I had to mentally prepare myself for this one for a while. I knew after how devastated I was after Delirium, and a certain someone's return in Pandemonium that I would be needing a mansize box of tissues and an industrial supply of chocolate to get through this.
It was what I can only describe as a fairly perfect ending to a wonderful trilogy, and one that will stay with me for a long while. Although perhaps not as resolved as I wish it could have been (I really wanted to know what happened with the whole Lena - Alex - Julian love triangle we had going on) it was an absolutely perfect tale of the human race combining together to overthrow the wrong decisions made for them by a government with entirely the wrong morals and ideas, and the show of solidarity was heartwarming and uplifting.
We join Lena at the beginning of the story after she leaves New York with Julian, and Alex. This becomes difficult for all in the group as the tension between her and Alex, and subsequently the tension between her and Julian, and of course Julian and Alex, grows.
When they land themselves in trouble in the Wilds and have to flee from a group of regulators, they find themselves part of a large resistance headed back to Lena's original home, Portland.
Lena is then faced with the difficult decision, does she fight for what she believes in, at what cost none of them know. Or does she secrete herself further into the Wilds to live a solitary life of survival and supposed freedom?
I didn't actually cry this time (weird right? Especially as I didn't cry at City of Heavenly Fire either!!) but there were some incredibly emotional scenes, and Oliver gives the characters new depths which makes their relationships even more believable. I loved the return of Hana in the narrative, and especially enjoyed the chapters from her point of view, and seeing that the Cure really isn't everything the government thought it would be. Seeing her struggle with her reality, and what she knows her reality should be was a particularly deep section of the book, and I found it well represented the agony when you realise that your life isn't perhaps going in the direction you wished it to yet you don't know how to change it (something I'm currently going through myself). So overall I guess you could say this whole trilogy for me was a resounding success. It goes onto my Forever Pile, in other words its a trilogy I will read over and over again until I'm old and grey.
Firstly, please ignore the terrible picture, I really need to start getting decent cover images off the internet and perhaps looking at a new Blogger layout, but for the time being this method will have to do.
SO, where to begin? Well, first of all I'd say for anyone who isn't a fan of Made in Chelsea, or indeed Binky herself, this may be a slightly pointless read for you. Now that that's said, I can get on with a proper review!
I've previously reviewed 'Confessions of a Chelsea Boy' (see here) by Spencer Matthews, and although I enjoyed the read as a whole, I found the actual writing rather lacking, and was expecting something similar of Being Binky, so I was pleasantly surprised to find the writing actually very good.
She drew me in, rather unexpectedly, from the very first page, and I actually whizzed through the book in just over a day. I loved hearing all about her childhood and her close relationship with her Mother, which we see quite a lot on the show, and as a huge Made in Chelsea fan I loved hearing about how she actually got on the show, and the real truth about her friendships off screen.
I also loved that she included hair, beauty and lifestyle tips at the end of each chapter - and I found things like her anti bullying tips particularly relevant. I think it was a really nice touch, and it's something that will definitely help younger fans of the show who may be going through things like that themselves.
I actually found quite a lot of the book quite emotional, especially how up-front she is about the breakdown of her parents marriage and the bullying that she experienced at school.
It also gave me a whole new found respect for how hard Binky has worked in her life to overcome challenges, and how perhaps life in the glare of the cameras isn't always what it's cracked up to be.
This was another of my lunch time trip to Tesco book binges, and my God am I glad I picked it up.
I wasn't going to at first. Judging from the title I immediately thought that it would be some lovey-dovey chick lit, and although I do adore me some chick lit, I wasn't in the mood for it at the time. Something still encouraged me to pick it up however, and I was immediately drawn to it.
The story follows Matthew Homes (although that's not his real name, he is keen to tell us) and his struggle with schizophrenia triggered at a young age by the death of his disabled brother. He lives his life believing that his brother's death was his fault, and it haunts him so much that he begins seeing his brother, and messages from him in every day life.
We meet Matthew at a day centre in his local psychiatric ward, where he has been encouraged to express himself through creativity. He decides to use the computer to type out his story, I believe as a form of relief from the storm inside his head.
Filer was very ambitious with this as a debut novel. In my view, writing a story devoted to mental illness is incredibly brave - especially if you've never suffered from said illness yourself. Filer managed to weave one of the most beautiful stories that I have ever read however, and create a character with such depth and personality that you can truly believe that Matthew's story is one that is very important to Filer, and that needs to be told.
I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this book - it's not the lengthiest of reads, I think I finished it in a couple of days as I was reading it around work and dance practice, and it's not the lightest of literary topics, however as I mentioned above it really is heartwarming in its own way, and in particular the final chapter will really resonate with those who have lost a loved one themselves.
It has won the Costa Book of the Year award for 2013, and I really do think it's very deserving of this accolade - I hope it encourages more authors brave the subject of mental illness in such a respectful manner in the future.
