July was a hectic month with a lovely family holiday, work stress, car breakdowns and a funeral all sapping my time and attention, but it turned out to be a great month for reading.

Perfect Victims by Mohammed El-Kurd

Perfect Victims explores the idea that some lives are more valuable than others and that Palestinians must always prove their innocence when they are killed before anyone is willing to condemn the killing or killer. Even when Palestinians try to advocate for their rights, the entire legal system is rigged against them, and the Western media are biased when they automatically accept the Israeli press and government as more impartial and credible than Palestinian journalists, doctors, academics or civilians. This is a searing critique of western hypocrisy and racism, but a necessary one.

A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir

I left it slightly too long between reading the third book (reviewed here) and the final part of the Ember in the Ashes quartet, but I was soon immersed back into this fantastical story of djinn, and a brave band of rebels lead by Laia, Elias and Helene standing up to a ruthless, authoritarian empire ruled by Elias’ mother, Keris, and the King of the Djinn determined to seek vengeance on the humans who imprisoned his kind. A Sky Beyond the Storm really tugged at the heart strings as the characters experience grief and loss in their desperate fight for freedom and this was a brilliant conclusion to the series.

The Wild Robot by Peter Brown

This was actually recommended by friends who had seen the film, and it was my holiday read. This is the story of a robot called Roz who finds herself shipwrecked on an island and learns to survive by watching the animals that also live on the island. This is such a sweet, poignant and sometimes tense read with so many themes that I love to read about like friendship, found families and community. The Wild Robot is the first book in a trilogy and I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

Turtle Moon by Hannah Gold

I’d enjoyed The Last Bear (reviewed here) and planned to read the sequel next until I saw Turtle Moon is on the longlist for the Wainwright’s Children’s Prize, which is my favourite literary award. Turtle Moon follows a little girl called Silver who’s parents are struggling with secondary infertility and decide to take their family to Costa Rica for a break. Silver gets involved with the local turtle sanctuary and this is such a wonderful adventure about turtles (and other animals like Speedy the baby sloth ❤️), poaching, conservation and family that I think I loved even more than The Last Bear.

ADHD Girls to Women by Lotta Borg Skogland

An absolutely fascinating book packed full of information about the gender bias in medicine, diagnostics, education and socialisation that means so many females are misdiagnosed or diagnosed with ADHD much later in life than males. This explores how adhd symptoms show up differently in females but also how our hormonal fluctuations can impact adhd throughout the life course from puberty to periods, pregnancy and menopause. I have often felt my ADHD is more of a disability than a superpower, and I have rarely felt so seen and less alone in my struggles and challenges than I did while reading this book.

Ghostlines by Katya Balen

Another longlist nominee for the Wainwright’s Children’s Fiction Prize. I read and loved October, October (reviewed here) by Katya Balen a while ago, and this felt like a spiritual sequel. Ghostlines is the gripping story of Tilda who lives on Ayrie Island, and parts of it reminded of childhood adventures with the Famous Five or Swallows and Amazons but threaded with the mystery of Tilda’s missing brother, a new friend and a secret island to explore. I just couldn’t put down this thrilling story of family, islands, ghosts, storms, friendship, cats, dogs and puffins.

Have a lovely week! X