This vs that .. monthly book edition

Reading is always an adventure, will I like this book or won't I? You never know.

So I thought, why not write a post about the books I enjoyed and ones.. I didn't quite, a monthly edition, with my reviews and the book descriptions too!

**possible spoilers**

January

Best Book

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold : 5/5

• After being brutally murdered, 14-year-old Susie Salmon watches from heaven over her grief-stricken family - and her killer. As she observes their daily lives, she must balance her thirst for revenge with her desire for her family to heal.

My Review : The Lovely Bones is such a bittersweet read, filled with heartbreak and passion. You really fall in step with the family of the deceased and the victim, embarking on their journey of self discoverment, after such a horrible tragedy.

Each family member copes silently and in their own way, it's rather sad and frustrating, but eventually they learn to fall on each other, and become a family once more.

It's an interesting perspective reading from Susie up in her own heaven, you feel everything she feels. You became engrossed in her recovery and her peace, wanting her to be avenged and to find happiness.

Worst Book

Little Foxes by Michael Morpurgo : 4/5

• Bullied at school, nagged at home, there's only one place Billy feels really alive and happy—in the wilderness by the canal. There he watches over a family of fox cubs as they grow toward maturity. Then his secret is discovered, and the fox family is decimated. Unwanted, unloved, Billy and the one surviving fox cub run for their lives. Michael Morpurgo’s compassionate story finds hope—and finally happiness—in the life of a vulnerable child, with beautifully detailed observations of wildlife.

My Review : I read a lot of good books in January, including this one but this is the one I have to put as my 'worst' I guess. I remember this book being really wholesome, a boy and his fox, his friend, on an adventure together, it's rather adorable. It's a book I would read when I'm in a certain mood, perhaps calm and happy. I definitely recommend this book, I think it will surprise you.

February

Best Book

The Surgeon by Tess Gerritsen : 5/5

• A killer who targets lone women, who breaks into their apartments and performs terrifying ritualistic acts of torture on them before finishing them off. His surgical skills lead police to suspect he is a physician - a physician who, instead of saving lives, takes them.

• But as homicide detective Thomas Moore and his partner Jane Rizzoli begin their investigation, they make a startling discovery. Closely linked to these killings is Catherine Cordell, a beautiful doctor with a mysterious past. Two years ago she was subjected to a horrifying rape and shot her attacker dead.

• Now the man she believes she killed seems to be stalking her once again, and this time he knows exactly where to find her...

My Review : I liked this book much more than I expected to, its such a gritty, intense thriller. Personally, it's my perfect crime novel, The Surgeon is such a raw read, it's real, and isn't afraid to go into the nasty details. The characters are rather interesting too, I enjoyed reading Rizzoli's perspective, as a woman struggling to be respected, it's relatable and she is a character that is strong and intelligent, she's a good character to like and look up to. Overall it's a jaw dropping, psychological adventure, a really great book.

Worst Book

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen : 2/5

• In 1967, after a session with a psychiatrist she'd never seen before, eighteen-year-old Susanna Kaysen was put in a taxi and sent to McLean Hospital. She spent most of the next two years on the ward for teenage girls in a psychiatric hospital as renowned for its famous clientele--Sylvia Plath, Robert Lowell, James Taylor, and Ray Charles--as for its progressive methods of treating those who could afford its sanctuary.

• Kaysen's memoir encompasses horror and razor-edged perception while providing vivid portraits of her fellow patients and their keepers. It is a brilliant evocation of a "parallel universe" set within the kaleidoscopically shifting landscape of the late sixties. Girl, Interrupted is a clear-sighted, unflinching document that gives lasting and specific dimension to our definitions of sane and insane, mental illness and recovery.

