by Leah Hocking ‘The Girls’ by Emma Cline Based on the infamous Manson family cult and murders, this book tells the story of Californian teenager Evie Boyd in the summer of 1969. Estranged from her divorced parents, lonely, bored, and desperate for female companionship, Evie becomes caught up in a cult based at a nearby ranch, complete with callous, charismatic leader stand-in Russell, his adoring … Continue reading Books That Feel Like Summer
The Midnight Library by Eve Davies An epitome of the proverb ÔÇÿthe grass isnÔÇÖt always greenerÔÇÖ, The Midnight Library is the thought-provoking story of Nora Seed who, fed up with feeling like a failure, decides to take her own life. Instead of death, Nora finds herself in limbo, in a library where each volume represents a version of her life that could have been. She … Continue reading Books To Buy Your Loved Ones
By Bryony Wright Dystopian fiction is becoming more and more relevant. WeÔÇÖre living in an age of ÔÇÿdoom and gloomÔÇÖ: turn on the TV, and youÔÇÖll see apocalyptic scenes caused by global warming. Walk down the street, and Orwellian public surveillance systems watch your every move. ItÔÇÖs no wonder, then, that writers increasingly choose to take to dystopian fiction to voice their concerns about the … Continue reading What If: A Closer Look at Dystopian Speculative Fiction
By Ruth Hoey The New Adult (NA) genre is a newly popularized fiction genre, with the term ÔÇÿNew AdultÔÇÖ first coined in 2009. Despite being around for over a decade, it has only now seen a rapid growth in popularity after facing harsh criticisms since its emergence. This genre is often cited to have arisen after the publication of Fifty Shades of Grey by E. … Continue reading The Emergence of New Adult Genre and its Growing Popularity
By Leah Hocking Although a rather bold departure from her previous two novels, ÔÇÿBeautiful World, Where Are YouÔÇÖ is still stamped with Sally RooneyÔÇÖs signature minimalist writing style and overarching theme – young adults struggling to make sense of the world. Her third novel features her largest cast of characters yet with four protagonists: Alice, a successful novelist; Felix, a warehouse worker; Eileen, a writer … Continue reading Book Review: Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney
By Niamh Newman As someone who studied English Literature through the entirety of secondary school, I find it difficult to write without regularly reading! In my mind, the two are very much intertwined, with many of the most prominent authors of our time taking inspiration from books they have read in order to enhance their own work. Alex MichaelidesÔÇÖ psychological thriller The Silent Patient, my … Continue reading Being a Reader-Writer
By Laura Mae My favourite hate-read needs no introduction. The movies dominated basically every aspect ofsociety in the years that the franchise peaked; not only capturing the hearts of pre-teen girlseverywhere, but provoking strong criticisms from many people. The Twilight saga. I initially read the books in my teenage years and recently revisited them due to the recentrelease of ÔÇÿMidnight SunÔÇÖ. I donÔÇÖt recall what … Continue reading Our Favorite Hate Reads
By Emma Williams Truthfully, I used to think that wanting to know what books celebrities were reading was a strange trend; after all, celebrities are just normal people, arenÔÇÖt they? I did not understand that reading the same literature as the people who inspire them enables people to feel more connected to their idols, until one of my own, Harry Styles, began making recommendations. My … Continue reading Celebrities and Book Recommendations
by Alexa Price It goes without saying that the constant developments of the modern world is changing our reading habits, and that books have proven themselves to be pretty versatile! Today reading is much more accessible and can be done impressively with a simple touch of a button. While the internet gives readers a wider range of reading materials than your local bookshop, one has … Continue reading How is technology changing our reading habits
By Laura Mae All The Bright Places- Jennifer Niven All The Bright Places is a heartwarming Young Adult novel about unlikely friendships, love, and dealing with individual hardships. The book is written in alternating points of view of the two main characters; Violet Markey, one of the most popular girls in school, and Theodore Finch, a social outcast. The two are paired together for a … Continue reading Our Favourite Books Related to Mental Health
By Francesca Ionescu As we, readers, have become more socially aware, our standards for what we read have changed. A book could be brilliant, but if it ignores the diverse world we live in, it raises the question whether we should pressure authors into being more aware of their writing and their audience. Diversity needs to come naturally. A huge issue lately in media seems … Continue reading The Fault in our Fiction: Lack of Diversity and Representation in Literature
From QuenchÔÇÖs 2020/21 Literature Editors, Neus, Nicole and Ona: ItÔÇÖs been quite a year, but being able to read and talk about books is one of the things that helped us through. We want to thank all of our contributors and readers whoÔÇÖve made the first year of QuenchÔÇÖs literature section so phenomenal. To say goodbye, weÔÇÖve each recommended a book worth mentioning for our … Continue reading Our Goodbyes: the Final Recommendation List from the 2020/2021 Literature Editors
by Ruth Hoey. The Young Adult category has been around for many years, but it has seen an explosion in popularity over recent decades, doubling its sales between 2002-2012. This popularity has raised its perception in the media and general public, growing not only the number of readers turning to YA fiction but the criticism it receives. So, what makes a book YA? There are … Continue reading In Defense of YA
by Eve Davies. It was an early spring morning on Penarth platform. Martha stood awaiting the northward train. She was heading into the city to do some shopping. It was the first morning of the year that she had swapped her thick wrap coat for a lighter anorak. The sun resumed her place in the cloudless blue sky, promising a fine day ahead. Martha had … Continue reading That’s Just the Way Things Are
by Shivika Singh Tomboy – a term used to define girls who are not stereotypically feminine, with their tastes and behaviors usually associate with being manly or boyish. Tomboy has been a major archetype across a wide range of literary and cinematic texts. The history of the term ÔÇÿtomboyÔÇÖ dates back to 16th century when it was used as a reference to rude and boisterous … Continue reading The Tomboy in Literature and Film
We are delighted to publish the winners of the Great Xpectations short story competition hosted by Xpress. 50-word category winner – Eve Davies Nan and The Orange Tommy sat upon the grass in his uniform daubed with milk, splats of paint and mud, munching on a tangerine. Its mist glistened in the afternoon sun. He chatted to air, dropping scraps of pith next to him. … Continue reading Great Xpectations Short Story Winners
Words By Maja Metera As a kid I wanted to be a published author – I had millions of ideas per minute for banging opening and end scenes, had a good variety of characters in my head but never got to sit down and figure out the middle to actually write a novel. I still have a dream of writing a book but in the … Continue reading 6 steps to Achieving a State of Creative Flow
by Catarina Vicente. Coming out is seen by many in the LGBTQ+ community as a huge milestone: a step to showing your true identity to the world, presenting yourself how you want to be seen. For others, coming out is not a big deal: their identities or sexualities are disclosed to a few close relations in a casual convo, and thatÔÇÖs the end of that. … Continue reading More Than a Coming-Out Story
by Amy Green. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo explores the life of a bisexual actor in the golden age of Hollywood. Evelyn, an effortlessly seductive actor, finds herself using her assets to leverage herself out of poverty. Being thrust into stardom in the 1950s, she quickly finds herself a male suiter and fell hard. … Continue reading LGBTQ+ Faces in Literature: Evelyn Hugo
Words by Lewis Empson, Marcus Yeatman-Crouch, Ona Ojo and Alex Payne Cover image by Gio Bartlett via Unsplash A while back we discussed how the video gaming industry is undergoing a major transformation in how gamers own the games that they play. As the cartridge became the disk, the disk is quickly being forgone in favour of digital game marketplaces and streaming services – as … Continue reading The Impact Of Digital Ownership In A Digital Age
