Five Children & IT

Title: Five Children & IT
Author: E.Nesbit
Type: Paperback
Read: 29th July - 30th July 2016
Rating: 3/5
Published: 1st December 1996 by Puffin (first published 1902)

The five children find a cantankerous sand fairy or 'psammead' in a gravel pit. Every day 'It' will grant each of them a wish that lasts until sunset, often with disastrous consequences. Never out of print since 1902. The Introduction to this edition examines Nesbit's life and her reading, showing the change in childrens' literature from Victorian times.

I'm torn with this book. I think partly because its old and the other half because the author seemed to go on and on at times that i was just hoping to get it over with. I liked the idea of the chilren recieving wishes althouh some of them were just bonking mad.

It sometimes felt like small little stories mashed together with only the evening and morning linking the chapters together. It was peculiar. But the story was fun, the chilren were just mischievious and sometimes a right pain. Though they were technically left alone by their mother, so you can't really blame them all that much. 

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Here's Looking At You

Title: Here's Looking at You
Author: Mhairi McFarlane
Type: Paperback
Read: 20th July - 29th July 2016
Rating: 4/5
Published: 5th November 2013 by Avon

Anna Alessi – history expert, possessor of a lot of hair and an occasionally filthy mouth – seeks nice man for intelligent conversation and Harlequin romance moments. Despite the oddballs that keep turning up on her dates, Anna couldn’t be happier. As a 30-something with a job she loves, life has turned out better than she dared dream. However, things weren’t always this way, and her years spent as the butt of schoolyard jokes are ones she’d rather forget.

So when James Fraser – the architect of Anna’s final humiliation at school – walks back into her life, her world is turned upside down. But James seems a changed man. Polite. Mature. Funny, even. People can change, right? So why does Anna feel like she’s a fool to trust him?

The book everyone can almost relate to. You've been invited to your school reunion but you hated it when you were there and you're certainly not the same person since.
Anna is that girl. She was bullied on a daily basis at school and has somehow managed to distance herself from that place. But she can't ever forget the cruel things the children did.

I did think this book took a while to get into, but once you get started it really is a great book. I felt for Anna as she was a hopeless romantic and when she's brought to work with a guy who used to bully her at school, she's torn. However he doesn't remeber her, so Anna has the upper hand.

Anna's friends are just awesome, i loved Michelle. James was great he's the school bully or least was. And he too is going through some tough times as an adult. The two really do bounce off one another.
It's a tug of war/love with them both. You're wanting Anna to reveal herself but are scared for how the revalation comes about. The ending for me was just perfect. I'm a soppy mare, but i'd take it anyday! 

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The Accident

Title: The Accident
Author: C.L. Taylor
Type: Paperback
Read: 18th July - 19th July 2016
Rating: 4/5
Published: 10th April 2014 by Avon Harper Collins

Sue Jackson has the perfect family but when her teenage daughter Charlotte deliberately steps in front of a bus and ends up in a coma she is forced to face a very dark reality.

Retracing her daughter’s steps she finds a horrifying entry in Charlotte’s diary and is forced to head deep into Charlotte’s private world. In her hunt for evidence, Sue begins to mistrust everyone close to her daughter and she’s forced to look further, into the depths of her own past.There is a lot that Sue doesn’t know about Charlotte’s life. But then there’s a lot that Charlotte doesn’t know about Sue’s …

So after starting this year reading all of Cally's previous books, not in order (thankfully no sequals), i finally decided to read her debut, The Accident.

We are taken into the lives of the Jacksons, whos daughter Sophie has recently stepped infront of a bus. She's currently in a coma and no-one really understands why. Her father believes it was an accident, her mother Sue, believes her daughter done this on purpose. But the reasoning behind this, is what is driving Sue crazy. It's also giving her flashbacks to a past she liked to forget.

The story is told from Sue's view and we are taken from present day where sue is a mother and trying her hardest to be brave and get Sophie out of her coma, to the past, where it's Sue, life before Sophie.

I enjoyed the twists in the story and I did enjoy Sues hard work trying to figure out what happened to her daughter. I did feel sorry for her that no-one else in the family or otherwise woudl believe her. They thought she'd gone crazy again. But i think its just proof that a mother will not accept anything when it comes to their child. But then again, what secrets do children keep from their mothers?

It's a great debut and her follow on books are a cracker!

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Follow @callytaylor

The Marble Collector

Title: The Marble Collector
Author: Cecelia Ahern
Type: Hardback
Read: 16th July - 17th July 2016
Rating: 4/5
Published: 5th November 2015 by Harper Collins

The Marble Collector tells the story of a woman who discovers a collection of marbles in her father's belongings. On learning that part of the collection is missing, she embarks on a quest to relocate the missing marbles to complete the collection and also to understand and complete the picture of a man she realises she never fully knew. As she uncovers the story of a damaged childhood, she also comes to understand what is missing in herself.

