Review: This Savage Song by V.E. Schwab

Name: This Savage Song
Author: V.E. Schwab
Publisher: Titan Books
Date published: June 2016
Rating: 5/5

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city - a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent - but he's one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who's just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August's secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

- From Goodreads.

This Savage Song has a very unique world with an intriguing plot and backstory. I have found that a lot of the distopians that I have read (and I suppose that you could call this book a distopian?) are sort of realistic, or more science-fiction (which is not a bad thing, because that is an interesting way to do it), but this story had more of a fantasy element, with the creatures and monsters, and it felt quite new and unique and I found it really exciting.
I also liked how information was revealed slowly over time, because obviously Kate and August knew about their own backstories, but they do not reveal everything they know at once, which I think helped with the suspense and stopped me from feeling like I was having a load of information just dumped on me and helped me to slowly come to understand what was happening.
I was scared to start reading This Savage Song because I was worried I would not like it, and I really wanted to, but then I did and I sped through it a lot more quickly than I thought I would, I was so absorbed in the story. There was so much imagination involved, so many interesting ideas, and I loved the descriptions and the way words were used in this book. Language was really used to its full effect. The plot was so clever and mystifying, and now I am very excited to read what happens in the next book!

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My copy of this book was received from Maximum Pop Books as a prize from a giveaway.

Review: The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Name: The Princess Bride
Author: William Goldman
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Date published: 1999
Rating: 5/5

Beautiful, flaxen-haired Buttercup has fallen for Westley, the farm boy, and when he departs to make his fortune, she vows never to love another. So when she hears that his ship has been captured by the Dread Pirate Roberts - who never leaves survivors - her heart is broken.

- From Goodreads.

The Princess Bride was funny, witty, satirical genius. I was first introduced to this story when my friend brought the movie with her to a sleepover at mine and we watched it and I thought it was absolutely brilliant. Then, I cannot remember how much time it was later, but I was in an independent bookshop with the same friend that I had watched the movie with, and I saw the book and I decided I had to buy it. I did and I am very glad I did because this book is now definitely one of my favourites and its characters  are definitely some of my favourite fictional characters (if they are, indeed, fictional...).
It was a story that I kept reading because I always wanted to read what came next but I also did not want to finish it just yet because I was enjoying reading it so much. I really like it when the narrator of a book has personality and interrupts the narrative and makes an impact, and this book does that fantastically. It flows easily because of its humour and conversational tone, which meant it did not drag, and instead of forcing myself to pick it up (which I admit I had to do for some of the books that I read for university this year) I had to force myself to put it down when I needed sleep.

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Rambles (#4): On Reading Anne Frank's Diary

I read Anne Frank's diary recently, and I wanted to write about it but I thought it would be, I suppose, disrespectful to write a review. After all, this isn't a fictional novel, this is Anne's very thoughts, ideas and beliefs, this is how she recorded her life. Consequently, I thought it would be better to simply write down all the thoughts I had about it, in one of my Rambles, which I feel would be a better way of honouring Anne, as it is similar to the way she wrote down her thoughts in her diary.
I found every page of her diary emotional, insightful and beautiful to read, but especially so in light of recent events. Anne lived in a time of horror and violence, violence which was directed towards her and those like her because of their religion. Now, in June alone, 49 people were killed and more were injured at a club in Orlando because of their sexuality, and British member of parliament Jo Cox died after being shot and stabbed in West Yorkshire because of her political beliefs. 52% of Britain then voted to leave the European Union, which feels like a move against peace and unity, and has pretty much driven the UK into chaos. And that's not even everything that seems to be wrong in the world at the moment. The present almost seems to be reminiscent of the time that Anne Frank was writing in, and one of the most upsetting things is that we don't seem, in this climate of hate and war, to learn from the past that the way forward is not through intolerance and violence.
However, reading Anne's diary showed me that despair is not the answer, and that perhaps, like her, I should keep hope in the face of all these horrible events happening. Anne may not have survived the war, but she lives on through the legacy that her diary left. I could never truly understand how it is to be in Anne's position, I know that I could never truly comprehend the pain of how she and her family were treated, but the wonderful words that she left behind show that she was far better than any of the intolerant people who lived then and who live now, and than any of the people who caused her death.

