“Spinning Silver” by Naomi Novik

🍁 “But I had not known that I was strong enough to do any of those things until they were over and I had done them. I had to do the work first, not knowing”
– Naomi Novik, Spinning Silver
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🌻 Set in a Russian Village, this fantasy story takes you through the lives of two female protagonists, Miryem, the daughter of moneylenders and Irina, the daughter of the tsar.
Both of them have lost a bit of their inner selves, became hard and tough against their own wills, for the better good of their families and even though they have resorted to their fates, luck brings them together to embark on a quest which will yet again test their will power and the ability to think through in the moment of crises.
Will they succeed in saving their homes from the clutches of dark magic.
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✨ Although I don’t cherish fantasies so much for the complex plot, this book was a happy surprise for its easy-to-understand plot and clarity of characters, and before long I was mesmerized by the magical realism so much so that I was reminded of the fairy tales I read as a child.
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🌼 The three female protagonists also make for a good story direction, by means of their own perspectives, so similar yet different in their own ways. The story is absolutely enchanting with various layers of character developed which isn’t too clunky, the subtle details to the imagery and the thought-provoking situations that are planted to keep the reader’s interest always piqued, this sure makes for a warm and satisfying read, which is sure to hit close to your heart for the resemblance of your favorite childhood fairy tales.
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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Genre: fantasy, fiction, fairytale, young-adult .

“The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon

“Sometimes we get sad about things and we don’t like to tell other people that we are sad about them. We like to keep it a secret. Or sometimes, we are sad but we really don’t know why we are sad, so we say we aren’t sad but we really are.” -Mark Haddon, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
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The narrator and the main protagonist of the story, Christopher is an autistic child, trying to solve the mystery of the murder of a dog in the neighbourhood. Christopher has a thing for details, he loves maths but has his own eccentricities like hating certain colours and being abhorred by touching.
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On first glance, it sounds like a mystery like no one else, one that is seen from the perspective of a different child and sure enough, Christopher’s character is one to be loved for his practical and logical approach to everything around him, which also makes for a funny read.
However, the excessive focus on detailing steers it away from the plot and fails to pique interest as a true mystery novel.
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I would recommend this to know better about the lives and perspective of autistic kids and their loved ones who have a hard time taking care of them.
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Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Genre: fiction, mystery, young-adult, contemporary, psychology
Reading Difficulty: ⭐⭐/5

“The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger

“I’m quite illiterate, but I read a lot.”      -J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

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Ever came across a book that has no solid plot or storyline but still gets to you in so many different ways. Well, this is that book for me. “The catcher in the rye” by J.D. Salinger is a classic novel of teenage angst and rebellion. It is a story about Holden Caulfield, a sixteen-year-old teenager, who has to leave his prep school in Pennsylvania, under some circumstances. So instead of going back to his home in New York, he decides to go underground, exploring New York for three days.

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What follows is a simple and yet complex account of a child’s understanding of the world. A world in which he tries to fit again and again but being sixteen-year-old, he is too naive and confused. Still, he has his own expectations and he eventually finds himself lost.