May Read - Tell The Wolves I'm Home

Tell The Wolves I'm Home - Carol Rifka Brunt

Synopsis (as taken from Goodreads):  

1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.

S’s Rating:  ❤❤❤❤❤ (out of five hearts)

D’s Rating:  ❤❤❤❤ (out of five hearts)


S’s Thoughts:
Right, so it’s taken some time for us to get around to reviewing this book… mostly because D had to wait to get it from the library. I have a Kindle so ha ha to that.

TTWIM is one of those books that just takes your breath away with the amount of sadness, grief and loneliness strewn throughout the pages. Like a painting, all of the backstories of each character come together page by page to produce a beautiful end result… a novel that both devastated me and warmed my heart. Very few books leave me sobbing at the end (I don't cry too often over books however commercials are another story) and TTWIM was one of them.

I could see a bit of myself in sisters June and Greta, and even a bit Toby as well—I think it’s a novel that a lot of people, despite their sexual orientation, can identify with. If, in the next ten years, TTWIM doesn’t become required reading for school curriculums I’ll be surprised. It’s just that kind of book and is very topical right now what with the US Supreme Court striking down DOMA and Prop 8.

Standout Quotes:

Tax season always smelled like stew.  Most days my mother left her mustard-yellow crockpot sittig on the kitchen counter, slow-cooking something for our dinner.  It didn't matter what was in the pot--chicken, vegetables, beans--it all smelled like stew once the pot was through with it.

I thought of all the different kinds of love in the world.  I could think of ten without even trying.  The way parents love their kid, the way you love a puppy or a chocolate ice cream or home or your favourite book or your sister.  Or your uncle.  There's those kinds of loves and then there's the other kid.  The falling kind.
Album to listen to while reading this book: I don't know why but Up from Below by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros seemed to work really well with this book.  Though I am biased because it's one of my all time favourite albums.  If you haven't hear it, well, shame on you!

(Only the most addictive, prettiest song ever)

D’s Thoughts:
After having to wait two months for this book, I was certainly hoping that it was going to be worth it. Let me assure you, it is.

There is one odd paradox that runs throughout this book, at least for me: the plot is almost impossible to believe, yet it was so realistic that when the main character, June, was wronged in anyway, I was furious. More than once while reading I had to remind myself that this was just a book, that this was fiction. 

I fell in love with the way Carol Rifka Brunt incorporated beautiful things--art, Mozart, castles, and more--into the story. The consistent of use of Mozart's Requiem was of course thrilling to a music geek like myself, but that wasn't it. This book, despite the narrator being young and unsure of herself, is written with such excellent diction that it mimics poetry in a few places. 

Drifting apart from a sister, feeling out of place in the world, losing a loved one and losing someone far too young...all of these take a strong precedence in this book, and I have personally dealt with all of them at some point. In fact, the day before I began reading the book, I attended the visitation of a person the same age as Finn at his death: my math teacher from this last school year. This book is incredibly relatable while still creating a unique, unparalleled story. And for that, I consider Tell the Wolves I'm Home to be rather excellent. It was certainly worth the wait.

Standout Quotes:
That's what being shy feels like. Like my skin is too thin, the light too bright...someone asks me a question and I stare at them, empty-faced, my brain jammed up with how hard I'm trying to find something interesting to say. And in the end, all I can do is nod or shrug, because the light of their eyes looking at me, waiting for me, is just too much to take. And then it's over and there's one more person in the world who thinks I'm a complete and total waste of space.

Why couldn't people live together, spend their whole lives together, just because they liked each other's company? Just because they liked each other more than they liked anyone else in the whole world? If you found a person like that you wouldn't have to have sex. You could just hold them, couldn't you? You could sit close to them, nestle into them so you could hear the machine of them churning away. You could press your ear against that person's back, listening to the rhythm of them, knowing that you were both made of the same exact stuff. You could do things like that.

Album to listen to while reading this book: While I could have said Mozart's Requiem, I'm taking a less obvious route. Her Majesty The Decemberists by The Decemberists


June’s book is D’s choice and is Tricks by Ellen Hopkins. (Review to come shortly after this one)

See you soon! S & D

Hang in there....

