Review of 'Everything Everything' by Nicola Yoon

Happy New Year everyone! I've spent some time attempting (help) to start catching up on these reviews tonight, so here I am, post-midnight trying to scramble some thoughts together. We're onto our fourth review of the big bunch now and I'm starting to get to grips with sorting these all out.

Everything Everything is something I just *had* to read as soon as I saw the movie trailer come out. The film looked incredible, but I'm less sad I didn't see it now that I've read the book ...

Madeline's got a disease that makes her allergic to, well, pretty much everything. Forced to stay inside a home with filtered air, and seeing only her mother and her nurse Carla, Maddie's mostly content with her life. Until Olly moves in next door. With his dark, brooding looks, Maddie's drawn to him, and connecting over IM only brings them closer. The problem is that Olly (and Maddie) wants more, but they can't have it. As their lives intertwine, they begin to realise that maybe everything's not what they thought ...

I'm honestly excited to see what Nicola Yoon brings out next, as although I didn't deeply enjoy this, it is her debut novel. I loved the idea of the story, but I felt as though there were flaws in it (pointing these out will totally spoiler the book, but there were definitely some holes that made everything a little sketchy). I really wanted to not be right when I thought I guessed the ending, because it just seemed so unbelievable, but I was disappointed there too. 

As YA books goes, I think this was bordering on teen fiction. Whilst there's absolutely nothing wrong with it, I just felt a little too old for it. I'd recommend this for teen fiction rather than YA fans.

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Review of 'The Chalk Pit' by Elly Griffiths

And we're here: the last book review of 2018. What a year it's been eh? I've challenged myself to read more than ever and I have absolutely LOVED it. I'll be doing a big post of my Goodreads roundup (the good, the bad and the ugly) over on my main blog www.nourishmeblog.co.uk, but I've now read 58 books in the year(!), and I've got a whole lot of reviews coming your way asap.

After finding boiled bones in an underground cave in Norwich, Dr Ruth Galloway is called in to investigate. Discovering that they might not be as ancient as originally thought, the local police are on the case, which may not be anywhere near as simple as you'd hope. Local homeless people are going missing, and after one turns up murdered on the door of the police station, the force must take action. 

With rumours that homeless people are going 'underground', both Ruth and DI Harry Nelson start to formulate their own theories on what's going on. But will they reach the right conclusion before yet another person is hurt?

In all honesty, this wasn't a great read for me. Maybe it's because I'm not a massive crime thriller fan, but I found that the whole book dragged a lot. I found myself having to force myself to pick the book up to read and it was really a challenge to finish the whole thing. I also struggled to keep up with the characters, and who was who, which I don't find myself doing very often, and I definitely felt it could be a lot clearer. 

All in all I couldn't recommend this, and I'm not sure if I'll try another read from the same author, although I've heard good things from other book bloggers! 

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Review of '13 Minutes' by Sarah Pinborough

I warned you all that these reviews would be coming in fast (mostly because I've actually counted up how behind I am and wow I have two days to not be). This book was kindly given to me by my friend Aimee over at Aimee Raindrop Writes because she knew how much I wanted to get my hands on it!

I've not read masses of YA fiction this year (something that'll be firmly on the agenda for 2019), and this was one I thoroughly enjoyed. Sarah Pinborough's an author that I'm firmly interested in getting to read more of, and I'll be trying to pick up a few of her adult thrillers too.

Everything in Becca's world is going swimmingly. That is, until her ex-best-friend Natasha is pulled from a river, having been dead for 13 minutes. No one knows how Natasha ended up there, especially as she's the most popular girl in the school. But, open waking in her hospital bed, she asks for Becca. Soon Becca's embroiled in a search for the truth of how Natasha ended up in the river, and there are some twists no one was expecting.

I read a book around this time last year with a fairly similar storyline, and I was so gutted as it meant that I guessed a few of the important twists and turns in the book. BUT, there were some things I really didn't see coming, and it was a thriller I couldn't put down. 

I'd recommend this if you're a fan of YA thriller fiction, as it is a great read that I loved getting through.

