The Quentaris Chronicles- The Cat Dreamer by Isobelle Carmody

"Magic is a kind of dream, and love is a dream, and hope is a dream. Without our dreams, there is no sweetness, no purpose to life.” 

This book is one of many in the Quentaris Chronicles. Each book in this chronicles are written by a different author and has different characters and the only thing that is the same is the setting. The Cat Dreamer is about a mysterious fog that appears in Quentaris, followed by many unexplained suicides. Iakas, a secret agent, is sent to the city to investigate this. She can change from being a woman to a cat and she can also enter people's dreams. Iakas enters Igorik's dreams to learn what he already knows and tell him how to fight the fog. 

The Dead of the Night by John Marsden

In The Dead of the Night, Ellie and her five friends decide to go back to Wirrawee to see if Corrie and Kevin are fine and try to get more information about the Showground. After sharing what they found out they decide to go to see what's on the other side of Hell and hopefully find  more people. 

This is the second book in the Tomorrow series. It's more violent and more adventurous than the first. They kill more soldiers and there are more attacks. Because of this, Ellie feels guilty and feels 'shadows' following her. 'I live in the light, but carry my dark with me' is how she describes what she is feeling. The group continuously change from young and naive teenagers to more experienced and strategic people. They are more careful and aware of the situation that they are in. They are already giving each other advise on how to keep calm when they are attacking and aren't as clueless as they were in the start of the first book. 'When you're scared you can either give in to the panic and let your mind fall apart, or you can take charge of your mind and think brave.'

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick (#4 Hush Hush Series)

“Arrogance can be deadly.”  - Finale

Finale is the fourth and last book of the Hush Hush series by Becca Fitzpatrick. In this book the leader of the leader of the Nephilim revolution has died and now Nora must lead them. Nora wants to end this upheaval and bring things back to peace. However, other don't agree and there is a lot at stake. Nora must find her inner leader all at the same time maintaining her relationship with Patch. The people she thinks she can trust are the people that will surprise her.

As I mentioned, this is the last book of a series. I do not usually write a review on the sequels so I will keep this short and sweet. (If you would like to read the longer review on her it all began here is the link, Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick )

Tomorrow, When the War Began by John Marsden

"I didn't feel like a criminal, but I didn't feel like a hero either." Chapter 16 in Tomorrow, When the War Began.


Ellie, the protagonist, and her friends went camping in the bush for a few days. When they come back everything has changed.... A war has started and they are one of the only people in their city that aren't captured. Now they are struggling to stay alive without being captured but not everything turns out how they want it to...

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

"... Sometimes when I saw him at a distance ... I forgave him a hundred times over... Unfortunately, these were often the moments when he chose to attack ... that I would vow not to forget it, and never to forgive him again. I broke that promise many times... all petty things, really, irritants - too minor, it would seem ... The danger he presented was, after all, not immediate but slow and simmering... hundreds of small, unavenged humiliations which had been rising in me for months..." - excerpt from The Secret History

The Secret History by Donna Tartt is the story of of college students who end up killing their "friend". The first part is the story of how Richard moved to a New England college and found himself trying to fit into the Greek class, full of mysterious, rich college kids. As he befriends them and joins the class he ends up getting mixed into all the trouble and murder of Bunny, the first part is the story that leads to the death. The second part of the book is after the death and how each of them live on. 

This book was lent to me by someone else, henceforth the reason why it is so different to the usual books that I actually read. This book is a murder mystery. While I was quite entranced while reading this book, I didn't find it a really good novel. If you have read any of my other posts you would have realised that I like books that are more passive books, with happy endings. This book from the first page had a murder  (this didn't detract from the book, talked about later) and from then on even more deaths or attempted deaths. The end is quite mysterious and it definitely ends in a very pessimistic mood. Another reason for my contempt in the book is the fact that I couldn't empathise with any of the character's extreme personalities, and this is something I find really important. (I will talk about this later on this post.)

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly.”The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is a classic American novel. The story is told by Nick as he shares his point on view of the people around him and of course, about the mystifying Gatsby. Gatsby, like the country, is young. Gatsby’s past mysterious, his stories don’t match up and the reasons he has done everything so far is unclear. Nick uncovers the truth, or at least what we think is the truth, of the man.I guess if you are reading this you want to know if it is a good book to read. Before I start discussing the novel and analyzing it, I will start by answering this. I have heard many people who have enjoyed this book, it is even being made into a movie but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali

‘Compared to dreams, reality can be truly cruel. But it can also come up with beautiful surprises.’

I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced is a real life story about Nujood Ali. She was a ten year old girl living in Yemen, a country in the Middle East. The quote above sums up what the whole book is about. Nujood had so many dreams; seeing the ocean, learning how to read and having a better life. However, her reality is completely different. When she was only 10, her father forced her into marrying a guy three times her age! Because of this, Nujood had to leave school and her family to live with him. She then suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse from her husband every single day. A few weeks after her marriage, she ran away and went to the court. Although child marriage is common in Yemen, she was one of the first to file for divorce. After a long time, she finally managed to get divorced and go back to school.