What I've Been Reading:'My Sister's Keeper' by Jodi Picoult

After reading 'Sing You Home' by Jodi Picoult earlier this year, I knew I would eventually read another one of her books. When I found a copy of 'My Sister's Keeper' for £2 in a local charity shop, I couldn't resist and started reading it straight away. The following day I'd reached the final page and was kind of sad to close the cover on the world I'd immersed myself in so completely.

Anna Fitzgerald is thirteen years old. All she wants is to live her life but part of being her means that in a way, she also has to live her sister's life. Unlike most people she knows, Anna wasn't just a happy accident, she was the result of a fertilisation process that involved selecting the embryo that was the perfect match to give her sick sister Kate the stem cell transplant that might just save her life. The result? While not being sick herself, Anna has undergone multiple medical processes throughout her short life, ranging from donating stem cells after her birth to bone marrow donation several years later. Now her parents want her to donate a kidney to her sister. But how long can this process go on for? How long can Anna keep being a donor for her sister?

Anna takes her case to hotshot lawyer Campbell Alexander, who agrees to represent her in her lawsuit. Anna has decided to sue her parents for medical emancipation. Aged thirteen, she believes it is time she has the last word when it comes to her body and helping her sister.

'My Sister's Keeper' tackles an issue that is very prevalent in the media, an issue that many people will have strong opinions on. But she tackles it with incredible sensitivity, showcasing perfectly the two sides of the coin, the pros and cons of conceiving one child to save another. This novel was beautifully written, kept me gripped throughout and had me both laughing and crying at various points. 

As with the last Picoult novel I read, I fell in love with the characters. In this case, mainly Anna and Campbell. Anna is the perfect know-it-all kid, a child wise beyond her years and heavy with social and familial responsibility. And Campbell is just a sarcastic weirdo - his excuses for why his Service dog Judge accompanies him everywhere get more and more random as the story progresses (my personal favourite is 'I have SARS, he helps me keep track of how many people I've infected') - who really managed to touch my heart. 

I'd recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good soppy read with plenty of courtroom drama. 

5/5

What I've Been Reading:'The Marvelous Land of Oz' by L Frank Baum

So, this is the second installment in the Oz series. It's kind of freaky, full of weird creatures and bizarre situations, and Dorothy doesn't so much as make an appearance (although she is referenced at one point) and yet this is still a fun little read.

The story opens with Tip, a farmboy fostered by illegal witch Old Mombi, who thinking it would be fun to scare his cruel guardian, creates Jack Pumpkinhead, a strange man made out of sticks and a pumpkin carved to look like a face. After Old Mombi casts an experimental spell on Jack, his unlikely form is brought to life, beginning a crazy adventure for himself and they young boy Tip.

Despite Dorothy's absence from the book, her old companions the Tin Man and The Scarecrow do make an appearance. The Scarecrow, now King of Oz and terribly weighed down by the crown sewn to his cloth head, has begun to let his brains get the better of him and spends his days sitting on his throne, chewing over the deep thoughts he had so longed for. The Tin Man on the other hand is now the kind-hearted leader of his own Empire, choosing to claim himself Emperor rather than King as he prefers the idea of a democracy over that of a kingdom.

But our Scarecrow leader is soon to find his seat on the throne at risk as a band of young feminists from across Oz turn up at the gates to the Emerald City wielding sharp knitting needles and a strong desire to overthrow the King and create a Matriarchal society where men will be repressed the way women have been for so long. Of course, the Emeralds paving the streets of Oz would also be a bit of a bonus.

This is a curious novel that was obviously heavily influenced by events at the time of its writing (the Suffrage movement springs to mind). It's definitely worth a read if you're into the whole Oz thing.

3/5

What I've Been Reading:'Sharp Objects' by Gillian Flynn

I've wanted to read Gillian Flynn's debut novel pretty much since it was released in 2009 but as so often happens, I just never got round to it. Until I stumbled across it in the Amazon Kindle Summer Sale for £1.99 and decided that was too good an offer to pass up. I devoured the book in a matter of days and while it's been a couple of weeks since I finished it, I still can't quite get the characters out of my head.

Chicago newspaper journalist Camille Preaker has just been assigned the most difficult job of her career. There's been a nasty child murder in her home town of Wind Gap, Missouri and Camille's boss wants her to head back into her past and get the full story. But Camille's hometown is full of ghosts, memories of pain, sadness and loss. Going back there may not be the best idea.

Triggered by the death of her young sister Marian when she was thirteen, Camille began carving her grief into her skin. Now, aged 32, she's finally put the self harm behind her but the visible memories remain. Camille's skin is covered in words, cut into her skin as an addictive form of self expression. Only one spot on her body remains free from words - a tiny circle of skin on her lower back that she had been unable to reach. But once she's back in Wind Gap, there's more than the words on her skin to remind Camille of her troubled past. There's her mother Adora to do that. Not to mention being surrounded by the High School cliques she grew up with and who seem stuck in the past, re-enacting their School days in an adult setting. As Camille comes to realise, nothing ever really changes after High School. We just get older.

