February Reads

Another month down, another month of reading completed. I've discussed this with some fellow book bloggers and we've all agreed that February hasn't probably been as full of reading lots of books as we would have liked to have. However, putting this post together I've realised I'm now over 10 books into the year. I don't know whether it's because of how short February is compared to other months, feeling like it gets swept under our feet quicker than we think it does. 

However, with that in mind I have loved all of the books I have read this month apart from one which I have added to the bottom as the one I just couldn't get into this month, I'm not sure why it's been that way but still good to share the good ones I have read. So with all introductions aside let's get cracking with more book reviews this month!

Ctrl, Alt Delete: How I Grew Up Online by Emma Gannon ★★★★★

I'm a mahoosive fan of Emma, that's both her IG account, her incredibly motivating podcast and her blog, her book was something I have been dying to read since it's release in 2016. Emma writes a book containing so much of my history with the internet, from the height of MSN wish I believe was still around to a certain extent to the rise in online dating apps. 

I think Emma has an incredible way of writing and being able to grab the attention of our generation, I couldn't put it down and have been telling all of my favourite bloggers to make sure they read it sometime this year. I can't wait to keep hold of this book and share it with my children when they're growing up, we've experienced so much in my lifetime and Emma captured it all. Would love to see more books written by her for sure!

Beautifully Broken Things by Sara Barnard ★★★★★
This book was a surprise favourite with me during February, I was gifted it as part of a collaboration with My Kinda Book at the end of 2016 and I was surprised about how much I got into it. It focuses on the friendship between two girls, Caddy and Rosie that quickly become a trio.when new girl Suzanne comes along. As we realise of Suzanne's past and her presence becoming more of an influence on Caddy, Caddy begins to see how much fun a little trouble can be and worth risk taking. Caddy wants to be more like Suzanne, it's something we've all done at some point growing up so I found I could really relate to this.

Knowing what wasn't around the corner at the end of the plot was really heartbreaking. It definitely made me want to text all of my friends just to notify that I loved them. I would definitely read this over and over again, I enjoyed the book that much. 

Where I Am Now by Mara Wilson ★★★★★
I remember purchasing this just after Christmas as I loved watching Mara in Matilda growing up and is easily one of my favourite films to watch. This book is a collection of her life growing up as a famous child actor, the pressures, the highs and the lows of the entire experience. There is so much I have learnt about Mara, including her difficulty with Mental Health and the loss of her mum to cancer. I felt like she completely opened up in this book and found it an insightful read, I couldn't put it down as I started and particularly enjoyed the chapter when she wrote a letter to her character, Matilda. 

Death On Toast by John Townsend ★★
As part of the Reading Rampage challenge for young people that's going to start taking place from March my school have asked whether I'd like to get involved by reading some of the books on the list. I was given this short story to begin with and managed to complete it within an hour, it had a great quick pace to the storyline as well as it being quite interesting. It's full of dark humour and would be perfect for a child in Key Stage 3 (11+) to read. I didn't particularly enjoy it myself because of it's lower reading age.

The Leaving by Tara Alterbrando ★★

I just couldn't get into this book at all, it was very disappointing. 

Little Sister by Isabel Ashdown (sample) ★★★
Thanks to my fellow book loving friend Emma she introduced me to a great site, Net Gallery and I have been absolutely loving it. I checked out this sample first and downloaded it on my kindle, after seeing such great reviews I could see why. It ends on a cliffhanger, wanting you to read more. What on earth happened to Daisy?! The 3 chapter sampler gave us a great introductions into the individual characters without giving too much away..

This month I attempted to read We All Looked Up by Tommy Wallach and I just couldn't get into the book at all unfortunately. This is the first book of 2017 that I haven't managed to finish, I wonder if anyone else has read this book and can tell me what they thought of it. 

What have you been reading this month?