Book Reviews

My Diary arrived just in time... yippee!

This time last year I set myself the challenge of reading 50 books in the whole year and not spending more then £50. I would have reached my challenge if I'd continued reading from September as I was already well over the half way mark but as I didn't I fell so far behind that I changed my target to 40 as I just couldn't help not feeling well but also it was quite a milestone to reach 40. I'm happy with that.

 

Here is what I have read....

1: The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Stepped Out of the Window and Disappeared

2: The Yellow Wallpaper

3: Spy Princess

4: The Glass Painter's Daughter

5: Tik-Tok of Oz

6: Letters from Yelena

7: Wonder

8: The Scarecrow of Oz

9: Rinkitink in Oz

10: Gardens of Water

11: Daddy-Long-Legs

12: The Lost Princess of Oz

13: The Bubble Gum Thief

14: The Tin Woodman of Oz

15: The Magic Of Oz

16: Glinda of Oz

17: Life of Pi

18: Dear Enemy

19: French House

20: The Night Rainbow

21: The Help

22: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry

23: Mum's List

24: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

25: Take Me to the Castle

26: THE FAIRYTALE TEA DRESS SHOP IN EDINBURGH (Tea Dress Shop Series)

27: Rosemary's Baby

28: Paper Towns

29: A Kiss Before Dying

30: My Secret Sister

31: When the turaco calls

32: Daughters

33: The naughty girls book club

34: Mornings in Jenin

35: OOPS! I'M THE PAPARAZZI (Romance, Humour & Mischief)

36: The Parisian Christmas Bake-Off

37: Oop's I'm up to mischief

38: OOPS! I'M A SECRET AGENT (Romance)

39: OOPS! I'M A HOLLYWOOD AGENT

40: Christmas at Carrington's

I completed The Wizard of OZ after a year of reading it. I read mostly short stories and the complete box set of the oops series.  I still need to review all the books after Rosemary's Baby as I've just been so lazy to do it. I will probably do a week or 2 block post in order to get those done.

 

I also stuck to my target of £50 and actually spent £40, so £1 a book this year. Lets see if I can spend even less next year.

Ira Levin ~Rosemary's Baby~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: 99p

 

Reason I choose it: After reading Stepford Wives a lot of the reviews claimed that this book was better so I decided to wait until the price came down to buy it.

 

Summary

Rosemary and Guy Woodhouse, an ordinary young couple, settle into a New York City apartment, unaware that the elderly neighbors and their bizarre group of friends have taken a disturbing interest in them. But by the time Rosemary discovers the horrifying truth, it may be far too late!

 

My Opinion

I think I've found myself a favourite author as I love Ira's style of writing and it also helps that he writes fairly short stories that are so gripping.

 

However this book didn't quite do it for me with the ways the reviews claimed it was brilliant. I preferred Stepford Wives.

 

I found Rosemary to be one of those spoiled ladies who wants her way all the time... and her needs really spoiled it for me as she came across so accepting of events that occurred because she had what she wanted.

 

Whether the author meant it or not its quite interesting the concept of domestic abuse as you are looking in wondering why she accepted Guy doing what he did whether conscious or unconsciously but in reality its what happens in a lot of real life cases where people blame themselves, try to keep that person happy or themselves etc.. and your just sitting there thinking why don't they get a back bone. It's different when its you though. Then you have Rosemary's baby, regardless of what she saw or felt it was part of her and it was her baby. It reminded me of children with some syndrome and other people glare and can't get past maybe a deformed limb etc... but to a parent they are perfect and they can look at the person as they are.  

 

There were many times in this book though when I was sat at the end of my seat wondering what will happen... this resulted in me looking up other books and I found one which I'm half way through reading at the moment!

 

My Rating

De-ann Black ~The Fairytale tea dress shop~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: 99p

 

Reason I choose it:

Summary

Delphine opens a fairytale tea dress shop in Edinburgh after being made redundant from her fashion merchandising job in Glasgow. Using her redundancy money, Delphie moves to Edinburgh to make a fresh start, leaving her broken heart behind her. The last thing she expects is to find romance in the beautiful city of spires. But who is the man for Delphie? Is it Marcus or Andrew or perhaps Bradach? And will Delphie make her fairytale shop a success in the Scottish capital?

