Book reviews: Skyward | The Indigo Spell | A Gathering of Shadows

Title: Skyward
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Original title: Skyward

First published: 2018
Genre: Science fiction, YA
Series: Skyward #1
Publisher: Gollancz
Format: Paperback
Pages: 510
Finished: 10/05/2020
Summary: Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.

My thoughts: I had a lot of fun reading this with two of my friends! I was excited to finally read "Skyward" after all the hype taking place on booktube and Goodreads. I'd previously read Sanderson's other young adult series, "The Reckoners", which I enjoyed quite a bit, and I was interested to see how he'd tackle this new series in the sci-fi genre.
"Skyward" has some similarities to "Steelheart", in that the protagonist lost their father to an evil force at an early age, and since they've idolised their father and their life goal revolves around his fate. They both set out to join the army/rebel group set on defeating said evil. They both use slightly silly swearwords.
I so far like "Skyward" more than "The Reckoners" series. I think Spensa was a stronger written character than David was; she's fierce, determined, and passionate. She also has a humorous streak and a flare for dramatic wording, which I found really endearing. She's a rebel amongst rebel, an outlaw of outcasts, and she won't let anything stand in her way. I loved her character development through the story, and I'm curious to see where Sanderson will lead her character next.
The world building and social + military systems were easy to fall into, and the language it's written in is simple and flowing. I could perhaps have done with a few more flowery lines (we attempted to collect quotes for every book talk), but that's not exactly what I expect from Sanderson anyway. The side characters were also well written. One flaw I can mention there is that an amount of characters are introduced in the first half of the book that were a bit hard to distinguish from one another and who practically disappeared in the second half of the novel. My effort to remember their names and roles were certainly to no use. Another flaw was the hint to a possible romance, but which was quickly snuffed out and therefore seemed rather unnecessary to the story. I will say that a character I liked a lot was M-bot, who put a smile to my lips and made any scene amazing.
The plot was well paced, and as expected the finale was epic and thrilling. It left a few loose threads that will surely be picked up in the sequel. We could do with some expanding on the world and look more beyond the atmosphere. Overall, a greatly entertaining and well written novel.

Rating: 4,5/5

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Title: The Indigo Spell
Author: Richelle Mead
Original title: The Indigo Spell
First published: 2013
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Series: Bloodlines #3
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Paperback
Pages: 401
Finished: 20/05/2020
Summary: Spoiler alert! Sydney Sage is an Alchemist. She protects vampire secrets - and human lives. In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she is struggling to decide between following her Alchemist teachings - or her heart.
Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch, a former Alchemist who is now on the run. As Marcus pushes her to rebel, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought.
There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as Sydney searches for the person attacking powerful young witches, she realizes that she must embrace her magical blood - or else she will be next.

My thoughts: Small spoiler alert! I'm lucky this just passes the 400 page mark, or else I wouldn't know what to do with myself.
Oh boy, this series is addicting. Richelle Mead is a master at capturing my attention and holding on to it. Whenever I'm not reading these books, I'm thinking about them almost constantly. What's gonna happen next? Will Sydney and Adrian be able to be together? When will things unravel? It's no secret now that I am loving this series, and even more so than I did with "Vampire Academy". While it's not the most beautifully written or crafted story, I find great value in the way it manages to entertain me and amuse me. I do wish, though, that the story would 'zoom out' a little on the world building and show more of what's going on elsewhere than in Sydney's life. Maybe that's something we'll see more of in the second half of the series. I also think we should've seen more of Jill in this book. We've done that in the past, so why leave her character in the shadows in this book? She's rather important to the story, after all.
The romantic tension between Sydney and Adrian grew significantly with this novel, and I have to say that I appreciate the slow burn that Mead provides us with. This isn't a story where the two lovebirds are willing to die for each other within the span of one book. It actually takes them several books to gain feelings for one another, which is rather more realistic, if you ask me.
I liked this book and lot, and it might be my favourite in the series so far. Looking forward to the next one soon.

Rating: 4,25/5

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Title: A Gathering of Shadows
Author: V.E. Schwab
Original title: A Gathering of Shadows
First published: 2016
Genre: Adult, Fantasy
Series: Shades of Magic #2
Publisher: Tor
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 509
Finished: 31/05/2020
Summary: Spoiler alert! Kell is plagued by his guilt. Restless, and having given up smuggling, he is visited by dreams of ominous magical events, waking only to think of Lila. As Red London prepares for the Element Games – an extravagant international competition of magic – a certain pirate ship draws closer. But another London is coming back to life, a shadow that was gone in the night reappears in the morning. Black London has risen again – and so to keep magic's balance, another London must fall.

