Chocolat - Joanne Harris

I really liked this book. As I have not learnt French I did have a little bit of difficulty with working out the pronunciation of French words and names in my head but this did not overly distract from my enjoyment of the novel. And bar my difficulties with the small amount of French (literally just single words) I found this to be a very easy read.

I loved the descriptions of the village. I could picture it perfectly in my mind and could almost see the sights and smell the smells as the author described them. Not to mention the description of the chocolates. I swear at times I could almost smell them and get the slightest hint of taste on my tongue. This probably isn’t the best book to read if you are a. hunger or b. trying to give up chocolate.

I was especially able to relate the character of Guillaume in regards to his relationship with his dog Charly and the difficulty he faced in knowing when the right time was. I definitely remember that feeling and feeling that it was too soon to let my boy go and yet knowing that I was prolonging his discomfort. I also very much enjoyed the relationship between Vianne and her daughter Anouk as well as the character of Armande.

I loved the atmosphere of the book. It was quite dark and mysterious but it was also magical. A very interesting mix that I think worked very well. I’d be interested to see how it translates in the film version as I have not actually watched it.  I’m also looking forward to reading the follow up to Chocolat – The Lollipop Shoes (also known as the Girl with No Shadow).

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J. K. Rowling

I am finally getting in to the spirit of the world of Harry Potter. I have definitely found book three more enjoyable than the first two – although I’m still not 100% sold on the series.

For some reason Azkaban is probably the book I remember the least about going in to it. With the first two books, a lot of the time reading them I was just anticipating what was coming next and trying to convince myself that it was worth reading on. With Azkaban I didn’t have that. Looking at my copy of the book I’m presuming that I never read it when I was at school (it doesn’t have my name written in) and so I’m not entirely sure if I’ve ever actually read the whole of this book more than once previously.

I very much liked to introduction of Sirius Black and Lupin in to the series. I really did like these two characters especially Lupin. I also liked how this book also gave more of a back story relating to the school days of James Potter and gave a tiny bit of an insight in to just why Snape acts the way he does towards Harry. I think this really added something to the world of Harry Potter and made me a little bit more interested in the story.

I have to say though that while this book was suspenseful – the climax in the shack probably dragged on a little bit too long. And it seems strange that Sirius would want Harry to believe for such a long time that he wishes to kill him when Sirius is trying – at that point – to convince that he is not actually evil but actually a loving godfather.

I also think this book is the turning point for the characters of Harry, Hermione and Ron. I like that the three of them have started to grow up especially the fact that Hermione is starting to let loose and to act a bit more like a young teenager and not so much like a miniature teacher – but still being true to the herself.

I also liked how Fred and George got to have quite an important role in the book – as it is plausible that it would be those characters to give Harry the map.

I still wish we got to learn about the back stories of the other teachers – rather than just Snape and to an extent Lupin.

But Azkaban has definitely made me more excited to go on to read the rest of the series. 

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J. K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Chamber of SecretsHarry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is probably my least favourite of the Harry Potter series and is the one I was least looking forward to rereading on my quest to discover the magic of Harry Potter. 

It’s not overly the books fault that I don’t like it. The film version of this book is the only one of the Harry Potter movies that has actually frightened me. I remember being really freaked out after seeing it in the cinema and having nightmares about it. I’ve never actually watched that film again.

But I know better than to judge a book by its film adaptation. And I still don’t overly like this book. Having read the rest of the series (although not recently) I can see how this book sets up the future plots it just doesn’t work for me.

There were some moments that I found amusing – the degnoming, the idea of a flying car and I quite like Moaning Myrtle too – but for the most part these were few and far between and I found myself wondering just why I had actually decided to go back and read this series.

One of the reasons I think this book suffers is the fact that Hermione is absent for a lot of the final stages of the book. As with the first book Hermione is my favourite character in the series so not having her around was almost going to be a disappointment to me (but it’s also something I can live with). However, I don’t think the characters of Ron and Harry work half as well without Hermione to round them out. In fact the sections where it is Harry doing something without the other two are the parts that I find the weakest although that could partly be because I’m not overly fond of the Harry character.

I also still wish there was more from the teachers because I quite like them. If J. K. Rowling were ever to write some more books in the Harry Potter universe I would rather that it was set around the Hogwarts teachers rather than the ‘young’ cast of characters.

So I’m still searching for the magic of Harry Potter. I’m sure it’s there somewhere.

A Stolen Life - Jaycee Dugard

I remember the day I read that Jaycee had been discovered – I was 18 years old : the age equal to the number of years she had been held captive. As such I don’t remember Jaycee’s actual kidnapping (I was something like 6 months – and just under a year younger than Jaycee’s sister). I also don’t really know how much coverage Jaycee’s disappearance was given over here in the UK. But still I remember reading that Jaycee had been discovered and thinking how incredible it was.