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Review of 'Ink' by Alice Broadway

It's gotten to the part of the year where I need to start cramming all of the reviews that I'm way behind on into the next few days to try to start 2019 as on track as possible. New year, new me and all that jazz eh?

So here's the first instalment to the big run, and I hope you're as excited as I am! Even with this being a kindle read, the cover still had me blown away with how beautiful it was, and now all I need is this and the second in the trilogy, Spark, in a physical copy to look beautiful on my bookshelves. 

Ink tells the tale of Leora, a girl living in a world where everyone's life stories are told on their skins. For every significant life event, you get marked by an expert tattooist, and your tattoos are all created in the style of your personality. Leora's recently lost her father, and when his skin book (a collection of all the tattoos on his skin) is weighed to see whether he's been a good or bad person throughout his life, Leora discovers that a tattoo of his has been removed.

A crow is the sign of a traitor, and is used for only the most severe of crimes. Once you're marked, there's no going back, and you will be struck off the remembrance list once you've passed away. Leora's understanding of who she is and who her family are is turned upside down in a life that's already changing rapidly. It's down to Leora to see that her father gets remembered, and to find out the truth about whether his skin book is missing a little something. 

I loved this so much that I immediately downloaded the sequel, Spark, and I'm beyond excited for the third installment in the series to come out. You can bet it'll be making its way right onto my kindle. I've never read anything with a similar idea, and I love/am terrified by the idea that people could see everything about you on your skin. This is a fantasy world that I am so intrigued by and I'll be sharing my review of Spark soon!

Have you read Ink? Did you enjoy it?

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Review of 'Sex, Suicide and Serotonin' by Debbie Hampton

This really has been a year for mental health reading for me, and I've loved delving into non-fiction for pleasure for the first time in my life. Sex, Suicide and Serotonin has been one of the most eye-opening books of 2018 for me. It's filled with a whole plethora of information on how the brain functions, as well as an insight into what it's like to be someone who has survived a suicide attempt.

The book starts with Debbie's attempted suicide. After swallowing a concoction of alcohol and pills, Debbie was found by her teenage son and brought to the hospital. Unable to ascertain exactly what had been consumed, the doctors were unable to pump Debbie's stomach and she experienced severe brain injury as a result of her actions, but survived. The story tells the tale of Debbie's recovery from someone who is unable to speak, walk or eat without assistance, to someone who's written her own book and leads an independent life.

The thing that most interested me was the sheer range of techniques that Debbie tried to help her in her recovery, both mentally and physically. Not satisfied with traditional medicine, Debbie finds additional therapies to help nudge her along to health.

This book was such a powerful read for me, especially as you really don't hear much about adult suicide attempts in the media. As someone with a parent who's struggled with this, I found it an incredibly insightful read, and one that I would recommend.

Have you read it, or anything similar?

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Review of 'Beautiful Broken Things' by Sara Barnard

Most YA fiction that I've come across has focused on romance, which I LOVE, but sometimes friendships get completely overlooked in the face of a cute teen love story. Yet friendships make up a massive part of being a teen, or young adult, and even outweigh the romance. I think it's *so* important for books to recognise this, and remind us all that friends are important, and they can revolutionise some really important years for us all.

Beautiful Broken Things is a book primarily about friendship. Caddy and Rosie have been friends for years, but live on opposite sides of the track: Caddy goes to an expensive private school, and longs for a significant life event to happen to her, whilst Rosie's already experienced trauma in her life. The girls are inseparable, until Suzanne comes along. Troubled and mysterious, she joins Rosie's school and unwittingly creates a wedge between the two best friends.

I think we've all been in that position of anxiety, when our best friend threatens (albeit passively) to become best friends with someone else. Caddy feels undermined, and at first she's determined to push Suzanne out, but eventually she becomes even better friends than Suzanne is with Rosie.

Suzanne is beautiful, but has some serious mental health issues, and a tragic past that keeps catching up with her. The exploration of her mental health problems was incredible - it was an accurate portrayal of a teenage girl struggling to make her way in the world. She made a whole host of mistakes, she was conflicted, and I just really think the author nailed what it's like to not be sure of yourself when the world is telling you that it's time you should know.

