A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout

“I've realized that the world is, in essence, full of banana peels - loaded with things that may unwittingly trip an internal wire in my mind, opening a floodgate of fears without warning.”

The dramatic and redemptive memoir of a woman whose curiosity led her to the world’s most beautiful and remote places, its most imperiled and perilous countries, and then into fifteen months of harrowing captivity—an exquisitely written story of courage, resilience, and grace.

As a child, Amanda Lindhout escaped a violent household by paging through issues of National Geographic and imagining herself in its exotic locales. At the age of nineteen, working as a cocktail waitress in Calgary, Alberta, she began saving her tips so she could travel the globe. Aspiring to understand the world and live a significant life, she backpacked through Latin America, Laos, Bangladesh, and India, and emboldened by each adventure, went on to Sudan, Syria, and Pakistan. In war-ridden Afghanistan and Iraq she carved out a fledgling career as a television reporter. And then, in August 2008, she traveled to Somalia—“the most dangerous place on earth.” On her fourth day, she was abducted by a group of masked men along a dusty road.

Held hostage for 460 days, Amanda converts to Islam as a survival tactic, receives “wife lessons” from one of her captors, and risks a daring escape. Moved between a series of abandoned houses in the desert, she survives on memory—every lush detail of the world she experienced in her life before captivity—and on strategy, fortitude, and hope. When she is most desperate, she visits a house in the sky, high above the woman kept in chains, in the dark, being tortured.

Vivid and suspenseful, as artfully written as the finest novel, A House in the Sky is the searingly intimate story of an intrepid young woman and her search for compassion in the face of unimaginable adversity.

I battled with myself to keep going through this story - when I was reading about her earlier travels and life I just wanted to hear about the kidnapping, but once I got to that part, even though I genuinely wanted to keep reading it, but I had to stop and have breaks to mentally prepare myself to keep going because they were so shocking and heartbreaking.

Parts of it were so saddening that I have to questions if any of it was embellished, I just can't believe that someone would go through something so terrible - especially when managing to remind themselves to stay positive and even feel some kind of sympathy for her kidnappers!  

“By concentrating on what I was grateful for, I was able to stave off despair.” 

Well done to Linkhout for surviving and seemingly growing from something so huge and life changing. Now that I've finished reading her story, I feel like doing to Hunger Games salute for her. The strength of her mind is amazing.

“It's only your body that's suffering, and you are not your body. The rest of you is fine.” 

Read my review on Goodreads

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

"Hi, I'm the guy who reads your e-mail, and also, I love you . . . "

Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It's company policy.) But they can't quite bring themselves to take it seriously. They go on sending each other endless and endlessly hilarious e-mails, discussing every aspect of their personal lives.

Meanwhile, Lincoln O'Neill can't believe this is his job now- reading other people's e-mail. When he applied to be "internet security officer," he pictured himself building firewalls and crushing hackers- not writing up a report every time a sports reporter forwards a dirty joke.

When Lincoln comes across Beth's and Jennifer's messages, he knows he should turn them in. But he can't help being entertained-and captivated-by their stories.

By the time Lincoln realizes he's falling for Beth, it's way too late to introduce himself.

What would he say . . . ?

Seriously what is there not to love about this book? Witty friends who 'keep it real', a broody hot guitar player in a band, a funny hot nerd, flirty work colleagues, a slightly wacky Mum, loud-mouthed best friend and looooove!

This book was the perfect ratio of realistic modern-day communication and stalking, against dreamy and probably wouldn't actually ever happen (making out in the cinemas before ever meeting or talking? Umm, maybe not, or at least not unless it really happened in a nightclub!)

A really quick read so I burned through it in 24 hours! This is one of the rare times that I actually would want to see a movie made from a novel. I wouldn't change a thing about this book.

Read my review on Goodreads

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

"Cycles exist because they are excruciating to break. It takes an astronomical amount of pain and courage to disrupt a familiar pattern. Sometimes it seems easier to just keep running in the same familiar circles, rather than facing the fear of jumping and possibly not landing on your feet."