My thoughts: I picked this book to read in May thanks to the monthly reading theme, which was to read a book with something white on the cover. This cover appears a little beige on this image, but I'd say it definitely counts!
I seem to go into Schwab's books with lower and lower expectations for each that I read. Still, I had high hopes for this one. It's one of her newer adult works, and the sequel to a book that I actually really enjoyed two years back. I just assumed I'd love this. And I did really like parts of it. Schwab has an incredible way with words that I found myself marvelling at throughout this book. Her metaphors are beautifully crafted, and I can tell there's a lot of thought put into her writing. She's also great at crafting morally grey characters, which is why "Vicious" is one of my favourite books ever. This book also showcases that talent of hers, with superb a character like Delilah Bard. They're wonderfully human and flawed.
I want to love everything about this book. But I didn't, and it saddens me a lot. I used to consider V.E. Schwab as one of my absolute favourite authors, and now I'm not at all sure anymore. But why did this book fall flat to me?
Well, despite a strong first scene, this book never manage to quite catch my attention. I dragged my feet behind myself while reading it. I did think some scenes were very suspenseful and well written, but I wish I'd felt hooked since page one. Spoiler alert! I regrettably felt little to no interest for the main plot point of the story; the magical version of the Olympic Games. I wish Schwab would've either focused completely on the competition, or let it be left out completely. I wanted to know more and feel invested, but I never got to that point. I didn't care what the outcome was, nor did I root for anyone. Another thing that bothered me a lot actually was character motivation. I didn't understand why Lila went out of her way to enter the competition. I almost get why Kell felt urged to enter, but even then I was doubting. Neither character seemed to actually really want to enter, but did it anyway, despite how bad things would go if they were found out. I became quite annoyed at this. Blatantly stupid decisions need better motivations. I also think Lila is a little too conveniently powerful. I wish she'd be badass without super magical powers.
There were a few too many cursive emphasised words (mostly adjectives and verbs) at the end of sentences to show how amazing and surprising some things were. I felt the emphasised words became a tad too many, often with up to two on each page. It's a personal preference for me, I realize, but something that bothered me a little all the same.
Other small things I noticed: The made up language 'Arnesian' sounds ridiculous. I'm sorry, but I think exactly that whenever it's written on a page. Characters are all very moody and broody, maybe too extreme. I get that this is a Slytherin novel, though.
My favourite characters in this book were Alucard, (Spoiler alert: Holland), and Lila.

Rating: 3,75/5

Book reviews: The Final Empire | My Year of Rest and Relaxation | The Well of Ascension

Title: The Final Empire
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Original title: The Final Empire
First published: 2006
Genre: High fantasy, Adult
Series: Mistborn #1
Publisher: Gollancz
Format: Paperback
Pages: 643
Finished: 13/01/2020
Summary: In a world where ash falls from the sky, and mist dominates the night, an evil cloaks the land and stifles all life. The future of the empire rests on the shoulders of a troublemaker and his young apprentice. Together, can they fill the world with colour once more?
In Brandon Sanderson's intriguing tale of love, loss, despair and hope, a new kind of magic enters the stage— Allomancy, a magic of the metals.