I honestly believe the media has such a detrimental effect on the way girls treat each other: we're always portrayed as enemies, as not to be trusted, and as creatures that spend their whole lives trying to hunt down a man. It's just not the case. Beautiful Broken Things is an important book because it completely avoids romance, and focuses on the issue of female friendship, finally showcasing that this often is what a teen girl's life is all about.

I'll be giving this 5 stars, and I really would recommend it to fans of YA fiction.

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Review of 'Germinal' by Emile Zola

Every so often, you come across a translated book that makes you wish that you could read the language the author intended the book to be written in. Germinal is one of those books for me. Every scene was described beautifully, and so much emotion seemed to be placed into every word, that I couldn't help but wonder how much more intense the language of the French original was. 

This book is considered as one of the greatest works of French fiction, telling the story of a great miners' strike of the 1860s. It delves into the intense poverty suffered by French miners and their families when they upheld a lengthy strike to protest against the pitiful wages being offered.

Zola tells the tale of a whole myriad of sufferings the miners face, including the placement of women in the pits, landslides, the impact of injuries, illnesses that come from mine work, and how all of these worked together to make an unliveable environment for French miners.

Although it's not a book that I would say I particularly enjoyed, it's definitely one that I'm glad I've read, as it taught me so much about a time period and a group of people that I would otherwise know absolutely nothing about.

Have you read it? What other of Emile Zola's books would you recommend?

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Review of 'The Power' by Naomi Alderman

The Power is a pick from my 2018 bucket list of things I *have* to get through before the end of the year (worringly I've got quite a few left still, considering we're in November!). It's something that I've wanted to read since it came out, and I had such high hopes for it that I was left feeling a little deflated. Don't get me wrong, it was a good book, and definitely an interesting read, but it just didn't quite hit the mark for me.

Review of 'Fierce' by Gin Phillips*

It's rare that I sit and read a book in one sitting. If I don't like a book, it's hard to force myself to read it all, and if I like it, I want to treasure the story and make it last a little longer. Fierce is a book that's designed to be read in one go, as the story takes you through an intense tale of one afternoon. I gave this a good go, but after reading two-thirds of the way through I put it down for the day because it just wasn't gripping enough for me to get through the whole thing (and if I'm honest, I can't really think of a book that would be, so there's no shade being thrown here).

Fierce tells the story of Joan's and her four year old son Lincoln's disastrous trip to the zoo one Sunday afternoon. It's their favourite place to spend time together, until they hear shots fired. Two gunmen are making their way around the zoo and Joan has no idea where's safe. She calls her husband, and keeps in touch with him over the phone, but as it starts to get darker she fears that the phone light will attract the armed men, and abandons it in some bushes. 

Joan will do anything to protect her son, even if it means making questionable choices to leave others behind. But as Lincoln gets more tired and upset and loud, Joan realises that they need to do something drastic, because they can only hide for so long ...

This was quite a gripping read in some places, but I just felt as though it was missing that big twist that shocks you and changes the force of the novel. There were quite a few parts where I felt the narrative dragged, and there wasn't enough action to rectify it. It was definitely readable, and I'm glad to have pushed myself out of my comfort zone by trying to read it in one sitting, but I'm not sure if it's something I'd recommend.

*This book was gifted to me, but as always my words and opinions are my own*

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Review of 'Stand Tall Little Girl' by Hope Virgo

Books about mental health can be a bit of a challenge for me. Whilst I find them inspiring and thought-provoking and beautiful, they can awaken thoughts that I've been trying to squash down and get rid of (although I guess it's probably good to end the repression). 

Stand Tall Little Girl was such a powerful read for me. It's a true story, and almost a memoir, of the author's struggle with anorexia as a teen, and moving into adulthood. Hope started developing the illness when she was 13, and the book follows her hopsitalisation and eventual recovery. This all makes it sound pretty straightforward, but Hope opens up about the devastating effects that eating disorders have not only on your mind and body, but on all aspects of life and those around you.

