and enjoying them both. Zevin has a knack for creating unique stories and All These Things I've Done is no exception. However, the dystopian aspect of the book could have been developed more. Chocolate and caffeine are illegal, there are copious amounts of crime, mafia families are present and powerful, but how did it get this way? How are these things affecting society? Even though Anya isn't directly aff 3.5 stars. I remember reading Elsewhere and Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin and enjoying them both. Zevin has a knack for creating unique stories and All These Things I've Done is no exception. However, the dystopian aspect of the book could have been developed more. Chocolate and caffeine are illegal, there are copious amounts of crime, mafia families are present and powerful, but how did it get this way? How are these things affecting society? Even though Anya isn't directly affected by these things because of her position as the daughter of a crime boss, a more comprehensive view of life in 2083 would've been nice. Furthermore, All These Things I've Done feels like buildup for the next book in the series. The plot starts out strong, but by the middle of the book any sense of danger dissipated and the conflict was almost nonexistent. At the end, everything happens at once when all the action could've been distributed more equally throughout the entire novel. That being said, I'm looking forward to the next book in the Birthright series. I didn't really connect to any of the characters besides Anya, but her dry humor and sense of practicality made her a likable narrator whose voice I grew to love. All These Things I've Done ended in a way that leaves many possibilities for the plot of the second book, and I'm eager to see where Zevin takes the story in terms of Anya's family and her relationships. Overall, a well-written story that didn't entirely live up to its potential. Not horrible, though. Recommended to fans of young-adult dystopia novels and books about mafia families and organizations. *cross-posted from my blog,. I was pretty excited when I got this book. A future society where chocolate is banned and mafia included? Sounds so exciting. Especially since I'm such a chocolate whore. Despite the ridiculousness of the premise I totally devoured up the whole caffeine and chocolate being outlawed because it just sounds cool. I don't know what I'd do if they were banned. I think I'd go crazy because I'm Asian! How can you go without tea? But I'm just curious. Why would you ban chocolate and ca I was pretty excited when I got this book. A future society where chocolate is banned and mafia included? Sounds so exciting. Especially since I'm such a chocolate whore. Despite the ridiculousness of the premise I totally devoured up the whole caffeine and chocolate being outlawed because it just sounds cool. I don't know what I'd do if they were banned. I think I'd go crazy because I'm Asian! How can you go without tea? But I'm just curious. Why would you ban chocolate and caffeine but leave alcohol consumption legal? Totally does not add up. Anya was cool. She was pragmatic, logical, and not easily intimidated or influenced. That is until I got to the second half. I think it started around the tenth or eleventh chapter. I don't know what it was but her characterization seemed to be turned off. Now she was distant without much emotion behind her actions nor were there any insights into her thoughts as well. I became rapidly detached and disconnected from her and it didn't help that she started to turn into a person who ran away from difficult decisions and circumstances. Totally not the cool character she was earlier. I really wish there had been more background scheming and plotting by her mafia (or mafiya as it's written in this book) relatives and really getting to know that dark underhanded methods they use to reach their goals. This book would have been fabulous if we got to see the interplay of power struggles and corruption within the ranks with Anya caught up in it. Instead this book turned more toward the light and in the direction of romance, which was another area I had a problem with. Not that there was anything particularly wrong and offensive about the two main characters' romance because it's sweet and just a bit sappy for the most part but it just lacked development. When they first have their expression of feelings there isn't much build up there on the part of Anya. I mean, we can obviously see that he likes her but not so much with Anya. So when she does something rash and abrupt like that it seems out of character and unnatural. Then the rest of the book focuses more on how they can stay together and the difficulties they encounter because of their two different backgrounds. I like the Japanese guy better because I don't know, he had more life in his scenes when we saw him. Not to mention he's also a part of the mafia as well so that would make it doubly interesting. I really hated when Anya did that whole addressing the reader bits. They were jarring and totally threw me out of the story. Also there seemed to be less elaboration and more straight forward telling in the second half. Some scenes were really only talked about after the fact in less than adequate detail when making the character experience and going through these scenes would have been a lot more gripping. I have to admit though that I loved the healthy and positive family portrayal in this book. By family I don't mean her outside mafia connections, I mean her real family; her ailing grandmother, her brother and her sister. I loved that she always looked out for them and tried to protect them even though they weren't necessarily the right choices. They were always present and with real personalities and fears. Also I loved her friendship with her best friend. (I forgot her name presently, sorry) It was awesome. Her friend didn't become the cliched comedic relief or the bitter and angry rival for the male lead's romance interest. She had her own life that didn't hinge heavily on Anya's own. If Anya did something that she didn't agree with or upset her, she didn't let it slide. She let her know and it wasn't just some easy, 'I'm sorry' and that's that. Their friendship seemed to have a real resemblance to the ones you'd actually have with people in real life. This book had marvelous potential and was living up to it quite well in the beginning. But then it sputtered and burnt out in the second half. I won this book from First Reads and would like to thank Goodreads for giving me the opportunity to read it. This is the first book I've given up on in a long time. And some might think it strange. Because, looking at it objectively... Is it better than Twilight? Is it better than Evermore? Is it better than Hush, Hush? I think I'd have to say yes to all of those. But the difference is, however terrible those books may be, the one thing they did do is keep me interested. They kept me invested enough in the story that I wanted to know how it all turned out. And that just did not happen with All These T This is the first book I've given up on in a long time. And some might think it strange. Because, looking at it objectively... Is it better than Twilight? Is it better than Evermore? Is it better than Hush, Hush? I think I'd have to say yes to all of those. But the difference is, however terrible those books may be, the one thing they did do is keep me interested. They kept me invested enough in the story that I wanted to know how it all turned out. And that just did not happen with All These Things I've Done. There are a few main reasons why I gave this up. It wasn't horrid writing, and there were a few moments when it shone, but the style really did not work for me. From what I've gathered, it's Anya writing this whole account. I've read several books that worked that angle wonderfully. This did not. The writing was awkward and distant, and the random interjections only annoyed me. Also, little dialogue gems such as this didn't really help my opinion of this: 'His name's Goodwin but he goes by Win. Isn't that OMG?' The characters. I didn't hate the main character, Anya. I really didn't. There were a few moments where I even liked her. But most of the time, I just felt so removed from everything that was happening, and couldn't bring myself to care. Also, certain characters (coughScarletandNattycough) annoyed the hell out of me. They were flat, simple, and irritating, which is all the worse because I'm pretty certain we're supposed to love them. Win, the love interest, was... He didn't upset me, but there was just no spark. I felt no chemistry between him and Anya and couldn't understand why he was interested in her. She hardly encouraged him. The strong Christian presence. This part is just my bias. I tend to dislike books that have a strong religious presence, regardless of what the religion is. Some Christians may absolutely love this aspect of the book. It just really didn't work for me. Related to the last one: Anya being the 'good Christian girl.' Whenever she would think bad thoughts, it would be all No, no, I can't think these things, because I am a good Christian girl. Whenever the possibility of sex was presented to her it would be all No, no, I would never have sex, because I am a good Christian girl. Now don't get me wrong--I have no problem with those who choose not to think 'bad thoughts' about others, or who choose to abstain until marriage. That's there prerogative. What upset me was that these were painted as bad things, like being pure-minded and abstaining made you a saint and daring to think bad thoughts about someone who almost date-raped you or, gasp, having sex before marriage made you a terrible person. This is not a horrible book. This is really one of those cases where I just have to say that it was not for me. Some of you may love it, or at least like it a lot more than I did. (Plus, you might just want that gorgeous cover. And did I mention that the hard cover is patterned to look like chocolate?) But personally, I could not make myself finish this. 3.5 stars (Looks at back of book. Reads “2082”. Looks