Final reads of 2017

Trafficked was bought at the airport this year after some flight delays. This book was a horrifying read where a British girl was lured to Italy by a 'friend', and  was then forced to into prostitution to repay her 'friend's' drug debt.  Sophie Hayes is not her real name but a pseudonym, and the writer has formed the Sophie Hayes Foundation to help girls like herself.

Wildflower Hill was such a beautiful story. I loved this author!! It was the first novel of hers for me, and it won't be the last. A historical saga weaved between two generations, Beattie Blaxland who came to Australia as a Scottish immigrant in the early 1900s and her granddaughter, Emma Blaxland - Hunter, a ballerina. Their lives connect and the story is brought to life through understanding of a sheep farm, Wildflower Hill in Tasmania.

Sapphire Skies is another historical saga, about a Russian female fighter pilot, Natasha, who flew in WWII, and Lily, an Russian-Australian who has tragically lost her fiance to cancer. The way the two stories connect is wonderfully written.

These are the last reads for me in 2017. Another two countries visited in my read around the world challenge.  🇮🇹 and 🇷🇺

That was a total of 44 books read, a total of 12, 084 pages. The shortest book I read this year was for uni, Peter Drucker's Managing Oneself, and the longest was Jeffrey Archer's False Impression. The average length of book I read was 275 pages. 

The most popular book I've read this year on Goodreads is A Thousand Splendid Suns with 1,323,910 also reading this book and the least popular book I've read on Goodreads is Data! Dialogue! Decisions! - sadly I am the only one... This is due to my uni assignment! LOL The highest rated book I read this year was The War that saved my life. Eleven books were audiobooks, and only 3 were from the library.

Looking forward to discovering more in the world of story in 2018!

Michael Morpurgo

Back in 2013, I had a Year 5/6 classroom. I read them Michael Morpurgo's Little Manfred.

It was a beautiful story about events surrounding the World Cup in 1966 and further back to the second World War. It tells the story of two prisoners and what the war was like for sailors in that time. I love how Michael Morpurgo weaves historical facts into fiction. After reading this story, one of my students borrowed a lot of  the author's books from the library and for his birthday his parents bought him the Michael Morpurgo box set. I bought it for myself, hoping to read them. All the books would be suitable for children in Grades 3-6.

The first book I read from the box set was Kensuke's Kingdom. This book was like a modern day Robinson Crusoe. In 1988 a British family decided to sail around the world in the Peggy Sue. Michael gets swept of the yacht one wild night and is rescued by Kensuke, a Japanese soldier who exiled himself to an island after the bombing of Nagasaki. The story tells of the adventure and their friendship.

Also in the box set was The Wreck of the Zanzibar. This was a quick read, just over 100 pages.  Michael's great aunt Laura has passed away and she left him her diary. In it, it tells about her brother Billy and the night the wreck of a ship, the Zanzibar in the Scilly Isles. Beautifully illustrated and well written. 

Long Way Home is another beautiful story by Michael Morpurgo.  About a foster boy called George who begrudgingly spends his Summer vacation away from the Home and with the Dyer family. Disaster strikes twice for this family and its only then, George realises how much he likes being with the Dyers. Another quick read, just over 150 pages.

Why the Whales Came is possibly my favourite from the box set. It tells of two children Gracie and Daniel who love making boats and sailing them around the Scilly Islands where they live. They are warned from their parents not to go to the Heathy Hill where the Birdman lives. However, the calmer waters are too tempting and, they meet and befriend the reculsive Birdman. This really is a delightful story set during WWII. I believe its also been made into a movie, now I will have to search for it.

I still have two more books from this collection to read. I look forward to reading them.

The Sunlit night

This was a less than average read. I chose the title as it will go towards my Read around the world challenge as it was set in Norway.

The storyline was flawed, the two main characters, Yasha and Frances live in Brooklyn USA. Frances decides to take up an artist apprenticeship and Yasha decides to fulfil his father's last wish... what are the chances of meeting someone in the remotest part of the world, that came from just around the corner. The author's writing style was fast paced and at times a bit manic. It made it difficult to invest in the story of the characters. Being set for most of the story at the "top of the world" I would have liked to escape into the world of the story through its idyllic description of the scenery, which really was lacking. Its a first novel for this author, Rebecca Dinerstein, and I won't be revisiting this author anytime soon.

Just recapping my read around the world challenge so far:

Oceania:

Australia - The Light Between Oceans by M L Stedman

Asia:

Korea - Kite Fighters by Linda Su Park

Lebanon - Oranges in No Man's Land by Elizabeth Laird

Israel - One More River by Lynne Reid Banks

Afghanistan -  A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseni

Iran - Leila's Secret - Kooshyar Karimi

Africa:

Kenya - Facing the Lion by Joseph Lemasolai Lekuton

Sudan - A Long Walk to Water y Linda Su Park

Rwanda - One Thousand Hills by James Roy and Noel Zihabmwe

Somalia - Through my eyes: Amina by J L Powers

Europe:

Ireland - A Taste for It by Monica McInerney

United Kingdom - The War that Saved My Life by Kimberley Brubaker Bradley

Guernsey - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows

Denmark - Number the Starts by Lois Lowry

France - Paris for One by Jojo Moyes

Norway - The Sunlit Night by Rebecca Dinerstein

Finland - Big Game by Dan Smith

Belgium -  And We're Off by Dana Schwartz

North and Central America

United States - Everything I never told you by Celeste Ng

Canada - The Lightkeeper's Daughters by Jean E. Pendziwol

South America:

not yet explored

20 countries explored so far through the world of story. 

The stars are fire

Years ago, I came across Anita Shreve after her book, The Pilot's wife became a Oprah book club title. I fell in love with her descriptive writing and strong female characters and read many of her books at the time. When I saw a new Anita Shreve title available on audible.com, I thought it would be a good story to listen on my commute each day. 

After a fire devastates a coastal town, Grace survives her house burning to the ground with her two young children. Homeless, penniless and with her husband missing, she gains her strength and provides for her family. A moving story that I couldnt stop listening to.