I loved those creepy parts the most 
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Main characters: Victor Vale and Eli Ever
Plot (summary): Victor and Eli started out as college roommates–brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.
Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find–aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will. Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge–but who will be left alive at the end?
My thoughts; more about the story: Woooooow wooooah.
It’s been a while since I’ve read this book but I never miss a chance to recommend it to someone!! Such a perfect we could’ve been lovers forever if we hadn’t decided to become enemies story (play Frances by role model) . The story goes back and forth between perspectives and time and you can see how Eli and Victor become the people they are, you see that ultimate battle between them and how they went from being friends to enemies. I also looooove the way people get their powers in this series… Just read it, okay? I can bet on everything that you will love it as much as I do. I’ve already bought book 2 and plan on reading it soon, I’m sooooo excited! But I’m also thing about rereading this one first just to remind myself of what happened and lk experience it all over again because it’s that amazing.
Quotes:
“Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.”
“He wanted to care, he wanted to care so badly, but there was this gap between what he felt and what he wanted to feel, a space where something important had been carved out.”
“All Eli had to do was smile. All Victor had to do was lie. Both proved frighteningly effective.”
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Main characters: Geillis and Iris
Plot (summary): IT’S THE 4TH OF DECEMBER 1591.
On this, the last night of her life, in a prison cell several floors below Edinburgh’s High Street, convicted witch Geillis Duncan receives a mysterious visitor - Iris, who says she comes from a future where women are still persecuted for who they are and what they believe. As the hours pass and dawn approaches, Geillis recounts the circumstances of her arrest, brutal torture, confession and trial, while Iris offers support, solace - and the tantalising prospect of escape.
Hex is a visceral depiction of what happens when a society is consumed by fear and superstition, exploring how the terrible force of a king’s violent crusade against ordinary women can still be felt, right up to the present day.
My thoughts; more about the story: I get goosebumps every time I think about this book. It’s really short so don’t wait - GO READ IT NOW. It really leaves you with a genuine weight in your heart. You get thrown into this story witnessing Geilis’ last night before her death, you watch the story of two witches connected over time. I feel such a rage at the injustices women in the past and present suffer because of the actions of men and this book really shows it… You read about the 16th century patriarchy and how inherently sexist such a society was. It was such a difficult read but this book will stay with me forever.
Quotes:
“Put those heels away. That click, click, click, click is Morse code for r@pists. It says their sentence will be lenient or non-existent. If only she didn’t wear stilettos. If only she didn’t walk through a park. If only she didn’t go out at night.”
“A woman’s voice is a hex. She must learn to exalt men always. If she doesn’t do that, then she is a threat. A demon whre, a witch – so says everyone and the law.”
- You know what really brings the storms, Geillis?
- What?
- A storm arrives at the exact second when a girl learns she’ll never be free.
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Main characters: Lakshmi and her kids
Plot (summary): Nothing in Lakshmi’s childhood, running carefree and barefoot on the sun-baked earth amid the coconut and mango trees of Ceylon, could have prepared her for what life was to bring her. At fourteen, she finds herself traded in marriage to a stranger across the ocean in the fascinating land of Malaysia.
Duped into thinking her new husband is wealthy, she instead finds herself struggling to raise a family with a man too impractical to face reality and a world that is, by turns, unyielding and amazing, brutal and beautiful.
Giving birth to a child every year until she is nineteen, Lakshmi becomes a formidable matriarch, determined to wrest from the world a better life for her daughters and sons and to face every new challenge with almost mythic strength.
By sheer willpower Lakshmi survives the nightmare of World War II and the Japanese occupation – but not unscathed. The family bears deep scars on its back and in turn inflicts those wounds on the next generation. But it is not until Lakshmi’s great-granddaughter, Nisha, pieces together the mosaic of her family history that the legacy of the Rice Mother bears fruit.
My thoughts; more about the story: I got this book as a gift two summers ago (it’s a fav of one of my friends and she wanted me to read it) and I wasn’t really sure about it at first because it’s not something I used to read! But it was a gift and I wanted to read it and tell my friend what I think about it… Best decision ever made! Beautiful story! Beautifly written, really it’s so vivid! You get to read about lives of people of the diaspora in Malaya, their cultures, customs, religion and then faith of Lakshmi and her kids and husband. There are a lot of characters and povs and it’s filled with so much sadness but they are all well fleshed out, there are not any unnecessary povs and sides of the story - everything is so important.
It is long so prepare for that: 580 pages, a period of 85 years over 4 generations but I highly recommended this book. I will reread it soon and maybe come back to comment more on it because it has been so long since I’ve read it.
Quotes:
“The years have not diminished the Rice Mother. I see her, fierce and magical. Stop despairing and call to her, and you will see, she will come bearing a rainbow of dreams.”
“My uncle said, My heart is my bamboo, and if I treat it kindly and listen for its song, the highest, biggest nest will surely be mine.”
“How not to miss those days when the sun was a happy companion that stayed to play all year round and kissed me a careless nut brown? When Mother caught the sweet rain in her well behind the house, and the air was so clear that the grass smelled green?”
Main characters: Idir
Plot (summary): Britain, the not-too-distant future.
Idir is sitting the British Citizenship Test.
He wants his family to belong.
Twenty-five questions to determine their fate. Twenty-five chances to impress.
When the test takes an unexpected and tragic turn, Idir is handed the power of life and death.
How do you value a life when all you have is multiple choice?
My thoughts; more about the story: Wow. I can’t say much because it is really short and I’d just reveal everything. All I’m going to add here is that you should def read this, especially if you’re fan of Black Mirror!! It’s like an episode of Black Mirror and I loved every minute of it. It’s full of social commentary and insights into human behaviour, it really messes with your head.
Quotes:
“People who talk a lot about the environment are always the ones living the farthest away from nature.”
“Why was I so quick to judge this man? I must be nervous, myself. There is a lesson to be learned here. We are all more alike than we think.”
“System justification is the idea that many of our needs can be satisfied by defending and justifying the status quo. It gives stability to our political and economic systems because people are inherently inclined to defend it. It prevents people at a disadvantage from questioning the system that disadvantages them, makes people buy the inevitability of social inequity, ignore or support policies that hurt them.”
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