Book Review #5: Room

Author(s): Emma Donoghue

Genre: novel
Number of pages: 366
Released: 2010

RATINGS…

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 3/5
Overall enjoy-ability: 4/5

THOUGHTS?

‘Oh you’re reading that book, I’ve seen the movie, it’s kind of weird. Wait, is that the one were she breastfeeds her five year old child and he has long-ass hair and they’re all messed up?’ - one of my school friends, upon seeing me read.

That makes the book seem terrible. Thing is, it’s the opposite of terrible. It’s one of those that make you feel terrible, though, for taking everything in your life for granted, when this little boy and his Ma are stuck in a tiny room, when he’s never been outside, when he doesn’t even know that there is an outside. It’s crazy, but in a sense it’s so realistic because you don’t realise how used to something you can be not to question the unknown.

The book is written from the perspective of the five-year-old Jack, who, as we learn, was born in Room and lives here happily with Ma. At first its frustrating - we only know what Jack knows, we aren’t aware of the backstory or the mother’s story, how they got there and why they can’t leave. To him, it’s all totally normal, so expressing his thoughts this way makes it even more mysterious and dramatic to the reader. The way Donoghue writes is exactly the way you’d expect a fiver-year-old kid to speak and think - I related so much to my little cousins who I spend an awful lot of time with. It’s so accurate it’s a bit scary, to be honest, you get so caught in this little boy’s mind you forget how to think in your own voice. The way he exaggerates everything, or gives objects names (Rug, Remote, Door - it’s adorable), or how he’s constantly asking why and how come and what does that mean… I loved it, personally.
On the other hand, being a total grammar nazi, I wondered if the magic would remain if the book was written more grammatically accurate, still keeping Jack’s voice. It would definitely make a difference, I just can’t decide if it would be better or worse.

Jack’s relationship with Ma is priceless. But then, it must be, considering he’s known nobody else for the first five years of his life. When they finally manage to escape, it turns out he’s not as ‘normal’ as Ma wishes - there’s all sorts of problems like nearsightedness, being antisocial, etc etc, which made me really sad because so far it’s been made out like Ma (who’s real name we never hear - Jack doesn’t remember it, so we don’t have access to it either) did the best job possible to raise this amazing child (he can ‘spell all the words!’ and he knows his times tables… damnit, they even did Phys Ed in that room). That made me think, whoa, is it possible to raise a kid alone these days without something ending up wrong? Who knows (not me, I’m only seventeen).

One thing I really loved is how innocent the story is, but at the same time so dark… it’s innocent because of the way Jack sees the world, it’s almost funny, but the actual plot, if you think about it, is so deep and gloomy. Congrats to the author for, somehow, linking two very opposite genres into one amazing book.

Throughout the story we’re told little blips of backstory, when Ma mentions it or when Jack overhears something, and this makes it even more special since the secret is so well-kept that there’s no way for us to truly know. High five for Donoghue - you managed to keep me focused on wanting to find out valuable information for the couple of days it took me to finish the book, which is an achievement. I bet I could Google the questions I have and find answers, but I’d rather be kept in the dark; that way the book will dwell in my subconscious just a bit longer.

Also, I don’t plan on watching the film anytime soon. Just in case it ruins the book for me, you never know.

How did you find the book?

J x

Book Review #4: The Forgetting Time

Author(s): Sharon Guskin

Genre: mystery, thriller
Number of pages: 320
Released: 2016

RATINGS…

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
Overall enjoy-ability: 4/5

THOUGHTS?

If you like the idea of reincarnation and memories of past lives, this book is definitely for you. I was always told stories of friends of friends who remembered something from ‘another life’, or of birthmarks indicating places on the body where a person’s previous personality was hurt. It’s fascinating, even if it’s not entirely true.

This book brings it all to life. We meet Noah, a four year old with inexplicable traumas and a strange habit of ‘wanting to go home’. He is home, you think. He’s right there, why is he asking for his Mama if she’s sitting next to him? After being treated by many psychiatrists and psychologists, no one having an explanation for his disturbing behaviours, and all prescribing medicine (sorry, but isn’t that just so typical of modern doctors? It’s always either paracetamol or antibiotic. Excuse me, rant over.) which his mum, Janie, refuses to get him, she contacts Dr. Anderson, and that’s where their adventure begins.

Turns out Noah isn’t ill in the slightest - he can remember being a nine-year-old boy called Tommy - his family, his hobbies, and his tragic death.

At the start, chapters alternate between Janie’s point of view and Anderson’s. You get why it’s Janie - she’s the mother of the main character, but this Anderson person seems a bit random. When she reaches out to him for help, however, it all makes sense, and the chapters join up together.

