The first book added to my basket was The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I technically already own this book on my Kindle but it is most definitely one of my favourite books so I just had to have a physical copy to display on my shelf too! The Book Thief is quite well known because of the film that was made but for those of you who haven't heard of it... go out and get yourself a copy asap. It is set in 1939 Germany, during the height of the Nazi hierarchy. The book is narrated by death and follows nine year old Liesel as her parents are sent to a concentration camp and she is sent to live with a foster family where Liesel uses books as her coping mechanism. This book is beautifully and cleverly written and I would recommend it to anyone.
The second book added to my basket was actually because of Zoe Sugg's video about her WH Smith Book Club Picks. She mentioned Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell in her video amongst numerous others. I already own one of the other books she mentioned in her video (All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven) and all the other books she spoke about weren't really for me; I don't tend to enjoy books about love and relationships. However, Fangirl caught my fancy. I am excited to read this book as it follows twin girls, Wren and Cath, as they head off to university. Wren is the more outgoing one who wants to embrace the student life and go to parties, meet boys and let her hair down whereas Cath likes to keep to herself and write but is slowly opening herself up to new experiences. I was initially drawn to this book because of Cath's character as I feel like I am very similar, hence the reason why I'm looking forward to reading it.
The Art of Being Normal by Lisa Williamson is about a transgender boy called David who is desperate to keep his secret and be a 'normal' kid at high school. I was immediately drawn to this book as I haven't really came across any books with a transgender story line before and as a psychology graduate and a person who views people as people regardless of gender, religion or sexuality, I thought it would be an interesting read. Hopefully it will provide people with more knowledge and understanding of the topic so that others do not have to live in fear. The book also has a hashtag that can be used on Twitter to go along with the story which I like a lot, #WhatIsNormal. I love this message because it is so incredibly true, no person is the same as another and that is an incredibly positive thing that isn't shown or embraced as much as it should be within society.
The fouth book I purchased was actually in the recommended section on Amazon and I am not going to deny the fact that I clicked for more information because of the pretty cover and strange name. The Smell of Other People's Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock is set in Alaska in 1970 and follows four people experiencing difficulties in their lives. Ruth wants to be remembered, Dora wishes to be invisible, Alyce wants to leave but can't summon the courage and Hank is running away. I have read books before that are narrated by different protagonists and I quite enjoyed them so I'm looking forward to making my way through this one too.
The last two books I purchased were also in the recommended section on Amazon and are both by the same author, Ruta Sepetys. Between Shades of Gray explores the life of Lina, her mother and her brother as Soviet guards rip them from their home and everything they know and love and deport them to Siberia. Lina doesn't know if she will ever see her friends or the rest of her family again but she refuses to give up hope. Salt to the Sea is also set in Germany during the war and is narrated by four protagonists. Each of them come from different lands, each of them are effected by devastation and war and each of them are hoping to board a ship that promises safety, security and freedom; The Wilhelm Gustloff. Both of these books sound incredible and appear to have similar themes to The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (which is one of my all time favourite books); destruction, survival and strength. Based on that alone, I think I am going to really like these books.
I am really looking forward to working my way through these books. They all sound so good! I am being kept fairly busy at the moment between my first aiding and work but hopefully I can find some time here and there to delve into them. No doubt at least one of these books will end up in a monthly favourites at some point or I might even write a Book Review on the ones I really like. Let me know if you have read any of these books or if there are others you would recommend that you loved and think I might like!
xxx
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