Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Make You Think

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish. 

With the anniversary of 9/11 today, this week's TTT is on Books that have made me think. This can be the world, my life, people - anything. As long as it made you think more about the themes or topic that the book is centred around. So, here are mine.


1. The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler - Although not everyone's cup of tea, this book certainly made me think. Set in 1996, Emma and Josh log onto Facebook and find themselves in years later in 2011. This made me think 'What if I could look into the future?' What would I do? What would my life be like? Would I be happy? Why do we just the Internet so much (says the person with a blog...)? (review)

2. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne - I think I need not say why. The ending of this book (or indeed from the movie) sums it up. (review)

3. Once/Then/Now/After by Morris Gleitzman - I think sometimes when we talk about the Holocaust or World War Two, at least, we forget about children, often talking about adults and teenagers. Especially those running away. Once showed me a rawness and innocence and even a naivety of children that I will not forget when I both see children and when I talk about WWII. (review of Once)

4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - Most people fear death. But what would you do if you know death was immediate, going to happen at any moment as you enjoyed your day? Hazel has cancer in this book. A young girl that has cancer and relies on a breathing machine. At 17, it's hard for me to imagine living Hazel's life. Anyone who has read this book, I sure hope would agree with me. (review)

5. Speak/Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Andersen - Anything by Laurie Halse Andersen is sure going to make you think about your life, yourself and the people around me. I have only ever read these too books but both made me feel something I can't explain, especially Wintergirls. These books deal with anorexia, self-esteem, bullying and the issue of rape. Some of the scenes in these novels really hit home during reading. (review for Speak) |  (review for Wintergirls)

6. The Declaration series by Gemma Malley - The opposite of The Fault in Our Stars. What if you could live forever? I mean, seriously, what would happen, no-one has thought of that!? In this series, Malley looks at the effects on the world, England in particular, if we could all live forever, if we relied on a set of drugs to keep us alive continuously. Would we go to school? Would we have jobs? What would the world be like if no-one died but women kept on giving birth? (review)

7. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - This is the first dystopian book I ever read and I think that alone made me think about the world around me. This was more of a 'grown-up' book for me when I picked it up the first time and I think that alone gave me something to think about. If you haven't read this, do it. Go and just read this. (review)

8. Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld - I've only read this series of books recently. Scott Westerfeld deals with so many issues, not just the whole Ugly/Pretty system and the controlling government. There are issues of bullying, plastic surgery, friendships, self-harming, effects of drugs and alcohol but most of all the issues we all have with beauty and trying to look good all the time. Most people may not seem vain, but this series of books has proven that everyone is always wanting some trivial. (review)

Back to College...

Back to college today so my frequent posting is coming to an end.
Although I have like a zillion free periods now, I also will have tons of work, especially as all three subjects I'm continuing (Media, History and English Literature) have coursework this term. Fun. My college have mucked up my timetable so I have lots of frees, no lunch and a block of lessons in the middle of the day with no break. Oh and NO-ONE knows what times the lessons are supposed to start and finish. So, so far, this year seems like it is not going to be great.

So there may be lots of reading down. Or not. I feel like blogging-wise, I'm only posting when I have to. You know, just reviews and some On My Bookshelf. No discussions, interviews or posts like this one. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing.
This summer has been great, my last summer where I won't be moving, like now. It's so weird to thing that this time next year A levels will be over and I'll be moving out, away from le parents. So, so weird.

(Here are some photos from over the summer):

Me at a dinner party/BBQ I held at my house for a bunch of lovely people I hadn't seen in a while.
As my friend captioned this photo on Instagram:
'Rebecca auditioning for the role of Housewife'

I went to Leicester Square the other day and in the trees, they had paper medals for the medals won by Team GB in the Olympics which I thought was lovely!

I also went to see 'Moonrise Kingdom'. GO SEE IT. It is the cutest movie I have ever had the joy to see and the girl in it has such a nice face...

As every Londoner, I've been watching the Olympics and Paralympics, especially the former. The numerous times I screamed at the TV for the swimmers, runners, divers and rowers to just 'SWIM/RUN/ROW' was countless. From being in London during this time, the buzz was in everyone. They were amazing. 

