Monthly Archives: January 2015

Not your average mystery novel

Posted on by under Opinions

Christmas is always my favorite time of the year because it means I can add to my book collection without subtracting from my bank account. This year one of the books high up on my Christmas list was Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. To be honest, I had never heard of this book until all of the hurrah about the highly rated movie appeared on my Facebook page. I knew that I couldn’t go see the movie until I had read the book, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

I spent Christmas with family in Cape Town and we were very busy most of the time, but I did eventually have a chance to sit down and start this book. I settled on a super comfortable couch on the verandah of my aunt’s house. It had a perfect view of both mountains and forest, which was absolutely beautiful. However, I was soon too engrossed in the book to even consider glancing at the stunning scenery around me.

I was drawn into the world of Nick and Amy Dunne and their seemingly perfect marriage. A marriage that is shattered on the day of their fifth wedding anniversary when Amy suddenly disappears. I want to really talk about this book so I think this is going to be more of an opinion piece than a review, and it is going to contain a hell of a lot of *SPOILERS*.

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Nothing like a good tearjerker

Posted on by under Reviews

This holiday I have finally been able to sit down and read some of the books that have been on my list this year. I came down with the flu about a month ago (terrible timing since we were visiting out of town family) and took the opportunity to cajole my mom into buying me a book on the way home from the doctor. I’m not sure why, but I thought it would be a good idea to buy the most depressing book in the shop.

That afternoon I lay outside in the Durban sea breeze and read If I Stay by Gayle Forman. The book isn’t long but it succeeded in making me cry numerous times within the few hours that it took me to read it.

The story is about a 17-year-old girl called Mia who is taking a casual drive with her family on a snow day when they get into a serious car accident. She finds herself in a coma and can see and hear everything that is going on around her (she sort of floats around after everyone like a ghost) but cannot communicate. She soon realises that she has to make the seemingly impossible choice between staying and rejoining her boyfriend Adam and loving grandparents or letting go and joining her parents and brother on the other side (wherever that may be).

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