But Camille has more to battle than her new proximity to her mother and thirteen year old half-sister Amma. She has her job to contend with. Two gruesome murders have plagued Wind Gap. Two pre-teen girls have been killed and their teeth pulled out. Who would do this kind of thing? Surely it must be someone from out of town, some drifter with a penchant for cruelty? I mean, no Wind Gap resident would ever kill one of their own, would they?

As Camille delves deeper into the mystery of the murdered girls, she finds herself sucked into her old life. Her troubled relationship with her mother is slowly re-emerging and the strangely Lolita-esque Amma is sending out confusing signals. What exactly does she want from Camille?

This is more than your simple Crime novel. This is a psychologically taut and emotionally deep novel. It's not afraid to touch on the more traumatic elements of family life and that's what I liked most about it. Camille is a complex character (one of my favourite kinds of character) with an even more complex history. And the relationship that she and her sister Amma have with their mother is incredibly disturbing and psychologically intriguing. 

This is one of the best crime novels I've ever read and Camille is definitely one of the best narrators I've read so far this year. I'd love to read a sequel that shows where Camille is now and how she's doing with her life. I'd recommend this novel to anyone who likes psychologically taut drama. And as you've probably guessed, I'm giving this a 5/5.

What I've Been Reading:'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' by L Frank Baum

I've had an obsession with Oz since I was a child. I watched the film over and over, memorizing lines and wishing the world of Oz was a real place. I also read the original novel, devoured it, loved it more than the film if that was possible. Recently I acquired the complete set of Oz books and I'm planning to make my way slowly through them. 

'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz' is, obviously, the first and most well-known novel in the fantasy series. And I was super excited to re-visit it after so long. I had actually forgotten just how much more happens in the book when compared to the Hollywood film version. 

I'm not really going to bother saying too much about this book because we all know the story. But I'd recommend anybody who only knows Oz via the film, read this. You'll be enthralled, I guarantee it. And I'm sure you'll love the story of how the tin man came to be made of tin as much as I do.

This is a quaint little book, a quick read that you can lose yourself in completely. Of course, I give it 5/5.

What I've Been Reading:'World Enough and Time' by Emma C. Williams

But at my back I always hear
Time's wingèd chariot hurrying near;
And yonder all before us lie
Deserts of vast eternity.

'To His Coy Mistress' ~ Andrew Marvell







'World Enough and Time' by Emma C. Williams was 'recommended' to me by Goodreads.com based on some books I'd read previously. The premise fascinated me and, seeing that I had it on my 'to-read' shelf, the author contacted me asking if I would like a copy to review. Of course, I accepted, and here we are...

Anna Jones is your typical 15 year old. Intelligent, sensitive and feisty she's got a lot going on. Firstly, there's Michael, a close friend who she'd like to be closer to, then there's the fiasco she's gotten herself into with her RE teacher and a badly phrased opinion. But the biggest thing going on in Anna's life right now is the build-up to an operation she's been waiting a lifetime for. An operation that could change her life completely.

You see, Anna has Goldenhar Syndrome, a genetic condition that prevented one side of her face developing at the same rate as the other. As a result, her face is severely asymmetric,  one half of her jaw is underdeveloped causing complex structural problems. Anna is also almost completely blind in one eye and has less than perfect hearing in one ear. She also has scoliosis of the spine as a result of her condition. And yet Anna does not let any of this get her down.

At fifteen, she's already gone through a lifetime of medical procedures, examinations and orthodontic devices but finally it is time for the operation of all operations. An eight hour procedure to transplant bone from one of her ribs into her jaw and hopefully make her face more symmetrical. Anna hopes that the procedure will allow her to live life in the same bubble of uncertainty that others do. There won't be any more over-friendly shop-keepers trying to show that they don't care how she looks, there won't be any more kids pointing and asking their parents what is wrong with her, and maybe, just maybe, Michael might find her attractive enough to date.

'World Enough and Time' is a beautiful novel. Told from Anna's point of view we get an exquisitely crafted and insightful look into the mind of a fifteen year old who just wants to live her life without prejudice. Unusually for a novel told from the point of view of a teenager, I really did feel like Anna was talking to me directly, as though the author had channelled Anna and was relaying her thoughts on to the page. Anna did not feel fictional. She felt thoroughly 3D, a fully developed character who I could really care about and wanted to spend time with. In fact, I didn't want the novel to end as I wanted to spend more time with Anna and her friends and I'd be happy to read an entire series of books devoted to Anna Jones. (Thankfully, I've discovered that Anna has her own blog! I'll definitely be checking that out.)

This novel taught me a lot. Not just about Goldenhar Syndrome, which I'd heard of before but didn't really know a lot about, but also about life in general. It taught me that no matter what we think of ourselves, no matter how hard it can be for us to believe that other people will ever find us beautiful, there will always be those who hold us up when we're down and see the beauty that hides within us. It made me pause for a moment in my own navel gazing and contemplate how different and more complicated my own life could be.

This is one of the best Young Adult novels I've read in the last couple of years and I want to urge any YA fans out there to get their hands on a copy and everybody else to buy a copy for any teenage girl in their life. 