My thoughts: I'm so glad I believed enough in this series to buy the boxed set, because I need to continue on with this now. I don't care that the sequel is almost 800 pages; I require it in order to live on! I've heard that "The Final Empire" is the weakest in the trilogy, and if that's true... I'm about to go through a lot in the upcoming weeks, let's just say that.
Brandon Sanderson is an author that I've held to extreme standards, even having read "The Reckoners" trilogy and only liking it, but not loving it. I always felt that once I got into his high fantasy stuff, he'd become my favourite author. I just had to get through one of his bricks... And now I have! "The Final Empire", along with the rest of the original "Mistborn" trilogy, has been in my possession for a few years now. I've lived in anticipation for them, but all along felt intimidated by the page count. However, it was for such fears that I made my goals for 2020 (to read more thicc books).
This story offers such depth and character development, twists and turns, plots and schemes, that I was just left flailing in absolute awe (literally). Our protagonists, Kelsier and Vin, were amazingly prominent and expertly carved out in their personalities. The world building has a strong and solid base and leaves a lot to be discovered in future books. The plot itself, built on high fantasy politics, a daring heist, and whispers of rebellion was juiciness itself. Just dripping with action and excitement that will have anyone biting their nails.
As for the downsides that forced the rating down from 5/5 to 4,75/5, well... Many have criticised Sanderson for his simple language in this novel but that wasn't something that bothered me. It didn't need to be flowery and lavish; the plot and characters made up for that quite enough. What I will say, however, were that some fighting scenes were difficult to imagine, at least to me, because of somewhat lacking descriptions. Stuff was certainly happening, but I didn't always grasp exactly how the fighting scenes played out and who flew where etc. My second complaint is about some important sideline characters that I kept getting mixed up because they were just too similar and had roles that were similar to each other. I think those could've been more fleshed out, but maybe that's something that will happen in the next book.
Regardless of these small complaints, I really loved this book, and I want to end this review on a positive note. Brandon Sanderson seems to have been writing excellent fantasy since at least 2006 (when this was released) and I can't wait to read more by him. This novel ended up packing such an emotional punch that I won't be able to stop thinking about it anytime soon.
(PS. I love Kelsier)

Rating: 4,75/5

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Title: My Year of Rest and Relaxation
Author: Ottessa Moshfegh
Narrator: Julia Whelan
Original title: My Year of Rest and Relaxation
First published: 2018
Genre: Adult, Contemporary
Series: --
Publisher: Penguin
Format: Audiobook
Time: 7h 15min
Finished: 13/01/2020
Summary: Our narrator should be happy, shouldn't she? She's young, thin, pretty, a recent Columbia graduate, works an easy job at a hip art gallery, lives in an apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan paid for, like the rest of her needs, by her inheritance. But there is a dark and vacuous hole in her heart, and it isn't just the loss of her parents, or the way her Wall Street boyfriend treats her, or her sadomasochistic relationship with her best friend, Reva. It's the year 2000 in a city aglitter with wealth and possibility; what could be so terribly wrong?

My thoughts: I'd only heard about this book from two BookTubers (Ariel Bissett and TheBookTuber) and they'd both pitched it as this purely weird book that really left a mark, in an odd way. I became curious, though not enough to purchase the book or find it in a library, but when I eventually found it on the new audiobook app I downloaded, I was too curious to let the opportunity pass. It is, after all, only 7 hours long, and will expire from the app entirely on January 17th (2020).
I must say that this book is truly bizarre. I don't think I've read anything quite like it since "The Wasp Factory" by Iain Banks, which I liked, but was also disturbed by. With this book, I certainly felt disturbed. Our main character has been feeling depressed to say the least, and decides that the best solution to her problem is to hibernate. During an entire year, she does whatever she can to sleep as much as possible. It's not at all healthy, yet she goes to such incredible lengths to fulfil this new idea. It is disturbing to read about, but also captivating in a way. She's not easy to like - in fact I think I'd hate her if I knew her in real life. She appears to lack empathy and compassion, and in some cases acts like a really horrible person. I don't even know for sure if I enjoyed reading about her.
However, here is the catch... I couldn't stop listening. Did I like the book while reading it? Maybe. At times I'd say no, at other times I found it humorous. Could I stop reading? No! It was just too weird. I had to know what would happen to her; would she somehow die from sleeping too much, would she ruin her own life through the "project", would she be able to really go into hibernation?
I do recommend it if you're just looking for a super weird reading experience, and the audiobook was alright. In the end, I'm conflicted about my feelings, but happy that I read it.

Rating: 3,25/5

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Title: The Well of Ascension
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Original title: The Well of Ascension
First published: 2007
Genre: High fantasy, Adult
Series: Mistborn #2
Publisher: Gollancz
Format: Paperback
Pages: 763
Finished: 30/01/2020
Summary: Spoiler alert! Vin, the street urchin who has grown into the most powerful Mistborn in the land, and Elend Venture, the idealistic young nobleman who loves her, must build a healthy new society in the ashes of an empire. Three separate armies attack. As the siege tightens, an ancient legend seems to offer a glimmer of hope. But even if it really exists, no one knows where to find the Well of Ascension or what manner of power it bestows.