at Goodreads synopsis. Reads “2083”. Is confused.) New York, 2083. Chocolate and coffee are illegal. Curfews are enforced. Water is a precious commodity. And Anya Balanchine, orphaned daughter of a prominent criminal underworld figure, is arrested for attempted murder. Gabrielle Zevin drops her readers into a future that is unsettlingly easy to imagine (with the exception of the chocolate ban, perhaps). It’s our world – just bleaker, harder, dar 3.5 stars (Looks at back of book. Reads “2082”. Looks at Goodreads synopsis. Reads “2083”. Is confused.) New York, 2083. Chocolate and coffee are illegal. Curfews are enforced. Water is a precious commodity. And Anya Balanchine, orphaned daughter of a prominent criminal underworld figure, is arrested for attempted murder. Gabrielle Zevin drops her readers into a future that is unsettlingly easy to imagine (with the exception of the chocolate ban, perhaps). It’s our world – just bleaker, harder, darker. Rather than wildly hypothetic dystopian elements or a brutal totalitarian government system, Zevin has drawn on current economic and environmental concerns and amplified them, building a New York that is disquieting, yet still recognisable. Futuristic details are used sparingly. Echoes of the prohibition era resonate in the references to speakeasies and crime syndicates, wielding their power by controlling the flow of contraband. From the outset (that would be the table of contents, in this instance), I was quite taken with Anya as a narrator. Her voice is sharp and intelligent, and the first person style works well to flesh out Anya’s distinct character. It brings her to life, rather than falling into the flat, generic, “insert-self-here” type of prose that occasionally crops up in YA novels. Anya is shrewd and pragmatic, yet there are hints that there is more to her than just practicality and business-smarts. In her developing relationship with Win, her staunch loyalty and protective instincts towards her family, and her conflicted feelings about religion and spirituality, Anya still has moments of uncertainty and vulnerability. While she’s a savvy young woman with a fierce streak, she’s still just sixteen years old, with a lot on her shoulders. Anya relates her story in past tense, often interjecting her own narrative to clarify or comment on events from her present perspective, which lends the writing a conversational (and occasionally confessional) tone. It’s true that Anya often keeps her cards close to her chest, and she doesn’t wax sentimental or linger over details, particularly when it comes to her romantic entanglements. This can at times render her somewhat emotionally distant, but her reticence felt in keeping with her character. [Small personal aside here to say that I think I connected with Anya so much because we had a bonding moment over having curly hair. When Anya confesses to not usually liking people running their fingers through her hair, I practically cheered in agreement.] Besides Anya herself, for the most part I enjoyed the supporting characters in ‘All These Things I’ve Done.’ In particular, the members of Anya’s immediate family, along with Gable, Win and Scarlet, were well realized. I felt invested in their interactions with Anya and the way their relationships played out in the plot. The themes of family and loyalty feature heavily in this story, and as such Anya’s siblings play a large part in shaping who she is and what choices she makes. The other Balanchine relatives, however, I felt lacked the depth of characterisation to make them truly interesting and compelling, though I suspect we have much more to see of them in the future. Given the name of the trilogy [YES! ] we have a clue about the direction Anya’s arc will take. While a considerable portion of the book deals with her burgeoning “star-crossed” (and I use that term extremely loosely) romance, it is evident that Zevin has larger issues at play here, in terms of gender politics and personal identity. Using the backdrop of “the family”, with its patriarchal traditions and strict societal rules Zevin deftly manoeuvres Anya into both external and internal conflicts which, I predict and hope, will have Anya examining the power she holds and redefining her position in the Balanchine family. The pressure exerted by the gender role views held the family, along with Anya’s inner struggle between head and heart, open up the story for some potentially interesting developments in the future installments. Granted, to make this work and build strong plot threads that will carry through into further books, the pacing did suffer a little. At times I felt the book lurched in terms of tension, as the plot juggles the tasks of being a Bildungsroman, developing a crime story and creating a believable romance. However, I found the climax gripping and I was racing through the final chapters, caught up in Anya’s unraveling world. The final page, in my opinion, was brilliant, closing the story on a slightly ominous, resonant note. All These Things I’ve Done is an unusual novel, with an interesting premise and a well-executed voice. Despite a few qualms, I found it an engrossing read, and I’m interested to see how Anya’s story develops in the following books. With a cover like that, a premise like that, and the name of one of YA’s most highly awarded authors attached to it, how could one not pick this book up? With her trademark intelligent writing and world-building, Gabrielle Zevin’s dystopian ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE should be a hit for those who like their YA dystopias a touch on the literary side. It doesn’t quite hit the mark in terms of characterization, but I still very much enjoyed this novel, and look forward to its sequels. Anya’s New Yor With a cover like that, a premise like that, and the name of one of YA’s most highly awarded authors attached to it, how could one not pick this book up? With her trademark intelligent writing and world-building, Gabrielle Zevin’s dystopian ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE should be a hit for those who like their YA dystopias a touch on the literary side. It doesn’t quite hit the mark in terms of characterization, but I still very much enjoyed this novel, and look forward to its sequels. Anya’s New York is like the present day gone to seed and corruption. Famous landmarks have been transformed into slumming hangouts and holding areas, and prepubescent kids rob people off the street with stolen handguns. The setting is fraught with tensions of all sorts, and Zevin makes great use of it. We keenly feel Anya’s struggle to juggle taking care of her family, standing her ground against her corrupt extended family, developing platonic and romantic relationships, and staying on the right side of the law. It is a testimony to the world’s potential that I couldn’t put this book down, even when the plot trudged along like it had all the time in the world to tell its story. I had the same problem with ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE that I had with Gabrielle Zevin’s other books: that is, I know that Zevin’s writing is wonderful and mature and intelligent, but for some reason, I don’t find myself connecting to the characters as much as feel like I should. For example, while Anya and Win’s relationship is pleasant, it didn’t, I dunno, sweep me off my feet or anything. Anya’s “enemies” are supposed to be sinister and scary, but I didn’t really find myself that indignant or protective on Anya’s behalf. But I feel like that’s just a “me” thing, because most others I know really like Zevin’s writing. Either way, I enjoyed ALL THESE THINGS I’VE DONE. At times it can feel like a really long setup to the second book, but if you’re anything like me, you’ll be able to enjoy the stellar world-building along the way. A couple of months ago a small package arrived on my doorstep. To my amazement, it included not only a copy of the high anticipated All These Things I’ve Done, the newest book by the lovely Gabrielle Zevin, but also some chocolate covered espresso beans. The espresso beans ended up being delicious but the book was even better! Enchanting and engaging, All These Things I’ve Done has to be one of the best books I’ve read so far this year, and given the fact that it’s the first in series, I also th A couple of months ago a small package arrived on my doorstep. To my amazement, it included not only a copy of the high anticipated All These Things I’ve Done, the newest book by the lovely Gabrielle Zevin, but also some chocolate covered espresso beans. The espresso beans ended up being delicious but the book was even better! Enchanting and engaging, All These Things I’ve Done has to be one of the best books I’ve read so far this year, and given the fact that it’s the first in series, I also think that this may just be the next HUGE series. Mark my words! All These Things I’ve Done dives right into the year of 2083 with the viewpoint of Anya Balanchine, the daughter of the New York City’s infamous crime boss. Anya’s world hasn’t exactly been easy in the past few years. Not only are both of her parents now dead, but her beloved grandmother’s health is rapidly declining and she’s quickly becoming the prime caretaker of her younger sister and her older brother. That’s not even adding in the fact that some suspicious things have been occurring in her family’s manufacturing business- the one thing Anya would like nothing more than to get away from unscathed. However, everything soon takes a sudden turn when Anya’s ex-boyfriend is poisoned by a chocolate bar from her family’s companyone that she gave him. Now dealing with the police as well as her mysterious and sometimes deadly family, Anya’s life is quickly unraveling, especially when she becomes involved with the son of the new assistant district attorney. Will Anya clear her name, save her family, and get the guy before it’s too late? Or will her life be the next one taken? Only time and more pages can tell in this deliciously creepy and imaginative new dystopian! Anya is without a doubt one of my new favorite protagonists. Dauntless and fierce yet flawed, Anya was not