Books I've read this year (so far) part 1

We are a little over 1/3 into the year and it has generally been very hectic, and a little scary. The beginning of this year I was elected co-president of the student council and was really excited about organizing events, which probably aren't going to happen anymore. It's crazy that I'm halfway through the school year, and we're on lockdown. I've seen a lot of high school students on social media talking about how they aren't going to have the 'real high school experience'. I don't believe in the 'real high school experience', it's catered to extroverts who don't really care about there studies and who peak in high school. I'm not looking to peak in high school thank you very much. Anyways, here are the books I read! I've read 20 books this year so far, so this is part one :)



LIES WE TELL OURSELVES BY ROBIN TALLEY

RATING: 5/5 stars

This book follows two girls in 1959 Virginia during the middle of the civil rights movements. Jefferson High is one of the best schools in the town, and because of that, no black kids are allowed. That was just common sense to them, and that's what Linda believed as the daughter of one of the most popular pro-segregation activists in the town. When Jefferson allows the firsts black kids into the school, everyone is outraged, and so is Linda... until she meets Sarah...

Sarah knows she is a part of a huge movement, but she isn't sure if she wants to be. When she walks through the doors of Jefferson, she gets spit on, shoved, slapped. It was going to get better, it had to get better. Right?

Okay so this is my girlfriend's favourite book and this was my second time trying to read it. I have to say the first time I tried to read this I was really immature and found it a bit weird that Sarah and her friends called others at the school "white people", I would have suspected there would be some kind of slang word for them since all the white people had slang words for them. However, I've realised that they were fighting for equality, so having slang words for them would have defeated the purpose. Overall, I thought this was a beautiful book. I never really knew how bad things were, but this book really did open my eyes. The character development of Linda was amazing, it was really interesting seeing how she grew into her own person. I have to say though my favourite character was Sarah. I loved her a lot, she was a generally really great character. I definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a great, educational, historical fiction with a great, slow-burn love story.


HEARTSTOPPER (VOLUME 3) BY ALICE OSEMAN

RATING: 4/5 stars

This is a graphic novel both illustrated and written by Alice Oseman about two boys in an all-boys school. This one follows their school trip to Paris!

I count graphic novels as books. Please don't be a prude and say they aren't "real books", because they are to me.

Anyways this is just a really cute love story and you can read it for free because Alice Oseman has put it on tapas, so please go support her :)

Anyways this book was just the cutest thing as all heartstopper books are, but this one follows some more serious themes. In this book, Oseman delves into Charlie's eating disorder and Nick trying to help him through it. You can really see how much they love each other in this book and it's just so cute, but I'm really glad Alice has decided to discuss some darker subjects, since she has such a large platform, and addressing these subjects is truly the only way we can bring awareness to people that might see themselves in Charlie. I appreciated that she has put a content warning before all of the chapters. But at its heart, this series it a cute love story between these two boys, it's the cutest and a great pick-me-up, so I definitely recommend reading it in these difficult times.


RED WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE BY CASEY MCQUISTON

RATING: 5/5 STARS

I've just realized I've read 4 books with queer characters in a row (the next one is also queer), okay clearly I wanted to read a lot of romance the beginning of this year. I don't read a lot of heterosexual romance, but most of the ones I have tried to read recommended to me by my friends have been immature. I don't like the average girl falling for the perfect guy trope, I find it irritating. Anyways, this book. This book. My favourite romance. It's so good, this was my second time reading it, and I'm tempted to read it for the third time but I know I shouldn't. I've got a full in-depth review of this on this blog so if you want to know more about it you can go check it out :)

Anyways here is a one-liner to convince you to read this book:
What if long time enemies Henry (Prince of Wales) and Alex (First son of the United States) were forced to become best friends to avoid political tension between the two nations? And what if they don't hate each other that much after all?

Please read this book, it's super cute.


REVERIE BY RYAN LA SALA 

RATING: 3/5 stars

What if your dreams were real? Kane has no idea what is happening, and he's completely forgotten who he is. After crashing his car and getting permanent brain damage and retrograde amnesia, he thought things would go back to the way it
normally was before all this. Why he crashed the car? He can't remember. But when people start acting weird around him, and he finds pictures of people he doesn't know in his room, he suspects people aren't telling him the full truth. In this unique urban fantasy, dreams become reality, and could possibly take over the world

I have to say I was very disappointed when I read this book, there was a lot of hype about this book in the book community, and I was expecting more. I felt like the world-building was a bit messy and wasn't completely developed, whilst reading it, I remember thinking that none it made any sense. Also, I detested Kane. He was definitely not a great character or person, but he wasn't written to be unlikeable, but he just was.


EVERY HEART A DOORWAY AND DOWN AMONG THE STICKS AND BONES BY SEANAN MCGUIRE

RATING: 4/5 STARS

Children are all special. Some take longer to learn to walk, some somehow learn to be a professional pianist at 5, some are more independent than adults we know, and some find secret doorways that will lead them to a land they truly belong in. Some stay there for the rest of their life, and some were forced to come back. Adults think these children are insane after being kidnapped and simply need therapy. Eleanor's home for wayward children is the perfect place for them. Every heart a doorway is a magical mixture of Narnia and Ms Periguins home for peculiar children.

I really liked these two books, they are almost like alternate fairy tails but they aren't at all. I know each book follows the main characters of the first book. I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of this series. I found these books slightly scary, but then again I don't read a lot of scary books so I'm not a great judge whether a book is scary or not. Anyways, I really enjoyed this series. highly recommend.







CIRCE BY MADELINE MILLER

RATING: 5/5 stars

Circe didn't really have a purpose for her immortal life, being a nymph in the palace of Helios, her father, the god of the sun. She discovers magic and turns her love into an immortal so that they could be together forever. When he betrays her and she turns her sister into a monster, she is banished to an island of Aeaeae by Zeus. Madeline Miller's retellings of greek myths are beautiful and enchanting.

It took me a long time to get through this book, but I never seemed to forget the story each time I picked it up. It was amazing, I loved it so much. I would say I preferred The Song Of Achilles which is one of my favourite books (also written by Miller). This book was so amazing, and her writing is some of the best I've ever read. This book was so amazing and beyond any of my words. Go read it. Thank you.




THUNDERHEAD AND SCYTHE BY NEAL SHUSTERMAN

RATING: 5/5 stars

I'm going to have a full in-depth review of this series on my blog when I finish all the Toll (which I'm super excited to read btw). It's an amazing series, definitely one of my favourites








ASSASIN'S APPRENTICE BY ROBIN HOBB

RATING: 5/5 stars

This book follows a young boy, the bastard of the heir to the throne Chivalry, a prince loved by his people. When the boy is thrown into court life due to the abandonment of his mother's father, he gets taken in by the stableman, a known old companion and friend of Chivalry. Burrich names this boy Fitz, bastard. You follow Fitz's journey in the court and the repercussions of his birth status.

This book was recommended to me by my friend, and I have to say I loved it so much. It was just such a huge adventure, and I've discovered I love stories that follow characters from childhood. I am really looking forward to reading the rest of this series.


Alright well, that was half of the books I've read so far this year. I'm going to be updating again with the rest of the list at the end of the month. But make sure to watch out for a reading vlog! Since it's the holidays and I'm in lockdown I'm going to be doing a 24-hour readathon. I'm going to be filming it, so watch out for that. Anyways, hope you all have a nice day and thank you for reading :)