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thebibliophilegirl's reviews
431 reviews
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson
emotional
funny
lighthearted
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
One of the things that I wanted to do in 2021 was catch up on some of the amazing books that I had on my TBR. Lately, I've been reading A LOT of fantasy novels, and I realised that I had been ignoring all of the brilliant contemporary novels that I had just sitting on my shelves.
I had been wanting to read You Should See Me in a Crown ever since it was released, and in January 2021... I FINALLY got around to it!
Trigger warnings: homophobia, off-page death, outing, bullying
Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Liz Lighty has always believed she's too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it's okay -- Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.
But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz's plans come crashing down . . . until she's reminded of her school's scholarship for prom king and queen. There's nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she's willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.
The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She's smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true?
But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz's plans come crashing down . . . until she's reminded of her school's scholarship for prom king and queen. There's nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she's willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.
The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She's smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true?
Like I said before, I had been reading so much crime and fantasy, that I just needed something that was quick, fluffy, and adorable. And this was definitely the book that I needed.
You Should See Me in a Crown basically follows the same formula as other high school YA contemporaries: a love interest, the queen bee, friendship failures, and big gestures. Except... in this instance, there were a few differences. For one, we got to see a black main character! This was amazing. I'm so glad that more and more black authors are being recognised for their amazing work. Another difference that we saw in this book was that there was an f/f high school romance: something else that we hardly ever see, and it was so refreshing.
“I never needed this race, or a hashtag, or the king to be a queen. I was born royalty. All I had to do was pick up my crown.”
- Leah Johnson, You Should See Me in a Crown
Also... Can we talk about Jordan? He was such an amazing character. His sense of humour, his kindness... Everything about him is perfect and I love him. Enough said 😂.
When it comes to YA contemporaries, there's always some element of friendship trouble, and when it came to Gabi, she annoyed me to the end of the Earth. She didn't take Liz's feelings into consideration AT ALL, and she was so selfish. At first, I really liked her but as the story went on, the things that she said and did just grinded my gears. The rest of the friendship group was enjoyable though! They bought that extra snazz to the group with their different talents.
“The thing about anxiety is that it looks different for everyone. I mean, yeah, of course there are some threads that run through all of us that mark us as, you know, anxious people: being restless, exhausted, just plain fidgety. But it’s the nuances that change the game.”
- Leah Johnson, You Should See Me in a Crown
The romance was adorable, and Mack was perfection. I loved her whole grunge aesthetic, so when I was reading it, I was like 'HEY! IT'S ME! A cool emo in a book!' 😂. The only thing that I didn't like about the romance was the whole insta-love aspect of it. I'm really not into love at first sight things. I much prefer slow burns, but hey, you can't have everything! With the insta-love aside, the romance was cool. It was brilliant to have a queer character go through the journey of coming to terms with her sexuality and feeling more comfortable with who she was even though *some*people really tried to hold her back.
With Liz being one of the very few black students in a predominantly white school, this is also gave Johnson the opportunity to create a discourse about racial discrimination, the history of the school, and how everyone should be respected and catered for.
“Just because it could be worse doesn't mean you don't get to acknowledge how much it sucks, you know.”
- Leah Johnson, You Should See Me in a Crown
Behind the scenes of the main storyline, there was also the relationship that Liz had with her grandmother and her brother. It was beautiful to see a teenager have a healthy relationship with her family, which is something that you don't see very often, but also for there to be a conversation about sickle-cell disease, which affects a large amount of individuals of African descent.
Apart from Gabi, the other thing that I really couldn't get was this school that had their own social media platform (what school even has that? Is that an American thing?), and at the prom, THEY HAD AIRPODS IN THE MOFO GIFT BAGS! EVERY. SINGLE. STUDENT. WAS GIVEN AIRPODS IN THEIR GIFT BAGS! That's just...🙃. You know what I got at my prom? Nothing.
Overall, this was such an enjoyable book. Even though there were a few hiccups along the way, this book was everything I could have hoped for, and everything I could have wanted in a YA contemporary. If you haven't read this book already, you really need to pick it up and read it!
Dangerous Lies by Becca Fitzpatrick
4.0
I am a ginormous fan of Becca Fitzpatrick's work. I loved the Hush Hush series and Black Ice was a thrilling pageturner, so when Dangerous Lies was released I bought it and read it as soon as I got home.
When I first started reading Dangerous Lies, I loved the words and the settings but I hated the character of Stella. She turned her nose up at the police force - the people who were risking their lives to keep her safe in the Witness Protection programme. I also hated how she treated Carmina, the woman who was sheltering Stella in her house for the summer in Thunder Basin. Stella would treat Carmina like trash, she was so rude it was unpleasant to read. Carmina too, was a rude character to begin with and I didn't understand why she had been created to be that type of character.