We're running a bit behind this month... life, school and library waiting lists got in the way.

We'll be back as soon as we can with our review of Tell the Wolves I'm Home, but it probably won't be until June.

In the meantime, here's a sneak peak of S's review to come:

See you soon.

S & D

April Read - Such a Pretty Girl

Such a Pretty Girl - Laura Weiss

Synopsis (as taken [and edited for accuracy] from Goodreads):  

They promised Meredith nine years of safety, but only gave her three.

Her father was supposed to be locked up until Meredith turned eighteen. She thought she had time to grow up, get out, and start a new life. But Meredith is only fifteen, and today her father is coming home from prison.

Today her time has run out.

D’s Rating:  ❤❤❤ (out of five hearts)

S’s Rating:  ❤❤❤ 3/4(out of five hearts)


D’s Thoughts:
I chose Such a Pretty Girl because Amazon suggested it after searching for related books that I had previously enjoyed. After reading the synopsis, I knew that it simply had to be our sister read.

I absolutely loved the book...so why am I rating it as merely average? I felt an extreme connection to Meredith because I understand and relate to her familial relationships. However, not everyone can. If the reader of this book has led a relatively charmed life and has never interacted with those who have not, the relationship between Meredith and her mother will seem absolutely absurd.

I appreciated the effort that the author put into the "caring neighbor" characters, especially Nigel the police officer. At least in my experiences, these people matter more than can ever be described. Laura Weiss certainly gives it a good go, and for that I am very much appreciative.


Standout Quotes:
"The ache starts in my chest and spreads through my veins. The abuse I can handle; it's the happiness that cripples."

"I forgive him for not being what I want and am thankful for his being what I need."


Album to listen to while reading this book: Give Up by The Postal Service is a bit wordy in the lyrics for this book (not in offense to the author, that's simply not the style), but the sentiments are there.


S’s Thoughts: I really liked Such a Pretty Girl... it's one of those books that you can read in one or two sittings... or in my case, one commute to and from work!  Weiss's writing is punchy and raw and rings true.  I didn't feel like the scenario or characters were contrived or the ending "not enough".  I admired Meredith for her bravery--I'm not so sure I could be as ballsy (can I say that here?) as she was.  I'd like to think I'd try, though!

Out of all of the characters, the one I found most interesting was Meredith's mother.  What had to have happened to her for her to be the way she was?  I could have done with more backstory on her, but that's really my only niggling little complaint. 

A year ago, I might have had issues with parts of the interaction between Meredith and her mother not ringing true.  How could a mother really feel that way about her child?  How could any mother choose a man over someone they carried within themselves for nine months?  But you know what?  That was a year ago and things change.  That's all I really need to say about that.


Standout Quotes:
"In decorating, you want to tie everything together to create the impression of continuous harmony.  I put touches of color in your father's condo, too.  I think he'll be pleased."

"Now he's here.  Now she's happy.  Now I'm supposed to act like nothing ever happened."

"The clock over the sink ticks like a bomb."

"The odds are high that the best of me has already been ripped away and that if I don't keep hold of myself I will lose what's left.  Without the structure of my rules and rituals, I'm a free-for-all open to any guy who wants to hurt me."

"I lie wide-eyed in the dark, listening.  The obscee waits outside my door, counting the minutes until dawn when it will come at me again."

  Album to listen to while reading this book:  Nevermind by Nirvana

May’s book is S’s choice and is Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt.

See you soon! S & D

The first ever giveaway on Two Sisters Reading!

I’m pretty sure I might have mentioned at some stage that I’ve been selected as a giver for World Book Night next week (23 April).  If I haven’t, well now you know and I’M SO EXCITED!

What is World Book Night, you ask?

World Book Night is a celebration of reading and books which sees tens of thousands of passionate volunteers gift specially chosen and printed WBN books in their communities to share their love of reading.