My Review : I did not like Girl, Interrupted, I was rather disappointed as I enjoy the movie. The author wrote this book as a memoir but to me it seemed like a story as well - I'd have liked Susanna to have wrote it as a true story, or one or the other, rather than trying to mix the two. It didn't seem like it had a true narrative, and it made the writing quite confusing to say the least. I think it is a really important book, exposing the bad treatment of people with mental health conditions, it still goes on even today. I think that's the only reason I did not give this book a 1*.

March

Best Book

Me Before You by Jojo Moyes : 5/5

• Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

• Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

My Review : Me Before You is easily in my top 5 favourite books, I loved it so much. The plot is like a huge wave of emotions, it's almost overwhelming. I adore Lou with all my heart, she's a character that is full of life, she's so bright and sunny that it's an infectious feeling and you can't help but be invested in her. This novel is so beautiful and tragic, it's a 'read in one sitting' sort of book.

Worst Book

Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Paterson : 3/5

• Bridge to Terabithia is about Jess Aarons and Leslie Burke, two fifth-graders who become friends and create an imaginary land called Terabithia, where they can go to forget about their problems. The book deals with themes of friendship, childhood, and being an individual.

My Review : This is a cute story, all about friendship and innocence, it's a nice quick book for when you're in one of those moods where you just want a short, wholesome read. I love Leslie and her quirkiness, she's a character who can put a smile on your face.

April

Best Book

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins : 5/5

• Katniss and Peeta have won the brutal Hunger Games. But the Capitol is angry. Now it’s payback time. Strap your knuckle-dusters on: here comes round two of Peeta and Katniss’s epic fight. It’s deadly. It’s scary. The body-count is crazy. And only one of them can survive.

My Review : Catching Fire is my favourite sequel that I've read. It packs just as much action and drama into it as its predecessor. The location of The Hunger Games event is perhaps the one I love the most, the clock that decides which choice of disaster to use against the tributes is so interesting to me, it adds that extra bit of tension. And of course it has Peeta in it, the sweetheart of the hunger games, the character I adore above all others.

Worst Book

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill : 2/5

• Arthur Kipps, a junior solicitor in London, is summoned to Crythin Gifford to attend the funeral of Mrs Alice Drablow, and to sort through her papers before returning to London. It is here that Kipps first sees the woman in black and begins to gain an impression of the mystery surrounding her. From the funeral he travels to Eel Marsh House and sees the woman again; he also hears the terrifying sounds on the marsh.

• Despite Kipps’s experiences he resolves to spend the night at the house and fulfil his professional duty. It is this night at Eel Marsh House that contains the greatest horror for Kipps. Kipps later discovers the reasons behind the hauntings at Eel Marsh House.

My Review : This is one of those rare times where the movie adaptation is so much better than the book. I was disappointed with this, it’s not quite the ghost story it’s made out to be. For one, The Woman In Black is hardly in it, it’s more about the place he’s staying and the journey than the actual events of the woman in black. The writing style wasn’t my favourite either, I found that a lot seemed to be almost grammatically incorrect and could’ve been written much simpler. However it was very descriptive and described things quite nicely.

May

Best Book

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott: 5/5

• Stella Grant likes to be in control—even though her totally out of control lungs have sent her in and out of the hospital most of her life. At this point, what Stella needs to control most is keeping herself away from anyone or anything that might pass along an infection and jeopardize the possibility of a lung transplant. Six feet apart. No exceptions.

• The only thing Will Newman wants to be in control of is getting out of this hospital. He couldn’t care less about his treatments, or a fancy new clinical drug trial. Soon, he’ll turn eighteen and then he’ll be able to unplug all these machines and actually go see the world, not just its hospitals.

• Will’s exactly what Stella needs to stay away from. If he so much as breathes on Stella she could lose her spot on the transplant list. Either one of them could die. The only way to stay alive is to stay apart. But suddenly six feet doesn’t feel like safety. It feels like punishment.

• What if they could steal back just a little bit of the space their broken lungs have stolen from them? Would five feet apart really be so dangerous if it stops their hearts from breaking too?