only easy to root for but extremely likable. I enjoyed seeing her interact with her siblings and grandmother, all of whom she loved to pieces, as well as her friends and foes. Every different relationship showed a different side to her character- the vulnerable side to the fearless side to the innocent one. However, the best part of this story had to be plot. Fast paced and full of twists and turns, every point to it was fully developed in a fabulously fun way. It was so hard to put this book down at times, and even when I did, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. One of the points I enjoyed the most was the setting. I felt Gabrielle Zevin did a great job of making it come to life through Anya’s descriptions as well as seeing how the characters interacted with it. Plus, this review wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t address the romance between Anya and Win. Win was swoon worthy and just as head strong as Anya, if not more, so when they were together sparks flew in more ways than one! Romantic and spellbinding, All These Things I’ve Done is one of those books I highly suggest you pick up! Seriously, it’s one of the dystopians I’ve read this year. New York City is a very different place in 2083. Crime and poverty are everywhere, and it seems that the only thing that the government is good at doing is banning and rationing items. You’d think that life would get kind of boring since caffeine and chocolate are illegal, but life for Anya Balanchine is always a little more interesting than she’d like it to be. All the excitement probably comes with the family name—the Balanchine crime family is one of the most eminent crime families in the wor New York City is a very different place in 2083. Crime and poverty are everywhere, and it seems that the only thing that the government is good at doing is banning and rationing items. You’d think that life would get kind of boring since caffeine and chocolate are illegal, but life for Anya Balanchine is always a little more interesting than she’d like it to be. All the excitement probably comes with the family name—the Balanchine crime family is one of the most eminent crime families in the world. Anya would prefer going along with business as usual, a routine of school, taking care of her siblings, and avoiding her ex-boyfriend, but when the ex-boyfriend is poisoned by the chocolate manufactured by her family, routine gets thrown out the door. Now, in addition to all her other responsibilities, Anya has to figure out the truth behind the poisoned chocolate and protect her family name, all while trying not to fall for the son of the new assistant DA. It would seem overwhelming, but Anya was raised a Balanchine—and she’s too smart to go down without a fight. I enjoyed Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac and absolutely I loved Elsewhere, but I have to say that All These Things I’ve Done is Zevin’s best YA novel yet. I was initially wary of the overall idea of the story, because the first synopsis I read didn’t give a great overview of the book, but I’m so glad I decided to trust my faith in Zevin because All These Things I’ve Done is an incredible story. Anya is a more serious but very intelligent narrator, and as a result, readers gain insight into both Anya’s personal thoughts and the complex system of loyalties associated with the Balanchine family. I don’t think I’d be able to pinpoint the exact point where I became completely invested in this story, but this was not a book I could willingly put down as each new complication was introduced to the story. I loved this novel for so many reasons, because of Zevin’s superb storytelling, the believability and strength of each emotion portrayed, and that although this story is labeled as dystopian, the setting isn’t so outlandish or extreme that readers have to take a big leap to connect our present day with the conditions in Anya’s world. I’m sure I’m not going to be the only reader anxiously awaiting the next installment in the Birthright series. All These Things of Done is a must read for all fans of Zevin’s earlier YA novels and Heist Society by Ally Carter. Reposted from. I read the last page, closed the book, smiled and kind of hugged/patted it lol Have you ever gotten that feeling? All These Things I’ve Done was the ultimate comfort and deliciously good read. I fall in love with Zevin’s writing. Her characters are PHENOMENAL! Anya Balanchine, she is such an honest. I was with her every step of the way. And even through I didn’t get I chance to meet her father, he seemed like a wise man(even though he was a notorious crime boss.)Who shaped Anna to be the young br I read the last page, closed the book, smiled and kind of hugged/patted it lol Have you ever gotten that feeling? All These Things I’ve Done was the ultimate comfort and deliciously good read. I fall in love with Zevin’s writing. Her characters are PHENOMENAL! Anya Balanchine, she is such an honest. I was with her every step of the way. And even through I didn’t get I chance to meet her father, he seemed like a wise man(even though he was a notorious crime boss.)Who shaped Anna to be the young brilliant lady she is today. Family and the people close to her mean EVERYthing. She goes through hell to keep everyone safe and protected. They’re what keeps her going. Loved Win too.he is so sweet, intelligent and honorable. I know some people have expressed how her best friend, Scarlet, kind of “betrayed” her. But I didn’t get that impression at all. Yeah she did a “girl code no no” but who doesn’t make mistakes every now and then. AND clearly she’s still Anya’s BF. She’s a loyal friend and hopefully it stays that way. You guys should definitely read this, if you like dystopian and a dash of contemporary. Strong female protag, great characters and plot. THEN JUST READ IT! You won’t regret it, seriously. I’m so addicted, I don’t even need the chocolate or caffeine just give me the 2nd book! I'll admit that this was fun to read, and that the echoes of the Prohibition era was done quite well, but it was the worldbuilding that really killed it for me. I mean, apart from the absurd notion that coffee and chocolate are banned, I can't understand why those two items are banned when alcohol is legal, even for minors. A lot of things just don't make sense in terms of the worldbuilding. If anything, it felt like it was dystopian for the sake of being a dystopian. There was nothing remarkabl I'll admit that this was fun to read, and that the echoes of the Prohibition era was done quite well, but it was the worldbuilding that really killed it for me. I mean, apart from the absurd notion that coffee and chocolate are banned, I can't understand why those two items are banned when alcohol is legal, even for minors. A lot of things just don't make sense in terms of the worldbuilding. If anything, it felt like it was dystopian for the sake of being a dystopian. There was nothing remarkable about this book, and it obviously jumped onto the dystopian bandwagon. The romance was a bit iffy. Anya did a complete about-face in terms of her feelings for Win. One moment she was like, 'Oh, I'm not interested. He's not my type', and the next, she's planning on having sex with him (which, if you've read the book, and know that she's a Catholic, is off-character). I won't even touch up on the summary on the back of the book: ' Anya will have to choose between love and loyalty, knowing that whatever she decides will have shattering consequences: heartbreak or a gangland war that will tear the city apart.' That's her decision? It seems like a bit of a no-brainer to me. And considering that she wasn't even remotely interested in Win when she was forbidden to date him, I don't see why it should have been that big a deal. The story was pretty awesome, but when the unecessary romance came into play in the second half of the novel, all trace of plot scampered away, only revealing its ugly face in the last fifty or so pages. Not impressive. Another positive aspect that I have to comment on is the voice and readability. The voice was very likeable, and easy to read. It made for a quick, light read, perfect for a day in the sun. This book was nothing like what I was expecting. And I mean that in a good way! I loved how All These Things I’ve Done was set in the near future, so the world hadn’t progressed drastically. I liked being able to recognize things from today. For example, when Anya goes to Liberty Island (which wasn’t a tourist spot anymore), she talks about a statue of feet wearing sandals which I recognized to be the remains of the Statue of Liberty. But things still had changed. Water is rationed, paper bo Wow. This book was nothing like what I was expecting. And I mean that in a good way! I loved how All These Things I’ve Done was set in the near future, so the world hadn’t progressed drastically. I liked being able to recognize things from today. For example, when Anya goes to Liberty Island (which wasn’t a tourist spot anymore), she talks about a statue of feet wearing sandals which I recognized to be the remains of the Statue of Liberty. But things still had changed. Water is rationed, paper books are rare, and caffeine is illegal. Anya was an awesome protagonist. I loved how she was realistic about relationships; it was something I could relate to. I also loved how her relationship with Win had development, and it wasn’t over-emotional or angsty. But that doesn’t mean it was lacking in the passion which comes in later. (Yay for development!) I also found the crime-family aspect to be very intriguing. Anya’s father was head of the chocolate mafia before he died, so often his old friends and colleagues showed up to create conflict and suspense that made this book so much more enjoyable. Original, engrossing, and stunning. This is the first book by Gabrielle Zevin that I’ve read, but it surely will not be the last! I can’t wait for the sequel to All These Things I’ve Done! There has been a huge upswing in the amount of dystopian and dystopian-like books written in the past few years. Some are excellent. Some have excellent premises that are just not quite