May Reading Round-Up!

This month, I finally finished university! So apart from my shifts at work, I am completely free to read and that makes me so happy! Unfortunately, I didn't read as many as I'd hoped because I've only been away from university work for two weeks, but I'm still four books ahead of my goodreads challenge so I'm feeling good! These are the seven books I read this month, and they have all been reviewed separately if you want to read more about them.

Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson - When Finn becomes an interactive hologram to be a tourguide at Walt Disney World, he has no idea it will make him cross over to the park at night and encounter the ride’s figures coming to life. 4 out of 5 stars

Della Says: OMG! by Keris Stainton - Della’s diary is stolen, and pieces of the diary are sent to her, as well as others, just when things are starting to turn around. Who is trying to stop her from being happy? 5 out of 5 stars

Fire with Fire by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian - Following on exactly where Burn for Burn left off, Mary, Lillia and Kat must now live with the consequences of their actions. But for Mary, their revenge isn’t over yet. 5 out of 5 stars

Prisoner of Night and Fog by Anne Blankman - Gretchen is living in Munich in 1931, where her Uncle Dolf is running for president. Although he is always kind and loving to her and her family, a Jew she meets and fall in love with won’t get the same warm welcome from his political party. 4 out of 5 stars

Love Hurts by Malorie Blackman - This is an anthology of original stories and extracts from popular young adult books, which is an excellent introduction for newcomers to young adult fiction. I highly recommend James Dawson’s story, The Unicorn!! For reviews of each story individually, you can go here. 5 out of 5 stars

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - The first book in the Chaos Walking trilogy sees Todd Hewitt running away from Prentisstown before he becomes a man. As the last boy in Prentisstown, he has no idea what really happened to all the women, and is confused when he suddenly finds a girl just outside his hometown. Adorable talking dog included! 4 out of 5 stars

All I Know Now by Carrie Hope Fletcher - Youtube sensation and ‘honorary big sister’ gives a helpful, reassuring guide to the teenage years, with funny anecdotes and sisterly advice. This will definitely help the next generation! 5 out of 5 stars

Disney After Dark - Ridley Pearson

This book had been on my amazon wish list for such a long time, but I'm glad that I finally bought it and read it. I started this at the end of April, but I finished it yesterday on the bus to Birmingham. So here is my first book of May!

When Finn Whitman is chosen to be a DHI - Disney Host Interactive - he thinks he'll just be famous and his family will get free park tickets. But he soon realises how wrong he was! Every night, Finn crosses over to his DHI self, and he is told by an Imagineer, Wayne, that there is a plot by 'the Overtakers' for the Audio-Animatronics to take over the park, and only Finn and the other DHIS - Charlene, Philly, Maybeck and Willa - can stop them.

There was a lot in this book that didn't need explaining for me, because of how much I know about Disney anyway, but it is useful for someone reading who doesn't know the company or the parks as well. It would be especially useful for someone who hasn't been to Walt Disney World, as even though it's set there, most of the rides and locations they mention also feature at Disneyland Paris, so a reader who hadn't visited Walt Disney World wouldn't be at a disadvantage reading it.

This book was really good! I always wondered as a child what the parks were like at night, and the It's A Small World scene was particularly brilliant. The book really brought the plot to life for me, I could actually imagine something like this happening when the park was close. It's a must-read for any Disney fan!

I have the next book in the series ready to read, and it's making me extremely excited for my trip to Walt Disney World in November. But I'm very glad we'll be visiting the park at night!

Verdict: 4/5