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:'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:'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:'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:'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:'Rage' by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman

“When you're five and you hurt, you make a big noise in the world. At ten you whimper. But by the time you make fifteen you begin to eat the poisoned apples that grow on your own inner tree of pain.” 

'Rage' was the first novel published by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman. It's a deviation from his typical Horror novels but that doesn't make it any less horrifying. Published in 1977, it was withdrawn from publication by Stephen King in the late 1990s due to it's connection to a number of real High School shootings, 'Rage' recounts the story of Charlie Decker, a teenage boy pushed to the limits by his father and society itself and shoots two teachers before taking a classroom full of students hostage. 

But 'Rage' is more than just the story of a High School shooting. It is an examination of society, of teenage culture. While Charlie holds his school friends hostage, we get a glimpse at the ennui of teenage life, and as they sit in the classroom, waiting for Charlie to let them go or take their lives (we are never quite certain in which direction Charlie will go), they take turns at analyzing their lives, the things they have done, wish they hadn't done. They pick apart their connections to each other, the childhood experiences that made them who they are. And it becomes apparent that perhaps Charlie Decker isn't as crazy as he might seem, that this isn't simply a murder spree. Instead, this forced coming together of a group of teenagers who might otherwise fail to give one another the time of day is a teaching exercise. Charlie is showing these angst-ridden teenagers that it's not too late to take control, to right the wrongs done to them by others.

This novel is fairly philosophical, it raises a lot of questions and doesn't pose too many answers. It's a shame that it is no longer in print as I think it's a pretty enlightening piece of fiction. Although I can understand why it was withdrawn from sale. If you do want to read the book, it can be found in the Amazon.co.uk marketplace for a couple of pound as part of the Bachman Books collection.

3/5

What I've Been Reading:'Paper Towns' by John Green

This is the first novel by John Green that I've read (I know, I'm a little behind the trend but oh well) and I am definitely planning on reading some more of his work. 

I was initially attracted to the beautiful cover art of this novel. I'm a sucker for a good cover and this one really caught my eye. Plus, I fancied an indulgent Young Adult novel, something that would suck me in and keep me absorbed. This was exactly what I wanted.

Quentin "Q" Jacobsen is mere weeks away from graduating High School. He's got a place at a decent College lined up and his life seems to be on-track, well as much as it can be when you're eighteen years old and trying desperately to avoid the horrors of your High School Prom. And then one night, the mysterious and beautiful Margo Roth Spiegelman, the next door neighbour he's loved since he was a child, waltzes in through his bedroom window and whisks him off on a tour of the neighbourhood to complete a series of pranks she has lined up for her cheating boyfriend and his entourage.

And then, just like that, Margo is gone. She doesn't turn up for school the next day or the day after that. There is no note, no phone call, no explanation whatsoever. Margo has simply vanished, leaving a trail of mystery behind her. Knowing that on previous escapes from her suburban life, Margo has left clues as to her whereabouts (the letters M, S, P, and I left uneaten in a bowl of Alphabet Soup), Q and his friends begin a search of Margo's life for any possible clues.

But when it comes down to it, did Margo really want to be found? Did she really expect Q to find her? And just who is Margo anyway? As he creeps around her life, following the paper trail that Margo has left for him, Q begins to doubt that he ever knew the real Margo, the Margo she is inside her heart. And as he gets closer to finding her, he must reconcile the two version of Margo Roth Spiegelman and what they mean to him.

This was a beautiful, deep read. Once again, and I know it's a theme with the Young Adult titles I'm reading lately, I really wish this novel had been around when I was a teenager myself. The characters are exquisite, especially Margo, who is secretly the girl I wanted to be at eighteen and failed. And the idea of paper towns is cleverly worked into the plot and imbued with such subtle meaning (I don't want to go into detail on what paper towns are because it's a crucial plot point and I hate spoilers!). I adored this book and want to re-read it, want to see if there are any little details I missed, or cleverly inserted foreshadowing that would be identified only on a second read.

If you like a cute little mystery and 3D characters that will stay in your mind, then check this out. You won't be disappointed.

5/5

What I've Been Reading:'If I Stay' by Gayle Forman

It seems at the moment that I have a slight thing for Young Adult novels that I can read in one sitting while bawling my eyes out...

'If I Stay' is another one of those teen books battling big issues that I wish had been around when I was actually a teenager. A quote on the cover from the Daily Mail states "read it and weep" and that is exactly what I did.

This novel began as a light, airy glimpse into what seemed to be the perfect family life - cool parents who are into rock music, the adorable hyperactive little brother, and the protagonist Mia, a talented Cellist, well on her way to Juilliard. 

And then it hits. A tragic car accident turns Mia's life upside down. In one life-changing moment, Mia's family are ripped away from her and her own life hangs in the balance. Left somehow outside of her comatose body, Mia watches herself being operated on, hooked up to life-saving machinery while her friends and family will her to survive.

Mia has a choice to make. Will she go or will she stay? Going would be easy. She could be with her family, she wouldn't have to face the gaping hole in her life. Staying will be the hardest thing she's ever had to do. Is she brave enough to step up to the challenge?

This novel was heart-wrenching. I held on bravely for nearly half of the book but there came a point when I just simply could not hold it in any longer and the tears came. And they weren't just the pretty silent tear that rolls down your cheek kind of tears. No, these were the wracking sobs, the giant tears that obscure your vision. These are the tears from emotion so strong that I was tempted at one point to put the book down unfinished as I simply couldn't handle it any longer. But, my need to know what decision Mia came to won over and I carried on to the last page.

And I'm so glad I did.

This is another one of those books I'd recommend you go and read. And seriously, if you can afford it buy a copy for any teenage girl in your life because I'm sure she'd appreciate it.

5/5

What I've Been Reading:'Love, Aubrey' by Suzanne LaFleur

I'm not usually a big reader of Children's fiction but the cover of this book grabbed my attention and I couldn't resist taking it down from the shelf to take a closer look. The premise sucked me in and I found myself heading to the till and paying for the book. And I'm really glad I had a little uncharacteristic browse of the Children's section of a local book store.

'Love, Aubrey' is aimed at children aged 11 and over but it seems to be a world apart from the novels around when I was that age. I remember fluffy books about babysitters and cheesy horror stories that weren't even intended to be scary. I remember casting aside kids books for teenage (Young Adult wasn't even a genre back then lol) novels that had a bit more substance and some grittier story-lines that my teachers and the school librarian didn't approve of. Things have obviously changed a lot since I was 11 (is it really 16 years ago??) and while reading 'Love, Aubrey' I found myself wishing that this novel had been around for my younger self to read. Because I know that geeky little loner would have adored this book.

Eleven year old Aubrey is alone. At first she thought it would be fun living on her own, buying her own groceries and eating whatever she wants for dinner. But then it started to get a little scary. She knows what her Mom did is wrong but all she wants is for people to understand, to not get mad at her mom because it really isn't her fault. A couple of months ago, Aubrey's dad and little sister Savannah died in a family car accident. As the only survivors, Aubrey and her Mom attempted to live their lives, to get up each morning and go on. But Aubrey's mom couldn't handle it. Aubrey's mom began to get more and more distant until one day she just left. And now Aubrey has to face life alone.

And then Gram turns up, certain that something is wrong. It must be if nobody is answering the phone. After a few days of unsuccessful searching for her missing daughter, Gram decides the best thing to do is take her granddaughter back North with her, keep her safe until everything sorts itself out.

Reluctantly, Aubrey is forced to live again, to get up each morning, to talk to people, to go to school, to move beyond the pain of the accident, the loss of her family. And she begins to find happiness in the most unlikely of places. But when her mom finally turns up, Aubrey's going to have a decision to make. Go home or stay with her new extended family?

