heddas_bookgems's Reviews (490)

“Abdullah was forced to admit that the carpet did appear to be up in the air without any means of support that he could find. “Very nearly,” he shouted back. “The next part of the demonstration is for you to dismount and for me to ride that carpet.'”

Abdullah is a carpet seller and dreams of castles in the air and princesses. But when he accidentally stumbles on a magic carpet he indeed meets a lovely princess, Flower in the Night. He falls head over heels for this princess, but then she’s kidnapped and Abdullah is convinced he can rescue her.

Castle in the Air is the sequel in the Howls Moving Castle series. When I started the book and read about a completely new main character instead of Sophie and Howl, I did wonder if this wasn’t more a sort of companion book. But Abdullah did conquer my heart, as hè is funny, smart and heroic. However, he resembled much of the Aladdin stereotypical characteristics, like flying carpets, genie in a bottle, bandits, djinns and animal, in this case a huge cat, companionship. I needed a moment, though, to adjust a little to the new narrator style in this book. But after a while I could appreciate it more as it gave the book a new and unique feel. Besides, it had amazing plot twists and nice surprises. In short, Castle in the Air was a magical and whimsical story about friendship, love and betrayal which makes you curious for more.

“George snickered a little. His fear was already gone; it had slipped away from him as easily as a nightmare slips away from a man who awakes.”

Seven teenage kids, a losers club living in a small town called Derry, team up. When Georgie, the brother of Bill is killed, the group encounters, all in their own way, the thing they are most scared of, the entity It. They decide that, as they are the only one seeing it, to hunt him down and kill it.

It is a book about what it means to be a kid and how we think we can overcome our fears as soon as we grow up. King mentioned in an interview once about It: “Fears aren’t something that are confined to us as children. Those same terrifying thoughts often rear their heads in our adult lives, often manifesting in vastly different, far more complicated ways.”
And so, this story is not only about found family, or a perfect example of how a masterfully story should be written. It’s an exploration of our childhood fears that grow old with you, but also demonstrates childhood feelings of freedom, happiness, innocence and all things associated with being a kid. And above it all, it’s a story with so much detail about the characters that you feel you are growing up with them.

Although I enjoyed this book a lot, like a lot a lot, it does have some points that were disturbing or were somewhat over abundant. In particular the parts with Mike’s research. It took the pacing to a drop, which made me loose my attention. Also, it discussed themes, of which homophobia, fatphobia, racism and abuse, that can be experienced as triggering. Besides that this book is a mere masterpiece and because of it, I will give it four and half balloons.

“'Her face was beautiful, not down to bone structure or features – although those were beautiful – but because she seemed so entirely at ease. Open, effortless as a summer daisy. ‘This is who I am in my head.’”

In Her Majesty’s Royal Coven witches live in modern society. They work for an organization HRMC that was founded by Anne Boleyn. It follows four childhood friends, some part of the coven some that have quit. When the oracles receive a prophecy about the demonic child that will destroy the coven and the world, the coven is anxious. As what happens when the child appears to be a transgender witch?

I went in completely blank with this one. I never realized I was diving into an atmospheric, witchy, but political read.
Because this book isn’t only about witches it discusses also in depth trans rights. Juno Dawson, transgender herself, felt the need to write about these rights. And witches seemed to be the most logical example to discuss it as they also have been overshadowed by prejudice. Does this mean that this book is solely political? No, but it can, in a way, be seen as a response to the opinions of the famous author that shall not be named.
And although it was quite saddening and intense, it also had a pretty thrilling story to hold on to. Was it the best book that I ever read? Maybe not. I missed some elements, like a strong magical system, in depth characters and it did feel a bit flat the first half of the story. But it left an impression nonetheless. A book that touched me, made everything more clearer than it already had and most importantly a book that gave transgenders a voice.

“Well - since in the Bible, God split men kind apart. And I wonder if - if the purpose of translation, then, is to bring mankind back together.”

