Close

WHSmith Zoella & Friends Book Club:Review (Books 5-8)


I'm back with the second part of my review for the WHSmith Zoella & Friends Book Club.

You can see my various blog posts and videos for all rounds of the book club below:

 Zoella Book Club (Summer 2016 - Round One):


 Zoella Book Club (Autumn 2016 - Round Two):



 Zoella & Friends Book Club (Summer 2017 - Round Three):


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Here are the last four titles in the 2017 book club:
(You can buy the complete eight-book bundle, with the exclusive WHSmith covers, here)
So let's get on with the reviews!

 Again, before continuing, please be aware that there are going to be some mild spoilers ahead.


The One Memory of Flora Banks by Emily Barr

 I read this book as part of my 24 hour readathon, where I was raising money for Jacob's appeal (you can find out more about it here and watch my vlog here). 

 This is a book that has been on my TBR list for such a long time and I was so happy when I saw that this was part of the book club because it gave me the excuse to read it sooner.

 All I'd ever heard about this book what the description that I'd read on the back. I didn't have much to go on but I knew I wanted to read it. I had an idea of the kind of book it might be... but I was completely wrong. It was so different to how I imagined. Flora was so different to the way I saw her just from reading the back of the book and the storyline couldn't have been further from my predictions.

 Saying that is was so different isn't necessarily a bad thing, because I did enjoy reading this book, even though it wasn't what I expected. The character of Flora is so interesting and her narration is imperfectly perfect, because she has a form of amnesia and the writing gets repetitive at times, but it adds to the plot and her journey, which I loved.

 I don't want to tell you too much about it because I would actually recommend going into this book the same way I did, which was not really knowing much about it. This was you can experience this book to the full without this preconceived idea of how this book will turn out.

I'd rate The One Memory of Flora Banks as:

I enjoyed this book a lot, despite how different it was to the story I was expecting to read. However, the story that was told still had me gripped. I loved the twists and turns in this book and how it made me think about who Flora was and whether, as a reader, you could trust her narrative. It was a unique read that I would definitely recommend to those who like YA books with a difference.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


After the Fire by Will Hill

Now this is not the kind of book I'd pick up in a book store. The cover isn't the sort that usually pulls me over to it on the shelves and reading to description on the back told me that, although it sounded very interesting, it was not my usual choice.

 Obviously, as it was part of the book club, I read it and was pleasantly surprised by how invested I became in this story. It took about one-hundred or so pages for me to become fully invested in this story and for it to click into that feeling of "I can't put this down" and "Just one more chapter".

 I loved the layout of this book and the way the story was told. It has two stories really: before the fire and after the fire. After the fire is a very controlled set of chapters where there isn't much movement, but there are a lot of conversations as you go through. Before the fire has a lot more to offer, in terms of characters and seeing how they all lived together in this compound. It was such an interesting read and the way it was written was spot on.

I'd rate After the Fire as:

The beauty of a book club like this is that you come across books that you wouldn't choose for yourself, but you end up discovering ones you love anyway. I got to read a book I wouldn't usually go for and I enjoyed it. It wasn't my favourite, but it was still a great read that I would recommend to those who like this kind of story. I really liked reading Will's notes at the end of the book about how he came to write this story and what it means in the real world. If you have this book, make sure you read that part.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Girlhood by Cat Clarke

This is another one, like The One Memory of Flora Banks, that I didn't know too much about before I started reading it. But with this one, I didn't go into it with any ideas about what would happen.

 I liked that it was set in a boarding school and I really got a strong sense of the setting from the very beginning. It was so intriguing to read about this kind of rich-girl schooling. The characters were also very well defined as well, and I knew exactly who was who very quickly considering we have quite a few characters introduced altogether.

 As the book progressed, I got a feeling similar to how I felt when I read Lying About Last Summer. It had that real sense of friendship amongst a group of similar people, but there was someone in the mix who you didn't seem to trust. It was quite a thrilling read.

 I was expecting a bit more from the ending, or the last fifty pages or so, because I felt that it was all going to take that kind of turn, but it didn't. I wasn't disappointed by that, it was just different. Yet, I felt a little deflated at the end, like something was missing. I don't believe it was, it's just how I felt and I know you can't adore everything you read, so maybe that's it.

I'd rate Girlhood as:


I really liked this book, and I read it incredibly quickly (in less than twenty four hours I think, in only two sittings), but it was didn't wow me. I don't want to put a dampener on this book, especially for those who did really love this, but it was wasn't for me compared to the other books in this book club or any other books I've ever read. You can't love everything, and although I really enjoyed Cat's writing (I want to read more by her now) and the setting and characters were great, it just fell a bit flat at the end.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -


Letters to the Lost by Brigid Kemmerer

I'll make this clear from the beginning of this review: I loved this book so much. So much. I honestly think this is up there now as one of my favourite YA contemporary reads of all time.

 The writing had me hooked from page one, and I really struggled to put this one down. I actually fell asleep with it clutched in my hands one evening and I woke up on my sofa to find myself still holding it tightly.

 The characters in this book are written beautifully. I am obsessed with Declan. I love him. He is so well-defined and his thoughts after reading a message from Juliet had me wanting to reach into this book and hug him tightly. I love how the reader knows that the two of them are conversing through letters and emails the whole time, but the two main characters don't know who the other person is.

 There are some seriously surprising revelations within this book. The storyline is mostly driven by Declan and Juliet's relationship through their writing, but they both have some things thrown on them during the course of this book that really rocks the boat. They both share their news with the other person as well, leaning on a "stranger" because they don't know who to turn to, and that's beautiful in such a heartbreaking way. Obviously I'm not going to write them all out here, because that would really spoil things for those who haven't read it, but if you have then you'll know what I mean when it comes to both Declan and Juliet's mothers.

I'd rate Letters to the Lost as:

As if it wasn't already obvious that I was going to give this book five out of five stars! I adored it and I will spend the rest of my days recommending this book to people who want to read a contemporary YA novel. The writing is stunning, the flawed characters are perfect, the connection between Juliet and Declan's alternating chapters is incredible and I will forever love this book.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

If you want to find out which book was my favourites out of all eight in this round, keep an eye out for my video review on my YouTube channel. You can watch my previous videos and subscribe to my channel here.

I'd love to hear your views and know what your favourite book from this round of the Zoella & Friends Book Club was! You can comment below, find me on Instagram or join the chat on Twitter.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
loading..

No comments

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)