BOOK REVIEW | MEN EXPLAIN THINGS TO ME BY REBECCA SOLNIT

Title: Men Explain Things To Me
Author: Rebecca Solnit
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 130
Rating: 4/5

"In her comic, scathing essay “Men Explain Things to Me,” Rebecca Solnit took on what often goes wrong in conversations between men and women. She wrote about men who wrongly assume they know things and wrongly assume women don’t, about why this arises, and how this aspect of the gender wars works, airing some of her own hilariously awful encounters."

I found this a very interesting read. Since I listened to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's TED talk in the end of 2016 I have been interested in discovering the feminism topic. For me it felt like 'Men Explain Things To Me' was a good book to start with. I felt like it explained the basics of feminism. 

It's a relatively quick read but the emotion that comes with this book, makes it no fast read. Most of the numbers that I now read about for the first time are so shocking, as well as the fact that most numbers get explained with horrific stories. 

I would recommend this book if you are new to the topic of feminism and would like to discover this subject. I think that it won't technically be mind-blowing to ones that have been reading more about feminism. 

BOOK REVIEW | MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME EDITED BY STEPHANIE PERKINS

Title: My True Love Gave To Me
Author: Stephanie Perkins, Holly Black, Ally Carter, Matt de la Pena, Gayle Forman, Jenny Han, David Levithan, Kelly Link, Rainbow Rowell, Myra McEntire, Kiersten White and Laini Taylor
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 321
Rating: 2/5

In this anthology 12 popular contemporary authors write short stories set during or around Christmas. Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year's Eve, all are present in this anthology edited by Stephanie Perkins.

I was really excited to read this with one of my book clubs, but this did quite disappoint  I felt like the stories were lacking quality. It felt like anyone could have written it, they were not special in any way. I did quite like Rainbow Rowell's story 'Midnights' which was the first one in the book, which made it start of good.

'The Lady and the Fox' by Kelly Link was the second story in this book which I enjoyed as well but not as much as 'Midnights'. Lastly I also liked 'It's A Yuletide Miracle, Charlie Brown' by Stephanie Perkins herself. That's for all the stories I liked in this anthology. 

What can I say, this wasn't my cup of tea and I am contemplating to erase the summer anthology, co-written by the same authors of my wishlist.

FRIDAY READS

Men Explain Things To Me and Other Essays by Rebecca Solnit

BOOK REVIEW | A THOUSAND PIECES OF YOU BY CLAUDIA GRAY

Title: A Thousand Pieces of You
Author: Claudia Gray
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 358
Rating: 4/5

"Marguerite Caine's physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer—her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul— escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him. Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows—including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul's guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father's death is far more sinister than she expected."

This was a bookclub pick and I was very excited to pick this up. Mostly because the cover was so appealing, and when I read the back I saw it was recommended to 'Orphan Black' fans. I was super enthousiast to start this book. 

In this book we meet a handful of different characters but we deal the most with Marguerite, Paul and Theo. All three of who were awesome characters! The character building was great and I can't wait to see how they evolve in the next two books.

What I loved as well was the world building. We travel through different dimensions within the live of Marguerite and see the different versions of her living in different places/time. This was super awesome to read about and very well executed. 

I would recommend this book if you are a fan of dystopian's with a girly twist to it!

Get your copy of 'A Thousand Pieces of You' here!

BOOK REVIEW | ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE BY ANTHONY DOERR

Title: All The Light We Cannot See
Author: Anthony Doerr
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 531
Rating: 5/5

"Marie-Laure lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where he works as the master of its thousands of locks. When she is six, Marie-Laure goes blind and her father builds a perfect miniature of their neighborhood so she can memorize it by touch and navigate her way home. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.

In a mining town in Germany, the orphan Werner grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments, a talent that wins him a place at a brutal academy for Hitler Youth, then a special assignment to track the resistance. More and more aware of the human cost of his intelligence, Werner travels through the heart of the war and, finally, into Saint-Malo, where his story and Marie-Laure’s converge."

I loved this book. All The Light We Cannot See really intrigued me from the moment I had heard of it. I was really curious to read from the perspective of a girl who is blind. Besides that, the fact that the other main character, views the war from a totally different point also got me very interested.

This book was so well written. I love short chapters, which this book definitely had (most chapters were 3 to 5 pages). I loved the characters, not only Marie-Laure and Werner but also the side characters like Jutte and Etienne. 

I would definitely recommend this book to everyone. It's touching, devastating and wonderful.

Buy your copy of All The Light We Cannot See on Book Depository here!