carried off. And some have premises that leave you kinda scratching your head. Despite all of the good things I've heard about Gabrielle Zevin, I was afraid this was going to fall in the latter category. I mean, a world where chocolate and caffeine are banned, but alcohol is not? And since that was all that was r There has been a huge upswing in the amount of dystopian and dystopian-like books written in the past few years. Some are excellent. Some have excellent premises that are just not quite carried off. And some have premises that leave you kinda scratching your head. Despite all of the good things I've heard about Gabrielle Zevin, I was afraid this was going to fall in the latter category. I mean, a world where chocolate and caffeine are banned, but alcohol is not? And since that was all that was really being said about the book, it seemed like a pretty thin basis for a dystopia - hell, for a book in general. I was.hesitant. I've been burned by a thin premise before. But here's the thing (well, the things): 1. The dystopian-like elements of this are almost incidental. They play a part (a big part), but it's not a dystopian story. No matter how questionable elements in your world are, if you do them well, they will work. If you build it they will come. If you back your shit up, I'll buy in. So, to break it down: This is being tossed around as a dystopia, and like I said, the elements are there. But I am a firm believer that dystopia means something. Dystopia - like satire - is used to highlight some aspect of society, to show us what could be from what is. It's a magnifying glass held to our flaws, our society taken to its logical extremes, and all with the mantra that it's for our own good. All These Things I've Done does have a smidge of that, but it's lacking the verve, the fervor, the ardency that comes with A Message. And the reason is that it's not really about that. Zevin's dystopian society just is. It's not being used as a spotlight, and not even completely as a catalyst, but more just as a backdrop to the real story. It's no different than an alien world or a fictionalized contemporary world. It's simply a matter of 'this is what it is, and this is what we know.' No one's fighting (yet), no one's being made martyrs - it's not about that. It's more that this is just the world that is, and this is one girl's story in it. This is a simple story of a girl who gets caught up in a whole lot of mess when the world starts noticing her and she starts noticing it back. So let's move on from the dystopia into what it really is. I've read reviews from a few friends who felt like they weren't able to connect to the characters or that Anya and the narration was really detached. This was one of my favorite things. The main character, Anya, is a bit of a cold fish. She has led a really hard life and has an insane amount of pressure on her shoulders, all the while trying to get out from under the shadow of her family and what they represent (which, as the daughter of a slain mob boss, is no easy feat). Anya's reservedness and tendency to go cold in her narration, to recap things and make less of them - I found this perfectly in keeping with her character and the world/character-building. I understood her thoughts and reactions, and her standoffishness and fierce need to protect. I liked her reluctance and pragmatism, especially where Win is concerned. It made her seem more real to me, and in some ways, more relatable. Everything she is and does has a basis in her past, and that comes through palpably. Generally, I felt this was true across the board. I found all of the characters pretty relatable and I thought they added to my understanding of Anya and her world pretty nicely. Yes, some are cardboard and I could have wished for something more dynamic, but in the telling, somehow it still works. Anya's constant 'Daddyisms' - wise words from her mobster father - made sense and helped build the picture. The whole family unit, who they are and how they react and are portrayed, that all worked for me. Win was a little too good and Gable a little too bad.But I do think Win is a good love interest, even if the whole thing creeps dangerously close to something that would normally irritate me (Romeo & Juliet bullshiz. Which this is, as it is essentially a retelling, star-crossed lovers and all that jazz). But Anya's behavior saves it for me, cold-fish that she is. I could have done more shades of gray, but that is all really in hindsight because, as I said, as I was reading, it all just worked for me. All that said, there were 2 things that bothered me. I mentioned the choc/caff banning as being a BIT ridiculous, but I can see a banning happening. I can even see coffee speakeasies and black market extra dark chocolate bars. What I CANNOT see is people getting high off of a candy bar. I mean, we all joke about being chocoholics, but come on now. I don't buy an honest-to-AA caffeine addict, I just don't. But this was minimal-ish and I got over it. The second thing that bothered me hit me like a ton of bricks and is spoilery, so if you don't want to know. PRE-SPOILER (you can read this, it's safe) I reallyreallyreallyreallyreallyreally liked the relationship between Anya and Scarlet, her best friend, through most of the book. I was so damn happy to be reading a book with a female main character who gets along with other female characters. We all had a best friend in high school and for the most part, they weren't back-stabbing c*nts. I am so beyond sick of this Mean Girl trend I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU. So I was reading, and there was no Mean Girl-ness - even from the school gossip, who I was just waiting to turn bitchy - and I was giddy with the idea that there was going to be a healthy female relationship in a YA book. And it wasn't even saccharine and fake - these two do have problems, they do have arguments and disagreements. But then they do this miraculous thing where they talk about them and remain friends. It was heaven. SPOILER [ And then Scarlet did something that I can't forgive, even if Anya could. Scarlet began dating Gable, Anya's ex-boyfriend, who'd tried to date-rape her and then told the school she was a slut when she wouldn't sleep with him. And then Aw- hellll-no Misty came out, and I was.argh. My came out shortly there after, in which I mentioned that I am working my way up to the 'douchebags and Mean Girls' rant because I can't make it past unintelligible cursing quite yet. So no points for Scarlet. Pissed me RIGHT the fuck off. And they get it back on track. There are reasons Scarlet dates him, and she's a big softy, and Anya forgives her so I guess I'm supposed to, too. ] END SPOILER. That flaw knocked it back some, but it didn't ruin my enjoyment of the book by any means. I'm confident Anya can take care of herself, and Gable certainly gets what's coming, and probably will forever and ever amen, so I'm good with that. Scarlet's bad choice wasn't enough to spoil my the book for me, and Anya's voice and the overall dark tone of the story worked for me enough that, coupled with the hints of where this series is going, I'm certainly eager to see more. I didn’t know much about this book before I started reading it. Just the basics. Dystopian world. Protagonist is a girl. Something about attempted murder. And chocolate and coffee are illegal (come on, that’s enough to make anyone pick up the book). It promised to be good. What I didn’t know? It’s a romance. Probably the most intense romance I’ve read. (Yeah, I know, the word “love” is plastered all over the back cover; but in my defence I didn’t get to see the back-cover until I picked it up fr I didn’t know much about this book before I started reading it. Just the basics. Dystopian world. Protagonist is a girl. Something about attempted murder. And chocolate and coffee are illegal (come on, that’s enough to make anyone pick up the book). It promised to be good. What I didn’t know? It’s a romance. Probably the most intense romance I’ve read. (Yeah, I know, the word “love” is plastered all over the back cover; but in my defence I didn’t get to see the back-cover until I picked it up from the library. And, just a quick note on the backcover.the blurb actually has very little to do with the book. I don't know why they wrote it like that. Completely obsolete.) In terms of a story, All These Things I’ve Done is a great read. The dystopian world setting is a little more unique then others I’ve read. Anya (our protagonist) is the daughter of the dead leader of the crime underworld. Her family is runs an illegal chocolate business. The city is in ruins. Water is rationed and precious. And then there’s the high school. That, I have to say, doesn’t change much in 2090 (or thereabouts; I'm not 100 percent on the dating of the book). In terms of plot, it’s a bit erratic. I felt a lot of holes and jolting bumps as I went through, and it left me frowning quite a lot. At one point, Anya is sent to “Liberty” (which is a kids correction facility actually built into the Statue of Liberty; cool!) and I felt her whole time there was totally irrelevant. The way she acted in there, the way she was treated, why she ended up there—I wasn’t impressed. The story, so flowing and meaningful till there, took a jolting turn and made a mash of her internment. When Anya left Liberty, the story line went back to being flawless. What’s with that? And the characters? Full marks for creating realistic, relatable, and unique characters. Our protagonist actually has backbone (utterly astounding!). She’s tough and has an fiery temper, but the author shows the readers her weakness and her loves. Seeing Anya’s soft side doesn’t make us think she’s soft and goopy. It makes us love her. Anya has strong protective instincts. She loves her family and she’ll do absolutely anything to keep them safe and together. She’s really worried about Heaven and Hell and keeps up her Catholic rituals to try and avoid getting there. I loved that slant on the story. Usually God is void in these kinds of stories. And even if the way Anya is going about getting to heaven isn't quite right, she’s still