My thoughts: As stated in my review for "The Final Empire", I really enjoyed reading the first book in the "Mistborn" series. It was a good mixture of slow and fast paced, setbacks and successes, friendship and betrayal, good times and bad times. It had a good balance, making it easy to stay interested and excited.
I didn't quite find that this was the case with "The Well of Ascension". That balance was somewhat lost, and after hundreds of pages without it, I started to lose interest... I knew, of course, that I wanted to finish the book, and furthermore finish the series, but I was starting to get worn down. A great chunk of this book consists of piles upon piles of setbacks for our main characters. Not only do things start out looking grim; they keep getting grimmer for each page. Now, I can appreciate a story where not everything goes well for the hero, but when everything just goes bad it's not as fun anymore.
That being said, despite how slow this novel was, I enjoyed following Vin's character development, and also seeing the focus shift to characters that were kept mostly in the background of "The Final Empire". The part of the story that contained action were still entertaining, but many of them were too similar to one another. I want each fight to be more original, or else the motivation for so many seems null. I wish this book had been shortened by some hundred pages. I can see why this is the lowest rated book in the trilogy.

Rating: 3,75/5

Book reviews: The Young Elites | Nattens cirkus | This is How You Lose the Time War

Title: The Young Elites

Author: Marie Lu
Original title: The Young Elites
First published: 2014
Genre: YA, Fantasy
Series: The Young Elites #1
Publisher: Putnam
Format: Paperback
Pages: 355
Finished: 22/11/2019
Summary: Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever marked by a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Branded as a malfetto - an abomination - she is cast out from all she has ever known and loved. Adelina finds sanctuary with other malfettos and discovers that the disease has left her with more than just a scar - she has a mysterious and powerful gift. She is a Young Elite.
But Adelina's ability is stronger than any Young Elite before her. And unless she can control the vengeful darkness growing inside her heart Adelina could be a danger to them all.

My thoughts: I picked this up after struggling with another book for a solid 2+ weeks and getting no further than 60 pages. That book was "Hollow City" by Ransom Riggs, and I ended up putting it down for now after realising that it just wasn't the sort of book I was in the mood for. Instead, I drew inspiration from the monthly theme of reading a book with a weapon on the cover and chose this.
This story started out good. I honestly had no idea it would be historical high fantasy fiction, but it turned out to be just that. However, for being a mix of genres that I ordinarily enjoy a lot, this didn't deliver. Yes, the story was promising (though perhaps a bit basic), and the main character started out interesting. However, as I kept reading, it quickly became clear what kind of style the story was written in, and that soon turned into an annoyance for me. What was the fault? Over-telling. The author was constantly telling the reader what they should be thinking, rather than letting the reader think and imagine on their own. There was also an abundance of telling rather than showing, which also put me off, as usual. These things alone made this book lose very much potential, which is disappointing since I'd started getting my hopes up.
What's more, Adelina turned out to be a self-pitying, sour, low-intelligent, and downright rude character. I understand that we're seeing the perspective of an "evil character", but I've read such stories before, like "Vicious" by V.E. Schwab, that actually make good work of that idea. "The Young Elites" didn't go in the same direction. I rather felt like the author was the evil character for writing such an awful protagonist. With that said, Adelina is not the worst I've read, but I often became very frustrated with her and had a hard time understanding her reasoning and course of action. I think she could've been written far better, and the same goes for most other characters in the book.
What's positive about this novel is that by actually following the perspective of an evil protagonist, it manages to break some of the YA fantasy norms. I also somewhat enjoyed the setting, especially since I dreaded a futuristic dystopian setting when going into the novel. It was also easy and quick to read, and I never really felt genuine hate for the book. It could still be enjoyed to a certain level, and I might read the rest of the series if I can get my hands on the second novel, and hope I don't forget this one until then.

Rating: 3/5

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Title: Nattens cirkus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Original title: The Night Circus
First published: 2011
Genre: Fantasy, Historical
Series: --
Publisher: Nordstedts
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 421
Finished: 27/11/2019
Summary: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.
But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway—a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them, this is a game in which only one can be left standing, and the circus is but the stage for a remarkable battle of imagination and will. Despite themselves, however, Celia and Marco tumble headfirst into love—a deep, magical love that makes the lights flicker and the room grow warm whenever they so much as brush hands.

