The Sunshine Time S1 E4 by Sonal Panse
Like episode three, episode four just didn’t seem to have any pace; it yet again, seemed to be a filler episode, forty five pages that seemed to be building up to a bigger event. …
The Sunshine Time S1 E3 by Sonal Panse
In episode three of this serial novel, I felt like a lot didn’t really happen. It seemed like a filler episode and 40 pages where Panse was building the foundations for when Lea first sees her family. …
Our Own Private Universe by Robin Talley
This one of my most anticipated releases for the entirety of 2017. After reading Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley, I was eager to get my hands on her new book: Our Own Private Universe. I was excited because I read that this book was about a bisexual, POC, fifteen-year-old, who goes to Mexico with the church. So already, there’s a lot going on here: we have a black girl, a bisexual protagonist who wants to explore her sexuality and it’s set in Mexico where there are religious aspects to it. After finishing it, I realised that I was slightly disappointed. *lengthy review ahead* …
Love Letters to the Dead by Ava Dellaira
This was a book that I had heard very mixed reviews on; people either loved it or hated it – and of course, I just had to be the person that thought it was in between. I didn’t dislike it, I didn’t love it. It just took forever to get into and I nearly DNF’d (did not finish) it. But luckily the last quarter of the book saved it from being dumped in the DNF pile!
Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Reading Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda, you wouldn’t think that this was Albertalli’s debut novel. Normally a debut has a few problems here and there and the storyline isn’t quite up to the standard that is should be, but not with this book. No way. Albertalli has created something that is so powerful and moving that I started reading it again once I had finished it.
The Sunshine Time Ep 2 by Sonal Panse
Once I had finished episode one of The Sunshine Time by Sonal Panse, I just had to start episode two. There was something about Lea’s personality and the way that Panse created this whole, entertaining world that just made me want to keep reading about these characters
The Sunshine Time Ep 1 by Sonal Panse
When I first started reading The Sunshine Time, I was quite confused about the whole setting of it and the time period. Throughout the rest of episode one, these points are not made clear. However, it is a very interesting and captivating read. …
We Are All Made Of Molecules by Susin Nielsen
This book was one of my quick-buys when I went into Waterstones one day. It wasn’t on my TBR (to-be-read) list; I just saw it on the shelves, read the blurb and bought it.
There are two sides to every story.
Stewart is geeky, gifted but socially clueless. His mom has died and he misses her every day.
Ashley is popular, cool but her grades stink. Her dad has come out and moved out – but not far enough.
Their worlds are about to collide: Stewart and his dad are moving in with Ashley and her mom. Stewart is 89.9% happy about it even as he struggles to fit in at his new school. But Ashley is 110% horrified and can’t get used to her totally awkward home. And things are about to become a whole lot more mixed up when they attract the wrong kind of attention…
I started and finished this book on my four-hour train journey from Aachen to Berlin.
What I loved about this book was that it had the fresh, young voices of young teenagers. Stewart is 13 and Ashley is 14. Normally with teen fiction books, the main character is about 16/17.
What I didn’t like about this book was that they were 13 and 14. Feeling confused? Bear with me.
Using younger characters was a brilliant idea, it showed the transition from being a ‘child’ to a teenager and the troubles that come with that. Unfortunately, how the characters spoke on paper made them seem like they were about ten.
The character of Stewart is supposed to be gifted for his age, but sometimes he comes across and talks as though he’s a little boy. It’s the same with the character of Ashley. She’s 14; she should sound 14 – not ten.
“The next day, Mom made an appointment with the doctor. But it wasn’t a baby growing inside her. It was cancer.”
– Susin Nielsen, We Are All Made Of Molecules
I also hated the character of Ashley. You know those characters that you get that you love to hate? Ashley wasn’t one of them. I couldn’t stand her. She was moaning all of the time and complaining about her life like it was the worst thing in the world – granted most 13/14 year old complain most of the time that their life is horrible – and when I reading her chapters, I just wanted to get them over with.
The book got slightly better as it progressed; we learned a few things about some of the characters and there was some character development, but not an awful lot and the development that did happen was towards the end. I think the character that I like the most was Stewart. Even though he spoke like a five-year-old, he was still a very caring person and always tried to do the right thing no matter what.
There are a few mature moments in this book like dealing with death, drinking and attempted rape (although with the latter is described in very little detail and is stopped before anything happens. It happens for about a few lines.)
I would recommend this book but to those who do want to read it, keep an open mind that the two point of views are very childlike. It’s good, but it’s not a book that I would read again.
There are a few mature moments in this book like dealing with death, drinking and attempted rape (although with the latter is described in very little detail and is stopped before anything happens. It happens for about a few lines.)
I would recommend this book but to those who do want to read it, keep an open mind that the two point of views are very childlike. It’s good, but it’s not a book that I would read again.
Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Perks of Being a Wallflower is Stephen Chbosky’s debut book and boy, is it a fantastic one to start off your writing career.
It was released in 1999 but it’s only been in the last five years that it’s been recognised for the brilliant novel that it is.
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 mixed 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 Charlie 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.
This is the most beautiful coming of age story that I have ever read and no, that isn’t an exaggeration; I remember being captivated after reading Charlie’s first letter to his “friend”.
“I just want you to know that you’re very special… and the only reason I’m telling you is that I don’t know if anyone else ever has.”
– Stephen Chbosky, Perks of Being a Wallflower
The format in which Chbosky’s written this books is in that of letters, the story is told through them in which Charlie writes letters about his day over the course of him being fifteen and sixteen. It’s like reading a diary. Chbosky makes Charlie such an open, heart-endearing character that when you read him spilling his feelings out in the letters, you can’t help but want to wrap your arms around him and give him the biggest hug in the world.
It’s also written like a fifteen/sixteen-year-old would write as well. Chbosky doesn’t use any ‘fancy’ words or make the characters sound older than they are; the written style is short and simple sentences most of the time unless Charlie is practising his writing skills – then Chbosky slightly changes the writing style to suit Charlie’s.
I also loved how well-rounded the secondary characters were like Sam, Patrick, Mary Elizabeth, Bill and even Aunt Helen. It just showed how much of an incredible writer Chbosky is and how well-thought-out his characters were; I felt like I could connect with most of them on a personal level too which is one of the things that I love as an avid reader.
I recommend for everyone to read this book because this is a beautiful piece of literature that I’ve now read four times. I just can’t get enough!
I recommend for everyone to read this book because this is a beautiful piece of literature that I’ve now read four times. I just can’t get enough!