Almost Midnight - by Rainbow Rowell

Title:              Almost Midnight

Author:         Rainbow Rowell

Published:   Nov 2, 2017

Rating:          3 stars

Synopsis:

Midnights is the story of Noel and Mags, who meet at the same New Year's Eve party every year and fall a little more in love each time . . .
Kindred Spirits is about Elena, who decides to queue to see the new Star Wars movie and meets Gabe, a fellow fan.

Midnights was previously published as part of the My True Love Gave to Me anthology, edited by Stephanie Perkins and Kindred Spirits was previously published as a World Book Day title.

I picked this book up from my local bookstore as at only 131 pages, I could see that it was going to be a quick read (and I managed to read it in roughly an hour, so I take that as a win for me).

These two short stories were cute and gave me the warm and fuzzies inside. My favourite of the two was the first one titled Midnights but I also liked the second titled Kindred Spirits, just not as much as the first one.

In Midnights, I really hope that they stay together (as friends or as lovers? You'll only know if you raed the book! I'm not giving away spoilers!). I'd give this one a 4 star rating.

In Kindred Spirits, I hope that all three of them remain friends and get to see many a 'Star Wars' movie together, even if it's just the three of them sitting at someone's house marathon watching them or something like that. I'd give this one a 3 star rating.

I adored the glittery cover too and also loved that the glitter didn't come off everywhere while I was trying to read but maintained the awesome sparkle!

Pay attention to the illustrator's name of this book as you may notice it somewhere in one of the stories; I did! The illustrations were amazing and I loved the way that both of these stories were set out with their chapter headings etc.

'I need you to be my person,' Mags said. 'I need to see you. And hear you. I need you to stay alive. And I need you to stop kissing other people just because they're standing next to you when the ball drops.'

2009 - by Aditya Koppula

Title: 2009

Author: Aditya Koppula

Published: 18 Jul 2020

Series: -

Rating: 3 stars

Synopsis:

Just when everything is going normally, we all come across that "one year" that throws everything at us. "2009" is a poetic short story that explores the human reaction to opportunities, love, empathy and inner strength.

I received a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

As I had previously read the author's other book, when I started reading this I thought that this would also be a poetry book for some reason. If I had looked a little closer at the front cover, I would have seen that it even told me it was a poetic short story. Whoops! Because of that I was a little confused when most of it turned out to be in short story format, but it was still a nice and quick read.

Many of us either have a relationship or a good career, and the lucky ones get both.

This story doesn't follow the story of the author, but an Australian character called Joanna. In the bio of the author on Goodreads, however, it does also state that the events in the book are inspired by true events.

There were a couple of times where I thought there was a little too much description of something, but it didn't detract from the storyline too much. There were also a couple of times when the problems in another country were put into perspective right in front of your eyes which is good though as it gives you a little bit of a wake up call to what's truly going on in the world.

What happened towards the end of the book between Joanna and Ethan is something I wouldn't have predicted if you'd asked me at the beginning of the book. The author does describe the feeling of this situation very well though, and I'm sure everyone has that one bad situation which reading this may bring back feelings of anger or resentment about.

Overall, this was a good book to read as it was nice to follow along with Joanna's story with the odd poem thrown in about how she was feeling and what she was going through too.

We all have that one year that changes our lives forever. Mine was 2009. What's yours?

Life's Rainbow

It was a rainbow.

It was red. The colour of a rose, a strawberry, an autumn leaf. The colour of a sunburn after laughing and playing in the sun all day. The colour of an oversized bow in a little girl’s hair.

It was orange. The colour of a marigold, a penny, a maple tree. The colour of a pumpkin on a front step at Halloween. The colour of orange juice through a straw while unwell.

It was yellow. The colour of a bright and shining sun, a polka dot dress, sand at the beach. The colour of butter as it’s spread on some bread. The colour of a lemon as it sits in a fruit basket.

It was green. The colour of trees, a frog, a cactus. The colour of freshly mown grass just before it rains. The colour of a lime slush drink as it gives you a brain freeze.

It was blue. The colour of a cloudless sky, a robin’s egg, juicy blueberries. The colour of a warm blanket on a rainy day. The colour of the overalls on a little boy.

It was purple. The colour of grapes, a butterfly, a violet. The colour of a chocolate bar wrapper as the goodness inside was eaten. The colour of paint as it’s rolled onto the wall.

It was a rainbow.

Until it wasn’t.

It was purple. The colour of bruises on the little boy’s arm and cheek from where he had been abused by his parents. The colour of the robes of a pastor as they molested a child.

It was blue. The colour of depression that had been left alone too long, turning them to suicide. The colour of a car as it came hurtling towards a motorbike, crushing the rider.

It was green. The colour of jealousy as they find out their partner is cheating. The colour of the vomit as someone forces themselves to throw up to stay thin.

It was yellow. The colour of the sky before the smoke as the bomb went off. The colour of the alcohol as it consumed the little girl’s parents to the point of no return.

It was orange. The colour of the fire as it erupted from the forest, the trees fuelling it on. The colour of the warning that no one listened to.

It was red. The colour of fury and hate as they tore each other apart. The colour of blood as it slowly choked the streets, no one noticing how many lives lost until it was too late.

It was a rainbow.