December Reads 2015

So here’s what I read:

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M Danforth

When Cameron Post’s parents die suddenly in a car crash, her shocking first thought is relief. Relief they’ll never know that, hours earlier, she had been kissing a girl.

But that relief doesn’t last, and Cam is soon forced to move in with her conservative aunt Ruth and her well-intentioned but hopelessly old-fashioned grandmother. She knows that from this point on, her life will forever be different. Survival in Miles City, Montana, means blending in and leaving well enough alone (as her grandmother might say), and Cam becomes an expert at both.

Then Coley Taylor moves to town. Beautiful, pickup-driving Coley is a perfect cowgirl with the perfect boyfriend to match. She and Cam forge an unexpected and intense friendship — one that seems to leave room for something more to emerge. But just as that starts to seem like a real possibility, ultrareligious Aunt Ruth takes drastic action to ‘fix’ her niece, bringing Cam face-to-face with the cost of denying her true self — even if she’s not exactly sure who that is.

This was the November Sassy Books read that took me longer to get through than I had originally planned. Read my full review here.

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee — whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not — stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden — a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.

But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

I put off reading this for so long and I’m not sure why.  I did have a big break in the middle of reading it, but it really picked up pace towards the end.  I loved the twists and turns as the story developed.  I will definitely be continuing with the trilogy.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

An all-new edition of the tragicomic smash hit which stormed the New York Times bestseller charts, now featuring an introduction from Markus Zusak.

In his first book for young adults, Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist who leaves his school on the Spokane Indian Reservation to attend an all-white high school. This heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written tale, featuring poignant drawings that reflect the character’s art, is based on the author’s own experiences. It chronicles contemporary adolescence as seen through the eyes of one Native American boy.

This is one of those modern, young-adult classics I’ve wanted to read for a long time, and I’m glad I finally did.  It’s really interesting, well paced and quirky.  I loved the characters and the integrated artwork; a very cute story.

The Ladybird Book of Mindfulness by Jason Hazel and Joel Morris

This delightful book is the latest in the series of Ladybird books which have been specially planned to help grown-ups with the world about them.