Quite surprisingly, I read five books in July. I haven't read that many books in one month for a fair few months. If I'm honest I was in a bit of a reading slump. I'd been feeling anxious and my mind really wasn't into reading. However, I am glad I started reading again because honestly, it has helped me escape the anxiety and everything that comes with it.
I also discovered Amazon Prime reading. Great way to read free books on kindle if you are a prime member!
Here's my reading wrap for July with a brief description and perhaps even a small review!
Brain On Fire by Susannah Cahalan. - An award-winning memoir and instant New York Times bestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity.
When twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a hospital room, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak, she had no memory of how she’d gotten there. Days earlier, she had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship and a promising career at a major New York newspaper. Now she was labeled violent, psychotic, a flight risk. What happened?
A true story about a young lady who suffers a rare brain condition. Not being able to remember, unable to speak or even move and no idea what is wrong with her. Could it be physiological? Or is there way more to it? Her parents never give up on her and neither does her boyfriend!
I could relate to this story in a few ways because I have rare brain condition, although not the same as Susannah and nowhere near as bad but I could relate. I rated this book five stars on goodreads. A very brave young lady sharing her story with the world and making people aware!
The Seven Year Dress by Mahurn - One of the darkest times in human history was the insane design and execution to rid the world of Jews and “undesirables.” At the hands of the powerful evil madman Adolf Hitler, families were ripped apart and millions were slaughtered. Persecution, torture, devastation, and enduring the unthinkable remained for those who lived. This is the story of one woman who lived to tell her story. This is a narrative of how a young beautiful teenager, Helen Stein, and her family were torn asunder, ultimately bringing her to Auschwitz. It was there she suffered heinous indignity at the hands of the SS. It was also there, in that death camp, she encountered compassion, selfless acts of kindness, and friendship. Written by the award-winning, best-selling author of His Name Was Ben, comes a story of the resilience of the human spirit that will leave you thinking about Helen Stein and The Seven Year Dress for years to come after the last page is shut.
I read this book on my kindle and downloaded for free from Prime Reading. An historical fiction story (based on some true events) had me gripped from beginning to end and although I found this book in the Young Adult section, I found it very hard to read in places and really, very sad. With it being a holocaust story, it was to be expected. I rated this book four out of five stars.
Sugar by Deidre Riordan Hall - Tells the story about a teenager who is obese, she's been bullied and always thinking about her weight. With her family being obese and enjoying the sweet snacks and unhealthy food, she finds it hard to loose weight. Can Sugar loose the weight? A heartbreaking fictional story but has a good ending. Again, I found this book on Prime reading and read it on my kindle for free. I rated this book 3.5 stars. It was easy to follow and easy to read but I think it was lacking something, I'm just not really sure exactly what it was lacking. Overall I'm glad I read this book.
All The Bright Places by Jennifer Nieven.
The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.
This was my second attempt at reading this book. Young adult contemporary isn't something I use to read a lot of, until recently. I found this book really quite hard to get into. However, once I was well into it, I found it hard to put down. Heartbreaking and sad in places yet a good story and the writing style was easy to read. Each chapter flicks between Finch and Violet and tells the story of how Finch wants to die and yet he saves Violet and in a way I guess she saves him. It is quite depressing and yet in places I did laugh. This book reminded me a lot of John Greens 'The Fault In Our Stars' and yet it's totally different in a way I can't really explain. I rated this book 3 stars. I'm glad I read it but it's not a book I could read again. I should mention this story is also becoming a movie later this year (I believe).
Who we were before by Leah Mercer - Zoe knows that it wasn’t really her fault. Of course it wasn’t. But if she’d just grasped harder, run faster, lunged quicker, she might have saved him. And Edward doesn’t really blame her, though his bitter words at the time still haunt her, and he can no more take them back than she can halt the car that killed their son.
Zoe and her husbands son died two years earlier. Zoe blames herself. Her husband blames her too. With there marriage at breaking point they decide to have a weekend away in Paris. Zoe gets lost and her husband decides to do his own thing.... Another Prime reading kindle book I read for free (I really made the most of my amazon Prime trial!) A bit of a depressing story which was a little bit slow to begin with.The writing style is easy to read and follow, I just didn't really enjoy it as much as I thought I would. The story flicks back between past and present time. Perhaps I wasn't in the right mood to read this kind of story. I am glad I read it though! I rated this book three stars on Goodreads.
What have you been reading lately?Or what are you currently reading?
Sarah xXx
I also discovered Amazon Prime reading. Great way to read free books on kindle if you are a prime member!
Here's my reading wrap for July with a brief description and perhaps even a small review!
Brain On Fire by Susannah Cahalan. - An award-winning memoir and instant New York Times bestseller that goes far beyond its riveting medical mystery, Brain on Fire is the powerful account of one woman’s struggle to recapture her identity.
