Review of 'Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982'

 

I've wanted to read this for a few months now and was so excited when it came up as a recommended read for me on my kindle. I've not read many books by Korean authors (I think the last might have been A River in Darkness, but that was a North Korean author), and I'm really interested in reading more with a Korean setting.

Kim Jiyoung is a name that's basically the equivalent of 'Jane Doe'. The book starts with Kim as an adult starting to have a breakdown where she impersonates other women, both dead and alive, almost pretending to be them. Her husband is alarmed and sends her to a psychiatrist. The book then travels through Kim's life, following the relentless misogyny that pursued her from early childhood, with her brother getting a greater share and quality of food, up to motherhood, where she's faced with the loss of her career.

This was such an interesting book. It's short enough to be almost novella sized and pretty gripping. If I'm honest, a lot of it just me feel sad: going through all the twists and turns in a woman's life, all met with endless misogyny, was bleak. I found Kim a character that you could really relate to: she's a normal woman, and her story is so similar to so many others that she really does seem a Jane Doe. She doesn't live an extraordinary life, or have a redemption where she manages to overturn the misogynistic system; instead it catches up with her. 

The main reason why this was only a 4 star read rather than 5 was that I felt it ended quite abruptly. I would have loved to see where the rest of Kim's life was heading. I would really recommend this to anyone interested in learning about life as a woman in South Korea, seeing a new perspective on the #metoo movement, or just wanting a short read to burst out of a slump.

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Review of 'A Thousand Ships' by Natalie Haynes

 

I love the trend of feminist retellings of Ancient Greek stories, and this was a really interesting one. Having read The Iliad and Odyssey a few years ago, the Iliad part of Natalie Haynes' book is much more interesting than the original IMO, and I think would be interesting to read back to back together.

A Thousand Ships tells the story of the fall of Troy and Odysseus' journey home after through the lens of women in the story. These women span those who had quite prominent positions in the original text like Penelope, to those a little more obscure, like Hecabe and Clytemnestra. 

There were some characters' perspectives in this that I really liked - I loved the Muse and the future/past seeing character. The book flicks back and forth in time and moves between characters quickly, covering key aspects of the war and its aftermath through the eyes of women. The writing is great: it's sad and funny and thoughtful. With so many characters and the timeline being organised as it is, it is such a testament to Haynes' writing that it was fairly easy to keep up with what was going on. 

The one reason why I gave this four instead of five stars was just that I really didn't enjoy Penelope's sections much. I think she holds quite a prominent place in the Odyssey itself, and I felt she came across as a less strong character in this than she did in the original text.

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Review of 'Virgin Earth' by Philippa Gregory

 

I am a big Philippa Gregory fan - she's basically the only historical fiction author where I've read a good number of their books. However, I do struggle with her books that are historical but outside of her main Tudor ones centred around the lives of women. This has sat on my shelf unread for years, and if I'm honest I'm really not sure it was worth picking up at all.

The book takes place around the time of Cromwell's rise to power and Charles I's downfall. The main character, John Tradescent, is gardener to the king, but when his loyalty to the King's cause comes into question, he flees England to avoid making a decision. The story is told across two continents, following John's split love for England and for Virginia in the US.

I really struggled to get on board with this book. The main character John is incredibly unlikable: we first meet him in Virginia where he's travelled to source rare plants after his wife has died, leaving his kids motherless and fatherless without concern. He grooms a 13 year old Native girl, and it feels like Gregory justifies this by suggesting that he is not attracted to her right now but can see how e.g. her breasts will grow to make her attractive in the future (but yes, it does come across as horrifyingly creepy as that sounds). There's a whole lot of weird vibes around his eventual life with the Powhatan tribe in Vriginia, where the girl, now a woman, agrees to marry him and the tribe accept him as part of their group, despite the fact that white colonizers from England are trying to kill them at the same time, and he refuses to pick a side.

The storyline was incredibly slow and I just struggled to warm to any of the characters at all. It eventually got a little bit more interesting in the lead up to the king's beheading, but the book isn't something I'd recommend at all.

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Review of 'A Very British Coup' by Chris Mullins

 

After its initial publication and success in the 80s, this book has seen a resurgence in popularity since the rise/fall of Jeremy Corbyn. I didn't expect much from this book, but found it far more interesting than I ever imagined, particularly because it mirrored what happened in the most recent General Election so much, despite being written decades earlier. 