My thoughts: I had the absolutely wonderful pleasure of reading this novel along with two dear friends over the course of two months. It was about time for me to finally get through this book, I think. I've had it for years and I've been meaning to read it for half an eternity (only a slight exaggeration). So now that I've read it, what did I think?
Morgenstern managed to create an atmosphere that felt unique to this novel, and that's something I really liked when reading it. The circus is a mysterious and exciting setting that we get to see through the perspective of several different characters. The historical setting adds to the, almost, eeriness of the environment we find ourselves in as readers. It is this that I enjoyed most about "The Night Circus".
I found some pleasure in following the different characters, though I never really found myself rooting for or against anyone in particular. This was not because the characters were too morally 'grey' to like, but purely because I didn't feel that any character appealed to me much. Most of them were interesting narrators, though, I'll give them that. Otherwise, I find myself indifferent.
The plot could've been stronger. It's a slow burn and feels longer than the book actually is. The narrations teased me into thinking I was headed for a grand finale, but alas, I found the climax a rather anti such. The romance wasn't much for me, either. I wasn't blown away by the writing style. Still, despite that, I didn't dislike the book or the story. I simply found it lacked the elements that could've made this book as great as I thought it would be. I still enjoyed the story to an extent, and I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to read a decent historical fantasy with some engaging intrigue. Just don't expect it to take you on a roller-coaster ride.

Rating: 3,5/5

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Title: This is How You Lose the Time War
Author: Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
Original title: This is How You Lose the Time War
First published: 2019
Genre: Sci-fi, LGBTQ+, Adult
Series: --
Publisher: Jo Fletcher Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 198
Finished: 30/11/2019
Summary: Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. And thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the best possible future for their warring factions. Now, what began as a taunt, a battlefield boast, grows into something more. Except discovery of their bond would be death for each of them. There’s still a war going on, after all. And someone has to win that war. That’s how war works. Right?

My thoughts: Along with "Wayward Son" by Rainbow Rowell and "The Priory of the Orange Tree" by Samantha Shannon, this novella was one of my most anticipated 2019 releases. I first found out about this book from Cece at ProblemsofaBookNerd on YouTube, and knew immediately that I wanted to read it. So when Book Depository included it in a campaign, I took my chance and bought it.
"Beautiful" is the word that comes to mind when I think of this story. For it is; beautiful in every way I could wish it to be. It's grand in a way that perhaps other novels aren't. The story of these characters is not written to be exciting, though it's in the setting of a time war. It's not meant to be funny or shocking or action-packed. It's meant to soften your heart when it needs comfort, to wet your eyes when they are dry, to embrace you when your body freezes, and to fill you with wonder at the way words can actually make you feel.
"This is How You Lose the Time War" is written in an utterly stunning way that I did not expect to find in something published in 2019. Reading it felt like being present, but also in the past. I guess it suits the theme of time travel well. I fell in love with the lovers and will do so again when I next read this book once more in the future. Until then, I hope you'll enjoy this novella as much as I did, if you get the chance.

Rating: 5/5

Book reviews: Matilda | Mor gifter sig | All the Light We Cannot See

Title: Matilda

Author: Roald Dahl
Original title: Matilda
First published: 1988
Genre: Children, Fantasy
Series: --
Publisher: Puffin
Format: Hardback
Pages: 232
Finished: 17/02/2019
Summary: Matilda is a brilliant and sensitive child, but her parents think of her only as a nuisance. When one day she is attacked by her odious headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, Matilda suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to avenge herself!

My thoughts: Roald Dahl has written some of the best children's books out there, amongst them "The Witches" and "BFG". As a child, I used to love the movie "Matilda", which I'd watch at my friend's house next door. I was now tempted to read the book, as I'm going to watch the musical adaptation of the story live in Malmö next month. The book was quite what I expected; quirky and fun. Yet, it didn't live up to my expectations. I didn't fall for this as much as I did for his other works, and perhaps that is due to my age. Most likely it is; alas, that doesn't change my perception of the work, sadly. I did enjoy it, and the illustrations were lovely (as expected of Quentin Blake), so it lands on a middle rating for me.

Rating: 3/5

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Title: Mor gifter sig (Mother Gets Married)
Author: Moa Martinson
Original title: Mor gifter sig
First published: 1936
Genre: Classic
Series: Mia #1
Publisher: Natur och Kultur
Format: Hardback
Pages: 284
Finished: 23/02/2019
Summary: Mother gets married and Mia can’t imagine what good that will do. Her stepfather belongs to the category of adults who don’t think a seven year old child understands more than a three months old pig. Why women want a beautiful man who makes them pregnant is one of life’s great mysteries, which even Mia’s gifted mind fails to solve. Mia’s mother struggles to put food on the table, and the best thing in the world is a home with blue flowers on a chalked mantelpiece. But every time the adults bicker and fight, it leads to new and painful departures.