There are snippets from Hope's mother in the book, which I think are so important, explaining how things can get out of hand when you have an eating disorder. I always see people asking 'how did the parents not notice?!' when a teen gets to a point of extreme illness due to an ED, and Hope's mum explains how hard it actually is.

I think it's so important that Hope shows there's no quick fix to an ED, and the reality of relapse, even when it's way down the line from the start of your recovery journey. This was a book I really connected with, and I would definitely recommend it, especially to parents of teens that want a better insight into what might be going on.

Hope's also doing some fantastic charity work to raise money for the Shaw Mind Foundation, and you can donate here if you want to support her!

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Review of 'Extraordinary Means' by Robyn Schneider

It's been a little while since I read this (I'm super behind on reviews, but I WILL CATCH UP WITH YOU 2018 BOOK PILE), and I'd almost forgotten how much I loved this until I picked the text up again. This is one of my favourite YA reads of the year, and it came at me totally unexpectedly. I downloaded it to my Kindle, thinking it would be pretty average, and it blew me out of the water so much that I started to hunt down everything Robyn Schneider's ever written.

This dystopian YA starts off with Lane moving into Latham House. All he wants to do is to be back at school studying to ensure he gets the best possible results in his tests to set him up for the future. But Lane is sick. A rare form of TB has emerged in modern society, and Lane has tested positive for this. He's not showing the signs of his illness yet, but at some point it'll happen, and there's no going back. 

Latham House is part boarding school, part hospital. Lane's completely isolated from his family, friends back home and his old life. Although he's not sick yet, a lot of the other kids are and life at Latham is tense. There, Lane meets Sadie, a girl he once knew from a summer camp years ago. There she was shy and quiet, but she owns the room here, making everyone chuckle. 

All Lane has ever wanted to do is study to become the perfect student, but as his illness starts to catch up with him, he's forced to realise that there are other things in life worth enjoying.

This is an incredible coming-of-age story that broke my heart a little as well as making me smile. The characters were so easy to connect with, and I feel as though I've left a little bit of my heart back in Latham. I would definitely recommend this if you're a fan of YA fiction! 

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Review of 'A Game of Thrones' by George R. R. Martin

I know, I know, I'm really late to the game on this one. Although I wonder how many people have even attempted this mighty tome vs watching the TV show? A second disclaimer for this post is that I'm not actually a massive fan of the series. I've watched bits of it, dipping in and out, but I've always had the idea of reading the books first in the back of my mind.

These bits aside, I was determined to read A Game of Thrones in 2018. It's the biggest book I've read all year so far, weighing in at almost 800 pages, and I'm pretty sure it's the biggest one that I'm going to have read before the new year. Usually I'm not a fan of long books, simply because they can drag, and I'm keen to get cracking on the next read. But, this was something I loved.

The first book takes you through the first season of the show, ending in the same place. The level of detail in it was intense, but it was something that really spoke out to me because it meant that I could truly integrate myself into the world of the book.

A Game of Thrones tells the tale of Robert Baratheon, the ruler of the Seven Kingdoms, and his friendship to Ned Stark. Robert's wife Cersei is a malicious character, and Ned is determined to protect his king against her. When he fails to do so and Robert passes away, the whole kingdom is thrown into turmoil. At the same time, Ned's bastard son Jon Snow (you know nothing) joins the night watch, to protect the North against invaders from beyond the wall. Daenerys Targaeryn is also fighting her own battles, after being forced to marry Khal Drogos against her will.

The book is told from a variety of narratives that fit together seamlessly, and the strands of plot I've mentioned above are only a small part of all the different aspects of plot in the book. I honestly think it's a testament to Martin's writing that despite the masses of plot lines that we weave in and out of, and the intense number of characters, everything is clear and easy to follow.

It's the first fantasy novel I've read in a while, and reminded me of why I love the genre. I've now purchased the second book in the series, and if I do read another lengthy book this year, you can bet that's going to be it.

