6 Months of 2017 Reads
My bookworm attributes have been dwindling this year, to say the least. As mundane as it sounds, life has truly swept me into a whirlwind that couldn't be ignored and I couldn't find time to read as I was either utterly exhausted, being drained by school, or lacking any focus to follow a sentence longer than 3 words. Regardless, the books I have read this year and managed to finish were definitely worth it! Here are 6 mini reviews of the books I've read this year so far (and counting....).
Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen
Petula has avoided friendship and happiness ever since tragedy struck her family and took her beloved younger sister Maxine. Worse, Petula blames herself... Now her anxiety is getting out of control, she is forced to attend the world’s most hopeless art therapy class. But one day, in walks the Bionic Man: a charming, amazingly tall newcomer called Jacob, who is also an amputee. Petula's ready to freeze him out, just like she did with her former best friend, but when she’s paired with Jacob for a class project, there’s no denying they have brilliant ideas together – ideas like remaking Wuthering Heights with cats. But Petula and Jacob each have desperately painful secrets in their pasts – and when the truth comes out, there’s no way Petula is ready for it.
I am a lesser known cynic. With the tagline, "A love story for cynics", I was immediately curious. Although quite a short read with quite a fast pace, I did enjoy this book. My favourite thing about Nielsen's writing is that there is a happy ending, a resolute and hopeful end that readers can close the novel content. However, with it being a short read, I found there was little character development, and it was somewhat cliché in the "trying not to be cliché way". I recommend this to anyone seeking an easy read and particularly to younger readers who are beginning to delve into deeper life topics.
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica.
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?
Words cannot quite describe how much I love Yoon's writing, both in this novel and "Everything, Everything". The multiple narrative viewpoints, the minor characters with major roles, the stomach lurching moments when you're left torn - trust Natasha's scepticism, or delve into Daniel's belief in fate? Agh. This is a must read. Diverse characters with sheer determination, spontaneity, ambiguous "almost" endings. My copy has most certainly came out battered, but loved, with folded pages of key moments, highlighting and notes in any colour/pen/pencil/whatever was near, and I truly think this shows how much my brain was ticking whilst reading this. Most definitely did not disappoint.
Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall
Norah has agoraphobia and OCD. When groceries are left on the porch, she can't step out to get them. Struggling to snag the bags with a stick, she meets Luke. He's sweet and funny, andhe just caught her fishing for groceries. Because of course he did. Norah can't leave the house, but can she let someone in? As their friendship grows deeper, Norah realizes Luke deserves a normal girl. One who can lie on the front lawn and look up at the stars. One who isn't so screwed up.
The topics this book dealt with reeled me in. We thrive on finding ourselves in books whilst simultaneously losing ourselves in the process, and so seeing topics that are so close to my own life, I was so excited to read this under the recommendation of a friend. Whilst being a very typical YA novel, I really appreciated that Luke didn't cure Norah in any sense. Rather, he created a motive for her to fight. Gornall presents honestly how easy it is for those struggling to be taken advantage of, such as by home helps, and ingrains smoothly how these disorders affect day-to-day life, alongside some elements of CBT that is often used to treat these.
A Quiet Kind of Thunder by Sara Bernard
Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life - she's been silent for so long that she feels completely invisible. But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He's deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she's assigned to look after him. To Rhys it doesn't matter that Steffi doesn't talk and, as they find ways to communicate, Steffi finds that she does have a voice, and that she's falling in love with the one person who makes her feel brave enough to use it. Love isn't always a lightning strike. Sometimes it's the rumbling roll of thunder...
I waited for what felt like an eternity to get my hands on this book. Not just because it deals with anxiety and selective mutism, but the elements of British Sign Language within the novel made it most interesting. Whilst I am an amateur at BSL, I found it encouraging to see Rhys' patience with Steffi's basic ability, as well as being able to see her improve and grow throughout, both in her verbal and non-verbal means of communication. Bernard manages to effectively capture the mind of the anxious, and the inside of panic attacks. I cannot recommend this book enough.
The Goldfish Boy by Lisa Thompson
Twelve-year-old Matthew is trapped in his bedroom by crippling OCD, spending most of his time staring out of his window as the inhabitants of Chestnut Close go about their business. Until the day he is the last person to see his next door neighbour's toddler, Teddy, before he goes missing. Matthew must turn detective and unravel the mystery of Teddy's disappearance - with the help of a brilliant cast of supporting characters.
