Room by Emma Donoghue
What a wonderful novel!  I absolutely love this book.  After finishing The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood I moved straight onto this.  It's been sat on my shelf for a while now as I was a little nervous about reading it.  As a mummy of one I hated the idea of a child being trapped in a room.  However, it's clear from early on that Room is all Jack knows.  The writing is amazing, narrated by 5 year old Jack himself - this is the boy who has had no schooling whatsoever and only his Ma to learn from.    Without wanting to give anything away (but not really being able to avoid it) the journey and experiences encountered by Jack once he leaves Room are wonderful.  Nothing makes sense to him and he has to start from scratch and learn how things work on the Outside.  Beautifully written, Emma Donoghue deserves a medal for managing to keep Jack's language and narrative consitant throughout.  I recommend all parents read this book so they can put themselves in their child's shoes and see how life is when everything is new and nothing makes sense.

I am now moving onto Sovereign (Shardlake Series) by C J Sansom which is the third book in the series.  Time for some lovely historical fiction!

 



The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood
I finished this book several weeks ago but haven't blogged since.  It took me a long time to read but that doesn't really mean anything in this case.  Normally, if I take a long time to read a book it means that I'm not really enjoying it.  However, I really enjoyed this book.  I found it very dark (although, as mentioned previously, the constant mentions of the seaside did drive me crazy) and sinister - particularly the character of Martin.  I didn't see the twist coming, which was refreshing, and I would certainly recommend this book to those who enjoy suspense novels.  The writing style was very descriptive and I could almost imagine the waves crashing on the shore (damn seaside!).  I felt sorry for the two young lead characters and was willing (or pleading maybe) them to not do the things they were doing, which lead to the unfortunate event.  I did not feel the same sympathy for the adult versions which I think is due to clever writing.  All in all a very good book - not particularly fast paced but it draws you in nonetheless.  Throughout I had the feeling something bad was going to happen....


The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood on amazon.co.uk

I meant to mention in my previous post...this is the book I'm reading at the moment.  So far, so good (although I am fed up of the 'seaside' already!).  More to come once I've finished it.

 

Cemetery Girl by David Bell on amazon.co.uk

I finished Cemetery Girl by David Bell on 7th February.  I wasn't enjoying the book when I last blogged and I'm even more disappointed with the story now that I have reached the end (although can't deny being rather glad to be rid of it!).  It was a let down - I kept hoping the plot would improve and I would 'all of a sudden' find all the twists and turns I have read about in other reviews.  Alas, it was not to be.  I would not recommend this book and I will not being reading David Bell's second novel 'The Hiding Place' (unless someone convinces me otherwise and they have a loooooong difficult task ahead of them!).  Mr Bell should maybe have saved himself a lot of time by finishing the novel with 'and they all lived happily ever after - the end' (for those that haven't read the book I'm not saying this is how the books ends, just an example of an alternative ending...).  Harsh? yes.  Disappointed?  Very.  Avoid if you enjoy fast paced crime/thrillers as you may be disappointed.

Cemetery Girl by David Bell on Amazon (e-book version)

I've been reading this book since 14th January and I'm getting nowhere with it.  This is the first book I have read by David Bell and I'm afraid it hasn't hooked me yet, which is a shame because the idea is good.  I think it's the writing style that I'm not particularly comfortable with.  I haven't really warmed to any of the characters and I keep waiting for a twist to appear, which it hasn't yet (maybe that's what makes it a good book in some peoples eyes but for me it's just disappointing).  I feel as though I'm just plodding through to get to the end rather than enjoying a good read.

I don't like Abby (the mother) and I dislike Tom (the father) even more.  The detective feels like he's just graduated from detective 101 and is being overly nice and sweet (maybe he did it!).  As for Caitlin, she's about the only one I have warmed to in any way and that's only a fraction more than her parents.

I will finish this book but at the moment it feels as though the end is a long way off.  Full review once the 'milestone' has been reached.