aprilius_maximus's reviews
1784 reviews

Read until 51% and then skim read the rest. This was SOOOO disappointing. I was looking forward to it so much because the premise sounded incredible and I was excited to hear Pullman's atheism woven into his work, but everything about this book was bland. It was so slow moving and the characters were all so unlikable, I was honestly shocked that I was reading the same book that everyone else loved? Maybe it's because it lacked the nostalgia that a lot of people have with the series because I never read it as a child? I honestly don't think I'll continue on with the series even though I want to know what happens, but I'd honestly prefer to read plot summaries online rather than slog my way through 2 more boring af books.

Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge Notes:
35. An award winning book

Prepare yourselves, it's about to get personal up in here.
So, I've never seen the movie of Bridget Jones's Diary, so I thought I would read the highly acclaimed book before doing so and, to my great surprise, I ended up hating almost everything about it. I 100% understand why people like it - it's funny and relatable and reminiscent of the great decade that was the 90's, but because of a purely personal problem, this book made me feel like garbage and therefore made me absolutely loathe my reading experience.
Bridget is always writing down her weight and saying she's fat, but the thing is, it's not just herself saying this. Friends, family and other characters also call her fat throughout the novel and then I look at me, who weighs over 15 kilos more than Bridget, and it honestly made me feel like crap. I have already been struggling with confidence and self-loathing because over the past couple of years I've put on 25 kilos due to changing medications for my mental health, so this book honestly just made it worse. Is this what people on the street think about me when I walk by? Do my friends and family secretly discuss how much weight I've put on behind my back? It honestly took me back to when members of my own family were making snide remarks about my weight or offering suggestions for how exercise and dieting could benefit me, thinking they were helping when really, it made it ten times worse.
I was 3/4 of the way through the book, when I thought to myself, has anything plot-wise actually happened? Nope. Just a bunch of damaging self-hatred that triggered my own.
I get that a lot of people love the book and that's fine, I totally get it, but for me, it ended up being a damaging and destructive novel that ended up being quite triggering for my depression.
Let me know any thoughts you guys have on this book or any of the things I've discussed!

Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge Notes:
- 20. A book with a first name in the title

I just couldn't get into this unfortunately! I just found it really boring and strange.

I managed to read about half of the stories, but I just can't bring myself to finish it no matter how hard I try. I find anthologies SO HARD to read.
Here are the ratings for the stories I actually did read:
The Key – 4.5 stars
Figment – 3 stars
The Twelfth Girl – 3
The Raven Princess – 2
Thinner than water – 4
Before the Rose Bloomed – 3
Beast/Beast – 3

DNF
I just wasn't a fan, it was confusing as hell and I was v bored :(

DNF at page 66. It was just so boring and was putting me in the worst slump! The only redeeming factor was the talking cat, but even that wasn't enough to get me to finish it!

*Disclaimer - I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*
I just finished this book, hugged it to my chest and let out a small wail. Wow. What an engrossing and gripping debut. The Sky So Heavy follows the aftermath of Nuclear testing gone wrong, resulting in a nuclear winter. Our main characters live just outside of Sydney, Australia and it is their harrowing story of loss and survival, of love and friendship and ultimately, it's a powerful allegory in which the reality of Australia's asylum seeker crisis is brought to light.
This book was also scarily realistic, in that this isn't a dystopian revolving around a disaster that could never happen in real life (e.g. zombies), but a nuclear war? That could happen and the results would be absolutely devastating, like worldwide famine and entire nations completely demolished. The book was brutal, honest and raw. The last 50 pages had my heart caving in in agony.
The characters were really what made this book for me. We have Fin, who is just trying to keep his 12 year old brother alive. We Lucy, the girl that Fin has had a crush on from the minute she first walked into the classroom. And then we have Noll, my precious cinnamon roll. He was severely bullied in school and nobody did anything to stop it, not even Fin, who was best friends with one of the biggest bullies in the school. But disaster brings people together and things like this get put into perspective. There were also some amazing side characters that honestly stole my heart. Mr Effrez OMG i love him so much <3 and Alan! What a precious old man.
An absolute stunner of a debut and a book I wish I'd read sooner! I highly, highly recommend this one if you want a realistic look into a devastating disaster and a book that will leave you sobbing with the pain of it all.

Around the Year in 52 Books Challenge Notes:
- 48. A dystopia

*4.5 STARS*
First read - 15th February 2014
Reread - 13th November 2015

I don't know, for some reason this is my least favourite in the series?

THIS WAS SO GREAT. The writing honestly wasn't amazing, but the unique premise and the riveting plot certainly made up for that. I can't wait to continue on with this series!