Book Reviews

Find an A-Z of book reviews by Ginge Reads here. Or alternatively, search for a particular book by using the search bar at the top of the page.

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak

- The international best-seller: a historical fiction novel which follows the life of a young girl in Germany during the Second World War. Narrated by Death himself. 

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

- A smart YA thriller/mystery about a 17-year-old girl who investigates the murder that shook her town 5 years ago.


Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

- The first book in a new fantasy series by the #1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Caraval trilogy.

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

- A powerful debut novel about what it means to live in a world that sees you only as a Black body. 

Rapture by Carol Ann Duffy

- The seventh poetry collection by the UK's ex-Poet Laureate. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Once Upon A Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber: Book Review

Image
From the #1 bestselling author of the Caraval series, Once Upon A Broken Heart is the first in a new fantasy series about love, curses, and the lengths that people will go to for happily ever after. Release Date: 30th September 2021 Page Total: 416 Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Raised in her beloved father's curiosity shop, Evangeline Fox grew up amongst cursed stories and tales of immortals, like the tragic Prince of Hearts. His powers are mythic, his kiss is worth dying for, and bargains with him rarely end well.  But when Evangeline learns that the love of her life is about to marry another, she becomes desperate enough to seek his help.  In exchange for only three kisses, he agrees to stop the wedding. But after her first promised kiss, Evangeline learns that striking a deal with a Fate is far more dangerous than she could ever know. The Prince of Hearts has plans for Evangeline, plans that will either end in the greatest happily ever after, or the most exquisite tragedy...
Read more

The Seven Basic Plots

Image
Have you ever been reading a book and had that strange feeling of déjâ vu wash over you? Where you could almost exactly predict the ending and recognise some of the characters, having never read it before? That may be because there are a specific number of plot types that, supposedly, every book follows.  According to Christopher Booker's 2004 book The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories , story-telling can be roughly summarised and categorised into seven specific structures. Each also follows common narrative patterns (such as the rule of 3 ) with a meta-plot to match. Of course, as with any rule there will always be exceptions, but w hile this theory has been criticised for being a little reductive, surely there is truth in the words that Booker took 34 years to craft and publish? The Seven Basic Plots - Explained Overcoming the Monster The protagonist * aims to defeat an evil force which threatens them or their homeland - James Bond            - Beowulf - Star Wars    
Read more

Why You Should Swap Goodreads for The StoryGraph

Image
Whether you're an avid reader, curious about a rave review or you just pick up the occasional book once every year, it is likely that you will have heard of (or even have an account with) Goodreads. But more recently, another website has begun to take over, and for good reason. Goodreads is an American-based book cataloguing site, where users can track their reading habits, write reviews and generally discuss the world of books. It is a wonderful place for book nerds to get recommendations and connect with bookish friends, and it has become quite prestigious in recent years.  Initially launched back in 2007, the site is now owned by Amazon and has approximately 80 million worldwide users . But with recent movements away from Amazon (particularly on platforms such as Instagram's Bookstagram ), a new website is stealing the spotlight, and it is better than ever. The StoryGraph  The StoryGraph is another bookish social media site, but which has infinitely better features. It is a
Read more