Robin Swift is a Chinese orphan. When his mother has died from an outbreak of cholera a mysterious gentleman takes him away to England. Then Swift gets an invitation to join the prestigious Royal Institute of Translation, the Tower of Babel. He’s excited and eager to learn. But slowly he and his friends discover that the magic that brings wealth to England and Oxford has a downside too. Suddenly he has to make a difficult choice.

Language is a way to express ourselves, but in this novel it’s about power, wealth and a tool for colonialism. Because Babel isn’t just about a boy that enrolls into a prestigious institute, but it’s also about racism, prejudice and colonialism and the value of translations. And this all by infusing non fiction with fiction, learning us about languages and etymology with even footnotes to educate us further. Boring? Nope, it’s not. It’s a mysterious and heartfelt story about found family with a diverse group of characters and a hint of magic. Downside to this highly educational dark academia? It’s rather a large book that could’ve been a lot shorter. It felt rather drawn out in the middle and because of it the pacing felt off. Add footnotes to that mix, which Kuang jokingly called the voice of God, and it’s a little dragging. But past the middle it draws you back in an explosive end.

“My fingers felt grimy and smelled of something putrid, even though I’d washed them three times at home. The smell came from the flowers on the photo. I’d plucked one from my sister’s eye before I left.”

Three girls on New Years Eve suddenly disappear in thin air. They are nowhere to be found, until they mysteriously reappear on the doorstep. They can’t remember what happend to them, but they look unharmed, are well fed and they seem just fine. Or are they? Because something seems different.

House of Hollows is a story that will make you feel eerie the whole time, shower you with gruesomeness while at the same time let you experience beautiful horror. Wait, what?! Beautiful horror, is that a thing? Never knew it was until I read this one. This book was everything I hoped it would be. It was moldy, beautiful and scary, but also had some awesome female characters. I simply fell in love with those funny personalities. The banter between these sisters and the ex of one of the sisters made the whole horror even light to a certain degree.

Besides these lovely and funny dialogues this story also dealt with themes as mind control, memory loss and abuse and what it feels like to experience sexual intimidation. But apart from these serious themes this book just submerges you in a dark fairytale, filled with wonderful prose. Highly recommend this book, but do look into TWs before diving in.

“Keep smiling, keep shining. Knowing you can always count on me, for sure. That's what friends are for. For good times and bad times. I'll be on your side forever more. That's what friends are for”

Best friends, that’s what Abby and Gretchen have been since the fourth grade. But then Gretchen mysteriously vanishes on a sleep over. When she resurfaces Gretchen acts differently. She is moody, mean and weird things keep happening around Gretchen. It’s like she is possessed. Can their friendship survive this?

My Best Friends Excorcism might be classified as a horror book, but this is so much more than that. It’s an ode to the eighties and eighties music and above all an ode to best friends. I loved every single bit of this book from cover to the last punctuation mark. It had a major spoiler in the beginning of the book, but I forgot it instantly as it brought back all the awkward and happy childhood memories about my decade, songs and the power of having a great friend. Is this book very spooky? Maybe not all the time, but it gave me quite a few goosebumps, it had an eerie feeling and had, as needed in exorcisms, some gore. Besides that it deals with some teenage trauma’s, like forming an identity, experiencing abuse and dealing with insecurities. It had a very small pacing issue in the middle but the ending made up for it as it was majestic.

FIY: there’s a movie developed by Amazon Prime with the same title that’s based on the novel. Although this movie is quite enjoyable it differs a lot from the novel and because it I prefer the book.

TW: mind you, this review speaks of depression

“How am I ever gonna to survive the party if I can’t handle a simple hello.“

Sam is a sad ghost and has problems to get out of bed every day. When his parents go on a trip and he is left home alone he suddenly gets invited to a party. He’s very anxious, but shouldn’t he go?

Depression is mentioned in numerous of books. And when it does I can’t but feel getting depressed by reading it. Most of the time it’s heavy, extremely sad and harsh. But although this graphic novel speaks of depression, I never felt this way reading it. Never have I experienced a story about being sad and creating awareness about mental health in such a lovely and positive way. Besides, these watercolor drawings, although black and white, are wonderful!
All in all this graphic novel is pretty awesome. It has sheet ghosts, perfect for fall, cute frogs, cats and the excitement of a new friendship. Highly recommend it to anyone interested in reading about mental health and still feel light, comforted and just have a lovely reading experience.