My thoughts: This is a Swedish proletarian classic from the interwar period. This period is said to be the golden age of the proletarian literature of Sweden, which was why this book was assigned for me and my classmates in Swedish class. 
It was a meh book. It was under 300 pages, but felt like it was over 500. Really, it was better than I expected, but it just didn't invoke any emotions in me, which I would have wished for it to do. It's cool to read fiction that accurately portrays Sweden in different time periods, though. So that's something. So: not a great book for me, but(!) an important piece of literature nonetheless.

Rating: 2/5

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Title: All the Light We Cannot See

Author: Anthony Doerr
Original title: All the Light We Cannot See
First published: 2014
Genre: Historical
Series: --
Publisher: Scribner
Format: Hardback
Pages: 531
Finished: 22/02/2019
Summary: Marie-Laure lives in Paris near the Museum of Natural History, where her father works. When she is twelve, the Nazis occupy Paris and father and daughter flee to the walled citadel of Saint-Malo, where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great uncle lives in a tall house by the sea. With them they carry what might be the museum’s most valuable and dangerous jewel.
In a mining town in Germany, Werner Pfennig, an orphan, grows up with his younger sister, enchanted by a crude radio they find that brings them news and stories from places they have never seen or imagined. Werner becomes an expert at building and fixing these crucial new instruments and is enlisted to use his talent to track down the resistance.

My thoughts: In honour of the annual book sale, I read a book that I bought on last year's sales. This was the one!
This was a Big Book™ in more than one way. As is expected of a book set during World War 2, this was heavy on the feels. I did some research to make sure Doerr wrote this story with historical accuracy, which he did, and that’s great. It gives me respect for him; that he’d take so much time to research these things. The book feels very realistic. We get to see the war from the eyes of a French girl (Marie-Laure) who becomes victim of Nazi Germany’s occupation of France, and of a young German boy (Werner) who joins Hitler’s forces to avoid a lifetime working in the mines. Both these perspectives are so interesting and gave me a new insight to the war that I didn’t have before. Werner’s story, especially, had a strong impact on me, because seeing Nazi Germany from the inside was frightening. Marie-Laure’s character was also written very well; her blindness added an unexpected element to the reading experience. Other than these two protagonists, we meet a bunch of other characters, who seemed realistic and who all had their own story that were definitely worth following. It’s strange how good writing can make a reader both love and hate a Nazi character.

All in all, it was a long and good read, but now I need to read some lighter fiction for a while.

Rating: 4,5/5

Book reviews: Så har jag det nu | Wonder | Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Title: Så har jag det nu
Author: Meg Rosoff
Original title: How I Live Now
Genre: Dystopian, YA
Series: --
Publisher: Brombergs
Format: Paperback
Pages: 188
Finished: 15/5/17
Summary: Fifteen-year-old Daisy is sent from Manhattan to England to visit her aunt and cousins she’s never met: three boys near her age, and their little sister. Her aunt goes away on business soon after Daisy arrives. The next day bombs go off as London is attacked and occupied by an unnamed enemy. As power fails, and systems fail, the farm becomes more isolated. Despite the war, it’s a kind of Eden, with no adults in charge and no rules, a place where Daisy’s uncanny bond with her cousins grows into something rare and extraordinary. 

My thoughts: Let me start off by stating that this was not particularly my cup of tea. I don't enjoy dystopian novels very much (though my Swedish teacher keeps throwing them as us) and I'm not too fond of bland, forced heterosexual romances that seem to only be there for the sake of it. I don't mean to take it out on this novel specifically; I'm just so tired of all these halfhearted love stories between and guy and a girl that don't do anything to enhance the story or add any depth to the characters. In fact, romances in general shouldn't stand as a major theme in most novels. I could name several that would do just as well, or even better, without the romance in the centre.
Anyways, back to the novel. The protagonist's name is Daisy and she has some issues. She's anorectic, a bit depressed maybe, and just generally sad and miserable most of the time. I can't say I enjoyed reading the story from her point of view. Not because she had issues, not at all, but because she was passive as all hell and didn't care about almost anything but her cousins, how thin she was (and proud of it), and her dad and his new girlfriend, both of whom she seems to hate a little. While there was an ongoing war around them, she still focused on eating less, ignoring all else. I was rather interested in said war, but nope, we don't find out much about it so....
The other characters are fine, though I never got to know any of them well enough to actually come to care for them. The novel is short, and there is little focus on anyone but Daisy overall. I would've liked to read it from someone else's point of view, Isaac's for example, but I was stuck with Daisy throughout the whole thing. Well-o-well. I didn't hate her character; I could sympathize with her despite me disliking her.
The story itself is interesting, or at least to a certain point. The plot has its moments of excitement, but I was never really into it enough to enjoy it. There will be other books, though. This is by far not the worst I've ever read.