Although I didn't go to any ticketed events, I did go to the Road Race Cycling for the Women's (where we got a Silver!) and both the Marathon for the Olympics and Paralympics where they were on a loop going by our spot 3 times. On the picture (above right), you can just see David Weir coming into the picture on the left, who later won Gold.

So after a lovely summer, I just hope college gets better.

Extras - Scott Westerfeld (#4)

**There may be spoilers for those that have not read the first three in this series: Uglies #1 (review), Pretties #2 (review) or Specials #3 (review). 

Although I think you could read this novel without the others in the series**

Extras is the fourth and last book in the Uglies series, following Tally Youngblood in her quest to change the society of the world.
Previously, we saw Tally at the end of Specials, defeating her city and opening people's eyes to the world they had become, looking at the prejudice between Uglies and Pretties. Specials ended with a note of finality for me, so I was interested to see how Extras would be different and continue the story along, yet still keep the essence that makes the Uglies series so great.

Synopsis: It's three years after Tally ended the Ugly/Pretty/Special regime and retreated into the wild with David. And the world has changed, again. Since the 'mind-rain', Aya Fuse's city has turned into a society where fame gets you everything. If you are in the Top Thousand, you have a more space, more clothes and lots and lots of merits to buy whatever you want. However, if you're like Aya with a face rank of 451,369, then babysitting and going to classes is the only way to get anything.
Aya is a no-body. An 'extra' at 15 years-old. However, as much as her face-rank is so low, Aya doesn't care. She's just waiting for the right moment when a great story comes along to 'kick' with her trusty hovercam, Moggle. And then that time comes. Aya discovers a secret clique of girls who pull crazy tricks - the Sly-girls. When she joins them, she finds something altogether more terrifying - a story that will propel her to a world of fame, fortune...and danger.


Review: When I started reading the Uglies series back in June, I thought this was a quartet, and it is really. However, I think Extras is more of a standalone novel featuring a world and a set of characters that have a series of books themselves. Simply, I think this novel can be read alone without reading the other books in the series.

The past three books have been set in North America, latterly we found out set in California area. However, Extras is set in, from what I can determine, Japan - although it's never clear. After the 'mind-rain' caused by Tally expelling the Uglies/Pretties/Specials society, the cities went into a little confusion without this authority and set society that everyone was used to. As a result, in Aya's city, they created the idea of face-ranks. In short, the lower your face-rank, the more merits, fame and an overall better life you had. If you got to the top Thousand, well, you were quite something. However, higher than 100,000, you are deemed an extra, like Aya, an extra person in the city desperately trying to win fame and fortune. The city is thriving culturally with the different cliques - everyone wants some attention be it a 'surge-monkey', 'Radical Honesty' or a 'kicker', which is the category Aya and her brother, Hiro call into. Kickers find the most interesting stories and post them on a feed for everyone to see. A future blogger in other words!

This book for me attracts two kinds of readers. 1) Fans of the Uglies series, with the references to the earlier novels and also as a look into Tally's impact on the world retrospectively. 2) New Fans. Okay, so if you read this novel, there are things that might be spoiled for the other books but seriously, I can see this as a stand-alone novel. The narrative is self contained and the references to the other three books are either too subtle or explained from Aya's point of view. It;s nice to see an end to a series like this and also I can understand some blogger's comments that this is more of a companion to the Uglies series, especially as it was more of an after thought.

The writing is great as always from Scott Westerfeld and I enjoyed the fast pace that was kept throughout. I think it was lost a little in Pretties and Specials so it was nice to see it back. This book is much different in many aspects from the Uglies series. They were about fighting the government, this? Fighting aliens. Again another reason for it's stand-alone quality.
The story is slow to start off with, I have to admit. I found the bits focussing on the Sly Girls a little tedious and I was starting to see why some bloggers don't like this book. However, around halfway when Aya gains some more fame, it became SO MUCH MORE interesting, enjoyable and I devoured the remaining pages. It's a book of two halves - the latter the better part.

Aya as a character was lovely and after Tally becoming a little annoying and intense by the end of Specials, it was nice to have this hint of innocence to the series again. From Uglies, I loved Tally's strong personality that was eventually lost in Pretties and Specials. However, Aya has inherited this strong personality and her determination (although as unethical as it might be) I think drives the narrative at times. I wanted to read about her. I wanted to see how she would help or react to Tally.
At the end of Extras, there's a side to Tally we see that shows her transition from Ugly to now a Special clearly. She is doing something extreme and Aya has to try and convince her it is not the right choice. I think it really shows how manipulation of your body and mind can really make you a different person. Aya is a young girl without any surge or manipulation and it made her a lovely character.
There are also some lovely more minor characters that I loved - Ren, Hiro and Frizz made a lovely comedy trio that made this novel more enjoyable.


