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Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard

Beautiful Broken Things by Sara Barnard

You what drew me to this book in Waterstones? No, not the fact that it was on the stand labelled ‘Zoella’s Book Club‘. It was the amazing cover which was designed by Rachel Vale (everyone, please give her a round of applause for she is so talented!)

I turned the book over and gave the blurb a quick read. Finally! A book about friendships and the struggles that they go through.

Caddy and Rosie have always been inseparable. But that was before Suzanne. Now Caddy wants to be more than just the quiet one. She wants something to happen.

I was brave…
Suzanne is trying to escape her past and be someone different. Someone free.

She was reckless…
But sometimes downward spirals have a momentum of their own.

We were trouble…
And no one can break your heart like a best friend.

Whilst I was reading this book, I stated on my Goodreads that “I’ve been waiting my whole life for this book.” That was whilst I was on page 45. Now that I have finished it and I’ve had time to reflect, I can say that my opinion has only slightly changed.

It is true, Beautiful Broken Things was like a breath of fresh air. There was no unconditional love and a boy and a girl feeling like they couldn’t breathe without each other. This book was purely about three girls overcoming obstacles in their friendships and about trying to save one another.

First things first, I think using Caddy as the narrator was completely wrong. She describes herself as “dull” in the book and I completely agree, she was dull. I wish the book had been written from Rosie’s perspective – that would have been much more interesting.

“But people we love come and go, Caddy. That doesn’t mean we loved them any less at the time.”
– Sara Barnard, Beautiful Broken Things
 
 

The character of Caddy (or Cadnam, which is her real name. By the way, who even calls their kid Cadnam? That’s just mean) is selfish, childlike and annoying. There’s a whole scene to do with Coronation Street and trigger warnings that – every time I think about – get me really really angry. Sometimes, I just wanted to scream at her to stop talking. However, I can see why Barnard chose Caddy to be the voice throughout the book. Most of the books plots happen between Suzanne and Caddy.

I loved the character of Suzanne. I felt like she was the character that had the most depth – not because of what happened to her, but because she was the character that was written the best, the character that was most real (again, not because of what happened to her.)

You know what I love most about this book? It’s that it’s relateable. My best friend and I have been best friends for nearly ten years and every time either of us gets close to another person, we instantly get jealous and we’re like “back off, she’s my best friend.” And this is what the beginning of Beautiful Broken Things is like.

There are some dark moments in this book but I think Barnard talks about them with great depth and doesn’t shy away from anything, she doesn’t skim over what happens. She writes about it in a matter-of-fact way that is definitely needed for this book.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I would definitely read it again. I love the whole premise of the book and I loved the character of Suzanne. The only thing that let this book down was Caddy. I just didn’t like her character at all. But once you get past the teenage horribleness of her character, there’s a very very good book.

Warning: this book contains scenes of physical/emotional abuse  

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell is slowly becoming one of my favourite authors. After searching for all of her books on Amazon, I came across Kindred Spirits. Since I am no longer in school, I miss out on all the World Book Days and I don’t get to see all of the amazing books that are written for it.

Following World Book Day tradition, this book is very very short. It’s 62 pages, so if you were expecting a Fangirl size book, then you’re going to be disappointed. It didn’t even take me an hour to finish this book but I loved every single second of it.

If you broke Elena’s heart, Star Wars would spill out. So when she decides to queue outside her local cinema to see the new movie, she’s expecting a celebration with crowds of people who love Han, Luke and Leia just as much as she does. What she’s not expecting is to be last in a line of only three people; to have to pee into a collectable Star Wars soda cup behind a dumpster or to meet that unlikely someone who just might truly understand the way she feels.

 This book is both cute, hilarious and real. I totally related to the character of Elena since I am also a huge Star Wars fan.

 The concept of the book was really good. I love the idea of a massive fan queuing outside a venue for days on end just so they can get good seats. I would love to do this myself as the longest I’ve queued was when my best friend and I went to a concert and went four hours before the doors opened so that we could get a good view. We were fifth in line. So I can relate to Elena on that front also.

“How could you possibly have a dark secret involving the Star Wars prequels? Are you responsible for Jar Jar Binks?”
– Rainbow Rowell, Kindred Spirits
 
 


 I also loved the argument that Rowell portrays through this book of geeks vs fake geeks (fake geeks being people who pretend to like ‘geeky’ things because they think it will make them ‘cool’). In no way am I agreeing or disagreeing with the argument that is conveyed to the readers, but I found it very interesting. 

 The ending too was absolutely amazing. It’s probably one of the best endings I’ve read in a long time! 

 The only part of this book that I didn’t get is that Elena is described as quiet, a person who finds it difficult to talk to other people but throughout this 62-page story, I didn’t see any of that. I saw a girl who was confident to talk to a complete stranger and pee in a cup whilst he was standing a few feet away.

 If you’re looking for a quick and easy read that is lighthearted and funny then this is the book for you. Even if you’re not a Star Wars fan – read this book! 

 Rainbow Rowell has done it again – another amazing story!


The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

 

 
I’m actually writing this review whilst on the train from Berlin to Cologne, I am the girl on the train!
When I first started this book, the chapters were pretty much identical and I was worried that this would be the layout for the whole book. How wrong was I?



Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. ‘Jess and Jason’, she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy.


And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough.

Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar.

Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train… 

The book starts out with our main character – Rachel – going to and from work and she tells us the different things that she notices on her journeys whilst looking out the window. She tells us of two people who she notices a lot in one of the houses that is by the tracks: Jason and Jess (who we later learn that their real names are Megan and Scott).
This book was a brilliant read. It was fast-paced and gripping. I found the character of Rachel to be very similar to the character of Claire Wilkinson from The Missing by C.L Taylor. In The Missing, Claire suffers from blackouts of long periods of time. Rachel was the same. Except her blackouts weren’t due to stress or trauma, it was due to her being an alcoholic. Rachel would drink until she couldn’t remember anything and as the book went on, this characteristic got increasingly annoying. I just wanted to yell at her to stop drinking!
 
 
“The holes in your life are permanent. You have to grow around them, like tree roots around concrete; you mould yourself through the gaps.”
– Paula Hawkins, The Girl on the Train
 
 
The Girl on the Train is told from three different points of view: from Rachel’s, Megan’s and Anna’s. Pay close attention to the dates of the POVs because there’s a certain timeline that you need to follow. It’s not confusing don’t worry! (However, I’m not quite sure how the film is going to be made because of the three POVs… That might get a bit confusing unless they the film is just from one POV – then the film just won’t work!)
Paula Hawkins is a tremendous writer. Her words captivated me so much that I genuinely couldn’t put this book down.
Even though the character of Rachel is very annoying at first, you learn why she acts the way she does and there is amazing character development throughout the book. The character of Anna is also irritating when you first read her chapters – she seems very stuck up – but again, towards the end of the book there is amazing character development for Anna.
AND THE ENDING! What an ending! I couldn’t believe what I was reading. There was a huge plot twist that left me in shock and there was dialogue that left me cold.
The Girl on the Train is an amazing book. Bear with the character of Rachel, don’t get too annoyed with her and put the book down because believe me, it gets better. Much, much better. For anyone who loves a good thriller or crime book, read this!

Have you read this yet? What did you think? Leave a comment below!


Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell

I had read about much of the hype that surrounded this book. Nearly everybody who had read it had told me that it was amazing and that they couldn’t fault it, other people told me that this book was over-hyped and it wasn’t as good as everyone was exclaiming it to be.

 I decided to read it myself and have my own opinion.

…

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