I'm not entirely sure how to write this review.
I would not recommend this book to the majority of the people I know. Let's start with that.
That doesn't mean it's bad though. It deals in depth with some subjects which I know some people would find... uncomfortable.
After finishing Station Eleven, I resigned myself to the fact that I wasn't going to find another book to read that was on the same level. So I decided to pick a book from the other end of the spectrum. Can you even get more YA than Holly Bourne?
Not that I've ever read any of her books before. But her reputation precedes her.
I happen to have my own copy of It Only Happens In The Movies because it's a pretty well battered ex-library copy.
I wasn't sure what to expect, but a few pages in, I knew I extremely disliked the main character. I was gearing myself up for a silly, girly story which was actually about nothing more than your average romance.
But I was wrong. About a quarter of the way in, I realised how cleverly the writing was arranged. I was inside the brain of a 17-year-old girl. I was feeling her thoughts and feelings. The reason I didn't like the main character? Because she didn't like herself in the start of the story.
Now that's some clever writing there. That's the kind of empathy technique we need to see more of in YA fiction today.
Bourne delves deep into those subjects that most women are scared to put into their writing. The kind of things that all women know and deal with in everyday life, but we all are meant to pretend like it's nothing. I appreciated that.
And the ending!
Never have I been so thoroughly satisfied while also feeling all the sadness and feels and wow. I didn't cry but I sure did come close.
Bourne is a bold writer, but she manages to skirt just outside the area of "I HAVE AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE SO I'M GOING TO LECTURE YOU ALL BY MEANS OF MY NOVEL". She keeps the story upbeat and enjoyable, yet she only really covers what you need to know.
Overall, I was very impressed indeed.
I wouldn't recommend it, though.

I cannot even begin to express how disappointing this book was.
This series has so much wonderful potential.
And the author is killing it.
I get the sense he's trying to just write as many books into this series as he can get away with, without any clear sense of direction.
The characters are all doing stupid stuff. The kind of stupid stuff you would have expected from book 1 of the series, but even then they weren't on THIS level of stupid.
Reading this book set me into a massive reading slump which I struggled to get over. Thanks for that, Pittacus Lore. I just couldn't motivate myself to pick the book back up - didn't even particularly care what happened next.
And then!!
And then the author assumes that he can save the entire mess of novel by finishing on an outrageous plot twist.
No, thank you.
I guess I'll finish the series at some point. Only 1 book to go, after all. But I'm not hyped for it.

Oh my goodness me.
I think I need to read that ending again.
Reading this book has the same feeling as peering out from an icy window - to start with, the ice is a beautiful formation to look at, but then you realise you can't actually see, you're not sure what you're looking at, everything's blurred, distorted, with gradual visual improvement as it warms to its theme.
I just... didn't see any of it coming.
It was truly excellent.
A bit disturbing.
But so, incredibly gripping.
Once I had reached roughly halfway, I could think of nothing but the story. I needed to find out what was going on. I needed to see a solution.
I personally feel like the ending was dissatisfying. But I think it was exactly what the author was aiming for.
Well, I think it's time to go and urgently press this book on my mum, so I have someone to discuss it with.

