What I Read in May 2020: Part 2

Hello friends! As promised, here is the second part of my May reading round up. The first part was all children’s books, and this one is mainly children’s and young adult books, so if that’s not what you’re into sorry. Come back next month. For the rest of you, let me tell you what I read that wasn’t for Believathon. I’m linking this up with Jana and Steph for Show Us Your Books.

In the Skin of a Monster by Kathryn Barker. Three years ago, Alice’s identical twin sister took a gun to school and killed seven innocent kids; now Alice wears the same face as a monster. She’s struggling with her identity, and with life in the small Australian town where everyone was touched by the tragedy, and many have now turned against Alice. Just as she thinks things can’t get much worse, she encounters her sister on a deserted highway – except it can’t be her, because after killing the other kids, she turned the gun on herself. Soon Alice discovers that she has stepped into a different reality, a dream world, where she’s trapped with the nightmares of everyone in the community. Here Alice is forced to confront the true impact of everything that happened the day her twin sister took a gun to school … and to reveal her own secret to the boy who hates her most. I read this entire book in one sitting, and I cried. Imagine not only being related to a school shooter, but actually having to share her face? It’s bizarre and I can see how some people might find it confusing but I absolutely loved it. 4.5 stars.

Fire Girl by Tony Abbott. From the moment Jessica arrives, life is never quite the same for Tom and his seventh-grade classmates. They call her “fire girl” because she was in a fire and was badly burned, and is now attending St. Catherine’s will receiving medical treatments. Despite her appearance and the fear she evokes in him and most of the class, Tom slowly develops a tentative friendship with Jessica that changes his life. This is a quick read about kindness and what it means to be different. I felt like it could have gone a bit deeper – probably it was a little too short – but it wasn’t bad and didn’t seem preachy, which can happen with this kind of topic. 3 stars.

Indigo’s Star by Hilary McKay (Casson Family #2). This is the sequel to Saffy’s Angel. It takes place a few years later and focuses on Indigo, the only boy in the family. After missing a whole term of school with an illness, Indigo is about to go back, but only younger sister Rose knows that he was being bullied before he was off. When Saffy finds out, she’s determined that nobody will be allowed to mess with her family. And with new boy Tom joining Indigo’s class, things might just be different this term. It was nice to read more about this family, but I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first one. Rose’s letters made me laugh. The parents annoyed me though! I’m not sure who was worse – distracted Eve who found going shopping so her children could, you know, actually eat such a chore or Bill who knows his wife is like that but still doesn’t come home or even try to check up on the things in Rose’s letters with anyone who isn’t eight years old! 3.5 stars. (If you’re wondering, I gave Saffy’s Angel 4 stars.)

The Million Pieces of Neena Gill by Emma Smith-Barton. Neena’s always been a good girl – great grades, parent-approved friends and absolutely no boyfriends. The perfect Pakistani daughter. But ever since her brother Akash left her, she’s been slowly falling apart, partying, drinking – and uncovering a new version of herself who is freer, but altogether more dangerous. As her wild behaviour spirals more and more out of control, Neena’s grip on her sanity begins to weaken too. And when her parents announce not one but two life-changing bombshells, she finally reaches breaking point. enjoyed this and it was a very fast read for me. It’s confusing and disjointed in parts, but that makes it feel like an even more realistic portrayal of what’s going on in Neena’s head. She’s very much an unreliable narrator but it was still clear that something was very wrong and what she was telling us couldn’t be right. I found myself genuinely worrying about her and spent half the book thinking noooo Neena please don’t do it! Emma Smith-Barton is British-Pakistani and has suffered from mental health problems so this is own voices for both of those things. 4 stars.

The Perfect Escape by Suzanne Park. Nate Jae-Woo Kim wants to be rich. When one of his classmates offers Nate a ridiculous amount of money to commit grade fraud, he knows that taking the windfall would help support his prideful Korean family, but is compromising his integrity worth it? Then Kate Anderson, Nate’s colleague at the zombie-themed escape room where he works, approaches Nate with a plan: a local tech company is hosting a weekend-long survivalist competition with a huge cash prize, and she needs someone to team up with. It could solve all of Nate’s problems, and Kate needs the money too, to escape from her controlling father. If the two of them team up, Nate has a true shot at winning the grand prize. But the real challenge? Making through the weekend with his heart intact. This is cute and fun. I loved Jeeves the slightly inept robot. I expected more from the romance – they were both apparently immediately attracted to each other but never actually communicated about it until they shared one kiss and then ended the book as… I’m not sure what. Sort of friends who might maybe be something more? It was fine though. 3.5 stars.