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Review of 'The Vagina Monologues' by Eve Ensler

Towards the start of 2018, I set myself a book bucket list of all the things I wanted to read this year. It's been a while since I read a play, and I kind of miss it, so The Vagina Monologues took pride of place as the only play on the list. I've heard amazing things about it, which made me worried that I'd be let down when I read it, but this was so far from the truth. 

The Vagina Monologues is one of the most thought-provoking things I've read all year. It made me reconsider my own body, the political landscape that my body fits in, and why we should celebrate all women's bodies. It brought things that I always knew deep down out into the open where I could really consider them. For instance: body hair and its politicisation. I know body hair is politicised, I know that women used to be happy to have body hair everywhere until razor companies started targeting us to double their profits (a true story). But, I'd forgotten how much stigma comes with any kind of body hair: pubes and you're dirty, armpit hair and you're a raging feminazi, no hair and you're no longer a virgin. And we never stop to think about the weird insistence on going back to this hairless childlike state, and why it's so appealing. 

This is just one of the topics that the book covers. It also looks at domestic abuse, sexual abuse, childbirth, masturbation, sex, etc, from a whole range of different perspectives. My one warning for this book is that if you're a victim of sexual assault, the monologues in this book may be triggering. 

I'm so grateful I read this, as it completely opened my eyes to a whole range of things. There was an incredible foreword by Gloria Steinem in my copy, which absolutely made the book ten times better and helped to explain the fundamental theories behind the monologues, and give them a bit more substance.

This book could be quite triggering, as previously mentioned, but I really do thing it's a very important thing for all genders to give a go, to understand the politics and depth of meaning behind the mighty vagina.

Have you read it? What did you think?

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Review of 'Saint Anything' by Sarah Dessen

I am a lover of the cringe. Give me OTT love stories with cliched statements (totally including the one in the picture above in this), and my guilty pleasure is revealed. Sarah Dessen was one of, if not the, favourite author of my teens. Her books resonated with me, comforted me and were something that I could come to in any mood and they'd make me feel a little better (and a little teary).

Up until recently, I hadn't read a Sarah Dessen book in YEARS. I'm talking six or seven of them. I was a little scared that Saint Anything would break my heart, realising that it was something that only teenage me could enjoy. Thankfully I was wrong. I plunged straight back into this and remembered why I loved Dessen's books all over again.

Saint Anything tells the story of Sydney, a girl who's always been overshadowed by her older brother Peyton. He's the golden child of the family who can do no wrong. That is, until he ends up in prison for a drunken hit and run. With her family struggling to pay lawyer fees, Sydney offers to transfer from her private school to a state one. Leaving her friends behind, Sydney has a chance to re-invent herself.

She hates the new school, and misses her old life, until she befriends Layla Chatham. Soon Sydney becomes an extra part of the Chatham family, who have few material possessions, but a lot of love: the exact opposite of her own. Layla's older brother Mac is another person drawing her to the family. A loving brother to Layla, Mac soon draws a little closer to Sydney ....

But things don't go so smoothly. Layla would never forgive Sydney if she got involved with Mac, and Sydney's parents disapprove of any of her friendships at her new school. When things start getting more complicated with Peyton's arrest, Sydney feels things slipping out of her control.

I loved this book SO much. Sarah Dessen has come back up as one of my favourite YA writers because her writing is just so powerful. Her characters are believable, you can follow their development throughout the book, and they're all complex. I always find myself falling a little for the guy in the love story, and the friendship between Layla and Sydney is beautiful. I would definitely recommend this if you're a fan of YA books!

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Review of 'Must Try Harder: Adventures in Anxiety'* by Paula McGuire

'Must Try Harder' is a book that I really thought I wouldn't get on with at all, largely due to the name. I'm sure a lot of anxiety sufferers have been told in the past that maybe if they tried a little harder they'd just 'get over' their anxiety. But I'm so glad I moved past this to read what was truly an inspirational book for me. 

