Heist Society by Ally Carter

332 Pages

Rating: 4/5

Heist Society is the story of a girl named Kat as her and her friends set up the biggest theft in history. Having grown up in a family full of thieves, Kat knows a thing or two about the family profession but will they succeed?

I really enjoyed this book however for some reason didn't love it. I'm not quite sure what it was about it but I didn't find it as gripping as Ally Carter's other books that I've read. I still think it's an original story with a good plot and lovable characters regardless of my not loving it which is why I think it deserves a 4/5.

Although I didn't love this series like I did with the Gallagher Girls series I still think it's a fantastic book and I can understand why other people love it.

(Book 13/50)

Lucy x

The History Boys by Alan Bennett (Play and Movie Review)

This is one half of what I studied for Year 11/Unit 2 English Literature GCSE. To see the review of the other half (Lord of the Flies) click here.

Play Rating: 3/5
Movie Rating: 3.5/5

The History Boys is a much loved play written by Alan Bennett. Set in 1980's Yorkshire, The History Boys follows the story of 8 boys as they strive to get places at Oxford and Cambridge.

I found the play enjoyable to read however I found after watching the movie I enjoyed it a lot more. The way some of the actors (particularly Richard Griffiths as Hector and Dominic Cooper as Dakin) brought the characters to life was incredible and I feel it added so much to the story. They managed to give the characters so much depth that I felt was a lot harder to get from just reading the play.

In my opinion, the casting for the movie was perfect. Richard Griffiths and Dominic Cooper especially I felt fitted the roles perfectly and I couldn't imagine them being played by any other actor. The casting of each character I felt was brilliant however those two stood out to me personally.

If this were not part of the English Literature course I probably wouldn't have picked it up. I did enjoy reading it but if I hadn't studied the themes and choice of language etc in school I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it half as much.

After a lot of debating with myself over whether to count this as part of my 50 books challenge or not I decided I would as I feel that although it's not a novel it is still noteworthy. What are your opinions on what counts and doesn't for the 50 books challenge?

(Book 12/50)

Lucy x

Bout of Books 7.0 Read-a-thon (Why I Can't Take Part)

As many of you are probably aware, the Bout of Books 7.0 read-a-thon runs through this week (13th May - 19th May). Unfortunately for me, this is also the first week of my GCSE exams in school. For those of you outside the UK, GCSE exams are the exams taken in Year 11 (aged 15 or 16) that pretty much determine whether you do A Levels (higher education that often leads to going to university), a college course or get a job. They're kind of a big deal. Because of this, there's no way I would be able to justify taking part in a read-a-thon when I'm meant to be revising but that doesn't stop me from following others who are taking part and following their progress!

I first found out about the read-a-thon by watching LittleBookOwl's video on YouTube explaining it. She's a fantastic book-tuber who I really enjoy watching and is posting video updates throughout the read-a-thon.

For her blog post about Bout of Books 7.0 click here or for the video click here.

Another of my favourite book-tubers who is taking part is JesseTheReader. He is also posting video updates along the way.

To see his initial video about Bout of Books click here.

Although I can't take part in this read-a-thon my exams will all be over by June 13th so if anyone knows of a read-a-thon during the summer please let me know. I love the idea of read-a-thons and would love to take part in one!

The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan

210 Pages

Rating: 5/5!

The Realm of Possibility is a novel written in verse from the perspective of 20 different high school students. The short insight to each characters life is done in such a way as to tackle many issues teenagers face on a daily basis without going into too much depth.

When I bought this book online, I had a feeling that I would absolutely love it and I did. I found it from seeing a page of it posted on tumblr and I fell in love with the writing immediately and  ordered it that same night. I don't really have much to say about this book, I just think if you have even the slightest interest in novels written in verse, poetry or even just beautiful pieces of writing such as song lyrics you should read this book.

(Book 11/50)

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

317 Pages
Rating: 5/5!

13 Little Blue Envelopes follows the story of Ginny as she travels Europe following the instructions from her dead Aunt. Each envelope tells her to go to a different place and complete a unique task and she may only open the next one when she has done so.

I loved this book. The writing style was so easy to read that I found myself finishing the book quickly despite being very busy at the moment with revision for exams in school and the plot itself was brilliant. I loved each country Ginny visited and I found that the people she met and things she did in each country made it all the more interesting.

I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you're looking for a something quick and fun to read this summer. I will definitely be reading some more of Maureen Johnson's books in the future!

(Book 10/50)