Nora

“Society was a system for falling in love. People who couldn't fall in love had to fake it. What came first: the system or love? All I knew was that love was a mechanism designed to make Earthlings breed.”

This book is about how a child survives abuse and the pressures of society. Very strange, disturbing and heartbreaking. Quick read but impactful.

4.5 Really interesting and unique take on a whodunnit with lots of twists and turns. One of those stories where everything is confusing until it slowly starts to unravel and everything makes sense in the end. I really enjoyed it. If you can accept the confusion and go along for the ride it's a really intriguing story. Bit of a slow burn but kept me wanting to keep picking it up to figure the story out which I was surprised by. Unlike anything else I've read.

3.5. My first Stephen King. Interesting premise, all they really do is walk, but it deals with topics so much deeper than that. I would have liked more background information about the walk, how it came about and why. Quite slow-moving, some sections haven't aged so well but overall an interesting read.

This book got to me. It deals with very heavy topics - I suggest reading the list of trigger warnings beforehand and not to read if you don't think you're in the headspace for it. I was, and it pulled on my every heart string. It made me angry, sad, anxious, joyful, excited, hopeful. The story follows the life of four friends, mainly through the lense of Willem and Jude in particular. We get to know Jude from beginning to end and slowly uncover why he is the way he is, and the horrors he has experienced throughout his life. As heavy and descriptive and detailed as the topics and events were written, I think that's what made me love it - because it felt so real and raw and honest, and I really felt for Jude and everyone else in the story. Of course one can problematize writing a book as heavy as this but I do think it has its place, it's just not for everyone.

For you, a thousand times over.

I love stories that span a whole life. There is so much richness, so many teachings and experiences. Both heartbreak and happiness. This book is exactly that. Heart shattering, tragic, yet stunning. Beautifully written, gorgeous.

“It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime”