I read 8 books in June and I marked 2 more as DNF. This is quite a lot for me and I am really grateful to be able to have LOADS more free time in lockdown. I have also managed to do a lot more reading for myself which has been nice as normally most of the books I end up reading are for college. It makes such a nice changed to read what I want! I thought I would share all of the books I read, my rating of them and a little plot summery.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The first book in the Maddadam trilogy, Oryx And Crake follows ‘snowman’ aka Jimmy who seams to be the only human left alive after a plague has killed the off the population. Snowman is trying to survive in the wilderness while watching out for the genetically modified animals that have taken over the world and meanwhile looking after the Crakers who are genetically modified ‘perfect’ humans that are destined to become the new humans.
The Year Of The Flood by Margaret Atwood ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The second book in the Maddadam trilogy, The Year Of The Flood follows two female protagonists Toby and Ren who’s life’s both crossed paths when they were part of The God’s Gardeners. The God’s Garderner’s are the extreme vegans and eco nuts of the society, they denounce consumerism, scavenge for things, celebrate extinct species, grow all their own food, encourage drugs for hallucinations and link everything back to the bible. The story follows Toby and Ren as they tell their story of their life in the God’s Garderner’s and their life surviving the plague (waterless flood). The two stories merge into one as they fight against the disease and attempt to get to safety.
Am I Normal Yet? By Holly Bourne ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Am I normal yet? is the first of the spinster club series. It follows Evie who struggles with OCD and is also attempting to live a ‘normal’ teenage life. Evie has just started at a new college where nobody knows her and she is being slowly taken off of her medication. It follows her as she struggles with being taken off her medication while simultaneously making friends and struggling with boys.
How Hard Can Love Be? by Holly Bourne ⭐️⭐️⭐️
How Hard Can Love Be? is the second book in the spinster club. It follows Amber as she moves to America for the summer to work in a summer camp and see her mum who she hasn’t seen in two years. She struggles to deal with her mother’s alcoholism and being separated for so long but not being welcomed by her mum properly.
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Leuithan ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Will Grayson, Will Grayson follows two different characters who are both called Will Grayson as they go through high school. they both cross paths one night and their lifes become intertwined. This deals with a lot of important topics such as being gay in High School and depression
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
When Breath Becomes Air is the memoir of Paul Kalanithi who was a neurosurgeon who died from cancer in his thirty’s. The story follows him when he was healthy through his childhood, college education and residency in a hospital. Then it shows his life when he struggles becoming the patient instead of being the doctor when he is diagnosed with cancer. This is a heat-warming book that really motivated me to live as life is so short.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Hate U Give has to be my favourite read of this month! It follows the story of Starr who witnesses her friend being shot by the police just because he was black and looked threatening. the story follows her as she struggles to find her voice and speak up for the injustice that she had experienced.
Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Girl, Woman, Other follows the life stories of 12 people. Each character is told through their own chapter and they are all connected. This book talks about a lot of serious topics and is overall an extremely powerful book.
DNF
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon ⭐️
Follows a girl who is ‘allergic to the world’ and cannot leave the house. A boy moves in next door and they start messaging and become friends and then eventually there is a romance between them. I really didn’t like this book because I felt like it was portraying that you have to have a boyfriend to be happy and I could also predict the ending from the start.
13 Minutes by Sarah Pinborough ⭐️
13 Minutes is about a girl (Tasha) who was found unconscious in a lake and was resuscitated by paramedics. She was pronounced dead for 13 Minutes. The incident does not seem suspicious at first but soon Tasha decided to take it into her own hands to investigate her own ‘death’. I really love the concept of this book but all the characters were unlikeable and toxic people who were the embodiment of a stereotypical teenager. I got so frustrated that I had to stop reading.
BooksByJade 