Dress: Topshop
Normally when I give in to reading a book its 'when I have to' (i.e when there is no internet connection) I went away to Australia for a few weeks and the wifi situation was looking grim so... book time. They must have been good as I even continued to read when I had internets! In order of preference...
The Rosie Project - Graeme Simsion
I'm glad I started on this one as it was my favourite. It's about a guy in his 40's called Don with aspergers who devises a questionnaire to find a suitable wife. Aspergers often means you have an inability to pick up on social 'rules' and facial expressions and you tend to see everything in a straight forward and logical way. This contrasted with the emotional minefield of dating sets up the book for a refreshing outlook from Don's perspective. The clever writing prevents it from becoming a soppy romcom and you end up warming to someone who struggles to employ warmth and feeling themselves. Also Don's way of seeing things often makes sense and you question whether 'non-aspies' really do have it worked out.
Wonder - RJ Palacio
The main character Auggie was such a cutie in this book, you just wanted to squeeze his asymmetrical cheeks. 'Wonder' is a children's book written from the perspective of a 10 year old who was born with a severe facial disfigurement and documents his struggles with starting school. The book focuses on how cruel children can be to one another and a need for us to be "kinder than necessary". In that sense the book seems quite timely in terms of internet bullying and trolling on social media. The story will hopefully educate younger kids who are entering their teens about how to have empathy for others and maybe remind adults how to go about it too.
The Fault In Our Stars - John Green
At first I wasn't too keen on the main character (Hazel) she started out the cliche cocky sulky teenager, but she starts to soften through the book and lets those barriers down which I guess is a tribute to the authors writing. It's about two teenagers meeting through a cancer therapy group who fall in love, but its as much about death and illness and tackles these issues with a dark humour that keeps it compelling. It's also interesting to see a book address death with regards to social media. At one point Hazel trawls through Gus's dead girlfriends Facebook wall, hunting for a trace of this girls identity amongst the generic posthumous wall posts that arise in the wake of somebodies passing. I watched the trailer for the film adaptation yesterday and I did feel a bit sick, so don't watch it before the book, it will ruin it!
