Wonder – R.J Palacio

Wonder is a heartwarming book telling the story of August Pullman who was born with a facial difference. In his early life, Auggie was home schooled, but he’s bright and funny and has so much to offer the wider world and socialising is important. With his medical needs under control, it’s time for him to go to mainstream school.

There are certain challenges presented, the children and staff haven’t seen anyone who looks like Auggie before. Whilst Auggie experiences heart wrenching cruelty, it soon becomes clear that most children are incredibly kind and accepting and they enable Auggie’s inner beauty to shine through. All of these children represent what is truly good in the world!

Each child character gets to tell their own story of what it’s like to have Auggie in their lives and in some cases, the cruelty they too have been exposed to because of their association. It was interesting to have these different perspectives.

Overall, it’s a touching read with plenty of light humour as well as heartstring-tugging moments. Because it’s a children’s book, for me, it sometimes felt like there were certain boundaries adhered to, that I think in real life would have been pushed further with different consequences but this was just a small thing. It’s a lovely book and I think children reading it could learn a lot about who they are and how they should react to others. There’s a reoccurring theme of thoughtfulness that will resonate with a younger audience.

I recommend it.

Genre: Children’s fiction

Rating: 4/5⭐️

I Owe You One – Sophie Kinsella

I Owe You One was a sweet and pleasant read with warm humour and some poignant moments. I liked heroine Fixie, although a little naive at times she did just want to do the best by her family and those around her (whether deserving or not). Some of the romance did feel a little rushed to me and some parts surrounding the family business did feel a little like they slowed the pace but overall it’s a light, entertaining read.

Genre: Chicklit

Rating: 3/5🌟

The Amityville Horror – Jay Anson

3.5*

The Amityville Horror is a classic horror presented as a true story, based on the so called real experiences of the Lutz family. At the time of release, the story was huge and it’s easy to see why the book was so popular as the events described, if real, would have been terrifying.

Fast forward 40+ years though and what we have is a horror story that hasn’t aged well. We pretty much know it was a hoax and 112 Ocean Avenue is just a normal residence with no previous or further reports of unusual phenomena. Much of the ghostly happenings are eye-roll-invoking (green slime – really?) at best and the over-dramatisation is a little cheesy.

Overall, it’s an entertaining read if you read as fiction and keep in mind the age of the book.

Genre: Horror

Rating: 3.5🌟

The Hunting Party – Lucy Foley

The Hunting Party tells the story of a group of friends who’ve come together in a remote part of Scotland for a few nights to celebrate NYE. Told from multiple perspectives with a time-lapse, the story of a missing party member unravels.

I found there was plenty to keep me interested: lots of secrets, the unique setting and the fact the missing person’s identity is kept a secret for the most part. However, the characters on the whole were unlikable, selfish with few redeeming features between them. Normally I do love to hate characters like this but in this case I found it hard to care who had gone missing or why. I think perhaps, for me, there was a little too much backstory at times pulling me out of the tension.

Overall, it’s a decent read that’s been well thrashes out but perhaps lacking a little in pace compared to similar books.

Trigger warning (the clue is in the title): Graphic scene depicting the killing of a deer.

Genre: Thriller

Rating: 3.5*

Life & Laughing – Michael McIntyre

Life and Laughing is a hilarious, interesting and sometimes touching autobiography. Knowing little about Michael McIntyre other than being a fan of his comedy, I was surprised by his fascinating early life. The narration by McIntyre himself is a real treat and this is definitely a book that’s worth listening to, rather than reading.

Genre: autobiography

Rating: 5/5⭐️

One Christmas Star – Mandy Baggot

This was a lovely, festive romance with all the feels you’d expect from a book of this genre. The story follows school teacher Emily, who crosses paths with fallen-from-grace, rockstar Ray. They connect over a hedgehog and a school Christmas show but with Ray hiding a secret it’s hard to tell if the two will ever be more than just friends.

The book is perfect for this time of year, and fans of the movie ‘Nativity’ will certainly enjoy this. The writing is bright and sparky and there’s plenty of humour throughout.

Unnatural Causes – Dr Richard Shepherd

A fascinatingly honest account of what it’s like to be a pathologist. Dr Shepherd’s career spanned over 4 decades and covered some of the most high-profile cases imaginable. A job like this understandably takes its toll on mental well-being and family life and Dr Shepherd doesn’t sugar-coat this not does he hold back on the truths of his findings.

His struggle with being impartial vs emotion felt very real.

A superb read.

One Day in December – Josie Silver

This has been on my TBR since last Christmas and I’m so glad I finally got to reading it.

It’s a beautiful romance which begins with a glance through a bus window one December’s day. Life is more complicated than love at first sight though, and the story spans the decade after this man came into protagonist Laurie’s life.

Laurie and her best friend Sarah are well-drawn and likeable and their dialogue is great and I also liked the love interests in the story.

One Day in December has one of the most epic kissing scenes. There’s a great build up, it’s passionate and it’s wrong on so many levels – it was great!

My only criticism was that instead of the tension ramping up towards the end, I felt like it fizzled out at around the 80% mark (until the last few pages – the actual ending is wonderful) to the point where I didn’t quite feel there would still be love there.

Overall, it’s a very well written, heartwarming romance with a festive air about it. I’d definitely recommend it!

Genre: Romance (contemporary)

Rating: 4.5⭐️

The Gift – Cecelia Ahern

I started The Gift last year and couldn’t really get into it but I decided to give it another go. What I discovered second time around was a wonderfully poignant story that’s well crafted and filled with interesting, well drawn out characters.

It’s in no way a retelling, but the story faintly echoes A Christmas Carol, in the sense that the main character has unwanted help at Christmas time to discover what really matters in life.

I did really enjoy the book despite my false start and the key moral of the story really does hit home. A great read for any time of year or for anyone who fancies a deeper Christmas book that isn’t packed with warm festive cheer.

Genre: Fiction (Christmas setting).

Rating: 5/5⭐️

The Other People – CJ Tudor

After enjoying CJ Tudor’s first two books, I was thrilled to receive an ARC copy of The Other People and pushed my TBR pile aside so I could get stuck in.
As with all Tudor’s books, there’s an element of mystery and the supernatural and with multiple characters, there’s plenty to get your teeth into.

The storyline and characters felt fresh and unique and there was enough momentum to keep me turning the pages. In addition, there are some wonderfully profound lines scattered throughout the book which I didn’t expect.

Another enjoyable CJ Tudor book.

Genre: Supernatural thriller

Rating: 4/5⭐️