I read this 256 page novel in one sitting, not even pausing to make myself a drink or eat lunch. From the first page I was sucked into Aubrey's world, her thoughts and her fears. I found myself remembering what it was like to look through the eyes of an eleven year old in an adult world. There were plenty of moments where I had a lump in my throat and a couple where I actually shed a tear. The last book that moved me in such a way was 'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'. As a child, I don't remember a book ever making me cry and I can't help but wonder whether this novel would have the same emotional effect on an eleven year old as it did on this 27 year old reader. Part of me thinks the perspective of adulthood might be what makes this story so poignant, so heart-wrenching. This book has found a special place in my heart and will remain on my bookshelves until my future children are old enough to read it. 'Love, Aubrey' is a classic in the making.

5/5

What I've Been Reading:'Sing You Home' by Jodi Picoult

This might possibly be my favourite read of this year so far. 'Sing You Home' is the first of Jodi Picoult's novels that I've read, she's just not a writer who is on my radar, you know? But a couple of months ago two of the women I work with were discussing this novel and the subject seemed close to my heart. And so I tracked down a copy and put it straight on my must-read list. I expected to leave it languishing on my bookcase, un-read for months but the subject matter just kept calling to me and I couldn't resist starting it. And I'm so, so glad that I did.

Music therapist, Zoe Baxter is desperate for a baby. It's the one thing she has always known will make her feel complete. And yet she has struggled through fertility problems, failed IVF, miscarriages and stillbirth. When Max, her husband of nine years divorces her, citing irreconcilable differences as the cause for the dissolving of their commitment to each other, Zoe is distraught. Her whole life has been turned upside down and she doesn't know how she is going to start over.

Until she meets Vanessa, a Guidance Counselor at the local High School. First as friends and then as lovers, Zoe and Vanessa can't imagine life without each other. They are the missing parts of each other. And yet there's only one thing missing in their perfect relationship. A child. Three frozen embryos left over from Zoe and Max's last round of IVF could hold the answer to fulfilling Zoe's dream of motherhood. But when your ex-husband has joined a gay-bashing Evangelical church, how do you convince him to let you raise his un-born child with your new lesbian wife?

Jodi Picoult immerses her reader in a world where being who you are means being hated, where falling in love can mean changing your whole perspective on life and your identity. She opens up the hidden world of the lesbian marriage and lets those on the outside see just how difficult it can be when your lifestyle will never be the accepted norm. She paints a tale of two very strong women, fighting for justice, for the family that others would deny them. And she doesn't hold any punches.

This novel had me close to tears at so many points. Not only did I identify with Zoe and Vanessa on such a personal level, but I also had a strong connection with the character of Lucy, a suicidal, depressed teen who Vanessa and Zoe are trying to save, to turn around through guidance and music.

There's something for everyone in this book and I swear you'd have to have a heart of stone if the story didn't resonate on some level, didn't bring a tear to your eye or a gasp to your throat at some point. I'll definitely be checking out more of Jodi Picoult's books in the future.

5/5

What I've Been Reading:'Heart-Shaped Bruise' by Tanya Byrne

Firstly - Oh. My. God! 

I read this novel in what was literally one sitting - several hours curled up on the sofa unable to release the book from my death-grip. When my partner came home from work, I carried on reading, practically ignoring her until I'd turned the last page.

Emily is... well actually there are two Emily's. There is the Emily that the tabloids have declared Evil and there's the Emily who pours out her heart in a diary night after night as she attempts to come to terms with what she has done.

Emily is a resident of the Psychiatric wing of Archway Young Offender's Institute. She is awaiting trial but everybody knows who she is and for Emily there's no doubt that she is guilty. The daughter of infamous London Gangster, Harry Koll, everybody is scared of Emily. And with reason. She was the one who ruined a girl. She is the one who did something 'Evil' and unforgiving purely to destroy 16 year old Juliet, the girl who stabbed her father.

