Book of the Month: October

So at the beginning of the month, I'd read some good books...but nothing that I absolutely fell in love with. And then, all at once, I read The Iron King by Julie Kagawa, Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black, and Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. I rated all of them five stars - and if I'm honest, I would have given them a lot more if the scale went any higher! Each of them had a very different plot; The Iron King was about Fae living in the Nevernever, an alternative, magical Universe to our own; Dance of Shadows was about ballet, demons, and dark magic; Water for Elephants followed a young man as he ran away and joined a circus. Although they are all so different, I loved them all equally. However, there can only be one book of the month, so I think my final choice will have to be...

Water for Elephants. Why? Well, firstly Dance of Shadows is going to be released in 2013, so is it really fair for it to be my book of the month although it isn't even published yet? And although I rated The Iron King five stars, it just didn't grip me as much as this. And secondly, aside from this being an absolutely amazing novel, today marks the first day of NaNoWriMo 2012 - and Gruen first began writing Water for Elephants for a previous NaNoWriMo, so it seems perfect to include it here.

Although this is an adult novel - and has some pretty sexy scenes - I think it is aimed at people of all ages (well, 14+). I adore circuses anyway, but I think even for people who don't have that connection to the novel, they will still find a way to relate to it. As I said in my review, it isn't just a novel about some circus - or even about the main character, Jacob. For me, it taught me a lot about life, and it did change my perception of things ever so slightly - which is a pretty powerful thing for a book to do. But it did, and I really think this is one of those modern novels that is a must-read for at least once in your lifetime. It is utterly breathtaking.