Author: reads must

Categories
Non Fiction

The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person, Frederick Joseph

In the The Black Friend: On Being a Better White Person Frederick Joseph draws upon his personal experiences of growing up as a black child in America. He talks about the stereotypes and hurtful comments people said to him because of the colour of his skin, and reflects on them, explaining why these comments were wrong and discusses how he would react to these differently as a grown up.

Joseph writes from the perspective of a friend. He deals with a very serious issue, in a concise way, with bits of added humour. The book is made up of chapters, each covering a core concept, of which Joseph includes his personal anecdotes, as well as interviews with important voices. At the back, you will find a glossary of all key words and concepts discussed through the book, as well as a list of people/books/movies and songs for you to check out to expand your mind further.

I found this book a real eye-opener. Whilst I could see racism evident in society before reading this book, I did like to think that I did all I could to treat people of colour with equality. However, this book has made me realise that there is more I can do. Whilst, I will never know what it is like to be black and to face the injustices that Joseph has faced in his life, by giving me the gift of this book, I would like to hope that this has given me the confidence to call out injustices in the future.

Overall, this book is a must read for teens and adults, and even if you think you don’t need to read it, trust me when I say it is the gift you never knew you needed.

Categories
Non Fiction Self help

What They Forgot to Teach You At School, The School of Life

What They Forgot to Teach You at School is a book of all the essential emotional lessons which, as its title suggests, are not taught to us at school.

Each chapter explores a different topic which range from forgiveness, kindness, worrying about other people’s opinions, being aware and so forth.

My first impressions of this book were very hopeful, as I am passionate about schools teaching vital lessons to prepare us for our adult life, as I truly believe this is something which was missing from my own education! Many times I have questioned why do I know how to do trigonometry, yet had to learn for myself that is not selfish to be kind to myself every once in a while?

The book is a short read, and whilst in some places I would have loved to see the topics be expanded on, upon reflection I am pleased that the chapters are bitesize. After all, not everyone is a big reader, and perhaps by the book being more of a guide it makes it more accessible to all.

Some people may perceive the lessons in this book to be ‘common sense’, or ‘nothing new’ however I love being reminded of the values taught throughout, because with how busy everyday life is it is so easy to push these things to the back of our mind. It’s also great for all these lessons to wrapped up into one book.

Overall, a great guide of some of life’s values, which are most simple yet often forgotten about. Personally, I would have preferred more detail, but I still found it very useful and would give it three stars.

Thank you to Duckworth Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Categories
Fiction

Everything is Beautiful, Eleanor Ray

11 years ago Amy Ashton’s best friend and boyfriend disappeared without a trace. They must have run away together is the obvious conclusion. At first Amy is not convinced, but with it being 11 years later and still no answers, there is little else left for Amy to believe.

Over the years Amy begins to collect things. It started with things related to the case and things which reminded her of her past and better times. However, now her house is full of lots of things; things which people would consider junk, but which Amy finds meaning in and uses to fill the gaps her losses have left her with.

It isn’t until a new family move in next door that an incident occurs in Amy’s garden which leads her to discovering a clue. Is it enough to lead Amy to finally uncover the truth about the past?


Everything is Beautiful is a fantastically written novel. Structured with chapters which switch between the past and the present- this was particularly helpful to understand who the main protagonist Amy was and how she got to where she is now. As the past helps us to understand what she once had and why she is drawn to certain things.

I felt very drawn to Amy and thought that her character was well thought out. At the beginning she comes across as someone who is a bit of a recluse and very lonely, perfectly happy in her own company with her many belongings. However, as the book moves on you begin to realise that is not the true Amy.  It is difficult for Amy to move on when she is holding on to the past and has not ever had closure. At first it is almost unimaginable to think Amy can change and live the life she deserves, however, this is where Eleanor Ray gets it so wonderfully perfect, as with all situations in life, not everything is black and white or is it always linear. As we move through the book, we see that Amy still has so much to give and experience.

Themes in this book include but are not limited to love, loss, hope, healing and hoarding. I particularly loved that Eleanor Ray delved into the topic of hoarding. I think sometimes those who hoard can be really judged. Those who do not understand may see it as a choice or as simply lazy and therefore it can be seen as a taboo. However, as we see in the novel, hoarding is normally a sign of a deeper problem, which for Amy was her past and all the sadness she had experienced. I thought Eleanor Ray got this message across in a very sensitive way and I would hope it would have brought a greater understanding to many readers.

Overall, this is a story of hope. It truly felt like a hug in a book and without a doubt it deserves 5 stars.

Categories
Fantasy Fiction

The Midnight Library, Matt Haig

Trigger Warning: Suicide

Nora Seed feels trapped in her life, she views herself as a failure, and has many regrets. Regrets about giving up swimming, regrets about old break ups, regrets about not moving to Australia…The list goes on! What if she had only made the opposite decision, perhaps her life could have been completely different!

One night Nora finds herself tempted by suicidal thoughts. It is at this point that she finds herself in a library. However, this is not just any library. This is the library between life and death, full of infinite shelfs with infinite books. Each book providing a chance to see and live a life, where Nora made different decisions.

After seeing how her life could have panned out had she made different choices, does Nora still regret her decisions? Or does she realise that she is already living a fulfilled life.

The Midnight Library is a fantasy/sci-fi novel which carries philosophical teachings. Touching upon themes such as suicide, regret, mental health and living in the present.  I never thought fantasy was for me, however The Midnight Library has shown me otherwise. A lot of the quotes and philosophy behind this novel will stick with me for a long time.

Having enjoyed Matt Haig’s other books, I was really excited for this book to come out. However, I never rushed to read it. Why? Probably because I enjoy knowing I still have a book on my ‘to read’ list, which I can almost guarantee I can enjoy. I finally got a copy for Christmas and sadly just three days later I lost my sister to suicide. For anyone who has experienced suicide, you may know how no matter what you did or how much you tried to help, it does not stop you from tormenting yourself with the ‘what ifs’. It was at that point I was glad I had not rushed to read this book and it could not have come to me at a better time.

Overall a deeply meaningful, comforting and thought-provoking read. 5 stars.

Categories
Fiction Thriller

The Lies We Tell, Jane Corry

What would you do if your only son came home one night and told you he had killed someone? Would you hand him in? Or, would you go to great lengths to try and protect him?

That is the dilemma which Sarah and Tom are faced with, when 15-year-old Freddie comes home one evening and tells them exactly that.

The book rewinds back to the past and takes us on the journey of how Sarah and Tom met. Two, very different, people with very dissimilar traits and personalities, both of whom have experienced turbulent pasts and mistakes.

Overall, this book centres around the moral dilemma, of would you protect your child if they told you they murdered somebody, or not? Sarah takes a more nurturing approach, whereas Tom wishes to call the police. I think for some this may seem too far fetched- you may like to hope you would do the obvious right thing- but Jane Corry has a way with writing which really makes you feel Sarah’s pain. She wanted to be a mother to correct the wrongs of her own up-bringing, she suffered multiple miscarriages, therefore for Sarah the pain of giving up her son is unfathomable.

Jane Corry is one of those authors who I know will not let me down, and The Lies We Tell did not fail to impress. Her writing is spot on. The characters in the book, were well thought of, not just the main protagonists but also those supporting, such as Olivia and Gladys, and the pace was perfect. Whilst a huge timeframe was fitted in to one book, it did not drag and it kept my attention. The novel was full of twists and turns and every time you thought you knew you didn’t.

Overall a great book. A solid 4.5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin General UK for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Categories
Fiction Thriller

The Family Friend, C.C. McDonald

Erin is a mum, living by the sea with her fiancé Raf. when looking at Erin’s Instagram it would easily fool you into thinking she is living the perfect life. With thousands of followers, her posts suggest she is super mum, managing to have it all, whilst remaining upbeat and happy. However, in reality Erin is struggling with anxiety, finding connecting with her son challenging and is estranged from her family.

One day Erin gets home from a retreat to find Amanda, at their house. Raf explains Amanda is a family friend, from Australia. Having never heard of Amanda, Erin finds this strange at first. However, these suspicious thoughts quickly turn to gratitude when a famous agent offers to help Erin with her Instagram career and Amanda offers to move in and babysit.

