Reading challenge 2014

I'm a few days late with this, but it's time to announce my reading challenge for 2014. After successfully tackling non-fiction in 2013 (12 months=12 books), I've decided to continue expanding my reading horizons, so this year my challenge will focus on... poetry.

I've read hardly any poetry since leaving university, and even then everything I read was required for my course.

I'm not going to make this year's challenge too rigid, so, for 2014, I plan to read a number of works by a different poet each month. That's 12 poets over the course of the year, and while I won't be strict on how many poems I read, I will stick more closely to a timeline - meaning you'll find one post a month (rather than a flurry in December) talking about a different poet.

If you've got any suggestions of poets for me to try, please let me know, and also tell me about what reading challenges you're setting yourselves in 2014.

Reading challenge 2013 - the results

Success! After failing the challenge I set myself in 2012, this year turned out much better. Wanting to up the number of non-fiction books I read, I set out to read one every month. Although it didn't quite work like that, I did manage 12 non-fiction tomes, covering everything from politics to business to the London 2012 Games and even fiction. Below is the full list of books I read, with links to the reviews...

1. Into Danger by Kate Adie
2. Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
3. The Sweetness of Life by Francois Heritier
4. Lean In - Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
5. Making History at London 2012 edited by Brendan Gallagher
6. How to be a Woman by Caitlin Moran
7. The Siege, Three Days of Terror Inside the Taj by Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark
8. London Villages, Explore the City's Best Local Neighbourhoods by Zena Alkayat
9. How to be a Heroine by Samantha Ellis
10. Front Row, Anna Wintour: The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue's Editor in Chief by Jerry Oppenheimer
11. Very British Problems by Rob Temple
12. Dedicated to... compiled by W B Gooderham

Book review: Dedicated to... compiled by W B Gooderham

I love secondhand books, and one of the reasons I love them is for the dedications you sometimes find inside.

Who gifted the book? Who received it? Why has it now found its way into the hands of another owner?

W B Gooderham is also a fan of secondhand books, and in Dedicated to... has brought together some of the best dedications he has found inside books. Each page features a picture of the book, and the inscription page (if possible) and, usually, a typed version of the inscription, since some of the handwriting is difficult to read.

Dedicated to... is a collection of messages between friends, family, lovers, acquaintances and more. All we see is the book and the dedication, the story behind the gift is left to the reader to decide.

There are some strange messages, some quite deep, but the ones that got me most were the ones that were clearly between people in love. For example, in a copy of Embedded Anatomy: States and Industrial Transformation by Peter Evans (yes, this comes under strange too) there is a message to Kim from Stu, whose dedication ends: "I am yours always." Clearly, Stu was in love with Kim when this book was gifted, but what happened afterward? Did they have a horrid break up? Is that why Kim (presumably) gave the book away? Or did Kim give the book away because it's such a strange choice?

The stories are myriad, and in one way it would be great if the people whose messages have been printed could get in touch with Gooderham to tell him their stories (not sure how he'd feel about me volunteering him). In another way though, the mystery is what makes this book, and secondhand books, so appealing.

How I got this book: Gift from a friend

•Dedicated to... is the 12th, and final, book in my challenge to read 12 non-fiction books in 2013.

Book review: Very British Problems by Rob Temple

You know how it is, you're in a queue, and someone stands next to you, instead of behind you. Are they queuing or just loitering? Are they going to push in front? Are they just unaware of how queues work?

This, my friend, is a very British problem.

Rob Temple's book Very British Problems came about after he set up the Twitter account @soverybritish. It is, according to its blurb, a book that reveals how we're "a nation of socially awkward but well-meaning oddballs, struggling to make it through every day without saying sorry to an inanimate object". 

(By the way, British problem no. 236: Trying not to laugh out loud on the train while reading Very British Problems in case people think you're a weirdo).

The great thing about this book is that I so often found myself nodding along and going "yes, that's me". Among my favourites, and those that hit closest to home, are:

• "Saying you're pleased with your haircut despite the deep inner sadness it's causing you." - There was this one time I got a fringe, and it was horrible and I told the hairdresser it was lovely, and I went home and almost cried.

