Initial Thoughts

How to Kill Your Family Review By Sithmi They say you can't choose your family, but you can kill them... Meet Grace Bernard. Daughter, sister, colleague, friend, serial killer... Grace has lost everything. And now she wants revenge. Grace is the product of a short fling between a rich millionaire and a French model. She's raised singlehandedly by her mother, not knowing of her father until her mother passes. When Grace Bernard learns how her rich father, who had his own family, had abandoned her pregnant mother and dismissed her pleas for aid on her final days, she swears on her mother's corpse to destroy her father's family, the Artemis clan. And so we travel with Grace in her first person POV, as she picks off one member at a time, building up the suspense until she gets to her final target, her father. But here's a twist. Grace is in jail. For a crime she supposedly did not commit. The story's chronological order is mixed with each murder she commits, and her...

  The Secret History Review By Sithmi Donna Tartt truly has a way with words. Like Richard says, “a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs” is what creates the imagery in this book. Everything, down to details of the fabric and colour of leaves is described in the utmost beautiful way. Its gorgeous and you can envision it all unravel in front of your eyes. Narrated by Richard Papen, we are introduced head-first into the cause of this story, a death of a friend. Quickly, we learn of our narrator’s past and his desire to enter the elite Greek class led by the illustrious professor Julian Morrow, and his elusively poised students, Henry Winter, Edmund (Bunny) Corcoran, Francis Abernathy and the twins, Charles and Camilla Macaulay. We are emerged in the story, going from his entry to the course to and induction of the students. We learn of their behaviours as 28 year old Richard tells us his story as he reminisces his otherworldly college experience. Tartt’s writing style ...

Gone Girl Review By Sithmi This was a twist in the tale. You have your usual story, the whodunits where the woman is missing/dead and the husband is the prime suspect. But guess what? There’s more to it darling. This well executed thriller with two POVs that had me wondering if this is where it ends in the last few chapters, because every line was a dangling hanger and I was quickly turning the pages to see if there was more. Amazing Amy, our female protagonist, has gone missing, and left behind in the married couple’s house and perfect set of clues, besides the couple’s usual anniversary scavenger hunt clues. The clues seem to indicate more than just a disappearance. It indicates a murder. Enter Nick, the husband and our male protagonist, who just walked back into a mess and has the unfortunate lack of facial expressions, because now he can’t he even show his shock and misery. Nor can he show the confusion of the clues left by his wife for their annual anniversary hunt. Gillia...

The Kremlin's Candidate Review By Sithmi I invested a month into this 460 page book, reading it slowly so I don’t reach the end, because I did not want to know how it ends. But by then end of August, I finished the book and it took me a few days to recover. I cannot spoil anything but let me just say, Jason Matthews, that was quite cruel and smart and required. Don’t go jumping into conclusions just yet though. The Kremlin Candidate, the third and final book of the Red Sparrow series, was a wild goose chase, quite literally, because a mole was in their midst, inside CIA. And this mole was going to be so high up, they would get to know DIVA’s real name, Dominika Egorova, the current Chief of Line KR, the counterintelligence section in the SVR. And that could never happen. Because that would mean losing the best Russian agent actively operating in Moscow for more than seven years now. Also the love of Nathaniel Nash’s life. The officer handling this agent, who hopes she would defec...

Palace of Treason Review By Sithmi In the return of the beloved Dominika Egorova and Nathaniel Nash, we find that our Russian agent, code named DIVA, has a horrible superior. Alexei Zyuganov, the Chief of Line KR, the counterintelligence department in Russia, is a rotten little dwarf with dark eyes who wants to see Dominika fail publicly. And it seems he was going to stop at nothing to make sure of it. It goes to show that Russia truly will backstab their own if it means they as individuals will win. So the story is set to show that it’s a fight to showcase their strengths, and their devout loyalty to the Rhodina , Motherland, between Colonel Egorova and Chief Zyuganov as each of them develop their own agents on foreign soil. But moreover, it’s a fight to win the favour of the reclusive President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. In the middle of this fight, we discover a new mole appears inside the CIA, providing the Russians and Alexei with great intel. Slowly it becomes apparent to the...

Red Sparrow Review By Sithmi At the beginning, I had no idea what was going on. I had jumped smack dab into the middle of a secret battle. To be honest, it took me three chapters maximum to find my bearings. But after that, it was a game of traitors, betrayals and secrets all under wraps and deceiving appearances. Right away we are introduced to two of our main characters, Nathaniel Nash, a young case officer handling his Russian agent MARBLE in the quiet streets of Moscow. MARBLE is the chief of the Americas Department in the SVR, which gives him access to documents and as a long run agent, he has become a legend. The story continues to introduce the other main character, Dominika Egorova, our real focus, a ballerina in her 20s. But in an unfortunate accident, she breaks her leg and has to diminish her dancing career dreams and instead work for her uncle Ivan Vanya Egorov since she has nowhere else to go and needs the job to pay the medical care for her mother. Under the impression sh...

