Book Review | September 2018

I know we’re halfway through October, but I haven’t forgotten about my monthly reading update. I was a bit slow to start my reads in September. After my last read of August left me quite underwhelmed I felt like I didn’t know what I wanted to start reading next and so it took me some weeks before I got back on the reading train. I ended up reading 3 books in September, which given how busy work and life has been I still deem a success.  

Book review | September 2018

Colson Whitehead – The Underground Railroad

Cora’s life is filled with hardship. She’s a slave on a cotton plantation, her mother left her when she was a girl trying to flee slavery, and she’s an outcast. When her plantation is taken over by the previous owner’s brother, Cora knows she has to run if she is to survive. Together with Ceasar, she hops on The Underground Railroad: an underground system run by abolitionists to help slaves escape the South. Hunted down, Cora’s life is one lived on the run always looking over her shoulder.

I had heard great things about this book. I was pleasantly surprised by how readable this book is. With a topic as gruesome and dark as slavery and all the hardship it comes with, you’d expect a heavy to digest book, not one that leaves you on the edge of your seat wanting more. Yes, Cora’s life is a hard one, but also one filled with hope and determination. An important read that is certainly worth a read.

Jonathan Stroud – Lockwood & Co The Empty Grave

In the fifth and final installment of this series, Lucy and her team come ever closer to the truth of The Problem. The Problem? Yes, 50 years ago, the United Kingdom became infested with ghosts, none of them all too pleasant. Invisible to adults, it is the kids and teenagers left to clean up the mess. And Lockwood & Co, the only non-adult run ghost hunting agency is about to unravel one of the darkest secrets of their time.

You know I love this series if you have read my other book review overviews. I stumbled upon this by chance at my local bookstore one day and was instantly hooked. Last year, the final book came out, but I felt myself holding off reading it. I just didn’t want this series to be over. So while I am sad about that, I did really love this book. It is as gripping as the other novels in this series and the ending is incredibly fulfilling.

Sylvain Neuvel – Sleeping Giants

Dr. Rose Franklin is a brilliant physicist for better or worse. Is it because she fell into a giant hand that no one has a clue where it’s from when she was a child? Or was it because science was always supposed to be her calling? Whatever the case, that giant hand and its carvings are a mystery she is trying to solve. As the mystery is unraveled piece by piece, the truth couldn’t be any more chilling. Is she prepared to sacrifice everything to know it?

This was a quick and fun read. I decided that 2018 would be the year I would dip my toe into sci-fi and this book most definitely falls in that genre. I liked the book, but not enough to continue on with the series. I feel this is quite a well-rounded stand alone, but I am still curious who the mysterious and sometimes even cruel interrogator is who seems to know all and have nearly unlimited resources. So eventually I might cave and read the other books in this series, but for now I am good.

What did you read last month?