Through a notebook found in one of the rooms after the Institute was closed, we get the chance to see into the crumbling mind of Emily as she pieces together her story, the fragmented reality of how she ended up behind bars.

The tabloids have labelled Emily Evil, the product of a Mobster family. But until the night Juliet stabbed Emily's father in self-defense after he'd murdered her own father, Emily had no idea that her dad was more than a mechanic. The tabloids however, would never print the story of how her whole world tumbled down around her ears that night, how her innocent eyes were opened to her father's murderous ways. The tabloids and the public only want to see what Emily did to hurt Juliet.

Tanya Byrne opens up the world of a Young Offenders Institute and candidly shows us the inside of a mind struggling to grasp the pain she has caused and the pain she is feeling.

We're not supposed to like Emily so much as come to understand her. But as I was reading I grew fond of this tortured teenager and wanted her to find some kind of personal resolution. I wanted her to find hope.

It probably helped that I saw a lot of myself in Emily. I don't mean that I'm capable of the things Emily did. It's just that so much of what she thinks and feels resonated with me. I wish I'd had this book as a teen. It's up there with 'Perks of Being a Wallflower' in terms of gripping, heart-wrenching, compulsive reading. I adored it.

5/5

What I've Been Reading:The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides

After reading several negative reviews of the latest Jeffrey Eugenides novel, I was nervous about reading The Marriage Plot. I adore both of Eugenides' previous novels 'The Virgin Suicides' and 'Middlesex' and was really hoping that I'd enjoy his third novel.

And I did. I loved this novel. It absorbed me from the first page. The characters and their situation appealed to me. I've always loved Campus Novels but this was the first one I've read that opens on Graduation day and flashes back to the university experience while moving forward with the characters into their post-university lives.

The characters intrigued me. I saw myself and some of the people I know in them and I actually cared about them, wanted things to work out for them as they ventured into the adult world. I was surprised by how many of the novels I've read were referenced as well. And it was strange how one of the professors reminded me a lot of one of my own university lecturers.

I really connected with this novel and would definitely recommend it. I'll also probably be reading it again at some point, and no doubt I'll connect with it even more on a second reading.

Rating: 5/5

What I've Been Reading:'The Perks of Being a Wallflower' by Stephen Chbosky

'The Perks of Being a Wallflower'

 "I don't know if you've ever felt like that. That you wanted to sleep for a thousand years. Or just not exist. Or just not be aware that you do exist. Or something like that. I think wanting that is very morbid, but I want it when I get like this"

~p100

This is my new favourite book. I've been meaning to read it for a while now and just haven't got round to it until yesterday (yes that's right, I read this book in less than 24 hours. It really was that good!) I really wish that I'd read it years ago, that this book had been around when I was fifteen and struggling with all the crap that comes with being a teenager. As it is, it still seems to have come into my life at the perfect time. A lot of the stuff running through Charlie's mind, a lot of the things he is thinking and feeling, a lot of his observations on life and family and the craziness of the world around him seem to eerily mirror my own current reflections.

I read this novel with a lump in my throat and un-shed tears blurring my vision. I haven't connected with a novel on such a level since I first read Elizabeth Wurtzel's 'Prozac Nation' when I was sixteen. When I turned that last page and closed the cover on the characters and their story, I was sad to leave it all behind. And seriously tempted to start again from the beginning. I'm certain I will do at some time in the near future. Charlie's story just resonates with me too much to leave it un-visited for too long.

As with many of my favourite books, I'm going to be reluctant to watch the film version of this book. The characters are so alive in my mind, their individual quirks and mannerisms so real to me that I don't think I'd be happy with however they're portrayed on film. But I'm sure my curiosity will get the better of me at some point.

This novel gets a 10/10 from me. And I urge you to go out and buy it and read it right away. I hope Charlie sparks something in you as much as he did for me.