However, the novelty of Erin’s new career soon wares off, when she begins to get trolled. Videos are posted which not only leads to a backlash from her followers, but her agent isn’t happy. To make matters worse these videos could have only been taken by someone close to Erin, leaving her second guessing all those closest to her.  

The Family Friend is a modern-day thriller, which could have done with a bit more thrill. From a thriller you expect twists and turns, but unfortunately the twists and turns failed to surprise and the plot was predictable.

Whilst the plot wasn’t amazing, I did still find this novel easy to read and enjoy the level of detail C.C. McDonald writes in. The immaculate detail really impacted the way I perceived the characters. For example, at first, I failed to connect with Erin, I wanted her to get off her phone (hypocritical really!), but the detail used to describe the trolling she experienced, as well as the details used to describe her anxiety, particularly around the other mum’s, really made me feel for her. I found myself feeling as though I was in her shoes and could really sense these worries and fears.

The themes which were discussed throughout The Family Friend are very relevant and relatable to today’s society. These themes included social media vs reality, trolling, anxiety, being a new parent and control in relationships. Pretty much all of us have a different persona online, and if you think you don’t then ask yourself how often you post about your worst days. Not to mention, those who feel parenting does not come naturally to them often feel too afraid and guilty to admit it, particularly when on social media it looks like all the other parents are doing everything swimmingly perfect. Therefore, I thought it was an important portrayal, which is not often seen, or if it is it is normally a bad character (think wicked non-maternal stepmothers in fairy tales). I would hope that Erin’s characterisation would make at least one new mum feel a little less alone.  

Overall, I would give The Family Friend 4/5 stars. It was an easy read, which was well written and discussed important issues, it would have just been nice to have a little less predictability.  

Thank you to Random House UK and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Categories
Non Fiction Self help

Why the F*ck Can’t I Change? Dr. Gabija Toleikyte

How many of us want to implement new habits into our lives, but often find them short lived? Whether it is diet related or how we deal with stress change is hard, but Why the F*ck Can’t I Change is here to tell you that it is not as impossible as you may think.

Dr. Gabija Toleikyte is a neuroscientist and behavioural coach, who explains why we form certain habits and behaviours, shows us how we can stop ourselves from repeating mistakes and takes us on an eye-opening journey through the way the human brain works.

Covering topics such as why you should not suddenly stop bad habits, ways to improve your productivity and how to look after your brain health. Why the F*ck Can’t I Change is transformative, inspiring and empowering.

Unlike other self help books I found Why the F*ck Can’t I Change took a more pragmatic approach to guiding us. Dr. Gabija uses a mixture of academic research and case studies to bring her points to life, and she suggests activities throughout so you can put her advice into practice.

I enjoyed the scientist approach this book took as it was useful to know the ‘why’ behind things. Rather than just being told how to change, it was helpful to know why we are a particular way, which the author tells us by going right down to basics, for example our animal instincts.

Some may say that this is more of a textbook, as the author introduces the purpose of each chapter and writes summaries at the end of each chapter. Whilst, for some this may trigger bad school memories, or perhaps feel overly repetitive, I found it really helpful. The chapters were well-structured, the summaries reminded of what I had learnt and are incredibly useful if you wish to refer back to things.

Will you enjoy this book if you are not overly interested in science? Personally, I never particularly enjoyed science at school, but found this book fascinating. I found the author’s explanations easy to understand and no matter how scientific you are or you are not, I believe this is the one neuroscience book we can all get behind. We all have a brain (some may say debatable) so do we not owe it to ourselves to understand how it works?

Overall, a refreshing, well researched and practical self-help book, which not only teaches how but why. Five stars.

Why the F*ck Can’t I Change is out now. Thank you to Thread and NetGalley for the ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

Categories
Fiction Romance

Three’s A Crowd, Simon Booker

What happens when an estranged father and son unwittingly fall in love with the same woman?

That is exactly what happens to Harriet, who meets Tom, a regular customer at the café she works at, and his dad, radio presenter DJ Richard who she meets at ‘The Voice of London competition’.