A Very British Coup takes place just after the election of fictional labour leader Harry Perkins. He won in part off the back of a manifesto focusing on public control of finances, dismantling foreign military bases/weapons on UK soil, and removing newspaper monopolies. The outgoing Tory government, overseas powers and militaries, and newspaper/media owners are horrified, and launch a series of thorough attacks to try and force Perkins out of the position.

This was such an insightful and interesting read. It was written at a time when it looked like Tony Benn might take over from Thatcher, and solidifies all the rumours and suggestions that certain organisations would act in such underhand ways to alter the political setting of a nation. After seeing Corbyn repeatedly vilified by the press in the lead up to his election defeat, and being fully aware that right wing powers guided that, it was even more eye opening to see it written down in a book written before Corbyn had ever come near to power. 

I would really recommend this if you're interested in British politics - it's not something that I ever really read books about, but this one is definitely worth a read!

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Review of 'Brave New World' by Aldous Huxley

 

It's been a while since I've delved into some proper dystopian fiction. Usually I'm a big fan - they make me question their world, our world and everything in between, but since the pandemic started I've been totally avoiding them. When real life feels too dystopian, they're not much fun.

Brave New World was published in 1932 and showcases a world obsessed with eugenics. Babies aren't born, they're made in factories, and the class of the person is decided when they're tiny embryos, and their prenatal and postnatal development is all based around which layer of society they should end up in. Everyone is conditioned to stay within their social grouping, but when one individual goes to see the 'savages' living outside the society, he starts to question the way things are more than ever before.

This was a very thought provoking and honestly disturbing book. With the whole setup of the book and way things are presented, you're always edging the line between this being Huxley's idea of a dystopia but also his idea of a utopia. This is a world seemingly without misery. It's a world where people don't have connections with others so don't feel grief. A world where industrialised society is in tip top shape with the labourers being ideal at their job and the managers ideal at theirs. It's also a world where one lives in total isolation, one with complete sexual freedom for women and men (set against a backdrop of still very present Victorian moral standards) and a world where Mother is a dirty word, let alone concept. 

Huxley seemed to rethink some of his ideas after the Second World War, realising that eugenics actually wasn't something to idealise, and adding a preface to the book explaining that his writing has flaws. The book is one of the more interesting ones I've read this year. You can see where it's inspired other dystopian novels like The Handmaid's Tale (in the edition I read Atwood's even written an introduction to Brave New World), and the sexual freedom/rejection of Victorian morals is something very interesting to read in this modern day. I gave this four stars because it was a thought-provoking, if troubling, book.

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Review of 'Take a Hint, Dani Brown' by Talia Hibbert

 

I read this straight after reading Get a Life, Chloe Brown, and I just didn't quite connect with Dani as much. I loved the Chloe Brown book, but felt like there was less of the family side of things in this one, which I really missed, and I just felt like I understood Chloe and could resonate with her a lot more.

Take a Hint, Dani Brown is another smutty romance from Talia Hibbert, this time about the tough witchy sister of the family. When Dani's friend Zaf asks her to fake date him to help get publicity for his charity work, Dani's up for it, especially as she doesn't do 'love' so knows there's no risk of that happening. But when Zaf starts to fall for her, Dani's stuck at a crossroads.

This was a cute romance, but I just didn't enjoy the smut in it. It felt a bit jarring with the rest of the narrative, and it's something I struggled with in the author's other book too. I loved Zaf's character: a Muslim man who loves reading romance books, who works on his trauma with a therapist, and who cares so deeply for Dani. It was really refreshing to see a male lead in a romance book with a proper backstory and layers to his personality, and if I'm honest I liked him much more than Dani as a character.

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Review of 'One of Us is Next' by Karen M. McManus

 

Karen McManus is fast becoming one of my favourite YA authors. I've now read all of her books she's got out so far and cannot wait to sink my teeth into the next few. This however is probably my least favourite I've read. It was partly because it's been such a long time since I read One of Us is Lying that I kept losing sense of the links between the characters, and partly just because it didn't grip me as much as her other more recent books.

