June was a good month for me. I read more books than I have in any other month so far this year, and I enjoyed most of them to a high degree. Summer is always a time of long, lazy days which generally gives me more time to read, so I’m hoping to read even more in the upcoming months before September, when I will have no time again. But for now, here are the books I read in June!
This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay
This is Adam Kay’s sort of memoir, a collection of journal entries taken from his time as a junior doctor. This is the kind of book that is so funny in a way that isn’t really funny at all, and can also wrench out your heart. And damn, has my respect for doctors in the NHS increased tenfold, and doctors everywhere, because they work such long hours and sacrifice so much time with family to save people who they don’t even know. This book was really something, and I so enjoyed and learned from my reading experience.
4 stars
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
I have had this book on my shelf for such a long time. I think I bought back in January 2018, and honestly, I was on the brink of giving up on this book and passing it on. Last year, not long after I bought it, I tried to read it, reached the 250 page mark, and…stopped. But when I looked it up on Goodreads, it had so many positive reviews, and I wanted to give it another chance. Besides, my reading tastes are always developing and changing, and this was definitely the right time to read this book. I really loved the concept of these warrior nuns, in a world where the entire globe is covered by ice, and its population lives in an ever narrowing column around the equator. Mark Lawrence also did such an amazing job on Nona’s character, because even though she is very young in this book, the writing is still mature and appeals to the adult age category at which this is aimed, without making Nona seem too old for her years. This was a really masterful book and I can’t wait to get hold of the sequel.
4.5 stars
Like A Love Story by Abdi Nazemian
This was where my month peaked, because I ADORED this book with my whole heart and soul, and it is probably one of my favourite books of the entire year. This was so emotionally draining, in the best way, and I think I would have cried had I not gone to sleep and read the final part of the book refreshed the next day. I read the majority of this in one sitting; I could not put it down. I loved the characters, the community – this book is set in the 1980s in New York during the AIDs crisis, and follows the lives of three people – an Iranian boy who knows he is gay, but terrified of what that means at this time (Reza), an openly gay teen who is proud of who he is (Art) and plus size ally of the LGBTQ+ community (Judy) . And while there are so many harrowing moments in this book, it is also hopeful, too. Judy, Reza and Art are so dynamic and real and oh! If you read any book on this list, make it this one.
5 stars
Sawkill Girls by Clare Legrand
Before I get into detail, I just want to say that I did really like this book. But it disappointed me so much, because I really and truly believed that this was going to be new all time favourite, and it just wasn’t. The writing was good, the characters were good, the plot was good, but nothing about it was brilliant. It needed an atmosphere to make it into the dark, creepy book I wanted. And it needed to go further in every direction – it needed to be darker, more lyrical, the characters needed to be more. And I’m just really sad because I thought that I would absolutely adore this, and I didn’t.
3.8 stars
The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan
I liked this book, but it didn’t blow me away. I would still recommend it, because it is an easy read, in so far as the writing is quite simplistic, and it is definitely an important read. It follows a muslim teen whose parents catch her kissing her girlfriend, and she is taken away to Bangladesh. This book does deal with dark topics, but overall it was, for me, a little too simplistic, and I wasn’t fond of Rukhsana as a character. She was already so sure of herself at the beginning of the book, which is by no means a bad thing, but it meant that there was no character growth of any sort, and the story became a little stagnant.
3.5 stars
Proud edited by Juno Dawson
This was a gorgeous anthology written and illustrated by LGBTQ+ authors and artists following LGBTQ+ teens. Some stories I loved, some stories I found just average, but this is such a beautiful anthology and it is going to be so important to so many people. I loved the addition of the illustration at the end of each story; it made it just a little more magical and special. My favourite story was Almost Certain by Tanya Byrne, but there is such a wide range that everyone will take something from this book. And overall, just the fact that this book exists in the world makes me very happy.
4 stars
The Boy Who Steals Houses by C G Drews
I thought that this book was really beautifully written, and honestly, even better than A Thousand Perfect Notes. I really appreciate the third-person-present-tense style that this book is written in, and there are so many pretty metaphors and similes and imagery. This book is very heart wrenching, but it is also soft and deals with family and the dialogue is fantastic throughout. The own voices autistic representation was heartfelt and there was so much packed into quite a short book. I can’t wait to see what C G Drews writes next, especially if it is longer and even more complex than what she is writing now.