“Shh.” I never turned; it was enough to feel them all there in back of me without looking into their flat grey faces with the hating eyes. I wish you were all dead, I thought, and longed to say it out loud.”

The Blackwoods sisters are the only surviving inhabitants of the Blackwood estate. They live secluded in a small town and are frowned upon. Merricat, is scared of the other people and wishes they would leave her, her sister and uncle Julian alone. She even wishes the town was dead and she and her sister could live on the moon. But then a nephew comes to visit and everything escalates.

I saved this particular book especially for Spooky Season as I was told this was a haunting story. And although there is nothing really supernatural about it, it does feel like it had. It’s about not wishing to grow up, choosing to live secluded because of fright of contact with other but the known world. And above that it’s about the tendency Merricat experience to kill people that threaten her secluded live. I loved this short story that speaks of themes like outcasts, how people behave towards outcasts especially under peer pressure and groups. But even more I loved how this normal story still felt so eerie and explained almost how haunted houses come into being. I also loved reading about the sisterly love and how they try to keep the angry outside world. In short, lovely story which I highly recommend to anyone interested in starting reading classics. But don’t expect a very supernatural spooky story.

“For some nights I slept profoundly; but still every morning I felt the same lassitude, and a languor weighed upon me all day. I felt myself a changed girl. A strange melancholy was stealing over me, a melancholy that I would not have interrupted. Dim thoughts of death began to open, and an idea that I was slowly sinking took gentle, and, somehow, not unwelcome possession of me.”

When Laura is young she has a very vivid nightmare about a woman that clung to her chest and bit her. When she and her father, some time later, witnesses an accident with a carriage from their window, they come to the rescue. They decide to take in the daughter, Carmilla, to come back to strength. But then Carmilla begins to behave strangely and inflammable.

Carmilla, a gothic novella about the upir, better known under the name vampires, that predates the most known novel about vampires, Dracula. It’s been said that Bram Stoker was inspired by this novel by the Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu that was published between 1871-72. And this is without a doubt recognizable.
Beginning of this year, in my vampire month, I read Dracula for the first time. Although I enjoyed reading this classic, it was kind of sexist and drawn out. This short novella by Le Fanu is ten times smaller but also ten times more enjoyable. It’s revolutionary for it’s time period as it’s about sapphic love and suppressed sexual desire. While all the time it’s covered in a warm blanket of philosophical melancholy prose. I really enjoyed this book and would consider this the real founder of vampire fiction from now on.

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again. It seemed to me I stood by the iron gate leading to the drive, and for a while I could not enter, for the way was barred to me.”

When a young and insecure woman is on holiday in Monte Carlo as a paid companion to the obnoxious Mrs. Hopper, she runs into the wealthy and known Mr. de Winter. He recently became a widower. Once they form a connection he suddenly asks her to marry him. But how will she ever manage to fill her roll as Mrs. de Winter to an estate as large and well known in high society as Manderlay.

If you ever are afraid to read classic novels, try reading this one. It has a gothic feel, has lovely descriptive prose and feels extremely timeless.
It’s eerie, dark and mysterious, but also deals with themes like jealousy, grief, loyalty, gender and to an extent sapphic love.
In the story we follow the narrator, who is such a young woman with low self esteem that we even can’t know her name. It’s more or less a coming of age novel. Du Maurier said once: “One is not born, but rather becomes, a woman,”. And this is exactly what the novel Rebecca is a good representation of. But it also has a lot of mystery surrounding Manderlay. How did Rebecca die, why is Mrs. Danvers so against her and why does her husband keep her at a distance?
Somewhere around the end it even makes you question morale and how a murderer becomes a victim. All in all it’s a wonderful read that kept me captivated till the end. If you decide to read it I do recommend looking into TW’s.