April Bookish Wrap Up
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Hello Readers,
I hope April was a kind month for you all and that you enjoyed any books you were able to read.
I actually had a decent reading month and managed to read quite a few books ~ thanks to reading some via audiobooks. So here are the books I read and my thoughts on them…
The Girls I’ve Been by Tess Sharpe
This was my Book club’s Buddy Read Book for April and I’m glad to say that everyone who read it, enjoyed it.
The Girls I’ve Been follows Nora and the story is split between past and present timelines. In the present timeline, Nora and two of her friends find themselves trapped a bank in the middle of a robbery and the past timeline gives you insight into Nora’s life; All the girls she’s previously been when her mother used her in cons she would pull off on men to take their money. As the present storyline progresses, you can see Nora drawing on all the skills she learned from the girls of her past to try to save everyone in the bank.
I really enjoyed this book and the way it was structured. Seeing how Nora’s childhood experiences shaped her into the person she was in the present was really interesting, if difficult reading at times, but I felt it worked for this story and made it feel very unique ~ I don’t think I’ve read another book like this. The dynamic between Nora, Wes and Iris in the present chapters was wonderful, I love a good bit of found family in books and these three are some of my favourites!
One other thing I really liked as the fact that Iris has Endometriosis and there are little mentions of how the condition is effecting her while she’s trapped in the bank. I also liked the fact that Tess Sharpe addressed the condition in her author note, stating that she too lives with it. Tess also included a list of helpful organisations for anyone living in abusive conditions and needing help. I think the only other time I’ve seen this type of addition is in John Green’s Turtles All The Way Down and I feel this is something more authors or publishers should include, as lots of contemporary fiction deals with things people are actually experiencing, so giving them helpful resources would be great.
Just one final note regarding this book: There is talk of child abuse within the past timeline, so just be aware of that if you do decide to pick this book up.
Double Cross / Crossfire / Endgame by Malorie Blackman
I’ve grouped these three together as they’re books 4 - 6 of the Noughts and Crosses Series that I’ve been working my way through since the beginning of the year. My plan was to read a book a month but then I saw that my library had all the audiobooks so I managed to read the past three books during April. I feel I’ve mentioned this series so much that I’m not going to go into detail about it as I’m sure you know what it’s about by now.
I did enjoy this series overall and I’m really glad I picked it up. I don't often get to read a full series, one book after the other from start to finish, as most of the other series I’m reading aren’t yet completed. So it was interesting to see how the story progressed and the world changed as time passed with each book. Though I’ll say that the first and fifth books are definitely my favourites and Endgame gave a satisfying ending to the series.
Even though the topic of race and equality are a theme through all of the books, I felt it was talked about far more in some of the books than others, but that made it feel more realistic. As in real life, some event will happen to trigger a huge discussion but even when the discussion “seems” to die down, the issues are still there simmering away and I felt that’s how these books were ~ some contained big events while others were in that simmering stage but all of it still important and relevant to the world. That’s why I felt the way Malorie Blackman handled these issues was really thought provoking, especially since the history of the Noughts and Crosses world is the opposite to our own ~ People of colour have the power here and white people are fighting for equality, no matter the cost.
If you’re looking for a dystopian series to get your teeth into, then I’d recommend this one as there’s plenty of action and emotion throughout all of the books.
This a collection of 3 short stories that fit into Brandon Sanderson’s Skyward series ~ they start towards the end of the second book and run along side the third book. Each story follows a different character from the main series, two of which are part of Skyward Flight with Spensa {the main character of the series} and while I adore Spensa, it was so nice to spend time with these other characters and to see this world from their perspective as they’re both some of my favourite side characters as well. So I really enjoyed getting to know them more and how they view the situation they’re in and what they’re dealing with while Spensa is off doing what she’s doing during the second and third books of the series.
I can’t really tell you much more than that as these stories are so tied into the main series that would spoil it for you but if you love Sci-Fi, I highly recommend the Skyward Series as a whole as it’s just so wonderful. Even if you’re not a Sci-Fi lover but are wanting to try the genre, I’d recommend this series as there’s plenty of action but it’s not overly complicated as some Sci-Fi’s can be. Brandon Sanderson’s writing is so immersive and the characters within this series are some of my all time favourites that I will never stop recommending this series ~ seriously please go read it!
I read this collection of poems many years ago and decided that I wanted to get my own copy of them so I could re-read them. For those of you that aren’t aware, the musical Cats is based on this poetry collection and I’ll admit while reading some of them, I did find myself hearing the melody of some of them ~ which in a strange way, helped with the rhythm of the prose.
They’re definitely a product of their time with one or two terms being used regarding others of different ethnicity that really isn’t okay today ~ I mean they weren’t okay then but sadly, it was more accepted. But I’m glad I decided to re-read them as the majority of them are really amusing, especially living in a house with four cats and seeing a few of their personalities shown in a few of the poems.
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
I have been wanting to read Leaves of Grass for a long time and I’m so glad that I finally picked it up. I first came across Walt Whitman while Little Women for the first time and then many years later, I read John Green’s Papertowns and Leaves of Grass plays a big role within that story and that made me even more intrigued to pick this poetry collection up.
So this book has been sat on my Wishlist for a very long time and I decided to finally get it and read it and I’m so glad I did. Whitman’s style of free verse and his observations on life around him are wonderfully insightful. He talks about the “smaller things” in life like they’re just as important as the bigger things {which I feel they are} and as someone who has had to learn to live a smaller life than the “norm”, I loved that so much.
While I enjoyed poetry when I was younger, I rarely seem to read it anymore {don’t be fooled by the fact I’ve read two collections this month.} but I have a feeling this won’t be the only time I read Leaves of Grass, as it’s one of those books that has just stayed me and I can’t seem to explain why. But isn’t that the mark of good writing? It makes you feel something that you in turn can’t quite put into words.
So there we have it, those are all the books I managed to read this month. I’ve not really got a TBR for May as such, I’ve got two books that I need to prioritise ~ one is for my Book Club and the other is for a Book Tour but other than that I’m not entirely sure what I want to read. I’ve got a couple books in mind that I’d like to get to but I’m very much a mood reader so whether I pick those up depends on how the month goes.
But here’s what I need to read and what I might pick up after I’ve read those:
Felix Unbound by Cathy Gunn
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
The Loneliest Girl In The World by Lauren James
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
Have you read of the books I read during April or any of the ones I Amy be reading this month? I’d love to know your thoughts on them if you have. {no spoilers of course.}
Stay Safe. Read a Book
L x
