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    When a beautiful, aspiring writer strides into the East Village bookstore where Joe Goldberg works,...

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Louise (64 KP) rated Fangirl in Books

Jul 2, 2018  
Fangirl
Fangirl
Rainbow Rowell | 2014 | Young Adult (YA)
8
8.9 (46 Ratings)
Book Rating
OMG!! This book is the feels of FEELS! I loved it and couldn't put it down! Rainbow Rowell is now one of my favourite authors.

Sypnosis:

Fangirl is about identical twins Cath and Wren, these two do everything together even so as going to the same University.

Wren is the more outgoing of the two who just wants to party, make friends and enjoy everything university has to offer. Cath on the other hand is a shy, geeky fan fiction writer that wants to appear invisible to everyone and just get her head down.

Cath has an obsession with a book series called Simon snow and launched her own fan fiction page that carry the story on in different scenes and she is quite a success at it, but it's literally all she can think about

As the girls have two very different ideas of University they decide not to live together so Cath has to share with Reagan, she has a boyfriend that is always there, encouraging Cath to go out bowling and parties.

Then there is the boy in her fiction writing class that wants to be writing buddies.

Cath soon finds love, but with whom?

   <blockquote> I don’t just kiss people. Kisses aren’t... just with me.</blockquote>


My thoughts:

Fangirl is written in a 3rd person POV and started off pretty slow for my liking and I couldn't see what all the hype was about! At 100 pages in things started to get interesting and the pace was set.

The characters in this book are so relatable and realistic, with Cath and her social anxiety, daily worries and awkwardness, her fathers mental health and Wren going off the rails.

Levi is just the most amazing character I have come across always happy and just there! when you need him. He's a listener and patient and OMG!! I think I have a fictional crush!

I HATED!! the Simon Snow fan fiction parts I thought it was just a rip off of Harry potter and was not interested in this part at all that I started to skip all these parts and unfortunately there was so much of it

Rainbow Rowell is a contemporary romance genius! I was even thinking about the book at work, trying to think what was going to happen and what I had already read, that's how hooked I was on this book.

I never wanted it to end it just made me all warm and fuzzy inside, this would have been a five star book if it wasn't for the Simon Snow parts

I have read Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell and I loved it, but I definitely will not be picking up carry on as it's all about Simon bloody Snow-sorry!

I recommend this to anyone that enjoys contemporary and romance novels.

I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars
  
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Hazel (1853 KP) rated Confidence in Books

Dec 17, 2018  
C
Confidence
4
4.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
<i>I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.</i>

Many university students will be able to relate to the panic and dread caused by dissertations and final exams. <i>Confidence</i>, co-written by Rowland Manthorpe and Kirstin Smith, is set at an English university where third year students are cramming in revision sessions in the lead up to their examinations. This story combines two character’s experiences which, although rarely overlap, reveal the effects of the lack of and over-confidence.

Whilst Ellie struggles with her dissertation, Charlie believes that he will successfully complete his degree without the need to revise, giving him more time to focus on his social (and sex) life. Both students are distracted by their less-than-perfect social lives, jeopardizing their exam results and discover that life is not at all what they predicted it to be.

<i>Confidence</i> is a book of multiple stories. Firstly (and secondly) there are Ellie’s and Charlie’s predicaments, but the remainder of the novel contains an autobiography of sorts about the nineteenth-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche – whom Ellie is penning her philosophy dissertation on. Whether these sections are an example of a student essay – are the authors aware that they are all written in the third person these days? – Nietzsche’s theories regarding confidence are highly relevant to the theme of the book.

The academically well-written sections about Nietzsche, his life and his spiral into insanity are very interesting to read. Composed in an essay-like format, the information is presented in an easy-to-understand, clear manner, making what in reality is a difficult concept to fathom, simple to comprehend. The fictional narrative, however, is much less pleasing in comparison. Filled with expletives, Manthorpe and Smith paint a stereotypical view of student life. Instead of the hard-working and dedicated people that many students are, they are depicted as alcoholic sex-maniacs.

Whilst negatively categorizing students, other issues are also raised such as feminism and mental health. Whereas these concerns are important topics in the twenty first century, the stigma and inaccurate knowledge about illnesses such as Anorexia is almost unforgivable – “[She] would grow out of it…” Seriously?!

As a story,<i> Confidence</i> falls well below my expectations. Although the stresses of university life are relatable, the characters go to extremes, making their scenarios all the more unrealistic. The essay on Nietzsche on the other hand is an enjoyable, informative piece of writing, which saves <i>Confidence</i> from the fate of a completely negative review. Perhaps my interest in philosophy helped me appreciate the depth of detail and knowledge written about Nietzsche, however I still maintain that it has been composed in such a way as to make it entertaining. Perhaps created with a student audience in mind, <i>Confidence</i> will most likely appeal to readers with the ability to think about the world from a philosophical perspective.
  
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ClareR (5874 KP) rated The Parisian in Books

May 30, 2019  
The Parisian
The Parisian
Isabella Hammad | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry, History & Politics
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
Compelling historical fiction
Midhat Kamal arrives in Montpellier in 1914 to study at the University to become a doctor. He falls in love with his University professor landlords daughter, Jeanette, but he becomes disillusioned with the family, and leaves to continue studying in Paris. He lives here during the war, and becomes friends with other Arabic men during a tumultuous time in the Middle East.

When Midhat returns home to Nablus, he is expected to conform to his fathers wishes, marry a woman from a good Muslim family, and work for the family business. He is thereafter known as The Parisian to those who don’t really know him, because of his style of dress and his outlook on life.

Politics soon begin to affect every part of his life, as the colonial powers of Britain and France flex their muscles. Their unwillingness to learn histories and the way people actually want to live cause untold problems, which actually we still see the consequences of today.

I can see that some may struggle with the French and Arabic peppered through the dialogue (I don’t speak Arabic), but I do think it was used in such a way that I didn’t lose track of what was happening, and it lent some credibility to the story. Midhat slips in french words to his speech when something surprises him, or he feels strongly about something. His second language has become a part of him. Endearments are usually in Arabic as well (it took a little while for me to realise what they were, and there are other words used that aren’t just endearments, I’m sure!).

This is a beautifully told story. It’s hard to read in places - history isn’t always very pretty. But I think it’s important to learn about the past in order to understand the present and hopefully learn from past mistakes.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book to read and honestly review.
  
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