Hey guys, this is Abi here,
And I've actually posted some this month!
Not loads necessarily, but more than in recent months (so I'm happy).
It's now the end of October, and therefore, time to share everything I've read this month!
I hope you enjoy it.
1. It Only Takes A Minute, by Sasha Lane
I was gifted this for my birthday, and honestly, I have no idea where my friend found it- but found it he did. The chapters look like the start of an essay, just underlined, in bold, basically no authors have blurbed this, it's all just amazon reviews. But instead of putting it off and putting it off and having it become a problem book- you know, the ones you deliberately avoid reading- I decided to pick it up.
I got exactly what I was expecting- a fast paced, surface level book where a woman meets a guy- on a month long sabbatical (who takes sabbaticals anymore) and falls for him the first time she meets him.
Honestly, it wasn't subtle at all, and it was absolutely fantastic for a laugh and a good time. I soured through it in a couple of days (on the days I was actually reading). Recommend putting down your heavy fantasies guys, and picking something like this sometime. You might find you actually enjoy it.
2. Secrets, by Jacqueline Wilson
I was so excited to start my childhood (Jacqueline Wilson) re-read that I soured through this in just over 24 hours. Secrets tells the story of two girls, Treasure and India, who live in entirely different worlds. Purely by chance, they meet- and it's as if they've been friends all their lives. Both share a love of Anne Frank, so when disaster strikes and Treasure has to hide away from her abusive step-dad, India hides Treasure in her very own secret annexe.
A very quick read, something about going back to this book just made me want to keep reading all night long. I related to the girls, being studious, liking writing and reading too, so it was really easy to jump into their story upon picking up.
But whatever the reason, I was so excited to start back up with the first of many Jacqueline Wilson books I loved as a child and still love today.
3. Lola Rose, by Jacqueline Wilson
My boyfriend picked this JW book for me next, cos I wasn't sure what I wanted to pick up (out of the selection I'd chosen- reckon this had something to do with the fact that he used to have a cat called Lola- but I can't be sure)!
This was probably the book that was the most serious of the five. I'm not saying that the others don't have heavy themes, but this one feels like it takes more of an adult approach, because you're reading from the POV of the oldest child, and she's left in charge, while her mum's in hospital. Although I didn't have a lot in common with the characters in this book, it was always one I could go back and re-read without getting bored when I was a child.
Now, re-reading as an adult, I look at this book now and think that this might have peaked my interest for books that might contain relevent themes, to what's happening in the world today. I mean, winning the lottery doesn't happen everyday, but abusive relationships and cancer are still very present today (which isn't good obviously). Jacqueline Wilson was brave enough to write a novel that deals with these kinds of issues with sensitivity, and that takes guts.
4. The Diamond Girls, by Jacqueline Wilson
4 completely different girls: Martine, Jude, Rochelle and Dixie, with their mum Sue, about to move to their new house, just before the mother gives birth to the 5th child. Although they're hesitant to leave everything they hold near and dear, Sue convinces them that this'll be a new start: a house with a garden, picket fence, the whole lot. But when they get there, it's not a dream come true like they thought. It's a dump, to put it mildly. And then, when it seems like things can't get any worse, Sue goes into labour! The minute she's gone, Martine's storming off, Jude's fighting and Rochelle is flirting- can the Diamond Girls pull together for the first diamond boy?
This was the book that gave me the idea for the epic Jacqueline Wilson re-read. I just loved how all the characters- especially the Diamond sisters- were all extremely unique and easy to remember. Because you're reading from the POV of Dixie, the youngest, the daydreamer of the family, the things going on around her, for the most part anyway, are only suggested, but that's what makes the overall feeling of the book more hopeful, rather than sad, which works really well.
5. Candyfloss, by Jacqueline Wilson
Probably the most random premise of the lot, but undoubtedly the book that I found the best when I was younger. Even when I was younger, it was easy to see why. The relationship Floss had with her dad was one that I had with my own, and I was definitely able to see a lot of myself within Floss and Susan's friendship too- I had enough imagination to fill a room, and I was often by myself, much like Susan, before her and Floss become friends.
Basically, Floss makes the choice to stay with her Dad when her mum, her new husband Steve and young son Tiger decide to move to Australia for six months. He doesn't have a whole lot of money, working at a chip cafe, but her dad always treats her like his very own special princess. Until disaster strikes and they find themselves homeless! Can their new fairground friends help them find their feet again?
Floss is such a lovely character to read about, even though I'm now a fully-fledged adult, she's still up there with my absolute favourite protagonists of all time!
6. Clean Break, by Jacqueline Wilson
Definitely the simplest premise, but maybe also the most heart-breaking because of how often it happens in real life (though maybe not on Xmas day). Basically, Em's dad walks out on them and Clean Break is Em and her family trying to piece together what happened, and move on without him.
As always, Jacqueline Wilson tells the story with humour, light-heartedness and sensitivity, in a way that makes it enjoyable to read, for children and adults alike. (Especially with the way she basically wrote herself into this book- there's literally an author called Jenna Williams.)
7. Sisters Red (Fairytale Retellings #1), by Jackson Pearce
8. Sweetly (Fairytale Retellings #2), by Jackson Pearce
I decided to carry on the trend of childhood favourites, but because it was October, to read some Halloweenish books instead. And so, enter Sisters Red and Sweetly, arguably my two absolute favourite Fairytale Retellings. Almost fantasy type fairytale retellings because they're fighting werewolves in these two, and there are legends and folk lore involved too.
Gorgeous colours, wonderful balance of dialogue and description (particularly the Chocolateir in Sweetly), fast paced and engaging, well-written novels that I will always be able to fall into, as easily as falling asleep.
9. A Shot in the Dark (Constable Twitten #1), by Lynne Truss
I picked this up as a recommendation from a colleague. We had both enjoyed Thursday Murder Club, and according to her, was a lot funnier than the former.
And she was right. It was. For some reason, I couldn't get into the books. I think it was a combination of not wanting to ruin her copies, but also knowing that I'd be able to read it a lot quicker by audiobook (and being just ahead of my Goodreads goal at this point was weighing heavily at this point).
So at this point, I've given the books back, safe in the knowledge that I'll pick them up by audiobook if I ever want to continue.
My honest opinion of this book: funny, and easy to follow. But I really didn't have any emotional connection to any of the characters. I saw how long I had to listen to get to the end of the book, and barely anything else. It's been a week or so since I finished this and I remember very little. Certainly not enough to carry on reading the other three books. (It's a detective story, set in Brighton by the way, and it has some history about the gang wars in the 1950s.)
So I can say with some confidence that I likely will not be continuing in this series. I feel like I'd have to re-read this again, and I honestly don't feel its worth it.
Okay! Those are all the books that I read in October! I'm genuinely happy with all the reading I managed to get to this month, and I hope it carries through to November (even though we're four days in and I still haven't finished one yet).
As always, let me know in the comments what you picked up in November!
I hope you have a wonderful day and I'll see you all soon!
Byeeee!
-Abi xxxxx
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