Let’s Recommend | Festive Reads

Let’s recommend some festive reads

Tis the season for some festive book recommendations! As always, I encourage you to share your own recommendations in return, but without further ado, here are some books that are guaranteed to get you into the festive spirit in the run-up to the big day.

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Most of us are familiar with the concept of Dickens’ classic tale, which sees miserable Scrooge learning the error of his ways with the help of the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. And whilst there are many well-known screen adaptations, I didn’t actually get round to picking up the original text until this time last year. Having not read any of his work for years, I was pleasantly surprised by how readable and evocative Dickens’ prose was, which made this a timeless and very worthwhile read.

The Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann

The ballet adaptation of The Nutcracker has become a staple of the festive season, but being another story that I finally read in its original form last year, I can heartily recommend it to those in search of something rich in festive charm and whimsy. Celebrating the magic of childhood imagination and dreams come true, it’s easy to understand why its appeal has endured for all these years.

Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson

Christmas Days is a collection of twelve short stories interspersed with festive anecdotes and recipes that Winterson has accumulated over the years. Some of the stories have a fantastical, fairy tale edge, but they never lack real-world resonance. A varied mix, you can expect everything from quiet offerings about falling in love or dealing with grief, to spooky tales of ghosts and revenge, and even the nativity story from the perspective of the donkey that carried Mary. Winterson’s prose is very approachable, with moments of real beauty, and this certainly fuelled a desire to check out more of her work.

Another Night Before Christmas by Carol Ann Duffy

Duffy is the UK’s current Poet Laureate, and each year she releases a festive poem that has been illustrated by a different artist. I hope to build up a collection of these charming little hardbacks, and started with this delightful retelling of the similarly named classic. This version has a modern twist, and follows a young girl trying to find out once-and-for-all if Santa really exists. It’s a lovely, swift read, perfect for an afternoon by the fire with a cup of tea and a mince pie! As a fan of Rob Ryan’s paper cut-outs, I also loved the accompanying artwork in this particular edition.

The Christmasaurus by Tom Fletcher

A children’s novel fit for readers of any age, The Christmasaurus gave me all the warm, festive fuzzies. A bit bonkers, but full of heart, it’s a thrilling adventure with lovely messages about friendship, family, and believing in the seemingly impossible. It also has some good disability representation, with the protagonist being a wheelchair user. Fun and heartening, it taps into the inherent magic and nostalgia of the season, making us all feel like big kids again.

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There we have it! What festive reads would you recommend?

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Let’s Recommend | YA for Adult Readers

Let’s recommend some YA books for adult readers

I don’t pick up YA books all that often these days, but that’s not to say there aren’t some absolute gems out there. I think a major put-off for a lot of people who tend to steer away from it (especially older readers) is a worry that the stories will focus too much on angsty teenage romance, and shy away from more serious, real-world issues. With that in mind, here are some YA reads that do precisely the opposite, hence why I think adult and teenage readers alike should find something to relate to.

Asking For It by Louise O’Neill

Through the eyes of a teenage protagonist in a small town, O’Neill explores the terrible culture of victim blaming, and the poisonous attitude of slut shaming, that plague society when it comes to cases of sexual assault. The genius of the book lies in how flawed our heroine actually is, proving how easy it is for people to brand a ‘certain kind of girl’ with demoralising labels that can prove as damaging as the physical assault itself.

After Tomorrow by Gillian Cross

After Tomorrow flips the readers’ perception of the refugee crisis on its head by essentially forcing us to ask, ‘what if it was me?’. This speculative dystopian novel follows a British family as they flee through the Channel Tunnel in search of asylum on the continent, following economic disaster, food shortages, and mass rioting in the UK. It touches on many aspects of the migrant experience, including displacement, language barriers, borders being closed, families being separated, widespread mistrust, and the struggle to hold onto your national identity. It also features an entirely platonic male/female friendship between two teenagers, which was a refreshing touch in a YA read.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

This touching, universally relatable story is all about love, loss, and the transformative power of storytelling to help us deal with the hardships of life. Simple in prose, yet painfully real, it focuses on a young boy, whose mother is seriously ill. By night, he is visited by a strange monster that tells him stories, in exchange for the truth he is hiding from even himself. The moment that truth is revealed is devastatingly poignant. I highly recommend picking up an edition with Jim Kay’s wonderfully atmospheric illustrations if possible; I felt they added a whole other layer of depth and immersion.

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Shining a light on an often-forgotten part of the war, Between Shades of Gray follows a 15-year-old Lithuanian girl, who, along with her mother and little brother, is seized under Stalin’s rule and sent to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. They must survive the brutality of both their captors and the horrendous conditions, whilst keeping the spark of hope alive amongst their peers, that they may live to see liberation.