Paula McGuire subverts the idea of those struggling with anxiety needing to try harder to be better by absolutely going beyond anything that she ever expected. Paula suffered from severe anxiety that developed in her childhood and followed her all the way up until she hit thirty. Her anxiety and mental health issues were repeatedly misdiagnosed, and accepted as being 'just the way she is'.

However, Paula has a bit of a revelation. She's determined to fight her anxiety, and as social anxiety is what plagues her most, she focuses on sports. Paula has decided to have a go at all 17 Commonwealth games sports, and the book follows her journey into this.

I honestly found this such an inspirational read as someone who struggles with anxiety. It has made me want to stop putting off trying new things, but work with my anxiety and around my anxiety to do them in a way that's manageable for me. 

I would definitely recommend this to those struggling with anxiety or stuck in a bit of a rut, as it really does make you want to switch things up without being too 'self-help-y' or preachy!

*I was sent this book for the purpose of a review, but all thoughts and opinions are my own*

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Review of 'Home Fire' by Kamila Shamsie

Home Fire is without a doubt the best book I've read so far this year. It's just incredible, and I've been recommending it to anybody and everybody for the past few weeks now. Winning the Women's Prize for Fiction in 2018, this book has set the bar for modern women's fiction IMO, and I can't wait to see what Shamsie brings out next.

Home Fire opens with Isma, a British Muslim, being detained and interrogated by the US border force after a flight to the States. She's prepared herself for this, knowing that the guards are more likely to stop her, but the number of unnecessary questions they ask is still a little shocking, and causes her to miss her connecting flight. 

Back home, the younger twin siblings of Isma, Parvaiz and Aneeka, are missing the guiding presence of their sister, who's travelling to study. With no living parents, the pair are adrift and are learning more about themselves as they move further into adulthood. Aneeka's found a new man, someone who will allow her to leave her family's past behind her, whilst Parvaiz is getting more and more involved in it. 

Parvaiz doesn't remember much about his father, but he's always been taught to be ashamed of him: he was a jihadi who died on his way to Guantanamo. Parvaiz has always shunned his past like his sisters, until he meets some men that knew his father. They paint history in a different light, and soon Parvaiz is embroiled in a world that he's not completely sure he wants to be part of.

This book broke my heart and stitched it back together again over and over again. It's the first book I've ever read in which all of the main characters have an Islamic background, and I think this was important as it showed so many different approaches to the religion. I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

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Review of 'The Honeymoon' by Tina Seksis

It's been a LONG ol' time since I picked up a good thriller to read, but after being recommended this by my good friend Aimee (check out her blog here), I couldn't resist. 

The Honeymoon kick starts in the Maldives, where Jemma and her husband are honeymooning. That is, until he goes missing five days in. Unable to remember much from the night he disappeared after drinking one too many cocktails, Jemma has a whole host of dark thoughts swirling around. She knows they weren't getting along, but she couldn't have done something to him ... could she?

The holiday narrative is interrupted with chapters from the past, showing us how Jemma and her hubby got to a stage where they're in the Maldives honeymooning, but everything is a bit tense. 

I really enjoyed this one. I loved the fact that the author used this paradisaical location to subvert the norm of thrillers happening in dark and dank and dangerous places. Jemma was a character that you never could quite trust, and she made a whole lot of mistakes. It moved away from a damsel in distress idea without painting Jemma as some kind of black widow with no heart, which is worringly a fine line in most fiction. 

The big twists in this novel were epic, and definitely made it an absolute page turner. I felt like I was hunting the twist down right up until the very end, and I would definitely recommend this if you're a fan of a good thriller that isn't *too* heavy.

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Review of 'The Word for World is Forest' by Ursula K. Le Guin

Sci-fi is not a genre I delve into very often at all, but maybe I need to start switching that up because I adored this book. Or maybe I just need to start reading more books by Ursula K. Le Guin. I think I'll have to do both just to work out which one I really need to do *shrugs*.

The Word for World is Forest is a short novella, and something I could see myself reading over and over again because there was just so much crammed into this little book. It's all about humans' colonisation of the planet Athshe where they enslave the peaceful native population. The Athsheans are treated in a disgusting manner, beaten and raped and generally mistreated.

