Book of the month | February

Hello, and welcome to my very first book of the month!

Basically I've decided that at the end of every month I'm going to share a book I have read, either in that month or maybe at another stage as unfortunately school limits the time I have to read (very sad I know). I won't do a full on review, maybe just a couple of things I love about it and a brief plot summary (but don't worry, I'll make sure it's spoiler free!).

So for this month I have chosen Ketchup Clouds by Annabel Pitcher.

Now, I didn't actually read this book this month but admittedly I haven't finished a book this month, which is terrible I know, although I am currently reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson but seeing as I haven't finished it I didn't think there was any point suggesting it just yet, although it is highly possible it will make an appearance at the end of March!

Anyway back to Ketchup Clouds, I seem to have veered slightly off topic there.

So I picked up this book while browsing the bookshop - my favourite pastime - because I liked the title and though it looked interesting. Usually when I find a book that I like the look of I read the first page or so to get a feel of what the book in question is like, but with this book I was still sitting in the bookshop reading ten minutes later, because it is absolutely gripping right from the beginning! I then decided it was probably a good idea to actually buy it, take it home and read it from the comfort of my bed.

In brief summary the book is about a girl who has 'a terrible secret' (according to the blurb) that she is hiding from everyone she knows, so she decides to write to a man on death row about it all. I love how the book progresses and she seems to get closer to this man, even though of course he never writes back and she never meets him face to face. And the entire book is just these letters she writes, so there are almost two stories running parallel to each other: what is happening in her life as she writes the letters over time, and then the story behind her deep secret that she writes about over the course of all the letters.

There are heaps of plot twists, something I absolutely love in a book. I'm pretty sure I had to put the book down and squeal, or maybe just gape at the ceiling, at least a dozen times while reading it. At time it is absolutely hilarious, and at other times I was literally in tears. And the end, oh my god, the end. Obviously I'm not going to give any spoilers, but THE END!

There is also a Harry Potter reference as soon as page 5, which is an added bonus.

But that's about all! Let me know if you have read this book and whether you enjoyed it or not, or maybe if you decide to read it after reading this blogpost! (the word 'read' occurred in that sentence far too many times)

Also feel free to leave any other book suggestions in the comments as I'd love to hear them and add them to my long list of books to read :)

Buh-bye!