One of Us is Next takes place at Bayview High, a school that's still reeling after the death of a student and a gossip site that ruined a lot of lives. After the site was taken down, a few copycats had emerged and none of them had very good gossip, which is what everyone thought was happening when group texts start going out, starting an elaborate game of truth or dare. When the first person challenged refused to interact with the texter, and has her biggest secret spilled to the entire school, everyone starts to take this much more seriously.

This was a good read - I enjoyed it and I did get gripped into wanting to know who was behind everything. I found the plot did get interesting, but it was a bit of a tricky read to get into if you haven't read the first book recently. I was also a bit disappointed in the ending: it felt a bit meh and I wasn't convinced by who did it and why. I'm still glad I read it - it was a good YA mystery, but just not as good as the others I've read by the author.

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Review of 'An Unwanted Guest' by Shari Lapena

 

Shari Lapena is fast becoming my favourite thriller writer. She's never written anything I haven't enjoyed and been gripped by, so much so that I put off reading this just in case I didn't enjoy it as much as the others I've read. I shouldn't have been worried - this one was great too. 

An Unwanted Guest takes place in an out of the way B&B that becomes isolated due to a snow storm. The phone lines are down and the roads are closed, so there's no way in or out. This takes a turn for the sinister when the guests wake up to find one of them dead at the bottom of the stairs. When a second guest is found murdered, the rest of them start to get scared about who might be picking them off, and why. 

This book was gripping from the start. I found the multi character perspective a little difficult at the start, but as the book went on this was great for showing us different things that were happening in different parts of the hotel, adding to the tension. The characters were interesting and didn't feel 2D, like they often can in a book with so many perspectives, particularly a thriller. I didn't guess the killer, but they weren't unrealistic, which was great. 

I gave this 5 stars and would recommend if you're a thriller fan, especially of authors like Liane Moriarty.

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Review of 'The Manifesto on how to be Interesting' by Holly Bourne

 

Sometimes YA fiction borders a little too much into teen fiction, and whilst this book came with a warning that it wasn't for younger readers because of some of the topics included, it really felt like more of a teen read. I definitely started off really not enjoying the book, but as it went on I warmed to the style of writing, plot and main character a lot more. 

Bree desperately wants to be an author, but after her second novel is rejected by every publisher out there, she decides that she needs to become interesting to write something with more of a kick. So Bree sets out to do just that. She gets a makeover, buys a whole new wardrobe and sets out on a mission to become popular, seek her revenge on the popular kids at school, lose her virginity and blog everything along the way. However, things don't quite go to plan and Bree's forced to reckon with the consequences of who she's become.

I thought the book did a great job at discussing self harm. It was sensitive, realistic and showed how important it is to seek help before things get out of control. I also think it ultimately did a good job at exploring a student-teacher relationship. At the start I felt a bit like 'here we go again with the romanticisation of this', but I think Bourne did a really great job at showing how swept up Bree was in the relationship and how romantic she thought it was, before showing the realities behind it and knocking down this image.

I just struggled to like the main character, which meant I struggled to like the book. Though I do realise that she was a realistic portrayal of a teen who makes a few mistakes, and I think it's important to include these kinds of characters in YA fiction. I struggled to get on with the writing style, but it was a good book.

I would recommend this if you're a fan of Sara Barnard's books, or YA fiction that's not centred around relationships.

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Review of 'Get a Life, Chloe Brown' by Talia Hibbert

 

It's been a while since I've read a straight up romance book, and this has made me want to read more. It was a bit smuttier than I was expecting just because the name and cover didn't hint at it, so if that's not your thing then I'd maybe give this one a miss. 

Get a Life, Chloe Brown is all about a woman who wants to turn her life around. She moves out of her family home, determined to live independently in her new flat, and is even more determined to avoid the help of Red, the maintenance man. After ending up in a sticky situation involving a cat-tree-rescue, Chloe's forced to get Red's help and realises that he might be able to help her out with her bucket list.

This is the first romance (or even just general book?) that I've read where the main character love interest has a disability. Chloe has fibromyalgia, and the ways it affects her life are hinted at, or even explicitly discussed throughout the book. Chloe's also a fat Black woman, and occupies this sexy love interest space at the heart of the novel that I think is so important. The love story is gripping and realistic and Chloe was a character I just really liked. I enjoyed the relationship between Chloe and her sisters, which added something needed to the novel to make it less 100% relationship focused. The one thing I struggled with in the book were the sex scenes. I felt like they were written very bluntly, and with little description to help set the scene, which isn't my fave, but is definitely a personal preference issue.

