Book Review: The Diary of A Young Girl by Anne Frank

Edition: Paperback, 340 pages
Published by: Puffin, 5th June 1997
Genre: Memoir, Non-Fiction, Classics, Historical
Completed by: 25th June 2020
My Rating: 5⭐️

Anne Frank’s extraordinary diary, written in the Amsterdam attic where she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years, has become a world classic and a timeless testament to the human spirit. Now, in a new edition enriched by many passages originally withheld by her father, we meet an Anne more real, more human, and more vital than ever. Here she is first and foremost a teenage girl—stubbornly honest, touchingly vulnerable, in love with life. She imparts her deeply secret world of soul-searching and hungering for affection, rebellious clashes with her mother, romance and newly discovered sexuality, and wry, candid observations of her companions. Facing hunger, fear of discovery and death, and the petty frustrations of such confined quarters, Anne writes with adult wisdom and views beyond her years. Her story is that of every teenager, lived out in conditions few teenagers have ever known.

---

“It’s really a wonder that I haven’t dropped all my ideals, because they seem so absurd and impossible to carry out. Yet I keep them, because in spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.”

When I was 12 I read the Anne Frank Story by Carol Ann Lee, which was a short biography based on Anne’s life and I think that was the first book that kind of got me into reading. As I loved it so much, my mum had gotten me the diary but for whatever reason, I was unable to get into the the story! I vaguely remember I folded a corner on page 312 intending to come back to it when I was in a mood but… I never did until now!

Book Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Edition: Hardcover, 442 pages
Published by: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Classics, Fiction, Romance
Completed: 6th June 2020
My Rating: 3 stars

“You and Papa, and my sisters, must come down and see us. We shall be at Newcastle all the winter, and I dare say there will be some balls, and I will take care to get good partners for them all.” – Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited. Darcy finds himself indifferent to Elizabeth Bennet’s good looks and lively mind. And later when Elizabeth discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she dislikes him more than ever. In the comedy of misdirected manners that follows, Jane Austen shows readers the error of judging by first impressions.

---

I steered way from reading Jane Austen because I felt like her books might be too romantic for me (I don’t like romance novels unless its combined in a fantasy), however Pride and Prejudice seems to be her best book and I felt like it’s classic I need to read!

Book Review: The Shining by Stephen King

Edition: Paperback, 497 pages
Published by: Hodder, Mass Market Paperback
Genre: Adult, Classics, Horror, Fantasy, Fiction, Supernatural, Suspense, Thriller
Rating: 4 stars

Danny was only five years old but in the words of old Mr Halloran he was a ‘shiner’, aglow with psychic voltage. When his father became caretaker of the Overlook Hotel his visions grew frighteningly out of control.

As winter closed in and blizzards cut them off, the hotel seemed to develop a life of its own. It was meant to be empty, but who was the lady in Room 217, and who were the masked guests going up and down in the elevator? And why did the hedges shaped like animals seem so alive?

Somewhere, somehow there was an evil force in the hotel – and that too had begun to shine…

I’ve finally gotten around to reading my second Stephen King novel! And it had to be the Shining because its probably King’s most famous and best work. I prepared myself for a creepy and scary read.

The Shining follows Jack Torrance who gets a new job as the caretaker of the Overlook hotel in Colorado Rockies and brings along his wife Wendy and five year old son Danny, who has the ‘shine,’ meaning he knows what people are thinking and can experience visions of what is going to happen. When a snowstorm hits the hotel, things start to go horribly wrong, as the hotel develops a mind of its own and Danny’s visions spiral out of control.

Book Review: Ballet Shoes by Noel Streatfeild

Edition: Hardcover, 242 pages
Published by: Orion Books
Genre: Classics, Children’s, Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, British Literature
Rating: 4 stars
Completed: 19th February 2016

Pauline, Petrova and Posy Fossil are sisters – with a difference. All three were adopted as babies by Great Uncle Matthew, an eccentric and rich explorer who then disappeared, leaving them in the care of his niece Sylvia. The girls grow up in comfort until their money begins to run out and nobody can find Great Uncle Matthew.Things look bleak until they hit on an inspired idea: Pauline, Petrova and Posy will take to the stage. But it’s not long before the Fossils learn that being a star isn’t as easy as they first thought…

Ballet Shoes follows three orphan Fossil sisters Pauline, Petrova and Posy who were adopted by eccentric explorer and enthusiast of fossils, Great Uncle Matthew (Gum for short). After Posy, Gum continued with his travels and left them enough money in the bank to last them for five years, however the money soon runs out and therefore the Fossil sisters took upon themselves to act on stage in order to earn a living to afford the bills of their house, as well as achieving their dreams.

All sisters are very talented in different ways. Pauline can act and recite; Petrova is the tomboy out of the three sisters, clever with mathematics and is interested in cars and engines; Posy was born to be a ballerina, since her mother left her ballet shoes. Boarders, Dr Smith and Dr Jakes said to Pauline how unique the name Fossil is and that it would look splendid in history books. Afterwards the Fossil sisters decide to make a vow on every birthday and Christmas to put their name in history books because it is uniquely theirs and no one can say it is because of their grandfather’s.

Review: Matilda by Roald Dahl

Edition: E-book, 240 pages
Published by: Puffin Books, 16th August 2007
Genre: Childrens, Classics, Fantasy, Fiction, Humour
Rating: 4 stars
Completed: 21st December 2015

“The Trunchbull” is no match for Matilda!

Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she’s just a nuisance. She expects school to be different but there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a kid-hating terror of a headmistress. When Matilda is attacked by the Trunchbull she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to fight back. It’ll take a superhuman genius to give Miss Trunchbull what she deserves and Matilda may be just the one to do it!

---

Clearly I was deprived of any good children’s classic literature as a child, as I questioned as to why have I not read any Roald Dahl books?!

I watched Matilda a countless loads of when I was younger before I knew it was originally a book. The story was so unique, charming and a little sad in some parts but overall it was a nice message about it that everyone could relate to. I’m being bias by saying Matilda is Dahl’s best book!

“It’s a funny thing about mothers and fathers. Even when their own child is the most disgusting little blister you could ever imagine, they still think that he or she is wonderful.”

Book Review: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

Edition: Paperback. 368 pages
Published: Penguin Classics (3 Jan. 2013)
Genre: Dystopia, Science Fiction, Historic Fiction, Politics, Classics
Rating: 3.5 stars

Written in 1948, 1984 was George Orwell’s chilling prophecy about the future. While 1984 has come and gone, Orwell’s narrative is more timely than ever. 1984 presents a “negative utopia”, that is at once a startling and haunting vision of the world — so powerful that it’s completely convincing from start to finish. No one can deny the power of this novel, its hold on the imaginations of entire generations of readers, or the resiliency of its admonitions — a legacy that seems to grow, not lessen, with the passage of time.

Book Review: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Edition: Paperback, 148 pages
Published: Vintage Classics
Genre: Classics, literature, historic fiction, academic
Rating: 3 stars

This is a late review. Ever since the Great Gatsby film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan was released in 2013, I have been meaning to read it but I decided for not to read it because I’m not really a classics reader, so I didn’t think it was for me. But then my friend actually brought me the book as a gift, so it gave me the opportunity to finally read it.

This is probably my favourite line in the book and also a fantastic opening paragraph. (I have this obsession with amazing opening paragraphs.)