Another month come and gone…I can’t quite believe it is June already! We are already halfway through 2020. As another month indoors passed, I once again was able to read to my hearts content. Similarly to my post last month where I rounded up all the books I read in May (you can find that here), this post will be written in the same structure. Plus this may be a bit of lighter reading after the slightly heavier posts I have previously published.
If I thought I read a lot in May, June was even more bookish! I managed to read 13 books this month which I believe is my monthly record!
So, here is a full list of the books I read in June:
1. Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold – Stephen Fry – 4 stars
2. Hold Back The Stars – Katie Khan – 4 stars
3. One Of Us Is Lying – Karen McManus – 5 stars
4. An Offer You Can’t Refuse – Jill Mansell – 3 stars
5. Elsewhere – Gabrielle Zevin – 1 star
6. A Very Large Expanse Of Sea – Tahereh Mafi – 5 stars
7. The Beekeeper Of Aleppo – Christy Lefteri – 5 stars
8. Me Before You – Jojo Moyes – 5 stars
9. Safe Haven – Nicholas Sparks – 4 stars
10. My Sister The Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite – 4 stars
11. Wave Me Goodbye – Jacqueline Wilson – 3 stars
12. Fantastic Beasts – The Crimes Of Grindelwald: The Original Screenplay – J.K. Rowling – 5 stars
13. Heartstopper – Alice Oseman – 5 stars
Out of all of these books, my favourites were ‘One Of Us Is Lying’, ‘A Very Large Expanse Of Sea’, ‘The Beekeeper Of Aleppo’, ‘Me Before You’ and ‘Heartstopper’. A really good month for books! Out of all of these books, only one I had read before and that was ‘Me Before You’; as the others were all new reads, I’ll talk a little about them all.
The book I didn’t like this month was ‘Elsewhere’. I hadn’t read it before and I didn’t know anything about it before reading except for the general premise.
As usual – if you want to read the reviews I post for the other books, or a shorter review for the books I will be chatting about in this post, check out my Goodreads.
First up: One Of Us Is Lying. I’d wanted to read this for a while, had seen it a lot when I’d gone into bookshops and when two of my friends had read it and recommended it to me 
– I only wanted to read it more! Initially, I thought it would be a standard young adult thriller esque book…but the book throws you in within the first two chapters with a story that is actually quite dark and complex. This is one of those books where I have to be vague as possible because even one detail could give everything away, but the short of it is that 5 teenagers are in detention, one ends up dead, and next thing you know: there’s a murder case being dealt with and all the teens are suspects. The book wasn’t what I expected and better – it had characters who were really well fleshed out and as you learn more about them, you realise they hold more depth to their personalities and they aren’t who they seemed to be at first glance. The plot was unpredictable in every way – just as I thought I knew where the book was headed, everything changed and I once again had no clue. The writing was done in a way that made everything feel fast-paced with the tension built up really effectively. I think about 4 times I changed my mind as to who I thought the murderer was, and even when I did know I was still shocked because of the way everything was revealed. With events and clues being written in such a subtle manner (you don’t even realise they play a part in the murder until the explanation at the end), this book is fantastic. I could have read the whole thing in one sitting, and now I am desperately needing to read the other books in the series.
A Very Large Expanse Of Sea is the next book on my monthly list that I gave 5 stars too. My goodness did it deserve it. This is another book a friend of mine recommended to me and I am oh so very glad she did. I have in the past read books about a protagonist of a culture or heritage that the author themselves do not hold. And I, at least, can tell. This 
book is different. I did my research before reading the book and the author – Tahereh Mafi is a Muslim and wears a hibab…and this is reflected in the way the lead character – Shirin – is written. It honestly felt so refreshing, like a breath of fresh air. Reading a book about a character that has been written so authentically was everything I wanted and more. The book is set not long after the events of 9/11 and tackles the difficult issue of racism, and going to school as a Muslim. It doesn’t sugarcoat or shy away from this blatant racism; it is heartbreaking but crucial it was included. Sadly when reading it, I found in some ways I could see how we have come a long way regarding racism, but in others, it feels like the book could have been written yesterday and we still have a way to go.
What I found quite interesting is there is a romantic storyline in the book – something that doesn’t overly appeal to me…however, this book wasn’t centralised around the romance. It’s Shirin’s journey of falling in love with a boy and how the cultural differences between two characters can have a huge impact. For once, I was reading a book with a Muslim character who wasn’t just a side character but a lead, and she wasn’t a stereotype. I loved the theme of not just seeing Shirin, or anyone really, as just “a girl in a headscarf”, but rather encouraging people to see past that. To see the person for who they are, and get to know THEM, rather than having this strange obsession with some fabric on their head. The book could be a wonderful tool for encouraging people to have an open mind, be more accepting and to change their views on people. I didn’t realise how few books I’d read that had characters I could see parts of myself in, and relate to, until I read this. Reading a book with a character and a family I can relate to…it was incredible. This book is just wonderful and I urge everyone to read it. It has very quickly become one of my favourites and I cannot thank my friend enough for recommending it to me.
