Bogormen

Title: Falling into Place
Author: Amy Zhang
Genre: YA
Rating: 4.5/5
# pages: Audiobook ~5.5hrs
Date read: October, 2014

On the day Liz Emerson tries to die, they had reviewed Newton’s laws of motion in physics class. Then, after school, she put them into practice by running her Mercedes off the road.

Why? Why did Liz Emerson decide that the world would be better off without her? Why did she give up? Vividly told by an unexpected and surprising narrator, this heartbreaking and nonlinear novel pieces together the short and devastating life of Meridian High's most popular junior girl. Mass, acceleration, momentum, force - Liz didn't understand it in physics, and even as her Mercedes hurtles toward the tree, she doesn't understand it now. How do we impact one another? How do our actions reverberate? What does it mean to be a friend? To love someone? To be a daughter? Or a mother? Is life truly more than cause and effect?


I had this recommended very highly by a friend of mine who works for the publisher. I downloaded the sample from Amazon, and liked what I read, so purchased it from Audible.

I'm glad I did. It's a really, really good book! It made me go on detours to continue listening, which is always a good sign :) With shades of "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher and "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman it is obviously a very sad read, but I didn't find it as emotionally manipulative as it could have been. It was horrible to read about the kids being bullied, and how Liz Emerson slowly got convinced that suicide was the only way out.

I liked the way the book jumped in time - the chapter headers kept it from getting confusing, and the patchwork style of the book really worked for me.

I also liked that the ultimate outcome was kept under wraps until the very end. Just like in "If I Stay" it isn't made obvious right from the start, but enough hints are given that the reader is prepared for it to go either way.

The author was 18 when she wrote this! I'm terribly impressed!

Title: Ungen (The Kid) (Reden #2)
Author: Estrid Ott
Genre: YA
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 156
Date read: October, 2014

"Ungen" is the sequel to "Reden". When Ulla comes back home after years abroad, she is horrified to find that her darling little sister "Ungen" has been spoiled beyond recognition. It is now up to Ulla and her other siblings to turn Ungen into a true member of the Lund family.

I remember being rather disappointed the first time I read this, because all the lovely mischief and camaderie of "Reden" had disappeared. As I grew older, I started appreciating it more, and while I still don't think it is anywhere near as good as the first book, I do enjoy it just the same.

Apparently there's a third book in the series as well, but I don't think I've ever read that one.

Title: Reden (The Nest)
Author: Estrid Ott
Genre: YA, Classic
Rating: 5/5
# pages: 148
Date read: October, 2014

The story of a poor organist, his wife and their 5 kids who always get into adventures.

Estrid Ott was one of my favourite authors growing up, and it's so gratifying to see that her books still stand the test of time. I've read this book times beyond number since I first discovered it in my (very) early teens. It's a lovely story about a family who support each other through thick and thin and who - of course - always come out on top. A lovely feel-good book that I always close with a happy sigh :)

Title: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Author: J.K. Rowling
Genre: Fantasy
Rating: 5/5
# pages: 251
Date read: June, 2005, October, 2014

The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockheart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls' bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley's younger sister, Ginny.

But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone--or something--starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects...Harry Potter himself


I can hardly believe I haven't read this for 9 years! I figured it was about time. And of course, it was just as good as I remembered. It annoyed me somewhat that Harry didn't trust in Dumbledore sooner, but under the circumstances I think he can be excused - when even more experienced wizards (i.e. Ron) tells him that even for a wizard "hearing voices isn't a good thing", I don't blame him for wanting to keep it to himself.

I'd forgotten how short the book is though - I'd seemed to remember that Dumbledore and Hagrid were taken away at a much earlier point than they were.

Not my favourite HP book, but not my least favourite either.

Title: Phoenix Island
Author: John Dixon
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 3/5
# pages: 320
Date read: October, 2014


"Phoenix Island" is the first book in a series. Carl Freeman - orphan who's been sent from foster home to foster home - is charged with assult for defending a weaker classmate against bullies, and is given the choice: Go to jail, or go to Phoenix Island until he's 18.

Figuring nothing could be worse than jail, he chooses Phoenix Island... only to discover that everything is not as it seems.

This is "Unwind" meets "Lord of the Flies" with a dash of "Battle Royale" thrown in for good measure. For most of the book I had no idea what was going to happen next, or how on earth John Dixon would manage to resolve this in a satisfying way... especially as the number of remaining pages grew smaller and smaller.

Most of the book was absolutely fascinating, and I grew increasingly intrigued by the events on Phoenix Island, and Carl's chances there. However, the shades of "Unwind" (by Neal Shusterman) that I spotted in the book made me rather uneasy, and I wondered just how open an ending the book would have.

Fortunately not as much as I had feared. Enough that I've subtracted a star for it, but not so much that I wouldn't be keen to read the next book too, once it is published.

Title: De glemte piger (The Forgotten Girls)
Author: Sara Blædel
Genre: Suspense
Rating: 4/5
# pages: 315
Date read: November 2011, October 2014, September 2021

In the woods close to Hvalsø, a forester finds the body of a woman, but who is she? According to the coroners she has been dead for about a day, and a large scar across one side of her face ought to make it easy to identify her. But nobody has reported her missing, nor is she to be found on the police's list of wanted people.

After four days Louise Rick is still at a loss. It isn't until she decides to release a photo to the public that she gets a lead: An older women identifies the woman as Lisemette, whom she took care off many years ago at a center for the retarded.

But when Louise tries to get hold of Lisemette's journal, she is in for a surprise. Because the past turns out to have an unexpected connection to the future, and Louise has to work fast to figure out what happened before it is too late.


Probably the best Louise Rick story since "Kald mig prinsesse" (Call Me Princess). I read it in one sitting, and got to bed far too late yesterday as a result. The book was full of unexpected twists and turns, as well as a more thorough peek into Louise's past. I do wish that past had been hinted at in previous books though - it's a tad too much latent trauma to introduce this late in the series.

As usual I felt the book ended too quickly, so I am glad that I am familiar enough with Sara Blædel's writing that I know that it is very likely the loose ends will be picked up again in book 8.