Lily hasn't always had it easy, but that's never stopped her from working hard for the life she wants. She's come a long way from the small town in Maine where she grew up - she graduated from college, moved to Boston, and started her own business. So when she feels a spark with a gorgeous neurosurgeon named Ryle Kincaid, everything in Lily's life suddenly seems almost too good to be true.

Ryle is assertive, stubborn, and maybe even a little arrogant. He's also sensitive, brilliant, and has a total soft spot for Lily, but Ryle's complete aversion to relationships is disturbing.

As questions about her new relationship overwhelm her, so do thoughts of Atlas Corrigan - her first love and a link to the past she left behind. He was her kindred spirit, her protector. When Atlas suddenly reappears, everything Lily has built with Ryle is threatened.

With this bold and deeply personal novel, Colleen Hoover delivers a heart-wrenching story that breaks exciting new ground for her as a writer. It Ends With Us is an unforgettable tale of love that comes at the ultimate price.

“In the future . . . if by some miracle you ever find yourself in the position to fall in love again . . . fall in love with me.”

Wow Wow Wow! I haven't been moved by a book since Me Before You...

This book took a turn I was NOT expecting and I loved every minute!! I was honestly so engrossed in the story that I read it on my phone kindle app while listening to live music at a festival. 

I really don't want to go into any detail and potentially spoil any surprises, but the writing is perfect and I was completely absorbed even before the end of the first chapter. The characters all play an important part of the story, and were exactly who they needed to be. The relationship between Ryle and Lily was painfully, but profoundly real. Even Atlas had an important story to tell.

Definitely a 5 star book in my opinion, but I would give it 6 stars if I could because of the Note from the Author at the end.

Colleen Hoover is now officially on my top 5 favourite author list (November 9 almost had her there, but this just topped her over) 

Read my review on Goodreads 

The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry by Jon Ronson

They say one out of every hundred people is a psychopath. You probably passed one on the street today. These are people who have no empathy, who are manipulative, deceitful, charming, seductive, and delusional. The Psychopath Test is the New York Times bestselling exploration of their world and the madness industry.

When Jon Ronson is drawn into an elaborate hoax played on some of the world’s top scientists, his investigation leads him, unexpectedly, to psychopaths. He meets an influential psychologist who is convinced that many important business leaders and politicians are in fact high-flying, high-functioning psychopaths, and teaches Ronson how to spot them. Armed with these new abilities, Ronson meets a patient inside an asylum for the criminally insane who insists that he’s sane, a mere run-of-the-mill troubled youth, not a psychopath—a claim that might be only manipulation, and a sign of his psychopathy. He spends time with a death-squad leader institutionalized for mortgage fraud, and with a legendary CEO who took joy in shutting down factories and firing people. He delves into the fascinating history of psychopathy diagnosis and treatments, from LSD-fueled days-long naked therapy sessions in prisons to attempts to understand serial killers.

Along the way, Ronson discovers that relatively ordinary people are, more and more, defined by their most insane edges. The Psychopath Test is a fascinating adventure through the minds of madness.

“There is no evidence that we've been placed on this planet to be especially happy or especially normal. And in fact our unhappiness and our strangeness, our anxieties and compulsions, those least fashionable aspects of our personalities, are quite often what lead us to do rather interesting things.” 

Unless you have severe mental health issues, it really seems that there is a very fine, blurry, wavy line separating those who are 'normal' and those who are 'crazy'.

There isn't really a swaying conclusion pushed in the book, just a way to look at mental health and mental illness from a few different angles each chapter, which I liked so that at the end I could make up my own mind about what I thought about it all.

Although it was discussing a potentially mentally 'heavy' topic it was easy to follow, understand and I still enjoyed learning about it (as well as being intelligent AND funny!)

(I couldn't help myself. And after finishing reading I had to do the Robert Hare Psychopath Test, and I was happy to see that I definitely am NOT a psychopath - phew!... unless I am such a good psychopath that I was able to beat the test... ... ...) 

Read my review on Goodreads

Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult

“I think grief is like a really ugly couch. It never goes away. You can decorate around it; you can slap a doily on top of it; you can push it to the corner of the room—but eventually, you learn to live with it.” 

Alice Metcalf was a devoted mother, loving wife and accomplished scientist who studied grief among elephants. Yet it's been a decade since she disappeared under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind her small daughter, husband, and the animals to which she devoted her life. All signs point to abandonment - or worse.

Still Jenna - now thirteen years old and truly orphaned by a father maddened by grief - steadfastly refuses to believe in her mother's desertion. So she decides to approach the two people who might still be able to help her find Alice: a disgraced psychic named Serenity Jones, and Virgil Stanhope, the cynical detective who first investigated her mother's disappearance and the strange, possibly linked death of one of her WC mother's coworkers.

Together these three lonely souls will discover truths destined to forever change their lives. Deeply moving and suspenseful, Jodi Picoult's 21st novel is a radiant exploration of the enduring love between mothers and daughters. 

Animals, Family, Love, After-life, and add on top of that how well written and in-depth the story was - what more could I want? The story around the elephants was well researched and I love reading books that also make me feel like I've learnt something (without actually having to read a text book).

I had an idea where the story and plot twist was heading after a little while, but there were still a few surprises I didn't see coming. And I loved the format of hearing from alternating characters each chapter, they each had different voices which were clear and distinct.

I honestly think that Jodi Picoult can do no wrong, well not any of her books that I've read as yet anyway. 

Read my review on Goodreads

November 9 by Colleen Hoover

“That's what love is, Ben. Love is sacrifice. I got this tattoo the day I felt that kind of love for your father. And I chose it because if I had to describe love that day, I would say it felt like my two favourite things, amplified and thrown together. Like my favourite poetic line mixed into the lyrics of my favourite song”

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist. 

I'm a sucker for a bit of romance every now and then, and t's even better if the female character is strong, funny and independent weather than weak/helpless in a damsel in distress situation. Even though life had a few downturns for Fallon, and her confidence had taken a beating, she was still strong and independent enough to move across the country and not fall helplessly in love with the first guy that showed her attention (but really, who could resist Ben forever). She was strong and witty and I would love to see more female characters like that.

The ONE and ONLY thing that I thought was a tad disappointing (*Slight SPOILER ALERT*) was in the final chapter, when Ben and Fallon met up the last time, she said she wasn't there to forgive him because he didn't do anything wrong...then SHE apologised. I disagreed with this and the fact she was then begging him to forgive her made me gag that such a cool chic ended up being so pathetic.

I don't think you can read a book like this thinking 100% realistically, because if you did, you would have to question their dedication to only meeting up on November 9 and not succumbing to contacting each other on social media when they were desperate (i.e. when planes were delayed and family members were in accidents). 

But other than that, I loved every minute I was reading their story. 

Read my review on Goodreads.

Forty Rooms by Olga Grushin

"Papa, do you  believe there is any meaning to life?" I blurted out. "I don't not believe" he said sternly. "I know. The meaning of life - the meaning of a single, individual human life, since I assume that is what you are asking - consists of figuring out the one thing you are great stand then pushing mankind's mastery of that one thing as far as you are able, be it an inch or a mile. If you are a carpenter, be a carpenter with every ounce of your being and invent a new type of saw. If you are an archaeologist, find the tomb of Alexander the Great. If you are Alexander the Great, conquer the world. And never to anything by half."

Totally original in conception and magnificently executed, Forty Rooms is mysterious, withholding, and ultimately emotionally devastating. Olga Grushin is dealing with issues of women’s identity, of women’s choices, that no modern novel has explored so deeply. 

