Books Editor (673 KP) shared own list
Oct 6, 2017
BG Prize 2017
The Baillie Gifford Prize aims to reward the best of non-fiction and is open to authors of any nationality. It is the most prestigious non-fiction prize in the UK. Here is the 2017 longlist:
Red Famine: Stalin’s War on Ukraine
Book
The momentous new book from the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Gulag and Iron Curtain. In...
History Politics
The Islamic Enlightenment
8.5
Rate It
Book
The Islamic Enlightenment: a contradiction in terms? The Muslim world has often been accused of a...
Religion History
Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race
9.0
Rate It
Book
"I couldn't have a conversation with white folks about the details of a problem if they didn't want...
Politics race gender social issues
How to Survive A Plague
Book
A definitive history of the successful battle to halt the AIDS epidemic, here is the incredible...
History Social Issues
Plot 29: A Memoir
Book
'When I am disturbed, even angry, gardening has been a therapy. When I don't want to talk I turn to...
and 7 other items
Beckie Shelton (40 KP) rated The Roanoke Girls in Books
Oct 6, 2017
"Roanoke girls never last long around here. In the end, we either run or we die."
These were the words that originally captivated me, pulling me in and compelling me to pick up The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel.
This was quite a read, an unusual one, reminiscent of bygone authors, setting a stage of intrigue, mystery and dysfunctional family dynamics.
The secrets surrounding Roanoke are subtlely revealed early on leaving the reader highly aware of what flows beneath the seemingly normal surface.
This is a definite page-turner despite the exploration of (view spoiler)
This tale is told in two parts "Now and Then" and the storyline seamlessly hops between these two timelines.
We also get to jump briefly into the heads of each Roanoke girl that came before, which I found very enlightening, I really loved this touch and it greatly added to the storyline giving the reader an insight into what each girl was feeling deep inside her own skin.
Jane, Sophia, Penelope, Eleanor, Camilla, Allegra, Lane there is also little Emmaline but she died of a crib death as a baby.
All Roanoke girls, all carrying the same secrets down through the years, messed up heads and lives affected tragically.
The echoes of this rebounding out through each new generation.
This story is told through Lane Roanoke's point of view after her mother commits suicide and Lane comes to live with her Rich grandparents and cousin Allegra on the family estate.
This is the "THEN" portrayed in the narrative.
The "NOW" is Eleven years later when Lane returns to the family home after a frantic call from her granddad informing her that her cousin Allegra is missing.
After vowing never to return, Lane reluctantly returns home confronting secrets shes buried deep down inside.
I loved Lane as a character, she was a bit of a messed up headcase, but who can blame her.
It's obvious Lane Loved Allegra so deeply and this was the only thing, I think, her disappearing, that could have dragged her back to the bowels of Roanoke.
It was also very thought-provoking to observe Lane's former teenage toxic relationship with cooper rekindled as adults and I really did like him he had his own past baggage but really seemed to have evolved from this, unlike Lane.
I was so rooting for these two and I thought they made a great match, neither party having had it easy in life, they both deserved a bit of stability in the now.
Now Lanes connection with her grandad this was a strange one, confusing even I think to lane herself she really seemed to feel equal measures hate and love towards him.
Struggling with her mixed up emotions, greatly wanting to loathe him but feeling a strange pull, maybe because Lane feels he was the first person to actually seem to want and love her after enduring a lifetime of apathy from her mother.
As for the gran, well, What a cold selfish bitch she was.
I felt she herself held a huge role in what had been allowed to transpire, isn't it a mothers job to protect her daughters.
In this Lillian Roanoke has failed epically actually blaming her daughters instead of shielding them, she was such a cold fish only seeming to feel any affection towards her twisted husband.
Turning a blind eye and looking the other way is her game.
Surprisingly she was my least favourite character even over Myles Roanoke himself.
I think it was the whole lack of maternal anything that contributed to my dislike of her immensely.
The Roanoke Girls has so many diverse flawed individuals that all do their part in making this an enthralling page-turner.
This is a portrayal of a family that is so not right and has not been for a very long time.
It is Love expressed so wrongly and out of context that it has become a sickness consuming from the inside out devouring till nothing remains standing.
A Dysfunctional family with dark concealed secrets at his core.
So I felt the author Amy Engel did an amazing job of dealing with such an explosive subject matter. she has handled it beautifully with finesse and a great understanding of such a delicate topic. Not everyone could have done this so sensitively and without sensationalising it so Really well done.
So that's it from me folk's, I could waffle on all day about this fascinating story, but I'm going to leave it here, but before I go a trigger warning The Roanoke Girls deals with themes of incest, but bar the one small kiss it is only referred to in words not actions and it is really not graphic in its content at all, but if this is a trigger for you please do avoid.
