July Wrap Up!

The end of July has finally arrived, and I have managed to read a total of 11 (ish) books...Which is a good amount, but hopefully I will read more next month!

The first 3 books I read this month were part of my Disney Challenge, and those were..... 'The Lion King', 'Bambi' as well as 'The Lady and the Tramp'. 

3 out 5 stars (click below for my good reads review)

3 out of 5 stars (click below for my good reads review)

2 out of 5 stars (click below for my good reads review)

I read these in order to know the story better without having to sit through an hour long movie, which triggered the inspiration for a mini Disney Challenge. I will be doing a larger Disney challenge in future with a larger collection when I have ore time!

The next books I read were part of the Cramathon, and those were.... 'In his hands'(Poetry Book), 'Killing The Dead', 'Mums don't get sick', 'Quest of Heroes' and lastly 'The Iron Trial'. I have already given a review on 3 out of 5 of these books, the other two can be found on my good reads page :-). Click here for the 3 reviews already posted. 

I gave this a rating of 1 star out of 5.

I gave this 4.5 stars out of 5.

I gave this 4 stars out 5.

I gave this 3 out of 5 stars. 

I then read 'Everyday', 'Simon Vs the Homo sapiens Agenda' and 'Am I normal yet?', which were all books that thankfully made the end of y month pleasant! 

I gave this 4.5 stars out of 5.

I gave this 4.7 stars out of 5.

Click here for this review!

I gave this 5 out of 5! (amazing book, go. and. read. now) 

Click here for this review!

And that brings us to the end of my July wrap up, starting moderately well...and making its way up to a 5 star book! It has been a pretty good reading month :-) 

Stay tuned for my August TBR.

(Disclaimer: The images used in this post are not mine.)

Yours Faithfully, 

~ She Who Writes

Book Review : Am I Normal Yet? By Holly Bourne

*SPOILER FREE - through out* 

From reading my blog, you can probably tell that I am a fan of Holly Bourne and her novels, and reading 'Am I Normal Yet?' just made me love her more.

Due to me being in a reading hangover from Simon vs the homo sapiens agenda, I didn't think I could read another book so quickly...but knowing Holly's effect on my book hangovers in the past, I decided to read it anyway and definitely did not regret it! (although now I have found myself in another book hangover)

Am I Normal Yet? Is a story about a year 12 student called Evie who after being labelled as 'weird' and abnormal during her 'Secondary' School years, wants nothing more than to fit in and be labelled for once as a normal stable teenager. 

She suffers from the mental illness OCD in the novel, and has suffered for a few years now but was able to get through it with the help of her best friend. 

Obviously because Holly makes her books extremely realistic, she shows us that this battle is not so easy to get over and can last a life time. 

Reading this made me a lot more aware about how difficult it is to live with other forms of mental illness. It also made me extremely happy - despite some of the sad topics discussed, because finally a problem that we have in society is being recognised at last!

This problem is the causal use of mental illnesses to describe a feeling you have...which a lot of people I know do. I do not do this - thanks to my friend Gee who got me into the habit of realising the severity of these illnesses before I could even compare my emotions to them, but it is still a problem that a lot of people seem to not understand. 

Because this is spoiler free, I will not talk about this any further but I do however recommend that you read this book because it is amazing! I gave this a rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars, because since it will be a series, I always want to give the other books a higher rating than the first, as I think it will improve a lot more as the series progresses. 

(Disclaimer: Some but not all of the photos used in this post are mine)

Yours faithfully, 

She Who Writes

Book Review : Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

*SPOILER FREE - however the last part of the review will be spoiler packed*

Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda is a book about a closeted 16 year old boy in his Junior year of high school who emails another teenage boy  - that attends his school and is in his year, frequently discussing life and how they feel about different aspects of their sexuality.

I read this in less than a day - which is usually an indicator that this is an amazing story. Which it definitely is. 

This book made me very emotional! It was written well, you were able to connect with the characters that were crucial to the story and it had the right amount of humour at necessary times. 

I also loved the fact that Simon felt like a real teenager, in comparison to a lot of YA novels where the protagonist - who happens to also be a teenager, talks with an extreme level of maturity, using words that I have to google and doing things that are not only unconventional but unrealistic. 

After finishing the book, it did not go back on my shelf (I keep it near me at all times)...I keep re-reading my favourite parts over and over...I may re-read this book again in August, we'll see!

(Does anyone else do this with their books?)

*SPOILERS*

This book was brilliant with it's representation of more center characters of colour and religion, as well as it's representation of LGBTQ.

An example of this is shown through his best friend Nick who is Jewish, as well as Bram and Abby being black and Simon not having a religion but still respecting his friends and their beliefs. Usually the girl that is viewed s 'pretty' in novels, TV shows and movies is hardly ever a person that is Black, or Asian etc. which I think needs to stop, because if different backgrounds are represented constantly
in one way, it gives off the message to people that this is the new normal and a fixed way of viewing the world.

