Book update: November (2019)

Hey Happy Bookworms!

School, school, school, school, school *shakes head* I feel like I no longer get enough time to read so I freak myself out about it but I’ve actually done fine (go me!) So let’s get into this wrap up, I’ll spoiler tag anything like normal – hope you enjoy!

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A Touch of Death by Rebecca Crunden

Rebecca Crunden very kindly reached out & offered me an ebook for this – I don’t normally say yes but it peaked my interest 🙂

And I did really enjoy it! It was adult & so different from what I normally read but I thought it was good! I liked Kitty & Nate (most of the time 😂) and I adored the three siblings. I also must say that the gramma was impeccable (this is a really wierd point) – all mainstream books these days seem to have mistakes in them!

My only problem was that for the first 2 chapters I had absolutely no clue what was going on – it was so confusing. And I acknowledge that some mystery at the beginning of a book can be exciting but it just went on for too long & meant I didn’t enjoy Nate & Kitty’s banter!

Also – and this is just kinda a funny point – there are so many really long lists in this 😂 If you read it, look out for them, they’re always there!

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

FINALLY. I FINISHED THIS!

I started in the summer holidays (around 2 months ago) & got decently far but then I went on holiday & after that school started again and I just started other books & this got pushed to the back.
I was reading only 5ish pages each day before school & that’s no way to read a book properly! Then the last 50 pages or so really picked up & I actually made time to finish it on the weekend & I enjoyed it! I didn’t think I would but the last bit was great – it was interesting! I can’t really speak for the middle section of the book because I read it at a snail’s pace but I do remember the first bit of the book being boring.

All in all, I don’t really know what to think…this was a rubbish review but yeah 😂

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Awwww I loved this book so, so much! It completely got me back to the joys of reading & it was such a warm, fuzzy book – IT’S JUST SO GOOD WHAT MORE CAN I SAY?!

The studio ghibli film is like my favourite ever & I don’t know why it took me so long to get round to this but I’m so glad I did 🙂

No Ivy League by Hazel Newlevant

*got a free copy of this from diamond book distributors*

I thought this was about something completely different 😂 I got this a while ago & I don’t like to read blurbs right before I read so I thought this was gonna be about a girl not getting into a good university…it was about an ivy clean up group (yes, like the plants)

Hazel was just kinda lame…? And I feel so mean saying that because this is a memoir 🙈
Also, from the intro I thought this was going to be crazy – it made it sound like such a mad summer & basically nothing happened not gonna lie.

War Storm by Victoria Aveyard

*sighs* I finally finished this series – well I might read the little novellas if they’re around but man, I FEEL LIKE I’VE BEEN ON A JOURNEY.

This series definitely went up & then down & then up & then down again & it sucks to say that I didn’t really like this one. The second one was definitely the worst in the series but this is a second to that – I mean, what even were some of the characters?! Like, I feel that Maven was completely wrong & that sucks because he’s like my favourite part of it 😦 “my little mavey” <- I actually had to put the book down & laugh when Cal said that 😂
Also, Iris is just so irrelevant, like I’d be all caught up in the story & then one of her chapters would come along & I’d physically grimace – why? she was super annoying & I didn’t like her.
Evangeline grew on me but for some of her parts I just didn’t care.

But Maven made the most iconic quote ever:

“I hate the waves. They offend me.”

Same, Maven, same.

Juniper Lemon’s Happiness Index by Julie Israel

This was pretty funny (we all know how much I love comedy in books 😂) & sure, there were some crazy moments (but would it even be a contemporary without?! )
So yeah, it kinda reminded me of Jandy Nelson books but not so ‘floaty’ which to me is a good thing – I like contemporaries grounded in reality a bit more.

Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy

I’m not sure if this book is a 4 or a 5 star but I think it’s just so important.

I’m trying to think of any other books I’ve read with a fat protagonist & honestly, non are coming to mind & that’s bad – I know there are some out there but like so many things, it’s something that isn’t represented a lot.

And I loved this display of it! It’s real & so relatable because everyone deals with body image, not matter what size you are or what you look like. I love our main girl gang who each had their own things going on, I love everything that’s just normalised in the book. I mean, Will’s a small town girl but going to a drag show? That’s cool & then Millie’s response to the show, I mean she’s so precious it’s adorable!

I also love that Will has 2 guys that she’s seeing 😂 and Mitch isn’t an idiot about it (thank the fictional boy gods) and I like how Bo isn’t scared to take things seriously but it’s Will who has the problem (because our main characters never normally are allowed to)

So I’m trying to think of a reason I wouldn’t give this 5 stars & I just can’t (I also cried so bonus emotional points) There’s just so much that this book deals with but the main thing that I love (can we get a counter on how many times I’ve said ‘love’?) is that Will is so imperfect & that doesn’t change but she learns to live and change and adapt and fall back and then do it all over again & that’s the most perfect thing anyone can do (sign me up for writing inspiration quotes pls)

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Thanks for reading guys! ❤

What are your opinions on these books? Read any? Want to read any?