Five Books You Might Not Have Read

The other week I was at home and sorting out one of the many boxes of books I have there, when I stumbled across a few gems that I thought would be interesting to share with you today. If you’re like me, then you’re always looking for something new to read. Hopefully these may catch your eye!

Witch Light: Susan Fletcher

I remembering feeling apprehensive about this book and I think it took me a little while to get into it, but after that I was hooked. Set in 1692, this book is based on the lore surrounding a young girl, Corrag, who is imprisoned as a witch for her involvement in the Massacre of Glencoe. In her cold and dirty cell she is visited by Charles Leslie, a young Irishman, who questions her about what happened. But Corrag won’t give him what he wants until he listens to her story.

This is such a stunning book and Fletcher’s descriptions of the Scottish Highlands are so beautiful, it’s made me desperate to visit them. A great, atmospheric story that just immerses you into such a different world to your own.

The Lost Art of Keeping Secrets: Eva Rice

I loved this book for such a long time when I was about fourteen and reread it various times. Set in the aftermath of World War II and the early beginning of rock ‘n’ roll, this story follows teenager Penelope who lives with her mother and brother in a huge, crumbling mansion. Penelope is desperate to fall in love and when she is introduced to a Charlotte, a girl with a life so different to her own, this dream seems to be coming closer to a reality.

A light hearted, fun and eccentric story that is basically a slightly more modern retelling of I Capture the Castle, I recommend this if you’re looking for some light escapism.

The Universe Versus Alex Woods: Gavin Extence

This is one of the only books I have ever shed a tear at but that’s not to say it’s all a tragedy. Alex Woods has a very unconventional l life. Living with a single clairvoyant mother and having a mild bout of fame for a very unusual accident, Alex doesn’t really have any friends. That is until he meets Mr Peterson, the bad tempered widow down the road and an amazing journey begins.

The books starts when Alex is stopped at Dover customs with 113 grams of marijuana, an urn full of ashes on the passenger seat and an entire nation in uproar. Safe to say, this is a book like no other. A funny, warm hearted story about friendship and making the most out of the time you have, this book has stayed with me in more ways than one.

Beautiful Stranger: Hope Donahue

**Trigger Warning: This book deals heavily with body image issues, body modification and other issues***

This is the only non-fiction book on this list, but it’s another one that has stuck with me since I first read it and it’s so interesting. This memoir is about Hope’s ‘obsession with perfection’ and her endeavours into countless cosmetic surgery procedures. The story also goes into her doomed love life, her odd obsessive-crush on her surgeon and other issues.

Probably triggering for some people and there are descriptions of surgical procedures, so please don’t read if it doesn’t sound like your kind of thing. I however am both fascinated and concerned with cosmetic surgery so this was a sad but interesting insight into that murky world for me.

Innocent Traitor: Alison Weir

This was actually a recommendation from my mam, as she loves historical fiction and for as long as I can remember has been obsessed with the Tudors and events around that time. This book is the story of Lady Jane Grey, who was the Queen of England for nine days. The book covers Jane’s relationship with her future successors Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth I and goes through her unwanted marriage and ends, like she did, on the block.

A tragic but deeply fascinating insight into a story I wasn’t even really aware of before I read this. I think historical fiction is a great way to learn about the things school didn’t teach us or didn’t explain too well.