Scott Westerfeld once again deals subtly with some heavy issues that we can all learn from - popularity, the celebrity status, sustainability are all dealt with in this novel and although being published in 2007, 5 years on, this still and always will remain relevant.
This was a lovely end to the series especially for faithful Uglies series fans. It was also nice to know Tally's total effect on the world and if it actually made a difference. I loved the ending which gave finality and also, a perfect ending for Tally and her friends.
It's fair to say this has been an amazing series that I have loved. I can't believe it's taken me THIS long to read it.
This book is perfect for Uglies fans. However, it is also perfect as a stand-alone as a taster of Westerfeld's work. Go ahead, I know you want to.

I give it a 4.5 out of 5

Author's Website: http://scottwesterfeld.com/
Pages: 417
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Challenges: None

Related Posts:
Review: Uglies #1
Review: Pretties #2
Review: Specials #3
Review: So Yesterday (stand-alone also by Scott Westerfeld)

Pushing the Limits - Katie McGarry

I requested this book on Netgalley, not really intending to read it any time soon. It sounded interesting but I wasn't hooked - I wanted to read the books I am hooked on first.
So, why did I read this book sooner?
The reviews. The magnitude of them that every blogger has posted, sharing their mostly positive reviews. I was simply intrigued to see what all the fuss was about. I entered now expecting much and came out pleasantly surprised.

Synopsis: Something happens a few years ago that changed Echo's live forever. She turned from one of the most popular girls in school with an equally popular jock boyfriend to the 'freak' with scars on her arms? Has she been self-harming, what's wrong with her? But Echo doesn't know as she can't remember the whole truth of that night, the night where she lost her mother and gained these scars. She just wants normal now.
Noah's attitude precedes him, being known for one-night-stands, drinking and drugs, when he enters Echo's life, they should completely opposite. However, both are surprisingly understanding to one another and soon a friendship forms. But with all their issues, can it go further?

Review: I have something to admit. On starting this book, I totally thought this was a Fifty Shades of Grey for teenagers. I know, I know, first impressions, don't judge a book by its cover and all that. But I was totally expecting attraction, a false relationship and some sex (for the record, there is none). Why? Pushing the Limits. The title merely. A 'bad' boy and a good girl. Secrets and their lives being not that fantastic. I was thinking an updated Forever by Judy Blume (from what I can remember of that book *shudders*).
But I was pleasantly surprised. This is not a book filled with a false and forced feeling relationship. Yes, there is sexual attraction but what teenager HASN'T experienced that by the age of 18?!
This was a nice little book to sit down either in the sun on the beach or on a rainy afternoon and just read. It is a pretty intense read so I think if you get into it, it would be hard to stop reading.

Ah, Noah. Just Noah. I found I felt more for him throughout than Echo, not entirely sure why. I think it's because although he has this bad boy attitude on the surface, as we look deeper into his personality he's actually a total softy. It's touching to see how much he cares for both Echo and his brothers and how much he would just go with what Echo wanted. FINALLY there is evidence that not all teenage boys are sex-crazy!
I also liked Echo for the fact she felt very realistic to me, even though her past seemed a little 'out there' to me at times. She was also a completely different type of protagonist and I liked that element of her. The other characters were completely different to one another, which is refreshing to see, and added some laughter and entertainment to a story which I like may have been TOO intense otherwise. My only problem with the minor characters was that they seemed way too cliche for me. This was a book about breaking barriers socially (like the popular girl and the bad stoner boy for instance...) but the other characters could have easily been put into categories. Which kind of defeats the object, if you think about it. Anyway, favourites combos come with Beth/Noah/Isaish and Lila/Echo. Lila, you are my best friend now.

I liked the writing the most I think. Okay, so the writing is hardly Jane Austen or Charles Dickens but I still liked it! McGarry shows their emotions easily without being too dramatic. I also liked the fact that not everything was revealed at the beginning, and for Echo's story, you find out what happened with her and Noah. It made it more interesting to read I think and made me form a judgement before finding out how messed up both their lives are. My only concern really was some of the events seemed too far-fetched or melodramatic for me, but this didn't affect my reading.

