As everyone is fully aware it’s been a very strange start to the year. I started of the year stressing about GCSE’s and having to do lots of revision in order to get the grades that I wanted. However now all of that has been cut short I’ve been given all this additional extra time that I never would have had. Now that I don’t have any GCSE’s to work towards I don’t really have anything that I can do with my spare time. So now that I am free of stress and distractions I am back in the blogging world talking about what I love most… reading! I just wanted to give a brief update on what I’ve been reading lately and all the different things that I have been doing recently.

Books I Have Read This Year

1. The Manifesto On How To Be Interesting by Holly Bourne: I read this book at the very start of the year and I really really enjoyed it. It had all the main features of a high school drama about friendship and popularity with plenty of unique twists and turns. In a way it reminded me of the well known American film Mean Girls but it had more purpose and taught a valuable lesson. This lesson was to not rely on popularity for happiness and that in reality popularity really isn’t that important. I think in an age where popularity is so important to young teenagers I thought it was really beautiful to see Bourne challenge these beliefs about popularity and life and focus more on valuing yourself and being more self confident. However, I did think it lacked a little originality as it is a story that has been presented before and it wasn’t particularly unique. I still thought it was very moving and deep and would recommend to everyone. However I believe that it shouldn’t be read by anyone younger than 14 or 15 as there are some quite mature themes. 3.7/5.0
2. In The Time We Lost by Carrie Hope Fletcher: I thought that this book was so so beautiful! I’ve recently become a little obsessed with this author as her writing is so brilliant and unique. Furthermore, Carrie Hope Fletcher is a West End actress, blogger and You-tuber. I have been getting really into her videos lately and was so delighted to find that she had written this book. I thought that the story line was actually so different from anything else I have ever read before and the ending was completely heart-breaking. Spoilers: You’re gonna need tissues!! The story takes place on a little Scottish island after Luna’s life gets a little too much and she needs some time away from the world. She travels to this mysterious island and all sorts of strange things happen while shes there and I really cant say anymore otherwise I will spoil it! Really moving and beautiful and it seems more than likely I will be doing a binge read of all her work very soon! 4.5/5.0
3. The Girl Who Reads On The Metro by Christine Feret-fleury: This book was a beautiful short book set in Paris. I really liked the way that the author used different types of language to describe tiny little detail in order to create the most beautiful descriptions. I feel that this really made the whole world, that the book was set in, feel beautiful and magical even when it was a set in a normal busy city. The book revolved around a young woman called Juliette who quits her job and becomes solely invested in the world of books and it was just truly magical and I loved it so much. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes reading however I feel that older audiences would appreciate it more than younger audiences. 4.3/5.0
4. The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta: I cannot express how absolutely amazing this book was. I read all in one sitting and then passed it straight onto my friend (who I practically forced to read it so I could have someone I could talk about it with) who also read it in one night. The book revolves around this young boy who comes to terms with his sexuality and identity throughout his life. It shows the boys life from being a young child until hes at Uni where he tries Drag for the first time. It was so heartwarming and amazing with beautiful illustrations. It was also written in prose which just added that extra touch of emotion and it was just such a brilliant book. I feel it encouraged teens to be themselves and express their emotions in all different ways and be more accepting of who they are. I truly believe that all people should read this at some age however it isn’t necessarily appropriate for people younger than 14 or 15 due to some mature themes. 5.0/5.0

That’s all I have time for but I will be posting more often from now on so stay tuned for more pieces coming soon. If you never want to miss another post you can subscribe below or follow my Instagram page which is @booksandbluesocks