 

My Opinion

This is a short story so it moves a little quickly and you don't really get to know everyone properly. However it is filled with things happening and you are left with wanting more when the book has ended. I am glad that it stayed the length it did as if the author had made it longer it would have ended up being one of those books that was spoiled with unnecessary events that just dragged on. Its fun and hilarious so I really enjoyed it.

 

My Rating

F.C.Malby ~Take me to the Castle~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: £1.53

 

Reason I choose it:

Someone recommended it on their blog saying it was really good.

 

Summary:

The door opened slowly, and she could see the outline of five men standing in the corridor. Her room was far enough away from the figures for no one to notice her nose pressing into the door frame. She was aware of her own breathing and tried to slow it down, slow down her heartbeat until she was invisible. The idea in these moments is to be completely invisible. There were a lot of invisible people in Prague, doing invisible things to other invisible people.

What would you do to secure your own freedom?

February 1993. Walls between East and West have dissolved, following the Velvet Revolution of 1989. It is a harsh winter in the newly formed Czech Republic, but the nation celebrates. Arriving in Letovice, Jana is trying to escape a personal loss and come to terms with the changes in her country and in her own life. She stays with the Martineks and meets their son, Miloš. When he leaves Letovice and she travels back to Prague, she encounters a deep and shocking betrayal. Jana meets Lukas, a conservator working on the restoration of a mosaic at the Cathedral of St Vitus. But who is he and what is he hiding?

 

My Opinion

The first couple of chapters went between past and present which to start with were a little confusing and hard to get in to but then were really interesting when you did only for it to move on to another chapter and to start all over again. Once you end up completely in the present you follow Jana in thought and in person. To start with it was good but then it slowly went down hill, the whole book has a slow pace so it ended up really dull that I considered not reading anymore as I just couldn't follow the story line when I haven't even got half way into the book. I also didn't feel I really knew Jana or what she wanted. I wish I had stopped as the ending was disappointing and for supposedly such a strong character she showed exactly how pathetic she was.

 

My Rating

Stephen Chbosky ~The perks of being a wallflower~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: £1.99

 

Reason I choose it: I was curious about all the hype

 

Summary

Charlie is a freshman.

And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

My Opinion

I don't understand why authors make out the main characters are extremely intelligent when the style of writing and conversation does not match that style of intelligence so you are left cringing at the whole thing. I also feel the author tried to cover so many teenage problems in one book that it just became extremely boring to read it through one person who didn't know how to show emotions expect to cry... I got really fed up of that by the end of the book (well the first quarter) as he's 15 years old! As I was reading this book I thought the author would have been better adopting the format style used in Wonder where each character is given a chapter as it would have been interesting to read properly the thoughts and feelings of the problems concerning that person. This book just didn't do it for me unfortunately.

 

My Rating

St John Greene ~Mum's List~

Read: My Kindle

Paid: £1.99

Reason I choose it: I saw this at the library but never borrowed it at the time so when I saw it on Amazon I decided I wanted to read it.

Summary

Kate and Signe had 2 gorgeous little boys Reef and Finn. Reef was a healthy little baby but things suddenly turned for the worse when he became ill. At first doctors didn't know what was wrong with him, mum had a battle on her hands trying to convince doctors that something wasn't right and then eventually they found a doctor who discovered he had a very rare cancer around his pelvis area. There were lots of we aren't sure if he'll live, walk etc... but Reef beat the odds by first staying alive and then by getting up and walking. In the midst of his illness Kate had found out she was pregnant and gave birth to Finn at 7 months! They thought the worst of it was over, only one day Kate discovered a lump in her breasts and that resulted in her creating mum's list where if the worst happened she wanted her husband to have something to pull him through the days but also to leave a small piece of herself behind.  

My Opinion
I am in 2 minds about this book. First it is a book that really gets you thinking about your life and how you need to attempt to fulfil your dreams as you don't know what's around the corner. The Journey of Signe with his boys was really sweet. On the other hand it is very repetitive of Kate's list, it would have been better to have had the list printed at the beginning and mentioned as Signe completed things or considered doing something... instead he started with one and listed about 5 in one go. Then it also felt like he was just trying to get in to the public eye all the time with a big party, this lists, his son's cancer etc... and then dropping names of things he was working on. I actually got to the point then where I only read it to complete the book to see how things worked out but didn't care so much about the people anymore.


My Rating

Rachel Joyce ~The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: £2.69

Reason I choose it: It had really good reviews so I saved it in my wish list and when the price came down I bought it.

 

Summary

Recently retired, sweet, emotionally numb Harold Fry is jolted out of his passivity by a letter from Queenie Hennessy, an old friend, who he hasn't heard from in twenty years. She has written to say she is in hospice and wanted to say goodbye. Leaving his tense, bitter wife Maureen to her chores, Harold intends a quick walk to the corner mailbox to post his reply but instead, inspired by a chance encounter, he becomes convinced he must deliver his message in person to Queenie--who is 600 miles away--because as long as he keeps walking, Harold believes that Queenie will not die.

So without hiking boots, rain gear, map or cell phone, one of the most endearing characters in current fiction begins his unlikely pilgrimage across the English countryside. Along the way, strangers stir up memories--flashbacks, often painful, from when his marriage was filled with promise and then not, of his inadequacy as a father, and of his shortcomings as a husband.

Ironically, his wife Maureen, shocked by her husband's sudden absence, begins to long for his presence. Is it possible for Harold and Maureen to bridge the distance between them? And will Queenie be alive to see Harold arrive at her door?

 

My Opinion

The idea of this book was a nice one but it took me a month to read as it was so dull but at that price there was no way I was going to give up on it and sadly it didn't get any better. The author tried to make it interesting by having Harold meet people along the way as well as having some tag along but there was nothing interesting about those people as they were just as dull as Harold. You learned more about Harold's feet, legs and the mantra 'one foot in front of the other' that it felt like many Deja Vu moments.

 

The thing that completely lost me though is that Harold wanted to complete his walk in yachting shoes to prove a point, he didn't in the end want to spend money that wasn't necessary but then he quite happily let a bunch of random people and a dog tag along who got him involved in wearing T-shirts, advertising drinks, photo shoots etc... which to me just completely lost the point instead of a pair of shoes. Just as quickly as they all latched on they all abandoned him and went their own way including the dog. They bought nothing to the book at all.

 

The book switches between Harold and his wife, I thought it would perk up a little with her but oh how wrong I was. Honestly if you're feeling totally depressed this is the worst book to read.

 

The only person that got any reaction out of me was Queenie... Goodness I could have cried! I no longer cared about Harold, his wife and their situation by the end.

 

I really need to keep away from these Man Booker Prizes as whoever picks the books for this award don't have an interesting eye for books. There isn't one yet that I have enjoyed.

 

Rating

Claire King ~The Night Rainbow~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: 99p

Reason I choose it: I was attracted to the cover but also the book sounded interesting.

 

Summary

It is summer in the south of France, and Pea and her little sister Margot spend their days running free, inventing games in the meadow behind their house. But Pea has worries beyond her five and a half years. Her father has died in an accident, and her mother has just lost a baby. Maman is English, already isolated in this small, foreign village, and in her compounded grief, she has retreated even further. Pea and Margot stay out of her way and try to make things better, but they can't make Maman happy again. When Pea befriends Claude, a man who seems to love the meadow as she does, she wonders if he could be a new papa. But why do the other villagers view Claude with suspicion, and what secrets does his large empty house hold? 

 

(The Blurb)

 

My Opinion

Working with children I do know that they can act and know things like Pea did and in her situation I can believe it possible with being an only child to two people that adored her and spent time with her. The only thing though is that I would have preferred Pea to be a couple of years older due to the heaviness of the topics she was experiencing. Margot sounded far too old for a 4 and a half year old though even though their is a little secret concerning her.

 

I probably would have enjoyed the book more if it wasn't for the mum. I know she's lost her husband, had a still born baby (possibly), living in a foreign land with no friends and finding herself pregnant again... I started to get fed up of the amount of time she just spent in bed... which was nearly the whole book leaving Pea to spend all her time out of the house roaming the fields wondering how to make her mum happy and starving half the time. I also started to find towards the end that the book dragged a little.

 
I would also say that this is a book aimed at teens but adults may enjoy it too.
 

Rating

 

Nick alexander ~The French House~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: 89p (currently 59p)

Reason I choose it: I bought it on pre-order as it sounded interesting. This is a sequel to The case of the missing boyfriend which I haven't read.
 

Summary

CC takes some time off a demanding London job to go and visit her new boyfriend Victor in France. Victor has inherited a house in the hills of France, he has moved over in order to renovate the run down house which has no roof, heating or electricity. He hasn't got very far with it when CC arrives like a whirlwind encouraging him to get things moving and the house up and running. She eventually gives up her job to move to France but will she stay?

 

My opinion

I think I fell for the cover of this book and then I liked the idea of an adventure renovating a house in France. The first chapter I though this is going to be good and almost recommended to a friend to buy it as she loves visiting France but by the 2nd chapter I knew it wasn't what I had expected and it just kind of went down hill and I forced myself to read it. It turned out to be a book about microwave meals/take aways, booze, sex and other such stuff I didn't care about... in the end I didn't care so much for the characters especially CC who I thought was pathetic. There were some weird things going on with Victors auntie which would have been so interesting to unwind over time for the big discovery of it all... a climax as such but it never came and was just cast off in a paragraph.

 

My Rating.

Yann Martel ~Life of Pi~

Read: On Kindle
Paid: 20p

Reason I choose it:

I was in 2 minds due to the 50/50 reviews but a friend encouraged me to get it so I did at that price. What is there to lose?

 

Summary

Life of Pi is a fantasy novel about a boy stranded in a lifeboat with a 450-pound Bengal Tiger after a shipwreck. Pi Patel's father runs a zoo in Pondicherry - a former French colony in India - but decides to migrate to Canada along with his family and assorted zoo animals due to political tensions. However, their voyage is abruptly cut short when Tsimtsum - their Japanese cargo ship - sinks in the Pacific during a violent storm. Pi manages to stay alive, but soon finds himself in a lifeboat with a tiger, hyena, orangutan and zebra. Will the laws of jungle reign in the ocean, or will Pi's ingenuity and will for survival beat all odds? This castaway's take on faith, philosophy and survival makes for a thoroughly riveting and thought-provoking read.
(Blurb)

 

My Opinion
The first part of this book is a cross between fiction (Pi's life) and non- fiction (all his random information about various topics he's introducing you too). It rambles on some but I quite enjoyed it and found the first quarter soon whizzed by. The 2nd part to me felt like the author suddenly lost interest as there was no build up to the ship wreck, it just went straight in to it like a hazy/ foggy night and continued in such a confusing manner. It wasn't bad but the problem for me is that it should have been half the length it was as nothing all that much happened except animals falling out....he stopped at an island and then continued on his way, there was no exciting rescue just a case of coming to the end of the line and things just kind of happened. This part I mostly skimmed/skipped as what you were reading 5 pages earlier is still happening so I didn't miss much. The 3rd part is Pi telling his adventure to some investigators and eating constantly. I was just relieved when the book was over which was disappointing as I enjoyed it to start with. I have noticed though the Man Booker Prize books I haven't enjoyed the few that I have read so I think I will stay far away from them in the future and read something worth reading.

 

My Rating

I wasn't sure about whether to give this 3 stars or 2 but in the end I decided a quarter of a book to read isn't worth the extra star. I'm glad I only paid 20p after all.

Jeff Miller ~The Bubble Gum Thief~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: 99p

Reason I choose it: I loved the sound of the title so decided to see what it was all about.

 

Summary

Special Agent Dagny Gray is smart, athletic, and fearless. She’s also fragile, depressed, and anorexic. If she doesn’t get healthy soon, the FBI will drop her—and she’ll never have a chance to end the crime spree of the so-called “bubble gum thief.” It all started with the theft of a pack of gum, and the ominous note he left behind: THIS IS MY FIRST CRIME. MY NEXT WILL BE BIGGER. Every two weeks, he delivers on this pledge, committing a bigger crime, and promising that the next will be even worse. When petty theft gives way to bloody murder, the stakes become clear. He may have begun with the smallest crime possible, but he’s building toward the biggest crime imaginable. There’s a method to the gum thief’s madness, and Special Agent Dagny Gray knows she can figure it out…if the Bureau will let her. But will it be in time to prevent the cataclysmic finale of his escalating spree?

 

My Opinion

This as you'll have guessed is a crime book where the first part of the chapters switch mostly between Dagny and the Thief. You learn a lot about Dagny but not all that much about the thief, I would have loved to have gone in to his mind a bit to see why or what he was plotting more then we did. The 2nd and 3rd part is of Dagny and her friends solving the mystery which I enjoyed but again I would have loved more about the Thief. It had a slightly predictable twist at the end which filled in a few more gaps and made you realise how a few people can change someones life so drastically. Its not like your usual crime book though where you have to try and guess who the thief is as like I've mentioned so much already you never really learn all that much about the actual thief. I enjoyed it which is the main thing.

 

Rating

Jean Webster ~Daddy Long Legs~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: Free

Reason I choose it: I bought a set of postcards on Yozocrafts which were of a book theme. This postcard was one of them for the book 'Daddy Long Legs' which I have never heard of and only associate with a spider that we called Daddy Long Legs as a child. I looked this book up on amazon and downloaded it. I read it within the same day having started it over my lunch.

 

Summary

Jerusha Abbot (Judy) is an orphan who has spent her whole life in an asylum. She is good at writing so the mysterious Daddy-long-legs promises to send Jerusha to college...provided she follows his rules and writes him letters to tell him about her studies. The story is basically in the form of those letters as written by Jerusha. She writes in a very funny engaging way with the result that the Daddy-long-legs finally shows her his true identity and tells her he has fallen in love with her.

 

My Opinion

I love the writing style and there was something about Jerusha that I liked in her innocence and discover of all things new. Its also nice of course that it is all written in letter form as it covers two of my hobbies in to one. The only downside was that its predictable and you know who the trustee is, I found his intentions quite disturbing and a little creepy as after all he knew who she was but she didn't know who he was.

 

This reminds me of a book though that I read in my teens, I can't remember the name of it but it was about a girl who wrote to a professor as part of a project. It's one that's always stuck in my mind that its a shame I can't remember the title.

 

I ended up buying the sequel to this book but I haven't read it yet.

 

Have you read this book before?

(or is it just me that's never heard of it)

Alan Drew ~Garden of Water~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: 99p

Reason I choose it: It sounded interesting and cultural.

 

Summary:

 Powerful, emotional, and beautifully written, Alan Drew’s stunning first novel brings to life two unforgettable families–one Kurdish, one American–and the sacrifice and love that bind them together. In a small town outside Istanbul, Sinan Basioglu, a devout Muslim, and his wife, Nilüfer, are preparing for their nine-year-old son’s coming-of-age ceremony. Their headstrong fifteen-year-old daughter, İrem, resents the attention her brother, Ismail, receives from their parents. For her, there was no such festive observance–only the wrapping of her head in a dark scarf and strict rules that keep her hidden away from boys and her friends. But even before the night of the celebration, İrem has started to change, to the dismay of her Kurdish father. What Sinan doesn’t know is that much of her transformation is due to her secret relationship with their neighbor, Dylan, the seventeen-year-old American son of expatriate teachers. İrem sees Dylan as the gateway to a new life, one that will free her from the confines of conservative Islam. Yet the young man’s presence and Sinan’s growing awareness of their relationship affirms Sinan’s wish to move his family to the safety of his old village, a place where his children would be sheltered from the cosmopolitan temptations of Istanbul, and where, as the civil war in the south wanes, he hopes to raise his children in the Kurdish tradition. But when a massive earthquake hits in the middle of the night, the Basioglu family is faced with greater challenges. Losing everything, they are forced to forage for themselves, living as refugees in their own country. And their survival becomes dependent on their American neighbors, to whom they are unnervingly indebted. As love develops between İrem and Dylan, Sinan makes a series of increasingly dangerous decisions that push him toward a betrayal that will change everyone’s lives forever. The deep bonds among father, son, and daughter; the tension between honoring tradition and embracing personal freedom; the conflict between cultures and faiths; the regrets of age and the passions of youth–these are the timeless themes Alan Drew weaves into a brilliant fiction debut.

 

(Blurb)

 

My Opinion

I'll be honest I don't know what to make of this book,  a part of me enjoyed it... other parts I got really fed up with the characters, the repetitiveness, the pass the buck and the blame game for what ever is going wrong in ones life etc... It could have been really good and the ending better then it was so in parts it was really disappointing and dull.

Rating

R.J.Palacio~Wonder~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: £2.84

Reason I choose it: I try to read books where they are written through the eyes of a child with a disability, illness etc... because it makes me understand, appreciate the children and parents in similar situations at work.

 

Summary
I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse. August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances? R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels.

