Review!: Books I read in June- The Gracekeepers, The Slow Regard of Silent Things, Exodus, The Summer Book, Clariel

I read lots of nice books this month including a few that have been on my tbr pile for ages. The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan, The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss, Exodus by Julie Bertagna, The Summer Book by Tove Jansson and Clariel by Garth Nix. 

The Gracekeepers

This book caught my eye a little while a go in Waterstones with its beautiful cover. (I read it on kindle so no beautiful cover for me, but I loved it very much so I might just have to get a hardcover copy.) The book is set in a version of the world, which is now mostly underwater so some people live on islands, Landlockers, but most people, Damplings, live on boats. North lives and works on a circus boat, which travels around islands, where she performs with her bear as one of the acts. Callanish lives in a house in the middle of the ocean, where she conducts funerals for Damplings. Their paths cross and they are drawn back to each other because they share something special in common. I especially loved the book for its selkies/seal-people element, which may or may not be the special thing in common. I found the world to be well built and explored, although I felt like I could have stayed in it for much longer. There are some amazing characters, particularly in the circus. All round thumbs up from me. I think it'd make for a good film, but only if it had a weird director to bring out the surreal-ness of the story.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things

Patrick Rothfuss introduces the book apologising, and also ends the book apologising for its strangeness and non-plot-like plot. He writes, if you haven't enjoyed this book, then it was probably just not for you, but he found that early readers who enjoyed it, really enjoyed it. This is really apparent on its Goodreads page where half of the reviews are "I will never get that time back!??" and the other half are "Wow, I connected on a deep level with Auri." I happily fall into the latter category. I really enjoyed this book. Learning more about the vastness of the Underthing through Auri's eyes was fascinating. I actually felt like I understood her connection and relationship with the objects and spaces she communicated with and inhabited. That a lengthy soap making scene could have me unable to put the book down, I guess tells you something about Rothfuss's writing and character building. The hints and clues to the previous use of spaces, now disconnected from the university above, were so intriguing. And was that Auri's own old lab she went to work in? Everything in its place. A beautiful tale from the Underthing.

Exodus

I started reading this a couple of years ago, still had my place saved, and finally got around to finishing it. I'm not sure why I stopped in the first place but I couldn't stop this time. Living in Glasgow whilst reading this definitely adds to the magic of it. The university's steeple does indeed look like a wizard's hat. Also set in a world now mostly underwater, cities have been built up on stilts to avoid the rising sea levels. Mara and her family live in a community on an island called Wing, which is very quickly disappearing into those rising seas. They make the decision to leave, and travel boat to a place called New Mungo, the existence of which Mara has discovered in the virtual internet cyberspace world called the Weave. New Mungo is a city high in the sky, built above the old city of Glasgow. There is plenty of adventure, peril, future technology, sinister dystopian plans, tree people, overnight romances, and a good old rescue mission. I didn't realise it is the first in a trilogy, so I may well get around to reading the following two at some point. 

The Summer Book

I read this in one sunny day, sitting in a particularly good spot in the park. I love Tove Jansson for both moomins and her novels, so I've been ticking off and rereading her adult fiction. I think I've read this one before, but possibly a while ago so I couldn't really remember it. It is beautiful, simple, witty (I was caught giggling a few times, the Study of Angleworms particularly tickled me), set on tiny holiday island in the gulf of Finland with the relationship between six-year-old Sophia and her grandmother the focus. It doesn't grip you with action and adventure, but instead enchants you with its humour and charm. The quote on the back from Esther Freud sums it up rather well: " Eccentric, funny, wise, full of joys and small adventures. This is a book for life." The paperback english translations of Jansson novels published by Sort Of Books are really beautiful too, with flaps and quality paper and photographs of Jansson and her island. I recommend reading this on a perfect summer day!

Clariel

Last but certainly not least, is Clariel sent to me by Hot Key Books! This is a long awaited prequel to Garth Nix's Old Kingdom trilogy, which I actually haven't read (although I'm planning to now) so I went into Clariel completely fresh faced and new to its world. Set 600 years before Sabriel, the first in the series, the book follows Clariel, a seventeen year old girl, who has recently moved with her parents to the walled city of Belisaere far away from her beloved Great Forest in her former home of Estwael. Her mother, a talented goldsmith, has been invited to Belisaere to join the High Guild of Goldsmiths, which means Clariel has to come too and attend a finishing school in the city. I really warmed to Clariel as a character, she had strong, clear motivations (to get back to the Great Forest), a lack of skills for Charter magic (which is out of fashion at this time in Belisaere anyway), no romantic interest whatsoever though some are interested in her (an aromatic teen character provides a perfect opposition to the usual love-at-first-sight narrative), and the capability to rescue herself (even if she's saved sometimes too). I was highly aware that I was probably missing references to the other books (is the cat character still about in Sabriel?) but I do intend on reading the trilogy and I'll probably have some dawning Ohhhhh! moments then.

That's it for June! This month so far I've gone YA contemporary with How To Be Bad, Vivian Versus America, and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, and also plan to read Lorali, so Sabriel might have to wait another month.