Having just come out of a shambolic relationship, with cheating Damian aka ‘Cockweasel’. Harriet decides to take a chance on both men, not realising they are father and son, and by the time the truth is out, both Tom and Richard are deeply in love with Harriet, leaving her with an impossible choice.

Three’s A Crowd has a little bit of everything in there. As expected, it is a love triangle romance story, but with humour and mysteries thrown in. Themes in the book included relationships and breakups, career confidence, big life decisions and mental health illness.

Normally in novels with a triangular love story, I find myself having a favourite and see one lover as more worthy than another, but as the mysteries unravel throughout the book, it was very hard not to emphasise with everyone. I think this goes to show just how impeccable the way Simon Booker portrayed the characters was, and this does not only go for the main three protagonists, but also for the minor characters too. Nancy, Harriet’s hilarious Nan, and Gorgeous George, Richard’s runaway Dad, really added value to the story.

Overall, a light humourful read, which I would give 4 stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Categories
Fiction

At First Sight, Hannah Sunderland

Trigger Warning: suicide, bereavement, mental health illnesses.

Nell is a telephone operator at a mental health charity. One lunch time chance leads Nell to meet Charlie in a cafe. They both feel a spark but regrettably don’t exchange numbers. After leaving the cafe and heading back to work Nell does a u-turn, as she rushes back to the cafe in hope that Charlie is still there. When she realises he is not,  she accepts she will not see him again.

Fate has a funny way of bringing people together and that is exactly what happens to Nell and Charlie when the next day Nell’s work phone rings and Charlie is at the other end of the line. He needs Nell’s help.

At First Sight is beautifully written and heartwarming but is like no other romance story I have ever read as it delves into some of life’s darkest moments as it centres around themes such as suicide, mental health, depression, grief and finding love after bereavement.

Having been recently bereaved by suicide myself, I thought that the book was written in the most sensitive way, with an aim to break surrounding stigmas and raise awareness, and you can tell that Hannah Sunderland had researched the themes very thoroughly.

The pace of the book felt right and I felt fully invested in all the characters. Whilst, as a reader you want Nell and Charlie to live happily ever after, I really appreciated that the author didn’t include romantic cliches. I found this emphasised the difficulties those who have been bereaved, and those who support them, face and that these things are never a straight line.

Overall, a really emotionally rewarding book, which is very different from anything I have read before.

Thank you NetGalley and Avon Books for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Categories
Fiction Thriller

Surrogate, Susan Spindler

Ruth Furnival has a highly successful career as a television executive, lives in a beautiful London home with Adam, her lawyer husband, and has two grown up daughters. Sounds perfect right? However, at 54 years old Ruth finds herself feeling dissatisfied.

Lauren, Ruth’s eldest daughter, has had multiple rounds of IVF, and after her latest miscarriage she is told that the only way she will ever have her own child is through surrogacy. However, surrogacy laws in the UK can be complicated, which leads to Lauren unsure about letting a stranger carrying her baby. When Ruth realises that it is possible that she can reverse the menopause and carry Lauren’s baby, Lauren and her husband, whilst reluctant at first, agree out of desperation.

However, not is all as simple as it seems.

Surrogate is an extremely powerful read. It touches upon such a delicate topic yet Susan Spindler portrays it perfectly; delicately but authentically, as she shows all the realities which need to be considered, and the emotional turmoil it can cause to all involved. Aside from surrogacy and infertility other themes in the novel include relationships, identity and self-purpose.

The characterisation in this book was spot on. Every character had something to bring to the novel and I found it interesting to understand the impact of the surrogacy on each of their personalities. Sometimes when reading you like and dislike certain characters- with this book I liked and disliked them all during different times- as the author managed to bring out the worst and best in all of them, which showed the rollercoaster of emotions and feelings each of them faced.

I really enjoyed the pace of this book. There were lots of twists and turns and things which you don’t expect to happen. It was a topic which a lot of people may shy away from and therefore very much if anything similar to this before and overall found it a very powerful and emotionally charged read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little Brown Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.