The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Charlie is a freshman.

And while he's not the biggest geek in the school, he is by no means popular. Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years yet socially awkward, he is a wallflower, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it.

Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mix tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But he can't stay on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up. 

This is a hard one to summarise my feelings about - I enjoyed reading it and found myself engrossed in the characters lives, but I just can't bring myself to say I loved it. 

The characters were quirky and raw, and I loved going along with their messy teenage lives for a few days…BUT I think it was the last chapter that left a bad taste in my mouth - Talking openly about sexual abuse is important, and I know it is a sad reality for some people, but in the case of this story and this character, I didn't really understand why it all had to tie together like that. I felt as though the abuse was used as an excuse or justification as to WHY Charlie was a little different to everyone else. I would have much preferred him to own his idiosyncrasies without needing a reason. 

Other than the ending I felt like it covered a lot of standard teenagers experiences in life - boys, girls, heartbreak, love, the freaks, the cool kids, discovering your sexuality, family, friendship, abuse, experimenting with drugs, and trying to find out who you really are.

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.

Delirium (Delirium #1) by Lauren Oliver

“One of the strangest things about life is that it will chug on, blind and oblivious, even as your private world - your little carved-out sphere - is twisting and morphing, even breaking apart. One day you have parents; the next day you're an orphan. One day you have a place and a path. The next day you're lost in the wilderness.
And still the sun rises and clouds mass and drift and people shop for groceries and toilets flush and blinds go up and down. That's when you realize that most of it - life, the relentless mechanism of existing - isn't about you. It doesn't include you at all. It will thrust onward even after you've jumped the edge. Even after you're dead.” 

Ninety-five days, and then I'll be safe. I wonder whether the procedure will hurt. I want to get it over with. It's hard to be patient. It's hard not to be afraid while I'm still uncured, though so far the deliria hasn't touched me yet. Still, I worry. They say that in the old days, love drove people to madness. The deadliest of all deadly things: It kills you both when you have it and when you don't. 

I loved this story, and was so addicted! It was easy to read and I didn't have to use too much brain power to follow what was happening, but it definitely didn't put me to sleep either. 

I have a feeling that i'll be thinking about it for a while wondering what happens in the second instalment, but I just don't feel committed enough to read it just yet (and I don't read much of this genre generally).

Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson

“Life is such a miracle, a series of small miracles.It really is, if you learn how to look at it with the right perspective.” 

“Good memories are like charms...Each is special. You collect them, one by one, until one day you look back and discover they make a long, colorful bracelet.” 

Katie Wilkinson has finally found the perfect man - but one day he suddenly disappears, leaving behind only a diary written by a new mother named Suzanne for her baby, Nicholas. In it she intimately reveals the romance between herself and the child's father, her hopes for their marriage, and her unparalleled joy in motherhood. As Katie reads on, she realizes that the man she loves is Suzanne's husband. Now, filled with terror and hope, Katie must struggle to understand what has happened - and find out if her new love has a prayer of surviving. 

I'm finding it really hard to write this review because at the moment it is even in the pros and cons columns  for me, so I'm hoping that by writing it all down it will help me see where I come out at the end...

I read this book completely in only 2 sittings, I think that might be a new record for me?? But early on I was hooked  - what it lacks in length it makes up for with it's ability to make you feel something (I dare even the hardest heart to not be mode by this storyline). I cried like a baby when I found out at the end the little boy was in the car, as new Mum myself I honestly can't imagine a worse feeling to go through as a parent, which is why I struggled so much with the ending. 

The blurb on the back was a little melodramatic with the call "and find out if her new love has a prayer of surviving." It makes it sound like there will be a big ending, but in truth it all felt a little rushed. I needed a bit more of an explanation from Matt as to where he went when he disappeared and how he finally was able to manage his grief.

One thing the book does very well is give you a reminder about what is important in life, and that life is a gift so you shouldn't take it for granted. I'm going to try and remind myself regularly of the story of the glass balls.

“Imagine life is a game in which you are juggling five balls. The balls are called work, family, health, friends, and integrity. And you're keeping all of them in the air. But one day you finally come to understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls...are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. And once you truly understand the lesson of the five balls, you will have the beginnings of balance in your life.” 

So I guess overall I enjoyed this book and am glad I read it, but it doesn't make it to the top of my 'Best Books Ever' list and I would be very selective as to which friends I would recommend this book to.

All Creatures Great and Small (All Creatures Great and Small #1) by James Herriot

“...without warning, the thermometer disappeared from my fingers. Some sudden suction had drawn it inside the cow. I ran my fingers round just inside the rectum—nothing; I pushed my hand inside without success; with a feeling of rising panic I rolled up my sleeve and groped about in vain.” 