• "Feeling the need to pat down all your pockets, despite knowing full well you haven't got your loyalty card." - All the time, and mostly I don't even have pockets on my clothes.

• "Sitting awkwardly for your entire journey to accommodate the staggering leg spread of the gentleman beside you." - In my new life as a rail commuter this is a daily misery.

• "The challenge of attempting to deal with a sneeze while holding a scalding cup of tea in a surface-free area." - I don't drink tea, but this problem can be applied to drinks of any kind, I feel.

Very British Problems is a laugh-out-loud book (even if you're on the train) and one that should be passed from friend to friend so you can all exclaim about how these problems really are the sort we all encounter in everyday life. (Except then you encounter the problem of friends who turn the corners of book pages, and you can't say anything, and it's all awkward, and oh goodness...)

•Very British Problems is book 11 in my challenge to read 12 non-fiction books in 2013. 

Book review: Front Row, Anna Wintour: The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue's Editor in Chief

Even if you don't follow fashion, you've probably heard of Anna Wintour, if only from the film or book The Devil Wears Prada.

While that book, written by a former assistant of Wintour's, is real life given a sheen of fiction, Jerry Oppenheimer's unauthorised biography Front Row, Anna Wintour: The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue's Editor in Chief, purports to be all reality.

From Wintour's childhood as the daughter of Evening Standard editor Charles Wintour to her ascension to editor-in-chief of American Vogue - and leader of the world's fashion industry - this book chronicles every moment that has made Wintour into what she is today.

And that is, according to Oppenheimer, one of the most feared and nastiest editors, if not women, in the world.

Of course, Wintour has a reputation. She's tough, she doesn't play nice by all accounts, and she's said to be a harsh taskmaster. But Oppenheimer seems to go out of his way to portray Wintour as nasty - there's barely a move she makes, according to this book, that doesn't have some sort of motive behind it.

Tiny little incidents are made much bigger than they seem, all in order to make Wintour seem horrible. One that sticks out, from Wintour's time at Savvy, is introduced by Oppenheimer as an incident that put Wintour's "name and the magazine's" on the line. It amounts to a photographer's assistant damaging a rug and shattering a vase, and Oppenheimer quickly wraps up the story by saying the "damage was taken care of, and Anna walked away with her reputation and job intact". Perhaps as he was writing Oppenheimer realised this incident was hardly what he made it out to be.

Oppenheimer does acknowledge Wintour's talent at her job, and even includes quotes from people who say she's tough but fair, but as soon as he's praised her he's off damning her again.

What I wanted was a book that really delved into Wintour's career and gave me an insight into her talent and her world, which I realise isn't always pretty (unless you're sitting in the front row at a fashion show). Oppenheimer's bitchy biography, while stacked full of quotes from sources and those supposedly close to Wintour, is just an extended version of a newspaper's gossip pages, and not worth the paper it's printed on. (If you want to find out more about Wintour, your time will be better spent watching The September Issue.)

How I got the book: Bought

•Front Row, Anna Wintour: The Cool Life and Hot Times of Vogue's Editor in Chief is the 10th book in my challenge to read 12 non-fiction books in 2013.

Book review: How To Be A Heroine by Samantha Ellis

From princesses to witches to Bridget Jones, the fictional women in our lives are numerous and different, and it's impossible not to take something from our readings of them.

The lessons we learnt from the literary heroines that have littered our lives are what Samantha Ellis examines in her brilliant book How To Be A Heroine: Or, what I've learned from reading too much. Part autobiography, part examination of the portrayal of women in literature, How To Be A Heroine is an extraordinary read which had me constantly wanting to go back and read the books of my childhood and teenage years (and beyond).

Following an argument with her best friend about who was better - Cathy Earnshaw or Jane Eyre - Ellis decided to reread the books of her past to see if the female characters still held up, all the while looking back on her own life as a Iraqi Jew growing up in London with dreams of becoming a playwright.

