Reckless, Cecily von Ziegesar, Headline Fiction
This is the second book from the It Girl series, and any die hard Gossip Girl fans will surely recognise the author! I also read many of the books from the Gossip Girl series when I was around 13. This scandalous series is set in a boarding school as a follow-on from Jenny Humphrey's experiences in Manhattan, and here she manages to cause as much chaos as she did back in the city. I actually prefer this series however, as I have almost every book after this second instalment. Much like Gossip Girl, all the "popular" girls are impeccably dressed, gorgeous and all lead less than perfect lives, and the "hottest" boys on campus, sporty, a bit lazy (much like Nate Archibald) but a lot of fun. What I remember loving most about the author's writing style was her attention to detail. Every outfit described with labels name-dropped to create in the reader's head a perfect image of what these rich teens wore in everyday life. Even now, I am fascinated with the lives of wealthy people, seeing as I've loved 90210, Gossip Girl the TV series and plenty of other glamorous shows. Jenny's character in this series is depicted as quite a clumsy and awkward weakling at the start, but her confidence grows with every instalment.
Super Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner, Penguin Publishing
I got into these books during A levels when I studied Economics til AS. Even if I didn't enjoy Economics thaat much, I certainly loved these books! I remember wanting to understand the issues seen from an economists perspective that was easy to read, without being complicated by academic style writing. We watched the movie version of the first instalment, Freakonomics in class once and I was hooked! In the sequel the two ask some intriguing questions such as "why suicide bombers should buy life insurance" (sounds bizarre but you'll understand why if you read it), many of them most people would not consider at all in everyday life. It's a brilliant book to introduce beginners to the concept of economics, simply because the writing style is so easy to read, not in the sense of it being "dumbed down" but their way of explaining concepts is so accessible. It was a truly addictive read, must've finished it in about a day and I've read it more than twice which makes it a quality book in my eyes!
Chinese Cinderella, Adeline Yen Mah, Puffin Books
This book from my younger years has a real place in my heart. I must've read this for the first time when I was about 10, and I've reread this 4/5 times, the last instance being at Christmas because I couldn't sleep! It tells the story of a little girl being the youngest, and lowest regarded in a family of 5 children. This is because her real mother died giving birth to her, meaning she is often unfairly the blame of her mothers death. Similar to the Cinderella story, her father had remarried meaning that the youngest becomes ignored, rejected as part of the family by most family members except for her Aunt Baba. I remember being so fascinated by this hierarchy in her family, which continues to baffle me. How could have her father seen her own daughter, flesh and blood as lower and less important than others? As a real loving father he would have seen every child as equally weighted. The story charts her growth into a young woman as she is shifted from one school to another and the relationship between her family changes. Another addictive read, can easily get through this in 2 days!
Thanks for reading (: xx
Post a Comment