5/5 - a firm new favourite.

What I've Been Reading:'To the 5th Power' by Shirin Dubbin

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher for an honest review.

I didn't actually finish this book. I got about 10% of the way in and simply couldn't go any further. I loved the idea - a retired superhero who has to go back into action to help catch three super-villains but I just couldn't get in to the story. It wasn't that it was poorly written or anything, it was more that it wasn't as detailed as it should have been. I felt almost as though the writer had scrimped on description and plot in order to keep the word count down. I might return to it eventually but at the moment it's just not my thing.

What I've Been Reading:'Rainbow Panda and the Firecracker Fiasco' by Eileen Wacker

So, I know kids books aren't my usual forte but I was invited to read this book on Netgalley and I have to admit that it really appealed to me. I have a soft spot for Pandas and so I decided to give it a go. It's a short read, obviously as it's aimed at the 4-8 age group and it only took about five minutes to read. If I had been reading it to a child. it would probably have taken longer as we would have lingered to admire the cute pictures and discuss the story. 

It's a clever little story about Chinese New Year and the mythology surrounding Chinese Dragons and how their actions can bring luck for the following year. There's also a moral story embedded in the plot - Fire is Dangerous. Do Not Play With Matches.

The writing wasn't great. I think it could have been edited down a great deal without losing any of the plot but the accompanying pictures made up for it, as did the handy little glossary at the back of the book which explains some Chinese customs and foods - this is a great idea in a kids book.

I would definitely like to check out the rest of the series (there are 6 books in total, all based around the same community of animals) and would love to read this to my little nephews who I think would really love it.

4/5

What I've Been Reading:'Saint Jude' by Dawn DeAnna Wilson

"No one expects you to make any sense. That gives you the freedom to be creative. It's like for the rest of us the world is a black and white TV show. For you, it's a Disney cartoon."

This is one of those books I've stumbled across when browsing Amazon for cheap / free Kindle titles. The slightly eerie cover image drew me to the book and the blurb pulled me in further so I hit that lovely little 'buy now' button.

Saint Jude's is a way-station for troubled teens. Specialising in adolescent mental illness, the group home takes in upper middle class teenagers like Taylor, whose Mom can no longer handle her Bipolar diagnosis. Taylor's lucky. The only experience she has of Psychiatric facilities is the plush ward on the fourth floor of a private hospital, and now the "family" environment of Saint Jude, governed by Big Daddy, the teens therapist and Big Momma, a sort of housekeeper, come psychiatric nurse.

The teens are all dealing with their own problems: bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, depression, and yet their lives have become entwined, they've been forced together by the stigma of mental illness and the pain they each feel inside their own fragile minds. Isolated from the "real world" the teens tick along, riding the waves of their mental disorders waiting to turn sixteen so they can leave. 

Until Dalton arrives. A replacement for Big Daddy, Dalton is a breath of fresh air in the stale therapeutic environment and he attempts to turn the teens lives around with shall we say non-traditional techniques and a new approach to therapy. 

Meanwhile, as Taylor begins to grow closer to the charismatic Blaine, she puts her own recovery on the line to become the person she thinks he wants to be. And when he leaves Saint Jude's for good, the fine thread that had been holding her together finally breaks.

This novel encompasses the darkness of a mental illness diagnosis and the brightness of recovery. It's a must-read for anybody going through a similar situation or really for anybody who just likes a bloody good teen protagonist and a plot that deals with strong, heart-wrenching issues without simply skimming the surface.

4/5 - purely because the copy I read could have done with some editing and grammatical tweaks.

What I've Been Reading:'Night Shift' by Stephen King

I've never been overly keen on short stories. I can see the merits of them of course, it's just that they're not for me. I struggle to stick with a collection of short stories because I can't keep my interest up. I like novels. I like the way we gradually begin to know and care for the characters. I like following the story arc and reaching the climax, and I love a book that lasts me a while, a nice thick tome that you get to know by carrying it around with you everywhere for a week or more. Short stories are more like bite-sized chunks to read in one sitting, and as such I just can't get on with them in the same way I can a novel.

But, as this was one of books on my personal Stephen King-a-thon challenge, I had to persevere, stick with it to the end. I didn't want to give up, miss it out of my challenge. It would have been failing at the first hurdle. Anyway, I really enjoyed a few of the stories and yet now that I closed the book and put it aside a few days ago, I can't seem to properly recall more than one or two of them. That's the problem with short stories for me, they don't capture my imagination enough that I'll remember them several years down the line.

However, if you're a fan of Stephen King or the horror genre in general, and you can tolerate the short story format, I'd recommend you give this a go.

3/5

What I've Been Reading:'The Panopticon' by Jenni Fagan

This is one of those books I'd read lots of good things about. It had high praise from some brilliant writers and I was really desperate to read it. However, as usual, that means that I was also reluctant to start reading it. I didn't want to be disappointed. I didn't want my high expectations to come crashing down. And now I feel really stupid and wish I had read it much sooner. Because this book was awesome.

At fifteen years old, Anais Hendricks has been through a hell of a lot. Born in a psychiatric facility to a schizophrenic mother, she is a lifer - a child who has been in the care system since birth and due to circumstance and behavioural issues can be expected to move from a care home to the prison system as an adult. There was a brief time in her childhood when things looked good for Anais. She had a loving adoptive Mother, who despite coming with her own set of issues, was a good Mum, providing Anais with a lively and educated upbringing. But things turned sour and Anais found herself back in the system, bouncing from one group home to the next and getting herself into a whole host of trouble in the process.

We first meet Anais in the back of a police car en route to the Panopticon, a care home for chronic young offenders. Anais knows why she's heading there - everybody thinks that she tried to murder a policewoman. What she doesn't know, is whether she is guilty. Yes, there's blood on her school skirt but she was far too off her face on various drugs to remember what she may or may not have done.

What follows is her journey through the trials and tribulations of proving her innocence, as well as trying to figure out who she really is when she has no idea where she really came from. There are a lot of really cool ideas in this book linking to identity that show just how important it is to our sense of self to know who our family are and how we came into the world. Being uncertain of her origins has led Anais to the belief that she was created by 'the Experiment' as a sort of study. She believes that the Experiment are continuously watching and monitoring her and that her life is nothing but one huge investigation into the human mind.

I loved the character of Anais, she's a girl you can really identify with. She's strong-willed, passionate and has an inner strength that a lot of us could really learn from. She doesn't let all of the shit she's gone through define her and she's so brilliantly clever and astute that you just want to get inside her mind and really rummage around in there until you find the answer to the meaning of life.

This novel tackles a lot of issues: the care system, sexuality, self harm, suicide, rape, murder, drug use, HIV, mental illness plus a lot more that I just can't even label. It's a fabulous, heart-wrenching, enlightening book and I would recommend it to anyone who has room for a troubled teen protagonist in their heart.

5/5

What I've Been Reading:'Lying Season' by Karina Halle

The fourth instalment in Karina Halle's 'Experiment in Terror' series, 'Lying Season' sees ghost-hunters Perry Palomino and Dex Foray investigate a supposedly haunted Mental Institute in Dex's hometown of Seattle. Which of course involves Perry staying with Dex and his vile girlfriend Jenn for a week. Cue seriously awkward scenes involving Jenn's atrocious attitude and self-love. 

We learn a lot more about what makes Dex tick in this novel. Scouring his bookcase for interesting reading material, Perry comes across Dex's stash of meds, hidden in a hollowed out book no less - I love that guy's style, weed goes in an unlocked drawer, medication must be hidden from his girlfriend... Oh Dex you get more complex, the more we get to know you. And more lovable to boot. Finding his various medications prompts Perry to find out more about Dex's mental health (or lack of) and results in a rather dodgy experiment that I don't want to spoil for you all.

We see some more of Perry's history in this book as well. Through dream sequences we are introduced to the 'accident' that has only been hinted at until now and we begin to see just how pervasive Perry's ghosts are. 

And we are introduced to yet another gruesome ghoul. This time, somebody we've heard about before. Remember Abby, Dex's ex? Well we get to see her in the rotting flesh as she haunts Dex's apartment and gets all threatening towards Perry. That girl creeped me out and I'm kinda hoping she makes an appearance in future instalments. I don't think we've seen everything she has to give. Oh and if you love Creepy Clown Lady as much as I do, you'll be happy to know she makes an appearance or two in 'Lying Season'.

Overall, I enjoyed this fourth novel in what is turning out to be an awesome series but I was a little disappointed by the lack of scares. I was itching to read this book as soon as I found out it involved a haunted asylum - yeah, I have a thing for creepy old mental institutes. But there just wasn't enough about the hospital to keep me completely pleased. Although the guy in the padded cell was bloody horrible. This books focus was more on the up and down relationship burgeoning between Dex and Perry and for me, that meant it lacked a bit of the gripping, nail-biting tension that the previous books had. But nevertheless it was a bloody brilliant book and I can't wait to read the next one.

3/5 (purely for not being scary enough!)

What I've Been Reading:'Dead Sky Morning' by Karina Halle

I adore the Experiment in Terror series by Karina Halle, I really do. It has everything. A kick-ass female protagonist, her snarky looney tunes colleague, ghostly goings-on, some seriously cool locations (a former leper colony for example) and a creepy clown lady. I mean what more could you want from a series? Plus, I think one of the things I really like about these books is that they're not just another vampire series. They're much more rooted in reality, in the real world. Okay, I know there are ghosts. But who the heck knows if ghosts are real... Perry and Dex might just have hit on something.

Anyway, 'Dead Sky Morning' is the third installment in the series, and for me it was a return to the things I loved about the first book in the series - real danger, some interesting history, and of course that old sexual tension between Perry and Dex. And without getting too close to spoiler territory, lets just say the sexual tension gets cranked up to the next level in this novel.

For the fourth episode of their web series, Dex is dragging Perry off to D'Arcy Island, a former Chinese leper colony. Now, intrigued by the story, I googled it (yeah I'm a geek, so shoot me) and discovered that D'Arcy Island is as real as they come. Which of course makes me love the book even more for being factually accurate...