As the story progresses, Carmina and Stella's relationship softens and the reader uncovers truths about both characters that make the character development in Dangerous Lies absolutely brilliant.
I loved the romance between Chet and Stella as through this relationship, we also saw character development for Chet which was very interesting but at times, I found his character came across as very two dimensional. He didn't seem to have the same emotional depth as Carmina which was slightly disappointing but like I said, this wasn't all throughout the book, only at a few times.
What disappointed me the most was the ending. It was very very quick and almost seemed rushed; it also seemed like that's where all the action was. This book is classed as a crime/thriller book but all of the 'crime' and 'thrills' were at the end and it was crushed into a couple of chapters. I wanted there to be big crime events all throughout the book, not just towards the end.
However, I did really like reading this book and it just proved to me that if Fitzpatrick keeps working on her crime books, she'll write one soon that is perfect. She's not quite there yet, but Dangerous Lies was still brilliant and a book that I 100% recommend.
When I first started reading Dangerous Lies, I loved the words and the settings but I hated the character of Stella. She turned her nose up at the police force - the people who were risking their lives to keep her safe in the Witness Protection programme. I also hated how she treated Carmina, the woman who was sheltering Stella in her house for the summer in Thunder Basin. Stella would treat Carmina like trash, she was so rude it was unpleasant to read. Carmina too, was a rude character to begin with and I didn't understand why she had been created to be that type of character.
As the story progresses, Carmina and Stella's relationship softens and the reader uncovers truths about both characters that make the character development in Dangerous Lies absolutely brilliant.
I loved the romance between Chet and Stella as through this relationship, we also saw character development for Chet which was very interesting but at times, I found his character came across as very two dimensional. He didn't seem to have the same emotional depth as Carmina which was slightly disappointing but like I said, this wasn't all throughout the book, only at a few times.
What disappointed me the most was the ending. It was very very quick and almost seemed rushed; it also seemed like that's where all the action was. This book is classed as a crime/thriller book but all of the 'crime' and 'thrills' were at the end and it was crushed into a couple of chapters. I wanted there to be big crime events all throughout the book, not just towards the end.
However, I did really like reading this book and it just proved to me that if Fitzpatrick keeps working on her crime books, she'll write one soon that is perfect. She's not quite there yet, but Dangerous Lies was still brilliant and a book that I 100% recommend.
The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan
1.0
A love affair story set in New York and written like a dictionary? Yes, please!
This sounded like such a good idea when I was recommended to read this book by a friend and since I'm a huge fan of David Levithan anyway, it didn't take much convincing.
I was reading other people's reviews on here and I realised that I am part of a very very small group of people that just didn't like this book. Other readers were saying that The Lover's Dictionary was poetic, magical and made people want to fall in love again. Maybe I just have a cold heart? I don't know. But I just didn't enjoy it. So, I'm sorry for the people that loved this book - but I have to rate this with a one star, and that one star is for the brilliant idea of the dictionary format.
Not once during reading this book did I feel moved, did I laugh or feel heartbroken. I felt confused and I felt bored. This story just felt so disjointed, there was actually no story. It felt like a patchwork book where everything is jumbled together and there is no meaning.
There were a few moments where I thought this book had potential - those feelings were near the beginning of the book, but I still had them - but I just got let down. The book is very quotable and Levithan uses this book to portray the ups and downs of a relationship and even mentions how little pet hates make you feel frustrated like when your other half leaves the cap off of the toothpaste. However, a book being 'quotable' does not make it a good book.
The plot was so disjointed that I didn't even know what going on. Once I had finished the book, I actually turned to my Mom and said 'I don't know what happened'. I genuinely had no idea what story I had just read. I know that there were two lovers, I know that they're together for two years but in what 'chapter', the narrator exclaims about being cheated on but then in the next 'chapter', everything is happy and like no cheating has happened. One 'chapter' is about the first date and then the next is when they've been together for one year. It isn't in chronological order and it makes no sense.
I do think it's a clever way for a book layout and I even got to learn the meaning of some different words that I can add to my vocabulary, but as I said before: it had so much potential and I just got let down.
The only other time that I would read this book is to see if I could make any sense of it a second time around.
Sorry, David Levithan, but this book was not good at all.
This sounded like such a good idea when I was recommended to read this book by a friend and since I'm a huge fan of David Levithan anyway, it didn't take much convincing.
I was reading other people's reviews on here and I realised that I am part of a very very small group of people that just didn't like this book. Other readers were saying that The Lover's Dictionary was poetic, magical and made people want to fall in love again. Maybe I just have a cold heart? I don't know. But I just didn't enjoy it. So, I'm sorry for the people that loved this book - but I have to rate this with a one star, and that one star is for the brilliant idea of the dictionary format.
