Books That Have Changed Me

Books That Have Changed Me

07:00


We all know books have the power to change us, but it's definitely true that some books affect us more than others. I know many books have influenced me, but here are a few that I think have changed me the most:

How to Build a Girl
Although this book wasn’t heartbreakingly beautiful like some of the other books mentioned, I think it has changed me. Before this, I had never (and still haven’t) read a book that’s so outrageously and unapologetically feminist. It gets a little graphic in places, but that’s one of the reasons why I love it so much - it taught me things that no other book has yet been brave enough to explore. It’s changed my feminism, and I think it has changed me as a person too, even if not much!

 The Perks of Being a Wallflower
I first read this book in one sitting back in 2014, and I really enjoyed it, but it didn’t really move me. I revisited it over the new year (I knew there was something completely special about it, that I would benefit much more from now), and it instantly became one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read.

 The thing that struck me the most about this book was the protagonist, Charlie. There was something about him that I know is in myself, and in some ways it hit too close to home for me. The story is told entirely through Charlie’s POV, but because there were elements of Charlie that were me, I utterly lived in the story too. 

 It was so heartbreaking, and only the second book ever to make my cry. I was thinking about it for so long after (I’ve come up with so many analyses and interpretations of the ending!), and I think the poignant messages are with me now. This book has taught me things that I will take away forever.

Divergent
I’ve loved reading ever since I learnt to, but the Divergent series were the ones that introduced me to YA. I got hooked on them, and wanted to continue my addiction onto other books. I gradually discovered the YA genre, and look at me now... I’m addicted! Looking back, they’re far from my favourite series, but they’ve definitely changed me. If I didn’t read them, I don’t know if I’d be here! Hopefully, I would have discovered the YA genre and community another way, but who knows...

Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock
If I was to be asked to only pick one book to be my favourite, this would be the one I would choose, without a shadow of a doubt. It’s fair to say that I absolutely adore this book with all of my heart. When I first read it, I found it deeply moving, but it didn’t touch me in the way it did the second time round. The character of Leonard struck a chord with me, so it will always be extremely special.

Suicide is an issue that has become very important and poignant to me, so I don’t usually enjoy reading books about depression - recently I have been avoiding them for this reason. But, it is handled so well in here. This has really helped me, and I know will continue to help so many other people. I’m sure this is the book that has changed me the most, because I think I look at the world - and the people around me - differently. It was also the first book ever to make me cry!

What are the books that have changed you? Are there any books that have really impacted on your life?

4 stars

Review: How to Build a Girl

16:00

How to Build a Girl
By Caitlin Moran

 Source: Supermarket
Page count: 352
Genres: Adult, Feminism, Contemporary, Humour, Music, Coming of Age

 Goodreads Synopsis:

 My name’s Johanna Morrigan. I’m fourteen, and I’ve just decided to kill myself.

I don’t really want to die, of course! I just need to kill Johanna, and build a new girl. Dolly Wilde will be everything I want to be, and more! But as with all the best coming-of-age stories, it doesn’t exactly go to plan…

 My review:
I heartily enjoyed this book. It’s one of those rare books that is so funny you find yourself laughing out loud (and possibly getting some weird stares) at some points, yet feeling heavy-hearted at other times when not everything goes right for the main character. It was very vulgar in a British way, which is probably the reason why I enjoyed it so much.

Johanna (the main character) was very interesting to read about. She was very flawed, but I think it made her more loveable and easy to root for. Her friendship with John Kite was very touching too, and made me really smile. She had good character development, but I feel like because of her background, she could have had more courage and backbone earlier on in the book.
I am very different to Johanna, so I feel like sometimes she could be a bit too frustrating. Some of the things that she did were really embarrassing (second hand embarrassment is the worst), and lots of her decisions seemed odd to me - I know I certainly would never do lots of the things she did!
The supportive family aspects in this book were really enjoyable to read. Although her family seemed chaotic at times, the banter they all had was very funny. I especially liked Johanna and Krissi (her older brother) together because of the way they could be brutally honest with each other (like siblings do), but then always make up after a fight.


Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It had some very original elements, and the characters had me laughing a lot. I would recommend it to British people (lots of British references and humour!) who don’t mind rude jokes, because this did raise a few eyebrows!

 My rating: