Books of the month

I love reading, and read a lot of books. I always have one in my school bag, to read in form time, or in case a lesson is boring!

Each month, I'm going to write a short review of the book(s) I've been loving that month.

                                   

The Vacillations of Poppy Carew by Mary Wesley

First is an older book which my mum lent me. It's a nice easy read, for when you don't fancy something that requires too much concentration.

It's about a girl called Poppy who's father dies, and all starts with her organising his funeral. It's very funny at times, but some parts are also quite sad, as she tries to come terms with her fathers death and as she feels guilty for not knowing him properly. The book is about her finding about more about her father, and herself, and all the people she meets as a consequence of her father's death. It has a very neat ending, which was kind of predictable but which I enjoyed anyway, as I'd become quite attached to all the characters and so wanted them all to be happy at the end. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it as a nice light read. 

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies is the first book in this amazing trilogy by Scott westerfeld. It's been out for a while but I've recently re-read it. You can tell I love this book as it's quite battered! Uglies imagines a future universe where the desire to look 'perfect' controls society. It's actually quite worrying thinking that a less extreme version of this might exist in the future. I found this book really interesting as it talks a lot about the ideal human, and how anyone who comes outside that category is seen as different, and discriminated against. 

Tally and Shay live in Uglyville, the place they will live in until they turn 16 and get the operation to turn 'Pretty' which all Uglies look forward to. I won't give too much away, but basically Shay decides to rebel and so Tally is forced to make an awful decision which she comes to regret. I would definitely recommend this, and I think if you like The Hunger Games and the Divergent series, you'll like this. 

The Archers by William Smethurst

Next is a slightly unusual book. All my friends tease me because of it, but I love 'The Archers' (for those who don't know it's a radio drama on Radio 4) I listen every night and like to discuss the plot with my family. So for Christmas my sister bought me this book which documents the history of The Archers. It was definitely my favourite present! The author was the producer of The archers for many years, so it's very detailed. If you're an Archers fan like me, I'd suggest getting this as although it doesn't go up to the present day, it's interesting to find out more about characters when they were younger. 

Let me know what books you're loving at the moment :)

Helen