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Childhood Favourites: The Claidi Journals - Tanith Lee

Law of the Wolf Tower, Wolf Star Rise, Queen of the Wolves (and Wolf Wing, which I've only just realised exists- oops) make up The Claidi Journals series by Tanith Lee. News broke of Lee's passing a few weeks ago, so it felt like a good time to write about this childhood favourite of mine. I absolutely loved this series, which I must have read around the age of 10-12, and reread many times again. I just got so lost in the worlds Lee created- the gardens of (the second book?) especially, and all the different towns they had to travel through, which seemed to be almost completely isolated communities popping up across a kind of post-apocalyptic wasteland. The sheep land is maybe my favourite. The travelling Hulta were wonderful too.

I had no idea Tanith Lee had written 90 novels, so I should probably get to work on remedying that!

Review!: Books I read in May: Vivian Versus The Apocalypse, Half Wild, Tribute, Liberty's Fire.

The month of May was a good book month for me. I had lots of lovely books from Hot Key Books to read, and knocked a couple off my TBR list too! My review for Janis Mackay's Wild Song is already up on the blog here, it was great, I loved it. I also read Vivian Versus the Apocalypse by Katie Coyle, the sequel to Half Bad, Half Wild by Sally Green, Tribute by Ellen Renner, and Liberty's Fire by Lydia Syson.  

Vivian Versus The Apocalypse 

This has been on my list for quite a while, I've seen it recommended by so many bloggers and booktubers, and happily I was not disappointed. Vivian Apple's parents are members of the Church of America, which seems to have brainwashed a large section of the American population into believing that the rapture is coming and in order to ascend to heaven, there is a wide range of Church of America branded products that can help you live a pure life. Sixteen-year-old Vivian and her friend Harp are non-believers and spend Rapture's Eve enjoying a house party, the following day Vivian returns home to find her parents missing with two holes in the ceiling above their bed. A brilliant apocalypse road trip ensues, with Viv and Harp accompanied by Peter, who might know the whereabouts of the Church's headquarters, as they try to unravel what exactly has happened and discover whether Viv's parents are still alive. There is mystery, strange unpredictable changing weather, thick fogs, unseasonal heat, budding romance, cults, conspiracy and quite possible the end of the world. I'm very much looking forward to reading the sequel, Vivian Versus America, to unravel the mysteries further, especially the weather, I am so intrigued about what's going on with the weather... 

Half Wild

The sequel to Half Bad, which I read in April, picks up where it left of with Nathan in the forest having received his three gifts from Marcus. Nathan is much less alone in this book, travelling with his motley crew of Gabriel, Van- a powerful Black witch, and her assistant Nesbitt, on his mission to rescue Annalise from the clutches of Mercury. Nathan is convinced by Van to join the rebel alliance of White and Black witches in Europe fighting against the bigotry of the Council of White Witches, which is now led by Soul O'Brien. The movement and flow of this book is great, there is growth and action and many a sweet moment. Nathan and Gabriel's relationship is one of the best things about it, with THAT moment at Mercury's lair. Annalise and Gabriel representing different sides to Nathan and his struggle with his identity as a half white/half black white is excellent. As is his navigating of his relationship with Marcus as he learns to control his gifts. I am SO looking forward to the next in the series, which is a WHOLE YEAR away, and I will get around to reading the little novelette Half Lies: A Half Bad Story at some point too.

Tribute

This is the first book of two in the series so far, by Ellen Renner. It follows the story of  Zara and her life as the daughter of the Archmage Benedict, against whom she seeks revenge for killing her mother and sister. Zara lives in a world where magic people are the ruling minority, keeping the non magic 'kine' repressed by forcing them to give their first born children as 'tributes' to serve the mages, and to fight on the wall, in the war against a neighbouring city. She secretly works for the Knowledge Seekers, an underground group of non-magic people who are working to overthrow their oppressive rulers. I was a little disappointed by this book, mostly I felt Zara's motives for rebellion weren't clearly explored and her romance with the Maker held captive by her father was one of those annoying they've-met-twice-now-it's-true-I'll-die-for-you-love. I felt like more time spent in setting the scene at the beginning might have been beneficial. We learn everything for Zara's inner monologue and flash backs to memories of her childhood. I maybe would have enjoyed more information being learned through teachers in the classroom or overheard conversations or books snuck out of her father's library. More time spent on Zara's normal life, before everything kicks off, might have helped in understanding why she wanted so strongly to leave and seek revenge. Twiss was a great character though, part of the underground world of Thieves, who actually have their own kind of magic. She was frustrated and clever and seemed to have that motive that I felt Zara lacked. Now everything is set up however, the second book Outcaste might just offer that deeper level of understanding as Zara's journey continues.

Liberty's Fire

Set in the Paris Commune of 1871, Liberty's Fire follows the interconnecting stories of four young Paris residents. There is Zephyrine, a young woman whose grandmother, with whom she lived in Montmartre, has died during the Siege, in her desperation for money for the burial she almost sells her body on the street, but as two men quarrel over who saw her first, she is saved from the situation by a young violinist, Anatole, who takes her to the refuge of the Theatre he works in. Marie, a young opera singer from a wealthy family, is a friend of Anatole's from the Theatre, and is in turmoil about her brother, a soldier captured by the Prussians. Anatole lives with a wealthy American named Jules in a good part of town, where Jules has his own photography studio. While Zephyrine and Anatole are drawn in to the call of the Commune, Marie and Jules are more concerned with their own self preservation. I do love reading a bit of historical fiction, I knew nothing about the Paris Commune of 1871, nor of the French army turning on Paris, and nothing of the exile of Commune prisoners to New Caledonia for years. The action and mayhem of the Paris falling was beautifully portrayed, with the four characters trying to return to each other. The ending, taking place years later in London, was perfectly non-indulgent. 