Despite my expectations being a little judgemental from the title, I did enjoy this novel and was pleasantly surprised. I wouldn't say it's the best book I've read, but it's a pretty damn good shot at a great contemporary from Katie McGarry. I had few problems with this book and loved the characters she presented, especially Noah. Although when he calls Echo 'baby' on some occasions, I sounded so creepy. Like 'Ah, get away from me you creep', creepy. Meh, just me? Okay then...

I give this a 4 out of 5

Thank you to the publisher for letting me view the e-galley via Netgalley

Author's Website: http://www.katielmcgarry.com/
Pages: 384
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Challenges: None

DARED TO YOU is coming out in 2013, centred around Beth from PUSHING THE LIMITS

Looking back at AUGUST

Previous months: 
February
March
April 
May 
June
July

August was the month of doing absolutely nothing. Apart from reading, of course.
I had the whole of August off for the summer holidays so reading was something I was doing pretty frequently as I had extra time on my hands. I also spent the month working (FYI, I work at a bookshop), blogging, watching the magic that is Glee (hooked), seeing friends and attempting to think that it really is summer while walking in rain. Yep, the inevitable rain graced England's summers once again. I actually thought this summer had more summery days than previous years but BBC beg to differ as they announced the other day that this August was the wettest summer since 1912. So, perhaps I was wrong.

Blogging had increased due to this extra time (and when I'm trying to put off doing work like, erm, NOW). So it was nice to see more comments, more posts and overall more reading! The total as now of followers was 98 so two more until 100! That would make my year. Thank you to all of you who have already!

Reviews:

Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

Debutantes - Cora Harrison

Specials - Scott Westerfeld (#3)

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight - Jennifer. E. Smith (so cute!)

New Girl - Paige Harbison (not the most positive of reviews...)

What Happened to Goodbye - Sarah Dessen

Read but not reviewed:

The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery

Pushing the Limits - Katie McGarry (writing the review for this at the moment)

Memes: 

On My Bookshelf (26)

Other: 

Signing Coming Up (featuring John Boyne and Derek Landy)

My AS Results 

I'm Back (from when I went on holiday)

On My Bookshelf (27)

This meme for originally inspired by 'In My Mailbox' created by The Story Siren
Other versions are:
Letterbox Love created by Narratively Speaking
Stacking the Shelves created by Tynga's reviews
Showcase Sunday created by Books, Biscuits and Tea 

Borrowed from Library:

- Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler - I heard about this book a while ago when it appeared on Goodreads due to some of the American bloggers I follow. I have also seen some really positive reviews and after seeing the BEAUTIFUL cover, I knew it was a book I wanted to read. However, with the whole I'm a UK blogger but this is published in the US, it became a book I knew I would never read. 

UNTIL NOW. I actually saw it first in the UK at work on the shelf when tidying which was a bit of a revelation and surprise. I was going to buy it but when seeing it in the library the other day, it was too good to resist. LOOK AT THAT COVER. AND IT HAS PICTURES.

(Also surprised to find out that Daniel Handler? His pen name is Lemony Snicket - the writer of A Series of Unfortunate Events!)

- After by Morris Gleitzman - You thought the Once series was just a trilogy therefore after Once (review), Then (review) and Now (review), that was it, done. ME TOO. 

I was so happy to find out they decided to continue Felix's story further! Here, Gleitzman writes what happened in between Then and Now, set a year after WWII finishes. So looking forward to reading this!

Received for review:

- The Diviners by Libba Bray - I have never read anything by Libba Bray but I know lots of people will be saying 'But you should!' When I got a list of books from Atom with their new releases and read the blurb for this, I knew I wanted to read it. 1920's? New York? But with SERIAL-KILLERS? This sounded interesting to say the least. It was a great thing to arrive back to from holiday.

This will be my first taste of Libba Bray so if it's good I may advance onto A Great and Terrible Beauty. Thank you Atom for sending me a copy of this!

What did you receive this week? Have you read any of these books?

New Girl - Paige Harbison

Yesterday, I posted my review of Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier which I loved.
I wasn't going to write a review for that book until I read this.