Each year we recruit 20,000 volunteers to hand out 20 copies of their favourite book from our list to members of their community who don’t regularly read.  By enlisting thousands of passionate book lovers around the country World Book Night reaches out to the millions of people in the UK who have yet to fall in love with reading in the hope that we can start them on their reading journey. In addition World Book Night distributes half a million books directly to the hardest to reach potential readers in prisons, care homes, hospitals, sheltered, supported and social housing, the homeless and through partner charities working throughout the UK. World Book Night is about giving books and encouraging reading in those who don’t regularly do so.  But it is also about more than that: it’s about people, communities and connections, about reaching out to others and touching lives in the simplest of ways, through the sharing of stories. (via the World Book Night website).

So you can see why I’m so excited.  I’m a huge advocate of literacy programmes and reading and I can’t think of a better way to spread the joy of reading than through  handing out a free book to 20 strangers.  Hopefully I’ll make someone’s day–I know mine would be made if I got a free, unexpected book on the street!

The book I’ve been selected to hand out is Patrick Ness’s The Knife of Never Letting Go.

Here’s a synopsis of the book, but I’ve gotta say it doesn’t do it justice…

Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee — whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not — stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden — a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

It’s such a good book and there’s so much more to it than that… It was one of my favourite reads of 2012 if that’s any indication for you!

That brings me to my giveaway here on The London Diaries.  I have 20 gorgeous copies of the The Knife of Never Letting Go, complete with special edition World Book Night cover art–and you could win a copy!

What do you need to do?  Simple–either click the “like” button for this post or leave me a comment.  That’s it!  On World Book Night, I’ll be at the Southbank Centre’s World Book Night celebration and I will be live tweeting the winner then.  You’ve got until 5pm on Tuesday to like or comment to win.  In the spirit of World Book Night, it’s important to note that I’ll also be shipping internationally, so where you are doesn’t matter.

Good Luck!

March Read - Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend - Matthew Dicks
Synopsis (as taken [and edited for accuracy] from Goodreads):  

Budo is Max's imaginary friend. But though only Max can see him, he is real. He and the other imaginary friends watch over their children until the day comes that the child stops imagining them. And then they're gone. Budo has lasted a lot longer than most imaginary friends--five years--because Max needs him more. Max is perfectly happy if everything is just kept the way it is, and nothing out of the ordinary happens. Unfortunately, something out of the ordinary is going to happen--and then he'll need Budo more than ever.

S’s Rating:  ❤❤❤❤ 1/2 (out of five hearts)

D’s Rating:  ❤❤❤❤ 1/2 (out of five hearts)


S’s Thoughts:
My younger sister, L, had an imaginary friend as a child.  She called her "Amy" and Amy was responsible for pretty much everything L did to get into trouble.  Amy obviously dumped the toys out everywhere, not L.  Amy hit me, not L.  Was it L who ripped the pages out of a book?  Nope.  Amy, obviously.  And then one day in the car, and I remember this so vividly, our mother asked L about Amy... I think it had been a while since Amy had last made an appearance.  L, who was maybe 6 years old at the most, replied matter-of-factly that Amy was gone.  She'd died in a fire.

Needless to say, we were pretty creeped out.  So that was the end of Amy--killed off soap opera style in a fire.

I don't remember ever having an imaginary friend of my own... though I guess that's one of the points of Dick's novel.  Once you forget about your imaginary friend, stop needing them, they're gone for good. 

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend was a sweet little book with some seriously sinister and sad undertones.  Max is a lonely little boy who suffers from a form of autism.  We're not actually told this but his nuances, triggers and personality make it quite clear from the get-go.  Max doesn't have any friends except for Budo, his imaginary and very perceptive companion.  It is Budo who narrates the novel--an interesting idea to have an invisible character narrate the story without making him omnipotent.

I really enjoyed Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend; it was a quick and addictive read and I'd recommend it to just about anyone... especially those who had imaginary friends themselves!


Standout Quotes:
"The world can be so complicated for Max.  Even when he gets something right, it can still go wrong."

"Jo-Jo leans closer to me.  'Does that mean we aren't real?' 'No,' I say.  'It just means that we are a different kind of real.  It's a kind of real that adults don't understand, so they just assume that we're imaginary.'"

"You have to be the bravest person in the world to go out every day being yourself when no on likes who you are.  I could never be as brave as Max."