Harry Potter Book Only Moments- Ice-Cream!

Lauren Fairweather posted a video yesterday where she and Jackson Bird talked about their favourite book-only Harry Potter moments. All the things that didn't make it into the films and survive as special book treats, and some things that really SHOULD have been in the films too (Dursley goodbyes scene is definitely one for me).

My favourite little book gems are not big plot moments or missing characters and storylines, but instead the ice cream moments, of which there are a few throughout the books. They don't do anything big or important, but are just there to accent some happy moments. 

1- The lemon ice lolly at the zoo 

"The Dursleys bought Dudley and Piers large chocolate ice-creams at the entrance and then, because the smiling lady in the van had asked Harry what he wanted before they could hurry him away, they bought him a cheap lemon ice lolly. It wasn't bad either, Harry thought, licking it as they watched a gorilla scratching its head and looking remarkably like Dudley, except that it wasn't blond." 

Aw little 10 year old Harry, appreciating the small moments of happiness that he gets, always with a sense of humour, my heart breaks for you. 

2- Dudley's discarded knickerbocker glory also at the zoo

"Harry had the best morning he'd had in a long time. He was careful to walk a little way apart from the Dursleys so that Dudley and Piers, who were starting to get bored with the animals by lunch-time, wouldn't fall back on their favourite hobby of hitting him. They ate in the zoo restaurant and when Dudley had a tantrum because his knickerbocker glory wasn't big enough, Uncle Vernon bought him another one and Harry was allowed to finish the first.Harry felt, afterwards, that he should have known it was all too good to last."

Oh Harry it shouldn't have been too good to last.

3- Ice-creams at Diagon Alley with Hagrid

"Hagrid was standing there, grinning at Harry and pointing at two large ice-creams to show he couldn't come in... Harry was rather quiet as he ate the ice-cream Hagrid had bought him (chocolate and raspberry with chopped nuts)."

This is right after Harry meets Malfoy for the first time in Madam Malkin's. Stupid Malfoy ruining what would have otherwise been a really nice ice-cream moment. 

4- Blocks of ice-cream at the Hogwarts feast

"When everyone had eaten as much as they could, the remains of the food faded from the plates, leaving them sparkling clean as before. A moment later the puddings appeared. Block of ice-cream in every flavour you could think of, apple pies, treacle tarts, chocolate éclairs and jam doughnuts, trifle, strawberries, jelly, rice pudding..."

Ah the sweet sweet excess of Hogwarts feasting.

5- Free sundaes at Florean Fortescue's

"Harry spent the long sunny days exploring the shops and eating under the brightly coloured umbrellas outside cafes, where his fellow diners were showing each other their purchases ('it's a lunascope, old boy- no more messing around with moon charts, see?') or else discussing the case of Sirius Black ('personally, I won't let any of the children out alone until he's back in Azkaban'). Harry didn't have to do his homework under the blankets by torchlight any more; now he could sit in the bright sunshine outside Florean Fortescue's Ice-Cream Parlour, finishing all his essays with occasional help from Florean Fortescue himself, who, apart from knowing a great deal about medieval witch-burnings, gave Harry free sundaes every half hour."

Free. Sundaes. Every. Half. Hour.... EVERY HALF HOUR.

6- Harry has money to burn

"Harry, Ron and Hermione strolled off along the winding, cobbled street. The bag of gold, silver and bronze jangling cheerfully in Harry's pocket was clamouring to be spent, so he bought three large strawberry and peanut-butter ice-creams which they slurped happily as they wandered up the alley, examining the fascinating shop windows."

Sharing the wealth through ice-creams.

7- Summer evening at The Burrow

"Mr Weasley conjured up candles to light the darkening garden before they had their pudding (home-made strawberry ice-cream), and by the time they had finished, moths were fluttering low over the table and the warm air was perfumed with the smells of grass and honeysuckle. Harry was feeling extremely well fed and at peace with the world as he watched several gnomes sprinting through the rose bushes, laughing madly and closely pursued by Crookshanks." 

I'd love to have dinner at the Burrow, I bet Mrs Weasley's strawberry ice-cream is wonderful.

So there you have it- my favourite ice-cream moments of Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling must have fond feeling towards ice-cream to include it as a detail in so many happy little moments. Harry'll always be the sweet little boy who felt pleased to have a cheap lemon ice lolly to me. 

All the quotes in this post are from the Harry Potter books, and I found them by searching on my Kindle and flicking through the books and so I haven't included page numbers because, you know, different editions. But needless to say, all by J.K. Rowling, thanks J.K.! 

Instagram: MayBookChallenge

I'm currently doing the #MayBookChallenge on Instagram. It's lots of fun, you should come follow me there!