Not once during reading this book did I feel moved, did I laugh or feel heartbroken. I felt confused and I felt bored. This story just felt so disjointed, there was actually no story. It felt like a patchwork book where everything is jumbled together and there is no meaning.
There were a few moments where I thought this book had potential - those feelings were near the beginning of the book, but I still had them - but I just got let down. The book is very quotable and Levithan uses this book to portray the ups and downs of a relationship and even mentions how little pet hates make you feel frustrated like when your other half leaves the cap off of the toothpaste. However, a book being 'quotable' does not make it a good book.
The plot was so disjointed that I didn't even know what going on. Once I had finished the book, I actually turned to my Mom and said 'I don't know what happened'. I genuinely had no idea what story I had just read. I know that there were two lovers, I know that they're together for two years but in what 'chapter', the narrator exclaims about being cheated on but then in the next 'chapter', everything is happy and like no cheating has happened. One 'chapter' is about the first date and then the next is when they've been together for one year. It isn't in chronological order and it makes no sense.
I do think it's a clever way for a book layout and I even got to learn the meaning of some different words that I can add to my vocabulary, but as I said before: it had so much potential and I just got let down.
The only other time that I would read this book is to see if I could make any sense of it a second time around.
Sorry, David Levithan, but this book was not good at all.
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
4.0
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 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!
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 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!
Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
3.0
I walked into Waterstones one day and all I could see were copies of this book piled everywhere. I must have picked up the book about ten times, read the blurb and put it back down. It sounded good - it really did - but I don't like reading about upper-class characters. They just annoy me.
As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.
But Ani has a secret.
There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.
The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?
This book infuriated, moved, bored and captured me all at the same time - how that is possible, I will never know.
The character of TifAni FaNelli - or Ani, as she is known throughout the book - is a stuck-up snob and I absolutely hated. SHE WAS THE BIGGEST BITCH OF ALL. (Oh, and her name is pronounced Ahhh-neeee) She seriously got on my every last nerve and I was seriously tempted to not even finish the book, but I decided to carry on because I wanted to know what this big secret of hers was.
Luckiest Girl Alive is told from two different timelines. You have the present-day timeline where Ani is going through the motions of planning her lavish wedding and also filming a documentary about 'that disaster'. Then, you have the timeline where she's TifAni - her younger self (14 years old) and you see - slowly over the course of the book - Knoll building up the outrageous things that happen to TifAni whilst she's at that younger age.
You could argue that the things that she goes through whilst she's younger make her this cold-hearted, world-hating woman. However, because she's this cold character for nearly all of the book, I couldn't bring myself to connect with her so when I found out what happened to her when she was younger, sure I felt slight sympathy, I felt angry that she had to go through that but I wasn't deeply moved.
(It sounds really bad and I feel horrible for even saying that I hardly felt sympathy for her but I hated the character that much!)
I preferred the younger timeline because it was really nice to see Ani when she was young. Knoll also showed the side of high school that everyone fears: the cliques, the popular girls, the bullies, the peer pressure, the humiliation. TifAni went through things that no child should ever have to go through at school or in life in general. The moment that moved me the most was the 'shorts incident'.If you've read the book, you'll know what I'm on about. I felt horrified, I felt mortified for her and I just wanted to give her hug.
The things that frustrated me the most about this book was Ani's mother (OH MY LIFE! SHE WAS A MONSTER!) and the ending: WHAT HAPPENED TO ANDREW?!
This book did have a lot of suspense throughout, otherwise I wouldn't have finished the book. I think having the younger timeline helped this book massively. If Luckiest Girl Alive didn't hav14-year-old TifAni, then I would have given this book one star.
I do recommend this book purely for that younger narrative and even if you do hate the snobbiness of Ani, please stick it out because the secret that she has will shock you and leave your mouth hanging.
As a teenager at the prestigious Bradley School, Ani FaNelli endured a shocking, public humiliation that left her desperate to reinvent herself. Now, with a glamorous job, expensive wardrobe, and handsome blue blood fiancé, she’s this close to living the perfect life she’s worked so hard to achieve.
But Ani has a secret.
There’s something else buried in her past that still haunts her, something private and painful that threatens to bubble to the surface and destroy everything.
The question remains: will breaking her silence destroy all that she has worked for—or, will it at long last, set Ani free?
This book infuriated, moved, bored and captured me all at the same time - how that is possible, I will never know.