“Forty rooms” is a conceit: it proposes that a modern woman will inhabit forty rooms in her lifetime. They form her biography, from childhood to death. For our protagonist, the much-loved child of a late marriage, the first rooms she is aware of as she nears the age of five are those that make up her family’s Moscow apartment. We follow this child as she reaches adolescence, leaves home to study in America, and slowly discovers sexual happiness and love. But her hunger for adventure and her longing to be a great poet conspire to kill the affair. She seems to have made her choice. But one day she runs into a college classmate. He is sure of his path through life, and he is protective of her. (He is also a great cook.) They drift into an affair and marriage. What follows are the decades of births and deaths, the celebrations, material accumulations, and home comforts—until one day, her children grown and gone, her husband absent, she finds herself alone except for the ghosts of her youth, who have come back to haunt and even taunt her. 

Compelling and complex, Forty Rooms is also profoundly affecting, its ending shattering but true. We know that Mrs. Caldwell (for that is the only name by which we know her) has died. Was it a life well lived? Quite likely. Was it a life complete? Does such a life ever really exist? Life is, after all, full of trade-offs and choices. Who is to say her path was not well taken? It is this ambiguity that is at the heart of this provocative novel.

This is such a fantastic concept for a story. Even though each chapter is only a snapshot of her life in a particular room/year, I felt like I had such a clear image of who she was.

The story is so crushing, not because of the intense drama in the characters actions, but because this theory could be applied to anyones life, unintentionally making you question how many shadow lives you have of your own. 

The plot isn't really anything new - girl has dreams, goes to uni, falls in love, gets heart broken, meets new boy, gets married and starts a family, there is an affair, life, deaths, friends...but there is so much angst and so many parallel lives in this story that it is hard not to feel it within yourself too.

Some chapters I could relate to, others not as much, but more so as she became a mother and struggled with the new identity and how to fit in time for who she was as well as all the there things that need doing. The first half of the book was the hardest to enjoy, because at times I found her a little annoying - each era of her life was frayed by more and more hesitation, selfish,unsure of herself and never quite satisfied yet not really doing anything to change it - but on reflection I think tis is what makes the story so real and relatable, because what young adult isn't like that at times?

There was a lot going on in this book with so many layers, and while it is ver intelligent and poetic at the same time, it isn't the sort of book I could read if I didn't have any mental energy to focus. 

What I have taken away from reading this, is that sometimes the only real challenges some of us face are the ones we put in front of ourselves.

Read my review on Goodreads

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison

“Some people stay broken. Some pick up the pieces and put them back together with all the sharp edges showing.”

Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden.
In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.

When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.

As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding...

I am going to have a serious book-hangover from this one! I was hooked from the first couple of pages, and I devoured it in about 24 hours.

The writing was so detailed that I could easily  picture myself in The Garden surrounded by the other butterflies (NOOOO, thank you!) but the surprising thing was that I was more enthralled than disgusted by the disturbing topic, purely due to the way it was written.

All of the characters were spot on with the parts they played, and Inara was the best of all. Strong and fiesta but refreshingly intelligent in all ways. 

I want to go back and read it again.

Read my review on Goodreads

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Moral allegory and spiritual autobiography, The Little Prince is the most translated book in the French language. With a timeless charm it tells the story of a little boy who leaves the safety of his own tiny planet to travel the universe, learning the vagaries of adult behaviour through a series of extraordinary encounters. His personal odyssey culminates in a voyage to Earth and further adventures.

I feel like I would feel something different each time I read this. There are many different lessons and wisdoms to learn and what you focus on would depend on your mood or situation at that time.

I'm going to make sure my son has a copy of this book, to remind him to keep his childlike wonder as he grows up.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

“He darted a look at the uncovered basket behind me, saw what I was eating, and glared at me. "That's appalling," he said.
"They're wonderful!" I said. "They're all coming ripe."
"All the better to turn you into a tree," he said.
"I don't want to be a tree yet," I said.” 

Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life.

Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood.

The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her.

But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

I loved this book so much I bought a copy as a friends birthday present, just so I knew she would read it too!

I couldn't fault the book at all, the characters were exactly what they should be and the plot had me reading with my arms hugging my knees in suspense. 

{This next sentence has mild spoilers: I did initially think that Agnieszka and Kasia were in love, so the paragraph where Agneieszka and the dragon first make out took me by surprise at first, until you saw her feelings grow a more on paper}

At the end I think underneath all the fantasy and magic there was actually a good moral - if you hold on to hate, regret and revenge it will ruin and disfigure you, it's much better to learn to let it go and be at peace.

Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed

“It is not so incomprehensible as you pretend, sweet pea. Love is the feeling we have for those we care deeply about and hold in high regard. It can be light as the hug we give a friend or heavy as the sacrifices we make for our children. It can be romantic, platonic, familial, fleeting, everlasting, conditional, unconditional, imbued with sorrow, stoked by sex, sullied by abuse, amplified by kindness, twisted by betrayal, deepened by time, darkened by difficulty, leavened by generosity, nourished by humor and “loaded with promises and commitments” that we may or may not want or keep.

The best thing you can possibly do with your life is to tackle the motherfucking shit out of it.” 

Life can be hard: your lover cheats on you; you lose a family member; you can’t pay the bills—and it can be great: you’ve had the hottest sex of your life; you get that plum job; you muster the courage to write your novel. Sugar—the once-anonymous online columnist at The Rumpus, now revealed as Cheryl Strayed, author of the bestselling memoir Wild—is the person thousands turn to for advice. 
Tiny Beautiful Things brings the best of Dear Sugar in one place and includes never-before-published columns and a new introduction by Steve Almond.  Rich with humor, insight, compassion—and absolute honesty—this book is a balm for everything life throws our way.

I have never highlighted so many paragraphs in one book before. 

The advice given by 'Sugar' is so raw and real, and even though the situation she is replying to might not apply to my life, there were so many things I want to remember because they touched a cord with me and I want to keep them for my future self, or so I can pass them on to someone I know at some stage. 

The words that I would use to describe this book are: Motivating, Passionate, and Heartwarming.

• Motivating: it made me feel like I should get off my butt and stop reading to sort my life out. Be a better friend, be a better Mum, stop feeling sorry for myself.
• Passionate: her advice is blunt and direct and she says it like it is. You can read the honesty in her words clearly, and you get the sense that the responses stems from the same talks she might give herself in the mirror every now and then - they are words she lives by herself.
• Heartwarming: you can tell there is a genuine care behind her responses. Even when she is telling someone to pull their head in, it is done in such a caring way that it makes you genuinely want to comply because she makes you feel like it is the right thing to do.

I wish I knew of an advice column like this one to read when I was a teenager! It would be interesting to see my 'sister life' and see if it would have helped me navigate my younger life with less angst and confusion.

After finishing this book it makes me want to read even more from Cheryl Strayed (I have already read Wild)

One Day by David Nicholls

“What are you going to do with your life?" In one way or another it seemed that people had been asking her this forever; teachers, her parents, friends at three in the morning, but the question had never seemed this pressing and still she was no nearer an answer... "Live each day as if it's your last', that was the conventional advice, but really, who had the energy for that? What if it rained or you felt a bit glandy? It just wasn't practical. Better by far to be good and courageous and bold and to make difference. Not change the world exactly, but the bit around you. Cherish your friends, stay true to your principles, live passionately and fully and well. Experience new things. Love and be loved, if you ever get the chance.” 

It’s 1988 and Dexter Mayhew and Emma Morley have only just met on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. But after only one day together, they cannot stop thinking about one another. 
Over twenty years, snapshots of that relationship are revealed on the same day—July 15th—of each year. Dex and Em face squabbles and fights, hopes and missed opportunities, laughter and tears. And as the true meaning of this one crucial day is revealed, they must come to grips with the nature of love and life itself.