Let It Snow Review By Sithmi Three stories. One Christmas. The Jubilee Express  by Maureen Johnson This short story was really funny and sweet in its strange humorous way. Jubilee's parents are in jail, for being part of the Flobie Five. And so our main character of this story is stuck in Gracetown in the snow with 14 cheerleaders. She finds her escape with Stuart Weintraub as he invites her to his house to spend the night. Along the way her love life is once more questioned and hilariously they're plunged chest deep into an icy lake. A trek later, she's wrapped well in warm clothing and blankets. There are several funny moments in the story as it hurtles Jubilee into several uncomfortable and strange situations. How she easily adapts I find amazing. From train rides with cheerleaders to Tinfoil Guy to frozen lake to Stuart's mom. Despite all that, she keeps hoping things will be okay, mostly depending on her overachieving boyfriend Noah, who is cons...

Come Find Me Review By Sithmi blurb After surviving an infamous family tragedy, sixteen-year-old Kennedy Jones has made it her mission to keep her brother's search through the cosmos alive. B ut then something disturbs the frequency on his radio telescope–a pattern registering where no signal should transmit. In a neighboring county, seventeen-year-old Nolan Chandler is determined to find out what really happened to his brother, who disappeared the day after Nolan had an eerie premonition. There hasn’t been a single lead for two years, until Nolan picks up an odd signal–a pattern coming from his brother’s bedroom.  Drawn together by these  strange signals–and their family tragedies–Kennedy and Nolan search for the origin of the mysterious frequency. But the more they uncover, the more they believe that everything’s connected–even their pasts–as it appears the signal is meant for them alone, sharing a message that only they can understand. Is something coming for them...

The Fault In Our Stars Review By Sithmi Despite the tumour-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten. Once I read this book the second time only did I really understand it. Of course I read it under the recommendation of my friends who loved the books by John Green. I was hooked too. It was romantic and sad. But after a few years and a short reread I realised it was slightly overrated and John Green writes books about really smart people. Don’t worry I have nothing against John Green, in fact I really like him. His books, I have come to find are unique in its own way. Hence TFIOS as fans would call it, is special and a start to a new YA romance genre; medical mishaps. (I just coined it now.) It may or may not be true, but...

The Girl On The Train Review By Sithmi Every day the same. Until today. Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She's even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of those houses. Their life - as she sees it - is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. But then she sees something shocking, and in one moment everything changes. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she's only watched from afar. Now they'll see: she's much more than just a girl on the train... To be frank, the story was depressing. Thankfully only at the start. It took me one week to get to the 3rd chapter and only then did momentum increase in this book, only then did I finally start getting involved. Before that I felt like an outsider getting a peek of a sad, drunk, unemployed, divorced woman with issues of letting go. Since I’m being honest, I didn...

There's Someone Inside Your House Review By Sithmi Over a year after her parents sent her away from Hawaii to live with her grandmother in landlocked Nebraska, Makani Young is still adjusting to her new life. She's made a small group of close friends and even flirted with romance, but her past in Hawaii is still hard to forget. And then . . . one by one the students of her new high school begin to die in a series of gruesome murders. Makani doesn't know who's next on the list. Between this, and a secret scorching relationship with the school weirdo, this school year may turn out to be one to die for . . . literally. The book is a great thriller. There is suspense that keeps you guessing. What was different about this from other thrillers I have read was that, they reveal the killer. And yet the story hasn’t even reached its climax. The book starts off with an eerie odd sentence that immediately has conspiracies swirling. The author, Stephanie Perkins, has...

Five Feet Apart Review By Sithmi Seventeen-year-olds Stella and Will, both suffering from cystic fibrosis, realize the only way to stay alive is to stay apart, but their love for each other is slowly pushing the boundaries of physical and emotional safety. This book was pretty good and heartbreaking and yet it's one you can give a sad smile to. So I made the mistake of watching the movie before reading it. So boy was I glad to see that the book was the exact script followed to film the movie. Except the ending. I think this is the one movie, I have watched, that really stuck to the book, well almost, and made it enjoyable. Moving on, I really like the plot, though it is the basic sick girl meet sick boy scenario, there are the things that make it different. Our main girl, Stella is a tidy, obedient, living-for-her-parents girl with Cystic Fibrosis and a tad bit of OCD. Next, Will is the charming yet highly rebellious artist who wants out of the numerous hospi...