The character of TifAni FaNelli - or Ani, as she is known throughout the book - is a stuck-up snob and I absolutely hated. SHE WAS THE BIGGEST BITCH OF ALL. (Oh, and her name is pronounced Ahhh-neeee) She seriously got on my every last nerve and I was seriously tempted to not even finish the book, but I decided to carry on because I wanted to know what this big secret of hers was.
Luckiest Girl Alive is told from two different timelines. You have the present-day timeline where Ani is going through the motions of planning her lavish wedding and also filming a documentary about 'that disaster'. Then, you have the timeline where she's TifAni - her younger self (14 years old) and you see - slowly over the course of the book - Knoll building up the outrageous things that happen to TifAni whilst she's at that younger age.
You could argue that the things that she goes through whilst she's younger make her this cold-hearted, world-hating woman. However, because she's this cold character for nearly all of the book, I couldn't bring myself to connect with her so when I found out what happened to her when she was younger, sure I felt slight sympathy, I felt angry that she had to go through that but I wasn't deeply moved.
(It sounds really bad and I feel horrible for even saying that I hardly felt sympathy for her but I hated the character that much!)
I preferred the younger timeline because it was really nice to see Ani when she was young. Knoll also showed the side of high school that everyone fears: the cliques, the popular girls, the bullies, the peer pressure, the humiliation. TifAni went through things that no child should ever have to go through at school or in life in general. The moment that moved me the most was the 'shorts incident'.If you've read the book, you'll know what I'm on about. I felt horrified, I felt mortified for her and I just wanted to give her hug.
The things that frustrated me the most about this book was Ani's mother (OH MY LIFE! SHE WAS A MONSTER!) and the ending: WHAT HAPPENED TO ANDREW?!
This book did have a lot of suspense throughout, otherwise I wouldn't have finished the book. I think having the younger timeline helped this book massively. If Luckiest Girl Alive didn't hav14-year-old TifAni, then I would have given this book one star.
I do recommend this book purely for that younger narrative and even if you do hate the snobbiness of Ani, please stick it out because the secret that she has will shock you and leave your mouth hanging.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
4.0
I've been wanting to read Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn for a very long time so when I finally got around to it, I was so excited.
On a summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears; passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? His wife's killer?
If you're looking for a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat until you've turned the last page, then this is the book for you. Gone Girl is a crime, thriller novel that captivates the reader from the very first page.
The idea of this novel is fantastic and Gillian Flynn has a beautiful writing style but I found the characters of Nick and Amy to be quite two dimensional - whether this is a character representation of their relationship, I don't know. Amy came across as a rich, stuck-up woman and her problems that are shown in this book are very small but Flynn paints them as the end of the world. I was also sick of reading about how brilliant Amy was and how she was so beautiful and perfect. It was boring, it was repetitive she just becomes this idiotic character three-quarter of the way through the book. Nick is pathetic, wimpy and whiny and was bordering on becoming a misogynist with his repetition of "fucking bitch" all throughout the book. He also becomes an idiot of a character three-quarters of the way throughout the book.
Due to a number of expletives and sexual description throughout the book, I would say that Gone Girl is aimed at readers aged sixteen and older.
However, moving away from the characters, the story was fantastic and I loved the huge question that hung over the novel: "did Nick kill Amy?" I also quite enjoyed reading the book from both the characters perspectives. We follow Nick's story in the present tense whilst the investigation is going underway and Amy's perspective in diary entries from before her disappearance that describe her and Nick's relationship. The two different points of view offer us a deeper insight into their rollercoaster relationship and make the reader almost become detectives themselves, making the readers question every character in their heads as they are reading and seeing if that particular character could have committed the crime. It's very clever of Flynn.
I was very impressed with the twist of Gone Girl (it was a twist however, that can be easily figured out), but my mouth was still agape and still led me to finish this book as soon as possible so that I could see what the ending was like.
The ending was disappointing. Very disappointing and a lot of readers have said this to Gillian Flynn. It was disappointing because readers know that what happens at the end wouldn't really happen, it's unbelievable. On the other hand, the ending shows how messed up Nick and Amy's relationship was and how messed up their characters were.
Overall, I did thoroughly enjoy this book, I read it in a couple of days and once I had finished the book, I decided to watch the film. Even though the characters weren't my favourite, there are bumps in every book. Gillian Flynn is a fantastic writer, she knows how to make you feel something, she knows how to shock and scare. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good thriller.
On a summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears; passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? His wife's killer?
If you're looking for a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat until you've turned the last page, then this is the book for you. Gone Girl is a crime, thriller novel that captivates the reader from the very first page.
