The fact that I couldn’t find a summary by goodreads sums up this play to be honest.

I am very definitely not a fan of the history plays by Shakespeare. I don’t understand half of what is going on, nor do I understand the reasons why things are happening. I mean, it’s very likely just me that can’t understand it, but there we go.

Richard II is a very complex character, granted. We see him descend into a state of madness (Hannah looked it up and he truly did go ‘mad’), and there are so many things wrong with him (again we looked it up and it’s mostly because of the inbreeding that went on in the royal family back in the 1300s), but these made his character incredibly interesting. And, considering the fact that this play was written in the Elizabethan times, it’s pretty well portrayed (nothing compared to today’s standards however – thankfully our expectations have improved).

As for the events of the play, I would discuss them… But I don’t actually understand what happened. They seemed dramatic? There was a lot of going back and forth between people and places and there were too many people and places to keep up.

I do feel that maybe because my heart wasn’t really into watching / reading it, I didn’t get the full benefit. However, I don’t think I’ll be picking it up again anytime soon to give it the benefit of the doubt. Shakespeare has written so many other plays, I have plenty to go through first before ending up rereading Richard II.

Rating: 2.5 / 5 🌟

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Publication date: 15th September 2017 by Firefly Press Ltd

Format: Paperback I purchased from Waterstones

The summer between school and sixth-form. When Hope doesn’t get into drama college, and her friends do, all her plans fall apart. She’s struggling with anger, grief for her father and a sense that her own body is against her. She meets Riley on the ferry and his texts give her someone to talk to. But this isn’t a story about a boy fixing everything. It’s about trying new things and having the courage to ask for help.

(from goodreads.com)

I read this book a little while ago, back when it was released. As soon as I saw it in Waterstones I picked it up and I was not disappointed. It was a wonderful read, and I’m so glad I got to it so soon.

Hope is a complex character, there is so much going on with her. Even now, though I’m at a different stage in my life / education, I relate to her struggle about what to do next with her life so much. It was interesting to see this portrayed accurately, and the struggle she faces when her dream doesn’t quite come true and the subsequent paths she has to look at and choose from were well executed.

The main thing with this book, however, it that is does not shy away from talking about periods. It discusses the condition of PMDD, and it was great to see something talked about that is usually shied away from. It’s not something I personally struggle with, but I can see how reading about Hope’s struggle and coming to terms with it would really help someone. I can’t comment on the accuracy of the portrayal, but Hope’s emotional response came across as realistic and raw.

I couldn’t put this book down. It’s set in the Midlands area, which was amazing as I don’t think I have read any other book that explicitly mentions Birmingham. It was a surreal feeling reading a book and recognising the places mentioned. I mean, I recognise some of the famous names dropped in books set in London, but America I kind of guess at. Reading a book set so close to home made such a lovely, lovely change.

I would highly recommend this book. It completely grabbed me and I sped through it. The characters, their emotions and feelings, were so well developed, and I fell in love with it. I find myself wanting to reread it, which is unusual for me, and always a good sign!

Rating: 5 / 5 🌟

Henry V is Shakespeare’s most famous “war play”; it includes the storied English victory over the French at Agincourt. Some of it glorifies war, especially the choruses and Henry’s speeches urging his troops into battle. But we also hear bishops conniving for war to postpone a bill that would tax the church, and soldiers expecting to reap profits from the conflict. Even in the speeches of Henry and his nobles, there are many chilling references to the human cost of war.

(from goodreads.com)

Firstly, I don’t feel I can write a ‘review’ of a Shakespeare play. It’s Shakespeare, England’s most famous writer, I think it’s fair to say. But I wanted to share some of my thoughts about the play anyway.

I’m not really a fan of the histories, I must admit. I read this play back in year twelve (nearly three years ago) and wasn’t really keen on it, and reading it again for uni made me understand why I don’t particularly enjoy it. I watched it, rather than read it, this time around. It helped, as my attempts at reading it were just not going to happen!