Ellis looks back at many of the books I've read, and her chapter on Anne of Green Gables is my favourite in the book. Anne was (is) a literary heroine of mine - fearless, clever, a feminist when there wasn't a word for it. But Ellis discovers that in sequels to L. M. Montgomery's first book, Anne becomes less of a heroine, in the same way that the March sisters don't stand up to scrutiny on her rereading of Little Women, Good Wives and Jo's Boys. Still, I'll always love Anne Shirley (and I think Ellis will too) - the key is to ignore the sequels!

Other rereadings lead Ellis to discover new things. On revisiting Gone With the Wind Ellis comes to the conclusion that while Scarlett is the obvious heroine, it's Melanie who is the true heroine of the novel, something which I have to agree with.

There are plenty of familiar characters Ellis revisits - from Elizabeth Bennett to Jane Eyre - that are familiar to me, but there are others who feature who I didn't read about as a child. One chapter focuses on Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann, a book that sounds like a mash-up of something written by Jackie Collins AND Danielle Steel AND Jilly Cooper. While Ellis's examination of it make it sound like its female characters are hardly heroines, it did make me really, really want to read the book.

And of course, in addition to all the fictional females in the book, there is Ellis herself, whose story encompasses love and loss, failure and success. Some of the heroines Ellis rereads stand up to scrutiny, while others don't, but in the end, it doesn't really matter if they're true heroines or not - we can learn something from them all, and we can learn something from Ellis's story too.

How I got this book: From the publisher, Chatto & Windus

•How To Be A Heroine by Samantha Ellis is released in the UK on January 2, 2014.

•How To Be A Heroine is the ninth book in my challenge to read 12 non-fiction books in 2013.

Book review: London Villages, Explore the City's Best Local Neighbourhoods by Zena Alkayat

With its huge skyscrapers, constant traffic and jam-packed streets, it's easy to forget that London does have its quieter, less manic areas.

In London Villages, Zena Alkayat exposes some of the city's hidden gems, selecting 30 neighbourhoods split into north, south, east, west and central, and recommending some of the best places to visit in each.

Of course, there are the usual suspects, such as Columbia Road and Hampstead Village, 
but most of the places Alkayat picks are little visited by those who don't know and love them well.

This makes for great reading, and great inspiration. Alkayat recommends five places you must visit in each of the neighbourhoods she selects, from cafes to haberdasheries to galleries, but those are just the starting point for readers wishing to explore further.

There are lots of bookshops Alkayat mentions which I plan to visit, and I'll definitely be popping in to the Blue Brick Cafe, which serves a vegan and vegetarian all day menu, in East Dulwich when I get the chance.

Even Londoners who think they know it all will find Alkayat's book helpful, packed as it is with great tips for places to visit. I'll be carrying it in my bag and using it to get to know the city a bit better.

How I got this book: From the publisher Aurum for review

•London Villages is book eight in my challenge to read 12 non-fiction books in 2013.

Reading challenge 2013: How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran

Here's what I expected before I started reading How To Be a Woman by Caitlin Moran - that it would be honest and opinionated and funny.

What I didn't expect was to learn quite so much about Moran, particularly regarding her masturbatory habits and her menstrual cycle, and definitely not within the first couple of chapters.

Still, once I got the shock out of the way (as Moran probably intended) I began to enjoy the book.

Part feminist manifesto, part guide on being yourself, part memoir, How To Be a Woman is fully hilarious, whether Moran is talking about her (mostly) disaster of a wedding, her fashion choices or her treatment of colleagues at her first job.

That's not to say How To Be a Woman is not a serious or touching book. Moran's chapters on children and abortion feature some particularly heartrending moments, and her treatise on plastic surgery had me nodding most of the way through.

I don't agree with everything Moran says in How To Be a Woman, but I do agree with the push behind it all - that the way to be a woman is just to be who you are, and to be a human being first, and everything else second.

I think Moran is probably too honest for some, but I loved it. And if nothing else, I will take Moran's fashion rules away with me and treasure them, especially the one about how 'you can get away with nearly anything if you wear the thing with black opaque tights and boots'. So true.