A fellow OCD YAPper, Rich, recommended this to me and after reading his review on OCDyouth (here) I couldn't resist finding out what all the hype was about. Albeit this novel is definitely targeted to a younger audience, it should not be glossed over by older readers (particularly those who enjoyed "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" and "Wonder"). I admire Thompson for how she portrays obsessive compulsive disorder in a non-frightening demeanour for young readers who may never have came across such a topic. Additionally, she includes solid facts alongside the contrasting typical off-hand remarks that commonly accompany OCD, almost as an attempt to right the wrongs society has picked up. Although I don't associate specifically with Matthew's OCD, the guilt, doubt, and crippling manner of this disorder is relatable to all struggling, and this book extensively gives justice to the disorder spectrum of "obsessive-compulsive". With so many people developing OCD at a young age, this is an essential read promoting early diagnosis, awareness, and understanding.
Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon
Alex is sinking. Slowly but surely, she's cut herself off from everything but her one true love - drink. Until she's forced to write a piece about a coma ward, where she meets Amy. Amy is lost. When she was fifteen, she was attacked and left for dead in a park not far from her house. Her attacker was never found. Since then, she has drifted in a lonely, timeless place. She's as good as dead, but not even her doctors are sure how much she understands. Alex and Amy grew up in the same suburbs, played the same music, flirted with the same boys. And as Alex begins to investigate the attack, she opens the door to the same danger that has left Amy in a coma...
Admittedly, I could have easily walked past this novel on a bookshelf. Until I saw a reviewer's link to "The Girl on the Train", following which I picked it up immediately. Wow. Perhaps I am just slow, but this psychological novel had me truly hooked. The multiple character narratives range of first/third-person voices enabled Seddon to enter your mind. I was making assumptions only to find that 10 chapters later I was actually very, very wrong. Links were made I never would've even thought of. You think that Alex is making progress, then it's closed down. You suspect x, until a motive is revealed. Eventually, when you finally get a gut inkling, there is still more to be revealed, and you are held right up to the last word, desperate to grip every detail. I've found myself attached to Amy, Alex, Jacob, and Matt, mourning for their tales and how they were all impacted in different ways. If you want to miss your train stop, I highly recommend this thriller, because reality does not exist when you open this novel.
My to be read pile could potentially be taller than I am at this stage (not that that takes much, really...), but with two months of freedom ahead of me, I'm hoping to make a huge dent in this stack and get my bookworm brain in order. What have you read recently?
Optimists Die First by Susin Nielsen
Petula has avoided friendship and happiness ever since tragedy struck her family and took her beloved younger sister Maxine. Worse, Petula blames herself... Now her anxiety is getting out of control, she is forced to attend the world’s most hopeless art therapy class. But one day, in walks the Bionic Man: a charming, amazingly tall newcomer called Jacob, who is also an amputee. Petula's ready to freeze him out, just like she did with her former best friend, but when she’s paired with Jacob for a class project, there’s no denying they have brilliant ideas together – ideas like remaking Wuthering Heights with cats. But Petula and Jacob each have desperately painful secrets in their pasts – and when the truth comes out, there’s no way Petula is ready for it.
The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica.
Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.
The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?
Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall
Norah has agoraphobia and OCD. When groceries are left on the porch, she can't step out to get them. Struggling to snag the bags with a stick, she meets Luke. He's sweet and funny, andhe just caught her fishing for groceries. Because of course he did. Norah can't leave the house, but can she let someone in? As their friendship grows deeper, Norah realizes Luke deserves a normal girl. One who can lie on the front lawn and look up at the stars. One who isn't so screwed up.
Steffi has been a selective mute for most of her life - she's been silent for so long that she feels completely invisible. But Rhys, the new boy at school, sees her. He's deaf, and her knowledge of basic sign language means that she's assigned to look after him. To Rhys it doesn't matter that Steffi doesn't talk and, as they find ways to communicate, Steffi finds that she does have a voice, and that she's falling in love with the one person who makes her feel brave enough to use it. Love isn't always a lightning strike. Sometimes it's the rumbling roll of thunder...
Twelve-year-old Matthew is trapped in his bedroom by crippling OCD, spending most of his time staring out of his window as the inhabitants of Chestnut Close go about their business. Until the day he is the last person to see his next door neighbour's toddler, Teddy, before he goes missing. Matthew must turn detective and unravel the mystery of Teddy's disappearance - with the help of a brilliant cast of supporting characters.
Try Not to Breathe by Holly Seddon
Alex is sinking. Slowly but surely, she's cut herself off from everything but her one true love - drink. Until she's forced to write a piece about a coma ward, where she meets Amy. Amy is lost. When she was fifteen, she was attacked and left for dead in a park not far from her house. Her attacker was never found. Since then, she has drifted in a lonely, timeless place. She's as good as dead, but not even her doctors are sure how much she understands. Alex and Amy grew up in the same suburbs, played the same music, flirted with the same boys. And as Alex begins to investigate the attack, she opens the door to the same danger that has left Amy in a coma...
My to be read pile could potentially be taller than I am at this stage (not that that takes much, really...), but with two months of freedom ahead of me, I'm hoping to make a huge dent in this stack and get my bookworm brain in order. What have you read recently?
Take care.
Phillipians 2:4
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