So, Perry and Dex take a boat out to D'Arcy Island and anchor the boat as securely as they can manage on an island that is notorious for its dangerous approach and lack of safe docking area. And they hike to a campsite on the other side of the island. You know they're heading for trouble when the killer raccoons appear, or possibly before then when Perry sees someone watching her from the shores of the supposedly empty island. But then it wouldn't be an Experiment in Terror novel if there wasn't some peril involved.

And in this book it comes in the form of Mary, probably the creepiest damn dead woman I've ever had the displeasure of meeting in a novel. The ghost of a missionary woman, she has her own dirty secrets that keep her bound to the island and intent on stopping Perry and Dex from getting away. But we can't forget the mysterious coffins that wash up on shore, and the bizarre flash-mob Deer. The tension in this novel comes in wave after wave, cranking up notch by notch until you can hardly bear to read on. It was nail-biting, eye-covering, lip-chewing tension. And I loved it!

4/5

Reading Round-up:June

36. 'Queen's Gambit' by Elizabeth Fremantle: [5/5] A thoroughly enjoyable novelisation of Katherine Parr's years as consort to Henry VIII.

37. 'A Storm of Swords: part 2: Blood and Gold' by George R.R Martin: [5/5] Another great instalment to the Song of Ice and Fire series.

38. 'Sisterland' by Curtis Sittenfeld: [3/5] I had high hopes for this novel but found it fairly disappointing.

39. 'Claudia's Story' by Ashley Marie Witter: [4/5] A beautifully crafted graphic novel version of Claudia's plot line in 'Interview with the Vampire'.

40. 'Mandatory Release' by Jess Riley: [4/5] A thought-provoking novel set in a prison, that combines the dark side of life with the humour we need to invoke to survive it.

A slow reading month all in all but I'm not disappointed as I hit my target of 40 books in 2013! I can't believe I hit my target only halfway through the year. I wasn't actually expecting to read even 40 books in twelve months but I somehow managed it in six. Whatever I read now is an unexpected bonus.

What I've Been Reading:'Mandatory Release' by Jess Riley

I was kindly provided with a free copy of this novel for review purposes by the publishers.

I'm going to admit straight away that what drew me to this novel was the comparison that has been made to the US prison drama 'Oz', which happens to be one of the most addictive and compelling TV shows I have ever watched. The idea of a novel set in a prison, following the lives of two prison workers really appealed to me and I was excited to give it a go. I love to try something new and this was something I'd never come across in a book before.

30-something teacher Drew Daniels is frantically trying to escape her life and finds the solution she's looking for in moving back in with her parents and starting a new job at the local prison teaching Special Ed classes. It's as far from her usual life of teaching at an expensive private school as she can manage and she thinks it could be the medicine she needs to help her forget her troubles. Drew has just re-entered the world of the singleton after living the cosy, settled life with long-term partner Ben. We don't really know what happened with the relationship but we do know it ended badly. Badly enough that she would want to return to the scene of her adolescent years.

On her first day at Lakeside Correctional, Drew meets Joe, a Corrections Officer ten years her junior but just attractive enough that it stops her from caring about the age gap. She also bumps into Graham, an old friend from High School who is now a Social Worker at Lakeside and has found himself wheelchair-bound after an RTA left him paralysed from the waist down.

What follows is your typical girl meets guy, girl falls for guy while another guy falls for her story arc. Now, I don't usually read these kind of novels, and there was a point about half way in to the novel where I was tempted to put it aside and stop reading - not because the novel itself was bad but because it just wasn't turning out to be my kind of thing. However, the mystery of how Drew's relationship with Ben ended kept me reading. Hints had been dropped and I was anticipating some dirty secret was about to come out in the wash. And I wasn't disappointed. And I'm really glad that I kept reading because at about the 3/4 way mark, I started to really enjoy this novel. The characters began to come into their own, the plot spun off in a few thought-provoking angles and I wanted to keep reading.

The format of the novel took a little getting used to. It was told in chapters that alternated from Graham's first person narration and a third person perspective of Drew's experience. While I would usually find myself wanting to read more of the female character's point of view, I actually found myself enjoying Graham's chapters more than Drew's. I loved Graham's voice, his sarcasm and pessimistic world view. I really felt as though I was getting inside his head, that I could identify with his experiences, while I felt as though I was watching Drew from a distance which made it hard to connect with her. 

The subject matter of the novel was quite dark, which is a personal favourite of mine when it comes to choosing reading material, and yet it had an uplifting angle to it. Graham, especially brought humour to the darkness and stopped the novel becoming merely a diatribe against the American penal system. I enjoyed the way Jess Riley brought attention to the flaws of the Prison system - the overcrowding, the chaos, the risk for the prison workers. And the way she did it without preaching. We got to see the flaws and the problems with our own eyes rather than simply be told about them.

This was a thought-provoking read that I'm glad I stuck with. At some point in the future, I will probably return to it and read it again with fresh eyes, knowing that it is a book I am going to enjoy. I found the pop culture references quirky and kind of fun - when a fictional character compares their situation to one of your favourite films (Freedom Writers) it's bound to make you smile.