The idea of this novel is fantastic and Gillian Flynn has a beautiful writing style but I found the characters of Nick and Amy to be quite two dimensional - whether this is a character representation of their relationship, I don't know. Amy came across as a rich, stuck-up woman and her problems that are shown in this book are very small but Flynn paints them as the end of the world. I was also sick of reading about how brilliant Amy was and how she was so beautiful and perfect. It was boring, it was repetitive she just becomes this idiotic character three-quarter of the way through the book. Nick is pathetic, wimpy and whiny and was bordering on becoming a misogynist with his repetition of "fucking bitch" all throughout the book. He also becomes an idiot of a character three-quarters of the way throughout the book.
Due to a number of expletives and sexual description throughout the book, I would say that Gone Girl is aimed at readers aged sixteen and older.
However, moving away from the characters, the story was fantastic and I loved the huge question that hung over the novel: "did Nick kill Amy?" I also quite enjoyed reading the book from both the characters perspectives. We follow Nick's story in the present tense whilst the investigation is going underway and Amy's perspective in diary entries from before her disappearance that describe her and Nick's relationship. The two different points of view offer us a deeper insight into their rollercoaster relationship and make the reader almost become detectives themselves, making the readers question every character in their heads as they are reading and seeing if that particular character could have committed the crime. It's very clever of Flynn.
I was very impressed with the twist of Gone Girl (it was a twist however, that can be easily figured out), but my mouth was still agape and still led me to finish this book as soon as possible so that I could see what the ending was like.
The ending was disappointing. Very disappointing and a lot of readers have said this to Gillian Flynn. It was disappointing because readers know that what happens at the end wouldn't really happen, it's unbelievable. On the other hand, the ending shows how messed up Nick and Amy's relationship was and how messed up their characters were.
Overall, I did thoroughly enjoy this book, I read it in a couple of days and once I had finished the book, I decided to watch the film. Even though the characters weren't my favourite, there are bumps in every book. Gillian Flynn is a fantastic writer, she knows how to make you feel something, she knows how to shock and scare. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good thriller.
Resistance is Futile by Jenny T. Colgan
4.0
Resistance is Futile was one of my impulse buys. I saw it in my local Waterstones, quickly read the blurb and it sounded so different to anything I had read before. Mathematics? Sci-Fi elements? Awesome. It's like Big Bang Theory meets Independence Day.
Connie's smart. She's funny. But when it comes to love, she's only human.
As a brilliant mathematician with bright red hair - Connie's used to being considered a little unusual. But when she's recruited for a top-secret-code-breaking project, nothing can prepare her for working with someone quite as peculiar as Luke.
Connie prepares herself for a life of love, friendship... and the possible obliteration of mankind.
I love sci-fi ok? I love aliens, I love space, I love futuristic things... BUT I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY READ A SCI-FI BOOK! Weird huh? So this was a first for me.
Resistance is Futile is a very fast paced book, but the fact that it's so odd and different made it a 4-star book for me. It's a sci-fi, romance and action book, crammed into 380 pages. It's the fast-paced dialogue that lets it down. Whilst I was reading it, the dialogue was like watching a tennis match. It was moving from character to character so quickly that I couldn't keep up and I had to re-read some parts to make sure I knew what was going on and who had said what. It was quite off-putting to begin with, but I got used to it after a bit and managed to follow slightly easier.
Another thing that let this book down was how suddenly Connie and Luke expressed their love for each other. One minute, they were working on the top-secret project together (yeah, they were flirting slightly) and then the next moment, they're saying how much they love each other and end up kissing. What? I mean, I've heard of spontaneous relationships but this was crazy.
However, this book was extremely funny. There was one line in particular that literally made me laugh out loud - the neighbours must have thought I was crazy.
I also loved the characters and how they were portrayed by Colgan. There was such a mix of characters and each of them brought something different to the table. Arthur was American and bought a balance of humour and seriousness, Evelyn brought sophistication and a maternal figure, Ranjit brought youthful enthusiasm and Sé brought pure seriousness but complete trustworthiness.
The plot was so out-there and there was loads of twists and turns that were a complete shock to me and that ending?! Well, that's a scene that I will never forget! It was brilliantly written and I had to read it twice to make sure that I had read it properly.
If you want a romance book with a sci-fi twist, then this book is for you. It was a brilliant read and I absolutely loved it apart from the fast-paced dialogue and the fast-paced relationship between Luke and Connie. I thoroughly recommend this book and give it a few months or so, I would love to read this book again!
Connie's smart. She's funny. But when it comes to love, she's only human.
As a brilliant mathematician with bright red hair - Connie's used to being considered a little unusual. But when she's recruited for a top-secret-code-breaking project, nothing can prepare her for working with someone quite as peculiar as Luke.
