2020 Resolutions Recap

So that's it. Another year over thank goodness and welcome to another resolutions recap *corny game show audience cheer*.

1. Get at least one piercing
2. Get at least one tattoo
3. Get fitter
4. Sort out my health
5. Draw or write something every day
6. Get a new car
7. Learn to drive
8. Get a new puppy
9. Watch 100 films
10. Read 100 books
11. Go to the cinema at least 8 times
12. Go to Longleat
13. See a show on stage
14. Start to save more money
15. Learn to knit
16. Learn to crochet
17. Learn embroidery
18. Write 20,000 words for NaNoWriMo
19. Get up to date with book reviews
20. Start to grow my hair out

Well thanks to the worldwide hiccup known as the coronavirus or Covid-19 a lot of stuff got cancelled and everything went on lockdown in the UK for several months back in March. We had a second smaller one in November for just a month.

The first lockdown is the only reason I completed any resolutions at all! It prompted me to learn embroidery, I caught up on reading for a grand total of 127 books read this year. Also despite the wealth of stuff on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Sky (I don't have Disney+ yet) I watched a lot of films... 227 to be exact... Cinema trips suffered greatly though. Only 5! Cats, Frozen twice, Sonic the Hedgehog and Doolittle.

In hindsight draw or write something every day was probably never realistic for me...  Not when time-sucking mobile games exist LOL! Fitness went down, health is probably also still not great *sigh*. To save money you need money to start with and since the lockdown work have put a stop to overtime so I'm down to my contracted 21 hours over 3 days where I was doing 28 over 4. I haven't made it an official resolution (as you'll see in my next post) but I think I do need to look for a new job. My manager is draining and I need more hours. Maybe then I'll also feel "right" about growing my hair out.

Anyway this is long enough for now so I will go and be back tomorrow with a 2021 resolutions post!

Stef Out x

Changing Ways by Julia Tannenbaum

 Changing Ways – Julia Tannenbaum

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

Read July 20

CW: ED and SH

Changing Ways follows 16 year old Grace who is struggling to cope with the stresses of school and starts to fall into patterns of restricting her food intake and self-harming. A classmate sees her cutting in the locker room and she’s hospitalised. Though initially in denial Grace gradually realises that she does have a problem. Overcoming it though, that is another matter entirely.

I thought that the hospital and recovery sections were very realistic, especially as it showed relapse, recovery isn’t linear. I loved Grace and Lou’s relationship. I wish we could have learnt more about James, especially his gender non-conforming tendencies, he was cute though! My main criticism was that the early chapters and the onset of Grace’s illness was a little bit rushed. At one point Grace mentions pro-ana websites but it never shows her being interested in or accessing those types of websites. Also in another section we see her worrying about the calorie content of her meals and snacks when again this isn’t shown previously.

Overall I feel like the novel needed a bit more show and not tell but I understand that the author is still only a teenager and herself is in recovery so I guess some aspects of an eating disorder are going to be hard to write about. Other than that I also wish we’d had more throughout about Grace’s dad rather than a mini info-dump at the end.

4/5 stars

Stef Out x

All the Promises We Break by Brenda Benny

 All the Promises We Break – Brenda Benny

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

Read July 20

CW: Rape

This is a dual timeline book set in 1994 covering the few months leading up to the end of school party before everyone goes off to university or wherever, and the aftermath of that party and how it has changed Savannah.

I wasn’t entirely convinced by the 90s setting. Very little is mentioned that is relevant. A couple of bands, Kurt Cobain’s suicide and an O.J. Simpson car chase. It wasn’t very immersive. I think the author wanted to rely on gossip and hearsay after the party rather than social media evidence but pulled it off slightly clumsily. I also wasn’t entirely convinced by the flip-flopping time chapters either. The “after” chapters were often so brief that I don’t think it would have made much difference in the narrative if it had played out chronologically. The only thing I can think of was a phone call that in the end when it was revealed seemed to lack impact,

I’d have also liked to have read more about why Savannah wanted to travel rather than go straight to college. It’s also implied by Savannah that she’s in her sister’s shadow but then no-one else mentions her sister which was odd. Also while it’s realistic and I understand it I was still disappointed that Savannah didn’t tell anyone about her rape.

