I've already shared two lists of books, but I think it's important to say - again - that reading levels differ widely, and in multiple ways. For instance, I know that as a child, my linguistic level (in English) was higher than that of some of my peers, but I often read books for children who were younger. I was still reading what was clearly children's literature, while friends of mine had 'graduated' to murder, romance and thrillers. A list of any kind must be taken with a pinch of salt, and this one is no different.With that out of the way, here are six young adult books I read and loved last year. Ben's parents want to conduct an experiment. They want to study different aspects of the same thing - his father is a behavioural scientist who is convinced that chimpanzees can learn a human language if the environment is conducive, and Ben's mother is writing a … [Read more...]
Broken Soup
Unlike most other books that I pick up, the cover of Broken Soup did not attract me. But I've read and loved two other books by Jenny Valentine (The Ant Colony and Fire Colour One), so I borrowed this one - and, once more, I loved how the story was told.Rowan's family falls apart when her brother Jack dies. Jack was the kind of person who made a room more interesting when he stepped in and left people feeling a little deflated when he stepped away. He was funny, lively and charismatic - so much so that Rowan lived in his glow. She was his little sister.But after he dies, something in the family seems to die too. Rowan's father leaves, and her mother sinks into a well of sadness. Rowan, all of 15, does not want to live with her father, so she takes responsibility for her little sister Stroma, and pretends both to her father and to the world at large that everything with their … [Read more...]
The Ant Colony
Books that I've loved and re-read time and time again have nearly always emphasised character over plot. Take, for example, Anne, Emily, Little Lord Fauntleroy and the little princess. There's something about character that just warms me, perhaps because it's like discovering a friend, rather than having an experience. Stories with exciting plots are certainly a joy to read and do give me a thrill, but sometimes, I need more than that. I need to know all those people who are having those experiences.The Ant Colony was one of those books where I got to know the people in the book, and wanted to get to know them better. I just kept reading it until I had finished! It's one of those books that makes you smile and cry and wonder. So many books that I've read recently have concentrated on complexity of plot at the cost of fullness of character. This one had a simple plot … [Read more...]