I gave this four stars and would recommend it if you're looking for a romance that's a little steamy.

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Review of 'A Gathering Light' by Jennifer Donnelly

 

I'm a sucker for a good cover, and the edition I have of this has one has allowed me to ignore this book on my shelves for far too long. I wasn't convinced of how much I would like it, but it totally surpassed my expectations. The book's got that rural American drawly writing style, with a lot of drama to boot.

A Gathering Light's main character is Mattie Gokey, a 16-year-old girl living on a farm with her family whose been forced into the role of matriarch after her mother died. There are her siblings to look after and endless farm work to do, but what Mattie really wants to do is go to school so that she can get the grades she needs to get into college. Interspersed with the chapters about her life at home are ones from the future where she's working at a hotel and trying to work out what happened to the girl who was murdered on hotel land. 

I liked the slow style of this book. Mattie and her family are connected to the land and their rural community in such strong ways that it felt important that the pace of writing matched their pace of life. This isn't to say the book wasn't without tension: between the murder case, working out whether Mattie would be able to pursue her dreams, violence and sexual assault, there was a LOT going on. The book really looked at the idea of family duty vs the privilege of being able to go after what you really want, and this was so well done.

I gave the book 4 stars and would recommend it if you enjoyed things like Where the Crawdads Sing and The Color Purple. 

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Review of 'Into the Water' by Paula Hawkins

 

After really enjoying The Girl on the Train, I was so excited for Paula Hawkins to release a new book. But after hearing a host of negative reviews I put off reading it for years. I'm quite glad I did because it really didn't live up to my expectations as a thriller.

Into the Water is set in a small town in Oxfordshire that has a large body of water that several women have drowned in. Most recently Nel was found there, and when detectives seek to find out what happened, it's ruled as a suicide, but her sister can't quite believe it. There's a whole lot of suspicions and mysteries in the small town that all seem to lead to one place: the drowning pool.

The main thing I struggled with in this book is that Nel's death was obviously not a suicide because the book's a thriller. The author tried to keep the suspense up about that for most of the book, which made the book a bit slow and dry for that part of the plot. I enjoyed the book to some extent - there were parts that did keep me interested, but it was definitely a 3 star read.

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Review of 'Ten Days' by Gillian Slovo

 

It's weird reading a book all about riots in the UK whilst there are so many going on. I'm usually not a fan of books set over a short time period, but this one worked pretty well I think. 

Inspired by the 2011 riots in London, this book follows a ten day trajectory of riots after a vulnerable man is killed by police whilst trying to restrain him. The book follows the reactions of several key people involved in this: the Prime Minister, Home Secretary, Met police commissioner and a woman at the heart of the riots. It's an interesting insight into the politics and decision making behind how to react to riots from both sides.

I found parts of this book really gripping, especially when things started heating up towards the end to find someone who went missing during the riots. However, I struggled to find some of the characters distinctive from one another at the start, especially the police commissioner and the Home Secretary. The first few 'days' of the book dragged quite a lot for me, and whilst I enjoyed the tension later on, it sort of fizzled away to nothing.

I gave this three stars because it was totally different to anything I've read before, yet failed to grip me at the start.

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Review of 'Crampton Hodnet' by Barbara Pym

 

This book has been sat on my shelves for a few years now and I've definitely been avoiding it. I often struggle with books written around this time (1930s) and I wasn't sure it's something I'd like. In the end, it's not a book I hated, but it just wasn't for me.

Crampton Hodnet is set in a small town outside of Oxford. Its not-so-perfect inhabitants thrive on gossip and judgement. Whilst maintaining the facade of being kind and ideal neighbours, they're all looking for the latest scandal, and become very excited (though of course in their British manner they conceal it as concern) when one crops up.

I struggled to connect with the characters a bit, but I think this is largely in part because I'm not much of a fan of satire. The characters were a reflection of what people think these characters should be like: we had a member of the clergy finding celibacy a little too difficult, a housewife that lets an affair slide for an easy life, a husband with a wandering eye for a younger woman, and a spinster who won't quite admit she's sad to have missed out on marriage. It's meant to be a comedic book, and whilst there were some moments of dry humour, I just found it a bit of a dry read.