Review: Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Name: Carry On
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: Macmillan's Children's Books
Date published: 2016
Rating: 4.5/5
Spoiler warning: Major

Simon Snow just wants to relax and savour his last year at the Watford School of Magicks, but no one will let him. His girlfriend broke up with him, his best friend is a pest, and his mentor keeps trying to hide him away in the mountains where maybe he'll be safe. Simon can't even enjoy the fact that his roommate and longtime nemesis is missing. because he can't stop worrying about the evil git. Plus there are ghosts. And vampires. And actual evil things trying to shut Simon down. When you're the most powerful magician the world has ever known, you never get to relax or savour anything.

- From Goodreads.

Carry On was very much a page-turner, even though it had a bit of world-building and explaining to do at first, that was still interesting and did not make the book dull or boring. There were also beautiful descriptions of magic and emotions, especially in regards to how Baz and Simon made each other feel; the part where Baz narrates as Simon shares his magic and they see the stars together is gorgeous.
In terms of problems, I do think the book had a few small ones. I felt like the structure of the plot could have used a bit of work, the story was good and interesting, but something about the pacing was not as good as it could have been. As well as that, I am not sure if it broke my heart or just really annoyed me that Simon never knew the whole truth about Lucy and the Mage, and that there were other questions left unanswered. I know sometimes ambiguity works well in stories, and it did for most of the book, but I am not sure I liked that there was still quite a few things that I did not know at the end.
I also was not sure if I was heartbroken about Ebb's death or just felt it was unnecessary, but then maybe if none of the characters that I liked (and I really liked Ebb) died then I probably would not feel like the threat was serious enough, and it did make me realise the lengths that the Mage would go to, to do what he thought was right, and how skewed his sense of what was right was.
Additionally, I had a complicated relationship with the character of Agatha; sometimes I really disliked her and could not understand her, while at other times I could sort of see why she felt how she did. Ultimately, I do not know if I disliked her because I was supposed to or because I felt she did not add much to the story.
I think Penny made up for that though because she was so awesome. She was a great friend to Simon, and although it took her some time to get used to the idea that Simon and Baz were sort of friends because of their truce, she did accept that and got on with it, and when she realised that their's was a romantic relationship, she did not react against it but understood it in a way that helped her to understand her friends in a way that she did not before.
The other things that I thought were positive about the book include that, considering it was written by an American author, it captured England quite well, and it did feel like the action was actually taking place here and that the characters were from here. As well as that, the sad and angrier parts if the book were balanced out well by the wittiness and funness (that is a word, right?) of it and, speaking of wittiness, Baz was brilliant. He was intelligent, and funny and full of emotion and bad in the best way.
Despite the few flaws that it did have, I think the good parts of Carry On far outweigh the not-as-good, and it was so enjoyable, and fun to read. I would definitely recommend giving it a read, especially if you liked Fangirl (which you can read my review of here). The love story was so wonderful and the magical world and system were so inventive and full of love for the significance of language and it was such a lovely book to read. I am so very glad Rainbow Rowell expanded on the world she started in Fangirl.

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Review: Monsters and Fireflies by Malumi

Album title: Monsters and Fireflies
Artist: Malumi
Label: Malumi
Release date: 21st March 2016
Rating: 5/5

If I could write songs and create music, Monsters and Fireflies is fit to burst with the kind I would want to make (well, if I could, I would also create musicals, but that is a whole other topic). This album is beautiful, it is haunting, and it evokes feeling in a way that is impossible to deny.
It is quite an experimental album, but not so much that the emotions behind the songs get hidden in the experimentation, which can happen, but definitely does not happen in this case. Each song is unique and seems to be so much of its own sound that I cannot imagine anyone saying that any of them sound the same, and yet they all work in harmony so that, overall, you have a cohesive album. There are deliciously dark songs on the album, such as Dark Queen, in which you can hear fire-fueled but calculated anger, and then there are also songs, such as Stars Fly, with atmospheres of sparkling romance and calming love. But the essence and style of Malumi that runs through every song stops them from working against each other, and instead shows the range of emotions the duo can evoke.
Monsters and Fireflies shows what Malumi are capable of, which is something truly amazing.