Jolly Foul Play by Robin Stevens (Murder Most Unladylike #4). Daisy Wells and Hazel Wong have returned to Deepdean for a new school term, but nothing is the same. There’s a new Head Girl, Elizabeth Hurst, and she and her team of Prefects are nothing but bullies. Then, after the fireworks display on Bonfire Night, Elizabeth is found – murdered. Most people at Deepdean had a reason to hate Elizabeth, but who would have stooped so low? Could the murder be linked to the secrets and scandals, scribbled on scraps of paper, that are suddenly appearing around the school? And with their own friendship falling to pieces, how will Daisy and Hazel solve this mystery? I enjoyed this book but it seemed to have a different tone to the previous three – far too much bickering. Even Hazel and Daisy spent a large chunk of the time not speaking to each other. They’ve always had their disagreements, but this seemed excessive! It’s still a good read, but after the sheer genius that was book 3 it was a bit of a let down. 3.5 stars

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson. The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered, and everyone knows it was her boyfriend, Sal Singh, who did it. The police know it. Everyone in town knows it. But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn’t so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth? I LOVED this book! It was everything I wanted from Truly Devious but didn’t get. I loved Pippa and Ravi (Sal’s brother, who she teams up with), Pippa’s friendship with Cara, her awesome (step-)dad. It was a little unbelievable that a school girl could get away with so much but that didn’t spoil my enjoyment at all. Highly, highly recommend! 5 stars.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow. In a sprawling mansion filled with peculiar treasures, January Scaller is a curiosity herself. As the ward of the wealthy Mr. Locke, she feels little different from the artifacts that decorate the halls: carefully maintained, largely ignored, and utterly out of place. Then she finds a strange book. A book that carries the scent of other worlds, and tells a tale of secret doors, of love, adventure and danger. A tale that increasingly seems to intertwine with her own story. Could this be the key to unlocking the secrets of her past? This is a wonderful, imaginative and adventurous book. I loved January – even if she made a few stupid decisions. I found a few parts of the story a bit slow, which lost it a star, but it picked up again and overalls ended up being a really good book that I definitely recommend. A quick note: January is mixed race (black father, white mother) and experiences racism. I know there has been some controversy about whether a white author has the right to a) write about black/mixed race people at all and b) write about racism from the perspective of those characters. It’s not my place to comment on that or on whether the representation was well done (or, indeed, can be well done by an author who has never experienced not being white) but I wanted you to know that I am aware of the issues. Nevertheless, I gave it 4 stars.

The Flat Share by Beth O’Leary. Tiffy Moore has just been dumped by her cheating husband and needs a place to stay, fast. But earning minimum wage at a quirky publishing house means that her choices are limited in London. Enter Leon Twomey. A palliative care nurse working night shift, he has a flat that he only uses 9 to 5, and he needs money to fight his brother’s unfair imprisonment. Tiffy works 9 to 5 and needs a place to sleep. The solution to their problems? To share a bed of course! As Leon and Tiffy’s unusual arrangement becomes a reality, they start to connect through Post-It notes left for each other around the flat. Can true love blossom even in the unlikeliest of situations? Can true love blossom even if you never see one another? Or does true love blossom when you are least expecting it? I was a bit sceptical about the premise of this book. Sharing a bed with a stranger? Really? Eew! But I had heard good things so I decided to give it a go, and I’m glad I did. This book is actually adorable! I loved Tiffy and her friends, and I really enjoyed the way Tiffy and Leon initially built up a relationship through notes and the author managed to make the sharing a flat at different times thing sound plausible. I had to take a star off because I found Leon’s chapters annoying at first – I know he’s supposed to be a man of few words but I just kept thinking “full sentences are allowed you know!”. It was very distracting. But eventually it either got better or I just stopped noticing. And I looooved the epilogue/ending. 4 stars.

I’m not going to do a TL;DR because 1) there are only 9 books here and I’m sure you can all read that much and 2) while I enjoyed some of these more than others, there are none here that I wouldn’t recommend (Fire Girl and Indigo’s Star perhaps a little less than the others) so you’ll have to see for yourself which ones fit into your preferred genre.

Have you read anything good recently? Don’t forget to check out the link up for more recommendations! And also read my last post for more of mine.