The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond - Book Review

The Room on the Roof landed in my hands while browsing though the children bookshelf for my kids at a library. I had to get it issued and of-course was not disappointed at all.

About the book:

The Room on the Roof like most of Ruskin Bond books is majorly set in Indian mountains. It is considered as a semi autobiographical novel by Ruskin Bond when he was just 17 years old. This is the story of 16 years old Anglo-Indian Rusty who is an orphan and lives with his adopted English guardian. His guardian does not like Indians and is very racist which eventually make Rusty run away from the toxic environment. He thus made friends for life who helped him land a job and rediscover himself. It was his first job at the Kapoors where he finds the precious "The Room on the Roof" for being the English teacher to their son Kishan. The rest is of-course for the reader to delve into and enjoy the beautiful journey.

How I felt for the book:

This was a beautiful and cute little book which got all 5 stars from me as a  reader! The book serves as a detailed self exploration of a mere 17 year old boy who is determined to make his life meaningful. See the excerpt below:

I truly enjoyed reading each and every line and got emotionally attached to Rusty. All the characters had their own share of importance and that is probably one of the main reasons which makes this book a timeless piece. It's a surreal treat of nature lover. My 8 year old son loves rains and I am sure if he understands the descriptions written by Ruskin Bond, he will be all nodding and jumping in agreement lust like It had me smiling and going back to our pictures soaked in rain water.

This book has a lot to offer and is a complete platter. There is pure friendship, first love, cute lust and harsh realities of growing up - almost anything a young mind can think of.

Written by and with the perspective of a 17 year old boy, The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond is undoubtedly enjoyed by all age groups. A child, a teenage, a young adult, middle aged and aged - The Room on the Roof by Ruskin Bond offers a lot for everyone!

The book and other books from Ruskin Bond can be brought from amazon using below link:

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A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson - Book Review

Oh girl…! This was one of those books I have read non-stop, reading every minute I could squeeze in those 3 days of life. It was like I was almost literally glued to it. I guess, I need not say but still, I lOVED IT. I have read such a good book after years and it brought me back from my very long reading slump.

So, “A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder” is the debut novel by Holly Jackson. She has written quite a few more books after this one and I do hope I stumble upon them, and they are as good as well. Coming to our Good Girls Guide to Murder, written in third person, this is a murder mystery of a schoolgirl called Andie Bell who was allegedly murdered by her boyfriend Sal Singh. Everyone in the small town knows it and the case is closed and all. But as we would have it, our hero Pippa Fitz-Amboi, somehow has her own doubts over the story and picks it up as her school project. Then of course, things happen, stories unfold, secrets reveal, lot of other things happen. No! No way I am giving out any spoilers here.

What’s that I loved so much about this book?

Okay, so I have been struggling very hard to find some good books which could make me read more books for a really long time. I did read some good books this year eventually, but this was game changer. I am now craving to read more, and I hope that the next book I pick does not dump me back to my slump.

A murder mystery well written which at-least I was not able to predict at any given page or even line until the author wanted me to. The must have thing about thrillers and mysteries is they must be non-predictable. I mean, there are of course some things as a reader that things to our mind while reading such books, but the author took care of all of them quite cleverly. It was definitely a page turner, nail biter (all the stuff)  -  one which can bring to sleep deprived dark circles for a day or two. Then comes the characters. Do I have a favorite character? Ummm – not really, but all the characters had their required sufficient details. The language as we already said is third person, was quite a breeze to read through. There were a lot of things which a young adult reader will be able to relate to as well.

There was particularly one instance in the story which I will not talk about made me wipe my tears and put the book down for 5-10 minutes – yes, I do cry while reading….

To wrap it all, I really enjoyed reading this brilliantly written book and will be on my recommendations list for sure. Well done Pippa – wink wink.

Buy the book at amazon from link below:

Hatchet by Gary Paulsen - Book Review

 Book Blurb: Thirteen-year-old Brian Robeson, haunted by his secret knowledge of his mother’s infidelity, is traveling by single-engine plane to visit his father for the first time since the divorce. When the plane crashes, killing the pilot, the sole survivor is Brian. He is alone in the Canadian wilderness with nothing but his clothing, a tattered windbreaker, and the hatchet his mother had given him as a present.

At first consumed by despair and self-pity, Brian slowly learns survival skills—how to make a shelter for himself, how to hunt and fish and forage for food, how to make a fire—and even finds the courage to start over from scratch when a tornado ravages his campsite. When Brian is finally rescued after fifty-four days in the wild, he emerges from his ordeal with new patience and maturity, and a greater understanding of himself and his parents.

How did I like the book?

First, I stumbled upon this book as the summer vacations assignment for my 6th grade son. Obviously, the book sat on my bed side and landed in my hands! Also, somehow my son just love reading together. He is always inviting me to read along where one of reads aloud and other one listens actively. I am often short of time for this and many times I ask him to read while I do my stuff with the promise that I will read in my own time and catch up with him for next read along.

Coming to the book, I enjoyed reading this young adult fiction. I finished the 180 pages in 2 small sittings at bedtime. The story is about the traumatic yet somewhat inspiring journey of a 13 year old buy who is stranded in the wild as a result of tragic plane crash. The little boy then applies his lifetime of learning from school, TV shows, friends and everything to survive. Just before the plane takeoff, his mother gave him a hatchet which eventually turned out to be his ultimate survivor. The way he lights his first fire to his first food brought a small smile over my face. The poor kid was stranded for 54 days!

What I liked:

1. Super quick and easy read: The language is very easy  for the target audience to comprehend and it's not too many pages to get bored of as well.

2. Entertaining: Right from the beginning to the last page, I found it difficult to put it down.

3. Age appropriate: The book is written for the children aged 10 to 13 years old and it does full justice to them. My 11 year old son is thoroughly enjoying it.

4. Motivational: There are many moments where Brian felt absolutely helpless and did not know what or how to do. But the point that he did not give up emerged as very encouraging and I am sure the kids reading will gather some motivation from the same.

What I did not like:

1. Repetitive: A few phrases keep on repeating throughout the book which annoyed me as an adult. But then, the target audience is different and 1o to 13 years old's might actually need those repetitions for their shorter timespan.

The author Gary Paulsen has managed to keep the reader hooked with a very basic and predictive survival story. As i mentioned earlier, I smiled on each of Brian's success and similarly, on 

every failure and misfortune, I had a sympathetic expression. There is also a small room for the readers to be motivated from the little boy's adventure and adapt a never give up attitude - the luck can actually leave one with no choice other than keep on trying but then one must be able to live up to that. All in all, I really liked my time spent on the pages of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen.

Would I re-read it? Possibly no but that does not mean I did not like it.

Would I recommend it to my friends? Yes! This will be in my recommended list for all young adults and anyone who likes children books and wants a light quick read.

Found the review interesting? Grab a copy for yourself from amazon: