Currently Reading.... The Wild Girl

 

This is the cover of 'The Wild Girl' by Kate Forsyth, and ain't it pretty? It's a lot more powder blue in real life. It's set in Napoleonic times in Cassel, Germany. Dortchen Wild lives next to the Grimm family and as she grows up she begins to develop feelings for the second oldest brother, Wilhelm. I wanted a book similar to Sally Gardner's work, and I hadn't managed to find a historical/fairy-tale for a long time. Most 'fairy-tale' books I'd found were just fantasy. To be honest, I think I've found it. I'm only 137 pages in, and the writing's beautiful, the story captivating. 

I can't wait to finish it! By the way the nail polish I'm wearing is Maybelline's Color Show in Love this Sweater. (Weird name, I know).

Here's some recommendations for those of you who, like me, love historical/ magic/ fairy-tale/romance kind of stories.

The Red Necklace, Sally Gardner , 1st of the 'French Revolution' duo.

I, Coriander  - same author as above

The Night Circus, by Erica Morgenstern

- Lucy xx

Harry Potter TAG

When I was a kid, Harry Potter was possibly one of the only things I really read. Well, Michael Morpurgo books and The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe were certainly favourites, so my reading habits became a routine: Read HP series, couple of Michael Morpurgos, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to lift me out of the sadness that the Michael Morpurgo books produced, and then the cycle would start all over again.

Let's just say I was waiting for my Hogwarts letter long after I turned eleven.

Here's my Harry Potter collection. 

The Act of Leaving Your Books in Random Places.

Have you ever done that? Left a book in a cafe, public transport, park bench or bus stop. Left it for someone else to stumble upon it and begin reading it? I did this yesterday (yes, sorry I haven't been posting for a while, I was in Scotland), and left Adele Park's Spare Brides on Edinburgh Trams. See what I thought of that book here.

Despite my negative experience reading the book, I wanted the stranger who picked up my book to have a positive reading experience. So I left a little message on the flycover : 'Howdy, Please read me & enjoy ^_^'.

Recently, I found a website, bookcrossing, where you can track the travels of your 'released' book. I'm not a member of bookcrossing yet, but next time I want to 'release' a book, I'll use bookcrossing, and tell everyone on here!

Would you ever leave a book in a public place?

(Obviously don't leave it in a shop, charity shop or library.)

What are your opinions on leaving books??

- Lucy xx

My Goodreads Reviews

Hi everyone!

I have decided that for the moment I won't be posting all my Goodreads reviews up here. I'll only be posting the reviews where I have a lot to say about the book here.

However, my Goodreads account is here. You can also check upon my reading challenge by looking at the widget on the sidebar.

~Lucy x

The Striking but Fascinating Differences Between British and American YA

As an avid reader of all young adult and a reader of the yearly CILIP Carnegie shortlist, a realisation began to dawn on me. American and British YA are very different. I really like comparing things, so here it goes....

A Little History of The World ~ Review

A Little History of the World by E.H. Gombrich
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a completely readable account of world history. E.H. Gombrich’s book is brilliantly written for ten year olds – and adults too. It’s written like an adventure, where history becomes exciting. A Little History allows its readers to be inquisitive without being patronized, and for me personally, I learnt about a lot of things I didn’t know about.

A Little History is brilliantly humane account of world history. Whether 10 or 110, I think this book is definitely worth reading.


View all my reviews

The British Tag

The tea is Clipper green tea & manuka honey.....mmmmmmmm

 

 

Hello everybody!

Today I bring you....the British Tag. I was tagged by Karin from http://karinjr.blogspot.co.uk

Top 5 Period Dramas

I really, really like period dramas. I love the costume, the houses (and if it's based on an Austen, the romance). I would like to say I'm pretty obsessed. So, without no further ado, here's my list.

Oooh, I have Bloglovin' now.

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I'm getting all computery.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Nothing has struck me more so than Meg Rosoff’s How I Live Now. Nothing has felt so personal, so real. Daisy’s thoughts sounded like mine, and often I lapsed into thinking that SHE was ME, or I was HER. She did things which sounded like I would do, felt things which I would feel, and the only four strikingly different things from me and her is that 1: She is an American, 2: Her mother died giving birth to her and therefore she has a stepmother, 3: She is romantically involved with her cousin and 4: The Third World War has begun.

Also, the scenery is so similar to where I live. I’ve walked in woodland, down country lanes, swam in rivers. I know which plants are what and which birds are which. This makes the story even more personal for me, despite not living in a war zone, I felt like I knew the surroundings. This is what made me fearful. It made the story more realistic. It made survival and the war and everything seem like it could happen on MY BACK DOORSTEP, which is utterly terrifying, especially when you leave yourself to dwell on that matter.

After the end of Part Two, I couldn’t start to read any other book. I couldn’t write a review. I had to collect myself, and not cry in a crowded room. The ending broke my heart. I had literally no idea what to do with myself. (So I doodled aimlessly. That’s what I did with myself)

Meg Rosoff’s novel is one of the most powerful novels that I’ve read in quite a while. It is completely unmissable.

N.B: By the way, I don’t understand the issue with the incest. I felt that the book was more to do with survival, war, horror, hope, family, love, fear, anger, being scared, scared, scared and trying to fight your way through it than Daisy having sex with her cousin.


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