Book Review #746 - Pet Sematary by Stephen King

Sometimes dead is better....When the Creeds move into a beautiful old house in rural Maine, it all seems too good to be true: physician father, beautiful wife, charming little daughter, adorable infant son -- and now an idyllic home. As a family, they've got it all...right down to the friendly cat. But the nearby woods hide a blood-chilling truth -- more terrifying than death itself...and hideously more powerful.

My Rating: 3/5

This is my fourth Stephen King novel and even though I planned to read his works in publication order I caved as I felt like reading this one.

I watched the film adaptation of this book years ago and was rather disappointed by how much of the movie I remembered whilst reading this book.

The characters in this book had way more character development than the previous King books I have read especially with the Creed family as a whole.

Lou Creed constantly made questionable decisions throughout but I felt like I couldn't judge him for this as I wasn't completely sure that I would not have done the same thing had I been in those situations.

This book examines death in a very deep and unique way. The need to accept what is dead when there are options otherwise is a fascinating one no matter what the risks.

Book Review #745 - Soundless by Richelle Mead

For as long as Fei can remember, there has been no sound in her village, where rocky terrain and frequent avalanches prevent residents from self-sustaining. Fei and her people are at the mercy of a zipline that carries food up the treacherous cliffs from Beiguo, a mysterious faraway kingdom. 

When villagers begin to lose their sight, deliveries from the zipline shrink and many go hungry. Fei’s home, the people she loves, and her entire existence is plunged into crisis, under threat of darkness and starvation.

But soon Fei is awoken in the night by a searing noise, and sound becomes her weapon.

My Rating: 3/5

This book sounded so unique and of course being written by Richelle Mead I had to give it a go.

This book was set in China which I thought would have been an element I would enjoy as I don't think I have read many, if any books set there. However, I found that apart from the characters names the book could have been set literally anywhere in the world. There was no Chinese culture elements at all which was disappointing.

I liked the relationship between the protagonist and her sister although it felt like an overdone trope in YA literature where the protagonist has to save a sibling.

The main issue I had with this book was the lack of world building. I feel like Mead is used to writing long series and so is able to take her time with world building and so in this book it just never developed enough.

I did enjoy what little world building there was and I feel like this book had the potential outline to make a decent trilogy where things could have been built upon and not rushed. The amount of development needed to make a coherent story was too ambitious to fit into one small book.

Book Review #744 - Living in a Material World: George Harrison by Olivia Harrison, Mark Holborn, Paul Theroux and Martin Scorsese

Drawing on George Harrison’s personal archive of photographs, letters, diaries, and memorabilia, Olivia Harrison reveals the arc of his life, from his guitar-obsessed boyhood in Liverpool, to the astonishment of the Beatles years, to his days as an independent musician and bohemian squire. Here too is the record of Harrison’s lifelong commitment to Indian music, and his adventures as a movie producer, Traveling Wilbury, and Formula One racing fan. The book is filled with stories and reminiscences from Harrison’s friends, including Eric Clapton, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, and many, many others. Among its previously unpublished riches are photographs taken by Harrison himself beginning in the mid-1960s. It is a rich tribute to a man who died far too young, but who touched the lives of millions.

My Rating: 4.5/5

I had just finished watching the documentary on Netflix that this book is a companion to when I discovered this book at my local library so of course I had to borrow it.

Firstly, George Harrison is my favourite Beatle and as I was quite young when he died and he is in no way as prevalent in pop culture as John Lennon I really enjoyed learning more about him the person rather than the quiet Beatle.

I loved that the book seemed to cover all aspects of his life without delving into the personal stuff and through that we got to see the many layers to his personality.

Book Review #743 - Picture Perfect (Geek Girl #3) by Holly Smale

"My name is Harriet Manners, and I'll always be a geek."

It's the hilarious third book in the No.1 bestselling, award winning GEEK GIRL series!

Harriet Manners knows more facts than most. She knows that New York is the most populous city in the United States. She knows that its official motto is "Ever Upward". She knows that 28% of Americans believe we never landed on the moon.

But she knows nothing about modelling in the Big Apple, and how her family will cope with life stateside. Or how to "become a brand", as the models in New York put it. And, even more importantly, what to do when the big romantic gestures aren't coming from your boyfriend...

Does geek girl go too far this time?

My Rating: 3/5

Picking up a Geek Girl novel is always so refreshing because Harriet is such a fun and unique protagonist.

This book was set in the USA which was fascinating as each book so far in this series has been set in a different country.

This book centered a little heavier on the romance side of things than the previous books even though the main love interest Nick was barely present throughout. He just seems to pop and in and out of the story which makes it hard for me to form any kind of attachment to him.

Once again the family dynamic in this book was really strong and accurate. Harriet's father was as hilarious as always.

Overall, I am loving this series and I don't think I will ever tire of Harriet's witty and entertaining narration. 

Book Review #742 - The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2) by Richelle Mead

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. Alchemists protect vampire secrets - and human lives.

Sydney would love to go to college, but instead, she's been sent into hiding at a posh boarding school in Palm Springs, California - tasked with protecting Moroi princess Jill Dragomir from assassins who want to throw the Moroi court into civil war. Formorly in disgrace, Sydney is now praised for her loyalty and obedience, and held up as the model of an exemplary Alchemist.