When twenty-four-year-old Susannah Cahalan woke up alone in a hospital room, strapped to her bed and unable to move or speak, she had no memory of how she’d gotten there. Days earlier, she had been on the threshold of a new, adult life: at the beginning of her first serious relationship and a promising career at a major New York newspaper. Now she was labeled violent, psychotic, a flight risk. What happened?
A true story about a young lady who suffers a rare brain condition. Not being able to remember, unable to speak or even move and no idea what is wrong with her. Could it be physiological? Or is there way more to it? Her parents never give up on her and neither does her boyfriend!
I could relate to this story in a few ways because I have rare brain condition, although not the same as Susannah and nowhere near as bad but I could relate. I rated this book five stars on goodreads. A very brave young lady sharing her story with the world and making people aware!
The Seven Year Dress by Mahurn - One of the darkest times in human history was the insane design and execution to rid the world of Jews and “undesirables.” At the hands of the powerful evil madman Adolf Hitler, families were ripped apart and millions were slaughtered. Persecution, torture, devastation, and enduring the unthinkable remained for those who lived. This is the story of one woman who lived to tell her story. This is a narrative of how a young beautiful teenager, Helen Stein, and her family were torn asunder, ultimately bringing her to Auschwitz. It was there she suffered heinous indignity at the hands of the SS. It was also there, in that death camp, she encountered compassion, selfless acts of kindness, and friendship. Written by the award-winning, best-selling author of His Name Was Ben, comes a story of the resilience of the human spirit that will leave you thinking about Helen Stein and The Seven Year Dress for years to come after the last page is shut.
I read this book on my kindle and downloaded for free from Prime Reading. An historical fiction story (based on some true events) had me gripped from beginning to end and although I found this book in the Young Adult section, I found it very hard to read in places and really, very sad. With it being a holocaust story, it was to be expected. I rated this book four out of five stars.
Sugar by Deidre Riordan Hall - Tells the story about a teenager who is obese, she's been bullied and always thinking about her weight. With her family being obese and enjoying the sweet snacks and unhealthy food, she finds it hard to loose weight. Can Sugar loose the weight? A heartbreaking fictional story but has a good ending. Again, I found this book on Prime reading and read it on my kindle for free. I rated this book 3.5 stars. It was easy to follow and easy to read but I think it was lacking something, I'm just not really sure exactly what it was lacking. Overall I'm glad I read this book.
All The Bright Places by Jennifer Nieven.
The Fault in Our Stars meets Eleanor and Park in this exhilarating and heart-wrenching love story about a girl who learns to live from a boy who intends to die.
Theodore Finch is fascinated by death, and he constantly thinks of ways he might kill himself. But each time, something good, no matter how small, stops him.
Violet Markey lives for the future, counting the days until graduation, when she can escape her Indiana town and her aching grief in the wake of her sister’s recent death.
When Finch and Violet meet on the ledge of the bell tower at school, it’s unclear who saves whom. And when they pair up on a project to discover the “natural wonders” of their state, both Finch and Violet make more important discoveries: It’s only with Violet that Finch can be himself—a weird, funny, live-out-loud guy who’s not such a freak after all. And it’s only with Finch that Violet can forget to count away the days and start living them. But as Violet’s world grows, Finch’s begins to shrink.
This is an intense, gripping novel perfect for fans of Jay Asher, Rainbow Rowell, John Green, Gayle Forman, and Jenny Downham from a talented new voice in YA, Jennifer Niven.
This was my second attempt at reading this book. Young adult contemporary isn't something I use to read a lot of, until recently. I found this book really quite hard to get into. However, once I was well into it, I found it hard to put down. Heartbreaking and sad in places yet a good story and the writing style was easy to read. Each chapter flicks between Finch and Violet and tells the story of how Finch wants to die and yet he saves Violet and in a way I guess she saves him. It is quite depressing and yet in places I did laugh. This book reminded me a lot of John Greens 'The Fault In Our Stars' and yet it's totally different in a way I can't really explain. I rated this book 3 stars. I'm glad I read it but it's not a book I could read again. I should mention this story is also becoming a movie later this year (I believe).
Who we were before by Leah Mercer - Zoe knows that it wasn’t really her fault. Of course it wasn’t. But if she’d just grasped harder, run faster, lunged quicker, she might have saved him. And Edward doesn’t really blame her, though his bitter words at the time still haunt her, and he can no more take them back than she can halt the car that killed their son.
Zoe and her husbands son died two years earlier. Zoe blames herself. Her husband blames her too. With there marriage at breaking point they decide to have a weekend away in Paris. Zoe gets lost and her husband decides to do his own thing.... Another Prime reading kindle book I read for free (I really made the most of my amazon Prime trial!) A bit of a depressing story which was a little bit slow to begin with.The writing style is easy to read and follow, I just didn't really enjoy it as much as I thought I would. The story flicks back between past and present time. Perhaps I wasn't in the right mood to read this kind of story. I am glad I read it though! I rated this book three stars on Goodreads.
What have you been reading lately?Or what are you currently reading?
Sarah xXx
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