REVIEW: Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

Title: Saving Francesca
Author: Melina Marchetta
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary.
Publication Date: June 5th 2006
Publisher: Penguin Australia
Format: Paperback
Pages: 252
Rating: 4/5

Francesca battles her mother, Mia, constantly over what's best for her. All Francesca wants is her old friends and her old school, but instead Mia sends her to St. Sebastian's, an all-boys' school that has just opened its doors to girls. Now Francesca's surrounded by hundreds of boys, with only a few other girls for company. All of them weirdos, or worse.

Then one day, Mia is too depressed to get out of bed. One day turns into months, and as her family begins to fall apart, Francesca realizes that without her mother's high spirits, she hardly knows who she is. But she doesn't yet realize that she's more like Mia than she thinks. With a little unlikely help from St. Sebastian's, she just might be able to save her family, her friends, and - especially- herself.

There’s something about Melina Marchetta’s writing that just makes me irrevocably happy. This is my third book of hers, and by the end of each book, every single time, I end up feeling happy and like something inside me has changed. Saving Francesca was, obviously, no exception.

I always go into Melina’s books a bit hesitant, I don’t really know why but I always do, however by about page 30 or so I’m completely in love and there’s no turning back. I don’t know what it was about Saving Francesca that made me suddenly fall in love, but before I knew it I’d reached the end and I was desperate for just a few more pages. I think that’s always the sign of a good book, when you reach the end but you know it’s not going to be enough. Luckily, in this case there is a companion novel so I won’t be completely without the characters I fell in love with here.

Francesca is a really great character. She is definitely flawed, but there are parts of her that I could connect to and I could understand (most of) her reactions to the events in the book. Her group friends are completely amazing. They’re so fun to read about and they’re all so different – it’s especially great to see how their friendship evolves through the book. I can’t choose a favourite, I love all of them equally.

It’s such a fun book, it’s just easy to get through and it feels so short. It is only 243 pages long, but it feels even shorter than that. I’m still sitting here 24 hours later just desperately hoping that I somehow missed out on the final page or something because I just need more.

Now we’ve reached the part of the review where I tell you all to pick up this book if you haven’t already because you seriously NEED it in your life. You may think you’re all good without it, but I’m telling you – just read it.

MINI-REVIEW: Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

Title: Belzhar
Author: Meg Wolitzer
Genre: Young Adult, Magical Realism.
Publication Date: October 1st 2014
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Format: Paperback

Pages: 266

Rating: 4/5

If life were fair, Jam Gallahue would still be at home in New Jersey with her sweet British boyfriend, Reeve Maxfield. She’d be watching old comedy sketches with him. She’d be kissing him in the library stacks.

She certainly wouldn’t be at The Wooden Barn, a therapeutic boarding school in rural Vermont, living with a weird roommate, and signed up for an exclusive, mysterious class called Special Topics in English.

But life isn’t fair, and Reeve Maxfield is dead.

Until a journal-writing assignment leads Jam to Belzhar, where the untainted past is restored, and Jam can feel Reeve’s arms around her once again. But there are hidden truths on Jam’s path to reclaim her loss.

From New York Times bestselling author Meg Wolitzer comes a breathtaking and surprising story about first love, deep sorrow, and the power of acceptance.

This book was provided to me by the publisher but this in no way alters my opinions.

Belzhar was different than I was expecting. I knew it was magical realism and that it was had elements of The Bell Jar/Sylvia Plath, but that was it. I enjoyed the story – I’ve never read anything like it and I thought it was very beautiful and unique. It was also just really easy to plough through – it’s only a short book, but it’s also just one of those books that you can read in a number of hours. I think the only thing that stopped me from being a 5 star book was that I didn’t feel there was a lot of Plath in there – I would have liked to see a bit more, but that’s just because I’ve recently become a Plath fangirl. I’d definitely suggest Belzhar to anyone who’s looking for a quick, fun read.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing me with a copy of this book.

#UPDATE - TBR

*Wipes the dust off the other co-bloggers side of the blog*

Ha! So I'm sure you have heard, but Chami is back! I've finally finished exams and now surf in the kingdom of freedom. Hugs and books all round!

And what better way to come back than state ALL THE BOOKS ON MY TBR. So, I really did not have the chance to read a lot these past two years because of finals and so without further a do (is that what they say? no, Chami, no it is not - Ely), here are the books on my DEFINITE TBR!

- The Infinite Sea (#2) by Rick Yancy
- The Retribution of Mara Dyer (#3) by Michelle Hopkins
- The Lux Series by Jennifer LA
- Throne of Glass by Sarah J Mass
- The Grisha Series by Leigh Bardugo
- Fangirl by Rainbow Rowel


Not many, I know! But these are the ones I really do have to put aside time for! If any has any suggestions please leave them down below!

