Expertly reviewed by Daniela Gram. Thanks Dani!
‘Ellie Pillai is a brown girl living in a town in eastern England. She’s trying her best to navigate being a teenager like every other 15 year old but Ellie can’t help but stand out no matter how much she wants to be invisible just because of her skin tone. And she just so happens to live in a predominantly white town that has its fair share of racists.
She’s also keeping one rather large secret from her parents about her GCSE. Ellie has chosen drama, something she really wants to do, while her parents think she is taking a computer programming class. While trying to navigate her secret she is also trying to navigate friends, crushes and loss.
I really enjoyed this book. The thing I loved the most is how it managed to stay light hearted while also dealing with some heavy subjects. The book talks about loss and grief, mental health, coming out and difficult relationships with family, all while containing great dry humor and sarcasm which made me audibly laugh while reading, which rarely happens for me.
I also couldn’t put this book down. I just kept reading and reading and by the time I actually put it down I had read nearly 100 pages at a time. It was heart warming and fun while still tugging at my heartstrings.
I also believe that it’s really important to read book written by people in minorities so we are able to widen the spectrum of story telling, especially in the young adult genre. Teenagers and young adults need to know that flying through high school without a single issue isn’t the norm, far from it actually, and that it’s ok not to be popular, or white, or straight.
I really loved this book and could easily read it again which is why I would give it 4/5 stars.’
Another thought provoking review by Books & Co regular, Dani Gram. Thank you!
‘I want to start by mentioning a trigger warning. This book has graphic depictions of police brutality and detailed anxiety. It also has scenes which could trigger survivors of self harm.
Bitter goes to Eucalyptus, a school for the gifted whether it be in music, science or art like Bitter. Eucalyptus is the first place Bitter has ever felt safe after being tossed through the foster care system until Miss Virtue picked her up and brought her to Eucalyptus. She has found a home in Eucalyptus, something she clings to for dear life, scared of the outside world, which is riddled with discrimination and corruption. So much so that people who’ve had enough have started a revolutionary group called Assata, who demonstrate and fight for a better world with more equality.
Little does Bitter know that her world is about to change. She will be forced to decide whether she should stay inside Eucalyptus’ safe and secluded walls or if she should go out into the city and join the fight. And behind it all is a creature of Bitter’s own creation.
This book is an incredible job of showing what Gen Z go through in this world where discrimination’s voice has been allowed to grow. The book takes place in a fictional city but it’s so reminiscent of the big cities of our world. It also makes me think a lot about the Black Lives Matter protests in the last few years along with all the outrage over the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida and what is happening to trans youth in Texas right now.
The book is really good but you have to be in the right headspace to read it. Even so it took me over a month to get through it. I kept having to put it down and really think about what I had just read. Even though I have plenty of praise for this book there was one thing I really didn’t like. That was the phonetic dialog. I believe it was there to show difference in class and upbringing but all it did was pull me out of the story since I had a hard time understanding it. Considering all this I have decided to give this book three out of five stars’.
Happy Reading everyone!
RESERVE YOUR COPY OF BITTER
‘Madeline Millers’ Galatea A Short Story is a modern take on Ovid’s tale of Pygmalion and how he created his wife from marble and then prayed to the god Venus to give her life. Miller does something completely new with the tale by showing it from Galatea’s perspective instead of Pygmalion and uses this unique narrative to give us a compelling, tragic and at times humorous story.
I already love Madeline Miller, Song of Achilles being my favorite book, so when I saw this beautiful little book pop up on Books & Company’s Instagram I knew I had to ask them to save me a copy. This short page turner took me about half an hour to read and I was already ready to re-read it as soon as I finished the last page.
The reason I loved this book so much is because of Miller’s writing style. She manages to give extensive detail without making the story too heavy. She also starts in medias res which makes me as a reader quickly invested in the story, which is a great tool to use when the story is so short. We get all we need to know about the characters from the way they interact with each other, no need for lengthy descriptions of their personalities. Miller also manages to bring humor to the story with Galatea’s matter-of-factness which can be found when she contemplates on how to describe her existence. Was she born, no that didn’t feel right. Woken, no. Hatched, no because she was not an egg.
The book also includes an afterword, something I actually rarely read. But since Madeline Miller’s books are based on stories from the ancient world I decided to read it and I’m very happy I did considering the fact that she calls Pygmalion a prototype for the term incel, which made me laugh out loud.
This book is 10/10, I would definitely recommend it. It’s beautifully written with detailed, flowery descriptions and witty quips. Also it’s short, like really short, so why not?’
Reviewed by Daniela Gram
Happy Reading everyone!
RESERVE YOUR COPY OF GALATEA A SHORT STORY
As the world tries to shift the weight of this new boulder that threatens to crush us, there are few better places to turn than to the beautiful writing of author and bookstore owner Ann Patchett.
In her latest essay collection, ‘These Precious Days’, we find words and images that so accurately reflect the profound emotions of friendship, family, dedication and love.
The essays span in time and subject from the author’s childhood to adulthood, from her relationships with parents, partners and friends to her choice to write, to open a bookshop and to not have children.
There is a wonderful ease to Ann Patchett’s writing, to how her life flows through the essays, simultaneously organic and meticulously planned.
The essays depict different watershed events that all benefit from the calm reflections afforded only by time and distance.
‘These Precious Days’ is full of recognizable moments, and each reader will almost certainly have their own favorites, be it ‘Three Fathers’, a love letter to the three men her mother marries, each of whom play a defining role in Patchett’s life, or ‘There are No Children Here’ about the author’s choice not to want/have children, a choice that is so controversial to so many around her, or my personal favorite ‘These Precious Days’ about a chance encounter with Tom Hanks’ personal assistant, Sookie, an encounter that turns into a surprisingly deep friendship, thanks to two factors we would most want to do without, Covid and Cancer.
Maybe it’s because we are all so affected by the loneliness and turmoil around us, maybe it’s because no one is left untouched by the universal strength and gift of genuine, selfless kindness. One thing is for sure, this collection is a powerful reminder of the immense joy we can derive from being alive in the moment and aware of the influence of others, of being generous of spirit and giving of ourselves, and how we must always endeavor to make life decisions that feel right and true.
‘These Precious Days’ will make you smile, laugh, wonder and perhaps even shed a tear.
But it is all so worth it!
Happy Reading!