conscious of it—and of keeping her purity; and praying; and trying to keep out of trouble. And Anya’s best friendoh yes! I'm not usually impressed with the “best friends” of our amazing protagonists, but Scarlet was good. She wasn’t a flimsy one-dimensional character either. And the love interest, Win? Well, let’s just say he was perfect. A little too perfect I think. His only flaw was falling in love with the girl his father said not to and not taking the hint when Anya told him to take a hike and listen to his dad. I don’t like perfect characters. Butthough Win could have had more guts, he didn’t come across as a floppy, goody-goody that you want to shove out a window. His character is firm, just too good to be true. Anya’s family are also portrayed well and written with a unique slant. But I found it hard to relate to her older brother. He has a slight mental disability after a car accident that killed their mother—but as a reader, I didn’t pick that up at all. The only different thing about him is he cries more than a boy of 19 usually does. But otherwise, his disability is basically invisible to the reader. I wonder if the author wanted it that way. The romance is quite prominent in this book. Not like in other styles I’ve read (like The Hunger Games or Incarceron, where the love-interest is there, but not the point of the story). There are sexual references, particularly in the first chapter. But, I have to say, the author remains well above board here. The book isn’t tainted with lustful descriptions or sex scenes, and kissing is the height of the contact. Anya is quite forward about wanting to remain pure until she’s married, and I think “Good for her!” It’s not often a book will so plainly underline that belief. The book carries serious consideration on family values as well. The love Anya has toward her family is unbelievable! She’s dedicated to them. They always come first—and even the boy she loves comes second. Beside the plot glitches, I didn’t mind the book. It will never rate as a favourite, but that’s mainly due to the plot problems (and not me being biased because it's a romance. Well.not quite). Having good characters is number one on my list—but a good plot is up there too. I really liked the twist with chocolate and coffee being illegal—and how that made them so highly sort after. On the other hand, alcohol, which was in boring abundance, wasn’t a problem for anyone. And that was one of the thoughts running through the book. If something’s illegal or restricted, does that make people want it more? Look at the lovely cover for this book. Do you think that it could be about a dystopian world? Peel away the dust jacket (thanks for the tip, Mocha Latte!) – There’s a surprise beneath. It’s a Balanchine Special Dark Chocolate book cover. It’s 2083 and the futuristic New York City is seriously lacking resources. Water is scarce, food is rationed, and paper and candles are not readily available. What remains of the Statue of Liberty are her feet and the bottom of her dress. New York City is p Look at the lovely cover for this book. Do you think that it could be about a dystopian world? Peel away the dust jacket (thanks for the tip, Mocha Latte!) – There’s a surprise beneath. It’s a Balanchine Special Dark Chocolate book cover. It’s 2083 and the futuristic New York City is seriously lacking resources. Water is scarce, food is rationed, and paper and candles are not readily available. What remains of the Statue of Liberty are her feet and the bottom of her dress. New York City is plagued by crime and corruption, especially since chocolate and caffeine have been prohibited. The good news – you can still get a drink and there is no drinking age. OK, so I can believe that in about 70 years or so, resources will have dwindled. I can understand that crime and corruption could run rampant in a large city. But a ban on chocolate AND caffeine, two of my favorite food groups? That is brutal. Prohibitions on these items lead to a healthy black market. The Balanchine family controlled the chocolate trade. Their trademark Balanchine Special Dark was highly sought after. Then someone poisons the chocolate supply What’s interesting about this book is that it begins as the story of a young girl living in New York City in 2083. Anya leads a pretty normal life under her circumstances. She attends a Catholic High School, hangs out with her ditzy friend Scarlet, and her boyfriend Win (short for Goodwin). As you continue reading, Anya is not an ordinary girl. She is the daughter of Leonyd Balanchine, head of the Russian mafiya. Anya is a remarkable girl. She lives with her younger sister Natalya, her older brother Leonyd, and her dying grandmother. Anya bears a lot of responsibility to ensure that her family can stay together. Leonyd has not been the same since he was injured in a botched mob hit. Anya is protective of her family and has a level of maturity beyond her years. Anya is not like any teen heroine I’ve read. There is no angst, though there should be. There is no whining, either. Anya has strong beliefs and a strong moral code. I was surprised to find out that this book is part of the Birthright trilogy. The other books are untitled and there was no publication information at this time. It would be interesting to see what happens to Anya and the rest of her family in the next book. Review posted on. The first few pages of this I absolutely could not take seriously. Honestly, you try and keep a straight face when someone is talking about drinking espresso like it’s getting shot up with meth. The feeling passed fairly quickly though and in this story I found a character that I could really like. Quick Overview: Anya Balanchine is known mainly as the daughter of the most notorious (and dead) chocolate crime boss. All Anya wants though is to stay under the radar and keep her and her family safe. The first few pages of this I absolutely could not take seriously. Honestly, you try and keep a straight face when someone is talking about drinking espresso like it’s getting shot up with meth. The feeling passed fairly quickly though and in this story I found a character that I could really like. Quick Overview: Anya Balanchine is known mainly as the daughter of the most notorious (and dead) chocolate crime boss. All Anya wants though is to stay under the radar and keep her and her family safe. But with trying not to fall for the new assistant DA’s son and sudden accusations of attempted murder, flying under the radar is getting close to impossible. In fact Anya finds it hard not to be in the spotlight lately, and it brings all the wrong kind of attention, like from her mafiya (this is how they spell it in the book) family. After I got over my laughing fit I thought the ban of coffee and chocolate was actually a pretty original idea. I suppose this could be considered dystopia, but it really doesn’t hold the same style. Anya is a likeable character. Not in the way that you want to be her best friend, but because you can respect her grounded-ness (is that a word?) and determination to keep her family safe. A lot of Anya’s decisions may seem insensitive, but I could understand her and can honestly say that for the most part I would’ve done the same thing if it meant doing right by my family. I could understand her protectiveness towards her brother Leo and I loved her innocent but wise younger sister Natty. Now for the not so great. At times it seemed like the authors was trying too hard to make us feel sorry for Anya. It’s really unnecessary seeing as we already know about her circumstances, so it was overkill. We are constantly being told that Anya is tough and she’s excessively mean at parts just to show this point. The chocolate and coffee ban I think it supposed to show how outlawing drugs and restricting drinking just causes crime. And I agree, but making them legal would mean that you trust people to use these things responsibly and I don’t. Not to mention that drugs and alcohol impair your actions and judgment a lot more than coffee and chocolate put together. I mean really, how many times have you heard of someone being hit by a car cause the driver was under the intoxicating influence of chocolate? My real beef though is that somewhere in the middle I just lost Anya. All of sudden she's detached and at odds with some of her strongest beliefs fora very stupid reason. It makes her lose some of her credibility because she had previously established how important these things were to her. I would’ve liked to see a lot more of the mafiya conflict that we see earlier and at the end of the book. Even though I’ve got these hang ups I really enjoyed this book. The characters are like normal people with their flaws and complications. Their actions are (almost) always understandable and in correlation with their beliefs and struggles. I love the loyalty and love between Anya and her brother and sister. Strong sibling relationships are one of the most underappreciated relationships in literature I think, as are families in general. The dynamic between Anya’s immediate family and her extended mafiya family was also interesting to see. There’s an obvious distance, but inseparable bond between them. It’s a unique and interesting read, but I’m not sure I want read the sequel. I can just see things getting all kinds of convoluted. I don’t think I’ll be able to resist seeing what happens to Anya and the rest of her family though. Besides, I love me some crime drama. All These Things I've Done is a new take on the dystopian genre. In a world where chocolate is banned? Who wouldn't want to read about that? This is the first book in the Birthright series that you will either love or.not get along with. Set in New York City, 2083, 16-year-old Anya is the one keeping her family together. Her parents died in a car crash. Her brother is suffering from that accident. Her grandmother is dying. What does she do? She does the best she can to keep her family safe, but All These Things I've Done is a new take on the dystopian genre. In a world where chocolate is banned? Who wouldn't want to read about that? This is the first book in the Birthright series