•How To Be a Woman is the sixth book in my challenge to ready 12 non-fiction books in 2013. I'm failing miserably.

Reading challenge 2013: Making History at London 2012, edited by Brendan Gallagher

The fifth book in my challenge to ready 12 non-fiction books in 2013 is Making History at London 2012, 25 Iconic Moments of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This time a year ago I was in the middle of putting together a supplement about the Games, and preparing coverage of the Olympic Torch relay. It's amazing to think that in the two months that followed, we saw some of the best sport ever played.

I got sent Making History at London 2012 last year, at the time of its release, but after a whirlwind summer where I felt like I lived and breathed the Games, I didn't read it. It's fitting to go back to it now, as we approach the first anniversary of the Games.

Edited by Brendan Gallagher, chief sports feature writer at The Daily Telegraph, Making History at London 2012 is a collection of essays by journalists (and the design principal for the Games) on a variety of subjects, from the bid for the 2012 Games to the opening ceremony to the construction of the park to an analysis of the great sport we saw.

The Olympic and Paralympic Games are touted as 'the greatest show on earth', and this book celebrates that. There are no mentions of any protests around the Games, and very few of the sporting failures. Instead, this book does what Brits so often don't do but learnt to during the Games - lauds our achievements as a nation (as well as praising a few international athletes). It's a one-sided look at the Games, but what a great side the writers picked.

As I read Tom Knight's recap of Danny Boyle's Olympic opening ceremony, Pat Rowley's account of how Team GB women's hockey captain Kate Walsh returned to the tournament after surgery on a fractured jaw, Craig Lord's piece on Michael Phelps' historic Games, and more, I felt the emotions of London 2012 coming back to me.

It was a truly glorious summer, where all of Britain got caught up in a sense of triumph and where we watched as a Games we all held niggling doubts about went off without a hitch. Not everything great about the Games is mentioned in Making History at London 2012, but with such a phenomenally successful Games (the best in history some would say), there was no way to include it all. Gallagher says in his introduction:

"There was just so much to take in, and there still is. As ever, the greatest challenge lies in deciding what to leave out."

What's included in this book is a great selection, and the rest will live on in our memories. 

Reading challenge 2013: Lean In - Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

The fourth book in my challenge to ready 12 non-fiction books in 2013 is Lean In - Women, Work and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg.

I'm not one for self-help books, or business books about how various people became successful (so I've never previously read any), but I'd heard so much about Sandberg's book that I felt compelled to pick it up.

And I'm glad that I did.

I found Lean In a great read from start to finish, and Sandberg (COO of Facebook, there, obligatory mention over) made some points that really hit home with me. 

Her anecdotes combined with statistics (lots of statistics) and the research she quoted meant her arguments weren't just things I think and feel at work on a regular basis, but genuine problems with the world of work and its attitude towards gender as a whole.

Granted, there were some bits of Lean In that felt a little patronising, especially the chapter where Sandberg talks about making sure you have a good man by your side to help out, a fact she thinks will help drive equality in the workplace and at home. That's as maybe, but it also ignores all the single people out there, not to mention all the single-parent families, and people whose home lives may not be the conventional 2.4.

But Sandberg is the first to acknowledge that she is very lucky - she has a supportive husband and the pair are in a financial situation that makes it easier for them to afford quality childcare. Sandberg is also quick to admit that she sometimes contradicts herself, at one point telling women to sit at the table, and at another acknowledging there have been times in her own life where she definitely did not sit at the table.

One of the most interesting points in the book comes when Sandberg discusses the concept of feminism, and how reluctant women (including her younger self) are to label themselves as feminists. She makes the point that a feminist is "someone who believes in social, political, and economic equality of the sexes".

I didn't expect to enjoy Lean In, due to my scepticism about self-help books, but Sandberg's book isn't really a step-by-step guide to how to be a successful woman in business, it's more a discussion on women in business and a treatise on changing opinions so that gender is no longer an issue. Sandberg's book has left me confident that I'm a feminist (something I thought I was but didn't admit to much). Best of all, it's given me the confidence to lean in. Watch out world.

