Jenny, Wondrous Reads

The Shining Girls, 24 May 2013

The Shining Girls is one of those rare adult books that catches my attention. It doesn't happen often as I'm not a big adult fiction reader, but something about this one caught my eye and I decided to give it a go. I've never read anything related to crime or thriller fiction - it's never appealed to me - but I'm so glad I gave this one a chance as I loved it. I was so engrossed in it that I took my Kindle to work to continue reading, and I never do that. I just couldn't wait to find out what happened!

I should point out again that this book is definitely for adult readers. It's gruesome in its murder descriptions and is very dark in both tone and content. It centres around a… Read more

The Academy: Game On, 23 May 2013

I'm always dubious when it comes to celebrities and sports personalities turning their hand to fiction. I usually avoid it as my past experience hasn't been an overly positive one, though something drew me to Monica Seles' debut novel. I'm a huge tennis fan and YA fiction like this is my guilty pleasure - think 90210 meets an ATP tennis tour and that's what you can expect to find here!

Maya Hart gets a scholarship to The Academy, a sports school for teenagers. There she'll learn to become the best in her field, forging a career for herself that will hopefully take her all over the world. She soon makes new friends at the school, and catches the attention of two brothers who just… Read more

The Silver Sword, 18 May 2013

I bought The Silver Sword on my dad's recommendation, after he mentioned he'd read it many years ago in Secondary school. It made a lasting impression on him, and is a book he'll remember reading for the rest of his life.

To a child, this book and its story would be both horrifying and fascinating. It's a simple, short look at a family ravaged by war, and the lengths they'll go to to be reunited. It was first published in 1956, and because of this, it's very different to contemporary fiction. It moves at a much faster pace, and omits any superfluous description or dialogue, which results in a very quick read. Readers of Morris Gleitzman's books Once and Then will find some… Read more