The Little Library Project

  There's something about an alternative Second World War or a "What If?" that intrigues me. After my somewhat disappointing experience with The Man In The High Castle a few weeks ago - I was hesitant that this would also miss the mark slightly but thankfully - it hit all the right spots.  A few months after the end of the War, Tom Wilde is back from his OSS placement and is settling back into academia at Cambridge. But a visit to a sick friend lands him in the midst of a biological attack on British Soil and he's called up on by his previous colleague to investigate.  I really enjoyed this story. I didn't realise that it was part of a series of novels based on the central character, Tom Wilde but that didn't stop my grasp of what was going on. The departments and fractions of military were easy to pick up though there are a likely a few backstories that would have been useful to piece things together quicker.  My only criticism is that Clements' writing s...

  I had such high hopes for this book. The idea of a dystopian / science fiction novel that is looking at What Could Have Happened was something I was super invested in but instead.. it just seemed like a guessing game.  I am completely honest with myself here and fully accept that I may just not be intellectual enough for this book. I don't doubt that it is a great piece of work and has some really good messages and themes but it's one of the few books that I personally think would be better on screen.  And I have no shame in admitting it - I read the plot summary on Wikipedia once I'd finished and suddenly the book made sense.  Set in a world where Germany and Japan won the war, the US has been split into 4 territories, Africa has been destroyed and the Mediterranean Sea has been drained to become farming land. There are multiple stories running throughout the book with a little overlap, but the common theme is always something to do with a book - The Grasshopper L...

  I was excited to have an advanced copy of The Walled Garden; the book promised to be an insight into the after effects of the second world war; not just of those who were on the front line, but those who were left behind. And the book delivered so much more. I found it tricky to get into at first; but it soon became apparent that this was for a reason. As soon as each of the characters stories started coming to light that I found I couldn't put the book down.  The mixture of decisions that had to be made, and the subsequent repercussions on the mindset of those that had to make them was insightful and elegantly done.  It's a dark book and at some points, it's difficult to read. But I enjoyed it and it carries a deep lesson that trauma can come from many different places. 

  DISCLAIMER: I do not enjoy things that make me cry. I avoid films if I know they'll make me cry, and I do the same with books. I cannot see what enjoyment can come from a book that encourages a feeling of sadness. Remember at the beginning of the year I said I was going to read lots of books and become all cultures and shizz? It hasn't exactly panned out. Being busy with absolutely everything has kind of slowed that down, but on Monday 9th, I carved out some time and was able to sit down and read for a bit. I had no idea what to expect; I knew this book is set around WWII but that is pretty much it. However, within the first few pages you will grasp the idea. I had to put the book down at around page 30. I wasn't emotionally prepared for this. It's not devastating; but, if you're not in a strong state of mind, I dare your heartstrings to not be pulled. It's beautifully written. I can see how this book, as a relatively new publication, has been regarded and cre...

Started: Monday 20th June 2022 Finished: Saturday 25th June 2022 Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ​In All The Light We Cannot See , we follow Werner and Marie-Laure through their adolescence during the Second World War. I didn’t know what to expect of this book. Through snippets of their lives, we understand what it is to be a teenage in the times of Nazi Germany as Werner spends his time in the Hitler Youth,  and Marie-Laurie in Occupied France. I didn't know what to expect of this book. I hadn't read any synopsis and all I knew was that it was based within the years of 1939-1945. I'd recently finished The Lilac Girls and and sworn myself off of these kinds of books for while; but ATLWCS is rarely available through the Libby app so when I got a notification that my "hold" was ready, it was a now or never.   As you can expect from most books set in these times, there is an element of "unexpected hero". I think it's safe to say that due to the atrocities that were...