📗First book in my shelf (starting at the bottom because picture books!) Nella Foresta del Bradipo🌳🌲🐒 - Italian version of In The Forest by Anouck Boisrobert and Louis Rigaud #MayBookChallenge #day13 #bookstagram #bookblog #picturebooks #intheforest #popupbook #bradipo #sloth #prettybooks

A photo posted by Ruth Foulis (@ruthlily) on May 13, 2015 at 3:56am PDT

Day 9! A series of unfortunate events #maybookchallenge #identicalimprints #harpercollins #egmontuk #lemonysnicket #aseriesofunfortunateevents #bookstagram

A photo posted by Ruth Foulis (@ruthlily) on May 9, 2015 at 5:23am PDT

REVIEW!: Wild Song- Janis Mackay- Piccadilly Press

Wild Song is a beautiful and enchanting book for children and adults alike. Janis Mackay spent a month on a Finnish Island on a writing residency, funded by Creative Scotland, to write this book, which sounds like a magical experience, and truly shows in the writing. The story follows Niilo, a 13 year old Finnish boy, who on top of having a terrible phobia of the sea, has horrible nightmares about drowning which drive him to spend his nights lying on the floor to avoid sleep, and disruptive anger issues which his parents can no longer deal with. Niilo is sent from Helsinki to live on a tiny island at the Wild School, where along with other boys who don't fit well with traditional education he is taught about nature, growing food, foraging, wood work and circus skills (among other things). Niilo's determination to 'free' drives him and he soon opens up to his case worker Hannu, who helps him search for his lost 'wild song'. 

Five things I loved about Wild Song:

5-The Finnish and Saami folklore was beautifully integrated into the story through Hannu. Seeing Niilo slowly embrace these stories and look for meaning and comfort in them was a great way to show his journey to finding those lost memories.

4-Niilo's anger issues were compassionately portrayed. With Niilo as narrator the reader was able to see and understand the thinking behind his actions, as Niilo himself attempted to understand them. Never were his feeling patronised or belittled, as his own version of events were what guided the reader.

3-Niilo's astute awareness of Hannu's methods of pep-talking and encouragement were spot on. Again Mackay never patronises Niilo, or the reader. He is aware when Hannu is gently pushing an idea on him, or telling him a story with a particular lesson in mind. He is even aware when that story is something he doesn't want to hear, and so stops listening. 

2-The Tove Jansson book in the wooden hut and Niilo wondering is maybe this island had been Tove's island. I love Tove Jansson's work so this reference gave me warm fuzzies when reading.

1-The seal! What a magical moment when the seal guides Niilo to shore, and helps him to fish, and keeps and eye on him. And the two seals popping up to greet Niilo and his mum, singing their wild song, was a perfect ending to a beautiful, thoughtful book. 

I'm strongly considering finding a way that I can spend a month on a Finnish island. Also my interest in selkies has been reawakened, and having a little look through Janis Mackay's previous work it looks like I have quite a few selkie-based children's books to indulge in. 

I'm currently doing the #MayBookChallenge on instagram- come follow me @ruthlily!

I was sent a copy of Wild Song by Hot Key Books/Piccadilly Press. This is not a paid review. All views are my own, and I just happened to love it! A version of this review has been posted on Goodreads and Amazon. Wild Song came out on 7 May 2015.

REVIEW! Books I read in April: Half Bad, The Country of Ice Cream Star, A Darker Shade of Magic.

Ooh I read some right gooduns in April. All of these have been recommended by various bloggers and booktubers so I was very much looking forward to reading them, and I was not disappointed, whee! I read Half Bad by Sally Green, The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman, and V.E. Schwab's A Darker Shade of Magic. 

Half Bad

This is a story about witches in Britain, but not quite the usual kind. Nathan is half white witch and half black witch, and growing up in a predominantly white witch modern Britain, which is warring against black witches. As the son of the most notorious black witch, Marcus, Nathan has been brought up by his white witch grandmother and has been tracked and monitored by the corrupt and prejudicial Council for his whole life.

Nathan is quite young at the beginning of the book, and we see him grow up and slowly learn more about who he is, and why he gets treated differently to his half-siblings. There is quite a gritty, realist feel to the setting, while there are potions and shape shifting and magical occurrences, this is set against a grimy and grey backdrop. Nathan gets involved in punch ups at school (a normal non magic school attended by non magic children- fains), is nauseated by hearing mobile phone static in his head, and has to learn how to pick-pocket wealthy city workers. His time spent in a cage in the Highlands is just as grim. However, this is a fast paced and witty book and a fully formed novel in its own right, though it is the first of a trilogy. Read it!

The Country of Ice Cream Star

Wow, where do I start with this book. I thought it was pretty wonderful. It's set in a post apocalyptic America, about 80 years after a virus has wiped out most of the population. The people who are left behind are all black and all children, dying of 'posies' before they reach their 20s. Ice Cream Star is 15 and part of community called Sengals. They hunt and live in the Messa woods, and search old 'evac' houses for clothing and supplies. The amazing thing about this book is that  Sandra Newman has created a language, a kind of English dialect, which at first is a little jarring, but soon easy to understand. A few chapters in and my own thoughts were in Ice Cream's language. And it was really hard to shake it after I'd finished. So a pretty immersive read. It's a long book, and so took me a long time to read, but it was well worth it. Ice Cream is a brilliant strong character and leads the story of this unsettling world, through capture, becoming a Queen, and Russian invasion, always looking to do the "right" thing. 