4 stars
I Am Thunder by Muhammed Khan
I really wanted to love this book, but unfortunately it really did not work for me. It was a powerful story with an important message, but there were aspects of it that I really hated and that hindered me really enjoying this book in any way at all. The slang, for starters, was way too much in my opinion, and it just made all the dialogue annoying and awkward to read. And the writing itself wasn’t really that great either, not to mention that I wasn’t really attached to any of the characters. It’s a shame, because I think this book does carry powerful messages that I haven’t really seen in many other books before, but the execution for me was poor.
2 stars
Watch Us Rise by Ellen Hogan and Renee Watson
I think that this book would be perfect for anyone looking for something very reminiscent of Holly Bourne’s books, with a focus on female friendships and a feminist club. I did enjoy this one; it was a quick and easy read with characters that were dynamic at that time (now I have totally forgotten them). To me, though, it just felt basic in quite a lot of aspects, for example the writing style, and even the feminism itself. Obviously, I think so many are going to appreciate that this book isn’t just focused on ‘white feminism’, and that is probably the most important part of this book. And I do genuinely believe it is just as valid to address everyday sexism as it is to address the larger and horrific acts, because, after all, they all lead to each other. But to me, there were a few moments in this book that felt a little over dramatic and a little naive.
3 stars
Lottie Biggs Is Not Mad by Hayley Long
This book was recommended to me by a close friend and honestly, I wasn’t sure what I expected going into this, but wow this book was very different to what I expected. It is funny and lighter in places, but really this deals with mental health and the stigma surrounding it and what it’s like to be in a position like that. It was so much more powerful than the cover or blurb suggests, and while this isn’t something that I would have picked up on my own, I definitely do not regret that decision.
Mike by Andrew Norris
Again, not a book that I would ever have picked up by myself, but was asked to check out by my librarian. This one has an interesting concept, and is fairly well written but overall is kind of meh. It isn’t offensive, but neither is there anything to me that makes it fabulous or intriguing; the plot is flat throughout the entire book, I didn’t care for the characters at all and there didn’t really seem to be much point to the story at all, except for “if your brain tells you you want to do something, then go for it!” which is questionable.
2 stars
Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes
I haven’t really read very much classic sci fi so I don’t really know what I was expecting, but this was actually really good! I thought that it might be a bit boring and pretentious but it didn’t really feel that way to me at all. I actually found it really sad, especially the ending, and the way it was written was really clever and well executed. There were so many interesting questions and concepts explored in this book and overall I really liked it.
4 stars
Am I Normal Yet by Holly Bourne?
I have really mixed feelings about this book because while there were elements that I really loved, there were also parts that I found really cringe-worthy as well. On the positive side, the discussions around mental health and people tending to play down how serious it can be were so well done, and while I can’t personally speak for the accuracy of the representation, the depiction of Evie’s OCD felt authentic. But the whole “spinster club” thing just didn’t work for me, and while I know that this book is important, and popular (at least within the UK), it wasn’t my favourite.
3.5 stars
Lightning Mary by Anthea Simmons
This is a relatively short book for younger readers following the childhood of Mary Anning, the famous discoverer of fossils along the coast near Lyme Regis. This book had a lot of potential to be charming and sweet, and while it was pretty well written, the character of Mary herself was utterly insufferable. She was so self righteous, yet she never really thought about other people’s feelings at all, and I just couldn’t stand her. Unfortunately, this book was also quite boring, and it wasn’t really worth the read. Maybe younger readers would like this, but it isn’t something that I would really recommend.
2 stars
Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton
I started off not 100% loving this, but eventually I was overcome by the sheer beauty of this novel and the concept. The writing is gorgeous as well, and I loved the vibe of the small fantasy village with very little of the outside world explored. The focus was on the small town, not the larger world, and I really adored the setting. I liked the characters, but I will say I wasn’t the most attached to them. What really pushed this book up for me was the aesthetic and the nature and the forest settings and the atmosphere, and I did really like it in the end.
4 stars
And those are all the books I read in June. I’m sorry this is so so late, but summer makes it more awkward for me to post. I’m hoping to become more consistent September when I have a more structured routine again, and I need to set up a posting schedule that is realistic and that I can stick to. But for now, I hope you are all having fabulous months and reading lots of books. What did you read in June (even though it was ages ago)?
The Bookish Courtier 