What I Read This Month #4: April

I have about 5 different sets of outfit photos to do, but I’ve managed to do my book review posts every month so far this year and I’m now 10 days behind thanks to my lack of internet for this post, so it just has to come now I’m afraid. Sorry outfits (and holiday snaps…from Disney and America last year…)! Again, not such a good month for reading as the start of the year, but I think 4 or 5 books a month is probably a good average for me – the first couple of months of the year were an anomaly because I was very poorly and couldn’t much else than read! So here we go with April’s books.

The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson – 6.5/10 – This is a difficult one to review. I definitely enjoyed reading the story of a man who at first seems pretty ordinary but turns out to have one of the most interesting life stories ever. But it dragged…a lot. And sometimes there was a bit too much modern history for me. While the bits I knew about were interesting, the bits I wasn’t so educated on confused me a bit. Despite that, it was a good read, very surreal feeling.

Another Forgotten Child by Cathy Glass – 8.5/10 – Cathy Glass has been one of my favourite authors for years. Her books are all autobiographical, telling the stories of children she has fostered over the years. This book is much like all the others – she fosters a severely neglected and abused little girl and welcomes her into her family. I always find Cathy’s books very inspiring as well as emotional. They’re what I’d call an easy read for me, although the subject itself is not at all easy.

Little Boy Lost by Shane Dunphy – 7/10 – I read another book by Shane Dunphy in January, and I think I enjoyed that one more than this. Again, autobiograhpical, Shane tells the tale of his volunteering at a centre for mentally challenged young people and adults. Despite its blurb stating that the story focuses on one particular man, it really seems to me to be focused on everyone, including the author’s relationship with the staff. The story of this book happened before the other I’d read and introduced a major character from the later book, which was definitely very interesting. A good read, but I preferred the other.

Little Girl Lost by Brian McGilloway – 8/10 – Similar title to the last but very different story. One girl is missing, and the police find another wandering the woods, terrified, unable to speak and dotted with blood. How are the two girls connected and why are these things happening? It’s another of these detective stories that I seem to love recently, and was a very enjoyable thriller with some tense moments.

The Glimpse by Claire Merle – 8/10 – This book had the feeling of a young adult novel with a 17 year old girl as the main character, but dealt with a topic that was far more serious. Set in the near future, England is separated into two factions – the Pures and the Crazies. Based on DNA testing, the Crazies are those who are tainted by the ‘Big Three mental illnesses’, either as carriers, sleepers or actives. They are deemed dangerous and kept in poverty in the crowded city whereas the Pures live in the much more upmarket Community. Ana was born into the Pure civilisation, but discovers her DNA testing was flawed (deliberate or not?). She must marry before her 18th birthday in order to remain in the community. But when her husband-to-be is kidnapped, she risks her life to save him in the city. I’ve read several reviews of this book stating how awful it is because of the way the Crazies are portrayed by the author, stating that mental illness is not something to be messed around with. I definitely have to disagree with these – yes, you shouldn’t treat anyone, with or without a mental illness, in these ways, but the author is in no way suggesting this is right. It is simply a fictional novel based in a world where these things might happen. Maybe some of the facts about mental illness in it aren’t scientifically correct, but that’s what fiction is all about, right?! There are thousands of books that deal with controversial subjects like these and are not intended to be offensive. This is, like those, also not intended to be offensive. If you think it is offensive, then don’t read it. Simple. Anyway, I enjoyed it. It was scary and horrifying, but shows what human nature can be like.