I have two favourite books. They both have long titles, so they’re going to be called 1 and 2:
- Guess How Much I love You – Sam McBratney illustrated by Anita Jeram
- We Need To Talk About Kevin – Lionel Shriver
1 is so beautifully written with amazing illustrations that carry you off into that world; it takes me back to my childhood.
2, well that’s a completely different story. Admittedly, it was a very slow start for me, but once Eva described how she threw Kevin across the floor… I was hooked. I did nothing but read!
The story is written as a series of letters from Eva to her husband Franklin. The reader never sees Franklin’s reply, so several questions arise:
- Are the letters being sent?
- Does Franklin reply, but we don’t see them?
- Is Franklin dead?
- Are the two even married any more?
The letters describe how their eldest child, Kevin, murders some of his classmates (and permanently injures the others) just before his 16th birthday.
The book is fantastic. The film, on the other hand, not so much. I urge all of you to read this, you will not regret it. The book moved me so much that I now see the world differently.
That’s all from me, write to you next time x
Mermaids and Sirens 
This is such a great blog post. As your proud Mamma, I love the fact that “Guess how much I love you” is listed as one of your two favourite books.
I have so many happy memories of reading this to you (and to your sister, of course) and am still moved to tears by the fact that, at age 12, when you were so very ill in hospital and woke up after your “8-day sleep”, you immediately asked for that book, because it reminded you of when you’d been in hospital for heart surgery, aged 5, and I used to read it to you then.
And I’m so pleased you persevered (at a really young age at the time) with reading “We need to talk about Kevin” as it’s such a powerful book. Like you, it took me a long time to get into it and I’m so happy that you took my recommendation to heart and stuck with it.
I had to chuckle at “it takes me back to my childhood” in relation to book no. 1 though! lol Oh old wise one 😉