JoJo's books read in 2016

[JoJo]

85. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts 1 & 2 by J. K. Rowling
e-book, finished 3 December

Pages: 320

Setting: UK

Description:
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on 30th July 2016.

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes, darkness comes from unexpected places.

My review:
This is the first time I've read a play, I enjoyed it. It wasn't as good as the first 7 books, but it was almost as good!

Rating: 4 stars

[JoJo]

86. The Elephant Tree by R. D. Ronald
e-book, finished 11 December

Pages: 252

Description:
Mark Fallon is an overworked detective investigating a spate of attacks at a string of high profile city centre nightclubs. Scott is a dejected 24 year old struggling to make ends meet working for his brother and supplementing his income with a small-scale drug dealing operation. Angela is an attractive 23 year old, raised by her father, a career criminal and small time drug dealer who supplies Scott with cannabis. This is a chilling tale spanning a few months in the lives of Scott and Angela, where realizations about the present combine with shocking revelations from the past leading to an apocalyptic climax where they no longer know whom they can trust.

Rating: 3 stars

[JoJo]

87. Asperger Syndrome and Long-Term Relationships by Ashley Stanford
library book, finished 20 December

Pages: 270

Rating: 4 stars

[JoJo]

88. Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
owned book, finished 22 December

Pages: 470

Setting: USA

Description:
'I don't want that nurse touching my baby.' Those are the instructions from the newborn child's parents. However, when the baby goes into cardiac arrest, Ruth, a nurse of twenty years' experience, sees no option but to assist. But the baby dies. And Ruth is charged with negligent homicide.

Ruth is shattered and bewildered as she tries to come to terms with her situation. She finds different kinds of support from her sister, a fiery radical, and her teenage son, but it is to Kennedy McQuarrie, a white middle-class lawyer, to whom she entrusts her case, and her future.

As the two come to develop a truer understanding of each other's lives, they begin to doubt the beliefs they each hold most dear. In order for the privileged to prosper, they come to realise, others have to suffer. Racism takes many forms, and is reinforced and underpinned by the structures of our society.

In gripping dramas like Nineteen Minutes, My Sister's Keeper and The Pact, Jodi Picoult has explored the big issues of our time through characters whose lives resonate with us. Here we see once again her unrivalled ability to immerse us in a story whose issues will linger with us long after the final page has been finished.

My review:
Loved this book, Jodi Picoult did not disappoint me (again!), which is why she is my all-time favorite author. I love the topics she picks, how well-researched it is, and she tells the story from all points of view. A must-read, I recommend this book to everyone!

Rating: 5 stars

[JoJo]

89. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
e-book, finished 29 December

Pages: 314

Setting: Germany

Description:
Paul Baumer enlisted with his classmates in the German army of World War I. Youthful, enthusiastic, they become soldiers. But despite what they have learned, they break into pieces under the first bombardment in the trenches. And as horrible war plods on year after year, Paul holds fast to a single vow: to fight against the principles of hate that meaninglessly pits young men of the same generation but different uniforms against each other--if only he can come out of the war alive.

My review:
This book was sad, and graphic too. I hate war, so many lives lost. :(

Rating: 3 stars