I'd recommend this book for anybody who likes quirky humour, a bit of darkness and a story firmly rooted in reality. I'll definitely be checking out some of Jess Riley's earlier novels.

4/5

What I've Been Reading:'Interview With the Vampire: Claudia's Story' by Ashley Marie Witter and Anne Rice

I have been a huge fan of Anne Rice's 'Vampire Chronicles' since I first discovered 'Interview with the Vampire' when I was 16 years old. She was the writer who introduced me to the Vampire canon and her writing has really influenced my reading habits.

While browsing through the graphic novel section at my local library, I came across this little gem, a graphic novel representation of Claudia's plot line, told from her perspective. I simply had to read this.

I've always been captivated by the idea of Claudia, of a child turned into a Vampire; a mind that grows from childish notions to an adult understanding of the world while trapped, frozen in time forever in the fragile body of a young child. How torturous it would be to remain a child forever, to have people treat you as an immature being when you are a decades old being, have seen a lifetime of change and several lifetimes of death.

This adaptation didn't really add anything to the story told in 'Interview with the Vampire', in fact it was pretty much just Claudia's scenes transferred from word to image. However, the images were so beautiful that I'm willing to overlook that. The drawings were in sepia throughout, with splashes of brilliant red to depict blood, whether the life-giving blood drained from victims or the blood tears Claudia frequently cries. I think the lack of colour was significant, added something to the story. Colour would have detracted from the storytelling, would have made Claudia's melancholia less dramatic and vivid.

I enjoyed this graphic novel and would recommend it to any fan of Anne Rice or even anybody who simply enjoys a good graphic novel.

4/5

What I've Been Reading:'A Storm of Swords: Blood and Gold' by George R.R Martin

The books in this series just keep getting better and better! As always, when writing a review of a book that is part of a longer series, I'm going to find it difficult to say too much without edging into the territory of the spoiler, so I'll try and keep this short and sweet. However, if you haven't yet reached this part of the series, you might want to skip this review as it will reveal things you don't already know.

This instalment picks up exactly where the last one left off, mainly because the two 'A Storm of Swords' books were originally published as one larger volume. 

Robb Stark is the King in the North but he has yet to deal with Lord Walder Frey, whom he slighted by choosing a bride for love rather than marrying the Frey daughter he had bound himself to back when the war was just beginning. Arya Stark is desperately trying to find her way home to her family but keeps finding herself in all manor of trouble, while her sister Sansa is still at the mercy of the Lannister's after being forced to marry Tyrion Lannister aka the Imp. Meanwhile Bran Stark is searching for the three eyed crow beyond the wall and his half brother Jon Snow is busy infiltrating the Wildlings as they attempt to breach the wall and make their way into the seven kingdoms.

Daenarys, on the other hand is busy building her army and liberating slaves as she makes her slow journey through the slave trading cities, always with invasion of Westeros at the front of her mind. Stannis Baratheon is busy with Melisandre, concocting ways of winning this war and poor Samwell Tarly is making his way across the frozen waste with Gilly and her newborn baby, desperately hoping to make it back to the Wall in time. And Jaime Lannister, that golden haired hero has found himself freed of the burden of his fighting hand and is going to have to re-build his life once he returns to King's Landing.

And then there's Joffrey, the character we all love to hate. He's still acting the petulant child with too much power and not enough restraint. His Grandfather, the Hand of the King is busy trying to reign him in but for how long can he hold him back. Can he stop him from becoming the next 'Mad king'?

The events of this novel are perhaps the most gruesome so far. There are deaths galore - many of which you will not have seen coming and will probably make you rant and rage at the book. This book is full of shocks and surprise twists and I think it's probably the best so far. I feel like it's definitely sent the series spinning off in a direction completely different to the one I had previously envisaged. I'm excited to get cracking with the next instalment and can't wait to see what evil little plot bombs Mr Martin comes up with next. But please, don't kill off anymore of my favourite characters. I don't think I could bear much more.

5/5

What I've Been Reading:'Sisterland' by Curtis Sittenfeld

I was kindly given a free review copy of this book by Random House.

I wanted to love this book, I really did. I had really high expectations after having read 'Prep' several times and loving it even more on each re-reading, and enjoying Sittenfeld's second novel 'The Man of my Dreams'. Since I first found out about 'Sisterland' I've been itching to get my hands on a copy, desperate to see if it lived up to its predecessors. Unfortunately, I'm a little torn as to what my concrete opinion on this novel is.

The premise of this novel is an interesting one. Twin sisters Violet and Daisy Shramm grew up burdened with 'senses', a set of psychic talents including strong 'hunches', precognitive dreams and an unusual entity called 'Guardian'. While Vi openly embraced her psychicness, adopting it as a quirky personality trait and later, a unique business opportunity, Daisy pushed off in the opposite direction, abandoning her 'senses' and trying to become as normal as possible, firstly by changing her name to 'Kate' and then by becoming a married stay at home mom to two young children. But the twins are drawn together by their 'sense' of an impending earthquake due to hit their home town of St Louis on 16th October. While Vi tries desperately to spread the word and save people from danger, Kate withdraws into her own personal world, trying to keep things going amidst the chaos of her sisters rising fame and her burgeoning friendship with stay at home dad Hank.