(blurb)

My opinion
I waited for this book to come down in price as it was around £8. I'm glad I did wait as it was interesting. Each chapter is written by a different person in Auggies life so it continues the story from them. Auggie starts middle school for the first time but is given the chance over the summer holidays to go in and look around and meet 3 of the children that have been recommended from their previous school as being good people... one becomes a great friend(Jack), another an enemy (Julian) and the last just acknowledges him. With each person sharing their opinions and emotions it gives you a better idea of how you or anyone else may react to such a situation, in my case I'd probably be the one starring unfortunately. I of course did disagree with some things like I would have liked to have read about Julian but instead you got Auggies sisters boyfriend and best friend... the boyfriends part was interesting but the best friends part was pointless as you never really get down to the bottom of her problem. Then you've got the fact that a bunch of 10 year olds are suddenly into boyfriends and partying... I've no idea what its like in America but I was actually one of the lucky few to go to a middle school and at that age we just did not act the way they did or even care to have boyfriends. It just seemed very teenagerish. I do find it a bit squeeky though.

My Rating

Guy Mankowski ~Letters From Yelena~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: 99p

Reason I choose it: I'll read anything to do with a letter.

Summary

My letters to you, my darling Noah, will be maps, in which I hope I can be found. Yelena, a brilliant but flawed Ukrainian ballerina, comes to the UK to fulfil her dreams and dance in one of ballet's most prestigious roles: Giselle. While researching content for his new book, Yelena meets Noah, and here begins a journey of discovery. Life takes an unexpected turn, and the two write letters in which they try to provide a blueprint of their lives and find their way back to each other. But during this process, Yelena visits the darkest corners of her life and, before she knows it, her past begins to catch up with her in ways she can't control. A dark, intricate labyrinth, Letters from Yelena explores the depths of one woman's own inner torment, the extremes to which we can be taken, and whether or not there is a way out.

 

(Blurb)

My  Opinion

The story begins with Yelena's daughter. On Yelena's death bed she lets her daughter know that if she'd like to know who her mother really was and what dark secrets she had to hide to get in touch with a man called Noah. Her daughter manages to track him down to find out more but he is unwilling to part with her mum's letters but promises her that when he dies he will leave the letters for her. Only on before his death he doesn't arrange anything for her to receive them but thankfully Yelena daughter she records the conversation and is eventually able to obtain the letters to read. We read along with her and the story of Yelena unfolds through her letters to Yelena, they are interesting and I was curious to know the outcome of the past and present of Yelena's life it was just a shame that at the end of the book she never overcame the cageyness of her life to open up to her daughter. You also never learn about life after Yelena and Noah which we could have heard a little from her daughter which was quite disappointing. Overall I did enjoy the book even though it did get a little weird towards the end.

 

My Rating 

 

Rachel Hore ~The Glass Painters Daughter~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: £1.99

Reason I choose it: It sounded interesting.

Summary

Fran left home to pursue a career in foreign cities, as a classical musician. But now her father is dangerously ill and it's time to return.

Taking her father's place in the shop, she and his craftsman Zac accept a beguiling commission - to restore a shattered glass picture of an exquisite angel belonging to a local church. As they reassemble the dazzling shards of coloured glass, they uncover an extraordinary love story from the Victorian past, sparked by the window's creation. Slowly, Fran begins to see her own reflection in its themes of passion, tragedy and redemption.

Fran's journey will lead her on a search for the truth about her mother, through mysteries of past times and the anguish of unrequited love, to reconciliation and renewal.

(From here)

My Opinion

This is one of those books I'm not sure about, at first I thought it was great but the further I got in to it over a couple of days I started to wonder what actually is happening in the story, it doesn't really seem to move anywhere. The author tries to bring in mystery but even as you are reading it you know exactly who is doing what so it doesn't have that climax when you do find out as you've known all along. I didn't really take to Fran at all which I guess didn't help and I think that  the complete Victorian story would have been much more interesting.

My Rating

Shrabani Basu ~Spy Princess~

Read: On Kindle

Paid: 99p

Reason I choose it: When I worked with the 7-8 year olds I started just after they learnt about Noor Inyat Khan so I was curious to know who she was. I kind of forgot until just before Christmas and decided to look up a book for her and this author came up.

