Alba in bookland: David Whitehouse

Another year down, can you believe it? And what a fantastic year it has been. After a couple of low months, on the end of the year I picked up my reading and have managed to read 134 book no less! This year I am really glad that I have tried new genres and new authors and I've had some really good surprises. It's been very difficult to pick my top ten as there were a least 15 or 17 books that deserved to be there but finally I have decanted myself for these (in no particular order):

A Girl Best Friend by Lindsey Kelk. This year Lindsey Kelk has spoiled us with two fantastic books. She published the stand-alone Always the Bridesmaid which I absolutely loved and was a firm contender for this list but when I read the new A Girl installment, A Girl's Best Friend, I decided to include this one instead because it's pure Lindsey Kelk. Everything I love in a book is in this book.

The Vintage Guide of Love and Romance by Kirsty Greenwood. Funniest book I’ve read in a long while. I loved Jessica Beam and her adventures following her grandma’s vintage guides. If you are in need of cheering up, definitely go for this one, genius!

Mobile Library by David Whitehouse. David takes us on a magic road trip on a mobile library. The story is beautifully written with a unique narrative and a mixture of adventure, fantasy, love and friendship but also with some darker details. A real gem of a book.

Asking For It by Louise O'neill. The last addition to my list has been this brave and controversial read. It tackles some really important topics and portrays the reality we live in. It made me angry and it made me reconsider a lot of things. Really worth a read.

I Followed the Rules by Joanna Bolouri. There was not a thing in this novel that I didn't love. Cat was one of the best leading roles I have read in a while. Unexpected, quirky and hilarious, I can assure that it will leave you will a content heart and some more eye wrinkles after all the laughing!

Silent Scream by Angela Marsons. This will be the year of D.I. Kim Stone. We met her on Silent Scream and her determination to catch the bad guys and her secrets captivated me. With the second and third books (as good as the first) of the series already out, this is the perfect one of crime lovers.

The Silent Hours by Cerca Major. Set in France during the Second World War and based on a historical event, it tells a powerful and moving story about life during war. With different points of views, I felt like I was part of the story too.

Appleby Farm by Cathy Bramley. This year I have completely fallen in love with Cathy Bramley's style and her cosy and beautiful books. I loved Ivy Lane too but I finally decided Appleby Farm had to be the one in this list because it has such a positive vibe around it.

And finally, if I had to choose a book of the year, it would be a tie between these two books. These are the books I'm still thinking about all these moths afterwards:

The Day We Disappeared by Lucy Robinson. Lucy’s talent just keeps surprising us. With her latest book, she fooled us all and took our breath away. A clever story with a twist you won’t forget in a long time.

Letters to the Lost by Iona Grey. An epic love story that made me cry a lot (in public places). This will probably be the debut of the year for me, so beautifully written and such a moving story. Also, it would make such a fantastic movie.

So here they are. The best books I have read this year. I can't wait to see what the next year bring. I'm already excited with the new releases I've seen.

I can’t believe it’s already the end of June, where have these months gone? 2015 is certainly flying by. I have just checked Goodreads and I have read 70 books already. I have to say that 2015 has been amazing year, bookswise. I have read so many amazing books! This is why I wanted the share with you my top ten for the first half of the year. I don’t even know how I managed to narrow it down to 10 only but here they are:

Ivy Lane by Cathy Brambley. Who could have though life in an allotment could be so entertaining? As the seasons pass by, the community of Ivy Lane grow closer and new loves and friendships flourish. I loved how easily Cathy made me feel part of the community too and all the descriptions of gardening.

Silent Scream by Angela Marsons. This will be the year of D.I. Kim Stone. We met her on Silent Scream and her determination to catch the bad guys and her secrets captivated me. With the second book of the series already out, Evil Games, this is the perfect one of crime lovers.

Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella. If anyone is worried about Sophie writing her first YA novel, then you shouldn’t. It totally exceed my expectations. Audrey is a character I won’t forget in a long time and Sophie handles mental health issues with tact and resposability.

Catch Me If You Cannes by Lisa Dickenson. The Summer Read for me! It has all the ingredients: sunshine, stunning setting, romance and Nutella! What else can you ask for? Perfect for an afternoon on the beach with some cocktails to go with!

Always the Bridesmaid by Lindsey Kelk. This is Lindsey’s first stand-alone novel in a long time and I wish, with all my heart, that is was actually a series, so we could go back to Maddie’s world again. Certainly one of her best books, Always the Bridesmaid will make you giggle non-stop!

The Silent Hours by Cerca Major. Set in France during the Second World War and based on a historical event, it tells a powerful and moving story about life during war. With different points of views, I felt like I was part of the story too.

So this are the best books I've read so far this year. I don't know how I'm going to pick my top ten at the end of the year if the books continue being so amazingly good. Not that I'm complaining! What are the best books you've read so far?

Title: Mobile Library
Author: David Whitehouse
Published: January 15th 2015 by Picador
Amazon | Amazon UK

Blurb: Twelve-year-old Bobby Nusku is an archivist of his mother. He catalogues traces of her life and waits for her to return home.

Bobby thinks that he's been left to face the world alone until he meets lonely single mother Val and her daughter Rosa. They spend a magical summer together, discovering the books in the mobile library where Val works as a cleaner. But as the summer draws to a close, Bobby finds himself in trouble and Val is in danger of losing her job. There's only one thing to do -- and so they take to the road in the mobile library...

Quirky, dark, magical and full of heart, Mobile Library is both a tragicomic road trip and a celebration of the adventures that books can take us on. It's a love-letter to unlikely families and the stories that shaped us.

*First of all I would like to thank the publishers for sending me a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: Mobile Library is probably going to be on my top 2015 reads. I hadn't read Bed, David Whitehouse's debut, so I started Mobile Library with no clues about his style or narrative. Imagine my surprise when the book started with a chapter called The End. Weirdly enough it was the perfect beginning to this contemporary fairy tale. Just reading those first pages, I was completely invested with the story.

After The End, we go back in time to get acquired with the quirky characters of this book. There's little Bobby whose mother has left him with a not-caring father who ignores him. So he has decided to keep everything he finds and learns on files so he can show his mother when she's back. He has not a lot of friends and is teased and abused in school so his best friend decides to turn himself into a cyborg to protect him. A real lesson about friendship, although the result is not the expected and Bobby finds himself alone again. Then's when we meet Rosa, my favourite character in the story. She always speaks the truth and her honest comments and actions were incredible insightful. She and her mother become the family Bobby no longer has and their love for each other grows with every page.

The story is told through different points of view so he get to read about Bobby's feelings, Rosa's thoughts and even about the frustrations of the detective who is in charge of finding the elusive Mobile Library. I think this was very clever as it made me feel part of the story and had me glued to its pages from cover to cover.

But what makes this novel so special and unique, apart from its characters, is the love for books you can feel through the story. With references to some of my own children favourites like The Little Prince, Huckelberry Finn or Harry Potter and also to some great classics like Moby Dick, The Secret Garden or Of Mice and Men, Mobile Library is an ode to books and reading. I am sure that any book lover is going to love it.

David Whitehouse takes us on a magic road trip on a mobile library. The story is beautifully written with a unique narrative and a mixture of adventure, fantasy, love and friendship but also with some darker details. A real gem of a book, I highly recommend it.

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