sarahwilliamsandco

Yeah, so it is June and this is my April wrap up. What are you gonna do? Where is my May wrap up? There isn’t one. I’m back in my old bad habit of starting thirteen books at once but finishing none. Working on that for June. I had a small but good reading month in April, so here we go:

Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls – Elena Favilli, Francesca Cavallo

Was it even conceivable that I wouldn’t love this book? It was everything I needed. The illustrations are absolutely stunning. Each page brings you the story of a different rebel woman and I appreciated the amount of women I’d never even heard of before. It’s kind of sad how many women I didn’t recognise and maybe I should be seeking these women out more. But it was refreshing to learn about new epic women, some who’ve been hidden by history and others who are just starting out. It was pretty humbling to see so many women featured who are younger than me and what they’ve already done for the world!

Mom & Me & Mom – Maya Angelou

Somehow this was my first Maya Angelou and I don’t think I could have chosen a better one. I guess I’ll find out when I read the others though. Her exploration of family and love and obligation and respect in this memoir is truly mesmerising. Angelou does not romanticise family and the love of a mother. She’s sees the flaws in humans but also their potential for forgiveness and greatness. I loved the lessons her mother taught her and they’re ideas I’ll take into my own life. It’s just a beautiful mother/daughter story that is definitely not always easy but is always worth it.

The Body Snatcher – Robert Louis Stevenson

I enjoy reading gothic fiction but I’m also a bit of a wuss so I’ve had this short story on my shelf for a while now. I’m yet to read Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde so I thought I’d start small and see if I enjoyed Stevenson’s writing. I found the writing a little dry but the story compelling. I enjoyed the conversation of morality and mortality. Not something I feel I need to read again but I enjoyed it enough.

The Red Pony – John Steinbeck

Since reading it in GCSE’s, Of Mice and Men has been one of my favourite books. I loved how Steinbeck explored characters as well as nature so I was looking for more of this. The Red Pony did not disappoint. At times there was a little too much technical talk of horses that went over my head and some of the graphic description of violence towards animals was a little too much for my herbivore heart, but overall I found the book pretty endearing. I enjoyed seeing the care Jody developed for his animals and how he viewed them as friends. I also found the exploration of old people’s place in the society of the time quite fascinating.

Helpless – The Regrettes