Overall, I enjoy The Last Wish the closer it got to the end, compared to the start because all of the short stories started to interlink a lot more, and that made it a more interesting read because you would jump back between story lines. However, it's one book to not leave too long before you pick up again because of this jump between story lines it can get a little confusing.

My main issue with the different mini-stories was that I felt like character development and connections were very superficial. I didn't really have enough time to get to know the Witcher or much about him, he still seems a very mysterious character. It was also quite difficult to keep track of all the different characters, and what their relation was to the Witcher when we were continuously having new ones introduced.

It wasn't a bad start to a series, and I am willing to try the next book in the series.

Well, that tugged on my heartstrings a lot more than I expected. I struggled to get into the beginning a little bit but then I found I couldn't put it down and have been entirely absorbed for the last day.

Feeling a little emotionally raw now.

Oooh, I am officially hooked!

little scratch by Rebecca Watson

little scratch is undoubtedly a unique and innovative styled debut that I think will be a marmite book for a lot of people. You will either get along with the style or hate it as it isn't necessarily the most intuitive of styles to read. However, I did find it exceptionally clever as the fragmented language and scattered words are structured to mimic both settings, surroundings and thought patterns of the unnamed protagonist.

Words

d
r
o
p

to mirror the young woman shielding her phone with her hand. Words form pyramids to symbolise people rushing from a train.

people people people people people people
people people people people people
people people people people
people people people
people people
people

In other places the narrative overlaps side by side as events around the woman are happening simultaneously. The repetition and singular words drive the pace and the urgency of reading.

Beyond the structure of the novel the premise is rather mundane as it focuses on a single day of an unnamed woman. Through the day themes of office politics, sexual violence, rape, sex, anxiety, work-place harrassment, survival and life are all examined. The pace and style mean these topics come across in a very punchy manner.

Throughout it all Rebecca Watson demands your attemtion and offers some really astute insights into the world with her carefully crafted selection of words.

Overall an incredible unique debut and one I'm unlikely to forget for a while.

Thanks to Faber for the review copy. Out 14th January.

CUTE

YOU END THE BOOK THERE?!? AHHH.

Feeling emotionally raw after finally finishing this book.

Ogadinma for me, is one of those books that I find so compulsive that I do not want to put it down and yet at the same time cannot bear to carry on reading as it really unsettled me. Trigger warnings for those considering reading: rape, domestic violence.

I personally found the domestic violence scenes the most difficult to read and digest. I always struggle with these scenes in books and Ogadinma was no exception. This is not to say Ukamaka Olisakwe does not handle these scenes and subject matter with care, but I think in particular this was a little bit of a struggle for me.

Despite this, I think the book packs punch and real sharp social critique from the beginning. Ogadinma is struggling to get into university and finds herself victim to a crooked older lawyer. This results in her father shipping her off to live with her Aunty and Uncle where she must make a new life. Throughout the book there is a strong focus on how the patriarchal structures and the men in Ogadinma's life try to takeover. There is also a strong focus on government corruption, violence, spritiual punishment and disorder in the state of Nigeria.

Despite the heaviness of the book and the fact that much of Ogadinma's family were awful, Olisakwe really showed the strength of women. Ogadinma's friend Ejiro was an excellent character, who cared and supported her. Ogadinma herself was a testament to the strength of women and even the women in this book I didn't like (Aunty Ngozi looking at you) showed they had the intelligence, the intiative and were the real driving forces in the family.

Ogadinma is certainly a book that will stick with me, it got under my skin in a way I didn't expect and gripped my heart as I felt so strongly for Ogadinma. In the end I found beauty in the strength and confidence that blossomed in Ogadinma but this was by no means an easy journey. A powerful and evocative novel that has been branded a new feminist classic, and I would not disagree at all.

Thank you to @theindigopress for the gifted copy.