that you will either love or.not get along with. Set in New York City, 2083, 16-year-old Anya is the one keeping her family together. Her parents died in a car crash. Her brother is suffering from that accident. Her grandmother is dying. What does she do? She does the best she can to keep her family safe, but when her ex-boyfriend is poisoned by the chocolate that Anya gave him, she is an immediate suspect. A few weeks later she meets Will, a charming young boy who is genuinely interested in her, but Anya knows she can never make that feeling mutual. Win's father is the new D.A and he does not want Anya messing up his chances to be mayor by ruining his family's reputation. Can Anya take this risk? All These Things I've Done wasn't anything like I thought it would be. The plot line was predictable, the main character was boring, and the list just goes on and on. I must say, I really liked the idea for the book when I read the blurb; the romance sounded interesting and, well, overall I just couldn't wait to get my hands on it! Sadly, the book did not live up to my expectations. I didn't enjoy the Gabrielle's writing style or the way she built up her characters, I probably skim read 3/4 of the book because I couldn't stand to read another word of Anya's thoughts. Okay, sure, the book wasn't entirely bad, I still found positive moments that I cherished for as long as humanly possible. One character in particular encouraged me to finish the book: Win. He was nice and, at times, funny. I thoroughly enjoyed his personality! And if you want me to be honest, I skim read the book just to find bits to read with him in it. I can't help it! The girl, Anya, drove me nuts. 'No, sorry, I can't do this, I'm pure, I have to save myself!' , WELL YOUR NOT DOING A GOOD JOB ARE YOU? FLIRTING WITH WIN ISN'T GOING TO HELP THAT PURENESS, IS IT?! The answer: NO. I'm not saying you shouldn't try out this book, I'm just saying that I don't think that this book will satisfy reader's high expectations now-a-days. I'm going to read the sequel, not because I'm desperately aching to find out what happens, more along the lines of wanting to see if the series does get any better. So, give this a go and let me know! This wasn't much of anything. It wasn't a love story, it wasn't a dystopic future, it wasn't an exciting action crime drama, it certainly wasn't science fiction as it is cataloged at the library. This story fell short of being defined in any genre just as it fell short in being interesting or appealing in any way. The love interest, Win, was boring and annoying (he wore lots of hats and called his girlfriend 'lass') and the main character Anya and her family was unsympathetic despite the sympathy This wasn't much of anything. It wasn't a love story, it wasn't a dystopic future, it wasn't an exciting action crime drama, it certainly wasn't science fiction as it is cataloged at the library. This story fell short of being defined in any genre just as it fell short in being interesting or appealing in any way. The love interest, Win, was boring and annoying (he wore lots of hats and called his girlfriend 'lass') and the main character Anya and her family was unsympathetic despite the sympathy the author forced on the reader by killing off everyone. On top of everything else, the excuse of Catholicism Anya used for some things (not having any sex) but not others (being mean and terrible) made her 'religion' weak and unconvincing. I suspect the Catholic, private school going, curvy, ethnic, mobster daughter descriptions assigned to Anya is the way for the author to use stereotypes instead of character development to flesh out an otherwise lacking leading lady. This one is hard for me to review. I really, really wanted to like it, then by the end I had to come to terms that it just wasn’t that good. It started out good - a mob boss’s daughter, living in a dystopian world. Chocolate and coffee are banned substances, you had really good side characters and then she lost me about half way. Anya became whiny and I lost interest. I don’t know that I would finish the series. I hate to give bad reviews because I know how hard it is to write a book, I just sor This one is hard for me to review. I really, really wanted to like it, then by the end I had to come to terms that it just wasn’t that good. It started out good - a mob boss’s daughter, living in a dystopian world. Chocolate and coffee are banned substances, you had really good side characters and then she lost me about half way. Anya became whiny and I lost interest. I don’t know that I would finish the series. I hate to give bad reviews because I know how hard it is to write a book, I just sort of felt the dystopian theme was thrown in there because that is what is popular now. This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, Warning: This book promotes using your best friend, controlling other people's lives, losing your temper randomly, not learning anything from traumatic experiences, quoting dead people in every other sentence, whining about how miserable your life is, treating your siblings like they're animals that need to be led everywhere by a leash and trained in what not to do, and lying to just about every person that moves. That was probably one of the worst book's I've ever opened. I would have labeled it Warning: This book promotes using your best friend, controlling other people's lives, losing your temper randomly, not learning anything from traumatic experiences, quoting dead people in every other sentence, whining about how miserable your life is, treating your siblings like they're animals that need to be led everywhere by a leash and trained in what not to do, and lying to just about every person that moves. That was probably one of the worst book's I've ever opened. I would have labeled it as a Did Not Finish, but I somehow did. I dragged myself through every single page. Every single one. I felt like if different authors had attempted to re-write this novel in their own way, it would end up a hundred times better than this novel did. I really, really tried to like this book. Honestly, I did. I expected some kind of character development, and if I was lucky, a plot that made sense and a series I would be happy to continue. Of course, I was way wrong. I don't even know where to start on the problems I faced while reading. I really don't. Let's see.the plot was alright, I guess, but the parts that I assumed (or at least hoped) would be fast-paced and exciting were short and dull. [I mean, her boyfriend gets shot, and there's no desperate attempt to see him? She supposedly loves him but all she can think to say to him through a message by her best friend (who I don't even know why she still hangs around Anya) is 'Thanks for the note'. ] This girl had emotional, psychological, and any other -al problems a girl could have. She's got it all. From the denial of her attraction towards Win [--it freaking came out of nowhere, I swear. She hated him, didn't want to get close to him, thought she would be better off without him.then suddenly, she's making out with him and almost having sex. ] Then she dictates what the people she knows can and can't do, and it's like she owns them. Her best friend? [ She tells her that she can't be friends with her ex-boyfriend, or date him--even though he changed since being poisoned, who wouldn't?--or their friendship is over. Then suddenly wants to be friends again when she needs a favor. Great take on best friends. She also seemed to have a problem with siblings, I see. Her brother's a freaking adult, even though he's never been the same since the accident. It doesn't mean he has to be scolded like a 5 year old or told where he can and can't work like he's a kid. She's 16 for crying out loud, and she makes it seem like she's their parent. At least parents have some kind of obligation to tell their kids what to do because they aren't adults yet. For a 16 year old girl to do it, it's just hypocritical, and just wrong. Siblings know there are times when you have to butt out, and Anya never got that. Poor, poor Win. I am so sorry that he ever had the misfortune of falling in love with Anya, I truly am. He is sweet, and kind, and caring, and yeah, a little naive. He thinks for himself, and sticks by the people he cares about no matter what. He looks at things from both angles and somehow tolerates Anya in a way that I cannot, so kudos to you, Win. He just seemed so genuine and.nice, that it is just pure insanity how, not only did he fall for Anya, but she somehow denied ever liking him until she's suddenly making out with him. That girl is seriously screwed up. I understand the whole hardships-in-life, my-life-is-so-miserable thing. I've had to deal with a lot myself, and I still am. And yes, I feel sorry for myself too--everyone does at some point. But she was the Mother of all Whiners, to me, and I hope I never ever for the rest of my life, complain about my life, or anything, as much as she does. I suppose, now, when I complain about myself and how I'm not this, or not that, I can think of her and remember I could be infinitely worse. I could be like her, and no one should have the misfortune of that. I also didn't understand the whole 'Anya quotes Daddy every other page' thing. If I had to guess, I'd say she thinks or says 'Daddy said', or 'Daddy used to say', or 'Daddy always believed', about 175 times throughout the entire novel. Not even joking. I wish I'd have written them all down because I could write a final paper for my English class with nothing but the 'words of wisdom' Daddy provided through Anya. I swear, it was like Daddy did nothing but philosophize every single aspect of life. Like he did nothing but sit around and provide deep sentimental words every time someone moved anywhere near him. That's how bad it was. 3.5 stars This is a fun, exciting and at times thrilling read that felt like a cross between a dystopian and a contemporary book. There's a lot of things that Gabrielle intertwines into her story that captured my attention, and kept invested in the over all story even when some things didn't quite come together for me. It's