Next up – The Beekeeper Of Aleppo. Now when I see a lot of hype around a book, I am apprehensive around reading it. I was looking forward to reading it and had for a while 
but was worried my expectations were too high and the book wouldn’t live up to them. This book not only matched my expectations but surpassed them. This book deserves all the hype it has received and more. It is a heartbreaking but incredible read. An honest and eye-opening story about the struggles of being a refugee who has fleed their own country, the reader is taken on a journey from when Nuri leaves Aleppo, to his harrowing journey with his wife all the way to the UK. It doesn’t shy away. It tells the reader how the beautiful country that Nuri calls home has become an unsafe place to live and why they have to leave. It tells the awful things that happen to him, his friends, family and other refugees – not only in Aleppo but also on their journey. The themes of struggling to keep going but determination, and refusal to lose hope are incredible.
What I really liked about this book is the two parallel timelines running. The first is the timeline of Nuri and his wife living in Aleppo, their decision to leave, their incredibly difficult journey through the countries to get to a place of safety. The second is where Nuri and his wife are safely living in the UK but waiting to see if they have been granted asylum, and the hard truth that whilst they are safe and living in the UK, that doesn’t mean the difficulties have stopped. They have to prepare for a hard interview to prove why they should be granted asylum, as well as coming to terms with settling in a new country, making it their home again, let alone dealing with the after-effects of their harrowing journey and all they have experienced. One thing I found interesting is the books ending is not conclusive, but rather seems to be open to interpretation. I’m sure you’ve seen on the news – some people are granted asylum in this country, some are not. The book seems ambiguous at the end, allowing readers to think what they want. An emotional read, this book is incredible and a must-read.
Okay, last 5 star read I’m talking about. Heartstopper. I love reading graphic novels so much and I am always on the hunt for new ones to read. I had seen this one everywhere in bookstores and wanted to read it for so long – it looked like an adorable, lighthearted graphic novel. My friend sent it to me for my birthday and after reading it, I instantly went online and ordered the next two volumes to be delivered the next day. I was 
hooked. I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did! My own understanding is that a lot of people are put off from reading graphic novels because off the lack of literary work – there are no descriptions for example – and that because they are so quick and easy to read, it is harder to get invested into a story. This is something I personally have never had a problem with, and I do think that even if you think a graphic novel isn’t for you – you never know unless you try…I found that when I was reading this, I very quickly came to love the characters of Charlie and Nick and I loved being taken on a journey through their relationship from strangers all the way to best friends. Despite being a graphic novel, this doesn’t remove from any depth in content.
A really good thing about this book is the LGBT representation. There are a lot of themes within the book that are beautifully handled such as questioning one’s own sexuality, handling coming out at school and the stigma that is still held by being a member of the LGBT community. There is a character who is openly gay, and two characters who don’t really seem to know what their sexuality is; the content of the books and the characters are really good at pointing out that it’s okay to question your sexuality and have all these confusing emotions that come with it! I love the adorable drawings used to tell the story, I love how quickly I became invested in the characters and their stories and started rooting for them and I love how the ending was left inconclusively…well…I do love the inconclusive ending but I also it’s because of the this that I was compelled to instantly go and buy the other two volumes because I needed them ASAP…! I found this adorable graphic novel a lighthearted yet addictive read.
And now we move onto the part of the post I don’t like writing…the book I didn’t like. As a full disclosure – just because I didn’t like a book, that doesn’t mean it was a bad book. It just means it wasn’t for me…someone else may read it and it could be their favourite book in existence!
The book I didn’t like this month was Elsewhere. Sadly I couldn’t even bring myself to finish this book. The premise of the book was that after Liz had died, she has gone on to ‘Elsewhere’, a place where life seems to carry on as normal, except you are dead…The premise of the book intrigued me and I had wanted to read the book for a while so I found I was quite disappointed, especially as this had the potential for a really interesting plot that hadn’t been written about too much (or if it has, I’ve not read about it too much!).
It starts off interesting enough – a young girl on a boat leading to ‘elsewhere’, a new take on the afterlife. Yet the lead character was just so whiny and annoying. I understand she is a teenage girl who has sadly died, and I did try my best to forgive her for this reason and keep that in mind, but after 130 pages it was just too grating…Furthermore, the book was written in such a basic manner. The descriptions – of people, places and everything in between was just lacking. Everything was very matter of fact. Now this could be forgiven if this book was written with young children in mind, but the content made it feel like the book was aimed at young adults and teenagers, so overall it felt a bit confusing to read, not really knowing who the target audience was at all. It got to the point where every chapter felt very much the same. XYZ did this. XYZ said that. After 130 pages, I didn’t know any more about the characters, let alone care for them or what they were doing, and the same went for Elsewhere. I didn’t care for it nor did I want to read on to hear where the book went (if anywhere), and I didn’t want to discover any more about this afterlife. A sad disappointment for a book that had a lot of potentials, but where it fell short for me and I didn’t like it, I’m sure others may enjoy it!
And that concludes the rundown of some of the books I read in June! If you do want to see reviews of any of the other books I read, either head to my Goodreads or my book Instagram. As always, if anyone has thoughts on these books or anything I’ve written, I would love to hear them!
As always, stay happy and healthy as possible.
All the love.
One Show at a Time 