Album to listen to while reading this book: Not sure why but The Beatles come to mind for this one... one of their older (less psychedelic!) albums for sure.


D’s Thoughts:
When I was younger, I did not so much have an imaginary friend, but rather an entire "school" of ones. I'm pretty sure it was modeled off of the early Harry Potter movies I loved so dearly, but otherwise I don't remember them much.

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend, having been written from the point of view of an autistic third-grader's "friend", appears to at first be meant for the late elementary school age range. However, rest assured that any adult who reads will find it impossible to put the book down once the exposition and explanation of situation are complete. As S stated, there are many sinister qualities to this book as well.

Speaking of situation, Matthew Dicks did an excellent job in consideration of the qualities of imaginary friends. For example, it is continually mentioned throughout the book that some "friends" are not imagined fully, and that many are missing ears and eyebrows simply because their young creators forgot. Such detail supports that the author was incredibly invested in his story, and the outstanding product as a whole proves it.

I suppose I love this story because it includes many things--like the eyebrow-less imaginary friends and the reasoning behind the antagonist's deeds--I never personally would have thought of myself. It was more than worth staying up late to finish...proceeded by bawling my eyes out as though I was no older than 6 when it was over. 

Yes, I cried. I'm not ashamed.

Standout Quotes:

"I sometimes think that neat and organized people spend too much time planning and not enough time doing. I don't trust neat and organized people."  

"Monsters are bad things, but monsters that do not walk and talk like monsters are the worst."

 Album to listen to while reading this book: I honestly have no idea, but to keep with the kid theme, I'm gonna stick with Saint-Saens' The Carnival of the Animals. Each movement is rather short and innocent, much like the life of most imaginary friends.

 
April’s book is D’s choice and is Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess.

See you soon! S & D

Women's Prize for Fiction - The Longlist

The Women's Prize for Fiction (formerly the Orange Prize For Fiction) is probably my favourite literary award out there.  It's not stuffy and pretentious like the Man Booker Prize (oh my GOD how I hate that one) and it's a bit more serious than the Costa Book Award (can't take an award named after a coffee chain seriously, no matter how nice their coffee is).  The Women's Prize for Fiction is like the Goldilocks of book prizes--not too boring and stuck up it's own butt but not full of fluff.

And since it's International Women's Month (Really?! You don't say!) I thought I'd just throw the longlist up on here and just say how excited I am about it:

Kitty Aldridge - A Trick I Learned From Dead Men (Jonathan Cape)
Kate Atkinson - Life After Life (Doubleday)
Ros Barber - The Marlowe Papers (Sceptre)
Shani Boianjiu - The People of Forever are Not Afraid (Hogarth)
Gillian Flynn - Gone Girl (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
Sheila Heti - How Should A Person Be? (Harvill Secker)
A M Homes - May We Be Forgiven (Granta)
Barbara Kingsolver - Flight Behaviour (Faber)
Deborah Copaken Kogan - The Red Book (Virago)
Hilary Mantel - Bring Up the Bodies (Fourth Estate)
Bonnie Nadzam - Lamb (Hutchinson)
Emily Perkins - The Forrests (Bloomsbury Circus)
Michèle Roberts - Ignorance (Bloomsbury)
Francesca Segal - The Innocents (Chatto & Windus)
Maria Semple - Where’d You Go, Bernadette (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
Elif Shafak - Honour (Viking)
Zadie Smith - NW (Hamish Hamilton)
M L Stedman - The Light Between Oceans (Doubleday)
Carrie Tiffany - Mateship with Birds (Picador)
G. Willow Wilson - Alif the Unseen (Corvus Books)

I'll be the first to say I've only read one title off of this list but I'd recommend Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl to just about anyone.  Actually, I'm going to try and get my hands on more of Flynn's stuff soonish!  I pretty much groaned out loud when I saw Hilary Mantel's Bring Up the Bodies on yet another prize list... I mean, snore.  I'm sure Matel's work is enjoyable for some people but I'm not one of them.  And besides... she's won enough already this year... let someone else have a go!