Twenty years, two people, one day.

I loved this book, and devoured in 3 days (a particularly impressive feat considering I have a toddler). I haven't cried like this because of a book since Me Before You . 

I fell in love with Dex and Em, Em and Dex. They were awkward and flawed and in theory they are so wrong for each other. Watching their lives unfold made me fondly remember my jerk ex-boyfriends and forgive them, just like I was able to forgive Dexter for his poor choices and bad behaviour.

Something else I found realistic and that also stuck with me from this book was how your identity can change through the different stages of your life, and depending on your circumstances you may even go through quite a few - the angst (and/or pain) will pass and and you can settle in to something that feels a bit more stable and comfortable.    

Elegies for the Brokenhearted by Christie Hodgen

But, what did I really have to do with you, and you with me? We were two people around the same age, growing up in the same failing city, walking the same streets under the same clouds, nothing much. Except to say that once, without knowing it, you did something that changed my life entirely. With the smallest gesture you altered the course of my life, split it in two, and I haven't been able to think of you without feeling a stab, the question of what might have become of me if you had done otherwise.

Who are the people you’ll never forget? For Mary Murphy, there are five: A skirt-chasing, car-racing uncle with whiskey breath and a three-day beard. A “walking joke, a sitting duck, a fish in a barrel” named Elwood LePoer. A dirt-poor college roommate who conceals an unbearable secret. A failed piano prodigy lost in middle age. A beautiful mother haunted by her once-great aspirations.

In five quirky elegies to lost friends and relatives, Mary tells us the story of her life. We begin with a restless childhood spent following her mother between multiple homes and husbands. Then comes the disappearance of Mary’s rebellious and beloved sister, Malinda. By the time Mary leaves for college, she has no one to write home to, and we follow along on her difficult search for purpose. From a series of miserable jobs to her “reborn” mother’s deathbed, Mary finds hope in the most surprising places. With a rhythmically unique voice and pitch-perfect wry humor, Christie Hodgen spins an unconventional and moving story about identity, belonging, and family.

Whoa this book was amazing! I want to read it again, and I want to tell everyone I know about it!

It really was very clever in the way it was put together. It painted such a clear picture of the main character, Mary Murphy, without making it really seem all about her as the main focus.

All of the elegies were written so well, but my favourite was the last chapter and how it tied everything together so well.

The Wrong Girl by Zoe Foster

Lily is a producer on a successful cooking segment for a daily morning show. The new chef has just arrived on set and he is drop dead gorgeous. And despite everything – the sabbatical that Lily and her flatmate Simone are taking from men, the fact that Jack is a work colleague – Lily falls head over heels for him.

And while Lily battles her feelings, her flatmate Simone breaks their pact and starts dating some guy from her wholefoods shop. That guy turns out to be Jack. Up close, Lily bravely watches on as romance blossoms between Simone and Jack. Or does it? They don't seem to have much in common, apart from their striking good looks. And Lily and Jack just seem to get each other. Is that the same thing as falling in love? And could she ever dream of betraying a friendship? Lily has to make some difficult decisions about work and home, and realises that if she doesn't take life by the scruff of the neck, she is the one who'll be picked up, shaken and dumped. 

This novel was so hilarious and I couldn't fault it. So many funny musings and laugh-out-loud / cringeworthy moments. I wish it didn't end so abruptly, but that's just because I could have kept reading it for days.

Lone Star by Paullina Simons

From the bestselling, acclaimed author of Tully and The Bronze Horseman comes the unforgettable love story between a college-bound young woman and a traveling troubadour on his way to war—a moving, compelling novel of love lost and found set against the stunning backdrop of Eastern Europe.