The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender by Leslye Walton

I read this years ago, but certain scenes, and the general tone of strange beauty and quiet heartbreak, have stayed with me ever since. This lyrical, magical story is a multi-generational family drama that focuses predominantly on a girl born with wings that sprout from her back. In her search for acceptance and normalcy, she will be both ridiculed and revered, in a tale that builds towards a devastating climax that is plagued by pain and loss, but tinged with hope.

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Have you read any of these books? What YA books would you recommend for adult readers?

Let’s Recommend | Halloween Reads

Let’s recommend some Halloween reads!

Each year, as the build-up to Halloween begins, I like to recommend some creepy books for those who want to get into the spirit of the season. Without further ado, here are my picks for this year – and as always, I encourage you to share your own recommendations in the comments.

The Silence by Tim Lebbon

A thrilling, apocalyptic horror story that plays with the idea of sensory deprivation, this is definitely worth checking out if you’re a fan of Josh Malerman’s Bird Box, or the movie, A Quiet Place. A cave system that has been sealed off for millennia is excavated, unleashing a horde of deadly, prehistoric, bat-like creatures that hunt using sound. We follow a family (one of whom is deaf) who flee their home in search of somewhere safe to hunker down, as the plague spreads across Europe. Relying on the use of sign language to live in silence, with a mounting sense of panic and claustrophobia closing in, they must face threat from the creatures themselves, and people pushed to the brink. It’s not a perfect book, but I found it fast, fun, and a fresh take on a well saturated genre.

Carrie by Stephen King

Between the iconic status of both the book and the film, and the non-linear structure that gives us glimpses of the tragic outcome throughout, we always know that Carrie’s story will end in violence and bloodshed. Despite this sense of inevitability, the book still manages to be tense and gripping. King’s heroine is so well drawn, and so poorly treated, that despite the horror she unleashes, we can still feel pathos and sympathy for her. Indeed, the true evil in this story is found elsewhere, making this a tale about the monsters we create.

I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

First off, if you’ve seen the Will Smith movie, know that the original book is very different, and in my opinion, significantly superior. We follow a man who fears he may be the last survivor following an outbreak that has seen the rest of the population turned into vampires. The physical danger posed by these blood-thirsty creatures is indeed horrifying, but is no less real to our hero than the looming threat of insanity, brought on by the paranoia, loneliness, grief, and alcohol addiction he must also wrestle with. As with my favourite sci-fi/horror, there’s an attempt to base everything in plausible logic and science, which makes the scenario feel all the more unsettling.

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

This is a masterful tale of mounting tension, and a great example of the less-is-more approach to the horror genre. There are no cheap jump scares or gory scenes in sight, and yet it creeps beneath your skin and makes you question what is real, and which characters can be trusted. Not only are there some outright creepy moments in which Jackson builds a tangible sense of fear, but the whole book is suffused with an oppressive and ethereal atmosphere that suits the tone of the story perfectly. The plot itself sees four people visiting a notorious manor, determined to prove whether or not its rumoured haunting is real. It’s subtle and nuanced, and explores many interesting themes, but never to the detriment of its ability to unnerve.

Wytches by Scott Snyder

This graphic novel draws on the early mythology of witches to subvert many of the expectations you’d likely have going into a story about them. Forget cauldrons and pointy hats; the beings found herein are of far more monstrous and threatening stock. The accompanying artwork is striking, which serves to enhance the impact of the dark, intense, and disturbing story.

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What reads would you recommend to get into the Halloween spirit?

Let’s Recommend | Dystopian Fiction

Let’s recommend some dystopian fiction.

This time round, I’m going to recommend a few of my favourite dystopian stories. As always with this series, I invite you all to exchange your own recommendations in return.

The Trees by Ali Shaw

Undeniably strange in places, this book is one for those who want to be swept up in a tale that is dark and unsettlingly magical in tone. The story opens when the ground erupts with endless numbers of trees, tearing apart the landscape, displacing people, and ending their way of life as they knew it. We follow a group of four characters as they attempt to understand their new world, and to navigate the now hostile environment, encountering dangers from the people, animals and strange new creatures that now call the forests home. The characters are all complex and flawed; the prose lush and vivid; and the genre-defying story a tapestry of adventure, fantasy, and mythology, whilst also being something of a fable for the modern world.

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey

I won’t say much about the plot of this one, to preserve the experience of seeing the truth unfold, but I will say that this book manages to bring a fresh take to a much-explored sub-genre of dystopian fiction. It’s a thrilling read, and yet it poses big questions about what it truly means to be human, and what we are capable of in terms of both compassion and cruelty. It’s brutal at times, and yet always full of heart, with the story itself carried by a fantastically well-realised young heroine.