REVIEW: Not That Kind of Girl by Lena Dunham

Title: Not That Kind of Girl: A Young Woman Tells You What She's "Learned"
Author: Lena Dunham

Genre: Humor, Autobiography.

Publication Date: September 30th 2014

Publisher: Random House

Format: E-Book

Pages: 256

Rating: 3/5

"There is nothing gutsier to me than a person announcing that their story is one that deserves to be told," writes Lena Dunham, and it certainly takes guts to share the stories that make up her first book, Not That Kind of Girl. These are stories about getting your butt touched by your boss, about friendship and dieting (kind of) and having two existential crises before the age of 20. Stories about travel, both successful and less so, and about having the kind of sex where you feel like keeping your sneakers on in case you have to run away during the act. Stories about proving yourself to a room of 50-year-old men in Hollywood and showing up to "an outlandishly high-fashion event with the crustiest red nose you ever saw." Fearless, smart, and as heartbreakingly honest as ever, Not That Kind of Girl establishes Lena Dunham as more than a hugely talented director, actress and producer-it announces her as a fresh and vibrant new literary voice.

My knowledge of Lena Dunham before I picked up this book was pretty limited – I knew she was the creator/writer/star of Girls and that was about it. Despite that, I picked this up because I’d heard so good things about it and I have this new obsession about trying books that are normally out of my comfort zone. I enjoyed reading it for the most part.

I personally found it funny. Admittedly, there wasn’t a lot I could relate too, but there were still things I found funny even though I’d never experienced something like that. It was also reasonably quick and easy to get through – it didn’t require a lot of thought so I could read it late at night when I was starting to get a little tired.

There were some things I didn’t like. I found it kind of hard to follow at some points – I would get confused with people in the story. The biggest thing was the timeline – there wasn’t really one at all, the entire story was just all over the place. I never realised how much I appreciated strict linear timelines until now. There were also a few parts that I just found completely unnecessary or just plain weird.

This might sound strange, but I don’t know if it’s a book I would recommend. Sure, I enjoyed it but I think you need to be in a particular mood to read something like this. 

UPDATE: We're Back

Hello everyone! As you may have noticed, I've slowly been returning to blogging since I went on a little break at the end of October. Before I get into this post, I just want to thank everyone who sent me tweets, comments and e-mails - it really, really meant a lot to me. Now, we've got some exciting news for you all!

Firstly, we're getting a new blog design from the wonderful Hazel of Stay Bookish. She's been so patient with us, and the design is amazing! We can't wait for you all to see it :)

Secondly, starting tomorrow, we're doing this thing called 'review week'. It's exactly what it sounds like - a week filled with nothing but book reviews. We've been kind of lacking with the book reviews lately, hence our decision to do this.

Thirdly, Chami is almost finished exams! In fact, her last exam is tomorrow. Do you know what this means? CHAMI WILL BE BACK!

Finally, (I think), we've created another wonderful themed week that'll be happening in two weeks time. What is the theme you, I hear you ask. Welllll, it's Shatter Me.

I think that's about it! I hope you're all having a marvellous week, and we'll see you next time! (because Chami will be back!!!! Can you guess I'm excited?)

Top Five Books To Read In The Holidays

Today, we are teaming up with Bookworld to bring you a post on our top five favourite books to read in the lead up to the holidays. If you don’t already own these books (or maybe you’re just looking for an early Christmas present for yourself), you should head over to Bookworld so you can spoil yourself! Without further ado, let’s get onto the post.

I’ve always found that the days leading up to the holidays are best spent reading some wacked up book with crazy world building and quirky characters. After all, you did just spend months with school or work and what better way is there to prepare yourself for holidays then letting your mind go crazy.

VAMPIRE ACADEMY by RICHELLE MEAD
So if you have read Vampire Academy or are one of the odd few who haven’t, then now is the time to read it again or for the first time! I really have no words for it and I haven’t really met someone who hasn’t enjoyed the whole series. One of the best things is that you don’t have to wait for all the Vampire Academy books to come out as they all have already been released. You can just constantly feed your obsession every second of the day until it is done. It is a good option to go with if you’re not ready to go into epic fantasy or hardcore dystopian. It has just the right level of realistic and fantastical elements in it that you won’t feel totally jolted going into the holidays! If you are put off by this book just because of “Vampire” in its title, then I will personally kill you. In this series, Vampires are a culture so please don’t discriminate before you read it. Give it at least two books until you seriously get into it!

MAXIMUM RIDE by JAMES PATTERSON
Ugh, I don’t know if I am going to regret talking about this damn series because Ely can vouch for me that this series seriously messes her and I up so badly. Picking Maximum Ride is my way of saying; pick something you’ve read before! Rereads are the best, especially when they are childhood reads that you loved. There are too many books to count in this series and sometimes it is not the best of times, but it will earn a place in your heart after having gone through such an extensive journey with it!