Chloe is just weeks away from heading off to college and starting a new life far from her home in Maine when she embarks on a great European adventure with her boyfriend and two best friends. Their destination is Barcelona, but first they must detour through the historic cities of Eastern Europe to keep an old family promise.

Here, in this fledgling post-Communist world, Chloe meets a charming American vagabond named Johnny, who carries a guitar, an easy smile—and a lifetime of secrets. From Treblinka to Trieste, from Karnikava to Krakow, from Vilnius to Venice, the unlikely band of friends and lovers traverse the old world on a train trip that becomes a treacherous journey into Europe’s and Johnny’s darkest past—a journey that jeopardizes Chloe’s plans for the future and all she ever thought she wanted.

But the lifelong bonds Chloe and her friends share are about to be put to the ultimate test—and whether or not they reach Barcelona, they can only be certain that their lives will never be the same again.

A sweeping, beautiful tale that mesmerizes and enchants, Lone Star will linger long in the memory once the final page is turned.

Nothing gets to me quite like an unrequited love story! As I am writing this, I am just wiping the last tear away. I wasn't expecting to have this reaction at all when I first started reading it - yes, it seemed like an interesting YA story that involved travel with a few mishaps and twists...and of course someone had to fall passionately, eloquently, head-over-heels in love, in a Paulina Simons story! (just thinking about The Bronze Horseman still gives me goosebumps!!) but I definitely wasn't expecting to feel my heart break along with the lead female characters, and so strongly! 

I've tried, but I can't write about this book without including spoilers…

About halfway through the book I had my suspicious as to how it would generally turn out (although there were still bits I didn't see coming), so I had a feeling that Johnny still had his 'demons'  and that he might probably end up dying before he made it back to Chloe - but how Chloe's grief was written was what made my reaction so strong. It was almost like I was in the car with her, witnessing her pain and confusion. Simons really does have a gift for making you feel something.

At the beginning, it look me a little while to get over how annoying the main characters were - especially their moaning about how their FREE trip to Europe was inconvenienced but a few other destinations. But I guess just because I wouldn't never think that way, doesn't mean other teenagers would I guess? I also think how the story changed voices to read like their individual journals also helped to better understand them and where they were each coming from. And as shallow and one-dimensional as some of the characters were, the others were so intelligent with their deep observations and prophetic quotes, that it balanced it out. There were too many quotes sprinkled throughout the story for me to pick a favourite. 

Apart from making me weep with love and loss, I also felt like I received a bit of a History and Geography lesson as well. If Johnny was a real life tour guide, I would join his group in a heartbeat.

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats by Jan-Philipp Sendker

“I speak of a love that brings sight to the blind. Of a love stronger than fear. I speak of a love that breathes meaning into life, that defies the natural laws of deterioration, that causes us to flourish, that knows no bounds. I speak of the triumph of the human spirit over selfishness and death.”

A poignant and inspirational love story set in Burma, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats spans the decades between the 1950s and the present.  When a successful New York lawyer suddenly disappears without a trace, neither his wife nor his daughter Julia has any idea where he might be…until they find a love letter he wrote many years ago, to a Burmese woman they have never heard of. Intent on solving the mystery and coming to terms with her father’s past, Julia decides to travel to the village where the woman lived. There she uncovers a tale of unimaginable hardship, resilience, and passion that will reaffirm the reader’s belief in the power of love to move mountains. 

I have just finished reading The Art of Hearing Heartbeats and trying to figure out how I can possibly do my feelings on this book justice by translating them to words. I can only describe it like a soft warm jumper on a cold day - I want to wrap myself in it and stay snuggled up a little bit longer…

There is a quote in the book “Only a few days earlier he had explained to her that he did not merely read books but traveled with them, that they took him to other countries and unfamiliar continents, and that with their help he was always getting to know new people, many of whom even became his friends.”  and this perfectly sums up my reading experience - Sendker's writing is so clear yet whimsical that I feel like I had travelled to Burma myself and was sitting with U Ba listening to him tell me the story firsthand. 

