Judging from the front cover of the book, my initial thought was that the book was for men and that it was going to be some kind of man's typical crime investigation book. However, this book is simply one of the most cleverly put together books I have ever read. The storyline was absolutely amazing, it kept me guessing throughout the entire book. The book is known to be a top selling thriller book and it definetly earnt that title, the flashbacks throughout and the mind games played throughout, excited me beyond my belief. However, I think the let down is that it is not particularly well written.
*****=5 Star Rating
A truelly beautifull true story about a boy and his three sisters who's mother doesn't return home one night so they go out looking for her. His mother is brutally killed by the Yorkshire Ripper and the four children get sent to all type of violent homes where his sister was brutally raped and he was constantly beaten. The tale is all about transformation and hope within families or people that may have suffered abuse when they was younger too. The tale is one that was extremely touching and an inspiration to many people who read this book. Richard's transformation is inspiring to many people including me, he never gave up hope.
***-3 Star Rating
"Pressed Fairy Book" I discovered when I was round visiting my Great Aunt, she always used to tell me to look at how beautifull the images were when i was younger but used to flip the pages quickly when it got to images such as the one above because they were always too rude for me to see, so she would say. The book is in style of a journal of a young girl who squashes fairys, there isn't that much text on each page as the images are all pretty explanatory and it's what makes the book what it is. The images however are beautifully created and make the book what it is. It was definetly the most prettiest book I have ever read, for the illastrations.
**-2 Star Rating
This isn't a book I would choose of the shelf probably because i can tell from even looking at the front cover that it would be a hard read as it is based around the Traditional African background. Some words in this book are hard to understand so because I studied this book as part of my exam for year one of my college course, it was easier to understand as we went through the words as a group. The book was not a favourite of mine, I didn't enjoy the storyline and the ending was rubbish to be honest it was a book that I don't feel i connected with at all. The characters were hard to understand and the traditions were interesting to read about such as the man being a fierce man who is allowed three wives and has different children with each wife. But the story in general didn't make me want to continue reading and for this I would have to give it..
*-1 Star Rating.
A realistic encounter of a romantic story as the man has a wife but falls in love with this women he meets at Platform 8. However, it is not an unrealistic book and the characters I felt i couldn't really understand or feel connected with. And whilst reading a book i like to feel like an observer in reality of the characters in this book however I don't feel Matthews portrayed them all that clearly. This is another type of book I would recommend to my mother or nan I don't feel it is aimed at my age group.
***-3 Star Rating.
Marina Lewycka's follow up to her previous novel "A short history of tractors in Ukrainion" is even funnier than her first novel. The characters will have you laughing throughout till the beginning to the end and unlike the first one there is no history on tractors to get bored off. The storyline is exciting as I have never read a book which covers the storyline Marina has created. Definetly a great success to her previous book and Marina came back with vengence with this one.
**-2 Star Rating
Well, a hard novel to summon up really in words. Some parts of the book are extremely boring unless you have an interest in tractors and want to learn about how they are made and there history. However, i should have expected this from the title of the books as it simply quotes "history of tractors.." however this book is extremely captivating and hilarious at the same time. It did make me laugh at load at particular points and the description is unbelievably correct describing the ukranians in general and the old man and his "big boobed lover". Even my friend's mother who read this book agreed that this book is an unforgettable one and you can't help but carry on reading because of the humour it provides. My mother also read the book and told me to read it and then feedback to her what i thought and she also agreed she had to skip the pages about the history of the tractors. However, overall a very funny read and I would recommend to read it to understand what this review means.
**-2 Star Rating.
