Butter

Author: Erin Jade Lange

Source: Bought

You think I eat a lot now? That’s nothing. Tune in December 31st, when I will stream a live webcast of my last meal. Death row inmates get one. Why shouldn’t I? I can’t take another year in this fat suit, but I can end this year with a bang. If you can stomach it, you’re invited to watch … as I eat myself to death.

So starts Butter, the story of a lonely 423-pound boy everyone calls ‘Butter’. Worse than being ridiculed for his size at high school, he is simply ignored. Desperate, he pledges to eat himself to death live on the Internet – and everyone will watch. When he makes this announcement online, he expects pity, insults, or possibly sheer indifference. Instead, his classmates become morbid cheerleaders for his deadly plan.

Yet as their dark encouragement grows, it begins to feel a lot like popularity. And that feels good. But what happens when Butter reaches his suicide deadline?

It was the bright yellow simple cover of this book that drew me to it. I tend to find that books with simple covers have a wonderful story within them.

This book took me on an emotional rollercoaster and I challenge anyone to read this book and not shed at least one tear or get a lump in the back of their throat. I feel like everyone will be able to relate not just to the bullied characters but will also be able to see a bit of themselves

As the reader is getting told the story through butter’s prospective I was not 100% confident that he was going to go through with what was mentioned at the start of the book. It wasn’t until the last third of the book that the pace really picked up and Butter’s mind seemed to enter a darker place

This is an extremely thought-provoking book that I feel everyone should read.

There was quote throughout this book that remind us that we all need to be a bit more compassionate to other people as you don’t know the person they are you only see what is on the outside. I am going to end this review with one of the quotes that struck me the most in regards to showing more compassion to other human beings.

“Look, I get it. It sucks to be next to the fat guy on the plane. Maybe he’s taking up too much of your armrest or crowding you into the window, but trust me, nobody’s more uncomfortable than that guy, having to squish into that tiny seat and knowing nobody wants to sit next to him.”

The Bunker Diary

Author: Kevin Brooks

Source: Bought

I can’t believe I fell for it.

It was still dark when I woke up this morning.

As soon as my eyes opened I knew where I was.

A low-ceilinged rectangular building made entirely of whitewashed concrete.

There are six little rooms along the main corridor.

There are no windows. No doors. The lift is the only way in or out.

What’s he going to do to me?

What am I going to do?

If I’m right, the lift will come down in five minutes.

It did. Only this time it wasn’t empty……….

I saw people talking about this book on twitter and when I saw it in the bookshop I remembered what people had said about it so I decided to buy a copy.

This one of those books that will stay with you long after you have finished reading it. It will make you think, how would I cope under these circumstances? Would I have the willpower to carry on?

As the title suggests the book is told in diary format, the reader gets to know Linus, I felt the fear that he felt and could feel my heart beaten faster as I raced through the pages to find out what was going to happen next.

Brooke has a wonderful descriptive writing style that brings the book alive to the reader and you feel like you are right there beside Linus, seeing what he is seeing and feeling what he is feeling.

The ending of this book is very open and I do feel like it won’t be to everyone’s taste. However it was chilling and suited the book very well. I have tears in my eyes as I got towards the end of the book and realised how it was going to end.

Light

Author: Michael Grant

Source: Bought

It’s been more than a year since every person over the age of fifteen disappeared from the town of Perdido Beach, California. In that time, countless battles have been fought: Battles against hunger and lies and plagues and worse, battles of good against evil, and kid against kid. Allegiances have been won, lost, betrayed, and won again; ideologies have been shattered and created anew, and the kids of the FAYZ have begun to believe that their new society is the only life they’ll ever know. But now that the Darkness has found a way to be reborn, the tenuous existence they‘ve established is likely to be shattered for good. Will the kids of Perdido Beach even survive?

Those of you who read my blog on a regular basis will know that I am a huge fan of Michael Grant’s books. The Gone series is one of the best Young Adult series that I have ever read and I can not recommend them enough. Light is the last book in the Gone series and it did not disappoint me. I don’t think I am going to be able to give the book the justice it deserves in my review but I will have a go.

On its release date, I went and bought a copy of the book and did not put it down until I was finished reading.

Grant kept the suspense going right till the end of the book and I could not have asked for a better ending. It was not how I thought the books were going to end but I am happy with ending and feel like it tied up the whole series.

I was so happy to get to the end and realise that Grant had included Aftermath chapters, I am one of those readers that always wonders what happens to characters after the story has ended. This series has been with me for so long it was nice to see what happened to them. Though the Aftermath chapter could have been longer as there are still some loose ends that have been left to the reader’s imagination.

