Talk about stepping straight back into my childhood! As an 8/9 year old girl, I absolutely adored everything about the Malory Towers series by Enid Blyton. I was obsessed with wanting to go to school there. I loved the idea of living in school with my best friends, I could only imagine all the mischief we would get up to! I also desperately loved the Matron, Mrs Potts and the other teachers. You can only imagine my disappointment as a young girl to discover this was fictional!

Rereading these has been such a treat. I was surprised by how many details from the stories I could remember. They were a very quick and easy read and reminded me dearly of why I was such an avid reader at a very young age. Before J.K. Rowling came along, Enid Blyton was my favourite author. I was obsessed with her books but Malory Towers was the first series I truly loved and I think I'll always have a place in my heart for it.

This book is absolutely wonderful. I went into this not really knowing what to expect but knowing that I wanted to try out another graphic novel after a successful first experience a few months ago. What I did not expect was the be completely blown away! What a treat this book is.

Persepolis provides a very rare insight into the world of life in the Middle East over a number of years. Most importantly, Marjane Satrapi shows us the reality of being a woman growing up in the Middle East under such a strict regime. Her passionate outlook on life really inspired me throughout all the tales she told in this book. From her battles with depression, the sexual experiences she had which were frowned upon by her friends as well as society, her outspoken approach to religion and the beautiful relationship with her family, particularly her father. This was a real page turner and came with beautiful images which really worked well with the story Satrapi was telling.

Satrapi's narration was powerful to the point where I completely channelled her emotions with her. I felt saddened, alone, excited, frustrated, happy and angry. Those are just an overview of the emotions you will feel whilst reading this wonderful story. This is a book that everyone should have to read at some point in their lives. So important and I feel thankful that Satrapi has shared her story with us. Incredible.