Alisha Dempsey

February Total: 7
Year-to-date Total: 11

Wonder – R.J. Palacio ★★★☆☆
I think if I’d read this at a younger age, I would’ve appreciated it more. Documenting a young boy’s transition into Middle School after years of homeschooling, and difficulties with a disability that led to face deformations since birth. I did like that there were multiple accounts of the same events from his family and friends’ perspectives.

The Monsters of Rookhaven – Pádraig Kenny ★★☆☆☆
By all accounts, this should’ve been right up my street, but I just couldn’t gel to it. I barely remember the plot of it.

Starling House – Alix E. Harrow ★★★★★
Simply beautiful. A young woman’s discovery of a hidden family and a large, magical house with a young man that fights monsters living in it. After finding connections between the author of her favourite book from childhood and the lonely, presumably abandoned manor in the woods, Opal has to face the fact that she can suddenly see monsters that she previously believed to be fiction.

Me Before You – Jojo Moyes ★★★★★
Loved the film, loved the book even more – it was so true to its source material. Presents a moral dilemma and the dichotomy of two opposing (but yearning) characters when Will Traynor, a pessimistic quadriplegic who wants to end his own life, meets Louisa Clark, the optimistic, bubblier-than-champagne 27 year old who is hired to care for him.

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams ★★★☆☆
The humour was great, but I feel like the overall tone of the book was a bit lost on me. Some of the one-liners are very Monty Python, and I’m here for that, but I don’t feel like much actually happened throughout the course of the book. There’s a good philosophical ideology hidden in all the jokes and silly names (I’m looking at you, Slartibartfast).

A Midsummer Night’s Dream – William Shakespeare ★★★★☆
Haven’t read this one since High School! I had the opportunity to see the production at Leeds Playhouse via work, so thought I’d have a re-fresh. This is easily one of my Top Three Shakespeare’s! Only a short read, so I’d definitely recommend giving it a run through (make sure to get an edition with footnotes or you’ll be scratching your head at some of the lingo!)

Sunrise on the Reaping – Suzanne Collins ★★★★★
My third time reading and I still love it all the same!!! Sunrise details Haymitch Abernathy’s time and win in the 50th Hunger Games – the 2nd Quarter Quell, where four children are reaped from each district instead of two. I am continually heartbroken every time I read this – it’s a bit masochistic of me to keep going back to it, but I can’t help myself. I couldn’t recommend a book more than I recommend this one.