Favourite Books/Recommendations

I completely recommend Cage of Stars by Jacquelyn Mitchard.

Cage of Stars Overview:

This is the dilemma faced by Ronnie Swan, a sheltered young girl from a deeply religious family, whose childhood ends when she witnesses the murder of her two younger sisters. One minute a carefree girl, the next an over-burdened adult in a child’s body, Ronnie’s rage and grief burn down to a single hot coal: She will seek her own vengeance against Scott Early, a young graduate student from Colorado who suffers from schizophrenic illness. Given treatment instead of punishment, he has been spared the fate Ronnie believes that he deserves.

At first driven nearly mad with grief, Ronnie’s parents finally find peace in forgiveness, and can go on with their lives. Ronnie cannot. The beliefs that once were the rock beneath her feet have become the walls of her prison.

And so, when Scott Early is released from treatment to live with his wife and newborn baby daughter, Ronnie again becomes a changeling – this time deliberately. She relinquishes her home and identity to ingratiate herself with the Earlys, now living in California.....

Etc. I don't want to give too much away. I will say that it is a fantastic, thought-provoking and unique novel. I highly recommend this novel.

I just completely LOVE the Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini.
Read it!

Precious and Fragile Things by Megan Hart. It's really good, and the ending (while a little bit rushed in my opinion) is a shocker.

Rivers of London and Moon Over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch

They're really good books! They're set in London (obviously from the titles) and they're kind of like Harry Potter... if Harry Potter was more involved with the muggle world (that's a lame description but its how they were described to me).

Basically its about a young copper, named Peter, who learns he's a wizard. So he gets taken under the wing of Inspector Nightingale who is in charge of a special branch of the Metropolitan Police dealing with the Supernatural.

They're just really fun books really

The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. If you're into space-y, action/adventure books then you'll love it.

Poison by Chris Wooding
It's about fairies, and changelings, and spiders, and it's all in all just a really good fantasy book. Good for an escape from reality.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
It's a work of speculative fiction about feminism, and the backlash against it. It's really good, if you don't mind the fact that sex plays a major plot role in the story. It's not graphic, and it's about power, not sex, but it's still referenced in the book.

Perfume by Patrick Suskind
This book is creepy and off the charts. It's kinda terrifying. It's about a murderer. Pretty scary stuff.

Lie Down in Darkness by William Styron
It's about a family torn apart by the suicide of their only surviving daughter. It's about love and trust and lies and affairs, and it's a good book, if mildly depressing.

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams - the way that the different parts of the story come together is pretty brilliant.

Tomorrow when the war began. By John Marsden.
Its kind of a action sort of romance novel about a group of teenagers who go camping for a weekend and when they come home they realise their towns been invaded by enemy soilders. Basically about their adventures and becoming rebels and fighting back. Its a series but its definitely worth reading. Set in rural Australia.

Anything, anything by Ben Elton. Extremely easy to read and very funny. He writes satirical novels and they show very interesting perspectives of what are often taboo issues. I've read Chart Throb, High Society and Inconceivable and I'm currently reading Blind Faith.

Pure - Rebecca Ray
She's Come Undone - Wally Lamb
Catch 22 - Joseph Heller (so funny)
Exit Here - Jason Meyers (I've actually talked to him!)
Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
and all the books by Louise Rennison.

A Wish for Wings- Robert Swindells
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas- John Boyne

Before I Die by Jenny Downham is simply beautiful. In terms of realism, this book is definitely the favorite. In a nutshell it's about a teenage girl diagnosed with cancer who begins to make a bucket list of things she wants to do before she dies... it's just beautiful. :')

Fantasy-wise my favorite would be The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman, very well-written and keeps you on edge. I did jerk up a tear every so often! It's just one of those unique stories that you will inevitably cling to. It may sound strange but one of my favorite things about it is the main character's name - Bod; which is short for Nobody. And that's just beautiful! Again, in a nutshell, a young human boy is taken in by a family of ghosts living in the cemetery and juggles both worlds as he goes on adventures and gets into trouble, until the very beautiful end! :')

I'm reading 'THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGY' it's amazing and I recommend everyone read it. I've never read anything like it.

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks

It isn't usually something I'd read, but I got it in a deal last week with War Horse at a shop doing promotions on movie/TV tie ins and figured I should try it. It's wonderful, horrific in places as you'd expect of WWI, but wonderful to read all the same.

I just read Graceling by Kristin Cashore for the second time because it was so good the first time around. It seems like all Young Adult books these days come with a sequel or in a trilogy, and it's nice to just read an independent book all by itself.

The Book of Deacon, The Great Convergence & The Battle of Verril by Joseph Lallo.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth, The Dead-Tossed Waves & The Dark and Hallow Places by Carrie Ryan.

Yu-Gi-Oh! mangas.

Night World series by L. J. Smith.

Eon & Eona by Alison Goodman.

I just finished The Millenium Triology also known as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. It is simply amazing. I started reading it after I saw the new movie and it still blew me away.

The Hunger Games triology. Not one bit of it is actually happy and it's amazing.

The Thirst series. It's not the best but it's a good read. (It has to do with vampires.)

Also The Sookie Stackhouse novels also known as The Southern Vampire Mysteries. They're the books that True Blood is based on.

And if you're into it you can try The Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx. It actually had me feeling strung out, and if a book can do that than it's pretty damn good.

I'm always asked to recommend books for my friends and family, the first book that always comes to mind is Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom.
I first read it when I was fourteen and it changed my life, it's a book I have never forgotten.

I've just read Machine Man by Max Barry. I could not put it down for days. It may not be everyone's favorite, but I found incredibly enthralling.

Also, I just read John Dies at The End by David Wong. It was hilarious. I could recommend this to anyone.

The True Story of Hansel and Gretel, by Louise Murphy

Most stories about the Holocaust are set in the concentration camps, the ghettos, or in a house where the Jews are hiding. What I like about this book is that it's not set there, but in a small Polish village, and the majority of the novel is seen through the children's eyes.