Elinor’s Bookshelf

My rating: ★★★★☆ When I started this, my immediate thought was 'another good book about race!'. BUT the scope of the book shifted early on to differences and minorities in general, and the theme of "passing as something that you are not" was brought in. These were clever moves by Brit Bennett, because the book stands out and covers the broader theme of identity (racial, sexual, ...). I liked the timelines, and the different perspectives - twin sisters, one living as a coloured person, the other passing as white and living a life of privilege and secrecy, and the effects on their offspring. This made for an interesting, worthwile read. View all my reviews I read this book as part of the UNO-2021 Challenge on GoodReads (team Mystic Pizza).

My rating: ★★★☆☆ Imagine a wedding on a remote island off the coast of Ireland. The guests have made the crossing in choppy waters and the weather is getting worse, further isolating the island from the mainland. As night falls, you could easily get lost or trapped in the dark especially if you’ve had that extra glass of fizz. As the party gets into full sway, a body is found – whose is it and what exactly happened? This books has everything of a great mystery : the seclusion and eeriness of the settings, the growing number of motives as the past unravels page by page, good pacing, and lots of intrigue. BUT (I know you knew this was coming), the ending is a complete let-down on a brilliant promise. Such a shame really as it was doing so well - the way all the loose ends are tied up is just too unrealistic for me, too coincidental. I *will* be giving The Hunting Party a shot! View all my reviews I read this book as part of the UNO-2021 Challenge on GoodReads (team Mystic Pizza).

My rating: ★★★★☆ “Lydia is dead. But they don’t know this yet.” This story is about a teenage girl, her family, all wrapped up in their childhood traumas, unable to talk about them, unable to think outside of them. As the book unfolds we discover Lydia’s parents’ hopes for her to live the lives they couldn’t, or decided they wouldn’t. We discover siblings, always set aside, and the weight of parents’ expectations. It reminded me of those sores and scratches inevitably etched in my mind by my own parents, and their parents before them, and their own. All these unseen broken things inside are delicately and beautifully told in the book - not violent as such, yet deeply mournful. Despite the sadness, I was impressed by Celeste Ng’s style and keen observation, and the detail with which human nature, grief, love, and denial are portrayed in this work. View all my reviews 7 I read this book as part of the UNO-2021 Challenge on GoodReads (team Mystic Pizza).

My rating: ★★★★☆ This was “freaking cool”! An easy, fun YA read covering some of the most important and exciting times of teenage years. At first this felt like a modernised version “The perks of being a wallflower” except... Simon isn’t a Wallflower, he is in fact one of the cool dudes at school with good looks and lots of friends. The story starts with Simon getting blackmailed over email messages from a mysterious gay boy going under the alias of “Blue”. This made for an engaging read - I did so want to know for sure who Blue would turn out to be! View all my reviews I read this book as part of the UNO-2021 Challenge on GoodReads (team Mystic Pizza).

My rating: ★★★☆☆ In Swing Time, by Zadie Smith, the main character is successful by most standards. She gets a degree and starts working for an international celebrity. She travels, loses touch with what money’s worth and covers her life in a neat veil of denial. All her attempts to better the world are channeled through celebrity Aimee - such is the poverty in some places that money can buy anything, including human lives. Her childhood friend Tracey, has nothing material. She pursues her childhood dream of becoming a dancer. I found myself hoping for her breakthrough, but life isn’t like that, right? Dancing is what brought them together as children, and all the remaining common ground they have in the brief slices of adulthood they share. Their friendship has weened to barely a thread. Intellectually this book is very satisfying and covers a broad number of topics with humour: race, gender, abuse, money, power, sexuality, slavery, friendship, ambition, death, and the list goes on.