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Tuesday 27 December 2011
Uglies - Scott Westerfield
Saturday 12 November 2011
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Monday 7 November 2011
Selected Poems - Christian Rossetti
Sunday 9 October 2011
A Little Princess - Frances Hodgson Burnett
Lady Oracle - Margaret Atwood
Saturday 1 October 2011
Rapture - Carol Ann Duffy
Wide Sargasso Sea - Jean Rhys
Sunday 28 August 2011
The Magic Toyshop - Angela Carter
Friday 26 August 2011
Junk - Melvin Burgess
Tuesday 23 August 2011
The Bloody Chamber - Angela Carter
Saturday 20 August 2011
The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan
Friday 19 August 2011
Belinda - Maria Edgeworth
The Screwtape Letters - C. S. Lewis
Monday 15 August 2011
The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
The Castle of Otranto - Horace Walpole
Saturday 13 August 2011
The Host - Stephenie Meyer
Friday 12 August 2011
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - Patrick Suskind
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
Wednesday 3 August 2011
The Accidental -- Ali Smith
Tuesday 2 August 2011
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies -- Seth Grahame Smith
The Edible Woman -- Margaret Atwood
Monday 1 August 2011
The Princess Bride - William Goldman
Neverwhere - Neil Gaiman
Sunday 31 July 2011
Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro
I Capture The Castle - Dodie Smith
Saturday 30 July 2011
The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
Stargirl - Jerry Spinelli
Perhaps unconventionally, I'm starting this literary venture with a novel for teenagers. I first read this as a young teenager, lured by its florescent pink cover, but rediscovered it recently and devoured it in an afternoon. This is a shining jewel among books. Reading it is like basking in the sunshine after a particularly cold winter.
The first-person narrative of a teenage boy bounces along with optimism and poise, although at times it does seem as though this voice more suits a female narrator. Leo’s high school is shaken one day with the appearance of a quirky new student, Stargirl Carraway. What makes her stick out is primarily her longing to bring joy to others.
On the surface this is a very simple novel, giving hope to those stuck in the mundane. It explores group mentality and the consequences of being different. But Spinelli also delves into what it means to truly be yourself and where happiness comes from. I think this book can’t fail to change its reader, and it promises to make our communities brighter places.
Rating: 9/10