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Review of 'House of Earth and Blood' by Sarah J Maas

 

After finishing A Court of Silver Flames, I had a massive Sarah J Maas shaped hole in my reading life, so I had to give House of Earth and Blood a go. As they're both fantasy, I wondered if this would be a slight rehash of ACOTAR, or one of the books in that series, but it did feel distinct. This was definitely a slow burner for me, but by the end I was totally and utterly obsessed.

House of Earth and Blood is about Bryce Quinlan, a half-fae half-human woman. When tragedy strikes her life, she's hired to help solve a crime. Unfortunately for her, she's got to work alongside Hunt Athalar, a man renowned for his rebellion that ended in disaster, and for his skill at killing. With a murder to solve, the pair must attempt to work together to seek the answers and rewards they both so desperately want.

There's a lot of world building in this, especially across the first 100 pages or so, that makes it quite a tough read to get into. But, there is a lot of drama in those pages too so it's not all dry and description filled. I LOVED the characters in this book - there were some truly hateworthy ones, as well as totally loveable ones. Bryce herself is a fearless woman who's not afraid to stick up for herself and she made for a great heroine.

I won't lie, this book ripped my heart out and stomped on it. I pretty much cried for the last 200 pages on and off. I was so wrapped up in the characters and their world that I just didn't want to put the book down at all.  

This is a great read for any Sarah J Maas fans as well as fans of Leigh Bardugo's adult writing, and other fantasy novels.

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Review of 'Little Fires Everywhere' by Celeste Ng

After reading Everything I Never Told You a couple of years ago, and watching the Amazon Prime version of this book, I knew I wanted to finally delve in and read this. Despite having watched the show, I felt like the book version was significantly different enough to make it worth doing both, and it was interesting to see what was changed to make it onto the small screen. I also enjoyed this more than Everything I Never Told You, which I wasn't expecting. 

Little Fires Everywhere is about the suburban Richardson family who are living the American Dream with their four kids, big house and jobs they enjoy. When Mrs Richardson lets out the other house they own to single mum Mia Warren and her daughter Pearl at a reduced rate, she has no idea what disruption they'll cause to her idyllic life. The book starts with the Richardson house going up in flames, and from there we go back in time to see what happened in the lead up to this disaster.

I really enjoyed this book. It touches on important themes including interracial adoption (particularly Chinese adoption in the US), abortion, surrogacy and loss. These were all discussed in sensitive ways, and because of the divide between the Warrens and the Richardsons, the reader is shown arguments on both sides of these topics. 

I'm really glad I read this and gave it 4 stars.

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Review of 'From Twinkle, With Love' by Sandhya Menon

 

I'm a big fan of Sandhya Menon's books - I've loved both When Dimple Met Rishi and There's Something About Sweetie, so I thought I was onto a winner here. As always with Menon's books, the characters in this were vibrant, I got hooked on the plot and fell a little in love with the main male character. 

Twinkle is an aspiring teen filmmaker struggling with high school after her best friend starts hanging out with the popular girls. She's hoping the film she's making will be her path to popularity, and that hanging out with Sahil will give her the opportunity to spend time with his twin Neil, her ultimate crush. But, the film actually forces her to hold up a lens to her own actions, and realise that she's perhaps becoming someone different to who she'd like to be. 

The reason why I struggled with this book was also one of the reasons why it was so good. Menon captures what it's like to be an insecure teen so well, and it felt like holding a mirror up to my uncomfortable truths. I've not related to any teen character like this in a long time, in a way that brought me back exactly to all my big fears, nasty thoughts and distance from who I wanted to be. 

I gave this four stars because there were parts I really struggled with, and I felt like my lack of interest in filmmaking and directors meant a few bits of the book were lost on me. However I got totally wrapped up in the writing and the plot.

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Review of 'A Court of Silver Flames' by Sarah J Maas

I'm going to try to keep this condensed because, let's face it, I could talk for DAYS about this book. I was a bit apprehensive about it following Nesta and Cassian's stories rather than Rhys and Feyre's because I always find when these sort of spin off books happen I lose interest. However this was absolutely not the case. I loved this book so much, and it's now a close second favourite of mine in the series (behind A Court of Mist and Fury of course). I already want to re-read the series, I want another book in it to read asap, and I'm still not quite over the book hangover.