When I found out this was a modern retelling of Rebecca, I was interested straight away especially with my small connection to the original title.
I have to admit that it took me a while to read this book as I felt I should read the original before going for a retelling. So when I caught the Rebecca fever after reading du Maurier's gothic romance, I decided it was time to try New Girl.

These are the US and UK covers. In all honesty, I cringe at the bright colours and just childish feel of the UK cover (right). I mean where in the book does she wear stripy socks and pink shoes? The US cover (left) is much more understated and is recognisable for anyone that had read the book. I prefer it so much more.

Synopsis: New Girl starts at the prestigious private Manderley Academy in her last year of high school, this has been her dream school since she was 13. However, she is not as welcomed as she might have hoped as she took the only place left open when Becca Normandy went missing four months previously. Living in the same room, same bed, same roommate, New Girl finds herself being constantly compared to the popular, pretty Becca. With everyone seeming to be blaming her for Becca's disappearance, New Girl finds comfort in the only person who doesn't - Max Holloway - Becca's boyfriend when she disappeared. She is told they were madly in love and New Girl is merely replacing her until she comes back. Because everyone thinks she is still alive, waiting for the right moment to return...

Review:

**I'm going to say now that I think some of things I am going to say may be interpreted as harsh and mean. I do not mean it in an offensive way - I am merely displaying my thoughts. If you have any issues with the following, please do feel free to let me know and I will correct them. I am just being honest**

My main thought after reading this is that Daphne Du Maurier must be turning in her grave. 

I really wanted to like this. I love contemporary. I love a little romance. And it's based on a novel which I have a new-found love for. This should have been great. However, I found it far from great.

Okay, there were some good bits. I mean, it can't have been that bad with the fact I read to the end. Despite my main emotions and opinions throughout reading, I was involved in the plot - I did want to know how it ended. I did want to see what had happened to Becca. I did want to see the outcome for the main protagonist greatly. I did want her and Max to get together in the end. So, in that aspect, this book was good. The plot does suck you in a little and if all the things I didn't like about this book (which I will come onto later) weren't there, I think I would love and cherish this book much more. In fairness, Paige Harbison sucked me into the story - that's one of the main things to do when writing, right?

So that's the main good thing I found about this book. However, all the bad things I didn't like quite possibly weigh down that. I'm just going to list them because that will stop my rambling.

• I found it all a bit forced and fake. This was not real life. Far from it. I didn't feel like any of the events that happened in this book would ever happen. The way I interpreted the blurb was that this being a modern retelling would also make it even more relatable for a new generation. Rebecca was a hit with its generation and parts of the novel can still be used as examples today. That was one of the things that made it a bestseller - it's relatability. That aspect was totally lost here. Some events seemed totally random and I was lost at points when this happened. It just felt like the novel hadn't been totally thought through. 
• Moving on from the above, the writing. What sums it up for me is what Ria from The Beaucoup Review said about this: 'I found that there wasn't enough detail in the writing, at all. It seemed like a story plot, or a list- this happened, then this happened and 3 months later this happened. The lack of detail, for me, kind of ruined the story'. That is true. This, for me, wasn't a story or a plot or anything. It was an episodic chapter of events that happen to link to one another. 
• I hated most of the characters. No, every single one. I can rant for a long time on these characters. I hated Rebecca, sorry Becca. I hated Max. I hated the protagonist! The only one I vaguely liked was Blake, only because I want her as my best friend. I feel like I should hate Max and Rebecca - you do at points throughout the original. But Becca? Serious bitch in this. I'm glad Harbison has kept the revelation of Rebecca for me of being a lovely, popular person on the surface but actually done so much damage. I felt I should like the heroine, you're supposed to feel for her right? I didn't. I thought her frivilous, silly and just really unrelatable. She also seemed to change personalities from her Florida self to her Manderley self. It just seemed all a bit bizarre.
• How is this based on Rebecca? The thing that drew me to this book was the fact it was based on a classic, Rebecca. Although, it is clear from reading both books that New Girl's plot and a limited amount of characters is loosely based around Rebecca, there was too much that was so far from Rebecca. The ending was like the 'alternative ending' to Rebecca that nearly happens in the original. Throughout reading it felt that the author had taken the basic plot of Rebecca, the setting and some of the names and made it an entirely different story. The original is a story of finding yourself and how secrets can twist things etc - THIS...not so much. Coming away from this book, this book was more about popularity and fitting in - like so many YA novels. 
• Max and New Girl's relationship. IT WASN'T A RELATIONSHIP. Looking at their relationship throughout the novel, it didn't seem like one. They hardly knew each other and interacted maybe twice before they were suddenly a couple. It just seemed a bit more faked and forced. There was no romance. 
• The tributes to Rebecca just...didn't work. At all. At first, with the description of Manderley Academy, I was thinking 'Oh great! They're going to have lots of little tributes that only readers of Rebecca will understand!'. Yeah that did happen. But that was as far as my excitement went. The characters had similar names to those in the original - Max Holloway (erm, what happened to de Winter?), Becca, Dana Veers (very clever) and then Johnny and Blake came along and I just got so confused. It took me the whole book to realise they were Jack Favell and Beatrice (Max's sister in Rebecca). Why change the names? Yes, these are more modern but surely Jack would be okay? Then, two teachers were named Van Hopper and Crawley, like from Rebecca. But they seemed pointless. Crawley, I felt should have been in it more. And Van Hopper? She appears once telling the class how they read a book a week and I was hoping, praying, that one time the book would be Rebecca. But she never appeared again, so that never happened. It was just so disappointing.

