KJK Reads

Rating: 4 Stars  Themes: Quiz, Puzzles Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is awesome for a coffee lover (as a coffee lover). Some of the puzzles took a little more time to figure out than others but that was great coz depending on the day sometimes I only had time for a quick one. I also really liked having all those coffee facts and quotes sprinkled throughout the book and the illustrations that accompanied them were great. Favourite Quote: “Coffee is so complex that scientists haven’t been able to chemically analyze all the processes that take place during roasting.”

Rating: 2 Stars Themes: Fiction, Short Stories  Thoughts:  This was a quick read with many short stories fitted into only 108 pages. Some were quite interesting to me such as Teesside Tsunami and Ballad of the Oak but others didn’t really catch my attention. I liked the map at the beginning and especially the endnotes that separated the true history of Whitby and, as the author themselves says, the nonsense. Favourite Quote:  “The sea, like Whitby itself, is a very mysterious place.”

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Graphic Novel, History, Feminism  Thoughts:  The art in this book is soo well done. The majority of the illustrations are in blacks, whites and shades of grey which makes the ginger of Sally’s hair and the Suffragette colours really pop. The colour and artwork for the beginning of each part/chapter were also striking and gave a hint of what part of history we were getting into without giving too much away. In terms of the story I enjoyed looking at the suffragette movement from a bit more of an outsider perspective from that of Emily Davidson and the Pankursts that I’m used to reading from. I also appreciated the way in which Talbot handled the forcible feeding in the prisons as she managed to get across the horror and brutality of it without the images being too explicit, which is especially good considering the target age group for the book. Favourite Quote:  “Why should women go to Parliament Square and be battered about and insulted, when it pr...

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Graphic Novel, Historical Thoughts:  I was a little conflicted with this book, it’s handy as a first touch point with the war in Syria and its history but there was something a little lacking. Sometimes it was difficult to tell the characters apart which was a problem when I couldn’t tell which army the character was fighting for until a few text bubbles in. I’m not sure if the art style did this intentionally but I noticed that the art style meant we couldn’t see the differences in skin tone which has been shown to make white people care more. It was good that the weapons used were broken down so to speak each time they were used with the country of origin and who it was supplied to being shown as it shows just how many external countries were meddling in the war on different sides. Overall though, I did get the feeling of hope despite the horrors through this book, especially with the way Yasmin kept having her Freedom Hospital sign put up regardless of wh...

Rating: 2 Stars Themes: Contemprary Thoughts: This book had an amazing premise but it left me feeling really lacking instead. I did find it interesting to see how the different people reacted to/handled seeing the disturbing content every day from falling for conspiracy theories to mental health struggles and even becoming desensitised and shut down. But the use of slurs happened on more than one occasion and was completely unnecessary and the ending left me feeling like we were missing an actual ending.

Rating: 3.5 Stars Themes: Fantasy, Curse Thoughts: Corbett has managed to weave such strong themes throughout this book alongside the story and its curse. The parental themes are looked at from multiple sides with having both a mother and daughter duo and a father and son and she also looked at both strong turmoil and loving  Relationships. I did struggle to feel for Kate at first but that was a little unfair as I disliked how she treated Rhea but the pressure of living with that kind of a curse must have taken its toll on her, especially knowing it will pass on so I should have been more patient with her. I did like the boys and Rhea and I found the banter the characters had quite relatable as a Smoggie myself. I did quite like the journey and really felt the emotions for the way in which it all ended.  Favourite Quote: “To be without any hope of a reprieve is soul destroying.”