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Showing posts from January, 2018

Book Review : Simon vs the Homosapien Agenda by Becky Albertalli

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Ahh!! The book that gave me jitters and creepers. So, this one was on my Amazon wish-list for real long time and I had finally received not one but two copies of this book as my Secret Santa gift. To be honest, I never knew there was a movie coming out based on this book but found out almost a few days later. The book talks about the sensitive issue of coming out for a closeted individual and brings out a question that we need to answer? Do Straights ever have to come out too? Blurb (From Goodreads): Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised. With some messy dynamics emerging in his once

Book Review : Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo

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After hearing quite a lot about Leigh Bardugo on my bibliophile communities, I finally decided to pick up this one from my treasure. Being an ardent Potterhead, I was a bit reluctant to involve myself in another magical world since I felt that there is nothing whatsoever that would be able to create the magic of J K Rowling. Leigh Bardugo's World of the Grisha was first introduced in Shadow and Bone Trilogy and with Languange of Thrones, a set of short stories set in the sam world, Leigh Bardugo has just started expanding her kingdom. Blurb: Travel to a world of dark bargains struck by moonlight, of haunted towns and hungry woods, of talking beasts and gingerbread golems, where a young mermaid's voice can summon deadly storms and where a river might do a lovestruck boy's bidding but only for a terrible price. What's good with the book: 1. First and foremost, before I even talk about the story, the book has beautiful illustrations for each of the stories. The

Book Review : Who Burned the Moon? by Rahul Vishnoi

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"For The Night is Dark and Full of Terrors". This is the very first quote that strikes me these days whenever I hear the word burn or fire. Though Melisandre is nowhere related to this book, but this quote did make a brilliant start. So, here I'm with a review of my friend's latest book, a fantasy novel set in Dimakiya and brings in interesting elements involving the readers in a roller coaster ride of its own. Blurb (From Amazon): This novel has a superhero, but it's not about him. It's about his best friend-Rehan Saxena. He couldn't even pass class XII, but his mother wants him to become a "dactar". Thanks to a duplicate marksheet, he's sent packing to Lala Purabnath's Medical College Here Rehan befriends Namak, who happens to be a superhero in the making. Namak doesn't wear a back-hanging dupatta like Superman, but he does have this kickass-looking burning moon between his tits and he can fly, too (occasionally though). So

Book Review : The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherin Arden

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“She looked like a wild thing new-caught and just barely groomed into submission.” This quote aptly described not just the main character in the book but somewhere it also describes the actual book and the way it progesses. The Bear and the Nightingale is the first of Winternight trilogy by Katherin Arden, a beautiful book based in Russia which revolves around Vasilisa and her family and the way their lives tangle with elements of superstitions and Gods. Blurb: In a village at the edge of the wilderness of northern Russia, where the winds blow cold and the snow falls many months of the year, an elderly servant tells stories of sorcery, folklore and the Winter King to the children of the family, tales of old magic frowned upon by the church. But for the young, wild Vasya these are far more than just stories. She alone can see the house spirits that guard her home and sense the growing forces of dark magic in the woods... What's good with the book: 1. The beautiful plot. The

Book Review : Inside the Heart of Hope by Rishabh Puri

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A few years back, there was a boom of  young authors especially IIT graduates who wanted to try their hands on writing after the success of Chetan Bhagat. As far as I remember, not many succeeded as the trend started declining, apart from a chosen few. Recently, when I was given a chance to review this book, I chose this book hoping against hope for an improvement and here is my take on the same. Blurb (From Amazon): We’re all a little broken, and that’s okay. Or is it? Rick has a medical condition that makes his life different from the rest. But unlike others around him, he sees this not as a curse, but as an opportunity to cherish life and all the bitter-sweet gifts it brings with it. Amidst frequent visits to the doctor, multiple surgeries that risk his life being, and a life that meant surveillance all the time, Rick has to fight for himself each day. But he pulls through, thanks to his family and friend Jacob, who become his pillars of strength. And then, at a time when he is l

Book Review : Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead

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"I have a dream...", the first time I ever heard this speech by Martin Luther King Jr, the speech reverberated through me for a very long time. The lives of the people affected by the evils of Slavery can never be compensated and this was also depicted brilliantly in one of my favourite classics till date, Uncle Tom's Cabin. So, recently when I picked up this book, me and 2 of my friends decided to buddy read this one. Though it took me quite a bit of time to finish the book, but it felt like an achievement as it was my first book for 2018. Blurb: Cora is a slave on a cotton plantation in Georgia. Life is hellish for all the slaves but especially bad for Cora; an outcast even among her fellow Africans, she is coming into womanhood - where even greater pain awaits. When Caesar, a recent arrival from Virginia, tells her about the Underground Railroad, they decide to take a terrifying risk and escape. Matters do not go as planned and, though they manage to find a statio