A Wrap Up: January 2018

Hi, and thanks for stopping by.

So it's wrap-up time already!! Hope you enjoy finding out about what I read this month - please do let me know in the comments section if you've read any of these and what you thought of them, and what your favourite book of January was! Here's what I read during this first month of 2018...

Adi alsaid’s never always sometimes

3.5 stars

This book was a tricky one for me; I struggled with both protagonists, Julia & Dave, at different times throughout their prospective narratives. I thought they had good chemistry and were both really funny and smart, so I did really enjoy reading their interactions, but when things turned romantic, I started to get more and more irritated by several things, outlined better here. Also, the whole bucket list plot device is getting a little old now.

Lisa heathfield’s flight of a starling

 2 stars

I really wasn't a fan of this story, unfortunately. I did really love the circus theme/setting, but there was nowhere near enough of it!! Good circus recommendations are welcome in the comments section, please! I really didn't mesh with Lo as a character; she just seemed so self-absorbed and moody and I hated how the entire novel revolved around her, despite every character having such individual potential. The narrative also felt incredibly repetitive and circular. I do have plans to read other things from Lisa Heathfield, though, because I've heard great things about her writing.

Matthew crow’s another place

3 stars

So I think the problem with this book is that I'm just kind of over the how missing, beautiful, troubled girl and the small, corrupt community who have lots of secrets storyline. This book was all of those things. There was potential to delve into topics of depression (which it did a little and well, but not enough in my opinion), the care system, poverty etc, but things were never fully developed on. I did prefer this to Matthew Crow's In Bloom, however, which I read last month and gave only 2 stars.

A change is gonna come – an anthology

3.5 stars

This was a really cool anthology, and although it averaged out at around the 3.5 stars mark, my favourite stories got 4 stars each; Tanya Byrne's Hackney Moon, Nikesh Shukla's We Who? and Yasmin Rahman's Fortune Favours The Bold. There's so much diverse representation in here, of race, sexuality and more, as well as a mixture of prose and poetry.

Marnie lamb’s the history of Hilary hambrushina

1 star

I very rarely give 1 star ratings, but this year I'm trying to be more brutally honest with my ratings instead of giving 2 or even 3 stars to books that don't deserve it, starting right here. This book has one of the most conceited, cowardly, materialistic protagonists EVER, as well as a whole other bunch of irritating, self-obsessed characters, too. I didn't enjoy any single element of it. You can read more here.

Francesca zappia’s eliza & her monsters

5 stars

This book was every bit as WONDERFUL as I hoped it would be. I'm hoping to get a full review up here on my blog because I loved it that much, so I won't say too much here. But, if you loved Radio Silence by Alice Oseman, you will also adore this, and vice versa! This has discussion of mental health, family dynamics, loneliness, grief, suicide, mutism, friendships, first love...so many awesome topics, all done really well. Watch out for a full review!! 

Krystal sutherland’s a semi-definitive list of worst nightmares

3 stars

I'm giving this 3 stars because I am SO torn about the entire thing. The first 50% at least was 2 stars, for sure. It just all felt quite messy and random and odd. The whole solving of phobias thing as they went on felt unrealistic - it took like two paragraphs to get over a "phobia"? That can't be a diagnosable phobia then, surely? When the book got to around 70%, though, things really improved, maybe even to like 4-star level. The interactions in the hospital that Esther has with Eugene and Jonah were really powerfully written and I loved them.

Sarah dessen’s along for the ride

2 stars

I really disliked both parental figures in this book - Auden's mother was INSUFFERABLY snobbish and superior and her brand of "feminism" stinks. Her father was just the most selfish person in the entire universe. Auden herself also wasn't the most loveable protagonist in the world, although I did like reading about her developing friendship with Maggie which seemed to adjust her behaviour a little.

Jennifer l. armentrout’s if there’s no tomorrow

4 stars

I really enjoyed this book, although not quite as much as Jennifer's last YA book. There was some awesome representation/handling of guilt, blame, responsibility, underage drinking, drink-driving, first love, friendship, grief and more...I also found Lena to be a protagonist who really grew on me and became more sympathetic and understandable and relatable and human as the book went on, which was really engaging to read.

Juno dawson’s margot & me

2 stars

The only experience I have with reading Juno Dawson was her earlier book, All Of The Above, which I read back in 2016 and gave 5-stars to! Unfortunately, this book was nowhere near as special for me. Margot's diary was definitely better than the modern-day excerpts, particularly because I just Felicity to be quite a superficial, irritating character and as she was supposed to be our sympathetic protagonist, that was a big problem.

Tasmina perry’s kiss heaven goodbye

1 star

This is definitely one of my least favourite books I've read. The characters were completely without development, just all shallow and superficial and too rich and stupid for their own good. Also, the constant references to cocaine and sex were just overkill and boring and pretty poorly written, too. Even the "big twist" at the end wasn't great, and it the reveal of it was literally given like 40 pages of the SIX HUNDRED AND FIFTY in total!!