Reading challenge 2013: The Sweetness of Life by Francoise Heritier

The third book in my challenge to ready 12 non-fiction books in 2013 is The Sweetness of Life by Francoise Heritier.

In just 72 pages, this book has become one of my favourites of all time.

A best-seller in its original French, The Sweetness of Life has been translated into English for the first time. Its author is an anthropologist and a professor who has previously written books including Masculin/feminin.

The Sweetness of Life started as a response to a doctor who wrote to Heritier to say he was on a "stolen" week's holiday. And so Heritier decided to put together a list of all the things that make up the sweetness of life, from "wild laughter, phone calls made for no reason, handwritten letters" to "rediscovering the macaroon smell of gorse every summer".

In addition to being a gathering of generic moments that make up life, The Sweetness of Life is also part biography, revealing little tidbits about Heritier herself. Her list includes "living sparingly at the time of the Suez Crisis on a thin baguette and a cup of coffee a day", "surviving the attack of a swarm of wild bees in the African bush" and "melting over the devastating restraint of Robert Redford in Out of Africa and the equally devastating insolence of Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind".

The Sweetness of Life is inspiring, and is a book to cherish. It made me stop and think about all the things that make life worth living, and that I should cherish each day.

Reading challenge 2013: Into Danger by Kate Adie

First up in my challenge to read 12 non-fiction books in 2013 is Kate Adie's Into Danger.

Adie is a journalist I really admire, and I've previously read The Kindness of Strangers, which is her autobiography.

Into Danger is a little different, in that while it's about things she may have seen during her career, or people she met, it's not about her.

The book could be described as 17 non-fiction short stories, each focusing on a different "dangerous" career, from snake venom collector to armed robber to bodyguard to prostitute.

In some cases Adie provides a lot of narration, using her own experiences and research to help flesh out the careers she is talking about. These are the stronger chapters. Other times, Adie lets those she is interviewing just talk, and their words are printed for pages without any interruption. While compelling, I found these stories slightly less believeable, although, of course, they're all true.

There were a few chapters that really stood out for me. One of Adie's chosen dangerous careers is the diver, and for this chapter she interviewed two people, one of whom - Gie Couwenbergh - helped rescue people from the Herald of Free Enterprise when she capsized off the coast of Zeebrugge in 1987. The story of the Herald is one I know quite well (the first paper I worked for had a sister paper which covered every aspect of the tragedy, as many of those who died were from that area), but Adie's approach showed me a new angle. The chapter was well crafted, with details about the work of divers from the eyes of two people, an exploration of the mental toughness of someone who chooses a career spent underwater, and of course the telling of how a diver can help save lives.

Another story that really stood out for me was that of Brian McCargo, whose career as an Ulster Policeman started on Bloody Sunday. McCargo's story was compelling, but very matter of fact - yes, there were threats on his life and that of his family, but he also felt a sense of service towards the community, and that was why he stayed in policing.

In every interview, printed at the end of each chapter, Adie asked her subjects one last question about their career: "In the name of what?" The answers given for chosen careers vary, and encompass everything from adventure to duty to enjoyment. It's these answers that I find the most interesting parts of the book - after reading about the danger people put themselves in, intentionally and unintentionally, for their work, I was really curious to get to the why.

Adie herself has encountered danger in her career, but she brushes this off right at the beginning, assuring us that while journalists may encounter danger, they "don't necessarily have to face it, deal with it or rid the world of it".

"But who are the people who do?" Adie asks. Adie's mission with Into Danger to find those who do was successful.

Reading challenge 2013

In 2012 I set myself a challenge of reading and blogging about one book every two weeks.

I managed to read and blog about 24 books instead of the required 26 - although the reviews didn't come every two weeks and there was a flurry of them at the end. Surprisingly, the reading wasn't the hard part, the blogging was. 

It's now time to set myself a challenge for 2013.

I don't read much non-fiction, yet my bookshelf contains many, many non-fiction books I've bought with the intention of immersing myself in them.