A Stolen Life is probably the most difficult book I’ve read this year. It’s a fairly quick read but it’s not ease. Jaycee is very open about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her captors and that makes for some very difficult reading.

The book isn’t written in them most easy to follow manner but Jaycee starts off by explaining to the reader that this will be the case and it’s her story and she should be allowed to tell it as she wishes. And once I had got in to the pattern of Jaycee’s voice I found it much easier. Also time in the book is a very strange thing. Because Jaycee had no real way of knowing how many days passed (other than occasions such as Christmas where she found it was that date from the television). An example of which is during her time in captivity Philip Garrido was sent back to prison. Jaycee in the book tells us that this lasted a month but in reality it was nearer to 5. I didn’t expect this to be written perfectly after all Jaycee’s education effectively stopped aged 11 – although she was able to still read while being held and taught her daughter’s using work sheets she downloaded from the internet.

Jaycee’s story in the book seems to be divided in to the three sort of parts (although this distinction is never made in the book).

The first is the actual kidnapping  and the first 6 or 7 years of her time in captivity. This is probably the largest part of the book and it is during this time that Jaycee is most explicit about the abuse she suffered – the ‘runs’ she went on and the repeated raping by Philip Garrido. It is during this part that Jaycee becomes pregnant and gives birth to her first child (referred to as A).

The second part of the book starts around November 1997 when Jaycee gives birth to her second baby (referred to as G). During this time, we don’t read further mentions of any sexual abuse by Philip to Jaycee but she is still very much the victim of psychology abuse. It is during this time that Jaycee becomes ‘sister’ to her two young daughters, starts to work for Philip as part of his business and is even occasionally permitted to leave to go thift store shopping with Nancy Garrido. It is during this section that the real deterioration of Philip Garrido’s mental health condition really starts to show with the talk of the angels. I’ll admit I did find that rather confusing to follow. This section of the book also shows how Jaycee was developing as later in this section we see how frustrated Jaycee feels with her life, with her lazy ‘dad’, her lack of freedom and her inability to drive. Very much ‘normal’ teenage angst but experience in her twenties. Of course nothing in the life Jaycee led was actually normal.

The third part is the discovery of Jaycee and the therapy she was received since then. The reunions between Jaycee and her family had me in tears and also Jaycee being able to reclaim her name after so many years of not even being able to write it.

Throughout the book Jaycee is very careful to protect her young daughter (the only photos of the girls are of them as very young children) so that they can have as normal a life as possible now they are out of captivity. I very much feel for Jaycee because from reading the book she still feels captive in many ways because she wants to protect her girls from being ‘Jaycee’s daughters’ in the public eye she feels she cannot be free to do normal things with them – like help out at school events.

Jaycee also gives a large amount of text to the pets that she had during the time of her captivity.

Jaycee mentions a lot in this book that she is a coward but she is anything but. She is a strong young woman and I hope her strength and confidence continues to grow.

Perhaps this book would have been interesting if it had also included some news articles from the time. Just to balance out the emotion of Jaycee’s writing but then this is her personal account so maybe that wouldn’t have fit and that can always come later.

From this book I will take away an appreciation of what I have. The fact that I can walk outside my house and keep walking wherever I wish. I can read what I wish and watch what I wish. I have a comfortable bed on which to sleep. I don’t have to rely on someone to bring me food and drink. I also thank Jaycee for giving me an appreciation of having an identity and being able to live as myself because that is one of the many things she had stolen from her. 

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J. K. Rowling

I can still remember the first time I was introduced to Harry Potter. I was in year 4 at primary school (around 1999 / 2000) and my teacher Mr B told us about this fantastic book that he’d read to his class the year before and that he wanted to read to us. There was something special about reading the book (and the Chamber of Secrets) with Mr B that year. I’ll never forget our class debates on the pronunciation of Hermione – we couldn’t decide between the correct (Her-My-Oh-Nee) and our version (Her-Me-Oh-Nee) which now sounds totally wrong to my years but which sounded logical back then.

Despite this I’ve never been an ultra fan of the Harry Potter series. I’ve always wanted to experience the magic that many fans describe but I’ve never had that. I have read all seven books (and seen the first 5 movies) though so they aren’t terrible. I just haven’t found them as shocking or surprising or intriguing as I could have.

Regardless I’ve decided to read them again. I’m older now. I don’t think I’ve read the first book for at least 4 years and prior to that it was probably with Mr B so it’s been a while. So I thought maybe now I’m older I may be able to appreciate them a bit more – I never liked Northern Lights when I was younger either but quite enjoyed it when read later on.

Honestly though I still don’t love the first book even though it holds such good memories for me. But as the first book in the series I think it serves its purpose well. It sets up the future books and it gives a good introduction to characters you know you will be spending a lot of time with.