The Sun Is Also A Star Review By Sithmi Okay so this book, it got me. This is love at first sight, coincidences, fate and destiny alongside wonders of miracles wrapped up all together.  One day for two super opposite human beings to fall in love. By the way, it's in New York. Amazing.  It’s a freaking miracle alright. But that's what makes Nicola Yoon's book great. Unrealistic dreams in a real situation. I love the characters. I just love them. I think of Daniel and instantly the word ‘debonair’ springs up. This guy, he just loves to sweep a girl off her feet huh? Poems, stars and brown eyes, along with a suit? Whaat? I could continue this rant of questions but let me sum it up: a smart Korean American boy with a big heart, great voice and creative mind that needs to be free. He's the hopeless romantic. Natasha on the other hand is a scientifically accurate Jamaican American girl with strong opinions and courageous determination. Her dream is to be ...

To Kill A Mockingbird Review By Sithmi 'Shoot all the Bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a Mockingbird.' A lawyer's advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of Harper Lee's classic novel - a black man charged with the rape of a white girl. Through the young eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Harper Lee explores with exuberant humour the irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the thirties. The conscience of a town steeped in prejudice, violence and hypocrisy is pricked by the stamina of one man's struggle for justice. But the weight of history will only tolerate so much. The plot for this book wasn’t very clear to me. But then as I worked towards the ending I realised what it really shows. Scout, our narrator, guides us through her childhood in her small Southern town where the children try to make sense of the world. A series of events, one after the other, test their...

Looking For Alaska Review By Sithmi "If people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane." Miles Halter's whole life has been one long big non-event, until he meets Alaska Young. G orgeous, clever and undoubtedly screwed up, Alaska draws Miles into her reckless world and irrevocably steals his heart. For Miles, nothing can ever be the same again. John Green seems to somehow always incorporate the 'search for the meaning of life' vibe into his books and this is his first book. There's also the teenagers that are unrealistically smart and very deep or heavily invested in something. But that's a good thing. It's a niche he touches on. And it makes the novel interesting. Alaska, the wild girl with a thing for drinking and smoking, is who we are searching for. She was smart and beautiful, and a tad mysterious. And I have feeling she's searching for something herself. But what? I'm not sure. A purpose in life, most likely. She is...

Everything, Everything Review By Sithmi This book had me laughing by the end. It’s not too short, not too long and is able to capture the whole story without making it all too sad. Okay, yes it's not a funny book but if you too liked to predict endings and saw this coming, you would've screamed, "I knew it!" Unfortunately Madeline misses out on so much before she has the determination to go out of her glass castle and explore the world around her. That's what's upsetting. The mother's desperateness in keeping her safe and protected works all too well. I'm glad Olly was able to brighten her days, and give her that boost, the courage she needed to take a risk for the sake of experience. Because, what's the point of life if you don't take risks? The ending was a plot twist and thank you so much for that. Not just because, yes, we all want a happy ending, but because we don't want the ever trending 'sad deaths due to life l...

I'll Give You The Sun Book Review By Sithmi Jude and her twin Noah are close until a tragedy drives them apart. Now they are barely speaking - and both are falling for boys they can't have. Love's complicated. This book is, in my opinion, Jandy Nelson's best book. There is heartbreak, trauma, grief, drama, reconciliation and love.  Twins have a special connection, everyone knows. It’s psychic maybe. And here they show that this connection can be broken severely, but also mended just the same. As Jandy mentions, it is most certainly about the different types of love. This book highlights the love between twins. I love Noah and his astronomical mind that is flooded end to end with colours and paintings. I love Jude and her crazy bible thumping self full of superstitions I wish were true. I love the Ax and his suitcase full of asteroids. I love the bad boy and his search for ‘her’. The characters all play a significant part in each other’s lives. As it cam...

Pride and Prejudice Review By  Sithmi ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.’ Austen's best-loved tale of love, marriage and society in class-conscious Georgian England still delights modern readers today with its comedy and characters. It follows the feisty, quick-witted Elizabeth Bennet as her parents seek to ensure good marriages for her and her sisters in order to secure their future. The protagonists Darcy and Elizabeth learn much about themselves and those around them and Austen's expertly crafted comedy characters of Mrs. Bennet and Mr. Collins demonstrate her great artistry as a writer. Jane Austen's writing skills never fail to amaze me. And as any good book would affect my writing and speaking behaviour temporarily, Pride & Prejudice has had quite the consequence on me. Austen portrays society from the inside and reveals to us the complications and entanglements...