I read 7 books in October

October 2019 went by in a whirlwind…

As the nights draw colder and darker, October was the calm before the storm that is Winter and the related festivities. October has always been a good month for me. Historically it would be the start of a new term, a new beginning, full of bright-eyed hope and expectations. But now, I’m an ‘adult’, there are no summer holidays or new starts. This year it was more of the same, but that stability meant I could perhaps appreciate what else October has to offer. Those gorgeous autumnal leaves never get old, and now I walk through a park each day on my commute, I get to appreciate them even more.

Book wise, I did pretty well again with all the books I read being very good and all over four stars! I had a mix of science fiction, YA and The Testaments. Which I suppose is kind of ‘dystopian’ literary fiction? In the October round-up photo I had also included Melmoth as I started it a few days before Halloween, but alas did not get round to finishing it until November so my thoughts shall have to wait until then. All I will say it was accidentally very appropriate reading for this time of year!

* Edit: I’ve been trying to write this all month. After realising it’s the reviews that I’m having a mental block with, I’m going to just publish this without, and will return when I’m able to finish the job properly. For now, here’s an overview of what I read and my star ratings.

Do you dream of Terra-Two?

By Temi Oh

An epic read, Do You Dream may appear to be a standard sci-fi/space book, but it was so much more than that. It is set in an alternate history, where the earth is dying, but scientists believe there is a habitable planet in a nearby solar system. Six of the best and the brightest children are chosen and trained to go on an expedition to find it. The teenagers dedicate their lives to preparing to leave Earth forever on a 23-year journey to this new planet.

To begin with, I love tropes like this, where a small group are forced to stick together to survive. I’m a fan of ‘bottle-episodes’ of TV shows for this reason – you take away from distractions and are just focused on the characters and their interactions. I find it fascinating, and luckily each character in Do You Dream is well developed. Things immediately feel off, as the launch date gets closer. The first part of the book is the preparation, and so much goes wrong you wonder if they’ll even make it into space. Then, once they leave Earth, the book develops even further and is a mix of heavy character exploration and exciting plot twists. So much happens, I was quite emotional by the end of this book, having no idea how what I’d got myself into when I had opened it up. You feel as if you’ve been to space alongside them and it is an adventure of a lifetime.