Young adult fiction shows no sign of slowing down, but how to navigate the masses of books out there? Well, here are seven YA novels coming out in the first half of 2017 which should be on your reading list. The Fandom by Anna Day Chicken House, January 4 Violet is a member of the…
Category: books
Best books of 2016
I thought 2016 had a bit of a slow start when it came to books, but some of the books I’ve read this year are among the best I’ve ever read, and I’ll be talking about my 10 favourite for years to come. I made a conscious effort to try and read more books by…
Book review: Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a brilliant story told once needs to be retold for a modern audience, and so it is with Jane Austen’s classic Pride and Prejudice, which has been retold by Curtis Sittenfeld as part of The Borough Press’ Austen Project. Moving the action to modern day Cincinnatta, we join…
Book review: Rush Oh! by Shirley Barrett
How entertaining can a novel about a whaling family in a tiny community in Australia be? The answer, I was pleasantly surprised to learn while reading Shirley Barrett’s debut Rush Oh! is very. Mary Davidson, the oldest daughter in a whaling family in New South Wales, chronicles the difficult whaling season of 1908. Drama, misadventure…
Book review: Not Working by Lisa Owens
Many people spend the majority of their waking time working, so you want a job where you’re happy, and challenged, and where you feel like you’re making a difference. But what if your work just isn’t living up to expectations? (If my boss is reading this, I love my job, we’re not talking about me…
Book review: The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan
On the day he retires two things happen to Inspector Chopra. The first is that a young man is found dead, his death dismissed as an accident by Chopra’s colleague. The second is a little more unusual – Chopra gets home to find he has inherited a baby elephant from his uncle. And so begins…
Book review: Sofia Khan is Not Obliged by Ayisha Malik
Sofia Khan has had it with men. She thought she’d found the one, but it turned out he wanted her to move in with his parents (sort of, next door but with a hole connecting the two houses) after they got married, so now Sofia has given up. Or she thinks she has – when…
Book review: All the Rage by Courtney Summers
I have struggled and struggled with this review – I started writing it weeks and weeks ago (months actually) and I’ve written and rewritten paragraphs, deleted sentences and whole sections, and given up many a time only to come back a few days or weeks later. Because how do you review such a brilliant and…
A promise to read more ethnically diverse writers
Here’s why I love books – they can take you to different lands, introduce you to different types of people, teach you about things you never knew. Books are diverse, and I love them for it. So I was more than a little embarrassed to discover how undiverse the books I’ve read this year are…
Sarah Shaffi 