I think I may be coming from another point of view compared to most bloggers who have reviewed this. I have read and loved Rebecca and having read this straight afterwards with the plot fresh, it turned into more of a disappointment. 

I really wanted to love this book and there are good parts that I have mentioned within it. I also liked the double layer of Becca. I found Becca too extreme, too unlifelike. But I still liked to see this nice and not nice nature of hers. 

It was also nice to see her point of view on events that were relatable to what was happening to New Girl in the alternating chapter voices. Also, although not done in Rebecca, I did smile when New Girl's real name is revealed, especially as I have a friend of THAT name. It was so sudden! 

I had to start reading this as a unique different story and ignore the infuriating references to Rebecca and from that point of view, I may have liked this slightly more. I think I've outlined, hopefully without ranting, why I didn't like this book. The writing, the characters, just the plot didn't work for me, but that's not to say it won't work for someone else. Other bloggers have loved this. I just didn't. A lot. 

I give it a 2 out of 5

Thank you to the publisher for allowing me to view the e-galley via Netgalley

Author's Website: http://paigeharbison.blogspot.co.uk/

Pages: 320

Publisher: Harlequin Teen 

Challenges: None

Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier

Rebecca holds a lot of value for me, even before I started this book for a number of reasons.
For starters, I think it's obvious that I was drawn to this book because of the title. For the record, I was NOT named after the book (as much I would love that). My name was a popular name in the 90's. According to my parents anyway.

Secondly, I won an award in my last year of secondary school. It was a governor prize awarded by the governors of my school, none of which I know. Basically, I won it because in the five years of my time there, my name kept cropping up for good reasons rather than bad. For the prize I got a trophy and £20 to spent on books of my choice. But they had to have a special value. I chose A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness because of the beautiful drawings included with the story and this, for obvious reasons.


So when I was asked by my college to read a 'Gothic Literature Novel' over the summer, I chose this (it's classed as a modern Gothic romance novel). I had been dying to read it to find out who was Rebecca. I was pleasantly surprised.

Synopsis: Working as a lady's companion in Monte Carlo, the heroine of Rebecca (who is never named) lives a dull life serving an ageing rich American heiress with no manners. This is until she meets Maxim du Winter, a wealthy English widow spending time in Monte Carlo after the death of his wife, Rebecca. After three weeks, she is proposed to by Maxim and taken from French society to the ominous Manderley where the legacy of Rebecca is being kept alive by the creepy housekeeper, Mrs Danvers, who instantly takes a dislike to the heroine. Her new husband changes from a bright, happy man to a dark, moody stranger and she is constantly compared to the old Mrs du Winter. Soon, the heroine starts to discover the secrets, mystery and lies behind Rebecca's life and death and how she can never compare to the Other Woman.

Review: Books I have to read for college, I normally don't review but I felt this time, I should.

I started this book doubtful and after reading the start very slowly, I was starting to doubt my choice and presumptions. That I think is because I was only reading it every so often, a long busy journey here, a quiet lunchtime at work there. My first impression was completely wrong.

