Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett

This is everything that is delightful about reading as a child, a magical funny adventure story with underlying themes of family, belonging and fears. Reminded me of why and how I fell in love with reading and stories.

The Female Persuasion, Meg Woltizer

Reminded me of Normal People, maybe in the way it was written as well as the subject matter, two teens and then young people whose lives are entwined. Again questioning a life well lived and people's expectations of themselves and others. Not keen on the last chapter tying up the loose ends, I didn't want to read it but was too curious, would have preferred to have been left with the hints.   

All Passion Spent, Vita Sackville West

A beautiful, quiet book questioning what a life well lived looks like; taking into account personalities, circumstances and duty. 

Who Among Us? Mario Benedetti

The premise of this is not so original; two teenage boys and one girl who are friends, the girl marries one of the boys but all three somehow feel she has married the wrong man. Written mainly from the point of view of the husband, but with a part from each of them, Benedetti skilfully unmasks true feelings, thereby revealing personalities, flaws and the tragedies in ordinary lives. 

The Lagoon and other Stories, Joseph Conrad

Satisfying, mysterious or enigmatic short stories set in a romantic old-world. Full of ideas of travel or belonging and moods of places. 

Beloved, Toni Morrison

More magical // undefinable than I had thought.

Skipping backwards and forwards in time and though the supernatural

Slow reveals but doesn't feel like a plot device, slower and more natural

Like memory or poetry, clear senses but difficult to describe or sometimes picture // put your finger on exactly what's happening

All encompassing, themes made clear through stories within stories and lives within lives.

Normal People, Sally Rooney

I loved following the couple in this book. It is a little similar to Just Kids in that the relationship at the centre of the novel runs too deep to be defined. We meet Connell and Marianne as they finish high school, and follow them until some years into university. For sure Rooney doesn't avoid all the teenage or relationship tropes, but the novel feels fresh and realistic. I found it always compelling and never frustrating, which it so easily could have been. The characters are thoroughly drawn and you feel the story continues beyond the last page.