Ams' thoughts: octobre 2018

Title: What if it’s us

Authors: Becky Albertalli, Adam Silvera

Editors: HarperTeen

Pages: 448

Blurb

Arthur is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a showstopping romance when you least expect it.

Ben thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If the universe had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things.

But when Arthur and Ben meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them?

Maybe nothing. After all, they get separated.

Maybe everything. After all, they get reunited.

But what if they can’t quite nail a first date . . . or a second first date . . . or a third?

What if Arthur tries too hard to make it work . . . and Ben doesn’t try hard enough?

What if life really isn’t like a Broadway play?

But what if it is?

Review

I went into this book knowing next to nothing about it. That’s what I always do, the less I know, the better. Right after diving into Ben and Arthur’s world, I couldn’t stop reading.

I found a lot of myself in Ben. This “universe is only throwing punch at us” mood is totally me. I don’t believe in the universe like Arthur does. So when I understood that this book was a love-at-first-sight book, I cringed. See, romance books are not really my thing. I need angst. Loads of angst. So after reading the scene where Arthur first sees Ben, I almost put the book down. But come on. It’s Becky Albertlli and Adam Silvera. Of course it was going to be a good one.

“Stop seeing past my bullshit, it’s my bullshit.”

So I kept reading, loving Arthur and Ben more and more. Actually, Arthur is a lot like my girlfriend and his POV was a bit like being in her brain, so that was fun. I also absolutely loved Dylan. He might be my favorite character of the book. He is so extra, that’s amazing.

I loved that there were so many Harry Potter references (by the way Ben, The Cursed Child? Read in three hours, I WIN). Arthur is a Broadway fan and oh my god, how do I feel that. I listen to Hamilton and Dear Evan Hansen almost everyday.

The characters felt real, and close to us. Like they could be our friends in a way. I liked that.

“I am not throwing away my shot,” Arthur says. He looks at me expectedly. “Hamilton?”

Knowing Adam Silvera, I was expecting heartbreak. Instead, I got a cute romance. This is the book you need to read when you feel like everything is going wrong around you. It’ll show you that sometimes the universe can be on your side.

Title: Bloody Brilliant Woman

Author: Cathy Newman

Editors: William Collins

Pages: 384

Blurb

In this freewheeling history of modern Britain, Cathy Newman writes about the pioneering women who defied the odds to make careers for themselves and alter the course of modern history; women who achieved what they achieved while dismantling hostile, entrenched views about their place in society. Their role in transforming Britain is fundamental, far greater than has generally been acknowledged, and not just in the arts or education but in fields like medicine, politics, law, engineering and the military.

While a few of the women in this book are now household names, many have faded into oblivion, their personal and collective achievements mere footnotes in history. We know of Emmeline Pankhurst, Vera Brittain, Marie Stopes and Beatrice Webb. But who remembers engineer and motorbike racer Beatrice Shilling, whose ingenious device for the Spitfires’ Rolls-Royce Merlin fixed an often-fatal flaw, allowing the RAF’s planes to beat the German in the Battle of Britain? Or Dorothy Lawrence, the journalist who achieved her ambition to become a WW1 correspondent by pretending to be a man? And developmental biologist Anne McLaren, whose work in genetics paved the way for in vitro fertilisation?

Were it not for women, significant features of modern Britain like council housing, municipal swimming pools and humane laws relating to property ownership, child custody and divorce wouldn’t exist in quite the same way. Women’s drive and talent for utopian thinking created new social and legislative agendas. The women in these pages blazed a trail from the 1918 Representation of the People Act – which allowed some women to vote – through to Margaret Thatcher’s ousting from Downing Street.

Blending meticulous research with information gleaned from memoirs, diaries, letters, novels and other secondary sources, Bloody Brilliant Women uses the stories of some extraordinary lives to tell the tale of 20th and 21st century Britain. It is a history for women and men. A history for our times.

Review

It’s 2018, and now more than ever, we need feminism. Why? Let me give you a few reasons.

- There is still a pay gap between men and women (a woman will be paid approximately 18% less than a man in France.)

- Now more than ever, we get harassed in the street, at our work place, everywhere really.

- Feminism is important for the next generations. Little girls have to know that sexism is not okay.

Today, a book highlighting unknown women from History is released. Bloody Brilliant Woman is a very rich book. It’s dense, but in the best way.

Cathy Newman gave me the chance to learn about so many women who fought for our conditions in the past.

“Oppression comes in many shapes and sizes.”

I’ve learnt that the first suffrage campaign took place in 1867. Women heard Lydia Becker talk, and it gave them the will to fight for their right to vote.

“More and more women [...] were feeling that they had a role to play in improving society.”

This book was a pleasure to read, though very dense. I love learning new things, and even more when it’s about women as inspiring as the women Cathy Newman introduced us to.

I think that at this moment in time, when we are still fighting for our rights, when some of our rights are being revoked, this book is needed.

For the past year, I’ve been going to a book club at the Shakespeare and Company bookshop. The author Amy Plum is our host, you’ll probably read more about her later.

This month’s book was Warcross by Marie Lu.

I have to admit, I didn’t have time to finish it, but I’ve read about half of it so far and I really like it. I’m definitely going to finish it as soon as I get some time.

What we discussed:

Overall, we all loved the book. Amy started by asking if we would read book two, and it was an unanimous yes.

Quickly we wondered about Emika’s parents, particularly her mum. Why did she leave Emika? Will she come back? SO MANY QUESTIONS!

We also wondered, which side are you on? Hideo’s or Zero’s? Controlling people for peace, or freedom? We didn’t really came to an agreement, so we ended up asking Marie Lu, and her answer was that it was a constant back and forth. Because in some cases, being able to do what the lenses do would be helpful. But it’s also immoral so yeah, it’s a depending-on-the-day kind of answer.

Skyping with Marie Lu:

Since Amy is a writer (check out her work here) she has writer friends who called us on Skype during the book club to answer whatever questions we had.

Marie Lu was amazing and super nice, and I really appreciated talking with her.

We asked her various questions, here they are:

- On her ideas/inspiration for Warcross: She said that she’d always wanted to write a story which included video games. Also, the world of Legend inspired it.

Actually, she told us that the two series are linked. Basically Warcross is set about a hundred years before the events of Legends.

In a more general way, Marie is inspired by kind of everything. The smallest thing can trigger an idea.

How can Archer walk in the game since he’s disabled? Marie explained to us that basically, the lances are hooked up to your mind, so you only have to imagine yourself doing something to actually do it in the game.

What is her book writing process: Approximately 99% of the time, Marie comes up with the characters first. She needs to know them in and out before she can start writing their stories.

Next month’s book will be After the end, by Amy Plum.

About me

Follow Me

Currently reading

Ams's bookshelf: currently reading

Labels

recent posts

Blog Archive

Popular Posts

Reading challenge

2018 Reading Challenge

Most Popular