The Raven

'The Raven' by Edgar Allan Poe is by far one of my favourite poems. I'm pretty sure I described it as having 'unearthly qualities' in my UCAS personal statement last year and that is definitely true. I've never reviewed a poem on my blog before nor am I sure whether it can be classed as a book, but here's to broadening horizons!

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Not a book I've read recently but still a personal favourite, Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray is a timeless classic, teaching the reader a moral lesson each and every time.

The Miniaturist

I read The Miniaturist in almost an afternoon, it is simply unputdownable. Considering it is over 400 pages long and a very in depth read, that is pretty good going by my book! (If you'll pardon the pun).

The Enemy

The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini's debut novel is set in Kabul, Afghanistan and follows the life of Amir, a young boy from a wealthy Pashtun family. It searches his friendship with Hassan, their Hazara servant, and the challenges they face growing up in a war-torn society. The story allows the reader to compare life before and after the Taliban took over whilst exposing an Afghanistan I never knew existed, where kite flying was a favourite Afghan tradition and past-time. Amir goes on a journey to redemption throughout the Bildungsroman novel as a childhood event altered the boys' lives forever. Some events are shocking, others saddening, and there's even a tear-jerking moment in a well-crafted, thoughtful plot.

A Summer Read

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han fits the bill as an ideal summer time read. I first read this book a few years ago yet I dig it out most summers to re-read. However for Isabel (Belly) this summer is different to all the rest - she turned pretty - aka grew out of the awkward teen pubescent phase that we can all relate to (clue is in the title). No doubt every young person has experienced the tense wait for the summer holidays to begin whilst the last few weeks of school drag, this book embodies that feeling.

Gone Girl

'What are you thinking? How are you feeling? What have we done to each other? What will we do?'

Pride and Prejudice

I wanted my first book review to be a novel I, and many others, have a high regard for. With the opening line, ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife’ being one of the most famous in English literature, I present to you... Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I recently finished reading this classic and honestly did not want it to end. Sometimes I cannot see why some novels are classics (don't tell my English teacher) but with its wonderful balance of romance, wit, humour, drama and controversy, Pride and Prejudice truly fits the bill.