 

Summary

This book is a true story about a British Secret Agent for SOE during WW2. It begins with Noors dad and his introducing the Islamic belief of Sufism in to the Europeans and Americans lives through his music.Noor is born in Russia, lives a little in England and eventually ends up in France. You learn about Noors Childhood surrounded by people dedicating their lives to Sufism and then in her teenage years they flee France for England where she gets a job in a Morse code center. Due to her speed and her multi lingual skills she is watched carefully and then eventually offered a job as a secret agent in France which she takes and travels over despite a few obstacles along the way.....

 

My Opinion

My only problem with the book is the fact that the author was infatuated with Noors dad and Noors supposed great great great great..... grand-dad Tippu Sultan. By the way its actually how the author writes the great which after a while really irritates me. I really hated the dad and would rather have not read about him but then again it gave a little more insight as to what Noor faced on a daily basis. The author was not all that infatuated with Noor as she went on to call her childish etc... which I found a bit odd as she didn't actually know her personally despite having spoken to her family.

 

People like Noor's dad still exist today and are known as a Pir. They make out they have special abilities to cure illnesses, re-arrange lives etc... and people believe every word they say. People as well as giving their whole selves they  also offer expensive gifts and other things which they take willingly... In Noors dad case people were raising his family by giving them money and even buying a house which Noor and her brother at one point thought it was ok to go to a lady to ask for money for a ticket to India for Noor. Noors dad one day decided he had to go to India and never once thought twice about how his wife would cope with 4 children etc... he went and died a couple of days later. Noors mum an already pathetic women turned out to be completely useless to her children after that by taking to the bed leaving 13 year old Noor to take care of things.

 

Once the dad died I enjoyed the story of Noor a lot more even though at times it was quite long winded but with not knowing about a lot of the things mentioned I did appreciate the detailed explanations too. I found it all really interesting and quite shocking at times but justice was done in Noors and a few other ladies deaths at the end.

 

I think that this book didn't do Noors life justice for what she went though and I am surprised that it hasn't been made in to a film.

 

Oh! I wrote it begins with Noors dad, it actually begins with the last chapter that Noor was in which was her death. I hadn't realised Noor had died so it really upset me when reading how much potential she had in her life and made me so curious to know what she would have done after the war... the fact she could have lived also made it all that much harder to digest the circumstances.

 

My Rating

Despite me not liking this version 100% I will still be giving it all my strawberries as Noors war time experiences and life is worth reading.

I hope that you will read it and let me know what you think. The other WW2 story I'd really recommend is The Blue Suitcase By Marianne Wheelaghan. Both of these books have lived with me long after I've read them and I hope I will never ever have to experience a war as I would not be able to do what both of these ladies did.  

Charlotte Perkins Gilman~The Yellow Wallpaper~

 

Read: On Kindle

Paid: Free

Reason I choose it: It was recommended by Gypsy of Jasper on her blog so I decided to read it.

Summary

First published in 1892, The Yellow Wall-Paper is written as the secret journal of a woman who, failing to relish the joys of marriage and motherhood, is sentenced to a country rest cure. Though she longs to write, her husband and doctor forbid it, prescribing instead complete passivity. In the involuntary confinement of her bedroom, the hero creates a reality of her own beyond the hypnotic pattern of the faded yellow wallpaper a pattern that has come to symbolize her own imprisonment. Narrated with superb psychological and dramatic precision, The Yellow Wall-Paper stands out not only for the imaginative authenticity with which it depicts one woman's descent into insanity, but also for the power of its testimony to the importance of freedom and self-empowerment for women.

(The Blurb)

My Opinion

This is a super short story of a lady who sounds like she's suffered from post natal depression but is seen as being nervous and over excitable by the tiniest of things. Her husband takes her to a country home to relax which results in her feeling suffocated by the wallpaper which eventually gets to be too much

I read this book twice, the first time I read it in bits throughout the day. The ending confused me some as I expected something completely different so I didn't at all get it. So I started again and it took me about 20 minutes to read, I enjoyed the book so much more the 2nd time but still the ending didn't quite do it for me, I know what happened but I guess I didn't expect it. The writing style is however really good.

Jonas Jonasson ~100 year old man who climbed out the window and disappeared~

 

Read: On Kindle

Paid: 20p

Reason I choose it: The interesting cover, title and the idea of it sounded interesting.

