I don't do reviews on this blog as many of you know because I simply don't enjoy writing them. But recently I've read some books that touch on some very real issues and have tackled them in such a moving and insightful way that I have been desperate to share with you guys because I really think that reading them added something to me as a person. So I will stick to not doing reviews because my opinions of all these books is " Go to the book shop right now, buy them, spend three days reading them and then come back and fangirl with me " but I will give you a quick summary of each of the books and let you know the sort of topics they touch on .
Fans Of The Impossible Life - Kate Sclesa
Told from the perspectives of three different teenagers, all written in very different styles and deeply intriguing . Sebby, Mira and Jeremy are three teenagers brought together to transform each others lives forever . I couldn't put this book down! My poor best friend ended up coming over the week I was reading this book, to sit on my bed and then fall asleep as I insisted on " Just reading another page " ... until I finished the book :) It touches on many issues concerning mental health, particularly depression and self harm ( I would however put a trigger warning on this book if you struggle with any of these topics ) and other issues like addiction, Chronic fatigue syndrome, bullying and sexuality. If you're interested in any of these issues then seriously go pick up this book !
Trouble - Non Pratt
Hannah is fifteen ... Hannah's also pregnant. I've never read a book hat dealt with something as big as this in such a realistic way . I have very little to say other than, please, please read this book. It really taught me that it's easy to judge people but nobody does anything without reason. People are struggling enough, be kind to them .
The Act Of Being Normal - Lisa Williamson
I'm going to hold my hands up and say I'm pretty uneducated on the topic of being transgender ( which I think says something for the educations system.. and it's not saying anything good ) however I felt much more educated after reading this book because if nothing else the excellently written story spiked an interest in my mind and made me realize the gap in my knowledge and as a result I did a lot of research on Transgender related things. The book follows the life of David , a girl trapped in a boys body and his journey accepting himself, asking his parents acceptance and finding how to be his true self . And then there's Leo ... I'll let you learn about him for yourself because anything I could say is a spoiler hehe :)
Have you read any of these books ? What did you think ? If not then do you have any recommendations of books touching on similar issues or that you felt were really important ?
There are a few other books I've read that have affected me in similar ways so If you liked any of these then I'd be happy to share some more with you :)
Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)
Lots of love, Marianne xxx
Trouble sounds like a really good read. I've also never read anything tackling that issue, so it should be really interesting! The Art of Being Normal could also be a good one. I'll definitely have to look into those!
ReplyDeleteOff the top of my head I don't think I can really recommend anything to you, my reading style is (and was) a bit different in comparison, so I don't think there were any real hard-hitting issues, unfortunately!
Erin
http://sexycardi.blogspot.ca
It is a great book and such an interesting issue to read about and learn to understand :) You should definitely pick them up, they're worth the read no matter what your style is !
Deletelots of love, Marianne xxx
Wow, these three books sound so interesting and I really want to read The Art of Being Normal. It's such an interesting topic that I am not sure I know enough of too :)
ReplyDelete-Leta | The Nerdy Me
They're really good reads , It's such an important topic and it's so important to create a good understanding of it so that you can be more aware and sensitive !
Deletelots of love, Marianne xxx
Love this variety of books! I used to read stuff like this all the time. I loved Lush, Perfect and Bounce by Natasha Friend because they covered the issues we deal with during our teenage years (such as body acceptance.) If I were to read it now I probably wouldn't like it as much, based on the reading level (I was 12-14 when I read these) and now I'm more into Stephen King... but I'm glad I did.
ReplyDeleteThe art of being normal sounds like a book that should be introduced into the education system! Imagine if they actually discussed these issues and how much better it would be for everyone to understand? I luckily attended an Arts school throughout my teen years and there were plenty of Gay/Bi/Transgender people which helped me learn more about what they go through! This really should be a required reading.
Thanks for sharing (sorry for the comment novel!)
Lindsey Elyse | lindseyginge
Ooo I'll definitely pick that one up and give it a read ! It's a really great book and I think it's definitely a subject that people need to know more about and that sounds like a great experience :)
DeleteLots of love, Marianne xxx
I haven't read any of these, but would love to read the last one. I would love to know more about it and understand better. Awesome reviews!
ReplyDeletexo
http://thepinkporcelaindoll.blogspot.co.at/
They're all brilliant books that you should pick up and the last one is a book that I believe everyone should read at least once :)
Deletelots of love, Marianne xxx
These all sound really interesting, particularly The Act of Being Normal. I'm definitely going to check these out as I am always on the hunt for good books. Thanks for sharing Marianne, I hope your week is going great! XO -Kim
ReplyDeleteI'd recommend them all to anyone but especially The Act Of Being Normal :) I hope you enjoy them !
DeleteLots of love, Marianne xxx
I'm interested in reading "The Art of Being Normal" because I'm also very uneducated about the transgender community.I had to add this book to my "books to read" list because I've always wanted to learn more. Thank you for the suggestion <3
ReplyDeletesierra | @itsberrystylish
I think a lot of people are purely because it's not something were taught about therefore lack understanding in it :) I really hope you enjoy it as much as I did <3
DeleteLots of love, Marianne xxx
These all sounds like really interesting books, and I'm always on the hunt for a good book. I read a really interesting memoir a couple years ago for my bookclub about a transgendered woman. She's a professor at Bowdoin, I believe. It was a really interesting read and I learned quite a bit from it.
ReplyDeleteI loved reading all of them , you should definitely check them out :) That sounds so interesting , I'll have to look it up :)
DeleteLots of love, Marianne xxx
I feel like all of these would be really interesting to read, especially the last one. Thank you for your recommendations!
ReplyDeletehttp://saranusagg.blogspot.si/
They're all brilliant and so insightful !
DeleteLots of love, Marianne xxx
You make a good point in saying that the education system doesn't support the teaching of transgenders, I can imagine this book would have been a fascinating read!
ReplyDeleteGabrielle | A Glass Of Ice
x
I can't ever remember even hearing the word transgender mentioned in a class at school which I think is awful, there's so much stigma around it and a bit of decent education would really help that :)
DeleteLots of love, Marianne xxx
I love the sound of that first book! And I've heard of the last one "The Art of Being Normal."
ReplyDeleteMakes me wanna continue a book list :)
Hope you're having a fabulous week so far!
-Lor // acozyspace.wordpress.com
It's such an interesting book and it's impressive how it tackles so many issues but does every single one of them so well :) I'd definitely recommend it !
Deletelots of love, Marianne xxx
Great picks! Trouble sounds like a really interesting pick :) xx
ReplyDeletewww.chasingbelle23.blogspot.co.uk
I couldn't put trouble down, I literally just sat in my room reading for three days straight but it was worth it !
DeleteLots of love, Marianne xxx
Haha They're definitely a good way to spend a week cuddled up in your room and refusing to leave for anything other than chocolate :) That sounds really good I'm going to go and have a look at those tommorrow night when I have some time because I bet they're really interesting and great for building understanding <3
ReplyDeleteLots of love, Marianne xxx
Oh my goodness this is so weird for me because my brother worked in our local bookshop during his uni course and trouble was one of the book proofs he got for me to read and i remember loving it then! I feel like I'm strangely moving back out of the teen fiction genre though, for me it will always be classics and historical fiction ahahah :D Great post Marianne!
ReplyDelete(p.s... were you named after Marianne in Sense and Sensibility? it just occured to me you might be and that'd be super cool!)
Love,
Anne
http://aportraitofyouth.blogspot.co.uk