unique and refreshingly different from the normal YA books that have been released lately. I think YA fans will really enjoy it because of that. Anya is a character I both adm 3.5 stars This is a fun, exciting and at times thrilling read that felt like a cross between a dystopian and a contemporary book. There's a lot of things that Gabrielle intertwines into her story that captured my attention, and kept invested in the over all story even when some things didn't quite come together for me. It's unique and refreshingly different from the normal YA books that have been released lately. I think YA fans will really enjoy it because of that. Anya is a character I both admire and had a hard time really connecting with. Her greatest strength is her ability to do whatever it takes to protect her family, and stick to her guns when she believes in something. She's grown up in the shadow of her father, a notorious late mob boss which gives her a sense of no fear, she has to sort through her family's mob issues, make her relationship with Win work and try to stay out of trouble, which she lands in a few times. I like the way Anya was written and the way she tells her story. Her voice is really strong and unique, which made for a fast paced, exciting read, but one that I didn't connect with like I wanted to. She's a character who shows little emotion, which is understandable, but it made it hard for me to truly connect with her. I really liked the romance in the story between Anya and Win, because they're from two totally different sides of the law. Anya hails from a family of well known mobsters and Win, the new kid is the new DA's son. Gabrielle Zevin does such a fabulous job at creating a believable romance between these two, because it's not all peachy with them. Anya's mobster ties and Win's dad cross paths one too many times, and that definitely has an effect on their relationship. Both characters have realistic strengths and weaknesses that together make their relationship work, while at the same time cast doubt into whether or not it can survive the latest proposition Win's dad offers Anya. There's some great twists that liven up the plot and made me want to yell 'GO ANYA', because just as things seem to go well for her something happens and she either has to deal with the consequences from it or figure out a way to fix the situation. There's action, romance, mob action, a ban on caffeine & chocolate (gasp who can live in a world where these things are banned), and a different approach on the true meaning of family that really make this book stand out. In terms of world building, I liked the feel of the world in which Anya lives in, but I was left wondering why there was a ban on things like caffeine and chocolate, and other things that are mentioned in the book. I wanted to know more about why there was a ban on these things vs being told there was and having to just accept it. There's a lot of things that happen through out the story that truly make it an unique, good YA read. It's one I'd definitely recommend to YA readers 14 years & older. GABRIELLE ZEVIN is an internationally bestselling author whose books have been translated into over thirty languages. Her eighth novel, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (2014), spent months on the New York Times Best Seller List, reached #1 on the National Indie Best Seller List, and has been a bestseller all around the world. The Toronto Globe and Mail called the book “a powerful novel about the pow GABRIELLE ZEVIN is an internationally bestselling author whose books have been translated into over thirty languages. Her eighth novel, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (2014), spent months on the New York Times Best Seller List, reached #1 on the National Indie Best Seller List, and has been a bestseller all around the world. The Toronto Globe and Mail called the book “a powerful novel about the power of novels.” Her debut, Margarettown, was a selection of the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers program. The Hole We’re In was a New York Times Editor’s Choice title. She also writes books for young readers. Her best known young adult novel is Elsewhere, an American Library Association Notable Children’s Book. Of Elsewhere, the New York Times Book Review wrote, “Every so often a book comes along with a premise so fresh and arresting it seems to exist in a category all its own Elsewhere, by Gabrielle Zevin, is such a book.” She is the screenwriter of Conversations with Other Women (Helena Bonham Carter, Aaron Eckhart) for which she received an Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Best First Screenplay. In 2009, she and director Hans Canosa adapted her novel Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac (ALA Best Books for Young Adults) into the Japanese film, Dareka ga Watashi ni Kiss wo Shita. She has also written for the New York Times Book Review and NPR’s All Things Considered. She began her writing career at age fourteen as a music critic for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. Zevin is a graduate of Harvard University. She lives in Los Angeles. Her 9th novel is Young Jane Young. NOTE: Apologies, but I don't reply to messages on Goodreads. When there's nowhere else to run Is there room for one more son? One more son If you can't hold on If you can't hold on, hold on I wanna stand up, I wanna let go You know, you know, no you don't, you don't I wanna shine on, in the hearts of men I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand Another head aches, another heart breaks I'm so much older than I can take And my affection, well it comes and goes I need direction to perfection, no no no no Help me out, yeah You know you gotta help me out, yeah Oh, don't you put me on the back burner. You know you gotta help me out, yeah And when there's nowhere else to run Is there room for one more son? These changes ain't changing me The cold hearted boy I used to be Yeah, you know you gotta help me out, yeah Oh don't you put me on the back burner You know you gotta help me out, yeah You're gonna bring yourself down, yeah You're gonna bring yourself down, yeah You're gonna bring yourself down I got soul, but I'm not a soldier I got soul, but I'm not a soldier I got soul, but I'm not a soldier I got soul, but I'm not a soldier I got soul, but I'm not a soldier I got soul, but I'm not a soldier. Tournament Maker Download Copyright notice: Pirated Software Hurts Software Developers. Using Tournament Maker Download Free Download crack, warez, password, serial numbers, torrent, keygen, registration codes, key generators is illegal and your business could subject you to lawsuits and leave your operating systems without patches. We do not host any torrent files or links of Tournament Maker Download from depositfiles.com, rapidshare.com, any file sharing sites. All download links are direct full download from publisher sites or their selected mirrors. Avoid: oem software, old version, warez, serial, torrent, keygen, crack of Tournament Maker Download. Consider: Tournament Maker Download full version, full download, premium download, licensed copy. Files 1-30 of 60| Go to 1 page. From Create and run your own single or double-elimination bracket tournaments (also known as knock-out brackets). This application has plenty of very easy to use features that allow you to create 4 to 256-man brackets and run them from start to finish. Manage entry fees, prizes, participants, and games easily. The biggest and probably most loved feature of the application are the Six different seeding methods and automatic placement of Bye matches. No longer do you have to decide where participants are placed on the bracket, the Tournament Maker will do that for you. This application is geared toward running your own tournaments for your games, however for those seeking to replicate the NCAA Brackets for personal use and tracking that can be done with the Tournament Maker as well. Version 2.1 build 11 fixes a serious crash when using non-American currency. Full Specifications What's new in version 2.1 build 11 Version 2.1 build 11 fixes a serious crash when using non-American currency. General Publisher Publisher web site Release Date September 19, 2007 Date Added September 19, 2007 Version 2.1 build 11 Category Category Subcategory Operating Systems Operating Systems Windows Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista Additional Requirements Windows Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista Download Information File Size 11.03MB File Name TM21.exe Popularity Total Downloads 32,701 Downloads Last Week 11 Pricing License Model Free Limitations Not available Price Free. ALJ Tournament Maker. Tournament Maker is a program that lets you manage and run your own tournament. This application gives you the solution of creating and seeding. ALJ Tournament Maker Download Create and run your own single or double-elimination bracket tournaments (also known as knock-out brackets). This application has plenty. ![]() ![]() ALJ Tournament Maker 2.1 build 11 is an interesting game for creating and running your own single or double-elimination bracket tournaments. This song is basically the same three chords over and over again.i listened to it by ear so let me know if any of it is wrong.THX! Tuning: Standard If i was a flower growing wild and free All i'd want is you to be my sweet honey bee. And if i was a tree growing tall and greeen All i'd want is you to shade me and be my leaves If i was a flower growing wild and free All i'd want is you to be my sweet honey bee. ![]() And if i was a tree growing tall and greeen All i'd want is you to shade me and be my leaves All i want is you, will you be my bride Take me by the hand and stand by my side All i want is you, will you stay with me? Hold me in your arms and sway me like the sea. If you were a river in the mountains tall, The rumble of your water would be my call. If you were the winter, i know i'd be the snow Just as long as you were with me, let the cold winds blow All i want is you, will you be my bride Take me by the hand and stand by my side All i want is you, will you