Connie prepares herself for a life of love, friendship... and the possible obliteration of mankind.
I love sci-fi ok? I love aliens, I love space, I love futuristic things... BUT I'VE NEVER ACTUALLY READ A SCI-FI BOOK! Weird huh? So this was a first for me.
Resistance is Futile is a very fast paced book, but the fact that it's so odd and different made it a 4-star book for me. It's a sci-fi, romance and action book, crammed into 380 pages. It's the fast-paced dialogue that lets it down. Whilst I was reading it, the dialogue was like watching a tennis match. It was moving from character to character so quickly that I couldn't keep up and I had to re-read some parts to make sure I knew what was going on and who had said what. It was quite off-putting to begin with, but I got used to it after a bit and managed to follow slightly easier.
Another thing that let this book down was how suddenly Connie and Luke expressed their love for each other. One minute, they were working on the top-secret project together (yeah, they were flirting slightly) and then the next moment, they're saying how much they love each other and end up kissing. What? I mean, I've heard of spontaneous relationships but this was crazy.
However, this book was extremely funny. There was one line in particular that literally made me laugh out loud - the neighbours must have thought I was crazy.
I also loved the characters and how they were portrayed by Colgan. There was such a mix of characters and each of them brought something different to the table. Arthur was American and bought a balance of humour and seriousness, Evelyn brought sophistication and a maternal figure, Ranjit brought youthful enthusiasm and Sé brought pure seriousness but complete trustworthiness.
The plot was so out-there and there was loads of twists and turns that were a complete shock to me and that ending?! Well, that's a scene that I will never forget! It was brilliantly written and I had to read it twice to make sure that I had read it properly.
If you want a romance book with a sci-fi twist, then this book is for you. It was a brilliant read and I absolutely loved it apart from the fast-paced dialogue and the fast-paced relationship between Luke and Connie. I thoroughly recommend this book and give it a few months or so, I would love to read this book again!
All the Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry
5.0
All The Truth That's In Me is not a modern day, young adult contemporary novel. It's a young adult, historical fiction novel that's set in the 1800s and is an exceptionally written book. When I was reading the blurb, the thing that captured my attention was how the main character has had her tongue cut out, so she can't talk. I thought that was horrifying. But it still made me want to read the book!
Judith can't speak. Ever since the horrifying trauma that left her best friend dead and Judith without her tongue, she's been a pariah in her close-knit community of Roswell Station; even her own mother won't look her in the eye. All Judith can do is silently pour out her thoughts and feelings to the love of her life, the boy who's owned her heart as long as she can remember - even if he doesn't know it - her childhood friend, Lucas. But when Roswell Station is attacked by enemies, long-buried secrets come to light and Judith's world starts to shift on its axis.
This book was magnificent. It was just UGGGHHHHH THE FEELS! IT WAS SO GOOD AND IT MADE ME FEEL LIKE MY WHOLE BODY WAS BEING RIPPED APART BY THOSE FEELS!
I don't even know where to start with this review. At first, I thought it was a bit odd. I didn't know that it was a historical fiction book, so when I started reading descriptions of the town that didn't sound modern day, I checked out the ever-so-handy Goodreads and realised it was set in the 1800s. Now everything made sense.
All The Truth That's In Me is written in letter form. The whole story is written like Judith is writing letters containing her story to her childhood crush - Lucas. For example: "I saw you look over to where I was standing and smile at me." I think it's a beautiful way for the story to be told.
There was only one issue that I had with this book but it wasn't a big enough issue to knock the star rating down to four. My issue was where Judith goes back to her kidnapper to get his help when her town is attacked... I know she's getting his help because the town needs it, but still. There is no way I would be brave enough to go back to the place where I was held captive for two years and where my tongue was cut out. No way.
The rest of the book was just brilliant. It was a bit slow at first (maybe for the first 20 pages?) but after you get the attack by the enemies out of the way, the story starts to unravel and you start learning more and more about the characters and their secrets.
"There is a curious comfort in letting go. After the agony, letting go brings numbness, and after the numbness, clarity. As if I can see the world for the first time, and my place in it, independent of you, a whole vista of what may be. Even if it is not grand or inspiring, it is real and solid, unlike the fantasy I've built around you. I will do this. I will triumph over you."
- Julie Berry, All The Truth That's In Me
There are a lot of shock moments in this book, there are a few disturbing moments and a few moments where I even had to put down the book and take everything that I had just read in. I LITERALLY HAD TO PUT THE BOOK DOWN AND STARE AT MY WALL BECAUSE THE FEELS WERE TOO MUCH!!
All of the characters were written superbly that I genuinely felt I was part of their world, that I was going on this crazy ride with them.