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Top Ten: Fictional Places

I've been wanting to make this post for a while, as the fantasy, fairytale and science fiction genres are some of my absolute favourites, and I love the imagination involved in creating the places that they feature. Before I give you my top ten though, I should just note that these are in no particular order because I am far too indecisive for that. Comment below with some of your favourite fictional places!

Hogwarts* from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
The narrow path had opened suddenly on to the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers.
- Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, J.K. Rowling

The Discworld from the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
The disc, being flat, has no real horizon. Any adventurous sailor who got funny ideas from staring at eggs and oranges for too long and set out for the antipodes soon learned that the reason why distant ships sometimes looked as though they were disappearing over the edge of the world was that they were disappearing over the edge of the world.
- The Light Fantastic, Terry Pratchett

The Restaurant at the End of the Universe from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series by Douglas Adams
The Restaurant at the end of the universe is one of the most extraordinary ventures in the entire history of catering. It is built on the fragmented remains of an eventually ruined planet which is (will haven be) enclosed in a vast time bubble and projected forward in time to the precise moment of the End of the universe.
This is, many would say, impossible.
- The Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Douglas Adams

Elsa's Ice Palace from Disney's Frozen
My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is spiralling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
I'm never going back,
The past is in the past!
- Let It Go, as sung by Indina Menzel in Disney's Frozen

The Library from Doctor Who
It's a world. Literally. A World. The whole core of the planet is the index computer. Biggest hard drive ever. And up here, every book ever written. Whole continents of Jeffrey Archer, Bridget Jones, Monty Python's Big Red Book. Brand new editions, specially printed. We're near the equator so... This must be biographies! I love biographies!
- Silence in the Library, Steven Moffat

Neverland from Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
Of all the delectable islands, the Neverland is the snuggest and most compact, not large and sprawly, you know, with tedious distances between one adventure and another, but nicely crammed. When you play at it by day, with the chairs and tablecloth, it is not in the least alarming, but in the two minutes before you go to sleep it becomes very nearly real. That is why there are night-lights.
- Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie

Narnia from the Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
And that is the very end of the adventures of the wardrobe. But if the Professor was right, it was only the beginning of the adventures of Narnia.
- The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis

Wonderland from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
We're all mad here.
- Alice in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll

Halloween Town from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas
I'm a master of fright, and a demon of light
And I'll scare you right out of your pants
To a guy in Kentucky, I'm Mister Unlucky
And I'm known throughout England and France
And since I am dead, I can take off my head
To recite Shakespearean quotations
No animal or man can scream like I can
With the fury of my recitations!
- Jack's Lament, as sung by Danny Elfman in Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas

Stormhold from Stardust
To the new King of Stormhold. Whichever of you fine fellows it might be.
- Stardust, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman

*Don't worry, I know that Hogwarts is definitely real.

Review: Allegiant by Veronica Roth

Name: Allegiant
Author: Veronica Roth
Publisher: Harper Collins
Date published: 2014
Rating: 4/5
Spoiler warning: Moderate

The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered - fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningliess. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend to complexities of human nature - and of herself - while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

- From Goodreads.

I really liked the plot of Allegiant, in fact I adored it, with all its different layers of secrets and plans and discoveries of what was on the outside of the city. However, I didn't like the characters as much as I liked the plot. I liked Tris, of course, but I don't think she's one of my favourite characters, and I think I liked some of the side characters more than I liked the two main ones, Tris and Tobias. I definitely didn't like like Tobias as much as I liked Tris, and so I couldn't relate to her affection for him as much as I should have been able to.
There were other emotions and actions of the characters that I couldn't understand, like jealousy. I always find jealousy very annoying in characters because it usually feels so stupid (I could probably be more eloquent about that, but I think it's just one of those things that annoys me too much to be eloquent about). It implies distrust and possessiveness and I very much dislike those two things.
The dual viewpoint felt strange at the beginning of the book as the other two books in the series didn't use it, but I suppose that, although it took some getting used to, it made sense towards the end. Speaking of which, I think I'm glad it ended the way it did, with society building itself towards something better (although perhaps I'm not so happy with certain character deaths, there were some pretty upsetting ones, but I won't say anymore about that because this is entering dangerous spoiler territory).
A very good point about this book was that I didn't know what was going to happen and I couldn't predict what was going to happen either which kept it exciting and made the ending more of a shock (and that's definitely where I'll end this because I am on the brink of spoiling everything and I don't want to do that).

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