“I know, ain't evils in no life nor cruelties in no red hell can change the vally heart of Ice Cream Star.” 

A Darker Shade of Magic

This is a magical tale of multiple Londons, dark and dangerous magic, and excellent coats. A great introduction to what should be an exciting trilogy. Kell is a great misfit character, taken in by the Royal family but never quite fitting in there, feeling like the a trophy of the King and Queen rather than part of the family. Loyal to his duty, as one of the last Antari, to travel between the worlds and between Londons. His many sided coat is amazing, I want one. He reminds me a lot of Howl (of Howl's Moving Castle) and there is something of a Diana Wynne Jones feel to the Schwab's writing. With his red hair and search for answers he also reminds me somewhat of Kvothe (from The Name of the Wind). I loved Lila Bard, who dreams of being a pirate, and is tough and strong as long as she keeps telling herself she is tough and strong. The coat and cape she acquires is a thing of wonder too. In Lila I saw a bit of Hester from Mortal Engines, fending for herself, determined not to rely on anyone. The worlds were beautifully built and the plot very fast paced, taking place over just a couple of days. The baddies convincing and the heroes strong, flawed and independent. So much happened in this first book, but there are so many questions left unanswered and potential paths left open that I am very much anticipating the next in the trilogy with great excitement. 

I've already read some wonderful books in May- so I'm excited to share those with you next month! I'm currently doing the #MayBookChallenge on Instagram so go follow me there- @ruthlily. 

2014 roundup!

Welp, better late than never- the books I read in 2014!

I was finishing my masters so I didn't end up reading loads of fiction last year and I also spent a lot of time rereading loads of Harry Potter, which I haven't done for years. This time on my kindle. It was so worth it, a warm, comforting trip back home to Hogwarts. I couldn't bring myself to read Deathly Hallows again just yet (also they're like £7.99 for an ebook on Pottermore, which is loads)... but I'll bite the bullet soon and it'll all be over again wahh. 

J.K. Rowling-
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince


And then in no particular order I read these books:

Paper Towns- John Green
This book was... fine!

Howl's Moving Castle- Diana Wynne Jones
I liked this a lot, pretty different to the Studio Ghibli film, but just as magical.

Let it Snow- John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle
Christmas time read!

Mortal Engines- Philip Reeve
This was great!










Predators Gold- Philip Reeve
Sequel to Mortal Engines, also pretty great.

The Girl With All the Gifts- M.R. Carey
Ooh this was right good.

Only Ever Yours- Louise O'Neill
If you haven't already, read this immediately.

Girl Online- Zoe Sugg
I mean, it was okkkk.

Charmed Life- Diana Wynne Jones
This was good! I should read the rest of the series.

Looking For Alaska- John Green
I liked this better than Paper Towns I think maybe.

Eleanor & Park- Rainbow Rowell
This was nice, and then sad, but nice too.

The Name of the Wind- Patrick Rothfuss
Kvothe! Denna! Auri! I think I pronounce all the names wrong but I am very much into this series. Excellent.

The Wise Man's Fear- Patrick Rothfuss
A great sequel, a little slower moving than the first I felt, but still enthralling and stuff.

The Passage- Justin Cronin
This book was sooooo long. And it's part of a trilogy?? This was a major project to read. Miiiight not bother with the rest of the series.

Tada! That was it. April reads coming soon... Follow me on instagram (@ruthlily) where I'm currently doing the #MayBookChallenge :)

Childhood Favourites: A Series of Unfortunate Events- Lemony Snicket

These books were SO GREAT, and physically beautiful too. I got numbers 7 and 8 in Canada and the 'Unauthorised Autobiography" too, so they have different but equally beautiful covers to the UK editions. The signature humour and quirky writing style of Snicket felt so refreshing to read. The story of these three very unfortunate orphaned siblings spans 13 volumes, as they are shunted from one terrible or unsuitable foster carer to the next, slowing figuring out more about the mysterious secret organisation their parents belonged too, narrowly escaping the dreadful Count Olaf at every turn. It's an fantastic tale, with really great characters- even the baby is well developed- it never patronises, but teaches the reader words and theories along the way. The grim story made endlessly fascinating and readable with the use of quirk and humour in even the most unfortunate of events. 

Uncle Monty might just have been my favourite in The Reptile Room, he is exactly how I imagine Newt Scamander will be in Fantastic Beasts. I can remember reading The Vile Village and The Hostile Hospital on holiday in Canada- I was very excited to get them as they were not yet published in the UK. I think I read them them in 2 seconds flat in the RV we were travelling from Calgary to Vancouver in- that was a fun holiday! I also got the Canadian The Unauthorized Autobiography, which has a very different cover from the UK edition. The false cover (for keeping the book secret) reads "The Luckiest Kids in the World! Book 1! The Pony Party! by Loney M. Setnick." What more can I say:  I loved them!