I love this book. I am going to be telling people to read this book for years to come, I just know it.
Possible idea for improvement? A GLOSSARY. I am a huge fan of helpful glossaries, and I would really have liked an illustrated glossery explaining the ballet terms. Also, the Syrian words. And the terms used to describe refugees throughout the book (asylum seekers, I can't remember now but I know there was other interesting lingo too). Okay, maybe this book needs 3 separate glossaries. I just think it would add that extra informative layer.
Let's get into all the wonderful things about this novel, shall we?
This is a beautiful, simple children's book about the Syrian refugee crisis. Also, ballerinas.
Aya is new to England - she's only been in Manchester for 3 weeks with her Mumma and her little brother, Moosa. She's come because her homeland, Syria, is currently torn apart by war and it's not safe for her family to live there anymore.
This book is beautiful.
It tells this incredibly delicate story with such sensitivity, such gentleness. Yet it never diminishes the importance of the story being told. It's a blend of Aya's ongoing present story, with flashbacks to things she has already experienced expertly woven in.
The story it follows is very current. The Syrian refugee crisis is happening RIGHT NOW. But also, this book takes the opportunity to delve into the not-so-distant past to find other examples of refugees - things which the reader may or may not already be familiar with. I feel thoroughly educated after reading this book. I had never realised quite what went on - what is STILL going on - in Syria.
Yes, the contents of this book are shocking. But also, portrayed in such a way that children will be able to comprehend and cope with the information. Catherine Bruton has managed to make this a hopeful story focused on the future, even though it encompasses so much pain of the past and the present.
I really enjoyed reading the Afterword at the end. The author explained there how she grew up addicted to books that made you focus on your dreams, etc, but as she got older she realised the value of books that broaden your mindset. The type of books that encourage empathy towards those who have experienced trials you personally know nothing of. So when she wrote this book, she intended to blend those two themes together.
I think she has done the most wonderful job.

How is it possible that I am 20 years old and this is the first time I'm reading a book by C. S. Lewis?!?
I think the problem was that when I was wayyy younger I read some silly little teeny-tiny abbreviated versions of the Narnia books and always had a feeling like I've already read Narnia, I know the story and everything.
Well, that was maybe the stupidest assumption I made throughout my childhood.
I now understand why the whole literary world goes crazy about C. S. Lewis. He writes enchanting, exciting and beautiful stories. He doesn't skimp on fantastic vocabulary, but his stories are brief enough to keep any attention span focused.
The Magician's Nephew is not a story I was at all familiar with. I don't think I've even heard of the name Digory before. But right from the beginning, I was utterly drawn in by this little book.
C. S. Lewis has a lovely way of including you, the reader, in the storyline. I personally felt involved all the way through. And some parts really did have me laughing. Actual, out-loud laughter. That's a good book right there.

"You need to stop thinking strength is about the size of your muscles or the length of your fangs. True strength is something far more delicate. Like spider silk. And you'll need a web of it to defeat Smey. We" - Mousetrap spins around - "are your web."
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This book was such a delightful surprise!
I saw this book ages ago and was immediately interested in the cover alone. I mean, look at it. It's beautiful alright.
This book is gaining a lot of recognition in children's book awards, which is what eventually pushed me to actually sit down and read it.
And to start with, I was disappointed.
The beginning of this story did not capture my attention or my heart. I disliked the main character, Yanka, and felt like the world-building was laid on too heavily to be enjoyable.
But somewhere in the middle of this book, it snuck up on me. I was completely entralled.
It all began with Mousetrap.
Mousetrap is one of the loveliest characters to grace modern children's literature. I say loveliest not in the sense that he is lovely, but in the sense that he is sharp-tongued, witty, brave and wise. I should probably mention, Mousetrap is a weasel.
Because this girl, as the title suggests, CAN SPEAK TO ANIMALS.
I know it's not the first time this has been written about. But Sophie Anderson weaved this story together so delicately, so adeptly, it was enchanting. I was catapulted straight back to my childhood dreams of wanting to communicate with every animal I came across.
Once I was into the thick of the story, I had no complaints. It was just the transition into the story that has me withholding the 5th star from this book.
Anderson has created a fantastical, wonderful world based around Russian (?) fairytales, which obviously she herself is very interested in. Which is understandable - it seems to be an interesting subject indeed. Who doesn't love fairytales?
But I feel like she is so focused on aspects of the world-building that she personally has fallen in love with (I'm looking at you, House with Chicken Legs) that she kind of... neglects the storytelling and character building.
While Mousetrap was such a bright and brilliant influence on this story, Sasha was simply Side Character No.1. And he shouldn't have been. There could have been more characterisation, but it was pushed aside to make room for the world building, the not-so-subtle mention of traditional food or ceremonies.
Trust me, I am all for education about culture through fiction. But don't neglect the characters in the story while you're at it. Characters are always more interesting than background information. (I am a big fan of specific food mentions, however).
Saying all that, I should finish this review with the way I felt upon finishing the book.
This book was a whole journey really. You start off with a normal (if that is a thing) story of a girl trying to find her place in the world (which, of course, is a Russian fairytale world), some poor decisions made along the way, a diverse set of animal friends and an actual QUEST to save the magical world. This story has ALL the jazz. Actually finishing it left me with such a warm feeling inside. I'm talking about the REALLY mushy stuff. Friendship is magical, the cheese is real, kind of stuff. I loved the ending.

