KJK Reads

Rating: 5 Stars Themes: Children's Fiction, Disability Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. As a disabled individual who is still getting my head around pacing and needing support it’s great to see a representation like this to help children, especially having a dynamic disability (some days walker or rollator, others different aides or even none at all) as I had never heard of such a thing until I became dynamically disabled myself. I can also understand and relate to the mood swings as being different to your peers and unable to keep up can be very frustrating and it’s only natural for it to get to someone so young. It was great to see her loved and accepted regardless and I think the book has a great homey and loving feel having drawing style illustrations rather than cartoons. Favourite Quote: “Those little things that seem so easy, for us are not so lemon squeezy. But no matter what you do, we're family - and we...

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Poetry, Mental Health  Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. These poems are extremely moving and have definitely left me with an emotional impact. I liked that LoSchiavo included different types, such as the coercive suicide turned manslaughter case, and even being able to be vulnerable enough to share her musings on a relatives suicide. I also appreciated the little details at the end of each poem as I didn’t know much about the Saudi Sisters or the East Village gas explosion since I don’t live in America. Favourite Quote: “High on the oars of feeling, bliss comes - fades away when melancholy takes the wheel as if joy's ballast rolled, washed overboard”

Rating: 3 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, True Crime, History Thoughts: This is a very detailed and pretty insightful book. I only had a basic knowledge of the Ripper killings and am by no means an aspiring Ripperologist so the book enlightened me quite a bit. There are a few chapters at the beginning that help us to contextualise the murders and there's also a lot of direct newspaper quotes and direct quotes from trials which I found to be a great touch. It was interesting that Martha Turner was included in a chapter at first since she isn’t considered one of the canonical five today but the injuries and MO were actually similar and the police saw similarities when the canonical murders occurred. Two murders after the last accepted murder are also included but it shows how they can be seen as not related in comparison to the Turner murder which was accepted at the time. Overall, I don’t think Matthews really romanticised the crimes and Catherine Eddows or Mary Kelly’s mortuary pictures...

Rating:  3 Stars Themes: Poetry, Children's  Thoughts: I have to admit when I picked this poetry collection up in the local charity shop I didn’t realise it was aimed at 10 to 11 year olds but nevertheless I enjoyed it. Having little anthologies for between 7 and 11 years old is a great way to get children into poetry, especially having poems that will entertain and appeal to them at each age. There are quite a few great poems by renowned poets such as Robert Burns and Lewis Carroll as well as ones not as widely known too. I also found the illustrations on the cover and the decoration along the side of each page added a great touch. 

Rating: 2 Stars Themes: Classic Literature  Thoughts: I know that this is supposed to be a great literary classic with the back of my (Wordsworth) edition calling it one of the greatest novels of American literature but I really couldn’t get along with it. The over the top extravagance and the on the nose symbolism made this book a tough read for me and there were no characters I loved to keep my attention so I definitely don’t think this book is for me but I think I can see where some people love it.  Favourite Quote: “In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since. Whenever you feel like criticising anyone,' he told me, 'just remember that all the people in this world haven't had the advantages that you've had.'.”

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Thriller, Domestic Fiction, Dual POV, Mystery, Dark Humour Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I wasn’t sure what to expect picking up this book with it being a mix between domestic fiction and thriller with Fox and Haze struggling to adapt to life after BeBe resulting in secrets, love, lies and murder. Fox and Haze are two very complex characters with troubled pasts and a solid relationship until they start to hide things from each other then we see how dark they can really become. I enjoyed the dark humor, especially the sharp and witty personality of Haze. The two narrators were great and having a different voice for each helped separate the points of view well. Hopefully the ending leaves the chance for another book, as it could be fun to see how they handle a complex case and juggling in the new unit. Favourite Quote: “I still wasn't totally sure how we'd ended up here. I didn't know wh...