Book Review · Books

The Book Of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey [BOOK REVIEW]

The Book Of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey [BOOK REVIEW]

About The Book:

The Book Of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 397

Genre: Fiction, Dystopia, Speculative Fiction

Publisher: John Murray

Format I read it in: Uncorrected Proof / Netgalley

Rating: ★★★★


“The Book of Guilt” was the first book I read from Catherine Chidgey. I know for certain it will not be my last by any means. The story is about the triplets William, Vincent and Lawrence, always dressed in yellow, red and green. They live in the Captain Scott Home for Boys and Mother Morning, Mother Afternoon and Mother Night look after them.

There used to be more children in the home, but now they are the only ones left.

They are often poorly and the mothers give them medications and injections. The doctor also comes often to check on their health. Every morning, when they wake up, their dreams are recorded in the Book of Dreams. They take lessons from the mothers from the Book of Knowledge. And if they are naughty, it’s all reported in the Book of Guilt. 

One day, they overhear the locals talk about them in the village, and learn something that turns their lives upside down. All of a sudden, they start questioning everything they’ve known. 

The more I was reading, the deeper the rabbit hole was starting to get. We find things out through the boys, and the book highlights on some intriguing psychological and sociological topics – on the border of what is deemed morally and ethically wrong if done for the right reasons.

“But sometimes we love those who are not kind to us.”

 It’s certainly a book that opens the floor up for discussions.

Somehow, I know it will be a hit with book clubs. I also personally enjoyed the relationship between the triplets and how their personalities came together and at times clashed. I quite enjoyed this book and will be looking for the next one that Catherine writes!

About the Author:

The Book Of Guilt by Catherine Chidgey [BOOK REVIEW]

Catherine Chidgey is a novelist and short story writer whose work has been published to international acclaim. In a Fishbone Church won Best First Book at the New Zealand Book Awards and at the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize in her region. In the UK it won the Betty Trask Award and was longlisted for the Orange Prize. Golden Deeds was Time Out’s book of the year, a Notable Book of the Year in The New York Times and a Best Book in the LA Times.

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Book Review · Books

The 100 (The 100 #1) by Kass Morgan [BOOK REVIEW]

The 100 (The 100 #1) by Kass Morgan [BOOK REVIEW]

I thought I wouldn’t enjoy “The 100” by Kass Morgan because I’ve seen the first season of the TV Show. However, reading the story was a brand-new experience and I loved it a lot!

Synopsis:

No one has set foot on Earth in centuries — until now.

Ever since a devastating nuclear war, humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth’s radioactive surface. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents — considered expendable by society — are being sent on a dangerous mission: to recolonize the planet. It could be their second chance at life…or it could be a suicide mission.

CLARKE was arrested for treason, though she’s haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor’s son, came to Earth for the girl he loves — but will she ever forgive him? Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister, the other half of the only pair of siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as she feared it would be on Earth.

Confronted with a savage land and haunted by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind’s last hope.

The 100 (The 100 #1) by Kass Morgan [BOOK REVIEW]

Pages: 323

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction

Publisher: Hodder

Format I read it in: Paperback

Rating: ★★★★

Thoughts:

Reading “The 100”, I got to create my own characters in my head. I got to know them and interestingly enough, my feelings for some of them changed as well. 

From the very first chapter, the book kept me hooked. 100 people that are imprisoned in space are being sent back to Earth, while no one knows if it’s safe for them to go. But because they are considered scum, they are used as guinea pigs. If they manage to survive, more people will follow to come back and start living back on Earth again. The fake democracy that rules the spaceships felt quite real to the present day, way too familiar for some reason. 

Throughout the book, we get a glimpse of the lives of four different characters. Clarke, I didn’t really care that much about. She seems to always need something and can’t do things on her own. Then, among the other characters, we also have the chancellor’s son, Wells, who, to me, tries to justify his actions in the name of love. To save the girl he loves, he put a lot of people in danger. 

The biggest reason I loved The 100 is the psychological side of it.

You get 100 people and you put them in a certain situation, and you never know how they will react. When they are left to their own devices, and it’s up to them to decide the rules, the rules no longer apply. And sometimes, this releases the worst in people. 

What do you do when your belief of justice is not the same as other people’s beliefs? There is no one to protect you, and no one to fight your battles for you. It’s a game of survival and only the strongest will thrive. And that may not always be the fairest way, but it is the truth… 

Amazing plot and good action between space and Earth – I am quite intrigued about how things ended and quite excited to see where things go in the next book in the series. 100% would recommend! 🙂

About The Author:

The 100 (The 100 #1) by Kass Morgan [BOOK REVIEW]

Kass Morgan studied literature at Brown and Oxford, and now resides in Brooklyn, where she lives in constant fear of her Ikea bookcase collapsing and burying her under a mound of science fiction and Victorian novels.

Twitter: @Kassmorganbooks

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