Reasons to Stay Alive

Title: Reasons to Stay Alive
Author: Matt Haig
Type: Paperback
Read: 19th May - 21st May 2016
Rating: 5/5
Published: 5th March 2015 by Canongate Books

I want life. I want to read it and write it and feel it and live it. I want, for as much of the time as possible in this blink-of-an-eye existence we have, to feel all that can be felt. I hate depression. I am scared of it. Terrified, in fact. But at the same time, it has made me who I am. And if - for me - it is the price of feeling life, it's a price always worth paying.

Reasons to Stay Alive is about making the most of your time on earth. In the western world the suicide rate is highest amongst men under the age of 35. Matt Haig could have added to that statistic when, aged 24, he found himself staring at a cliff-edge about to jump off. This is the story of why he didn't, how he recovered and learned to live with anxiety and depression. It's also an upbeat, joyous and very funny exploration of how live better, love better, read better and feel more. 

Part of me doesnt' feel like I have the right to judge a book where it is based on someones experiences. How can you say if its good or bad, when it is something that the author went through.

I've never suffered with depression, but I do have family members who do. It's tough to watch from the outside, so when it is actually happening to the person, i have no idea how they cope. They are the most strongest humans I know. This book is from Matts view. He's own personal battle.

It's honest and raw. It's informative and helps you to try understanding what its like. You'll never truely understand, not until it happens directly to you. But it gives you an insight to the feelings, emotions and the tough times. It breaks it down for you, without trying to butter it up.

I think everyone needs to read this and I think we need to do more to understand and help those with mental health issues. 

Go Get it From: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery
Follow @matthaig1

The Other Child

Title: The Other Child
Author: Lucy Atkins
Type: Paperback
Read: 25th April - 19th May 2016
Rating: 3/5
Published: 4th June 2015 by Quercus

When Tess is sent to photograph Greg, a high profile paediatric heart surgeon, she sees something troubled in his face, and feels instantly drawn to him. Their relationship quickly deepens, but then Tess, single mother to nine-year-old Joe, falls pregnant, and Greg is offered the job of a lifetime back in his hometown of Boston. Before she knows it, Tess is married, and relocating to the States. But life in an affluent American suburb proves anything but straightforward.

Unsettling things keep happening in the large rented house, Joe is distressed, the next-door neighbours are in crisis, and Tess is sure that someone is watching her. Greg's work is all-consuming and, as the baby's birth looms, he grows more and more unreachable. Something is very wrong, Tess knows it, and then she makes a jaw-dropping discovery . . 

I had high hopes for this book. It did start of really well, it was gripping and capitvated you. But gradually as the story evolved it just kinda fell flat. I think as a lot happens at the start and then the end you're left wondering why there was a middle.

The stroy of Tess who falls in love and marries Greg who then moves them across to the US where he is an high profile heart surgeon. But something doesn't feel right and Tess is stuck in a place she doesn't know, with someone who is never around. When things begin to happen around them Tess's fears are pretty much ignored by Greg who can solve everything.

As a reader, we begin to put the pieces together much quicker than Tess and personally i wanted her to up, leave and take the kids as fast as she could, quicker than what she was doing.

Part of me is still confused at the whole story, which is pretty much reflected in the ratings. It's a shame, because it did start off really good.

Go Get it From: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery
Follow @lucyatkins 

 

Love Letters to the Dead

Title: Love Letter to the Dead
Author: Ava Dellaira
Type: Paperback
Read: 19th April - 24th April 2016
Rating: 4/5
Published: 1st May 2014 by Hot Key Books

It begins as an assignment for English class: write a letter to a dead person - any dead person. Laurel chooses Kurt Cobain - he died young, and so did Laurel's sister May - so maybe he'll understand a bit of what Laurel is going through. Soon Laurel is writing letters to lots of dead people - Janis Joplin, Heath Ledger, River Phoenix, Amelia Earhart... it's like she can't stop. And she'd certainly never dream of handing them in to her teacher. She writes about what it's like going to a new high school, meeting new friends, falling in love for the first time - and how her family has shattered since May died.

But much as Laurel might find writing the letters cathartic, she can't keep real life out forever. The ghosts of her past won't be contained between the lines of a page, and she will have to come to terms with growing up, the agony of losing a beloved sister, and the realisation that only you can shape your destiny.

I had this book on my shelf for ages and everytime I get round to picking a new read, this drawn my attention. It was time I listened.

Laurel is given a task of writing a letter to any dead person, about anything. So she chooses Kurt Cobain. But then Laurel doesn't stop at one letter, she continues. It's almost like a self help. From reading the letters, we see Laurel grieve for the past, the things that have happened and the stuff that really shouldn't. The things she wants and we see the things she needs.

It's a book about growing up, grieving and learning to find out who you are. It's really touching and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Laurel is such a complex character that you sometimes just want to give her hugs.

Go Get it From: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery
Follow @avadellaira

The Missing

Title: The Missing
Author: C.L. Tyalor
Type: Paperback
Read: 13th April - 18th April 2016
Rating: 4/5
Published: 7th April 2016 by Avon

You love your family. They make you feel safe. You trust them. Or do you…?

When fifteen-year-old Billy Wilkinson goes missing in the middle of the night, his mother, Claire Wilkinson, blames herself. She's not the only one. There isn't a single member of Billy's family that doesn't feel guilty. But the Wilkinson’s are so used to keeping secrets from one another that it isn't until six months later, after an appeal for information goes horribly wrong, that the truth begins to surface.

Claire is sure of two things – that Billy is still alive and that her friends and family had nothing to do with his disappearance. A mother's instinct is never wrong. Or is it?

My first book i read by Cally was The Lie and i loved it so much. I do have her debut to condend with soon. So when Avon sent me a copy of this book for review, i was very excited. If it was anything like the previous book, I knew i would enjoy it.

The story starts with 15 year old Billy going missing. Then throughout the story there are flash short text convos or instant chat convos of Billy and someone else. Then we see stuff from his parents view. It's all very twisty turny. I admit it took me a little while to get into this book. I enjoyed it but sometimes i felt the pace didn't move as fast. I wanted answers quickly.

For me, i didn't get the ending until it happened. I say thats down to Cally being good in her writing and not making it so obvious.When the ending comes, you do start to think how did i miss that?

I really do adore all the books Cally writes, and this one is no exception. I really can't wait to see what happens next.

Go Get it From: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery
Follow @callytaylor