Title: Grandma's Poetry Book
Author: Di Castle
Rating: 4 Stars
A delightful collection of poetry all about the highs and lows of becoming a grandmother. There's something here for every stage of your grandchildren's lives, from the very early baby stage, right through to the teenage years.
This wonderful little book made me laugh and it made me cry. As a fairly new grandmother myself I could relate to so many of the poems in this book, especially the ones that told of the initial reluctance to become a grandmother, which quickly changed into doting adoration once the new addition arrived. Oh how I could relate to that! There is nothing quite like being a grandmother and this lovely collection describes the many different emotions to perfection.
Accompanying each poem are sketches by Denise Horn. Together, the words and pictures capture the special bond between grandparents and their grandchildren, and really do help bring the poetry to life.
A quick and easy read, but one that I know I will return to time and time again. Recommended to all grandmothers or grandmothers to be. Just delightful!
Thursday 29 January 2015
Monday 26 January 2015
Book Review - The Story of Before by Susan Stairs
Title: The Story of Before
Author: Susan Stairs
Rating: 3.5 stars
This is a difficult book for me to review as I loved it up until a certain point - but once we reached the pivotal moment that the whole story was leading up to, it made such a huge, painful impact that I could no longer continue to read for some time as I was crying so much.
Yes, we were warned 'something bad' was going to happen and that it would involve a death, but nothing could have prepared me for what actually did happen. And I can't really go into what did happen without spoiling it for those of you who haven't read it yet, other than to say it was hugely triggery for me and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since.
The 3.5 stars I've rated this novel is for the writing and character building alone. It's a beautifully written book, but in all honesty it made me feel sick to my stomach and incredibly distressed, which isn't necessarily something I want from my reading material.
'The Story of Before' touched me on a very personal level and my rating reflects that. When I read a book I'm transported inside the story, so much so that I feel as though I'm actually there. And this book, as well written as it was, took me somewhere I didn't want to go. Somewhere painful and dark, somewhere I've been trying my hardest to move forward from. The story itself has no similarity whatsoever to my own personal situation, but the 'bad thing' that happened triggered a response in me that I wasn't expecting.
But if I put aside my own personal feelings when it comes to 'The Story of Before'? My rating would have been a good, solid 4.5 stars. A beautifully written, but deeply disturbing novel.
Author: Susan Stairs
Rating: 3.5 stars
This is a difficult book for me to review as I loved it up until a certain point - but once we reached the pivotal moment that the whole story was leading up to, it made such a huge, painful impact that I could no longer continue to read for some time as I was crying so much.
Yes, we were warned 'something bad' was going to happen and that it would involve a death, but nothing could have prepared me for what actually did happen. And I can't really go into what did happen without spoiling it for those of you who haven't read it yet, other than to say it was hugely triggery for me and I haven't been able to stop thinking about it ever since.
The 3.5 stars I've rated this novel is for the writing and character building alone. It's a beautifully written book, but in all honesty it made me feel sick to my stomach and incredibly distressed, which isn't necessarily something I want from my reading material.
'The Story of Before' touched me on a very personal level and my rating reflects that. When I read a book I'm transported inside the story, so much so that I feel as though I'm actually there. And this book, as well written as it was, took me somewhere I didn't want to go. Somewhere painful and dark, somewhere I've been trying my hardest to move forward from. The story itself has no similarity whatsoever to my own personal situation, but the 'bad thing' that happened triggered a response in me that I wasn't expecting.
But if I put aside my own personal feelings when it comes to 'The Story of Before'? My rating would have been a good, solid 4.5 stars. A beautifully written, but deeply disturbing novel.
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