Girls Who Rocked The World
I don't think it's a matter of rating. There are other similar publications out there as well. My daughter chose this one a few months ago and has read it and re-read it a few times. It should be required reading for every child (boys and girls) when they become free readers. Sow the seeds of feminism early. "It's never too soon to make a difference."
Last Words from Montmartre
I've just re-read this. It's an emotionally intense book that I really shouldn't be reading over the dark months. Twenty letters from a jilted lover, filled with passages of what we've all said and thought in the heat of the moment but would never have written as authors. "My soul is so lonely, but I'm unwilling to describe that sort of loneliness for you, because I can't divulge the depth of my loneliness to anyone who'd cast away my soul, cast away my life, someone who'd cavalierly take me to the brink of death and who could, without a trace of emotion or sympathy for the pain and suffering I've experienced..." The letters serve as an extended suicide note for Qiu who killed herself aged twenty six. Sigh.
Dear Mona Lisa...
Theoretically, I loved it. Nearly missed the Finsbury Park stop while reading the perfect ending. The miserable sod in me couldn’t understand all the fluffiness. Still, Alan Bennett and David Hockney would be proud, and Salts Mill could do with the marketing as a wedding venue. ^_^
The Forest Savage
I knew men like all the characters in this story, up in Manchester. They might not have been gay but... it's uncanny. I remember a trans-guy I knew who died of AIDS because of what they did to him in prison and on the street, another who killed his partner out of jealousy... I'm having an existential crisis. I need to stop the words. Stop reading or writing for a while now. But this, this blew me away. Thanks, Claire and Al.
Ball & Chain
The series has been dragged out for too long, I am afraid. Without new ideas how to develop Ty and Zane, this instalment resorts to add more backstories, more characters especially the additional couple, Nick and Doc, to the mix. The plot is confused and jumbled. I also have issues with the 'baddies' of the story: the Scottish islanders are all resentful, devious and will do anything for money (including kidnapping a toddler and murdering close relatives). I trust Miss Roux is not taking a holiday in the Scottish highlands or islands anytime soon.
