'It was books that made me feel that perhaps I wasn't completely alone.'
- Cassandra Clare
This is a lineup of all of the books that I have read in January 2020.
1. Life of the Party by Olivia Gatwood
Rating: 4/5 stars
My first read of the year was a poetry book by Olivia Gatwood. I first came into contact with Gatwood after seeing some of her spoken word performances on YouTube, so when I found Life of the Party in Waterstones among a day out in London, I thought I might as well give it a shot in print form.
While there are some poems in here that are going to definitely reach my all time favourites list, others fell flat for me. While the variety in style, even between poems, and the divergence from the conventions of “traditional poetry” intrigued me, I did spend my time reading some of these poems trying to decipher what they were meant to say, rather than looking for the deeper intention underneath the surface level meaning. This being said, these poems are poems that made you think from a prominent feminist voice, with harrowing truth and darkness combined with vibrancy that set my soul on fire.
2. The Beauty that Remains by Ashley Woodfolk
Rating: 3/5 stars
The Beauty that Remains focuses on the journey through grief and living of Autumn, whose best friend, Tavia, died in a car accident, Logan, who hasn’t stopped obsessing over his ex-boyfriends, Bram’s YouTube channel since he died; and Shay, whose twin sister, Sasha, died from cancer. However they all have one thing in common, music manages to be their lifeline in the midst of their pain. And it is one band in particular that will pull them all together to make them realise the beauty that remains, surrounding then freely, even in the wake of grief.
I was drawn to this book primarily because of its focus on grief, as well as the presence of a gay character. Although I had my issues with the split perspective, with the chapters cycling between the perspectives of Autumn, Logan and Shay with each new chapter providing a different focus, I do believe the variety of approaches to grief and mourning are presented compassionately but also truthfully. However, this split perspective did result in a desire for the characters to be explored in more depth, I specifically found this to be the case with Logan who grew to quickly become my favourite perspective to read due to his heightened level of self destruction. Primarily, I feel that there is missing a large portion of key narrative that outlines Logan’s true rock bottom within his own self destruction. Although there were points where this could be seen, I believe this could have been stressed more heavily. The Beauty that Remains is a fun read, despite the heavy subject matter, and will truly make you believe in the power of love and friendship, as well as the healing quality that floats through every note of music.
3. Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare
Rating: 4/5 stars
The prequel to The Mortal Instruments set in Victorian London follows Tessa Grey, a young girl arriving in England from New York in search of her brother, Nate, who is her only living family. Once she sets foot on solid group, she is swept up into the Shadowhunter world, learning secrets about herself and her family, as well as building a life for herself with William Herondale and James Carstairs. With so much unknown, Tessa is blindly trying to uncover the truth of what has happened to her brother, but along the way she may just uncover truths about herself that she didn't know she was missing.
I've read Clockwork Angel previously, but I am working my way through The Infernal Devices in preparation for the release of Chain of Gold on 3rd March this year. I feel like this story has definitely grown on me since the I read it the first time, and I thoroughly enjoyed the literary references made throughout, as Will and Tessa are both appreciative of books and poetry. Furthermore, I feel this explores an interesting dynamic of gender perception, and how women can still be seen as capable warrior in the Shadow world, but be doubted as strong leaders - with characters such as Benedict Lightwood embodying this doubt. I thoroughly enjoyed the display of not only female physical strength, but also emotional resilience and analytical thinking, something that would not have been appreciated in mainstream society within the Victorian period. I also was, and still am, a fan of how Jem and Will interact with one another, and how the interactions between them feel organic and truthful - which is refreshing considering the amount that will appears to hide from everyone. Overall, I feel like Clockwork Angel is a brilliant addition to the Shadowhunter world. I've already picked up Clockwork Prince.
4. Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Rating: 4.5/5
The sequel to Clockwork Angel and the second novel in The Infernal Devices series following the loves of Tessa, Will and Jem in Victorian London.
I‘m roughly 2/3 of the way through Clockwork Prince but I wanted to have a chance to mention how much more quickly I have been able to enjoy this book. I feel that there has been significant character development and developments in relationships and the complexity that has been added to Will in this sequel is brilliant. I’ve started to love Will far more in this book compared to the first in the series.
I plan to finish Clockwork Prince at the beginning of February, as well as reading the final book on this series, Clockwork Princess.
After a pretty good start to the year, I'm definitely hoping to keep up with my reading this year. Fingers crossed that A Level exams allow that to happen.
Enjoy it all
Hollie