The Athsheans love their planet and treat it with respect, whilst the humans are cutting down the trees on the planet for logging. They've already destroyed Earth and haven't learnt their lesson. As the book progresses, we understand more and more about the brutality of the colonisers, and how their destruction seeps into the culture of the Athsheans.

This book carried strong notes of militarism in it as well as the negative impact of colonisation on native populations. It is reminiscent of the horror stories that have emerged over the years regarding the European settlers who descended upon the Americas. The novel is told from different perspectives both on the human side and the Athsheans. It is easy to see how the humans have been swept up in their ideals: they genuinely believe that the Athsheans are a lesser breed and that their lives are worth as little as cattle, simply wanting to wipe them out to make way for more humans. 

This novella is something that was just incredibly powerful. I think Le Guin has a powerful way with words that encapsulates so many of the wrongs that happen in our world, presenting it in a science fiction format. I loved the vastly different culture of the native Athsheans, who sing and dream and never kill one another. I would definitely recommend, especially if you're a newcomer to the genre like I am!

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Review of 'Shiny Happy Person' by Terri Cox

It's rare that I read a non-fiction book, or at least that used to be the case. I've recently finished number 5 of 2018 and that definitely holds some 'you're so far out of your comfort zone now boo' record. 

Shiny Happy Person is a book all about one woman's personal struggle with depression over many years. Her time as a teen was tough: after growing up as one-third of a set of triplets, Terri begins to find her own way through life without the back-up of her sisters. School was rife with bullying, but after spending a year abroad at uni to study languages was when Terri really found it hard to fit in to her 'shiny happy' persona.

Suddenly Terri found herself lost, a shell of her former self. It's something that became more and more apparent as she spent time with the people she loved until she reached breaking point. Everything stopped. Terri's love life had hit a wall and she was single again. With a strong support network however, she worked her way back up from the ground again.

The story is a tale of recovery and how things can get so low you need to recover. It's a story all about how mental health issues don't need to be caused by a massive trauma or specific incident, but how they grow and manifest, and are set off by a final straw. I absolutely blazed through it and found it so easy to connect with Terri. I loved that she didn't gloss over how hard recovery can be, and that she spoke about the things that helped her, and the bits that weren't so great.

It's an honest novel that tells the truth about what it's like to suffer with depression, and I would recommend giving it a read.

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Review of 'The Boleyn Inheritance' by Philippa Gregory

Philippa Gregory is my to-go gal for historical fiction, and at this point it feels as though reading anybody else's is a bit of a betrayal. I just adore her writing, and always find myself absolutely swept in her characters, their plotting and the absolute STATE that was English monarchy during and around the Tudor period. 

The Boleyn Inheritance is a bit of a follow-on from one of Gregory's most famous works, The Other Boleyn Girl. It's told by three different narrators: Anne of Cleves, Jane Boleyn (married to the late George Boleyn, brother to Anne) and Katherine Howard. It takes us from the aftermath of the death of Anne Boleyn up to a post-Katherine Howard court.

I've always overlooked Anne of Cleves as being a bit of a 'boring' blip in the life and times of Henry VIII. She's the one that he accused of catfishing him with a prettier-than-life portrait just FYI. Gregory brings her to life, recounting her absolute terror of being thrust into a position from which no one has escaped with their life and dignity intact.

At the same time, little Kitty Howard (who's very much not innocent to the wiles of a sexual woman) begins to turn her charm on the King. Whilst he's beginning to see himself as who he really is through the eyes of the court (an obese ageing man, with an awful odour from the festering wound on his leg), Kitty lures him into the belief that he's still as fit as he was as a young King. Men are  delightful aren't they?

Soon the court is in turmoil, as the King's favour swings away from Anne of Cleves to the young, beautiful Katherine Howard. But what will happen when the King's innocent young rose turns out to not be as blemish-free as he once imagined?