Simon being an atheist was interesting, because often they are portrayed as cynical and occasionally disrespectful, when in reality they are exactly like everyone else it's just a question of how you are as a person. You could be any religion and still choose to discriminate against others.

The LGBTQ theme is presented through out due to the protagonist being gay, the mention of Martin's brother being gay and Bram who is also gay and a central character. I loved the fact that Bram was used to present two misconceptions in society which is that gay guys can't be sporty as well as the fact that he is black - which from what I have seen is an uncommon representation of LGBTQ (when in reality, it is so common to find a gay person from every race.)

*SPOILER SECTION OVER*

I gave this novel a rating of 5 stars! Because I thought is was that amazing, and I strongly recommend this to contemporary lovers or even those that don't normally read contemporary because I can guarantee you will love it! :-) (Unless you're a homophobe...then your loss!)

Stay tuned for another post soon! 

(Disclaimer: the images used in this post are not mine)

Yours Faithfully, 

~ She Who Writes

Behind the Username Book Tag!

I was tagged by Nazy aka @SnazzyReads to do this tag, who is an awesome blogger that I started talking to recently and was kind enough to tag me! This tag was originally created by Daniel aka @TheBlogBookShop - so also thanks to him for creating this tag!

Lets get down to it shall we!

USERNAME:  She Who Writes 

Reason Behind This Username: I feel like it's quite ambiguous and doesn't put me into a box...I like to discuss books, but then again I also like movies and occasionally fashion, so with this it doesn't feel like I am tricking my readers into thinking that this blog is only for books - even though that is it's primary purpose. 

Number of Characters in Username: 12! one for every month :)

Book Number 12 on my shelf: The Manifesto on How to Be Interesting - Holly Bourne

Have I read it: Hells yeah, and I loved it! I originally picked it up because the aesthetics of the book is seriously cool (It looks like a freaking red velvet cake!). I didn't even think about whether I was going to read it, I just wanted it. Then I read the blurb and knew it had potential to be a favourite and this book actually helped me get out of the depressive state you experience after reading The Mortal Instruments, so I highly recommend!

Acrostics Username:

Soulmates by Holly Bourne 

Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (but you knew that)

Everyday by David Levithan

We Were Liars by e. Lockhart

How to Build a Girl by Caitlin Moran

Othello by William Shakespeare

We are all completely beside ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler

Ruby Red by Linzi Glass

Isla and the happily ever after by Stephanie Perkins

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller 

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

Simon Vs. The Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

So that's that!

 I actually really enjoyed doing this tag as I think the letters in my username are often the first letter found on novels. 

although this isn't compulsory to do it's still fun therefore I tag: 

Maisie aka @TheMaisieAllen

Dani aka @Dani_Reviews

Ida aka @BookNerdMermaid

Rebecca aka @Beccahh27

Jess aka @JessHeartsBooks

and also anyone who feels like doing it! 

Stay tuned for more posts...

(Disclaimer: The images used in this post are not mine)

Yours Faithfully, 

~ She Who Writes

Summer Adventure : Meeting Queen Cassie

Fast Forward...

So that I do not bore you with the illness I have had to endure these past weeks, I will skip ahead to the 17th of July where I met Cassandra freaking Clare!

For those who are not aware, she wrote 'The Shadowhunter Chronicles' and is currently writing the 'Magisterium' Series with Holly Black!

When meeting her I thought I would have this reaction...

But instead I surprised myself and instead remained calm, cool and collected whilst dying on the inside. 

She was awesome and didn't make me feel like I was just some 'fan' but more like an equal. I think that's why a lot of us stopped screaming within 5 minutes because she was just really normal.

The rule was that we could only sign 3 books with Cassie, so I had to pick and choose wisely. I chose to get one of each of the series' signed based on my favorites. I chose Clockwork Prince, City of Glass and The Bane Chronicles. 

here are some pictures below!

These are some awesome Postcards I got at the event! and will be included in the Giveaway this month...click here! for more info. 

I got the 'City Of Glass' signed as it is my favourite in the series!

I got 'The Bane Chronicles' signed because it is awesome so why not!?

Lastly I had 'Clockwork Prince' signed for the same reasons...it was hard to choose but I think this or Clockwork Princess was my favourite in the series. 

This was the venue it was held at - WaterstonesNW3!

This was what the artist of the new covers for the series used to create the images, using a technique called 'etching'. 

These are the new covers that were recently released, my favourite is the city of glass cover!

Ahh, my favourite part! waiting in those queues.

I think everyone loved this part...FREE FOOD!

waiting for the interview part of the night...the wait was definitely worth while!

And last but not least...me meeting the Queen!

The whole experience was so surreal, and I am so happy that I got tickets rather than talking myself out of it like I often do.

Stay tuned for more posts!

Yours Faithfully, 

~ She Who Writes