I'm really excited about Shafak's Honour and Kingsolver's Flight Behaviour, so much so that I bought the Kindle versions this morning.  Also I'm seeing Kingsolver in April/May and I'm pretty stoked about that too.  I'm very curious about Boianjiu's The People of Forever are Not Afraid... It looks really interesting!

My goodness, my "to read" list is growing by leaps and bounds!  Are any of you guys excited by any of these books or are there some missing from the list that you think should be there?  Have you read any of them already?

X
S

February Read - Shatter Me

Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi

Synopsis (as taken from Goodreads):  

Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war– and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

D’s Rating:  ❤❤❤❤  (out of five hearts)

S’s Rating: ❤❤❤ 3/4  (out of five hearts)


D’s Thoughts:
I chose Shatter Me for two reasons that absolutely never affect my reading:

1. It was the one book on the shelves of my local Wal-Mart that didn't want to make me vomit or bash my own head.
2. I really liked the cover art. And it's not at all my style.

For whatever reason, I could never put the book down. I spent many moments confused, which only fed my desire to read more. The writing style? Gorgeous, with so much imagery. I fell in love with it.

I'm very much a hit-or-miss person with dystopian novels. I loved Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 and Anderson's Feed, but I haven't enjoyed many others until Shatter Me. Additionally, I was surprised to find myself connecting to Juliette and her inability to be touched, though I'm pretty sure my touch isn't lethal. There were some moments, in her lamenting about her loneliness, that I caught myself thinking, this is exactly how it feels to be lonely, she hit it spot-on. Miss Tahereh Mafi, if a word of it came from your own experiences, my heart goes out to you.

While the book did not change me forever, I give it a solid four hearts. I will be sure to read the sequel! 

Standout Quotes:
I wonder about raindrops. I wonder about how they're always falling down, tripping over their own feet, breaking their legs and forgetting their parachutes as they tumble...It's like someone is emptying their pockets over the earth and doesn't seem to care where the contents fall, doesn't seem to care that the raindrops burst when they hit the ground...that people curse the days the drops dare to tap on their doors.
I am a raindrop.

My lips will stay stitched shut with the secrets of this morning forever but my heart is so full of confidence and wonder and peace and possibility that it's about to burst and I wonder if it will rip [my] dress.

"We are fed lies because believing them makes us weak, vulnerable, malleable. We depend on others for our food, health, sustenance. This cripples us. Creates cowards of our people. Slaves of our children. It's time for us to fight back."


Album to listen to while reading this book: (before you judge me, this is generally not my taste in music, but I do have an appreciation for it) The Wall by Pink Floyd


S’s Thoughts:
I'll be honest.  I was perilously close to giving this book a solid four stars.  I'll also be double honest and say that I'm not sure WHY I couldn't give it a full four stars (five stars are rare from me so just hang that up right there) but I just couldn't.  Shatter Me wasn't a bad book--I enjoyed it.  But I also spent the first 70-80 pages totally confused out my skull.  And then when I wasn't confused and was understanding what was going on? Things changed.  And then I was confused again.  Maybe I'm into backstory and knowing what the frig is going on way too much.  Maybe.  But I had no clue why the world was in such disarray, why there were all of a sudden people with powers running around.

I finished the book as I started it.  Confused.

That being said, I liked Mafi's writing style: short, punchy but full of amazing imagery.  One too many times I felt myself thinking about Francesca Lia Block's writing style and how close the two were  (Damn.  I haven't read a FLB book in ages).  Both writers love including natural elements in their descriptions and what you get from that is some really beautiful language.

Standout Quotes:

"Truth is a jealous, vicious mistress that never ever sleeps, is what I don't tell him.  I'll never be okay."

"I can shoot a hundred numbers through the chest and watch them bleed decimal points in the palm of my hand.  I can rip the numbers off a clock and watch the hour hand tick tick tick its final tock just before I fall asleep.  I can suffocate sounds just by holding my breath.  I've been murdering minutes for hours and no one seems to mind."

"I am too poor to afford the luxury of hysteria right now."

 Album to listen to while reading this book: "Happiness... Is Not A Fish That You Can Catch" by Our Lady Peace. Brilliant dystopian sounding album.

 
March’s book is S’s choice and is "Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend" by Matthew Dicks.

See you soon! S & D