My Review : I loved this book so much! I adored the characters and the plot that was really sad yet incredibly moving and beautiful. I didn’t want it to end, and I could not put it down, I recommend giving it a read.

Worst Book

The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena : 2/5

• Your neighbour told you that she didn't want your six-month-old daughter at the dinner party. Nothing personal, she just couldn't stand her crying.

• Your husband said it would be fine. After all, you only live next door. You'll have the baby monitor and you'll take it in turns to go back every half hour.

• Your daughter was sleeping when you checked on her last. But now, as you race up the stairs in your deathly quiet house, your worst fears are realized. She's gone.

• You've never had to call the police before. But now they're in your home, and who knows what they'll find there.

My Review : I was quite bored throughout this book. It could have been much shorter, the kidnapper was revealed half way in, so it made the last half of the book unnecessary and it dragged on. I also didn’t understand the step dads role, to me it didn’t make much sense, it seems like the author went out of the way to make it more complicated than necessary. It wasn’t un enjoyable but not a top read.

June

Best Book

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven : 4/5

• Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.

• Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister's recent death.

• When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it's unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the 'natural wonders' of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It's only with Violet that Finch can be himself - a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who's not such a freak after all. And it's only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet's world grows, Finch's begins to shrink.

My Review : This book ripped my heart open, in a good way, I think.

It is so beautiful and poetic, an incredible reading experience. I really felt like I went on that journey with them, I was laughing, I was crying and I was hopeful, such a raw and emotional read.

I enjoyed the style of writing too. It was a great book.

Although I wasn't too keen on Violet, I thought she was judgemental towards Flinch and could've tried a lot harder with him than she did.

Worst Book

If I Stay by Gayle Forman : 3/5

• Mia had everything: a loving family, a gorgeous, adoring boyfriend, and a bright future full of music and full of choices. Then, in an instant, almost all of that is taken from her. Caught between life and death, between a happy past and an unknowable future, Mia spends one critical day contemplating the one decision she has left—the most important decision she’ll ever make.

My Review : I thought this book was a decent read but it wasn’t anything exciting. It was a bit boring at times, she gets into the accident in the first chapter and in the last chapter she wakes up. Everything in between was just filler, nothing extraordinary happened. And the characters happen to be just okay, I liked reading this but I wasn't blown away.

July

Best Book 

The BookThief by Markus Zusak : 5/5

• Liesel, a nine-year-old girl, is living with her foster family on Himmel Street. Her parents have been taken away to a concentration camp. Liesel steals books. This is her story and the story of the inhabitants of her street when the bombs begin to fall.

• SOME MORE IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

• THIS NOVEL IS NARRATED BY DEATH.

• It's a small story, about: a girl, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter and quite a lot of thievery.

• ANOTHER THING YOU SHOULD KNOW: DEATH WILL VISIT THE BOOK THIEF THREE TIMES.

My Review : I was in shock after reading this book. I think it’s one of the most beautiful and original novels I have ever read, the writing was incredible. It is well worth the read, I can’t remember ever feeling this way after reading something, just amazed.

I finished The Book Thief and said ‘wow’.

Worst Book

12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup : 2/5

• Solomon Northup, citizen of New-York, kidnapped in Washington city in 1841, and rescued in 1853, from a cotton plantation near the Red River in Louisiana, is a memoir by Solomon Northup as told to and edited by David Wilson. It is a slave narrative of a black man who was born free in New York state but kidnapped in Washington, D.C., sold into slavery, and kept in bondage for 12 years in Louisiana. He provided details of slave markets in Washington, D.C. and New Orleans, as well as describing at length cotton and sugar cultivation on major plantations in Louisiana.

My Review : This was an emotional true story about a man sold into slavery, it’s definitely worth a read.

However, I found it difficult to get through, I was confused most of the way through, I couldn’t quite follow what was happening.

I’m glad i’ve read it but I don’t think I would read it again.