Anderson’s information never seemed quite genuine to me because of his memory-related illness. That also makes me seem like a horrible person, I know. I do respect the man - he travelled half the world looking for cases like Noah’s, where a child remembers, in extreme detail, their previous lives.
What’s cool is that there are one or two pages between some of the chapters, extracts from different books, studies, or researches, describing cases of such children. Sometimes it was a bit frustrating, I have to admit, since i was so into the story and suddenly there’s this long drag about some random child, when i don’t necessarily care at that point, I just wanna find out what happens to Noah. On the other hand, they’re quite fascinating, because you know it didn’t come from Sharon Guskin’s head but from someone else who sounds pretty legit.

Another good thing was that Tommy, Noah’s previous personality, is Noah’s complete opposite when it comes to looks - the trend that white people are reborn as white people, and vice versa, doesn’t exist here. Love it.

Guskin’s writing is flawless. Depending on the character, the writing style changes completely - some chapters are ‘written’ by Anderson, some by Janie, some by Denise or Charlie. She doesn’t even have to mention a name for you to know which character is the voice of that particular chapter - it’s all perfect. Janie speaks like an over-protective mum, Charlie like a typical teenager who thoroughly enjoys swearing in every sentence. Anderson sounds like a laid-back guy, but you can detect traces of ‘professor-ism’ in him.

The mystery of Tommy’s story is ongoing throughout the entire book; it’s all very exciting. Noah blurts out little details once in a while, and you can add a piece to the puzzle. But when you find out the truth, oh boy, is it dramatic. Credit to Guskin for doing a great job at keeping me on the edge of my seat (or should I say, a plastic school chair/grass in the park/my bed/the seat on the bus - I was addicted to this book and took it everywhere).

Overall, all i can say is wow. It’s educational, but not in the boring ‘read this book for school’ way - you learn a lot about the theories on reincarnation, and about how fragile life is. Janie wanders about ‘YOLO’ - you only live once, so you should make the most of it. She says, however, that what if you live more than once, which is why you need to make the most of it? You think, stop playing with my mind!! It’s one of those books that make you stare into space, reconsidering your life.

How did you find the book?

J x

Ratings..??

My ‘rating’ system works like this…

1/5 = meh

2/5 = decent

3/5 = pretty good

4/5 = great

5/5 = awesome

Book Review #3: Honour

Author(s): Elif Shafak

Genre: crime, drama, family, romance
Number of pages: 352
Released: 2011

RATINGS…

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Writing: 5/5
Overall enjoy-ability: 5/5

THOUGHTS?

It’s a powerful book. It’s one of those that make you think and re-consider yourself and your situation, but at the same time has the most amazingly dramatic and compelling story.

Elif tells the story of a Turkish-Kurdish family’s life, first in a tiny village by a river, then in the crazy streets of London. The chapters are short, but each tells a different part of the story - they’re mixed up when it comes to time, place, and character. For example, one chapter might be set in London in the 90s, from the point of view of Iskender Toprak, and the chapter after it might be set in his aunt Jamila’s shack in Turkey, 20 years earlier. In the end, all those little parts of the story fit together like a giant puzzle, and everything makes sense, and it makes you feel so great because you finally understand how this event influenced that one, and how those words triggered this consequence…

There’s definitely a LOT going on, all the time. None of the chapters are boring, none. I finished the book in a few days, and I consider myself a slow reader, so that says something about how drawn in I was!

This book is definitely one of my top three. It was so action-packed, so dramatic, there’s so much you can learn about culture and how differences in race can affect someone very deeply, you ‘watch’ the characters grow up and develop and you can see why they acted the way they did, even if you believe it to be the wrong thing to do. The complexity of the events is truly amazing.

There are elements of romance, there’s definitely a lot of mystery and crime, but my favourite parts where the issues between the Toprak family - how their culture allowed them to behave and how it forbid them to behave at the same time, and how it was all about honour, nothing else - not love, happiness, safety - everything was for the honour of the family.

Elif’s writing style is flawless. She portrays her characters in the most perfect way, a way that matches the story so well - everything just flows.

I honestly have nothing negative to say about this novel.

Life-changing, truly.

How did you find the book?

J x

Book Review #2: Just Friends

Author(s): Billy Taylor

Genre: romance
Number of pages: 300
Released: 2016

RATINGS…

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 2/5
Overall enjoy-ability: 3/5

THOUGHTS?