The Unauthorized Autobiography/The Luckiet Kids in the World!

I've read only one of Daniel Handler's (Snicket's real name) books for adults, We Are Pirates, but the weird and wonderful quirky writing style is still there so I'll have to read some more. I also have one of his All The Wrong Questions series as Lemony Snicket, which have realllllly nice illustrations by Seth, I might have to collect a few more of that series. 

REVIEW!: Books I read in March: Station Eleven, We Are Pirates, The Sin Eater's Daughter.

Not much of a theme for this month's reads, just books that caught my eye or were in the to-be-read pile- they're gooduns though! So we've got Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler, and The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury.

Station Eleven

I do love a bit of post-apocalyptic fiction, so I was very much looking forward to reading this. The story follows a travelling Shakespearian acting troupe and orchestra across America, twenty years after a devastating global outbreak of avian flu. The story follows several character narratives pre and post flu, each linking up through shared objects or experiences. It beautifully links up past and present, showing connections only the omniscient author can share with us, leaving you hoping the characters will figure it all out too. It had a lot of what I like about post-apocalyptic stories, but no zombies or dystopian regimes, and less focus on loneliness and survival. Instead there was community and civilisation growing out of the remnants of the past. Death and violence were there, but love and relationships were too, and theatre and music. Mandel also added references to the rest of the world outside of America throughout, the lack of which annoys me in other stories as I want to know what happened EVERYWHERE. It was good! Read it!

We Are Pirates

This gem caught my eye in the book shop with its beautiful cover and dust cover, both with really nice designs. So I read it in real book form (I usually read on Kindle)! This is the first Daniel Handler book I've read, having of course read a lot of his work as Lemony Snicket. On the cover there is a quote from Neil Gaimen saying it is "the strangest, most brilliant offering yet" from Handler, and strange it truly is! It is dark, witty, weird, disturbing, charming all at once, which is fairly disconcerting, but it's an entertaining read throughout. Handler's quirks are ever present in his writing as they are when he's Lemony Snicket. It takes place in such a 'normal', mundane, modern setting that the story really takes you by surprise. I definitely recommend reading this, but be prepared for the weird with the wonderful. 

The Sin Eater's Daughter

A dark fairytale story set in a corrupt kingdom, with a mad Queen and bizarre traditions. Twylla is the daughter of the Sin Eater, and so it was her destiny to become a Sin Eater too, until the Queen plucked her out of the village and brought her to live in the castle under the belief that Twylla is in fact the embodiment of a Goddess. This position means she has to serve as the executioner of traitors, killing them with the touch of her skin, and also means no will touch or go near her for fear of death. I greatly enjoyed this book, and was very pleased to realise it would be a trilogy. There were points in the book that I grew tired of the romantic storyline, it felt unnecessary and a little out of sync with the tone of the rest of the book, but this all began to make sense as a I read on. This really did feel like the first act of a bigger story, so I'm looking forward to the next act, in which I hope there will be a bit more movement, in the form of travel, and also depth as more of the veil is lifted for Twylla and she discovers more about the world outside of her sheltered childhood. 

I'm reading Sally Green's Half Bad at the moment, which is real great, then I've got a few others lined up, possibly Ice Cream Star and maybe Half Wild. Childhood favourites coming soon too!

Book Memories: Childhood Favourites

Almost Forgotten Childhood Favourites

Sometimes I forget that I actually read a few books which were NOT part of the Harry Potter series when I was growing up. There were whole other series that I adored, authors whose every book I had to own, stories I would revisit again and again. So, to honour these almost-forgotten-favourites, I will be taking a little trip down memory lane over a series of blog posts to share my favourite childhood books and probably a few teenage favourites too! A lot of them are still popular with children and teens today, which makes me very happy, and some may have been forgotten, but either way I'll be giving them all a little bit of attention here.

What were your childhood favourites? Let me know!

March reviews coming soon too! I read We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler, Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, and The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury. I'm almost finished Sally Green's Half Bad, so that may sneak into the March reviews too!

REVIEW!: Books I read in February: The Miniaturist, Burial Rites, Life After Life.

What ho! I've only gone and read some more books. February turned into some kind of historical fiction month starting off in 17th Century Amsterdam, visiting Iceland in 1829, before ending up in snowy England in 1910 through the wars and out the other side. What's more they were all BOOKS FOR ADULTS. And all written by women! Ideal.

The Miniaturist

Jessie Burton's story begins in 1686, with young bride Nella arriving in Amsterdam at her new husbands townhouse. He's a busy, thriving merchant type, and also pretty old, and doesn't give Nella much attention, apart from in his gift of a cabinet dolls house replica of their home. Nella orders a few items for the cabinet from a miniaturist found in the city's business listings and soon receives some startlingly accurate dolls and pieces of furniture. Events that follow seem to be connected to these mysterious miniatures and all is soon not as it seems. 

I really enjoyed reading this on dark February evenings. What was maybe most interesting for me was just how long ago 1686 was, and how Amsterdam was the centre of a massive trade empire. It wasn't until the 1800s that Glasgow, where I live, became an important merchant city. I went to the museum during the time I was reading this to learn some merchant trade history and everything! 

