The Witches by Roald Dahl - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've just finished The Witches by Roald Dahl which I think is going to be my last Roald Dahl book for this month but I really enjoyed it and will be watching the film again tonight!

If you don't know what The Witches is about, its about a little boy who lives with his grandma and comes face to face with a witch. After the boy's grandma finds out about this she moves him back to England from Norway where they currently live.

There they stay in a hotel and while there, the boy finds himself hiding in a meeting room full of women. He listens in to the meeting and soon finds out that these women are actually witches and are creating a plan to get rid of all the children in the world!

So the boy decides to find out all the information about their plan and hijack the whole situation!

I loved this book once again and the characters are all so great. I love the little boy (who is unnamed) and I love Bruno the other little boy in the hotel as he is hilarious and doesn't really care about anything apart from eating.

I also loved the witches and especially their transformation from looking like normal women to hags. We really got to see how they acted in the meeting room and how nasty however also pretty stupid they all were.

I also really loved grandma as she was such a lovely character and so understanding. She really didn't have a bad bone in her body and I loved that she wanted to help her grandson defeat the witches once and for all.

I think the story itself is really entertaining and will keep you guessing and I think Roald Dahl has once again written in such a way that keeps you engaged throughout. I think that his writing in this story is perfect again for all aged readers as the younger readers can be kept highly engaged and the older readers as well as that can also be entertained and be made to laugh with some of his jokey writing styles.

Overall I would definitely recommend this just like I have with all of the other Roald Dahl books I've recently reread and I can't wait to carry on with the rest of my Roald Dahl Collection!

Rating /5

4

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

The Twits by Roald Dahl - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I'm on a role with making my way through my Roald Dahl collection this month and so the latest book I've read is The Twits! I remember this being one of my favourite Roald Dahl books from when I was younger and I can see why still!

This is about Mr and Mrs Twit. Even though they live together they can't stand each other and like to prank each other in the most funniest yet awful ways. For example Mrs Twit puts her glass eye in Mr Twit's drink and so when Mr Twit has reached the bottom of the cup he gets the surprise of an eye staring back at him from the bottom of the cup.

So in this story we follow the two of them pranking each other but as well as that we also meet the Muggle-Wump monkeys. They are a family of four monkeys that live outside of Mr and Mrs Twit's house. The Twit's are horrible to the monkeys and make them stand on their heads as much as possible because Mr Twit wants to create the first ever upside circus.

The Muggle-Wump monkeys however want to escape and get their own back on the Twits so they come up with a plan that will turn the Twit's world upside...literally!

I loved revisiting this story and these characters and I think the Twits are definitely one of my favourite character pairs to read about in Roald Dahl's books. They are awful people yet absolutely hilarious and so so stupid you can't help but laugh at the decisions they make.

I also love the Muggle-Wump monkeys and how devious they are. The Twits don't think the monkeys can understand them but in actual fact the monkeys know exactly what they are saying and that's how they know where to start with their plan in getting their own back.

The pranks the Twits play on each other are so inventive and hilarious; Roald Dahl has done an amazing job in coming up with a funny storyline that can entertain not only younger readers but older readers as well.

I think this book is still probably one of my favourite stories of Roald Dahl's but I do think I probably enjoyed it even more when I was younger. However I do stick with what I said before in that I loved revisiting this story again and I do think you can get a laugh out of it whatever age you are.

Rating /5

4

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

The Magic Finger by Roald Dahl - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've read my second Roald Dahl book of the month and that is The Magic Finger! This is a super short book but packs in an hilarious story in just over 50 pages.

If you don't know what this is about, it's about a girl (unnamed) who when made angry casts a sort of spell using her magic finger on the person/people that have made her angry. So in this story, we find out that she has already cast a spell on her teacher for calling her 'a stupid little girl', giving her teacher whiskers and a cat tail.

But the story we follow in this book is about a family that lives nearby to the girl. They make her angry that they hunt for pleasure and so when she gets angry the magic finger puts a spell on them that has some very amusing consequences!

I'm not going to tell you what those consequences are as I don't want to give away the whole synopsis but I really enjoyed reading this story and being reunited with these characters even if it was only for a short amount of time as like I said before, the book is just over 50 pages long.

I loved the humour to Roald Dahl's writing and how he can tell such a simple story in such an imaginative way.

I can't decide whether I like that the girl with the magic finger is never named or whether I'd prefer it if she was but I like how Roald Dahl decided to do this as not a lot of stories can say they have an unnamed main character.

I definitely think the girl in this story and Matilda would get along really well as they both have magic powers and both have quite cheeky personalities. It would have been great to have read a book where these two characters meet to see how they would get along.

I'd definitely recommend this book to younger readers as it's fun and such a quick read. It's perfect for a bedtime story as it won't take that long to read however long enough to hopefully send them to sleep!

Overall I think this is a great little story and I really enjoyed reading it.

Rating /5

4

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've finished Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl and enjoyed it but I wouldn't say it's one of my favourite Roald Dahl books.

If you don't know what this book is about, it's about a young boy called Danny who lives with his dad. His mother passed away so it's now only the two of them, and his dad owns a filling station. They don't have a lot of money but they are happy where they are and with what they have.

One night Danny wakes up in the night and realises his dad isn't there. He goes to try to look for him but can't find him anywhere. When he is eventually reunited with his dad he finds out that his dad used to like to go poaching back before Danny was born. And that was the first night he decided to go back to it.

Danny's dad tells him all about poaching and the best time to be able to catch the pheasants as well as when's best to avoid the Keepers, and before long Danny really wants to go with his dad to poach as well.

Mr Victor Hazell is the man who has all of the pheasants and once a year he holds a public event for people to come round and poach for themselves. Danny and his dad don't particularly like Mr Victor Hazell however and come up with a fascinating plan on how to ruin his day!