Rating: 2/5

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Title: Wonder
Author: R.J. Palacio
Original title: Wonder
Genre: Contemporary, Middle grade
Series: Wonder #1
Publisher: Corgi Books
Format: Paperback
Pages: 310
Finished: 27/5/17
Summary: Born with a terrible facial abnormality, Auggie has been home-schooled by his parents his whole life, in an attempt to protect him from the cruelty of the outside world. Now, for the first time, he's being sent to a real school - and he's dreading it. All he wants is to be accepted - but can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, underneath it all?

My thoughts: As usual, I don't have as much to say about good books as I have with not-so-amazing books (*cough cough* How I Live Now *cough cough*). I did thoroughly enjoy Wonder, though! The novel is of reasonable length and I worship the short chapters. I'm especially grateful for them as I only have a 9 minutes train ride each morning to read and I'm a slow reader...
Anyways! The short chapters are not what made this book into what it is. This is an emotional ride following a young boy, August, who's struggled with poor self esteem his entire life due to a severe facial malformation that he's had since birth. We get to read the story from several different points of view, all of characters that are close to August. I enjoyed all the perspectives and I was impressed at how the author had really succeeded in successfully writing so many different perspectives and personalities in a believable way. I loved the friendship between August and Jack and Summer, though I'd wished to see more of Summer towards the end of the novel. I also missed the character of Miranda in the first half, but oh well.
In the end, I had a hard time putting this down while reading it. It's one of those books where you go "ah, just one more chapter" again and again. It was uplifting and inspirational and invoked a lot of sympathy in me. The reason I'm not giving it a full 5/5 rating is because I didn't find it exciting. That was the one element I missed during the entire story. I didn't get excited at any point really. Sure, it wasn't a fantasy adventure or anything of the sort so I can't have expectations that are too high, but even books like these can invoke some rush of adrenaline. Well, that's what I didn't get.

Rating: 4/5

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Title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Author: Jack Thorne
Original title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Genre: Fantasy, Play
Series: --
Publisher: Little, Brown
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 330
Finished: 3/6/17
Summary: It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

My thoughts: My first impression when I started reading this was not good. I had dearly hoped it would be better than its Goodreads rating told me, but I was met with something that didn't even live up to that rating in the first place. I was about to give up on it completely, I kept going and in the end, it did sort of redeem itself. Here's my thoughts.

I read this along with my good friend Emilia. It was a quick read, though it still took me about a week to get through it, what-with schoolwork and all else that stands in the way. Let me start off by stating that I do not, and will not, consider this book to be a true part in the Harry Potter series. Partly because J.K. Rowling didn't actually write this, and because I do not feel it deserves it. Argue however you like, but this is my final judgement. When reading Act One of this play, I very nearly hated it. The old characters were wrong to me, and although I understand that time might have changed them, they were still just ghosts of how I remember them. However, where Jack Thorne failed with characters like Harry, he still did a pretty good job with the newer characters, like Albus and Scorpius (whom I ship together). Nevertheless, I got used to his Golden Trio in the end, thank dog. In acts 2 through 4, I thankfully encountered some real excitement and though there were some MAJOR PLOT HOLES, I still found myself captured by the story.

I had a hard time picturing this play on an actual stage. I'm sure the pros made it work, but some things in the script just seemed impossible to do even with cool light and sound effects. I guess I'll have to wait and see when they release the play on video.

My rating for this book was going to be a 2/5 rating in the beginning, but I ended up adding a star. The story really picks itself up in the second act and some scenes had me moved. However, I still cannot overlook the first act and the plot holes, and the major issues I had with some of the characters. I see it more as a passable fanfiction. Far from the best I've read, but still decent enough to give a try. As a fanfiction. Maybe it's better when seen as a live play? I don't know. As a script, though, it has some things to work on before I'm going to find it worthy as the eighth part of the Harry Potter series.

Rating: 3/5