June Book Haul – 2016

Here’s a look at the books that made their way into my possession during the month of June! Most of these ones come from libraries this month, because I bought quite a lot of books in May…

1. Heffer’s

This is the Cambridge branch of Blackwell’s books, est. 1876. It has a really cool multi-layer layout, with multiple concentric balconies going all the way round. I went their with my friend last week, and picked up…

The Lies We Tell Ourselves – Robin Talley

I definitely heard about this on Booktube, although I can’t remember whose video it was. It’s set in 1959 Virginia, in a school that has just started allowing black students to attend. Both a civil rights and LGBT book, and it’s had fab reviews.

2. City Library

Went and picked up a couple more books from here. I’m loving using this library, although unlike my college library it charges for fines for late books, so I’d better be careful…

Am I Normal yet? – Holly Bourne

I’ve already read and reviewed this, and absolutely loved it. It follows a teenager with OCD, through her life and relationships, and includes some awesome feminist stuff too.

We were liars – E. Lockhart

This is an old booktube fave that I’m sure pretty much everyone has read. I’ve heard it’s best to go into it blind, so I don’t really know much about it.

3. College Library

My college library has mostly academic books, but there’s this wonderful magical room called the light reading section, where you can just borrow as many books as you like. It’s based on trust, so there’s no official deadline/stress for giving them back. I picked up 4 books from here.

The Almost Moon – Alice Sebold

I’ve read 2 books by Alice Sebold in the past, The Lovely Bones, which was absolutely amazing, and Lucky, which was OK. I saw this one, which I hadn’t head of, and thought I’d give it a try, in the hope it lives up to The Lovely Bones. Not really sure what it’s about, but it had something about a girl killing her mother on the back…

Behind the Beautiful Forevers – Katherine Boo

I heard about this one from one of John Green’s book recommendation videos, where it was recommended for people interested in decreasing “world-suck” (bad things like poverty/suffering/disease/inequality). I believe it is set in a slum in India.

The Brief and Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao – Junot Díaz

Again, not completely sure what this is about, other than a person called Oscar Wao, set somewhere in America. Has had great reviews though.

I Was Told There’d Be Cake ­– Sloane Crosley

Probably the most random choice on this list, this is a set of essays by someone I’d never heard of. I was drawn to it by the interesting title, nice spine, and held onto it for its funny blurb. I hope this will be entertaining. We’ll see.

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So that’s it for the books I’ve got in June! I’ve also started reading some things on NetGalley, one of which I’ve got rather stuck on, but feel the need to soldier on so I can review it… Oh well. I hope you have all had marvellous Junes.

XoxoxxOX

 

Am I Normal Yet? – Holly Bourne

OK, so this book was completely not what I expected it to be.

From the title, cover, tag line (“It’s tough being a girl”), and the checklist on the back (college, parties, friends who don’t dump you, a boyfriend), I had categorised it as a light, girly contemporary. Its description in my Summer TBR was a “hilarious light summer read”. Clearly I hadn’t read the blurb with any kind of accuracy. I think this comes of having had such a strong recommendation from a trusted friend – I knew I definitely wanted to read it, so I hadn’t spend much time researching what it was actually about! 

Anyway, to correct my previous misconceptions, Am I Normal Yet is about a girl called Evie, who suffers from severe OCD and general anxiety disorder. After a long period of recovery, she has returned to college, where she’s faced with all the normal college-y things, and has to deal with them on top of her illness.

The book was written from Evie’s point of view, and it was very eye-opening to get inside her head. Holly Bourne did a lot of research for this book, talking to psychiatrists and people suffering from OCD, and I think she did a great job. The first person narrative combined with the anxiety-ridden inner monologue really got under my skin, and made me better understand what Evie was going through, giving me a real sense of paranoia and lack of control.

Another interesting aspect was Evie’s perspectives on mental illness, from how she thinks people perceive her, to her family’s reactions, how society’s view of them has changed, and the way people use the names of mental illnesses flippantly in conversations.

Despite its heavy subject matter, this book was still actually pretty funny at times. Some of the characters were hilarious (I loved Amber especially).

I thought the discussions on feminism were absolutely fantastic. The three best friends, trying to reclaim the word “spinster” set up the Spinster Club. During meetings they discuss a range of issues, from periods, friendships, dating, and mental illness. They brought up topics such as the “Madonna-whore complex”, and “Manic pixie dream girls”. I’ve never seen this kind of discussion in a YA book before, and I think these are such important ideas for teenagers to learn about.

Another feminism thing I really enjoyed was the Bechdel test, which I’d never heard of before. Basically, a book/film passes the test if it contains one conversation between two women, that isn’t just about men. A surprising number of films don’t pass!

Despite this educational element, this aspect of the  book remains funny and light hearted, and isn’t at all preachy.

Overall, I was very impressed with this book and how much important stuff it managed to fit in. Its discussions of feminism, mental illness, family, friendships, and relationships, in such an entertaining yet informative way, make this book a thoroughly deserving recipient of the YA book prize.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️4.5/5

XoxooOooOX