So as well as being fascinated about how old Amsterdam is, I also greatly enjoyed the dark winter city atmosphere, and the growing relationships between the characters, as Nella slowly learns more about their lives in both truth and gossip. I was left mostly confused at the end, with a lot of questions, but I think it was supposed to mysterious and I'm going to search out some other readers' theories online!

Burial Rites

Hannah Kent's Burial Rites brings us up to 1829 in Iceland where Agnes Magnusdottir has been sentenced to death, along with another man and woman, for the murder of two men. She is taken to live on the farm of District Officer Jon Jonsson and his family to await her execution. She lives and works there for several months as the story takes place, with much of Agnes's story being told through her confidences with her appointed spiritual guardian, Assistant Reverend Toti. 

What struck me, reading Burial Rites so soon after The Miniaturist, was that although the book is set 143 years later than the story in Amsterdam, it just seems so much older. I guess this is probably owing to the rural setting, and also Iceland's history of being owned by other countries. Again what was really interesting  for me was the history; the way of life on these small farms, travelling on foot for days, maids in even the poor farms, everyone sleeping in the same room. It helped humanise a lot of other historical sites I've seen, especially those of crofts and cleared villages in the highlands. 

The story was great, and its turns out, a true one, researched for 10 years by the author. The historical characters are very successfully rounded and I had become entirely invested in them by the end. Historical fiction sure is working on me!

Life After Life

Beginning in 1910, Kate Atkinson's Life After Life is practically set yesterday as far as 'historical' goes. But I think it still counts in my historical fiction month because that's still ages ago. The book begins in England during a snowstorm in 1910, when Ursula Todd is born. She dies repeatedly, and lives again, but only ever with the smallest sense something has happened. She in fact goes to therapy for her Deja-vu. She lives and dies during two world wars. In some of her lives you're willing for her to die, in others you wish she could undo certain events, in others you're hoping this will be the one that sticks. Most of these things all end up happening. 

An exceptionally clever and witty book, with Ursula and her family playing out a series of 'what ifs'. I've had this waiting on my Kindle for ages, and I'm glad I finally read it. Seeing the same character grow and change in different ways was fascinating. It must feel quite self-indulgent for a writer getting to give your characters all these different lives. There was still plenty of historical intrigue for me, with maids and housekeepers, young marriages, secretarial college, bombs and wardens. But this time of course I have living relatives who were there for some it. Loads of great character names too, especially Ursula, Sylvie and Teddy. 

I'm currently reading Station Eleven, so I might just make March a post apocalypse month. Enjoying it so far! I have my eye on The Country of Ice Cream Star which is also post apocalypsey, so that might have to be the next one. Then I might try and find a non American dystopian to read, as I spend a considerable amount of time when I'm reading American-dystopias wondering what's happening in the rest of the world. 

REVIEW!: Books I read in January: We Were Liars, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Fangirl.

I read some more books hooray! I managed to read four and start one more in January which is real good for a slow reader like me. Up for "review" today are: E. Lockhart's We Were Liars (2014), Karen Joy Fowler's We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (2013), and Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl (2013). Let's go!

Fangirl

So I enjoyed reading this, got right into the Simon Snow fanfic, I REALLY want the Simon Snow series to be real (there's room in this world for Harry and Simon), and I loved that it was about fandom, but I didn't really like the main character Cath or main love interest Levi. I don't know what happened, I connected with her at the beginning when she was too scared to find the dining room and hiding in her dorm and eating tacos with her dad. I think I found her relationship with Levi a little off putting, he seemed sort of fatherly towards her... it was kind of icky. But that didn't stop me enjoying the book amazingly!

All that aside, I enjoyed reading it and I am kinda thrilled that the world of fandom has been so sensitively explored in the capable hands of Rainbow Rowell. I am also now very happy I can join in on the excitement about Rainbow Rowell's next book being Cath's fanfic 'Carry On'!

I've read Eleanor and Park, which I enjoyed- any other Rainbow Rowell books I should be picking up?




We Were Liars 

I highly recommend reading this book. I felt completely drained after reading it, which has to be a sign of a well written book. Most reviews and recommendations I've seen on We Were Liars give absolutely nothing away, so I may follow suit on that. What I will say is that from the beginning  there is some great... experimentation with the creative writing. There are metaphors that you don't realise are metaphors until you're half way through them and figure the character's heart hasn't actually fallen out her body and rolled down the lawn. It turns to poetry at points, to great effect. It's really great to see this kind of clever writing in a young adult book, young adults definitely deserve to be seen as clever readers.

The reader follows with Cady as she slowly regains her memory, the story slowly revealing itself to the reader through the same fog the character is experiencing. There's romance, friendship, family, tragedy, heartbreak, memory loss, the works.

Go read it now! ...And then make sure you have somewhere to have a lie down when you finish it.


We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves

Hey look! An adult book! Like a real adult I read this book for real adult people, finishing it on the train on my 25th birthday. A really unique story, told from the perspective of a character whose experiences would never have crossed my mind otherwise. The 'twist' happens fairly early on, but still far enough into the book for it to have full twisty effect. Rosemary is a trustworthy and amiable narrator, who guides the reader with humour though a story of family heartbreak and moral questions under less than usual circumstances.