Summary

It all starts on the one-hundredth birthday of Allan Karlsson. Sitting quietly in his room in an old people's home, he is waiting for the party he-never-wanted-anyway to begin. The mayor is going to be there. The press is going to be there. But, as it turns out, Allan is not...Slowly but surely Allan climbs out of his bedroom window, into the flowerbed (in his slippers) and makes his getaway. His adventure then begins....

 

My Opinion

It started off great, was very engaging and entertaining. The story switches between the present and the past... so ends up going full circle of him ending up outside the window at the beginning and end which mean you learn of Allan's whole life. It isn't until Allan is in the past and leaving Sweden did the story begin to get really dull as for a man who supposedly dislikes politics and religion ends up in these very situations which completely go over my head and bore me almost to death. The present part is interesting and still quite engaging but then that too gets wary as everything in Allan's life just seems to fall completely in to place. He's a man that always has a roof over his head and a meal as well as Vodka available whenever he needs it. Still he gets to travel the world, master many languages but most of all meet every single president of the country that he seems to travel in and have a glass a vodka or five with them.

 

By the end I didn't care for Allan or any of the other characters, I just wanted the book to end which it did in a really awful way but then the whole book was just completely insane with laughable moments, completely nutty ones and just sticking in any random act in to it. It reminded me a little of Stephan Kings Needful Things.

 

I was actually between thinking I like this book, actually I don't like it... actually I like it... well it ended unfortunately with me not enjoying it. I also at one point thought it would be a great book for boys but I'm not too sure with all the bomb and alcohol talk but I guess its what ever floats your boat...

 

Rating

Eowyn Ivey ~The Snow Child~

 

Read: On Kindle

Paid: £1.49

Reason I choose it:  I first fell for the cover as theres something magical about it but then the book sounded so interesting also...

 

Summary

Jack and Mabel move to Alaska to own a farm and live the life they've always dreamed of. Only life isn't quite what the imagined it to be. The void of not having a child is a big one but slowly the ice between the pair starts to thaw and they begin to loosen up and act care free again.

 

When the first snow arrives Mabel feels as excited as a child, that she follows Jack outside and begins a snowball flight which eventually results in them making a delicate little snow girl. When Mabel wakes up the next day she finds the snow girl has gone but their are footsteps leading in to the forest...

 

My Opinion

This story could have been amazing but I think the author killed it some with the seriously dull Jack and Mabel.

Mabel came across as just another spoilt brat, she didn't try to fit in with Jacks family by the sound of things but once she was never blessed with children it was the perfect excuse to separate herself from them all. She managed a little to get Jack to exclude himself from the family gatherings but the time finally came when she could do it completely by showing him an advert to own a farm in Alaska which he agreed, sold his share of the farm to his brothers and moved away.

Like they say the Grass isn't Greener on the other side as it soon became apparent that they may have made the biggest mistake. Money was running short, the work was too much for one person, Jacks stubborness in not letting Mabel help as she should be in the kitchen but Mabels selfishness in not allowing Jack to get help as she wanted to be alone like they'd agreed! You read many pages full of Mabels grief at never having had children which is understandable but she didn't really do much to fill her days except stay at home (cook, clean and think about what could have been).

I loved the part of Mabel and Jack in the first snow, ending in them creating a snow girl... the snow child Faina becoming alive. Her part of the story was lovely and I would loved to have followed her more and learned more about her, her life etc... There were snippets of her life that were so fascinating especially in the 3rd part which shows just how amazing the book could have been if we followed her more.

The other part that added to it was the way Esther (Mabel and Jacks Neighbours) breezed in and out bringing so much character and charm to the book also. I really thought that Esthers influence would loosen up Mabel but that didn't seem to be the case.

The third part of the story has to be the worst, most unsatifactory part of it, the details were lovely but the whole attitude of Jack and Mabel annoyed me, by this time the child had been with them for 8 years so surely they would have picked up the fact that she was never there during summer, couldn't cope with being indoors, that mabel had the chance to change her future but choose to sit back wringing her hands, pacing and denying the facts once again. Resulting in a poor ending.

Worst of all it was 1918, they were religious people surely what Jack saw in the woods was unacceptable and he'd put a stop to it, Mabel would explain to Faina the ins and outs of life etc... instead Jack punched someone, ignored it so the fact the author said they were like worried parents didn't ring true. All they did was provide her with a new coat each year, the odd item of clothing and some food.

 

My Rating