Books I Read on Holiday – Mini-reviews!

Hello! I’ve just returned home from a week-long family holiday by the sea, and I’m excited to share with you a bookish blog post! I did a lot of reading this past week, seeing as I was on holiday and all that. So I thought it would be fun to give some mini-reviews on the books I read/finished while on holiday. I hope you enjoy getting a peek into my recent reading life! 🙂

Here, have a random artsy picture I took on the beach… #thebeachismyhappyplace 😀

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The Staircase – Ann Rinaldi – 3/5 stars

A kinda weird, but interesting historical fiction book about a girl abandoned at a convent during the 1800s. It was fine, but some parts were just a bit… odd. I probably won’t reread it.

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The House on Mango Street – Sandra Cisneros – 4/5 stars

Written in short vignettes, this book was beautiful and gripping. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing style and most of the content. 

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Nurturing the Nations – Darrow L. Miller – 5/5 stars

I finished reading this book with my Mum this week. It was a perceptive and incredibly helpful look into the treatment and role of women. I really appreciated the Biblical insight the author gave and will definitely be going back for reference in the future. Highly recommended!

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Inside Out & Back Again – Thanhha Lai – 4/5 stars

I’ve been absolutely loving delving into the world of free-verse poetry novels recently. This book was beautifully written and I learnt a lot about the Vietnam War. Definitely recommended to any reader who loves poetry and/or history!!

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The Wednesday Wars – Gary D. Schmidt – 5/5 stars

Reread this book for the second time in preparation for a book club I’m going to lead on it. I found it even more funny than my first time through it, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute spent reading it! I’m actually looking forward to reading it for the 3rd time with my book club soon. #it’sthatgood

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Through Gates of Splendour – Elisabeth Elliot – 5/5 stars

Warning: this book might change your life. My family finished reading it aloud together this week, and man… it’s incredible. It details the stories of five men who were martyred in Ecuador in 1956. Their lives of faith are beautiful and stunning and arresting. Highly, highly recommended. Seriously, go read this book. 

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Silas Marner – George Eliot – 4/5 stars

A lovely story about the power of greed vs the power of love. I was suprised by how dramatic and gripping this book was, considering it was written over 150 years ago. It just goes to show that sometimes the ‘oldies’ are the best!

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Just Patty – Jean Webster – 4/5 stars

I discovered this book randomly on my kindle and then tore through it in 24 hours, thoroughly amused by the adventures of Patty and her comrades. It’s a book in the like of ‘What Katy Did at School’ but original enough so as not to seem like a repeat. Jean Webster is a lovely ‘old-timey’ author and I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve ever read by her. 

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When Patty Went to College – Jean Webster – 4/5 stars

I read this book straight through on the car trip home today. It’s another book full of the escapades of the irrepressible and darling Patty. Refreshingly wholesome and just plain sweet and funny. A perfect ‘long-car-trip-read’!

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Jerry – Jean Webster – 4/5 stars

This is the last Jean Webster book I have on kindle that I hadn’t read yet. Full of amusing, love-lorn, masquerading characters, this is another sweet, charming read. I must say I do enjoy Jean Webster’s writing – there’s something so hilarious and so cute about it!

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I know this has been a relatively long blog post, so thanks for sticking with me through it! 😀 To finish off, I’ll give you a few pictures from our holiday by the sea, and then that’ll be all from me for the next week… Thanks for reading!! 

The view from the front of our house!

Siblings by the sea. ❤

Sunrise this morning. Ah, the beauty did my heart good!