The ending of this book was just... ARRRGGGHHH IT WAS MAGNIFICENT. IT WAS A HUGE PLOT TWIST THAT I DIDN'T SEE COMING! IT WAS ALL SORTS OF MESSED UP! IT WAS CRAZY! BUT IT WAS AMAZING!
All The Truth That's In Me gave me a massive book hangover and it left me wanting to read every single word that Julie Berry has ever wrote because her writing style is just so addictive and beautiful.
Go. Go and read this book now. Get it from the library, order it off Amazon, I don't care. Just read this book. I promise you won't be disappointed.
Judith can't speak. Ever since the horrifying trauma that left her best friend dead and Judith without her tongue, she's been a pariah in her close-knit community of Roswell Station; even her own mother won't look her in the eye. All Judith can do is silently pour out her thoughts and feelings to the love of her life, the boy who's owned her heart as long as she can remember - even if he doesn't know it - her childhood friend, Lucas. But when Roswell Station is attacked by enemies, long-buried secrets come to light and Judith's world starts to shift on its axis.
This book was magnificent. It was just UGGGHHHHH THE FEELS! IT WAS SO GOOD AND IT MADE ME FEEL LIKE MY WHOLE BODY WAS BEING RIPPED APART BY THOSE FEELS!
I don't even know where to start with this review. At first, I thought it was a bit odd. I didn't know that it was a historical fiction book, so when I started reading descriptions of the town that didn't sound modern day, I checked out the ever-so-handy Goodreads and realised it was set in the 1800s. Now everything made sense.
All The Truth That's In Me is written in letter form. The whole story is written like Judith is writing letters containing her story to her childhood crush - Lucas. For example: "I saw you look over to where I was standing and smile at me." I think it's a beautiful way for the story to be told.
There was only one issue that I had with this book but it wasn't a big enough issue to knock the star rating down to four. My issue was where Judith goes back to her kidnapper to get his help when her town is attacked... I know she's getting his help because the town needs it, but still. There is no way I would be brave enough to go back to the place where I was held captive for two years and where my tongue was cut out. No way.
The rest of the book was just brilliant. It was a bit slow at first (maybe for the first 20 pages?) but after you get the attack by the enemies out of the way, the story starts to unravel and you start learning more and more about the characters and their secrets.
"There is a curious comfort in letting go. After the agony, letting go brings numbness, and after the numbness, clarity. As if I can see the world for the first time, and my place in it, independent of you, a whole vista of what may be. Even if it is not grand or inspiring, it is real and solid, unlike the fantasy I've built around you. I will do this. I will triumph over you."
- Julie Berry, All The Truth That's In Me
There are a lot of shock moments in this book, there are a few disturbing moments and a few moments where I even had to put down the book and take everything that I had just read in. I LITERALLY HAD TO PUT THE BOOK DOWN AND STARE AT MY WALL BECAUSE THE FEELS WERE TOO MUCH!!
All of the characters were written superbly that I genuinely felt I was part of their world, that I was going on this crazy ride with them.
The ending of this book was just... ARRRGGGHHH IT WAS MAGNIFICENT. IT WAS A HUGE PLOT TWIST THAT I DIDN'T SEE COMING! IT WAS ALL SORTS OF MESSED UP! IT WAS CRAZY! BUT IT WAS AMAZING!
All The Truth That's In Me gave me a massive book hangover and it left me wanting to read every single word that Julie Berry has ever wrote because her writing style is just so addictive and beautiful.
Go. Go and read this book now. Get it from the library, order it off Amazon, I don't care. Just read this book. I promise you won't be disappointed.
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
2.0
Regular readers of my blog or those closest to me will know that as soon as I finished reading To Kill A Mockingbird for Year Ten, I fell in love with it and it instantly became my favourite book. Nearly six years later and it still is the best book that I have ever read and it doesn't seem like that going to change.
When I heard that Harper Lee (rest in peace) was going to release a sequel to To Kill A Mockingbird, I felt skeptical. I didn't want my love of the characters to be distinguished. So I waited... And waited... And I had heard nothing but bad reviews about Go Set A Watchman. I heard things about the book that just didn't seem right and didn't make sense.
It was published in July 2015 and it wasn't until more than a year later - September 2016 - that I would read it.
Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch - 'Scout' - returns home from New York City to visit her ageing father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and the political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt.
I feel like this review is going to be very short and very brief. I did not like this book and I felt like it shouldn't have even been written (Harper Lee, what were you thinking? I would love to know...) I finished the book, put it down and felt like crying. Go Set A Watchman hadn't ruined my love for To Kill A Mockingbird, but it had added detail to the characters that I didn't want, it expanded on things that I didn't want to learn about. For me, TKAM is the perfect standalone with the perfect characters and the perfect messages about society. GSAW ruined it all.
