Alice’s Comments (group member since Sep 02, 2024)

Alice’s comments from the Books and Sh!t group.

Welcome to our June book, this month we have Caraval by Stephanie Garber which is another fantasy read.

Caraval is described as a high stakes fantasy about two sisters, Scarlett and Tella, who escape their father's control to attend Caraval which is a once-a-year performance where the audience becomes part of the show. As part of this event Tella is kidnapped, which results in Scarlett hoping to win the game to rescue her, but this may be easier said than done. The deeper into Caraval Scarlett gets the more she struggles to distinguish between reality and illusion, and the more it seems as though there are dark and sinister forces at play. This novel is noted to have themes of trust, sacrifice, and self-discovery as well as senses of enchantment and wonder.

Enjoy!

Welcome to April everyone! This month we are reading The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune which is a fantasy novel.

This book follows Linus Baker, a case worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth (hence fantasy) who is sent to a mysterious orphanage on a remote island to evaluate six magical children. Through meeting these children with their unique and potentially dangerous abilities along with their caretaker Arthur, Linus's view of the world slowly shifts and he begins to discover what is truly important in life. This story is noted for being uplifting and having strong themes of empathy and the value of found family.

We hope you enjoy!

Welcome to March everyone! This month we are reading Red Rising by Pierce Brown which is dystopian science fiction.

Darrow spent his whole life believing he and the other reds were sacrificing their blood, sweat, tears, and even their lives to make the surface of mars habitable for future generations. However, after the tragic death of a loved one he soon discovers his life and the lives of his peers have all been a lie as humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Darrow teams up with a group of rebels to infiltrate the Institute, the legendary training ground for the next generation of Gold leaders. In doing so he risks his life in brutal competition to gain position amongst their ranks in order to take them down from the inside, but how far will he have to go in order to do this?

If you like hunger games we think you will really like this one too, it’s like hunger games on a whole new level.

I rate this book 4 stars, although I'm tempted to go higher because it was so devastating and for a book that is so short I felt like Dostoevsky really captured the essence of loneliness and finding that temporary solitude in another soul even when it is not destined to last and can only end in heart break.
The quote I have chosen is 'I don't know how to be silent when my heart is speaking'.
I also would like to note 'You know, we thank some people for merely living at the same time as we do, I thank you for the fact that I met you, that I will remember you for all my life'.

Happy February! In the spirit of February being a short month we have chosen a nice short story for you to read. White nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky is a classic romance originally published in 1848.

This story is both heartwarming and devastating through its commentary on loneliness, isolation, and unrequited love stemming from the deeply human need for connection.

We hope you enjoy!

Welcome to January everyone! To kick off 2025 we are reading A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft. The main genres of this book are fantasy and romance, as well as LGBTQ+ and mystery.

In this book Lorelei must join up with her maddeningly beautiful and insufferably gallant academic rival Sylvia von Wolff to determine who murdered their beloved mentor whilst on an expedition to find a fabled spring. Lorelei must work to lead the expedition whilst knowing that the other team members are all suspects who could strike again at any point. And of course as with any investigation secrets are uncovered that make Lorelei question whether justice is really worth pursuing.

We hope you enjoy!

Welcome to December everyone! We are going to be reading Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Nobel Prize winner Olga Tokarczuk. This book is described as being a mystery crime thriller.

Set in a remote village in Poland the sudden death of one of Janina's neighbours precedes the discovery of a number of other bodies in increasingly strange circumstances. As a result, Janina decides to join in the game of whodunnit and inserts herself into the investigation. This story explores the murky borderland between sanity and madness, justice and tradition, and autonomy and fate.

Happy reading!

Tori wrote: "4 ⭐️
I really liked this one! It’s wasn’t an ‘on the edge of my seat’ kind of books but I was really emotionally invested in it. I think it was really interesting to document the lives of women acr..."

I completely agree! It really felt like Violeta was more than just a fictional character, her voice was so accurate to that of a Grandmother talking to their child, there was so much care and compassion behind it I couldn't help but be invested even if it wasn't super high stakes all the way through. There was the perfect true to life balance of mundane and extraordinary.
I found it fascinating to hear her perspective of the political climate she grew up in, surrounded both by defiant feminists who opposed the patriarchal environment they were born into and strong women with more traditional views, both of whom shaped her into the woman she grew up to be. It was surreal to believe the world was so different back then in the remote village she grew up in and yet in this day and age we are still having the same discussions about women rights as she did.

Once you have read this book it would be great if you could comment your rating out of 5 and let us know your favourite quote!

Happy November guys! This month we are reading Violeta by Isabel Allende which is a historical fiction novel with elements of feminism and romance.

Born in 1920 Violeta faces many hardships from an early age, beginning with the Spanish flu the year she was born, and ending with the Covid-19 pandemic around the time of her death. As a result of the hardships experienced by her family they are forced to leave their home in the city and build a new life in a wild and remote part of the country. Her story is told in the form of a letter to her most loved relative Camilo and details the great successes, passionate affairs, and devastating consequences of the political turmoil in Chile throughout her lifetime.

Violeta is such a fascinating and extremely compelling character, so I really hope you guys have as much fun as I did reading this book!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
‘It is good to be loved, even though it will not last’

Hello again everyone! This month we are reading We Were Liars by E. Lockhart which is a young adult romance mystery thriller.

This story is about a beautiful family, a private island, and lies lies and more fucking lies when a friendship between a group of four people becomes increasingly destructive and - I'm assuming - the shit hits the fan.

Hope you have fun reading!

Hey guys, welcome to the September 2024 book club pick! We will be reading The Waiting Rooms by Eve Smith which is science fiction medical thriller.

Set in the middle of a global antibiotic crisis where there is an age restriction on who can receive treatment and the elderly are sent to hospitals known as ‘the waiting rooms’ Kate wants to search for her birth mother but ends up discovering more than she bargained for, putting herself and those she loves in danger.

We hope you enjoy and will see you at the end of the month to discuss!
Ready… Set… Go!