So this year, I will try and read 12 non-fiction books. It's a tall order, since among those on my shelf waiting to be read are autobiographies by Bill Clinton and Hilary Clinton - the former's book clocks in at a whopping 957 pages, plus picture pages, acknowledgements and an index. By comparison, Hilary's is JUST 539 pages.

Bill Clinton's autobiography taking up masses up of room on my bookshelf.

So yes, that's my reading challenge for the year. And if you've got any non-fiction books you think I should read, let me know.

Reading challenge book 21: The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

Book 21 in my challenge to read one book (I haven't read before) a fortnight in 2012 is The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman.

The only work by Pullman I've previously read is the His Dark Materials series, which I loved. The Ruby in the Smoke though, while still great storytelling, is something completely different.

Sally Lockhart's father has drowned at sea, and she receives an anonymous letter mentioning the Seven Blessings. Setting out to find out what the Seven Blessings are, Sally is thrust into a mystery, where her enemy is more dangerous than she can ever imagine.

A mystery set in the Victorian era, The Ruby in the Smoke is a fast paced tale with a twist round every corner - literally. Much of the tale takes place in London, where the streets are narrow and those who succeed know where every alley leads. Vivid descriptions of places including Wapping and other communities along the Thames make you feel as though you are right in the heart of the city.

Sally is a great heroine - clever, tough, imaginative - and could easily be transported to 2012 as a sassy girl detective. Alongside her detecting identity, she's still a young woman trying to make her way in the world by making new friends, and discovering the first feelings of attraction towards handsome photographer Frederick.

Villainous Mrs Holland may be an old woman, downtrodden and poor as a church mouse, but she's terrifying all the same, and a great villain for Sally to do battle against.

The Ruby in the Smoke is an intriguing story, and one that will keep you guessing with its intricate plot, characters full of depth and the picture it creates of Victorian London.  

Reading challenge book 20: Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Book 20 in my challenge to read one book (I haven't read before) a fortnight in 2012 is Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce.

This is the second book I've read by Pearce - the first being Sweetly.

Like Sweetly, this is a retelling of a classic fairytale, in this case Little Red Riding Hood. Only in Sisters Red, there are two Red Riding Hoods.

We meet Scarlett and Rosie March as young girls, in a prologue that sees a creature breaking in to their house and killing their grandmother.

Seven years on Scarlett, who was scarred fighting the creature - a Fenris - and Rosie are Fenris fighters. Basically they're both something out of Buffy the Vampire Slayer - but Scarlett is more Faith while Rosie is a very, very reluctant Buffy.

During an encounter with a Fenris the two find out that groups of Fenris are gathering in the nearby city of Ellison, because the phase is about to begin. The pair, along with childhood friend Silas (who is starting to see Rosie in a new light) move from their quiet cottage where they've been living since their grandmother died (how no one noticed two children were living alone, I don't know), to Ellison at the behest of Scarlett, whose mission in life is to kill Fenris above all else.

In Ellison they try to solve the puzzle of the phase, while Silas and Rosie's relationship blossoms into romance.

Sisters Red, for me, was a much better book than Sweetly, perhaps because the narrative switched between Scarlett and Rosie, giving an insight into both characters' minds. The relationships are all well developed (although they are in Sweetly too), whether they are between siblings, friends or (potential) lovers.

Scarlett's single-minded determination to destroy the creatures who left her scarred, lonely and with the weight of the world on her is compelling, even though sometimes I just wanted to reach into the book, shake her and tell her it was okay to have some fun occasionally.

Silas and Rosie are also fascinating to watch, and their relationship with each other is interlinked with their relationships with Scarlett.

The mystery of the phase isn't exactly a mystery (I guessed as soon as the phase was defined what it was leading to), but it's interesting to watch the trio try to figure out what is going on, unaware that it will affect them all deeply.

The ending is more sweet than bittersweet, and left me with hope for all the characters.

Sisters Red is an interesting take on the Little Red Riding Hood tale, with Pearce only borrowing slight elements from the original story, and really adding her own twist.

Reading challenge book 19: Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

Book 19 in my challenge to read one book (I haven't read before) a fortnight in 2012 is Sweetly by Jackson Pearce.

This is the first of two books I've read by Pearce, both reimaginings of classic fairytales. (Told you I was on a fairytale kick recently.)

Sweetly is a reworking of the Hansel and Gretel fairytale. Ansel and his twin sisters find themselves in the forest as young children, and are chased by a strange monster. Ansel and his sister Gretchen survive, their other sibling does not.

Fast forward 12 years and the pair are thrown out of their home by their stepmother, and decide to make their way to South Carolina. When their car breaks down they are drawn in to a little town called Live Oak, and find a home with a young sweetmaker called Sophia Kelly - standing in for the witch in the tale, but far more complex and not the true villain of the tale, or is she?

Hidden away in her little cottage at the edge of a forest, Ansel and Gretel find love, friendship and acceptance. But the forest bordering the house threatens Gretel, reminding her constantly of the twin she lost.

On a trip into the forest to conquer her demons she is chased by a monster, and rescued by the stoic Samuel. Determined not to be a victim any longer, Gretel persuades Samuel to teach her to fight the monsters.

Sweetly is a classic of the child story genre - bad things lurk in dark places to scare - with an adult twist. The relationships within, including Sophia Kelly slowly becoming a replacement for the sister Gretel lost, Ansel and Sophia Kelly's budding romance, and Ansel and Gretel's sibling bond, are well crafted and very real, full of hope and uncertainty and fear.

Pearce builds the tension to finding out what the monsters in the forest are slowly. Unfortunately, in this case, the tension is far scarier than the actual reveal, and I found myself going "that's it?" when the monsters came out of hiding. Plus, the cover of the book was scarier than the actual monsters.

What was really interesting and quite scary was Sophia Kelly, who I didn't like from the moment I met her, but who was an utterly fascinating character. Pearce shows Ansel and Gretel growing ever closer to Sophia Kelly, but always presents her with a dark edge that made me feel slightly uneasy.

Sweetly is an interesting take on the Hansel and Gretel fairytale, and while an easy read, in this case the original story of the siblings who run into a witch in a gingerbread house is far superior.

Reading challenge book 18: Virals by Kathy Reichs

Book 18 in my challenge to read one book (I haven't read before) a fortnight in 2012 is Virals by Kathy Reichs.

Reichs is the author of a series of popular novels featuring forensic expert Dr Tempe Brennan, and her work also inspired the television show Bones. I've read neither those novels nor watched Bones, so Virals, the first in a series of books aimed at young adults, was my first foray into the world of forensic science as told by Reichs.

Living on a secluded island off Charleston in South Carolina, Tory Brennan (niece to Tempe) and her friends Ben, Shelton and Hi spend their time feeling like outcasts at school and being way too clever for their own good at home. 

The group all have parents who work in or around a research facility on a neighbouring island, and on one fateful trip there, after yet another hostile encounter with lead scientist Dr Karsten, the group discover an abandoned dog tag, which leads them to human remains in a grave and the rescue of a wolfdog puppy with a serious illness, both of which will change their lives forever.

The group are thrust into the midst of trying to solve a decades-old murder, and find they can get no help from any adults. Forced to figure it out on their own, all while displaying symptoms of a mysterious illness, the group get ever deeper into danger.

Virals is a great read, fast paced enough to keep you interested and detailed enough to give you an insight into what the teenagers are doing but not enough so that you get lost in the science of it all.

The illness affecting the four main characters is believable enough, as it builds slowly over the course of the book, but the way the mystery the group are solving ends is ridiculous, with its teenage femme fatale-like villain who springs out of nowhere.

To me, Virals is a modern-day Famous Five mystery. Reichs replaces Enid Blyton two girls, two boys and a dog with one girl and four boys, and she keeps the dog. And just like in the Famous Five books, there are some handy islands around for the group to get in trouble and stumble upon a crime.

Virals is an easy read and a good introduction to the work of Reichs. I'll be checking her adult novels out in the future.