Just like Chami, I think series are the way to go during the holidays. There’s nothing quite like marathoning a series you’ve been looking forward to and falling completely in love with the story and the characters (hopefully). I’m also a big believer of re-reading during the holidays, especially re-reading series that I read as a child.

HARRY POTTER by J.K ROWLING
First and foremost, Harry Potter. I think this is probably pretty self-explanatory, but I’m going to explain my personal reasons anyway. For me, Harry Potter has always meant Christmas for me – I watched the first movie for the first time on Christmas Day when I was six years old. Even more than that though, it’s just one of those series that makes me incredibly happy (and also incredibly sad in parts) but it’s my go to series when I need something I know I’ll love.

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS by LEMONY SNICKET
A Series of Unfortunate Events is my other go to series. I’m sure those of you who’ve read it will probably understand where I’m coming for, though I admit it isn’t the happiest series in the world. I read these when I was a child as well, so it just brings back all these happy memories of my childhood and reminds me why I fell in love with reading, which is especially great when I’m going through a bit of a reading slump. If you’ve never picked these up, then you definitely should these holidays!

SHATTER ME by TAHEREH MAFI
Finally…Shatter Me.
Did you guys actually think we’d make it through a whole post without mentioning this series? (If you did then you clearly don’t know us at all). We both adore this series more than anything in the whole world. It’s such a great trilogy – the characters are amazing (Warner and Kenji are the best, of course), they’re easy to get through and the writing is absolutely beautiful. Together we’ve probably re-read this series about a hundred times – that’s how obsessed we are. What better way to spend your holidays then re-reading your very favourite series?

So those are our top five choices of series to read leading up to the holidays. Leave us a comment below telling us your favourite books to read during the holidays. If you’re interested in any of the books we’ve mentioned, make sure to check them out on Bookworld and take advantage of their free shipping Australia wide!

GUEST POST: Brit's Bookish Habits

So the lovely Ely has asked me to do a guest post here at A Book So Fathomless, which I am very excited about! Today I’m talking about my reading habits and I want to hear about yours too, so don’t forget to leave a comment.

1. Deciding what to read next
One of those questions that comes up every time we turn the last page is what do we read next? I’ve always been a systematic reader – I have stacks of unread books all organised in the order I’m going to read them, usually based on when I bought them. I figure this way, everything gets read (eventually!). The problem of course appears when you buy a book you really want to read but have to wait until you get through the other ones first. So this rule slightly got changed when new books in series came out and those books got bumped up the stack. And now that I accept books for review, these books take precedent over the books I bought for me, but I always make sure that I mix it up a bit and read books that I bought as well as books for review, or else I think I would always be reading review books and would miss out on all the others! I still put a lot of thought into my immediate TBR stacks though and am perhaps even more of a systematic reader than before – but that’s how I like it!

 Caption: My immediate TBR - there are another eight piles like this!

2. What bookmark to use?
Over the years I have become an accidental bookmark collector. I always used bookmarks and hate the idea of using old receipts or ripped pieces of paper, although I am not against the dog-ear (because sometimes its necessary) and have at times been known to use photos to mark pages (I have a lot floating around – also I found that photobooth strips work great!). But I really love bookmarks. Unfortunately I lose them quite often :/ so I make sure I have a lot of replacements. I especially like to buy bookmarks when I’m travelling or if doing something or going somewhere new and exciting. Like most bookworms, I have a number of Book Depository bookmarks, as they just accumulate! My favourite is the one that my boyfriend had made for me for my birthday with a picture of us on it. It’s so cute!

Caption: my favourite bookmarks: on the left is the one my boyfriend had made for me; top right is from Singapore; middle right is from my favourite secondhand store that has since closed down; and bottom right I picked up from Megalong Books when visiting Sydney last month.

3. Organizing your shelves
After finishing a book, once recovered from the book hangover and ready to let go of the book itself, there is always the problem of where to put the book, especially when your shelves are overflowing, and how you organise those shelves. Much like I have a systematic order for my TBR pile, I also have one for my bookshelves. It is simple and not at all original but it does work (and in part stems from the desire to be a librarian when I was younger). I use an alphabetical by author last name system. And the only downfall is when you get a new book, you have to move alllllll the other books to make room for it. But I don’t really mind that much. I just like to be around my books and am lucky to have a whole room in my house devoted to them, so I don’t mind reorganizing and rearranging and shifting all my books around. I also have a couple of shelves of childhood favourites – one of these is dedicated to exclusively horse books and the other has a mixture of books I read when I was younger, like Animorphs and Sweet Valley High, that I just can’t bring myself to get rid of.

Caption: a couple of my mismatched bookshelves

So tell me: What are your reading habits? How do you decide what to read next? What does you use for bookmarks? And how do your organize your bookshelves?

Thank you Ely for having me on your blog! This was a lot of fun and hope the readers have enjoyed it as well :)

You can find the wonderful Brit on her blog, Crash My Book Party. I just want to thank Brit for being so lovely as to write this post for us and I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did!