The Forgetting Time by Sharon Guskin

“He thought of Heraclitus: a man cannot step in the same river twice, for it is not the same river, and he is not the same man.” 

Noah is four and wants to go home. The only trouble is he's already there.

Janie's son is her world, and it breaks her heart that he has nightmares.
That he's terrified of water.
That he sometimes pushes her away and screams that he wants his real mother.
That it's getting worse and worse and no one seems to be able to help.

In desperation, she turns to someone who might have an answer - but it may not be one she's ready to hear.
It may also mean losing the one thing she loves more than anything.
Noah.

A novel that spans life, death and everything in between, The Forgetting Time tells an unforgettable story - about Noah, about love, and, above all, about the things we hold onto when we have nothing else.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. It had an interesting theme that I wasn't sure I would be able to believe, but it was written so well that I took to it immediately. It had a lot going on - mystery, love, complex relationships - and it didn't disappoint.  

I felt for Janie - what mother wouldn't move heaven and earth to help their child? Even if it sounded a little crazy to others.

Anderson's  pain and struggle made him more loveable and believable. 

Hearing about the families who lost their children/siblings, made me hug my son harder.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

“My heart started racing, not the bad kind of heart racing, like I'm going to die. But the good kind of heart racing, like, Hello, can I help you with something? If not, please step aside because I'm about to kick the shit out of life.” 

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle—and people in general—has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence—creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

What a funny Mum Bernadette would have been. A little crazy at times, but there'd never be a dull moment. There really is a fine line between genius and madness.

There were a few sections where I skim read because it was dragged out a tad too long, but otherwise this book had some really funny parts - the landslide paragraphs actually made me laugh out aloud. 

It had been on my 'To Read' list for a while and I'm glad I finally got around to it. Easy enough to read that I could be absorbed in it, but interesting enough that I actually wanted to keep reading longer than I could at times.

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.

Sleeping Around: A Couch Surfing Tour Of The Globe by Brian Thacker

Everyone else on the table immediately began taking part in a rapid-fire conversation where the only words I could understand were 'si' and 'no'. 

'What are they talking about?' I asked Juan (who, other than Luis Alfredo, was the only one who spoke English). 'They are talking about what's happening on the TV show Lost'. 

Yes, it really is a small sad world sometimes.

What sort of person offers up their couch to a complete stranger from the other side of the world? And how can said stranger be sure that the owner of the couch is not a weirdo? This title sets out on a couch surfing tour of the globe to discover how and why kipping on someone's floor has become the hippest way to travel.

In an age of cheap airfares and porous boarders, where almost every corner of the globe, from Azerbaijan to Zambia, is open for tourism, going in to someone's home is probably the last authentic travelling experience. - Brian Thacker

I had this book on my kindle to read for a few years now. I was hesitating because I didn't want it to make me jealous about all the travelling I'm not doing at the moment. I finally opened it when I was in the mood for a book that would take me everywhere, and I'm glad I did because it was exactly what I was looking for.

Couch-surfing sounds like a fantastic way to see new places, and I'm sorry that I didn't know about the websites used in the book in my 20's so I could have had a go at it too! I feel like I wouldn't be a very good couch guest now because 1) I don't think I'd be able to drink enough anymore; 2) I'm not used to 'roughing' it anymore. I like my 5-star hotels (ok, 4 star is usually within my budget) and comfy king sized bed; and 3) although I haven't checked, I don't know if many of the hosts on there would like a whole family including an energetic toddler, coming to stay. 

Thacker's journey sounded fun and interesting, and the writing describing his travels was witty, just like yo'd expect from an Aussie. I googled most of the places visited, to see what he was describing, and I have now added Siquijor, Phillipines, to my wanderlust wish list!

One thing really stood out for me reading about his experience, how globalised the world is coming - it sounds like global brands have made it to even the far reaching places - the same TV shows, fast-food restaurants, and clothing brands pop up almost everywhere.

I enjoyed this book, almost enough to make me consider hosting travelling guests once my child is a bit older and less likely to disturb guests sleep (for those who aren't already out partying).

Read my review on Goodreads

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

“Everything's a risk. Not doing anything is a risk. It's up to you.”

...

“Life is a gift. Don't forget to live it.” 

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He’s tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster. 

What a good girl Madeline must have been to never questioned her disease. I understand that you would probably never think your Mother would be capable of deceiving you on such a massive thing, but she seems like such an intelligent woman that I find it hard to believe that it had honestly never crossed her mind before. And what about her full time nurse? Why did she not pick anything up? Especially after she disclosed she had a hunch that there was something not right?

I was about halfway through when I had my suspicions that this was coming, and I was kind of hoping that it wouldn't. I was kind of hoping that Olly and Maddy would build on their love and overcome the massive health obstacle and that it would work out that way, but it didn't happen like that. 

I read/watch the news, so I know that (particularly in America it seems...) things like this actually do happen to real people, so it didn't make me enjoy the story any less when it panned out this way - it was still really well written and I loved the blossoming love between Olly and Maddy - I was just less surprised.

It had similar stirrings to Room, and The Fault in our Stars, while not being exactly the same as either of those other books. I also really loved how the books referenced throughout the story were real - I've even downloaded a few of them to read!

Read my review on Goodreads

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.