Bird Box by Josh Malerman

This is one of the most intense, claustrophobic, horrifying and captivating books I’ve ever read. It’s a masterclass in the fear of the unknown, and a fantastic example of the ways an author can toy with our senses to elicit an emotional response. Plot-wise, there is something outside. No one knows what it is or where it came from, but a single glimpse is enough to drive you to insanity and deadly violence. The pacing, plot, characters, and atmosphere are all brilliantly handled, combining to create a haunting tale that has stayed with me so strongly.

The Beauty by Aliya Whiteley

In this ethereal, hypnotic read, women have been wiped out by a fungal infection. Men await inevitable death, exchanging stories of the women they have lost, until a bizarre new species begins to grow from the bodies of the deceased. It is both beautiful and disturbing in equal measure; at once a dark and quietly terrifying dystopian, and a fascinating exploration of gender roles and the importance of storytelling. Through gorgeous prose and a fever dream of events, Whiteley ultimately asks us to question the importance we place on physical beauty in women, and the extent to which man is predisposed to revert to violence.

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What are some of your favourite dystopian novels?

Let’s Recommend | Gothic Fiction

Let’s recommend some gothic fiction

Gothic fiction is perhaps my favourite genre of all, so it feels long overdue that I recommend a few favourites. As always with this series, I invite you all to exchange your own recommendations in return.

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

This, to me, is the epitome of the gothic genre at its very best. Secrets, lies, intrigue and mystery seep from the pages, as tension builds throughout. The atmosphere is enthralling and utterly immersive, with a sense of something sinister always lurking just beneath the surface. Plot wise, we follow a newly married young woman as she arrives at her husband’s estate, to find that the presence and influence of his deceased first wife still hangs over the house. At face value, it’s a fantastically gripping story, but there’s also so much else going on thematically if you want to dig a little deeper.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

This book explores notions of madness, isolation, sisterhood and othering, in a subtly affecting and deeply unsettling tale of two sisters who have been shunned from society following the strange deaths of their entire family. The narrator is a fascinating character; one that is as delightful as she is disturbed. There is a brewing sense of unease and an otherworldly tone throughout, and understated fairy tale-esque parallels towards the end that are incredibly effective in ramping up the book’s sinister edge.

The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell

This fairly recent addition to the genre features many of the classic components that have made it famous, including an isolated rural setting, a grand manor house, and a heroine out of her depth. In many ways, it could thus be seen as a love letter to the genre. There’s an undertone of witchcraft, and a flirtation between outright ghost story and possible madness in the mind of our protagonist, which I thought worked really well. There’s also a literary flair to the writing and a slight sense of whimsy that suited the tone of the novel, as well as a story-within-a-story structure that was implemented very successfully.

The Book Collector by Alice Thompson

Books, fairy tales, madness and murder – what’s not to love? This tale of obsession raises questions about what it really means to be insane, and explores the warped control that men so often had over women in the narratives of classic fairy tales; all with a deliciously sinister and feminist twist. Thompson’s writing is straight forward, and the story has a good sense of momentum and inevitability, which does well to draw allusions to the masterworks of both fairy tales and gothic literature that this book draws from and celebrates.

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What are some of your favourite gothic reads? Let’s chat about them!

Let’s Recommend | Transgender Books

Let’s recommend some transgender books.

For the latest post in my recommendation series, I’ll be highlighting some of my favourite books to include transgender characters, or to explore trans-issues. With discussion on gender at large very much needed, and the normalisation of difference key in opening up those channels of conversation, I think we could all stand to read about experiences that differ from our own. That said, I tried to include a diverse mix of books that will hopefully appeal to a wide readership; trans, cis, young, old, or otherwise.

Trumpet by Jackie Kay

The subject matter explored in Trumpet could very easily have seen the story slip into undo sensationalism, but the care and compassion that Kay grants the characters stops that from ever happening. The story centres around Joss, a publicly respected musician and family-man who is discovered only upon death to have been biologically female. We see the way various people who knew Joss and members of the public react to the revelation, but at its core, this is a heartfelt story about love. Joss’ widow, Millie, is a fantastically well-realised character, and through her, Kay shows us that we fall in love with a person, not the body they are in. The confusion and bitterness felt by their son is also heavily explored, but from an unexpected angle that I really appreciated.

The Gender Games by Juno Dawson

This is a great piece of own-voice non-fiction from a transgender author who is frank, funny and informative. Dawson mixes fact with personal experience in this quasi-memoir, exploring gender as a concept. This includes looking at the ways we subconsciously force expectations on children from birth (and why this is bad for everyone), and sharing honest stories about her own experiences whilst transitioning. She also touches on the differences she has encountered between living as a man and living as a woman. The book educates without ever bogging you down in stats, and has enough cutting-quips and brilliant pop-culture references to keep you laughing throughout.