But the closer she grows to Jill, Eddie, and especially Adrian, the more she finds herself questioning her age-old Alchemist beliefs, her idea of family, and her sense of what it means to truly belong. Her world becomes even more complicated when magical experiments show Sydney may hold the key to prevent becoming Strigoi - the fiercest vampires, the ones who don't die. But it's her fear of being just that - special, magical, powerful - that scares her more than anything. Equally daunting is her new romance with Braydon, a cute, brainy guy who seems to be her match in every way. Yet, as perfect as he seems, Sydney finds herself being drawn to someone else - someone forbidden to her.

When a shocking secret threatens to tear the vampire world apart, Sydney's loyalties are suddenly tested more than ever before. She wonders how she's supposed to strike a balance between the principles and dogmas she's been taught, and what her instincts are now telling her.

Should she trust the Alchemists - or her heart?

My Rating: 3.5/5

This is the second book in the Bloodlines series which is a spin-off from one of my all time favourite series Vampire Academy.

This book was better than the first because it had so much more plot development and it helped that Dimitri was present throughout. 

I'm still struggling to warm up to Sydney. I find her rather uptight and she feels a lot older than what she is supposed to be.

There was a lot of emphasis on romance in this book which I have mixed feelings about. One the one hand I loved that these yielded a lot of humerous moments but I also found some of this especially between Sydney and Brayden rather boring.

I really enjoyed the development of Sydney and Adrian's relationship and it was good to see Adrian starting to act like himself again rather than moping after Rose. I also found Sydney less annoying when she was in presence of Adrian.

Overall, I really liked the direction this book took and I am looking forward to getting so many answers to my many questions in the rest of the series.

Book Review #741 - Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda (Creekwood #1) by Becky Albertalli

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met. 

My Rating: 5/5

This was one of the most hyped up books I have read in recent memory so I was kind of terrified to read it but once the members of my book club were raving about the film adaptation I knew it was time to finally pick the book up.

I read this book for the 2018 Popsugar challenge for the challenge of reading a book with a LGBTQ protagonist.

Simon is such a likable character. He is the perfect blend of weird and witty but completely normal at the same time.

I absolutely loved his friend and family dynamics both of which were incredibly accurately portrayed. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this book so much more than I ever thought possible and I can definitely see myself reading it again sometime this year likely before I delve into Leah on the Offbeat which I recently added to my TBR.

Book Review #740 - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Huckleberry Finn #2) by Mark Twain

'Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft"

Mark Twain's tale of a boy's picaresque journey down the Mississippi on a raft conveyed the voice and experience of the American frontier as no other work has done before. When Huck escapes from his drunken father and the 'sivilizing' Widow Douglas with the runaway slave Jim, he embarks on a series of adventures that draw him to feuding families and the trickery of the unscrupulous 'Duke' and 'Daupin'. Beneath the exploits, however, are more serious undercurrents--of slavery, adult control and, above all, of Huck's struggle between his instinctive goodness and the corrupt values of society, which threaten his deep and enduring frienship with Jim.

My Rating: 3/5

I read this book for my goal of reading one book per month from the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list.

Firstly, I found the blatant racist language in this book very extreme and I almost didn't finish the book numerous times because of this. For example, in the edition I read (pictured above) I encountered the "N" word 209 times in a book just over 300 pages long which was quite often. 

I did like the adventure side of the story and this is what ultimately enabled me to finish reading it. 

There was such a lively cast of characters and non-stop adventure of a story which if it wasn't for the racist language would be perfect for school reading.

Jim the slave was my favourite character whereas Tom Sawyer was my least favourite which has definitely put me off reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer which is unfortunate as I do have the book on my TBR. 

I really loved the vivid setting of the Mississippi River and the scenery on and around there.

Book Review #739 - The Happiest Refugee: A Memoir by Anh Do

Anh Do nearly didn't make it to Australia. His entire family came close to losing their lives on the sea as they escaped from war-torn Vietnam in an overcrowded boat. But nothing -- not murderous pirates, nor the imminent threat of death by hunger, disease or dehydration as they drifted for days -- could quench their desire to make a better life in the country they had dreamed about.

Life in Australia was hard, an endless succession of back-breaking work, crowded rooms, ruthless landlords and make-do everything. But there was a loving extended family, and always friends and play and something to laugh about for Anh, his brother Khoa and their sister Tram. Things got harder when their father left home when Anh was thirteen -- they felt his loss very deeply and their mother struggled to support the family on her own. His mother's sacrifice was an inspiration to Anh and he worked hard during his teenage years to help her make ends meet, also managing to graduate high school and then university. 

Another inspiration was the comedian Anh met when he was about to sign on for a 60-hour a week corporate job. Anh asked how many hours he worked. 'Four,' the answer came back, and that was it. He was going to be a comedian! The Happiest Refugeetells the incredible, uplifting and inspiring life story of one of our favourite personalities. Tragedy, humour, heartache and unswerving determination -- a big life with big dreams. Anh's story will move and amuse all who read it.

My Rating: 4/5

I have had this book on my TBR for sometime. I'm not that familiar with Anh Do as a comedian as I don't watch a lot of television but I became aware of this book because of the amount of "must read lists" I kept finding it on, the latest being the 2018 Dymocks top 100 which prompted me to finally read it. 

First of all I am a 5th generation Australian so I have idea what it is like to have cultural differences in your family but the way in which this book was written made everything very relatable and this was because it felt very genuine and never took itself seriously.

I loved that Do was able to take such a sensitive issue in society and make it such a fun, witty and hilarious read. 

The pictures used and their captions were particularly hilarious along with the clever antidotes involving his uncles. 

As soon as I finished this book my mum immediately started reading it as well.