One Day by David Nicholls
“Emma and Dexter meet for the first time on the night of their graduation. Tomorrow they must go their separate ways. So where will they be on this one day next year? And the year after that? And every year that follows? Twenty years, two people, ONE DAY”
One Day i was standing at a train station confronted with a huge orange poster much like the front cover of a book i had bought a year earlier but hadn’t read. So i took it with me to Florida and didn’t put it down. ‘One Day’ was quite a match for Mickey Mouse to steal my affection! I have to say it is one of the best books I’ve ever read. It’s funny, honest and unbelievably true to life. There were moments i provoked odd looks from passers by when I’d literally laughed out loud and even once, gasped. I felt connected to every character in the book in some way simply because I knew someone exactly like them which made it so enjoyable to read. It’s one of those books you can read over and over again and never tire of it. Often whilst reading the book I forgot what was fiction and what was reality and felt myself feeling the same emotions as the characters even when i wasn’t reading anymore! I am copiously hoping that David Nicholls produces another brilliant read for i am dearly missing the characters of One Day already!
Happy Ever After by Adele Geras
“Once upon a time Megan, Alice and Bella shared the Tower Room. Theirs was an enchanted world, and the deep friendship that grew through the final year of school helped them to survive betrayal, treachery, jealousy and a terrible act of violence.”
I read this book a while ago but i’m still enchanted by it even now. This book is a wonderfully elegant retelling of the stories Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, however, It’s not for the faint hearted, i warn you now. It deals with a lot of modern situations that I’m sure any Disney Princess would blush at the mention of, BUT It really is a brilliantly written read! I guarantee you won’t be let down by Happy Ever After!
The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephanie Meyer
“I watched his body change. He crouched on the roof, one hand gripping the edge. All that strange friendliness disappeared, and he was a hunter. That was something i recognized, something i was comfortable with because I understood it. I turned off my brain. It was time to hunt. I took a deep breath, drawing in the scent of blood inside the humans below. They weren’t the only humans around but they were the closest. Who you were going to hunt was the kind of decision you had to make before you scented your prey. It was too late to choose anything now.”
When i finished the Twilight books I felt a sharp pang of loss. No more new stories of Edward, Bella and Jacob. So when I saw that Bree Tanner’s story was told in an all new novella I was sprinting off to my local shop to snatch my copy off the shelf! As most avid Twilight fans know, Bree Tanner is mentioned briefly in Eclipse, the third book in the Twilight saga. Even before you start the story you know her death is inevitable as you’ve either read Eclipse or you’ve read Stephanie Meyer’s introduction before the book even begins but as the pages flip by, you forget and become so engaged in her character. When the realization hits you that the character you’ve become so attached to for 178 pages is awaiting her death you are likely to shed a few tears! A brilliant, worth-while read for all Twilight fans!
King Dork by Frank Portman
’ “I’m small for my age, uncomfortable in most situations, skinny and awkward. Most of the time, i walk around here feeling like a total idiot.” But when Tom Henderson finds his father’s copy of The Catcher in the Rye, it changes his world. It puts him in the middle of several interlocking conspiracies and at least half a dozen mysteries involving dead peopl, naked people, fake people, ESP, blood, guitars, monks, witchcraft, a devil’s head and Rock & Roll. It appears to be the tip of a very odd iceberg of clues that could help Tom unravel the puzzle of his father’s death, and -bizarrely-reveal the secret of attracting Semi-Hot Girls.’
I read this a few years ago when i was in the heart of my teen years and It made me giggle to my very core. I mean, I thought guys could be dorky but this is on a whole other level! I have to say, at 14 years old i did blush at certain bits that no innocent young girl should exposed to but it is very funny, a little surreal but a real fun read!
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
’ “Sorry, but nothing of much importance ever happened to me…I’m just a girl who forgot to look both ways before she crossed the street.” When Liz is killed in a hit-and-run accident her ‘life’ takes a very unexpected turn. At nearly sixteen she knows she will never get married, never have children, and perhaps never fall in love. but in Elsewhere all things carry on almost as they did on Earth except that the inhabitants get younger, new relationships are formed and old ones, which had been sadly interrupted, are renewed.’
This book filled me with a sadness I’d never known before. The year between 16 and 17 was one of my most memorable so far, so to imagine never have even reached 16 at all is a miserable thought, let alone moving slowly backwards and further away from it! It’s written beautifully however i felt it was a ‘The Lovely Bones’ for a younger audience. However, i enjoyed it immensely and would recommend it to anyone needing a good read!
The Understudy by David Nicholls
‘For Josh harper, being in show-business means money, fame, a beautiful wife, and a lead role on the London stage. For Stephen C. McQueen, it means a disastrous career playing passers-by and dead people. Stephen’s stuck with an unfortunate name, a hopeless agent, a daughter he barely knows, and a job as understudy to Josh harper, the 12th Sexiest Man in the World. And when Stephen falls in love with Josh’s clever, funny wife, Nora, things get even more difficult. but might there yet be a way fro Stephen to get his Big break?’
This is the second novel i’ve read by David Nicholls and I love it just as much as the first. His writing is so true to life and there were moments where i was nodding in agreement with the main character, Steve C. Mcqueen (no relation to the famous one!) because i’d been in the same situation and thought exactly the same things whilst reacting the same way. It’s set in a very familiar setting, The West End, and in a business I know enough about to sympathize with a character that just has no luck whatsoever. So much so he is reduced to playing furry animals in a kid’s TV Show. Whilst reading this book in public, I acquired a few funny looks when I blurted out a snort of laughter at Nicholls’ funny lines and witty characters. I thoroughly enjoyed ‘The Understudy’ and i’ve already started raving about it to friends!
Horns by Joe Hill
’ Ignatius Martin Perrish spent the night drun and doing terrible things. He woke up the next morning with one hell of a hangover, a raging headache…and a pair of horns growing from his temples.’
I would write the full blurb but that was all i took for me to buy this book so let’s see if it works for everyone else! It’s rather chunky so I’d recommend reading it when you have a long period of time at home but i’d also suggest reading it before it gets dark! It was the first horror I’d ever read and it certainly gave me chills. It’s a cruel, unsettling and somewhat unfair tale and yet it’s charm is undoubtedly visible. Mysterious and horrifying and a very good read for those of you that like a thrill or love feeling the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end! Brilliantly chilling!