I’m really sorry to start off negative, but the only thing that bugged me about this book, to the point where I was considering stopping reading it, is the grammar mistakes. I’m not sure if this was because I read it as an e-book, but I had to fight the urge to copy the writing into Word and edit it, and then send it to Billy. That’s why I gave ‘writing’ a 2. And why ‘enjoy-ability’ fell to 3, as well - I couldn’t focus properly on the actual story line.

Anyway, moving on to the more happy bits of me fangirling over the incredibly adoring relationship of August Bishop and Ethan Knight (and their very attractive-sounding names), I loved it. I loved the mysteriousness of Ethan, and the way August thinks like pretty much every teenage girl - the overthinking, the worrying for no reason, the over-excitement, ya’ll know what I mean. Girls are intense.

August and Ethan basically live the dream. She gets to go to NYC to film a movie, starring a famous super model who she becomes besties with, and he gets his own magic show, airing live on TV. Though I have to admit, some of his tricks made me panic as much as August was. And they live in a huge, super expensive, luxury apartment. Okay, maybe it’s unrealistic. But it’s nice to dream, especially if you’re a teenager living in gloomy England.

I liked their relationship to the point where I wished I had a best friend like Ethan, and a boyfriend like Ethan too. I think one of my favourite parts of romance stories is where the best friend becomes the boyfriend. Plus, that particular part in this book is so cute I was squealing (yes, I did get weird looks from certain members of my family). I was also considering copying their little tradition of August buying him a new tie every birthday and Christmas. This was such a tiny detail in the book, but every day she would describe the exact tie he was wearing and when she bought it for him. I love the idea of that.

The story is written in the form of a diary - August’s diary. Every chapter is titled with a different date, sometimes it’s consecutive days, and sometimes it’s a week or two later. I liked it when the chapters skipped a few days - I enjoy a bit of mystery as to what has been happening to August that she had no time to write. After all, being an actress is, no doubt, busy ;)

Another negative thing, and the other reason as to ‘overall enjoy-ability’ is on 3, is that some of the chapters waffle - there’s nothing going on, and if something does go on it either has no connection to the plot, character development, or a brand new piece of drama, or it’s just a random confusing couple of pages.

Overall, it’s an adorable romance novel. But it isn’t soppy - there’s some drama parts and there’s some mystery parts, too, it’s an all-in-one!

How did you like the book?

J x

Book Review #1: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Author(s): J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne

Genre: drama, fantasy
Number of pages: 320
Released: July 2016

RATINGS…

Plot: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
Overall enjoy-ability: 4/5

THOUGHTS?

This being the eight story of my beloved Harry Potter series (which I can’t deny being completely obsessed with), I was expecting something absolutely amazing. 19 years after the Golden Trio leave Hogwarts, we meet Harry’s, Ron’s, and Hermione’s kids. Albus Severus Potter, however, befriends Scorpius Malfoy. The plot revolves mainly around the adventures, or should I say misadventures, of the pair.

Because the book is a play-script, you can’t expect the exceptional details and descriptions of scenery, as our lovely Joanne made sure to have plenty of in the original saga. This was, in a way, a disappointment - what I loved so much about the Harry Potter books is the little details about a character’s way of speaking, the way they walk, the backstories, and how exactly a spell does its magic. But here, you sort of need to guess.

Maybe that’s the art of it, though? You’re the one who writes the story, in your head. I’m not sure what I think of this.

 There were some MAJOR plot twists that legitimately made me put the book down and stare at a wall for a good five minutes, trying to absorb what just happened. There’s a lot of time travelling going on - the boys seem to travel between different worlds, which is pretty mesmerising, and at the same time a little bit confusing. I found it ever so slightly difficult to keep up where and when they were at some points. Some characters (I won’t say who!!!!) turn out to be completely the opposite of who they claimed to be (yes, you, pretty girl who was pretending to be a goody-two-shoes for a good 200 pages before you turned absolutely evil. *kisses teeth*. Still not saying who it is - I don’t want to ruin the biggest plot twist in human history).

A lot of the old characters from the previous books return - this caught me off guard as much as it surprised Scorpius when he met them. The only detail I’ll reveal is that they’re supposed to be dead. I know that there’s a lot of debate withing the HP Fandom on who should not have died and whose death was the most dramatic. I’m sure everyone’s jaws will drop.

The complexity of characters, however, is amazing. That’s J. K. Rowling for you! Ablus’s relationship with Harry is heartbreaking and at the same time so relatable - I sympathised a lot with the pair of them, being a person who isn’t very good at expressing their feelings.

Overall, it was a really enjoyable story, and I’m dying to see the play. Maybe I’ll beg to go for my birthday.

How did you like the book?

J x