stay with me? ![]() Hold me in your arms and sway me like the sea. If you were a wink, i'd be a nod If you were a seed, well i'd be a pod. ![]() ![]() If you were the floor, i'd wanna be the rug And if you were a kiss, i know i'd be a hug All i want is you, will you be my bride Take me by the hand and stand by my side All i want is you, will you stay with me? Hold me in your arms and sway me like the sea. If you were the wood, i'd be the fire. If you were the love, i'd be the desire. If you were a castle, i'd be your moat, And if you were an ocean, i'd learn to float. All i want is you, will you be my bride Take me by the hand and stand by my side All i want is you, will you stay with me? Hold me in your arms and sway me like the sea. All I Want Is You Lyrics: If I was a flower growing wild and free / All I'd want is you to be my sweet honey bee / And if I was a tree growing tall and green / All I'd want is you to shade me and be my. Barry Louis Polisar - All I Want Is You Lyrics. If I was a flower growing wild and free All I'd want is you to be my sweet honey bee And if I was a tree growing tall. Lyrics to 'All I Want Is You' by Soundtrack Artists: If you were a wink, I'd be a nod If you were a seed, well I'd be a pod If you were the floor, I'd wanna be. Buy All I Want Is You: Read 19 Digital Music Reviews - Amazon.com. Jan 20, 2011 The Vespers cover of All I Want Is You by Barry Louis Polisar - Duration: 2:42. The Vespers 94,577 views. Barry Louis Polisar. ![]() Take 10% off orders of $35 or 15% off $75 or more! Simply enter the code GOODBYE17 in the Promo Code field on the shopping cart page and click Apply to receive your discount. Details: • • One-time use per customer. • • Does not apply to the purchase of Gift Certificates. • • Orders using this coupon are not eligible for Affiliate credit. • • Customer must enter coupon code during Checkout to receive discount. • • Cannot be applied to previous or pending purchases. • • Taxes and shipping are not included when determining the $35 minimum order size. • • Offer ends at 11:59pm PST on December 31, 2017. • • Sheet Music Plus reserves the right to cancel or change this offer at any time. String Quartet - Intermediate By The Beatles. Arranged by Kathryn Griesinger. 'All My Loving' is a song by The Beatles, written by Paul McCartney (credited to Lennon/McCartney), from the 1963 album With the Beatles. Download All my loving Sheet Music Beatles. Download free All my loving Sheet Music Beatles PDF for Piano Sheet Music. More Sheet Music PDF free. Mp3dia.com Free download mp3 music song All My Loving The Beatles Tribute Band, Free download music mp3 All My Loving The Beatles Tribute Band wit. ![]() Score, Set of Parts. Published by Kathryn Griesinger (H0.10). Item Number: H0.10 All My Loving (The Beatles) arranged for String Quartet with optional Violin 3/Viola in treble clef. ![]() About SMP Press This product was created by a member of SMP Press, our global community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. Our independent musicians have created unique compositions and arrangements for the Sheet Music Plus community, many of which are not available anywhere else. Click to see more titles from these independent creators and to learn more about SMP Press. Please note this product may not be eligible for all sales, promotions or coupons offered through Sheet Music Plus - please check promotional details for specifics. About Digital Downloads Digital Downloads are downloadable sheet music files that can be viewed directly on your computer, tablet or mobile device. Once you download your digital sheet music, you can view and print it at home, school, or anywhere you want to make music, and you don’t have to be connected to the internet. ![]() Just purchase, download and play! PLEASE NOTE: Your Digital Download will have a watermark at the bottom of each page that will include your name, purchase date and number of copies purchased. You are only authorized to print the number of copies that you have purchased. You may not digitally distribute or print more copies than purchased for use (i.e., you may not print or digitally distribute individual copies to friends or students). String Quartet - Intermediate By The Beatles. Arranged by Kathryn Griesinger. Score, Set of Parts. Published by Kathryn Griesinger (H0.10). Item Number: H0.10 All My Loving (The Beatles) arranged for String Quartet with optional Violin 3/Viola in treble clef. About SMP Press This product was created by a member of SMP Press, our global community of independent composers, arrangers, and songwriters. Our independent musicians have created unique compositions and arrangements for the Sheet Music Plus community, many of which are not available anywhere else. Click to see more titles from these independent creators and to learn more about SMP Press. Please note this product may not be eligible for all sales, promotions or coupons offered through Sheet Music Plus - please check promotional details for specifics. About Digital Downloads Digital Downloads are downloadable sheet music files that can be viewed directly on your computer, tablet or mobile device. Once you download your digital sheet music, you can view and print it at home, school, or anywhere you want to make music, and you don’t have to be connected to the internet. Just purchase, download and play! PLEASE NOTE: Your Digital Download will have a watermark at the bottom of each page that will include your name, purchase date and number of copies purchased. You are only authorized to print the number of copies that you have purchased. You may not digitally distribute or print more copies than purchased for use (i.e., you may not print or digitally distribute individual copies to friends or students). Review Guidelines • Explain exactly why you liked or disliked the product. Do you like the artist? Is the transcription accurate? Is it a good teaching tool? • Consider writing about your experience and musical tastes. Are you a beginner who started playing last month? Do you usually like this style of music? • Feel free to recommend similar pieces if you liked this piece, or alternatives if you didn't. • Be respectful of artists, readers, and your fellow reviewers. Please do not use inappropriate language, including profanity, vulgarity, or obscenity. • Avoid disclosing contact information (email addresses, phone numbers, etc.), or including URLs, time-sensitive material or alternative ordering information. • We cannot post your review if it violates these guidelines. If you have any suggestions or comments on the guidelines, please email us. • All submitted reviews become the licensed property of Sheet Music Plus and are subject to all laws pertaining thereto. If you believe that any review contained on our site infringes upon your copyright, please email us. • Read Sheet Music Plus's complete. Release date: 1963 Format: MP3 320 Kbps Genres:,, Original songwriter: John Lennon, Paul McCartney All files available for download are reproduced tracks, they're not the original music. • • Creating your mix To the right of each individual track, you can use the 'Mute' button to mute that track, or the cursor to adjust its volume. Adding to your cart Click on the 'Add to Cart' button and proceed to the payment of your order. If you have any doubts about your custom track, don't worry, you can always customize your Backing Track afterwards. Once your order is validated, the final mixing of the file begins. Downloading the custom accompaniment track To receive the best sound quality, the final mixing of your MP3 files can take a few minutes. You can follow your order on your page. When the mixing is finished, you can download it just like any other file. • • Absolutely! Once you've purchased a song, all subsequent mixes are unlimited and free. You can modify all of the custom accompaniment tracks, including ones you purchased months ago. All the files you've already bought are available in 'My Files.' • • Because the generation of a Custom Backing Track is long and complex, you'll only hear a short extract of your customization in real-time. You must download the MP3 version to hear your Custom Backing Track in full version, including your modifications (volumes, pitch.). • • The preview tool may sometimes provide a lower-quality sample. However, the generated custom tracks will always be well synchronized and noiseless. Before your first order, you can check out our custom accompaniment tracks with one of. If you're having preview problems, then here's how to solve them: •. • Restart your browser, and eventually try again with a different browser if needed. • A 'clipping' sound may be caused by a slow computer system, so close any unneeded programs and keep only your browser open. • If you're still experiencing problems, then try another computer. • • If we already have the instrumental track, then you can suggest the accompaniment MP3 by clicking on the envelope on the related page. If the title is not currently available in any format, you can always request it with the. We do not currently have the separated mixes for all of our instrumental tracks, and unfortunately the audio multi-track conversion is long and complex. Nevertheless, we're doing our best to complete the custom accompaniments catalog. • • In order to change the key of your Custom Backing Track, you just need to click on the arrows next to the 'Add to cart' button. When you have selected your key, click on 'Reload' and your new Custom Backing Track will be generated accordingly. What happens if I've already purchased the tracks? From your account, under 'My Files', you just need to click 'Change'. The 'classic' interface will show up and from there, the instructions are the same. • • Panning allows you to create distinct effects by adjusting the track’s sounds to left or right. Panning is allowed with any Karaoke Version Custom Backing Tracks and can be done by sliding the grey slider to the left or right. • L = Left • C = Center • R = Right The latest updated version of the mixer along with an is required to use this feature. |
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