The novel had a promising start - the idea of 'senses' really intrigued me and I was interested to find out whether Violet's earthquake premonition would actually play out. But what started well seemed to spiral into    a monotonous narrative of Kate's adult life with young children interspersed with lengthy flashbacks of her teenage and college years. 

If I'm honest, I started to find Kate a little boring and wanted to read more about Violet's crazy life. Plus, some of Kate's ideas and opinions were just so in contrast to my own that she seriously started to irritate me. I mean in the first scene, she is pretty much disgusted by Violet's bisexuality and attraction to women, and she's constantly looking down her nose at women her age who haven't yet had children. Plus, you've already introduced Hank as being black, you really don't need to drag out the racial differences in almost every chapter. Readers aren't stupid enough that they're going to forget his race when it comes down to the crucible of the plot.

Speaking of which, I spent most of the novel, hoping that Vi's earthquake prediction was going to be correct. I wanted her to have that, I really did. And yet the whole earthquake issue was sort of brushed over at the end of the novel. It felt sort of anticlimactic. I'd spent all this time waiting for this huge scene and was completely let down. I don't want to give too much of the plot away here but I will say that I wasn't impressed that what could have been a brilliant plot became a metaphor, a learning exercise. I wanted drama, chaos, destruction and what I got was an embarrassing secret that will be dragged out for the rest of Kate's life.

Like I said, I really wanted to enjoy this novel. And I did to a point. As always with Curtis Sittenfeld, the prose was beautiful and her description was incredibly detailed, giving the reader the sense of knowing St Louis without ever having to go there. But ultimately, the book was a bit of a let-down and won't be going on my favourites list alongside 'Prep'.

3/5

What I've Been Reading:'Queen's Gambit' by Elizabeth Fremantle

The US cover art for 'Queen's Gambit' by Elizabeth Fremantle

I was kindly given a free copy of this book by Simon and Schuster for review purposes.

It isn't often that I read historical novels (although between the ages of 15 and 18 I became slightly obsessed with novels set in and around King Arthur's Camelot) but there was something about Elizabeth Fremantle's novel that really attracted me. I have vague memories of studying the Tudors in both Primary School and Secondary School and the time period always captured my imagination, especially the reign of King Henry VIII. There were certain things about him that fascinated me such as the amount of wives he managed to work his way through, the fact that he refused to acknowledge his daughters as legitimate, and perhaps most importantly, his role in the Reformation and as head of the Church of England. So of course, I couldn't miss an opportunity to read a novel set in the time of his reign.

Elizabeth Fremantle's debut novel, 'Queen's Gambit' is the tale of Katherine Parr, King Henry VIII's sixth and final wife. Widowed for the second time at the age of 31, Katherine dreams of marrying again, for love this time rather than the match-making that is rife in the court of King Henry. When she meets Thomas Seymour, brother-in-law to the King and close friend of her brother, Will, she thinks she's found herself the perfect match. She has begun to feel things she never felt for her previous husbands, is enjoying life and love. But the King has other plans.

On the lookout for his next potential wife, Henry Tudor finds himself drawn to Katherine's intelligence, wit and kindness. And so he begins an attempt to seduce her, showering her with lavish gifts and attention. When he eventually requests her hand in marriage, Katherine can do nothing but say yes. To refuse would be impossible and could cost her her life. And so she must once again marry a man she can not and does not love and cast the handsome and charming Thomas Seymour aside. And so begins Katherine Parr's tumultuous marriage to one of the most hot-headed monarchs in England's history. 

'Queen's Gambit' covers a span of five years and follows Katherine from the deathbed of her second husband Latymer to her own deathbed several years later. And what a crazy, action-packed five years those were for Katherine. Being wife to Henry Tudor isn't all that glamorous. He's a flabby, ageing grump with ulcerous legs who leaves the stench of decay in a room long after he's gone. Katherine must be both nurse-maid and bed-mate to Henry as well as the gem on his arm to be paraded in front of his court. She must be mother to his three children (all of whom lost their own mothers to Henry's short temper) and Meg, the stepdaughter she raised with Latymer, as well as trying to give Henry another son. But most of all she must be careful. She must not let Henry see her secret desire for Thomas Seymour, but most of all she must keep her Reformative notions private.

Katherine is a staunch Reformationist. She doesn't believe in Transubstantiation, she wants the bible to be printed in English, no longer only accessible to those of the highest education. She reads the banned texts of Luther and other Reformationist thinkers and meets secretly with Anne Askew, who would later be burnt at the stake for her opinions.

Katherine is a brave woman, a strong woman who manages to stay true to her beliefs and succeeds in outliving her tyrannical husband. And despite everything she goes through, she manages to never give up on love, on her love for Thomas Seymour.