There are so many characters. I know it’s a historical piece and Shakespeare couldn’t exactly cut them out of the play but I could not follow them. This is why watching it made it so much better. I could put a face to a name at the very least (admittedly, I had no clue who some of the people were but hey). I just got so confused reading this and I struggled to get through it (well, I didn’t). It is important to remember it is written for the stage though, even more so than today’s plays as the majority of Shakespeare’s audience wouldn’t have been able to read, so I guess there’s that.

I did love some of the speeches, the ‘Crispin’s Day’ speech is truly wonderful. Henry V definitely has good, motivational speeches going for it. But otherwise, I was bored. As I said, I’m not really a fan of the histories – I prefer the over the top drama of the tragedies and comedies personally. But I can see its merit. I mean, I find history interesting to learn about, but historical fiction in general is not my thing, let alone Shakespeare’s version of it!

Rating: 3 / 5 🌟

Genre: Middle grade, fantasy

Publication date: 1st April 2006 by Hyperion books

Format: Paperback purchased from The Works

After a year spent trying to prevent a catastrophic war among the Greek gods, Percy Jackson finds his seventh-grade school year unnervingly quiet. His biggest problem is dealing with his new friend, Tyson–a six-foot-three, mentally challenged homeless kid who follows Percy everywhere, making it hard for Percy to have any “normal” friends.

But things don’t stay quiet for long. Percy soon discovers there is trouble at Camp Half-Blood: The magical borders which protect Half-Blood Hill have been poisoned by a mysterious enemy, and the only safe haven for demigods is on the verge of being overrun by mythological monsters. To save the camp, Percy needs the help of his best friend, Grover, who has been taken prisoner by the Cyclops Polyphemus on an island somewhere in the Sea of Monsters–the dangerous waters Greek heroes have sailed for millenia–only today, the Sea of Monsters goes by a new name…the Bermuda Triangle.

Now Percy and his friends–Grover, Annabeth, and Tyson–must retrieve the Golden Fleece from the Island of the Cyclopes by the end of the summer or Camp Half-Blood will be destroyed. But first, Percy will learn a stunning new secret about his family–one that makes him question whether being claimed as Poseidon’s son is an honor or simply a cruel joke.

(from goodreads.com)

This was such a good second book; I’m still fairly new to the series, but I already feel so invested in the world and the characters’ lives. The introduction of Tyson, a cyclops, really changed the character dynamic in the story and I loved his character as well.

The character development almost seemed a little different in this book. I mean, it was explicitly stated in the first book – to an extent – whereas in this one I felt that there was more showing and less telling. I enjoyed both, but I felt that maybe it was done ‘better’ in this book. We learn some of Percy and Annabeth’s deepest flaws and worries, and I loved this, it really altered the story and the way I saw the characters in their given situations.

Reading this book almost makes me a lot more excited for the continuation of the series. The first book made me want to continue to see what happened next, whereas this one has given me faith in Rick Riordan (not that I didn’t have any faith in him before – the sheer number of books he has published says it all really about his writing and storytelling abilities!). He took his characters and gave them a completely new adventure, adding new characters and changing relationships along the way. It wasn’t just a continuation of the first book, it was a new story in itself.

The development of the backstories of several characters really caught my interest too – Annabeth’s in particular. I feel as though there is a lot more to her character compared to what has been revealed so far, and I look forward to where this will go later on in the series. Chiron, too, has a backstory that I hope to learn more about as I work my way through the rest of the books.

I really enjoyed this book, and I can’t wait to carry on through the series – I will be picking up the next one as soon as I’m on track with uni reading! This has definitely given me confidence that every book will be different in some way, and not just an ‘oh it’s a new summer so there must be a new adventure’ kind of thing, the adventures have their reason for being and are well thought-out. I completely understand the hype about this series now, and my only regret is not reading it sooner.

Rating: 4.5 / 5 🌟