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Review of 'Severed Heads, Broken Hearts' (AKA 'The Beginning of Everything') by Robyn Schneider

Robyn Schneider is fast becoming one of my favourite authors of 2018. I stormed through this and Extraordinary Means in record time and now I think I need to read everything she's ever written? These YA books are exactly what I look for in the genre: there's romance, humour, and most importantly, a taboo/important topic is discussed throughout. In Severed Heads, Broken Hearts it's all about disability and your identity.

Ezra Faulkner had everything going for him: varsity tennis captain, hottest girlfriend in the school, and lunch at the popular table. That is until one tragic night ruins everything. After catching his girlfriend cheating on him, he storms out of a party and winds up in the ER after being hit by a drunk driver. 

Suddenly, Ezra's lost everything that he thought made him 'him'. His leg is too damaged to play tennis anymore (possibly forever), he no longer has a girlfriend, and he none of his former friends understand the trauma that he's suffering with. 

Ezra is convinced that everyone has one traumatic moment in their life that defines them. For his childhood best friend, it was catching a severed head on a theme park ride after someone stood up mid-ride. From that point on, Ezra merged into the popular group, whilst his old friend became 'the weird guy that touched a head one time'. Now however, they're back together, and Ezra begins to learn that maybe trauma can't snatch your whole identity from you.

This was such a heartwarming read, and Schneider really manages to capture the essence of what it's like to be a teen scared of rejection and disapproval and bullying. It was something that I was excited to sit down and read every time I picked it back up, and it really was hard to put down again.

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Review of 'The Kite Runner' by Khaled Hosseini

I first stumbled across this book as a teen in a school library, but was advised to wait a few years until reading it. Almost a decade on, I finally took that advice and got cracking. I'm so glad I was told this, and waited until adulthood to delve in.

At it's core, The Kite Runner is a story about friendship and family. Two boys, Amir and Hassan, grow up as best friends. Amir and his Baba are well off, whilst Hassan and his father are servants in their household. They are inseparable, but Amir is always upset that his Baba likes Hassan. Hassan is everything Amir is not: sporty, brave and more like Baba that Amir could ever be. 

Kite running is what the pair most enjoy doing together. They practise every day for a massive tournament, and when they win, Amir is over the moon. Until he sees something awful happen to Hassan. And in that moment, he's pre-occupied with needing to be Baba's favourite person, not needing to be a good friend.  

Things only go downhill from there, and shortly after betraying Hassan further, Amir and his father leave Afghanistan. The power of the taliban is on the increase, and they emigrate to America as their lives are in danger.

The book speaks about the struggles of being an immigrant in a country prejudiced against you, and what it means to cling on to an identity that you're not convinced should define you. 

This is one of the best books I've read all year so far (definitely in the top three) and I would highly recommend it, especially if you want to learn more about living in Afghanistan during turbulent times.

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Review of 'Birds Art Life Death' by Kyo Maclear

It's rare that I pick up a memoir-style book, or anything that loosely rings of the word 'non-fiction' (although, are biographies ever not really fiction?). Birds Art Life Death is a book I stumbled upon and I'm so glad I did.

Kyo Maclear finds herself lost in the big wide world after the loss of her father. As she becomes a father-less daughter, she also comes across the biggest writing block of her life. Suddenly she's not who she thought she was, and she can't get back. At a point of desperation, she turns to another kind of artist, a bird watcher in the city who lets her accompany him on his twitchy trips.

The book is split up into the different seasons of the year, and, like avian migration, Kyo's path changes with each different season. She takes time out of her hectic life to sit at peace with nature, and she begins to benefit from this.

I found this book so utterly comforting that I can see myself coming back to it time and time again. I read it way back in April, when it felt like Winter might never shift, and it was a much-needed reminder that seasons change, just like people do. Nothing is static. 

Maclear has such a poetic way with words, making this a fab book to dip in and out of, without feeling as though you needed to catch up on what was going on. It made me more conscious of the world around me, and I even found myself listening out for the sound of bird calls!

I would definitely recommend this, especially for those who struggle with anxiety, and find that sometimes books can flare it up.

This will be heading up on my Depop soon, so head over there and have a look at the books I'm selling!

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