Delve into the magical, unforgettable world of James Herriot, the world's most beloved veterinarian, and his menagerie of heartwarming, funny, and tragic animal patients.

For over forty years, generations of readers have thrilled to Herriot's marvelous tales, deep love of life, and extraordinary storytelling abilities. For decades, Herriot roamed the remote, beautiful Yorkshire Dales, treating every patient that came his way from smallest to largest, and observing animals and humans alike with his keen, loving eye.

In All Creatures Great and Small, we meet the young Herriot as he takes up his calling and discovers that the realities of veterinary practice in rural Yorkshire are very different from the sterile setting of veterinary school. Some visits are heart-wrenchingly difficult, such as one to an old man in the village whose very ill dog is his only friend and companion, some are lighthearted and fun, such as Herriot's periodic visits to the overfed and pampered Pekinese Tricki Woo who throws parties and has his own stationery, and yet others are inspirational and enlightening, such as Herriot's recollections of poor farmers who will scrape their meager earnings together to be able to get proper care for their working animals. From seeing to his patients in the depths of winter on the remotest homesteads to dealing with uncooperative owners and critically ill animals, Herriot discovers the wondrous variety and never-ending challenges of veterinary practice as his humor, compassion, and love of the animal world shine forth.

Such an interesting life and job! I loved reading about a careers that's very different to my own line of work, but also the countryside and lifestyle could not be more different that where I live. 

Rather than following the traditional flow of beginning > middle > plot twist > end, this is a series of memories from his beginning as a country vet. Sometimes I struggled with this format as it made it seem to go on for longer, but in the end the topic was enough to fascinate me and keep me wanting to finish.

Love, Rosie by Cecelia Ahern

“Twice we stood beside each other at the altar, Rosie. Twice. And twice we got it wrong. I needed you to be there for my wedding day but I was too stupid to see that I needed you to be the reason for my wedding day. But we got it all wrong.” 

From the bestselling author of PS, I Love You comes a delightfully enchanting novel about what happens when two people who are meant to be together just can't seem to get it right.

Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since childhood, their relationship gets closer by the day, until Alex gets the news that his family is leaving Dublin and moving to Boston. At 17, Rosie and Alex have just started to see each other in a more romantic light. Devastated, the two make plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S.

She gets into Boston University, Alex gets into Harvard, and everything is falling into place, when on the eve of her departure, Rosie gets news that will change their lives forever: She's pregnant by a boy she'd gone out with while on the rebound from Alex.

Her dreams for college, Alex, and a glamorous career dashed, Rosie stays in Dublin to become a single mother, while Alex pursues a medical career and a new love in Boston. But destiny is a funny thing, and in this novel, structured as a series of clever e-mails, letters, notes, and a trail of missed opportunities, Alex and Rosie find out that fate isn't done with them yet.

From the gifted author of PS, I Love You comes this charming, romantic, addictively page-turning novel that will keep readers laughing and guessing until the very last page. 

I'm finding it really hard to review this book - it has everything I love in a story…love, sarcasm and a socially awkward lead female, but I think the thing that is holding me back from really loving this book, as opposed to it just being good, is that the back and forth between Rosie and Alex just went on a bit too long.  I was almost going to start actually yelling at the book telling them to hurry up and sort their stuff out and, then WHAM! …the book jumped ahead some more years and it ended!

Don't get me wrong, yes it went a bit more in-depth than your typical love story, but the characters were never boring, there was always some dysfunctional thing going on that made me giggle. And the relationship between Rosie and Alex, although frustratingly drawn out, was sweet.

I haven't seen the movie yet, but I think this might be one of the rare times that I prefer a movie over a book!

The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

A stunning debut about how grief can open the world in magical ways.

After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy was a rare jellyfish sting. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory--even if it means traveling the globe, alone. Suzy's achingly heartfelt journey explores life, death, the astonishing wonder of the universe...and the potential for love and hope right next door. 

This is one of those books that I was hooked on from the first few pages. It made me look at grief from another perspective, when you just can't handle reality so you fixate on anything to help distract you and try to create another ending.

Behind the intelligent yet slightly dorky musings of the main characters, Suzy, were some pretty important messages for YA about bullying, the pressure you can feel to fit in, the struggles of High School, and on top of that, there were some pretty cool facts about Jellyfish! (I never realised how interesting Jellyfish were - when I came to the end of the book, I actually spent another 30 minutes googling random facts about them! To me that's a sign of a good story, if it makes you keep thinking about it after you've finished.)

A short but bitter-sweet story (I finished reading it in 2 days!) It left me feeling very similar to Incredibly Loud and Extremely Close and The Age of Miracles with their quirky out-of-place teenage angst and nostalgic for something I can't quite put my finger on.