What I read from February to April (Not that I read so much)
February
- The Glass Palace // Amitav Ghosh
(Blurb from Goodreads)
Set in Burma during the British invasion of 1885, this masterly novel by Amitav Ghosh tells the story of Rajkumar, a poor boy lifted on the tides of political and social chaos, who goes on to create an empire in the Burmese teak forest. When soldiers force the royal family out of the Glass Palace and into exile, Rajkumar befriends Dolly, a young woman in the court of the Burmese Queen, whose love will shape his life. He cannot forget her, and years later, as a rich man, he goes in search of her. The struggles that have made Burma, India, and Malaya the places they are today are illuminated in this wonderful novel.
Rate: 3.8/5 ⭐
Review:
This was one long book and it told the story in three generations I believe. It was interesting as it intertwined a non-fictitious story with a fictitious one. How the royals were in Burma before the British invaded. How the Indians struggled under the British rule and their delusions of grandeur. My favourite character was Dolly who is from the first generation and how she persevered all the troubles from being a hand maiden for the royals of Burma and how she grew up to find a life of her own. Definitely enjoyed how realistic the characters were portrayed here and how Amitav Ghosh molded his characters. The character development was amazing.
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M., a college sophomore, is haunted by the events of a year ago that ended another girl's life. In an attempt to clear her conscience, she writes her confession down in a battered notebook addressed to a stranger. This search for redemption is far more painful than she ever imagined, and she struggles to cope with her grief and guilt. As M. spirals deeper into herself, she must ask what the cost of absolution is...and if she's still willing to pay it.
Rate: 4/5 ⭐
Review:
I dont remember much except how beautiful it was written. The way the story was shared in this diary sortof format and the way the emotions were very beautifully and tragically displayed through just words. Hats off to the author for making me feel and being able to relate to certain situations with the character.
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- Orange Marmalade // Seok-woo (Webtoon)
(Blurb from Wikipedia)
Vampires were once hunted to extinction, but for the last 200 years there’s a peace treaty between humans and vampires. Now vampires are living amongst the humans hiding their nature by drinking only pig blood. However, vampires are still predators by nature and still desire human blood.
This is a story about a vampire named Baek Ma-ri, who tries to conceal her identity from the world. Seeing vampires as monsters, the humans shun them and wish that they would die out already. Until one day, Jae-min's sweet-smelling blood made Ma-ri lose control of herself, resulting in a new sweet beginning.
Rate: 4/5 ⭐
Review:
Yes it had cliche bits. Yes it was a love story. But nevertheless I liked it. It was refreshing. The plot development was a bit predictable except for few. Character development was good though.
March
- Bastard // Carnby Kim & Youngchan Hwang (Webtoon)
"My dad is a murderer... And I... am an accomplice."
Jin Seon is far from an Ordinary High-School Student. For one, he's raised by his single father Dongsoo Seon, the popular and charismatic CEO of an influential company. For another, due to a severe childhood "accident" that stripped him of his memories and the use of his left eye, he has artificial valves in his heart and pins and plates in his joints.
Rate: 4.5/5 ⭐
Review:
This was an amazing thriller. I never expected it to be so good neither did I expect some of the twists that happened in the story. I dont really know what else to say without really giving away the story plot but just go read it okay.
April
- Nineteen Minutes // Jodi Picoult
As a midwife, Lacy Houghton brings lives into the world.
She didn't expect her son to take them away.
But that's what he did one March morning, when he walked into his high school with guns instead of books and killed ten people.
Along with the rest of the shocked and grief-stricken town, Lacy is left wondering when her shy 17-year-old boy turned into a monster. And was it her fault?
In the aftermath of the shooting, Lacy searches the past for clues and begins to realise that despite, or perhaps because of, her every effort, she never really knew her son at all...
Rate: 4.4/5 ⭐
Review:
As always Jodi Picoult books never fail me. Although I took over two months to read it (due to college work) I am glad I finally got around to it. Funny thing is that this book is about a school shooting and I have been seeing quite a few serious issues about school shootings in the U.S. lately. I of course supported one side throughout the whole time and definitely wanted the vicitms to win but I was really interested in how the murderer's aka Peter's defense would turn out. It was just like how I read about in the news. When it's a bullied student who is the shooter he/she is always mentally ill. And that is a frustrating point like yeah you pull out that card only to defend a shooter.
But it was really interesting the way Picoult wrote out the entire scene and just brought out the emotions and the feelings of both the vicitms and the shooter. Definitely recommend this.
She didn't expect her son to take them away.
But that's what he did one March morning, when he walked into his high school with guns instead of books and killed ten people.
Along with the rest of the shocked and grief-stricken town, Lacy is left wondering when her shy 17-year-old boy turned into a monster. And was it her fault?
In the aftermath of the shooting, Lacy searches the past for clues and begins to realise that despite, or perhaps because of, her every effort, she never really knew her son at all...
Rate: 4.4/5 ⭐
Review:
As always Jodi Picoult books never fail me. Although I took over two months to read it (due to college work) I am glad I finally got around to it. Funny thing is that this book is about a school shooting and I have been seeing quite a few serious issues about school shootings in the U.S. lately. I of course supported one side throughout the whole time and definitely wanted the vicitms to win but I was really interested in how the murderer's aka Peter's defense would turn out. It was just like how I read about in the news. When it's a bullied student who is the shooter he/she is always mentally ill. And that is a frustrating point like yeah you pull out that card only to defend a shooter.
But it was really interesting the way Picoult wrote out the entire scene and just brought out the emotions and the feelings of both the vicitms and the shooter. Definitely recommend this.
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Not very happy with the amount of books I read in THREE months but I hope to fix that during my two week break starting today :)
with love,
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