*minor spoilers now so look away if you don't want to read about them*
The biggest question I had once I had finished this book was 'was Atticus racist or not then?' We are told that Atticus attends council meetings and that he has turned into a hater of black people but later on in the book, we are told by Louise's love interest that the only reason him and Atticus turn up to the meetings is to see whose faces lie beneath the masks, so when the time comes for "war", Atticus and Hank know who want to destroy Maycomb.
Then, at the end of the book, Scout has a huge argument with Atticus, yelling at him about how he's completely different to the way he brought her up. How he has ruined everything by going to the council meetings and become the complete opposite of the values he used to believe in. Atticus doesn't even argue with her.
I wanted to cry. I really did. Atticus was this fictional character that I felt a huge amount of love for. I fell in love with him in year 10, I fell in love with what he believed in and in GSAW, Lee ruined everything. Twenty-six-year-old Scout became the person Atticus was in TKAM and Atticus became someone that I didn't even recognise.
Also, quick point, can we just talk about how annoying Scout was with Hank? Stop playing the poor lad and just tell him whether you're going to marry him or not. Of course, after she saw him and her father at the council meetings, I could understand why Scout was weary of marrying Hank but before that, she was messing him around so much!
I only give this book two stars because it's from the same world as TKAM and it's written by Harper Lee. This book should never have been written, it should never have been published, it should never have even been an idea. I'm sorry Harper Lee, I love you, I will always love you, but this book shouldn't have happened. TKAM was a book of pure perfection. You should have left it like that.
When I heard that Harper Lee (rest in peace) was going to release a sequel to To Kill A Mockingbird, I felt skeptical. I didn't want my love of the characters to be distinguished. So I waited... And waited... And I had heard nothing but bad reviews about Go Set A Watchman. I heard things about the book that just didn't seem right and didn't make sense.
It was published in July 2015 and it wasn't until more than a year later - September 2016 - that I would read it.
Maycomb, Alabama. Twenty-six-year-old Jean Louise Finch - 'Scout' - returns home from New York City to visit her ageing father, Atticus. Set against the backdrop of the civil rights tensions and the political turmoil that were transforming the South, Jean Louise's homecoming turns bittersweet when she learns disturbing truths about her close-knit family, the town and the people dearest to her. Memories from her childhood flood back, and her values and assumptions are thrown into doubt.
I feel like this review is going to be very short and very brief. I did not like this book and I felt like it shouldn't have even been written (Harper Lee, what were you thinking? I would love to know...) I finished the book, put it down and felt like crying. Go Set A Watchman hadn't ruined my love for To Kill A Mockingbird, but it had added detail to the characters that I didn't want, it expanded on things that I didn't want to learn about. For me, TKAM is the perfect standalone with the perfect characters and the perfect messages about society. GSAW ruined it all.
*minor spoilers now so look away if you don't want to read about them*
"The only human being she had ever fully and wholeheartedly trusted had failed her; the only man she had ever known to whom she could point and say with expert knowledge, "He is a gentleman, in his heart he is a gentleman," had betrayed her, publicly, grossly and shamelessly."
- Harper Lee, Go Set A Watchman
The biggest question I had once I had finished this book was 'was Atticus racist or not then?' We are told that Atticus attends council meetings and that he has turned into a hater of black people but later on in the book, we are told by Louise's love interest that the only reason him and Atticus turn up to the meetings is to see whose faces lie beneath the masks, so when the time comes for "war", Atticus and Hank know who want to destroy Maycomb.
Then, at the end of the book, Scout has a huge argument with Atticus, yelling at him about how he's completely different to the way he brought her up. How he has ruined everything by going to the council meetings and become the complete opposite of the values he used to believe in. Atticus doesn't even argue with her.
I wanted to cry. I really did. Atticus was this fictional character that I felt a huge amount of love for. I fell in love with him in year 10, I fell in love with what he believed in and in GSAW, Lee ruined everything. Twenty-six-year-old Scout became the person Atticus was in TKAM and Atticus became someone that I didn't even recognise.
Also, quick point, can we just talk about how annoying Scout was with Hank? Stop playing the poor lad and just tell him whether you're going to marry him or not. Of course, after she saw him and her father at the council meetings, I could understand why Scout was weary of marrying Hank but before that, she was messing him around so much!
I only give this book two stars because it's from the same world as TKAM and it's written by Harper Lee. This book should never have been written, it should never have been published, it should never have even been an idea. I'm sorry Harper Lee, I love you, I will always love you, but this book shouldn't have happened. TKAM was a book of pure perfection. You should have left it like that.