Modern settings don't quite portray  love quite like those from older cultures. I loved the old Burmese fables and lore that were woven through the story, and how it contrasted with the harsh urban lifestyle of New York. There are quite a few of the pearls of wisdom on love and life I have written down and kept for future reference. 

Two of  my all time favourite love stories are Love in the time of Cholera, and The Notebook, and I now will be adding this one to the list. 

Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan

“Maybe it’s true what Thomas Moore said: “It is only through mystery and madness that the soul is revealed.” 

A gripping memoir and medical suspense story about a young New York Post reporter’s struggle with a rare and terrifying disease, opening a new window into the fascinating world of brain science.

One day, Susannah Cahalan woke up in a strange hospital room, strapped to her bed, under guard, and unable to move or speak. Her medical records—from a month-long hospital stay of which she had no memory—showed psychosis, violence, and dangerous instability. Yet, only weeks earlier she had been a healthy, ambitious twenty-four year old, six months into her first serious relationship and a sparkling career as a cub reporter.

Susannah’s astonishing memoir chronicles the swift path of her illness and the lucky, last-minute intervention led by one of the few doctors capable of saving her life. As weeks ticked by and Susannah moved inexplicably from violence to catatonia, $1 million worth of blood tests and brain scans revealed nothing. The exhausted doctors were ready to commit her to the psychiatric ward, in effect condemning her to a lifetime of institutions, or death, until Dr. Souhel Najjar—nicknamed Dr. House—joined her team. He asked Susannah to draw one simple sketch, which became key to diagnosing her with a newly discovered autoimmune disease in which her body was attacking her brain, an illness now thought to be the cause of “demonic possessions” throughout history.

With sharp reporting drawn from hospital records, scientific research, and interviews with doctors and family, Brain on Fire is a crackling mystery and an unflinching, gripping personal story that marks the debut of an extraordinary writer. 

Whoa, what an amazing story! I've given myself a little time to try and articulate how I feel now I have finished reading this book, and I'm still blown away by it - how honestly it is written, trying to get my head around how remarkable yet fragile the body is (especially the brain) and what it must have been like to go through something like that, and return to 'normal' within a relatively short period of time. 

Towards the end of the book Cahalan says she wouldn't wish it on anyone but that it made her grateful to go through something like this, and I can see why (as well as anyone can without having a similar experience to reference personally anyway) it would completely adjust your thinking and make you appreciate everything so much more. You really can't take your health for granted, especially the heath of your brain!

As I was reading this I googled several things that were referenced in the book, particularly Teratoma and Susannah Cahalan, because I wanted to see what they both looked like. Both were very confronting in completely different ways. Some of the Teratoma was quite scary looking, and so too were some images that came up of Susannah while she was in hospital. But when you look at pictures of her now, you would never guess that she had been through any kind of ordeal, let alone one so significant and life changing.

It was great to hear that from her article and book that there have been a lot more cases correctly identified of the disease - irregardless of any money made, that is a great way to judge the competence and success of her writing, remarkable when you learn how close she came to losing that skill. 

I have seen online that they are making this story in to a movie - I imagine it would be a ridiculously hard character to play, it will be interesting to see it.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13547180-brain-on-fire

Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty

“Did anyone really know their child? Your child was a little stranger, constantly changing, disappearing and reintroducing himself to you. New personality traits could appear overnight.” 

Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive.

I don't know why, but I didn't think I was going to enjoy this book, despite having a number of friends recommend it, and the great rating on Goodreads. I think the way it jumped to the internee comments at the beginning of each chapter initially confused me too much.

But within a few chapters I was addicted! So much so that I finished the entire book in 3 days!

The characters were charming and funny (especially Madeline and her feisty comments!), and although it touched on some serious topics like domestic violence, bullying and assault, it was written in such a light-hearted way it was hard not to smile sometimes.

It does give you a good reminder though, that you should never judge a book by it's cover...