A Court of Silver Flames starts with Nesta's self destructive actions reaching a point where her sisters and the Night Court have to hold an intervention. Ever since she was forced into the Cauldron, and since her father's death, the trauma Nesta's keeping inside has just gotten more and more out of control. Determined to get her sister on track, Feyre insists that Nesta works in the library every day and trains her body too in the hope that the family can be reunited.

This book had the most smut in it out of the whole series, but also the most depth of emotion in a lot of ways. You saw what felt like Nesta's PTSD come out in ways that really I think will help people to understand how it can manifest and what it might feel like. It shows the importance of working through your trauma, and the importance of a support network. I loved the friendship between Nesta, Gwyn and Emerie, and was really shocked to love a book so much where I really disliked the main character for most of it. 

If I delve too much more into it I fear I'll never stop, so I'm going to finish off by saying I think I've now probably read my favourite read of the whole of 2021. 

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Review of 'Such A Fun Age' by Kiley Reid

 

This has been on my TBR ever since it was released and I'm so glad I finally read it. I'd only heard the main point of the plot as being about a woman who babysits another family's child and thought it wouldn't really be for me, but it turned out to be a very thought-provoking read that kept me up at night trying to creep another chapter in before I feel asleep.

Emira's a 25 year old Black woman working as a babysitter for Alix Chamberlain, a white woman who's made her riches through inspiring other women. When she takes Alix's daughter Briar to a supermarket late at night as part of her job, Emira's stopped by a security guard and accused of kidnapping her. A white bystander videos the entire exchange, and offers to put it out there so Emira can show the world what happened. 

This book is something that I tore through, but has sat with me and I think will continue to sit with me for a long time now. It challenges and discusses the idea of the 'white saviour' in our modern world in nuanced and distinct ways throughout the book. Racial stereotypes are challenged, and microaggressions are shown in a very clear way. It also covers fetishization, interracial relationships, intersections of class and race, and Black female friendships. 

This is a book I'm so glad to have read, and is definitely an important read. I gave it 5 stars and I'd recommend it if you're a fan of Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give, or fiction about relationships like Diana Evans' Ordinary People and Candice Carty-Williams' Queenie.

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Review of 'Lady Audley's Secret' by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

 

I haven't had much luck with 2020 reads so far, but this seems to be the start of things turning around. It's my first 5 star read of the year and was exactly what I needed. Victorian fiction is always a little slow going, but it makes it feel like a comfort read for me: I get wrapped up in the scenery and the slight actions by characters that end up leading to big parts of the plot. 

Lady Audley's Secret is a Victorian scandal novel. Lady Audley's a young governess who marries a rich man, but keeps a big secret from him. When Robert Audley, a nephew, and his friend George Talboys visit the family, they threaten to uncover everything Lady Audley's hiding.

It's hard to talk about any of the plot without massive spoilers, but I think it's now one of my favourite books from the era. Lady Audley's secret becomes quite obvious very early on in the novel, but the writing is still tense and Braddon weaves additional secrets and mysteries throughout the rest of the book. Lady Audley challenges the notion of the angel in the house, so prevalent in Gothic fiction at the time, by being this beautiful woman initially introduced as a wife, who turns out to be guilty of a host of crimes. The writing had me constantly wanting to read 'just one more chapter' and I'm intrigued to try some more of Braddon's works. 

I gave this 5 stars because I was completely hooked on the story from pretty much the start right up to the end. It kept me guessing as the book progressed, and I would recommend it for fans of Victorian fiction and the Brontes', Arthur Conan Doyle and Wilkie Collins.

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Review of 'The Volunteers' by Raymond Williams

 

I've put off writing this for a while because if I'm entirely honest I just didn't truly understand the book throughout. I lost track of exactly what was going on in parts, and really wish I'd read more about what the book was about before starting so that I had a better idea of the background of the author and plot.

The Volunteers is about an ex-radical turned journalist who investigates the shooting of a Welsh politician. The thrilling journey to discovering what happened leads Lewis Redfern to rethink his career and what he thought he knew about radical groups.

There were parts of the book I really enjoyed. It started off well, keeping my attention with the strike and shooting at the start, but as Redfern's investigation stretched on and got more and more complex I started to struggle to stay interested.