BOOK REVIEW | ISLA AND THE HAPPILY EVER AFTER BY STEPHANIE PERKINS

Title: Isla and the Happily Ever After
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 339
Rating: 4/5


"Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart. "

Isla and the Happily Ever After is the last in this companion serie consisting of three books, and I definitely liked this one the best. First of all I absolutely adored Isla, I thought she was a lovely and sometimes relatable girl. I also absolutely adored Josh, he was cute and definitely fit in the image of what my imaginary boyfriend would look and act like.

This is in my opinion a typical book for it's genre, and this is not in a negative note at all! It is super cute, fluffy, easy to read and enjoyable!

One thing that did annoy me, is that one point some characters are 'feeling depressed'. I think that this term should have not been used. The way the characters feelings were described, I wouldn't say they were depressed, they were just not feeling to great. I think that when you use a term as depressed you really need to think twice. Are your characters really depressed or are they sad?

Overall I really liked this series, I am definitely planning to re-read them. I think I might pick up Anna and the French Kiss next year, because I read that one already over two years ago.

BOOK REVIEW | LOLA AND THE BOY NEXT DOOR BY STEPHANIE PERKINS

Title: Lola and the Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
First published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 384
Rating: 4/5


"Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn't believe in fashion... she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit – the more sparkly, more wild – the better. And life is pretty close to perfect for Lola, especially with her hot rocker boyfriend. That is, until the Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket return to the neighbourhood and unearth a past of hurt that Lola thought was long buried. So when talented inventor Cricket steps out from his twin sister's shadow and back into Lola's life, she must finally face up to a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door. Could the boy from Lola's past be the love of her future?"

I read 'Anna and the French Kiss' two years ago and ever since I have been wanting to pick up the other two companion novels but I never did. A couple of months ago I finally bought them and because I knew I was going to go to Crete, I decided to save them for my holiday. I find these books the perfect summer read.

I really liked our main character Lola, she was different and unique and you really get to see this. I also completely fell for Cricket, Lola's neighbour, I thought he was an absolute sweetheart. I was not to keen on Max, Lola's boyfriend. He was annoying, needy and way too jealous. 

I really liked the storyline, it was quite simple, but the things that happen along it's way are great. What I really liked as well is that family bonding also emerges. It was a very important aspect in this book, and is something I always really enjoy reading about.

This book was a lovely read, and I can't wait to complete the companion trilogy by reading 'Isla and the Happily Ever After' soon. 

BOOK REVIEW | THE STRANGE AND BEAUTIFUL SORROWS OF AVA LAVENDER BY LESLYE WALTON

Title: The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
Author: Leslye Walton
First published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 301
Rating: 4/5

Foolish love appears to be a Roux family birthright. And for Ava Lavender, a girl born with the wings of a bird, it is an ominous thing to inherit. In her quest to understand her peculiar disposition and a growing desire to join her peers, sixteen-year-old Ava ventures into the wider world. But it is a dangerous world for a naive girl. 

This is, I think the first book of magical realism that I am reading. Or at least, the first book of magical realism of which, I know that it is magical realism. Okay with that being said, I think I really want to discover more from this genre.

This book contains a story of loss and love that spans different generations. When I started the book I didn't know where it was going to go. It was different from what I expected from the synopsis, but it was even better than I expected it.

The characters were so lovely (except for a couple). I especially loved Rowe, such an intelligent, sweet boy. 

The writing style was great, the story itself beautiful and the characters absolutely lovely. I would definitely recommend this!

BOOK REVIEW | EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU BY CELESTE NG

Title: Everything I Never Told You
Author: Celeste Ng
First published: 2014
Language: English
Pages: 292
Rating: 5/5

"Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet. So begins this exquisite novel about a Chinese American family living in 1970s small-town Ohio. Lydia is the favorite child of Marilyn and James Lee, and her parents are determined that she will fulfill the dreams they were unable to pursue. But when Lydia’s body is found in the local lake, the delicate balancing act that has been keeping the Lee family together is destroyed, tumbling them into chaos."

I went into this book almost completely blind, I knew it was historical fiction and that it was a mystery, and that was about it. When I started reading this book I was from page 1 in awe of the writing style of Celeste Ng, the character development was absolutely amazing.

Throughout the whole book you read through the perspective from Lydia, her parents, her older brother and her younger sister. It is really interesting to see what was on their minds and how they cope with the situation.

This book is set in the 1970's and it is also really interesting how this book deals with gender and race equality. This book was absolutely wonderful and I would highly recommend!