Michelle falkoff’s playlist for the dead

2 stars

Unfortunately this wasn't the in-depth exploration of depression, suicide and grief that I expected; in fact, suicide was a really tiny part of it. The majority of this book was Sam, our rather annoying protagonist, complaining, thinking about how much he fancies this "mysterious" new girl in his life and talking to "Hayden" online. Also, the playlist element?! Makes literally NO difference to the story and is never properly linked/explained, so who knows why the title was okay-ed.

Jennifer E. smith’s hello, goodbye and everything in between

3.5 stars

I ended up really enjoying this, much like Windfall, which I read last summer and unlike The Geography of You and Me which I also read last year and really wasn't a fan of. I really enjoyed the fact that it was focused on an already-established romantic relationship, rather than a brand new one. That "prologue" ending was not only RIDICULOUSLY cute, but also heartbreaking and wonderful and excellently simple. Loved it.

Because you love to hate me – an anthology

 3.5 stars

Some of these stories were really great, others were average and there was only one that I really didn't enjoy. Susan Dennard's Shirley & Jim was my favourite by far; it was so smart and funny and just perfectly written - absolutely worthy of a solid 5-star rating!! My least favourite has to be Andrew Smith's Julian Breaks Every Rule - I just didn't get the point of it, and the "villain" was unsympathetic and under-developed in comparison to those in the majority of the other stories.

Sarah pinborough’s the death house

2 stars

This book had such potential, seriously. That's what made the results so disappointing. The first 100 pages were SO incredibly atmospheric and creepy and sad, but from then onwards, when the romance began to develop, it really went downhill. This is just a classic case of unnecessary romance in a YA novel - I understand that the whole ending was entered around the romance, too, but it could've been far better plotted and concluded without it.

Melissa de la cruz’s alex & eliza

1 star

I should say that this book isn't a fundamentally bad book (which I believe the other 1-star rating in this post is) it was just so unbelievably bland. I was left completely cold whilst reading it, with no emotional connection whatsoever. There were also some incongruent moments, where phrases were used that I'm pretty sure did NOT exist in the 1700s. This book was the final straw for me and this author, I think - I've never had huge, problematic issues with her writing, I've just never really enjoyed it either, so I don't plan to read anymore.

Cassandra clare’s city of bones

4 stars

This book was so much fun to read; fantasy isn't usually my go-to genre, but the world-building and imagination in Cassandra Clare's writing is really exceptional, accessible and just fabulous fun to read. I loved Clary as a protagonist and her relationships with Simon and Jace were so well written, with brilliant chemistry. I also found this book really funny, which is one of my favourite elements of reading, if a book can actually make me laugh or even just grin like an idiot.

Margaret atwood’s the handmaid’s tale

4 stars

I definitely get now why this is the mother of all dystopian novels. The pacing was really exceptional,  especially considering that for the first 50% nothing really happens - yet it's still so interesting and engaging. I was like 30 pages from the age without even realising it was nearly over. Sad and scary and brilliantly written.

David levithan’s boy meets boy

3 stars

I've been recommended this book on many occasions as a staple YA read about sexuality, so when I saw it in the library, I had to take it out. I think whilst the Kyle storyline was necessary for tension/drama in the wider storyline, it did really take away from Paul & Noah's initial chemistry and cuteness, which kinda dwindled towards the end, honestly.

ally condie's matched

3 stars

I've been avoiding dystopian for a while now because I got so sick of how repetitive it is, and whilst this story did nothing new yet again, I did enjoy it regardless. Maybe the break was good for me as a dystopian-reader!! The world building was really simple, realistic and engaging with some super clever, scary moments. Ky was kind of a rubbish love interest to me though; Xander was WAY more attractive.

john green's an abundance of katherines

2 stars

If this exact story had been written by somebody else other than John Green, I would have probably ended up giving it 1 star. John Green's style is clever and hilarious and I adore it, but this story just really wasn't for me. Hassan was the only redeeming feature; he was pretty funny.

kasie west's the distance between us

4 stars

I was really pleased with my first reading-experience of Kasie West; these kind of fun, simple, charming contemporary reads are some of my favourite books (very similar to Morgan Matson-style, I'd say, just more concise). I LOVED Caymen as a protagonist; her sarcasm was just hilarious and I was totally on her side throughout. Xander was a great love interest; cute, charming, charismatic & fun.

Cecelia ahern’s flawed

3.5 stars

This book surprised me in such a great way!! There were some really powerful, horrible, emotional scenes within it, particularly the branding moment and the "humiliation" prank. I did think that the pacing at the start of the story needed some serious work - things progressed way too quickly and it felt pretty unbelievable. 

That's it for January! This month I'm planning to just do a monthly favourites read kind of wrap-up, because this one feels so super long!!!

Till next time

Katie