“You are now free to leave the FAYZ”

Mile 81

Author: Stephen King

Format: Kindle e-book

This is a great short story and is exactly what readers have come to expect from one of the masters of the horror genre.

I don’t want to talk about the plot to much as the story is so short that anything, I do say will give away the plot. To me, the ending came as a surprise, it was not how I thought it was going to end. It did feel like the story just came to an abrupt end and the ending did not match the suspense that had been building up from the first page of this short story.

Overall this is a very quick read that can be read in under an hour and is an ideal read for when you are between books.

The State of my TBR Pile

My TBR pile is getting out of control. At the moment I would estimate my tbr pile to be 300+ books and this is not counting the amount of books I have downloaded onto my kindle.

I find it impossible to go into a bookshop and buy just one book, this means if I do set foot in a bookshop it would not be unusual for me to walk back out with five or six books. The last month at my job has been very stressful (we are currently going through a change of management), this has meant that I have found myself spending more time in bookshops than what I would normally do. There is just something calming about being surrounded by books and people who appreciate them.

I have a fear that I am going to run out of books to read, I know that this would be impossible there is no way I could read 300+ books in a single day but to me this fear is real.

I love the fact that I practically have my own library and I have a wide genre range to choose from, however this is also negative as sometimes I can find myself spending hours trying to choose between books.

My bookshelves are bulging and my recent purchases are sitting on the floor as there is just no more room on my bookshelves, I love being surrounded by books but I think it is time for a tbr pile cull.

Do I really need to be hanging onto books that have been on my tbr pile for 2+years? Especially if I can never see myself actually reading them.

It is going to hard as I don’t like to let go off books, especially after I have finished reading them but the only way I am going to be able to bring new books in and discover new authors is through making room on my shelves.

I will keep you all updated on my progress, the tbr pile cull starts today!

The Doll Collection

Author: Joanna Stephen-Ward

Source: Kindle

The image on this cover is what drew me to this book, I am not someone who goes for books because they have pretty or interesting covers but the cover of this book made me stop and read the synopsis and I am glad I did as this was one of the best books I read on my kindle last year.

The main character of this novel is Gloria and the reader quickly learns that Gloria is pure evil, her collection of dolls that sit on her windowsill are more sinister than what appears to the naked eye. The purpose behind the purchase of each doll is pure evil.

I couldn’t put this book down and read it cover to cover in just under 2 hours. The only negative aspect of the book for me personally was the ending. I don’t want to go into too much detail as to why as it would spoil the book if you haven’t already read it and I don’t like doing that. It just seemed abrupt and sudden and not what I thought was going to happen, I thought the book had at least another 100 pages worth of material rather than the ending that is had.

However I still highly recommend this book, it was not a bad price for a kindle book and was a really interesting fast pace read. Please don’t let what I have said about the ending put you off from reading The Doll Collection.

Ru

Author: Kim Thuy

Source: Own

Ru. In Vietnamese it means lullaby; in French it is a small stream, but also signifies a flow – of tears, blood, money. Kim Thúy’s Ru is literature at its most crystalline: the flow of a life on the tides of unrest and on to more peaceful waters. In vignettes of exquisite clarity, sharp observation and sly wit, we are carried along on an unforgettable journey from a palatial residence in Saigon to a crowded and muddy Malaysian refugee camp, and onward to a new life in Quebec. There, the young girl feels the embrace of a new community, and revels in the chance to be part of the American Dream. As an adult, the waters become rough again: now a mother of two sons, she must learn to shape her love around the younger boy’s autism. Moving seamlessly from past to present, from history to memory and back again, Ru is a book that celebrates life in all its wonder: its moments of beauty and sensuality, brutality and sorrow, comfort and comedy

My Thoughts

Ru is not a novel that can be read lightly, it requires a certain level of concentration from the reader in order to follow the plot. Each section is only at most 3 page long and each of these sections  moved between the past and present and takes the reader along for the ride.

The structure of this novel is extremely unusual and is one that I have only come across a couple of times. However this structure of short sections adds to the character and feel of the novel and without it I feel like the novel would not flow as well as it does. It is through this structure that the author can successfully move between the past and the present.

Memory is the central theme of this books and just like our memories the books in not told in a specific chronological order. It is these memories of what has happened to us in the past and our ancestors that really shape the novel and in fact shape who everyone is. Just like memories at times the reader is not given the whole picture and must decide for themselves what really happened.

Ru is a wonderful book that takes the reader on a journey through Vietnam  to Quebec and this journey will stay with me for a long time.