I recieved this book as a gift at christmas, I just adore Cecelia Ahern and will buy all that she writes. This is told from both Fergus and Sabrinas view point, switching between the past and recent, but at the start its not obvious how the two characters are linked.

Sabrina recieves a gift of boxes which contain marbles, her fathers. Whilst she is unsure of their connection to her dad, she goes through the box to discover what they mean. Sabrinas father is recovering slowly from a stroke.

The marbles give Sabrina a chance to discover who her father truely was. Because the one she grew up with, doesn't quiet fit the image she is being told. It's a journey of discovery, of understanding the past and accepting that some hobbies are just a bit of fun.

I loved the tale of the two characters, i loved hearing of Fergus past and his growing up with his brothers. I loved the humor and banter between them. I did enjoy reading of Sabrinas struggle to understand, to not realise how much a like she is of her father.

Its a truely lovely tale. I'd recommend this book, but i do adore cecelia.

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Cover Reveal: The Christmas Promise

Yes, I know its not christmas yet, but take a look at thsi stunning cover. It just makes you want christmas here already.The Christmas Promise is the new book from Sue Moorcroft.

Relased in Ebook on 6th October 2016.

Out in Paperback on 1st December 2016

by Avon Books

For Ava Bliss, it’s going to be a Christmas to remember …

On a snowy December evening, Sam Jermyn steps into the life of bespoke hat maker Ava Blissham. Sparks fly, and not necessarily the good ones…

When Sam commissions Ava to make a hat for someone special to him she makes a promise that will change her life. She just doesn’t know it yet.

Ava needs this job – she’s struggling to make ends meet, her ex-boyfriend is a bully, and she’s desperate for distraction because no one dreads Christmas like Ava does.

But soon Ava finds herself reluctantly needing something from Sam. He’s quick to help, but she’s in for a nasty shock… Will she be able to keep her promise? And if she does, might this be the Christmas her dreams come true?

Curl up with this gorgeous, festive read – the perfect treat for fans of Katie Fforde, Carole Matthews and Trisha Ashley.

Pre-Order: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery

Follow: @SueMoorcroft

 

How to Build A Girl

Title: How to Build A Girl
Author: Caitlin Moran
Type: Paperback
Read: 11th July - 16th July 2016
Rating: 3/5
Published: 9th April 2015 by Ebruy Press

My name’s Johanna Morrigan. I’m fourteen, and I’ve just decided to kill myself.
I don’t really want to die, of course! I just need to kill Johanna, and build a new girl. Dolly Wilde will be everything I want to be, and more! But as with all the best coming-of-age stories, it doesn’t exactly go to plan…

I have no idea if i liked this book or not. It seemed such a mish mash of writing. Story told from 14yo Johanna turned Dolly Wilde. It often jumps from one age to the next without realising so. I felt for the girl but i'm not sure how many people can really relate to a 14yo leaving school, turning to write reviews for a music magazine. How many places would acually do that now?

Theres lots of talk of sex and how Dolly discovers it and what she likes etc.. i did feel sorry for her ways of blocking out stuff when it happened, even if she didn't really want it. It seemed to take her foever to find her own voice of reasoning and not just go along with what the situation entailed.

One favourite character was Krissi. I did adore him so and towards the end when they're at the concert, i just felt so pleased for him. He had some cracking lines in the book.

I'm not sure i'd pick up this author again, but who knows.

Go get it From: Amazon UK | Book Depository | Waterstones | Wordery
Follow @caitlinmoran

Mockingjay

Title: Mockingjay (Hunger Games #2)
Author: Suzanne Collins
Type: Paperback
Read: 8th July - 9th July 2016
Rating: 4/5
Published: 2nd October 2014 by Scholastic

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.

It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plans -- except Katniss.

The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay -- no matter what the personal cost.

District 12 has been distoryed, lives lost, Katniss is safe in 13, but Peeta is captured in the capitol. There are uprisings in all remaing districts and the only hope Katniss has is to become the Mockingjay for all. The only one who can stop this. She wants snow and the arrow has her name on it. But who is the enemy and who can she trust.

The conculding book of The Hunger Games trilology doesn't let you down. Its full of everything that you need answers to. We learn more about district 13 and who is for and against the capitol and their ways of working. Again i got through this fast. I really enjoyed this set.

Everyone wants to survive, yet this will cost lives and friendship. It will test any limit known to man. To over throw everything. To change history. But can it be done? Can Katniss keep the fight.

There are some sad parts in this book, i was gutted towards the end, because the one person Katniss tried her hardest to keep safe, was the one she couldnt' in the end. And who was the enemy? Its a cracking series.

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Follow @_SuzanneCollins