Elizabeth Fremantle's depiction of the chaos, intrigue and romance of the court of Henry VIII is exquisite. Reading her novel, I felt as though I had truly been transported back in time, was getting a sneak peak into the lives of  public figures who have always felt so distant, so faded when presented to me in non-fiction format. I can't imagine just how much research must have gone into this novel. It felt flawless, seamless. There wasn't a single point where I paused in my reading to wonder if something was factually accurate. I simply suspended my belief and went with the flow, which is something only the best novels can get me to do.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel, even found myself staying up late into the night to finish it, which is something I haven't done in a long while and is a good marker of how much a book manages to grip me. I would recommend this novel to anybody with even the slightest interest in the history of the Tudors. And I think it's a great gateway into the genre for anybody who doesn't usually read Historical fiction.

5/5

Reading Round-up:May

24. 'A Storm of Swords 1. Steel and Snow' by George R.R. Martin: [5/5] A great addition to a brilliant on-going series.

25. 'Memory's Wake' by Selina Fenech: [5/5] A beautiful Young Adult fantasy title including images drawn by the author.

26. 'If I Stay' by Gayle Forman: [5/5] A sweet, thought-provoking Young Adult novel about life and death that had me in tears.

27. 'Darkhouse' by Karina Halle: [5/5] A seductively scary piece of writing. A brilliant opening to a series.

28. 'No Plot, No Problem' by Chris Baty: [4/5] A kick up the arse for flagging novelists.

29. 'Paper Towns' by John Green: [5/5] A deep and meaningful Young Adult novel that still manages to retain some humor despite its serious subject matter.

30. 'The Shining' by Stephen King: [5/5] A creepy psychological horror that will have you hooked.

31. 'Red Fox' by Karina Halle: [5/5] A brilliant follow-up to 'Darkhouse'. A fantastic continuation of the Experiment in Terror series.

32. 'The Benson' by Karina Halle: [4/5] An Experiment in Terror novella that manages to pack a scary punch despite its short length.

33. 'Rage' by Stephen King as Richard Bachman: [3/5] A now-banned book about a school shooting that really gets you thinking.

34. 'The Moth Diaries' by Rachel Klein: [5/5] A psychological horror that offers some substance to the Vampire saturated Young Adult market.

35. 'Horns' by Joe Hill: [5/5] A cleverly plotted mystery imbued with some amazing supernatural elements. Not all that scary but horror in the truest sense.

I also read two short stories this month which I didn't blog about because they weren't really that outstanding. If you're interested, they were 'New Girl (Anti-Heroes #1) by Louise Bohmer and 'NightmareZ Asylum' by Irma Geddon.

Looking back, it seems as though I really enjoyed the books I read in May. There are a whole bunch of five star ratings there. I can't actually believe I read 14 books either. That's got to be a record for me. And it takes me to 35 books read this year, which means that I'm only five books away from completing my personal target of completing 40 books in 2013. I'm not certain yet whether I'll up my goal or just consider it completed and enjoy reading as many books as I can. I'll have to wait and see how I feel.

What I've Been Reading:'Horns' by Joe Hill

The "New York Times" bestselling author of "Heart-Shaped Box" returns with a relentless supernatural thriller that runs like Hell on wheels . . .

Merrin Williams is dead, slaughtered under inexplicable circumstances, leaving her beloved boyfriend Ignatius Perrish as the only suspect. On the first anniversary of Merrin's murder, Ig spends the night drunk and doing awful things. When he wakes the next morning he has a thunderous hangover . . . and horns growing from his temples. Ig possesses a terrible new power to go with his terrible new look--a macabre gift he intends to use to find the monster who killed his lover. Being good and praying for the best got him nowhere. Now it's time for revenge . . .

"It's time the devil had his due. . . . "

The blurb on this book really intrigued me. I love horror, in fact it's probably my favourite genre. There's just something about a book that creeps you out and has you checking the room before you go in that I love. Maybe it has something to do with the flight or fight thing, adrenaline pumping through your veins. Horror writing does for me what sky diving does for other people. It makes me feel alive.

This was a stunning read. It had everything I look for in a good novel. There was horror (of both the human and non-human kind), there was a good mystery, a bit of romance and a huge helping of suspense.

Ignatius "Ig" Perrish wakes up to find he has grown a pair of horns overnight. And as if that wasn't weird enough, they seem to have some strange effect on the people around him, causing them to tell him their deepest secrets and darkest desires. In just the first 24 hours of having the horns, he finds out more about his family and friends than he ever wanted to know. And he begins to realise that there may just be one advantage to the horns. They could help him find out the truth about who murdered his girlfriend and help him clear his name.

And so begins an adventure into the dark minds of his loved ones as he tries to unravel the mysteries surrounding his girlfriend's death, while entering the no man's land of evil that lurks within man's heart.

This was one of those deep and meaningful horrors, the kind that doesn't set out to simply scare you but instead creeps inside your mind and takes root there, making you think of things differently, contemplate your own mortality.

I loved this book and can't wait to read more by Joe Hill, especially his latest novel 'NOS4R2'. I'd recommend his work for any of you who are fans of his dad (the infamous Stephen King in case you didn't know).