This story is really funny in certain sections and really entertaining, so although I said it isn't one of my favourite Roald Dahl books I did still enjoy reading it.

I love the connection between Danny and his dad and you can really tell they have a fantastic relationship from the very beginning. They support each other through thick and thin and just want whats best for each other.

I also loved how Danny, although he is so young, is quite grown up for his age and knows how to do much much more than most children his age. He looks after his dad if he needs help and he knows how to do a lot of jobs not many children his age would know how to do. It makes him quite an interesting character and as well as that he is just such a lovely boy.

I did think this story dragged a little bit in places however and I felt my mind wandering some of the time but I'm still glad I reread this book and the characters made the story a lot more entertaining as I felt the story could get a bit slow some of the time.

Roald Dahl's writing style once again didn't disappoint however and the way he writes his dialogue I think is perfect for younger readers but older readers can also get a laugh out of it as well.

I'd definitely recommend this to younger readers like I do with all Roald Dahl books I've read and I'm sure this will be somebody's favourite story somewhere in the world. It just wasn't one of my favourites.

Rating /5

3

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've just finished A Series of Unfortunate Events. The Miserable Mill by Lemony Snicket which is the 4th book in the series. I have to say I think this is one of my favourites so far! If you haven't read the books before this one in the series and don't want to be spoilt stop reading now!

In this section of the series the Baudelaire orphans have to go stay in Paltryville in the Lucky Smells Lumbermill. Of course the orphans are always weary of their surroundings because they never know when Count Olaf is going to make an appearance.

At the Mill they are made to work, even little Sunny who is only a baby. They are worked so hard and only get a piece of gum for lunch on their 5 minute lunch break. So as you can tell, their time at the Mill was not going to be a happy one, just like all of the other places they've had to spend their time in the last few books.

As the story goes on, although the children are around some people that treat them terribly, they realise that Count Olaf still hasn't made an appearance, and they aren't sure whether this makes them feel slightly more relaxed or completely on edge as they know he must be somewhere lurking.

But sure enough when Klaus returns from getting his glasses fixed hypnotised, Violet and Sunny know that Count Olaf must have something to do with it. So when Klaus ends up breaking his glasses for the second time, they go with him to get them fixed...and sure enough a figure they never wanted to see is lurking just around the corner.

I loved this part of the story and like I said before I think this is possibly one of my favourite books so far. I really liked how Count Olaf wasn't in the story from early on and only turned up nearer the end but even though this was the case, you could still feel his presence through the uneasiness of the Baudelaire orphans.

I loved that the children weren't just staying with a 'guardian' in this story as well and instead they were also working for a business. This gave this book something different to the previous books I've read so far. I think this is exactly what the series needed as well as it felt like a break from the normal kind of story Lemony Snicket writes for the children.

I loved Charles who was one of the partners in the Mill. He was really lovely to the children and although he was a bit useless sometimes, he still wanted to help the children and keep them safe. I also loved that one child (Klaus) had a more featured role in this book as so far they've all been pretty even as they've stuck together. Even though they stuck together through this story, Klaus found himself on his own when he smashed his glasses and that's where his independent role really began.

I really enjoyed this element to the story and I'm super excited to read the next book in the series, The Austere Academy as the children will be spending their time in a boarding school which I find really interesting to read about.

I definitely recommend this series as I find it so unique and its perfect for younger readers as well as older readers.

Rating /5

5

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park - Review

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've finished In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park and it was incredible. She is such an inspirational woman and I'm so glad I have read her story.

If you don't know what this book is about, it's a true story of Yeonmi Park's escape from North Korea. Her life in North Korea was awful and the way North Korea is run is horrendous so Yeonmi's mother knew she had to get herself and her family out. They couldn't afford much at all and so food was rationed between the family leaving them with next to nothing to live on making them ill.

Yeonmi's sister also tries to escape however not with Yeonmi and her mother and this causes the family to be apart for years, leaving Yeonmi to think she's never going to see her sister ever again. They cross the boarder over to China thinking their lives will be better over there but they end up being victims of human trafficking splitting them up for a while.

We are also taken through their jouney to South Korea and how they are originally treat over there until they are allowed to have freedom. The idea that freedom isn't a thing worldwide is saddining and needs to be changed. 

This story is heartbreaking yet incredible and like I said before Yeonmi is such an inspirational woman and has done so well with her life since managing to escape from North Korea. Her support for her family is amazing and even when she was desperate, she still put her family before herself doing anything she could to ensure that they were safe.

The chapters when Yeonmi and her mother were in China and were victims of human trafficking are awful and to think people actually go through this is sickening. These are things that shouldn't even exist never mind be actually happening.

Reading this has taught me a lot about North Korea and I'm fascinated to learn more about their culture as I can't understand at all how North Korea is run and maybe I'll never understand as it's not even something I could imagine. I just hope one day that the world will be a much more peaceful place.

I think this is a book that everyone needs to read at some point in their lives as it really puts into perspective just how lucky we are and how we definitely take the little things for granted. Like I said before I'm so glad I have read Yeonmi's story and I hope she carries on inspiring people all over the world.

Rating /5

5

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

September TBR 2017 | BookTube

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I have for you my September TBR and I'm super excited about it! I'm being really optimistic again thinking I can get all of these books read this month but I hope I get around to a good amount of them anyway! I hope you have lots of books on your TBR list this month that you're excited about and I hope you enjoy the video!

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx

August Wrap Up 2017 | BookTube

Hello Book Lovers!!!

I've just posted my August Wrap Up and I'm happy with everything I read even though I didn't get round to reading everything I wanted to...surprise surprise! I hope you've read some amazing books in August and I hope you enjoy the video!

Happy Reading!!!

xHannahx