The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan

An impending Ice Age forms the backdrop of this quiet, character driven tale that is set in a caravan park in Scotland. It focusses on the lives of three lost souls as they strive to find their place in a world they no longer understand. One of those characters is Stella, a feisty, brave, inquisitive, witty and headstrong trans girl. She forms the nucleus of the whole book, and I thought the looming grip of puberty which will transform her body in ways she fears more than anything was mirrored beautifully in the menacing spread of lethal ice and snow across the landscape. She also has a wonderful relationship with her mother, which is another real highlight of the book.

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

As much as it’s important to read books that fully shine the light on trans characters and issues, I think it’s also important that books exist in which trans people (and other minority groups) are simply presented like any other character, in which their gender identity is never the focus or point of the story, and they just so happen to be trans in the spirit of true, reflective diversity. This is very much the case with Eriko in Banana Yoshimoto’s Kitchen. Though she’s a supporting character with a relatively small role, she’s instantly endearing and charismatic. I loved that both her son and the book’s heroine never question her gender identity, and are instead completely laid-back and accepting about it. It’s simply never an issue. This kind of normalisation through fiction is vital.

George by Alex Gino

Seeing yourself reflected in the books you read as a child can be a profoundly powerful experience. That’s why I’m so glad George exists for young trans kids. The premise is simple but highly effective, in that everyone sees George as a boy, but she knows deep inside that she’s really a girl. With the school play of Charlotte’s Web coming up, she figures that securing the role of Charlotte will be the best way to help everyone else see her for who she really is. It’s a touching story for any age, and one that has the kind of power that could change kids’ lives.

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What are some of your favourite transgender books? Let’s chat about them in the comments.

Let’s Recommend | Family Dramas

Let’s recommend some family dramas.

Whether you’d specifically class it as a genre in its own right or not, I absolutely love a good family drama; a story that gets into the nitty-gritty of life behind closed doors, revealing the tensions of the household, and the complex web of secrets, lies and power play between the characters. Here are a few recommendations that really stood out to me, and as always, I encourage you to share your own in return.

Shelter by Jung Yun

When our protagonist’s parents are victim to a violent crime, he feels obliged to care for them, in contrast to the normally cold and tense dynamic between them. The circumstances re-open old wounds for the characters, with the book ultimately asking us to consider the extent to which we have a duty to respect and support our family, even if they haven’t earned it. The story is incredibly layered, touching on themes as varied as gender roles, racism, the class divide, Korean culture, religion and abuse, without any of them ever feeling tacked on.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

When the body of the Lee family’s favourite child is found floating in the lake, so begins a moving look at the ways a family try and fail to understand each other, and the crippling effect of secrets, longing and resentment. We see the ways the various characters react to Lydia’s death, and being centred around a Chinese-American family in 1970s Ohio, the book also very effectively touches on racial tensions.

The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss

This is a quiet, contemplative character study about rebuilding in the wake of disaster. The book opens when 15-year-old Miriam’s heart inexplicably stops beating. Though she is successfully revived using CPR, doctors can’t explain the scare, and her family must readjust to the reality that it could theoretically happen again at any moment. Told from the perspective of Miriam’s father, the story chronicles the frustration and constant fear that her family feels; the sense of being trapped in limbo; the need to carry on with all of life’s mundanities despite feeling like their whole world has changed; and the parents’ unwillingness to let their daughter out of their sight in contrast with her headstrong determination to live life her own way.

Stay with Me by Ayòbámi Adébáyò

The focus of this novel is the exploration of whether love and hope are enough to overcome grief. We follow a Nigerian couple who have been unable to conceive a child, which sees them put under increasing pressure from their relatives to welcome a second wife into their home in order to ensure the continuation of the male bloodline. The story itself has many unexpected twists, the characters are flawed and brilliantly well realised, and the book highlights the lies people tell each other and themselves to try and make each other happy, as well as the shame of not living up to societal norms and crippling gender expectations.

Black Sheep by Susan Hill

Bleak and harrowing, Black Sheep is about the oppression and inescapable grasp that ensnared the lower classes in rural working communities, where reputation and keeping up appearances were everything, no matter how much people may have longed for better. Our brother and sister protagonists each yearn for escape from their mundane and exhausting lives in a small mining town, and in a tone of melancholy, Hill documents their doomed attempts to break free, with devastating consequences for the whole family.

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What are some of your favourite family dramas? Let’s chat about them!