So all that's left is for me to say Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author Amy Engel herself for providing me with an arc of The Roanoke Girls this is my own honest unbiased opinion.
Arc Reviewed By BeckieBookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
Beckie Shelton (40 KP) rated The Marriage Pact in Books
Oct 6, 2017
The marriage pact by Michelle Richmond was surprisingly good, The author has found a unique idea and evolved it from there.
With some surprising twists and turns that I didn't see coming this was a refreshing contribution to the psychological genre and I only had minor issues and niggles that pulled this down slightly for me.
So the marriage Pact involves newlywed's Jake and Alice who receive an enticing gift from one of Alice's Clients at the law firm she works at.
"The Pact"
It is designed to keep couples happy and fulfilled in their marriages, the rules seem to make sense and The Pact seems harmless in its intentions.
Initially impressed Alice and Jake start to realise there is more at stake than they realise as their dreams start to evolve into nightmares.
And no one leaves "THE PACT" ever.
So let me break this down for you first three-quarters of The Marriage Pact I loved, the story flowed, it was well written and my only minor criticism would be sometimes Jake could waffle on a tad too much with his inner monologue and I found this a touch irritating and longwinded.
Then came the last quarter, not sure what happened here but I really was not feeling it, the whole visit Orla at her home seemed unnecessary and a bit boring to me.
I would have really preferred another direction to be taken and a bit more of a pro-active stance applied here rather than talking.
Then came the ending, this is where my main issue lies, it was just so anti-climatic and blah and after all Jake's moralistic stances he just walks away, leaving the corruption behind for someone else to deal with.
I'm not saying he's wrong to do this, I just find it mildly surprising after listening to Jakes Inner moral compass throughout The Marriage Pact that he just abandons all his principles and jumps ship.
I would also have liked to see inside Alice's head as well, she was such a diverse character with so much to offer and I felt we didn't get to know her properly in her entirety.
So this was such a page-turner and even with the issues I've described, I have to give this a Four star as It was such compelling reading.
This was such an interestingly unique story that I would definitely recommend Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the Author Michelle Richmond for providing me with an Arc of The Marriage Pact, this is my own honest unbiased opinion.
Arc Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm
Books Editor (673 KP) shared own list
Oct 6, 2017
October is Black History month in the UK, an annual series of events and a celebration of the contribution that black people have made to the history of this country. Here are some great books:
They Can't Kill Us All: The Story of Black Lives Matter
Book
'A devastating front-line account of the police killings and the young activism that sparked one of...
The Hate u Give
8.4
Rate It
Book
A powerful and brave YA novel about what prejudice looks like in the 21st century. Sixteen-year-old...
Race police shooting black lives matter prejudice witness murder
Ghana Must Go: A Novel
Book
A “buoyant” and “rapturous” debut novel (The Wall Street Journal) about the transformative...
Fiction social issues
The Color Purple
8.5
Rate It
Book
The classic, PULITZER PRIZE-winning novel that made Alice Walker a household name. Set in the deep...
The Lonely Londoners
Samuel Selvon and Nasta Susheila
8.0
Rate It
Book
Both devastating and funny, The Lonely Londoners is an unforgettable account of immigrant experience...
and 4 other items
Beckie Shelton (40 KP) rated Close To Me in Books
Oct 6, 2017 (Updated Oct 31, 2017)
Close To Me tells the story of Jo Harding after she falls down stairs hitting her head and losing her memory of the past year.
On coming home things feel different and disjointed, Jo feels there is an undercurrent of deceit, secrets being kept from her by her husband and children and as she unravels the mysteries of the past year things escalate to a shocking conclusion.
So this was a great psychological read, it kept my interest and pulled me in, the writing was superb, and the storyline very easy to follow.
Close to me is told in two parts, real-time and snippets of the past year, though it has a slow build this is not a bad thing as you get to understand Jo's life and how she is the person she is.
The characters here felt real and human, some you could sympathise with others not so much.
If I had to pick my least favourite person in this, it would have to be the daughter I found her very self-centred and immature, but she's a product of her overindulged upbringing.
I myself have grown up children there is no way on this planet I would be paying for their accommodation.
what a right spoilt brat Sash is.
Close to me delves into the dynamics of family and the resulting aftermath when things ultimately implode.
I did kind of guess where this was going but it didn't detract from my overall enjoyment reading this.
Would I recommend this? Hell Yeah!!!
It was an engaging read.
Thank you to NetGalley, publisher and the author for providing me with an arc of Close to me
This is my own honest unbiased opinion.
Arc Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
https://www.beckiebookworm.com/
https://www.facebook.com/beckiebookworm/
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/9460945-bex-beckie-bookworm