This book gripped me from start (when it picked up which is around when she goes to Manderley) to finish. I was absorbed by the mystery of Manderley, Mrs Danvers, the heroine, Rebecca, Maxim - my, even the dog, Jasper has a little of mystery and past about him.
There is plenty of lies, deceit and mystery to be getting on with in this book alone. I can see why this was made into a Hitchcock film, merely for that alone.

I don't have much to say. But that isn't in a bad way. Rebecca is a book that kept me up in the waking hours wanting to know why Maxim changed in his return to Manderley. Why no-one used the west-wing.
The characters, the writing (very old fashioned but still easy to read), the mystery, the beautiful locations, the plot. This is the perfect book to wrap up in the winter in bed or by a fire on a snowy day and just do something simple and read. Although you grow hate for a few characters in this book, in the end, I found something about them that made me feel for them.

This book is about discovering yourself and how secrets and lies can cause the worst situations. Although dead, the character of Rebecca is someone I would never have guessed from the beginning. Your first impressions, like mine of the book, will change for every single character.

This is an incredibly short review because as this was published in 1938, I think everything great about this book has already been said by other critics and readers. These are merely my first and main reasons for loving this book.
A fact which I hope says why this is a great book, despite it being 74 years old is this: Rebecca has never gone out of print.

'Last night I dreamt of Manderley' - I think any reader will after reading this.

I give it 5 out of 5

Author's Website: http://www.dumaurier.org/
Pages: 448
Publisher: Virago Press
Challenges: Historical Fiction, BBC


Tune back for my review of New Girl by Paige Harbison, a modern retelling of Rebecca

I'm Back!

I'm back! I went on holiday for 10 days to Spain as it's the summer holidays so I knew that I wouldn't have any internet aspects. It's that time of year again when all bloggers have a little time off to go on holiday for the summer I guess.

I have spent the morning catching up on my favourite blogs, commenting and replying to some of my own comments on my blog that have been published in the last few days. It was lovely to come back to so many!

So the next week holds some serious work both blogging and college. I have a ton of college work still to do by next week (ek!) and quite a few reviews to write that sound a little professional at least.
Here is a low-down on the books I read while I was away:

Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery (I won't publish a review)
Pushing the Limits - Katie McGarry
New Girl - Paige Harbison (a retelling of Rebecca!)


Let me know what you thought of any of those books or what you, yourself are reading! See you soon!

On My Bookshelf (26)

This meme for originally inspired by 'In My Mailbox' created by The Story Siren
Other versions are:
Letterbox Love created by Narratively Speaking
Stacking the Shelves created by Tynga's reviews
Showcase Sunday created by Books, Biscuits and Tea 

The books I had planned to read on my Kindle over my holiday won't seem like they're going to get a look in now. 

From Library:

- The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer. E. Smith - I've seen a number of reviews for this on the blogosphere and at work, it's incredibly popular. The idea of it seemed interesting, especially as I love to travel myself. It's a book I didn't mind reading but I wasn't bursting to do so. I have started this one already and it's good so far, although I'm sorry but Oliver is not British. His mannerisms and language seems too American for me at the moment. And he said Paddington was in West London. IT'S IN CENTRAL LONDON. West London is where I live and I'm no-where near Paddington!

- Extras by Scott Westerfeld - Ironically, I was returning Specials when I found this in the library. Normally, I by-pass the adult fiction section and breeze into the Teen section. However, that day I decided to have a quick look in the adult section (mostly because the library has air-conditioning and it was hot outside). I found this under R which I found a little bizarre. And of course, this is the last book in the Uglies series! Finished it in a few months, this is great! Have a look at my reviews for the first books in this series - Uglies (review), Pretties (review), Specials (review). 

Received:

- The Forsaken by Lisa.M. Stasse - Well, this was a surprise when it came through my letterbox this morning while I was munching on my cereal watching an episode of Glee. If you guys may remember, Lisa was in The 5 Questions (here) and when she asked me if I wanted a copy of her book, I never thought it would come from America! This is the US cover which I prefer MUCH more to the UK one. This has been getting some good reviews on the blogosphere so I may need to read this soon! 

Check this out if you see it, Lisa is lovely and this looks like it's going to be a big book - the next Hunger Games. 

Thank you Lisa again!

Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think?