I'm having a bit of a historical fiction February, having read The Miniaturist and now Burial Rites, I might try and round off the month with another historical type thing because having a theme is nice and I've had Kate Atkinson's Life After Life sitting on my kindle for a while now. However I do have something a little more witchy- Half Bad- and something a little more dystopian- Station Eleven- so I'll have to see what takes my fancy.
Most of my book recommendations are coming from book vloggers at the moment- Carrie Hope Fletcher, Lex Croucher, booksandquills, lucythereader
   

REVIEW! Books I read over Christmas: Let it Snow, Only Ever Yours, Looking For Alaska.

Helloo! Happy New Year!

One of my resolution type things this year is to do more blogging, in the form of book reviews, little essays, general musings etc. So I thought I'd start with a write up/ review type thing of the YA books I read over the Christmas hols!

Let it Snow 

I started with Let it Snow, three interconnecting stories by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle. I read this one by the fire on Boxing Day and it was a lovely cosy place to be whilst reading about romantic adventures through a storm storm. I enjoyed Maureen Johnson's opening story the most, something about the "chance encounter" storyline really appealed to me. Nothing huge was tackled issue wise; just never judge a cheerleader by the cover, or maybe do judge a cheerleader by the cover, and teacup pigs make good gifts, and maybe you fancy your best friend, you should have a think about that. It also made me want to eat all the food at that Waffle House. Cheese. So much mention of cheese. I spent a lot of the time reading it being easily impressed every time the stories connected and characters popped up. I also spent a lot of time wondering how they went about writing it. Did they make it up together and then choose a bit, and did they choose when the other characters would be in each story and who went first and just how??

Read it while it's still cold outside. Good, harmless, snowy romance fun. 

Only Ever Yours

In quite a stark contrast, the next book I read was Only Ever Yours by Louise O'Neill. I felt pretty drained after reading this one. Dystopian futures are my bag, so I was very excited to read this, having enjoyed Lauren Oliver's Delirium trilogy and Scott Westerfield's Uglies series, and I was not disappointed.  I was willing to brush over the not very sciencey "future where no girls are born" thing to fully invest in the idea of a future where girls are manufactured 'eves' for men, and to breed more men, and grow up competing with each other, in an isolated school, to be ranked in order of their beauty. With mirrors covering every surface, a 'vomitorium' next to the cafeteria, and target weights, it all felt almost too close to reality. Every thought I had about my body or clothes or face over the days I was reading made me double take and realise my thoughts weren't that far off those of the girls in the book. I highly recommend reading this book. It felt like a cut above the rest to me.

::::::SPOILERS::::::

What really impressed me and set this book apart from other female led dystopian fictions I've read, was that there was no male accomplice and escape partner. There was no real love interest. And there was no escape. In other fictional dystopian worlds, most of the population is oppressed, so there is a possibility for an uprising, for a spark to ignite, and for a romance to drive a couple to escape together or lead a rebellion. But in Only Ever Yours, the men are not really oppressed, or not in the same way as the women. The patriarchy is so immensely strong and seems to be unbreakable. Darwin seems to be beaten by his father, but as he says to freida, there is no way to escape. There is no "other side" that can be escaped to. And so the real love that could have sparked a rebellion, the love between isabel and freida, never has a chance to ignite as there would just be nowhere to go. When you continue the the comparison between the setting of the book and the reality for girls in our world, this is a reeeealllly depressing thought. Read the book! It honestly feels like a cut above the rest and the 'no happy endings' ending felt so true to the story and not at all a token attempt to be taken seriously. It commands so much respect. Louise O'Neill, thank you.

Looking For Alaska

Swinging right back into reality with a rather harsh bump, I read John Green's Looking For Alaska next. It took me a little while to get into, probably as I'd just read Only Ever Yours and wanted stupid Miles to quit talking about the curve of Alaska's hips or whatever and leave her alone because she wasn't created just for Miles to ogle at, unlike the poor freida and isabel who were created to be ogled at and had no choice, but does Alaska really have a choice? Waaaah. Alaska's rants on the patriarchy and calling out the boys in their objectification of girls eased this a little. Although the book is essentially about the whole girl on a pedestal thing. I think it explored this and the 'mystery girl' narrative pretty well, which I imagine is the intention. In true John Green style there is a literary quirk, Miles reads biographies of authors and historical figures and memorises their last words, which I actually enjoyed as far a literary quirks go. I think Miles needed this quirk, otherwise he's just guy who puts girl on pedestal. (I should have read more YA when I was an actual young adult in high school. Maybe I would have been more pretentious and quoted the classics and stuff. I think I mostly read Harry Potter and the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series. I quoted them A LOT.) Favourite scene is probably the awkward teenage sexual encounter scene, toothpaste tube, we're often sheltered from that kind of honesty in YA, I have found. 

I found it to be very much like Paper Towns, maybe that's why The Fault in Our Stars was such a success, it really stands out from the guy-from-Florida-puts-more-popular-mysterious-damaged-girl-on-pedestal trope. Teenagers, boarding school, class divides, pranks!

Wooh! I hope that was enjoyable. I'm currently reading We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler, and I have E. Lockhart's We Were Liars, which I've heard is great, and Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, to read next!