This book is perfect.
I went into this book knowing absolutely nothing of the storyline. I'm not entirely sure why, but I was under the impression that this story was about beekeepers.
Spoiler: this book is not about beekeepers.
This book is about librarians. ON HORSEBACK. Basically, cowboy librarians.
Is there a more enticing subject than that?
But, if you still require further encouragment to read this book, fear not. I am full to bursting with appreciation for this story, and this review is far from finished yet :)
I've read 2 books by Jojo Moyes (Me Before You & The One Plus One) and it's fairly easy to identify her writing style from those: romantic and extremely British.
So when I first realised this story is set in Eastern Kentucky, I was gearing myself up for awkward, stilted writing. I was not expecting her to be able to glide so effortlessly into writing about an entirely different culture.
But she does it, and she does it with style. Somehow, she still managed to make the book both romantic and extremely British, too. Honestly, this novel has convinced me that Moyes has writing superpowers, or something.
I don't know how she kept such a good track of all the characters. They just kept coming. She introduced character upon character, and yet all of them were real and flawed and had so many things going on in their own individual stories and were just so incredibly loveable . She didn't skimp on characterisation at all, no siree. I cared so much about ALL of them, and it's been a long time since I have felt this strongly over book characters. The fact that this is historical fiction doesn't make the story unfeeling or irrelevant, not at all.
I learnt so much while reading this. I didn't realise until about a third of the way through that the story is based on something that actually happened. Once I knew that, somehow it made the story even more enjoyable.
I cried big, real tears reading this book. That's how good it is. Just go read it already.

A very interesting book indeed. But still not above a 3 star rating for me.
This book's plot is irresistible. Whenever I gave a brief summary of the book ( I'm reading a book right now about a girl with cerebral palsy who knows who did a murder - but the thing is she can't move or speak ) people would nod, and make those little "Ooh!" noises of interest. Basically, this book has hit the jackpot on plot points.
But in my humble opinion, that doesn't make up for the writing entirely.
Let me clarify that: There is absolutely nothing wrong with the writing. Everything is correct.
It's just all so... simple.
If you are the type of reader that watches for interesting quotes and expressions while you're reading anything, this book is not going to capture your mind or heart. It's all so dead easy and simple.
But now that my complaining is well out of the way, let's get on to the things that I did enjoy about this book.
I read this because of Book Clubs In Schools is running an event with the author to encourage reading for children across the UK. The ebook was only 0.99p for the whole month of February, so children could access the story. The author is doing a live Q&A session this month for all the children who read the book. The free resources available to aid discussion around allotted chapters for each week were fantastic. All these things have made me like the book and the author more.
There were so many more interesting discussion points in this story than I realised! But the kids absolutely loved the story. The mystery of the book kept our entire group guessing all the way through, and the guesses we made had us laughing our guts out. This book's simplicity actually makes it more accessible to so many young readers.
Okay fine, maybe I'll bump it up to 3.5 stars, but I'm still not rounding it up.
The themes in this story are definitely so important and I'm so pleased to see a book like this promoting a story with main characters with disabilities, foster parents/children, voices usually ignored having power and impact. I hope to see that this book and similar others will inspire a whole new generation of stories.

This book.
What can I say about it that hasn't already been said?
Everything about this story is so intensely familiar to me, I'm surprised this is my first time reading it. It's just ... iconic.
Honestly I've got to say that I think C. S. Lewis had the story more pulled together by the time he wrote The Magician's Nephew, which I suppose I only noticed because I read that one first. But it stood out to me while reading that there were so many little bits of bobs of the story not fully... expanded upon, shall we say.
But it's still thoroughly beautiful and wondrous.