#surfacebreaks

So it’s been a while! I wanted to make this post as I will be taking part in the OWLs Readathon during April, hosted by G from BookRoast!

She has put so much effort into this readathon. Her announcement video is linked here.

I have decided that I am going to be a Charms Professor at Hogwarts! There are seven exams that must be completed for this career, but I have set a book for each subject! I have from 1st - 30th April to read all 12 books, so I should be able to do it.... I can hope!

So to be a charms professor you have to complete the following criteria:

Charms (or any subject you want to teach)

Defence Against the Dark Arts

5 additional subjects of your choice.

My first choice is for charns, where the prompt is to read an adult work. I have chosen: Falling Through Clouds by Anna Chilvers. 

I got this book a while ago, in a mega-unboxing of around 80 adult books. I sorted through them and decided to hang onto this one, and now there’s a perfect place for it in this readathon!

This book is about Kat, a 22 year-old who meets a man called Gavin on the train. They spend the summer in Cornwall but she can tell that something isn’t quite right with him. It turns out that Gavin is suffering from intense nightmares after being held hostage in Iraq. He then goes missing and Kat has to decide whether she wants to chase this mystery man.

This is definitely not the usual style of book I would read, but I am excited to give it a go.

Next, for defence against the dark arts, the prompt is to read a book starting with the letter “R”. I have chosen Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer.

This was the only book starting with a “R” that I own.. which I do find really hard to believe, but it’s true! This is another book that I got in the mega-unboxing, so I’m excited to get to it to finally unhaul it from the massive pile remaining in my reading room.

This book is about a medical student, called Patrick, who has Asperger’s. The body he is examining in anatomy class starts to speak to him, and then he is faced with solving a possible murder.

Again, this is definitely not something I would usually pick up, but it was the only book in my possession and I tried my hardest to not purchase any books for this readathon!

The first subject I have chosen is ancient runes, which means I have to read a re-telling. I’m not a huge fan of re-tellings, but I’ve decided to pick up The Surface Breaks by Louise O’Neill.

The cover of this book is just gorgeous. This is obviously a Little Mermaid re-telling, and I was going to include a short summary here but I actually don’t want to read the blurb for it. I feel like I know enough about the Little Mermaid (doesn’t everyone?) so I don’t want to find out any potential twists and turns before I get started. But this book is just gorgeous and I can’t wait!

The next subject I have chosen is astronomy, for which I have to read a book with “Star” in the title.This felt very specific to me, and I thought it would be difficult, but luckily Brittany sent me a copy of Starry Eyed by Jenn Bennett a couple of weeks ago! 

She sent me this book as she doesnt typically read contemporaries but loved this one, so I have very high expectations for it! It is about ex-friends Zorie and Lennon who have made a habit of trying to avoid each other. Their families are described as the modern-day Californian version of the Montagues and Capulets. But, then they all go camping and it goes horribly wrong, and Zorie and Lennon are abandoned alone.

This does sound very intriguing, and I cannot wait to get to it!

Next, I chose to read a book set in the future for divination. I went with Allegiant by Veronica Roth, which is the third and final book in the Divergent series.

I have wanted to get this series finished off for a while now because I have the UGLIEST copy on my shelf. I’ve watched the film and cannot remember what happens, so I wanted to get into it to finally find out how this series ends. I have heard very bad things about this book, but cannot leave a series unfinished... so I’m popping it into this readathon so I can read and un-haul it for good!

Next I am going to be reading a contemporary for Muggle Studies and the one I have gone for is The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. This is one of those books I’ve been wanting to get to for years but I never ever got round to it.

This is about a girl called Isabel, who spends every summer at her family friends’ house, with two boys, Conrad and Jeremiah. Isabel has been in love with Conrad forever, and Jeremiah has been friendly to her forever, 

I think we can all see what’s going to happen here... but it just sounds like a cheesy cute romance that I can power through for the readathon. Also, it’s only 276 pages, so it’s definitely a short one I can pop in if I start feeling a bit slumpy.

The final exam I am set on taking is Potions, which is to read a book that is not the first in a series, or a sequel. I have gone for Goblet of Fire by J.K Rowling. Firstly because you can’t have a Harry Potter readathon without reading a Harry Potter book, and secondly I am commited to reading this book in April, for a lovely group of friends I’ve made.

I’m not going to tell you what this book is about; if you don;t know you should! But the only bad thing is that it is 636 pages long... in a readathon... oh well! I can give it a shot!

So then there are 5 more exams, that I don’t HAVE to take, but let’s face it, I’m going to give it a go. The first being arithmancy, for which I’d have to read a book with two authors. I have gone for Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan.

I knew nothing about this book before searching it on Goodreads, and I can now provide you with this information:

“One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers cross paths. Two teens with the same name, running in two very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, culminating in heroic turns-of-heart and the most epic musical ever to grace the high-school stage.”

So yeah, it sort of sounds like my cup of tea, but not something I’m jumping for joy waiting to read. But, it is my only book with two authors on my shelves, and this readathon does not give me liberties to buy new books!

Next is care of magical creatures, where the aim is to read a book with a land animal on the cover. I have gone for Going Bovine by Libba Bray, as there’s a big cow carrying a gnome on the cover.

This book is about 16 year-old Cameron who doesn’t want to put any effort into shcool, or life in general. But then he gets the horrible news that he’s sick, and he’s going to die. Help comes for him in the form of a punk angel/halloucination called Dulcie, who tells Cameron there’s a cure, he just has to search for it. Cameron sets off on a road-trip across America, to live.

Wow okay, this sounds mildly depressing, but hey ho let’s give it a go shall we?!

Now we have herbology, to read a book with a plant on the cover. This was easier than I thought because as well as Starry Eyed, Brittany also sent me Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson. 

This is a YA mystery, set in an elite boarding school called Ellingham Academy. The backsotry is that when the school opened, the founder’s wife and daughter were kidnapped, and the only clue was a mocking riddle listing methods of murder, signed by Truly Devious. Stevie is starting her first year at the academy, and she decides she’s going to solve the mystery.

Now this sounds interesting! I had it on my Wishlist for a while so it was something on my radar, but I hadn’t really got a full idea what it was about. Now I’m even more interested!

Last but not leasy we have history of magic, to read a book published more than 10 years ago. I’ve gone for Dead Girl’s Dance by Rachel Caine. This is the 2nd book in the 15 Morganville Vampires books.

We seem to have a tiny photo here, but it’ll do! I can’t say too much about this book without ruining the first, but this is about a girl called Claire who goes off to college at 16 (she’s a genuis). Once there she has to move out of her dorm due to mean girls tormening here, and she moves in with some 18 year-old locals. She then discovers that the whole town in run and owned by vampires. 

It’s a very good book, a classic for me. And I want to get all of these books re-read before 2020.

And FINALLY we have transfiguration, where I need to read a book with sprayed edges. I’ve gone for One of Us is Lying by Karen M.McManus.

I assume all copies have this, but mine has red sprayed edges to match the font on the front. It actually looks pretty cool, especially with the white cover. I’ve been told this is a breakfast club plus murder style book, which sounds right up my alley! I don’t want to look any more into it so that I don’t spoil myself, but I am excited to finally get my hands on this one.

So there you have it - that’s the 12 books I would love to get finished in April. I do have a dissertation to write, 3 exams to study for, and a 3rd *cough* driving test to take... so I’m trying not to stress myself out but I have a lot to do, and fitting all these books in will be quite an accomplishment.