The summer has been a busy time for our book club and our members have had a great few months reading a wide variety of books. We now have a ‘Sotonettes score’ for each book – if you’re looking for something to read, have a look below to see what we all thought of our recent book club reads!
The Ice Cream Girls – Dorothy Koomson
We found that as a book club, we didn’t get on very well with this book. We found the story didn’t come across realistically and also not as the blurb really describes. The book is described as one about domestic violence, but the issues related more to the relationship between a teacher and his underage student and child grooming. We also found the writing style confusing – a beach read/easy read style of writing but about serious and complex issues. We felt the disconnect between writing style and issues contributed to the difficulties in the portrayal of the plot, characters and issues.
Discussion – 5.5
Plot – 5
Portrayal of women – 5
Enjoyment – 4.5
Writing style – 2
Sotonettes Score – 4.4
The Night Circus – Erin Morgenstern
We all agreed it was a lovely book with stunning descriptions and a beautifully created world. The story and characters of the book have a timeless quality, seeming to exist independently of time – we couldn’t clearly tell what era this was set in without the prompts! In the discussion we agreed that the book was a bit surface level – beautiful description but perhaps lacked depth in the plot and character. An enjoyable and easy book to read.
Discussion – 5
Plot – 8
Portrayal of women – 6
Enjoyment – 8
Writing style – 9
Sotonettes Score – 7.2
Charlotte Gray – Sebastian Faulks
Overall, we found this an excellent book with a good pace and compelling story and characters – we felt transported to the time period. The writing style was particularly noted for its spot on balance of description – enough to set the scene, providing interesting and unusual historical information but without weighing down the reader. The historical aspect was the favourite part for many and we considered it to be a fair reflection of the time it was set. We enjoyed learning more about that era in history, especially about the little everyday details and those relating to the lives of women in the period. The discussion about this book was broad reaching, with a lot of discussion about the historical context… and also about the ending- did Charlotte make the right choice?
Discussion – 8
Plot – 8
Portrayal of women – 7
Enjoyment – 8
Writing style – 8
Sotonettes Score – 7.8