3/5 stars

Stef Out x

All the Lonely People by David Almond

 All the Lonely People – David Almond

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

Read July 20

This was a really interesting book with a really unique concept. We follow Kat who lives her life largely online until cyberbullying forces her to delete everything, including inadvertently herself thanks to something called “The Fade”. Wesley, thanks to family troubles (which are only ever glossed over), is also very lonely and finds himself drawn into a toxic friendship with Kat’s cyberbullies and even helps them. But he starts to have doubts when his new “friends” join forces with an online gamer known for pranks and a stern anti-woman stance.

The Fade concept was interesting and well done but it seemed inconsistent in what can cause it, prevent it, or treat it. There’s a group that Wesley meets that want to Fade for some inexplicable reason. The leader, Safa, is already Fading and has chosen which life to piggyback based on the girl being further on in life, not unexpected as she’s older than Safa. The ending was a little disappointing though, love saves all is a little tired. Although the fact that it was a same sex pairing was nice but I’d have like to have seen more of Kat talking about her sexuality and how she felt about it. Also her final conversation with Wesley was disappointing. I can understand how Kat felt about everything but it would have been nice to see them overcoming everything and becoming friends. Or even acquaintances rather than “I never want to see you again”.

3/5 stars

Stef Out x

Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) by L.C. Rosen

 Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) – L.C. Rosen

Ebook provided for review by NetGalley. Thank you.

Read July 20

More books like this please! Well, the being stalked part was not so great, though so twisty and whodunnit, thankfully without the murder. No, the gay teen sex-ed stuff. I will say that this book is very, very graphic in its talk of sex between men/people with penises. However, it is necessary for the very good advice Jack gives as part of his column. He also discusses coming out, expectations, asexuality, and even BDSM. The key threads through every single letter are communication and being safe. The book also covered stereotyping and microaggressions in a really good way.

All of the characters were well-written and developed. Ben who is fat and black and loves fashion and believes in “happy ever after”. Jenna is latinx, worries about her international reporter mother and is one of the novel’s few straight characters. I low-key love and find amusing that the only time her sex life is talked about is when she’s discussing an act that many men refuse to do! I also loved how supportive and non-judgemental Jack’s mum was! This book overall is really well-written and important.

Something small to note. It may be because I did get it via NetGalley but some of the notes didn’t display properly on my ebook/Kindle.

5/5 stars

Stef Out x

Forget My Name by J.S. Monroe

 

Forget My Name – J.S. Monroe

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

Read July 20

Oh my gosh this was so delightfully dark and twisty and well thought out. Everything wove together beautifully which was miraculous considering the number of plot threads, the large cast of characters, the geographical locations, and let’s throw in some ancient culture and religion and to top it all off the ending was technically left on a mini cliff-hanger!

The initial plot was “simple”. A woman turns up at a young couple’s house with no recollection of who she is other than she thinks she lived there previously. Tony – the husband – decides to name her Jemma for the time being, a weird choice since it turns out a woman named Jemma did live there… Until she killed her friend… Is their temporary houseguest a killer or is there more to her than meets the eye? Add a paranoid wife and a local journalist with trouble of his own and you get an intricate tale of memory and its impact on oneself.

5/5 stars

Stef Out x

XX by Angela Chadwick

 XX – Angela Chadwick

Ebook provided by NetGalley for review. Thank you.

Read July 20

This was a really interesting concept and the book was written extremely well. Everything was well-researched, the science, the way media works, the pro and con voices. I really enjoyed the way it examined upbringing and how that can affect your opinions and how you react to things. I loved the relationship between Jules and Rosie, it was so real and genuine and sweet, I loved that it wasn’t all good all the time. Perfection is over-rated. I do feel that Rosie took a little too long to come around after their argument. She didn’t seem to want to listen at all. It was great that they eventually reunited. I also loved the prologue and the snippet into their life now.

5/5 stars

Stef Out x