I gave this 2 stars, and would only really recommend if you're interested in reading hard left literature. 

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Review of 'The Midnight Library' by Matt Haig

 

This was my most anticipated release of 2020 and I was SO excited to read it. I'd read a whole bunch of glowing reviews, heard that Dolly Parton had it on her bedside table, and the premise of the book sounded like the most wonderful plot. However, once I started reading, things almost immediately turned out to not be what I expected.

This post (and the book itself) comes with a big trigger warning for suicide.

When Nora Seed's cat died, its the final straw for her. Feeling as though she can't go on anymore, Nora makes the decision to end her life. She wakes up in a library, where her old school librarian explains to her that she's somewhere between life and death. Nora is given a book of all the regrets in her life, and Mrs Elm explains that each book on the infinite shelves of the Midnight Library offers her the ability to step into a different life where she changes something she regrets.

*Spoilers from here*

Every review or tweet or mention of the book I'd seen never stated that the main character ends up in the library because of attempted suicide, rather than a death she hasn't chosen, and it changed the whole vibe of the book for me. I'm not sure if it's my current mindset, but I found the book increasingly miserable as it went on. The idea that none of the potential lives she could have had would make her happy is just desperately sad for me? I loved seeing all the different lives and found that fantasy aspect of the book great, but the plot was so predictable that I figured it out by the fourth or fifth life she tried.

The idea that the only life that was 'right' for Nora or could possibly make her happy was the one that she wanted to end made me unbearably sad. I don't know if it's because I hope there are lives in which I've made different choices that have made me even slightly happier, but every life she entered that was yet again miserable just made the book sadder and sadder.

This was the most disappointing book I've read in a while because it had been so hyped up, but I gave it 3 stars as I enjoyed seeing the different lives Nora could have led.

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Review of 'Girl Online' by Zoe Sugg

 

I bought this a few years ago (before I knew it had been ghost written) and it's sat on my shelf ever since because I found out shortly after that Zoe hadn't written this alone and I was disappointed it wasn't something that was made clear. Even having looked all through the book now it really wasn't clear at all, other than one small acknowledgement at the end. 

Girl Online is about a teen called Penny who has started a blog. She's kept the whole thing a secret, apart from telling her best friend Elliot. Her parents run a wedding planning business and when they get the opportunity to fly to New York to plan a British themed wedding, Penny realises she's going to have to face one of her biggest fears: flying. When Penny starts to talk about her anxieties online, her blog starts to take off in ways she didn't expect. And when she meets handsome mysterious boy Noah in New York, things seem to just be getting better and better.

I found this really hard to get in to. It's teen fiction, but was so cliched that I struggled to deal with the plot. A lot of inspiration was clearly taken from Zoe's life, which is fair enough, but the writing and content felt maybe a little more middle grade-esque than teen. I also wasn't a massive fan of the age gap of Penny being 15 and Noah 18 in the book, which totally put me off the romance. I don't think this aspirational romance Zoe's written should have this, or is the right message to send about adult men wanting relationships with children. 

I gradually warmed a little to the plot, and I think would have quite enjoyed it when I was 12/13 or younger. I gave this 2 stars.

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Review of 'The Teacher' by Katerina Diamond

 

I read The Secret by Katerina Diamond a few years ago and really enjoyed it, but remembered that they alluded to a whole series of events from this book which is the first in the series, and I wanted to get to grips with it. Naturally I then bought this and left it sitting on my shelves forever and now I've forgotten what happened in The Secret, but I'd like to read the rest in the series.

The Teacher is a gory crime novel. Someone is killing different men in violent, torturous ways, using a different MO with each one. Each chapter in the book focuses on a different character: we follow each victim to their death, see insights from DS Imogen Grey and DS Adrian Miles, and even from the killer as we get further into the book. The victims are all connected, and when the link between them becomes clear, the detectives aren't sure whose side they're on anymore.

This was a gripping murder mystery with a whole lot of gore. I found myself looking forward to reading it and seeing what linked everyone together, and why some of the characters were involved in the book. A very graphic thriller, the book comes with a trigger warning for sexual assault, gore and torture. It was a good January read, matching the dreary weather, and I now really want to see what happens next with Detectives Grey and Miles.

I gave this three stars because it was quite clear who the murderer was very early on in the book, but I was very torn between a three and four star rating. 

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