The story and the characters are fairly good. I’ve always loved books involving magic, witchcraft and wizardry so that sort of stuff always appeals to me. Perhaps some of the Harry Potter world isn’t overly original – I’ve read some interesting comparisons between Harry Potter and The Worst Witch (which I absolutely adored). Magic seems to be far easier in the Harry Potter world though than I’ve always imagined it too be.

Of the books characters I think Hermione is my favourite. She’s the character I can identify the most with although there’s probably more than a little bit (and more than I’d care to admit) of Neville there too. Actually some of the time I care more about Neville than I do about Harry.

I also have a great fondness for the teachers (probably more so than the students a lot of the time). I especially like McGonagall and Snape of the adult cast and wish there was more about them in there.

I’m still hoping I’ll discover the magic of Harry Potter somewhere between books 2 – 7. Somewhere between the pages of books marked with my name so that I could take them to school and people would know which was mine and which was there’s. I’d love to find that magic. 

The Rescue - Nicholas Sparks

I have to say I enjoyed this book far more than The Notebook.

I was immediately drawn to Kyle – the young son of Denise Holton. He’s probably one of the cutest children I’ve read in a book and it was very easy to fall in love with him. I also found it very interesting to learn about Kyle and the difficulties he has surrounding speech and language. It becomes all the more interesting because after reading the novel I learned that a lot of Kyle’s story is drawn from Nicholas Sparks’ own experience with his son. I found that the family element of this story really added to the story and I have to admit that a few of the scenes between Kyle and Taylor and Kyle and Denise had me in tears.

I also really liked the relationship between Denise and Taylor. I thought that they worked quite well together. I found Taylor’s story quite interesting and didn’t quite work out exactly what had happened and I can definitely see how it shaped Taylor’s future.

The story feels almost as if it’s in two parts. The first part is absorbing. The accident and the search for Kyle. It was a real page turner as I tried to place myself in Denise’s shoes imagining how it would feel to know that my four year old had gone missing in a storm near a swamp – and that the child wouldn’t be able to respond to rescuers because of his speech problems. But I was also trying to put myself in Taylor’s shoes – be to be one of those searching in those difficult conditions, looking for a small child and knowing all the difficulties they faced. I also liked how Taylor’s mother Judy was introduced and how she went to be with Denise.

The second part of the book is the love story. I loved how the relationship developed although sometimes time seemed a bit jumpy. The first part of the book – the search – took place over a relatively short space of time whereas the love story spans months. I have to admit I was very shocked by twist with the warehouse fire but it was interesting to see how Taylor reacted to that and I know that something like that was needed in order to bring the story to a close.

I really liked the ending. It fit with the book and it made me smile. A nice love story which at times was very tear jerking (with both sad and happy tear). I was pleasantly surprised especially after being disappointed by The Notebook. 

The Notebook - Nicholas Sparks

I have really mixed feelings about The Notebook. When I think about the story I really enjoyed it but when I think about reading it less so. That probably sounds a little bizarre but I'll try to explain.

Despite the book being quite short (my edition is 195 pages of the Notebook and then 20ish pages of the first chapter of A Walk To Remember) I found it quite slow going and in places rather plodding. As much as I had to say it I was almost glad when I realised that extra 20 pages weren't more of the Notebook – which I would have had to read – but rather the first chapter of a different book – which I didn't have to read. From reading the Notebook I think it's fairly obvious that it's one of his early books (possibly even his first published) because the style wasn't quite up to the standard I'd enjoyed with Dear John and The Last Song. It wasn't absolutely terrible but it wasn't overly good either.

And yet the story was quite good. The idea of the old Noah reading the story of his romance to his wife who has Alzheimers disease and how he hopes that by reading the story he will get to have a good day with her – a day when it is only her memories that are gone and she becomes the woman she used to be rather than a woman tormented by her mind. I think I almost enjoyed the present stuff more than the past. I liked the voice that Noah had and felt that it flowed more easily than the third person narrative of the past. The present time stuff was emotional. I cried but then I expected too.

I think the past stuff was maybe a little too perfect. Allie and Noah's relationship seemed so absolutely perfect and steady and maybe it would be been better to have seen something more. Something that made them seem more real rather than just perfection. I suppose I just wanted a bit more character development than what the book gave.

I've not seen the film adaptation but I have read the plot of it and I feel that the ending on the film would have been a better way to end the book as well. A rare example of when I feel a change made for a film was actually better than the source material.

I don't think this is a bad book. It's a good book for a hopeless romantic who wants a quick love story which will tug at your heartstrings and send your tear ducts in to overdrive. Maybe not the best written book ever. But it has a promising story idea.

I don't think I'd be in any hurry to read it again but I'm glad I've read it.