Mini Book Reviews 2025 #1

A Quick Rundown of my thoughts on all the books I've read between January -April 2025

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Title: Wolf Brother

Author: Michelle Paver Genre: Children/Adventure Pages: 224

Tribal tales and stories set in the past have always intrigued me. So when I stumbled upon the Wolf Brother collection in a local bookstore, I decided to give the novels a go.

The book stars Torak, a young boy who lives isolated in the woods with his father. Wasting no time, Paver throws you into the action as a demon bear appears, killing his father and leaving Torak alone to fend for himself alongside an orphaned wolf.

The action in the book is frequent and well done. Better yet is the world-building, as Paver introduces plenty of lore and myths that weave together well and help set up the stakes and threats of the upcoming books.

I had tried to get into the book several times in the past, but 2025 is a year I'm pushing myself to read more, so I dived back in, and I'm glad I did. The Wolf Brother story is interesting, and the challenges laid before Torak kept me hooked throughout. The tale was written well, and the world stood out to me, being both dense and accessible. It was a good read that I enjoyed, a solid entry and one that did enough to keep me invested in Torak's future quests.

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Title: Life Of Pi

Author: Yann Martel Genre: Adventure/Psychological Pages: 354

Life Of Pi is a book I've wanted to read ever since I saw the tremendous stage play based on the book last year. I found the story interesting and Pi himself to be an excellent character, but I wasn't sure if the original novel would capture the magic of the stage; thankfully, it does.

Life Of Pi is a fantastic read. Yann Martel does a truly excellent job of painting a picture of the world and the moments transpiring around Pi. The whole tale felt very easy to read, and Pi remained an excellent lead, conflicted by faith and belief, with his thoughts truly drawing me into his plight.

The tale spends more time than I expected establishing Pi, his life and upbringing before casting him into his isolated shipwrecked state, but I was never bored, and found myself wanting to read more and more the further I got into the tale. It's an extraordinary tale of faith and survival, and one that's comprised of great moments and immersive writing. I can understand some people may find the vivid descriptions too long, but for me, it really helped place me within Pi's world.

Life Of Pi is a great read, and one I would wholeheartedly recommend. It's an inspiring tale backed by excellent writing and a rock-solid lead that you can't help but get on board with.

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Title: Dark Tales

Author: Venita Coelho Genre: Horror Pages: 171

Dark Tales is a collection of 11 short ghost stories from India. As you'd expect with any collection of stories, there are some good tales and some not-so-entertaining ones. The book itself is an enjoyable affair, with The Lost Children, The God of All Drunks and Selfie standing out as my favourites, whereas tales like Devdas and Last Local Home underwhelmed me.

Overall, I was content with the book and was eager to flick through its pages. The short tales were paced well and never lingered longer than they needed to, each providing enough intrigue to pull me through. Coelho does a nice job imbuing a sense of atmosphere into each of their tales, but I never felt scared or on edge. The Lost Children had me the most intrigued, but as with a few, the scary twist/ending didn't seem to land with me, and unfortunately, derailed some tales for me.

Still, for those looking for a short collection of horror stories, Dark Tales will do the job, just don't go in expecting any tale to sink its teeth into you.

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Title: The Book That No One Wanted To Read

Author: Richard Ayoade Genre: Children/Comedy Pages: 124

If you know comic Richard Ayoade, then you know exactly the sort of tone this children's book is going to have. And for me, that's a great thing.

The book is, as you may have guessed, about a nondescript book that no one wanted to read. That is, until you, the ever-curious reader, enter the fray. There's not too much story to the tale, as it's more a funny and witty dive into reading, writing, and what makes it all so captivating.

The short tale is filled with funny nonsense and quick-witted retorts, alongside some excellent illustrations by Tor Freeman capturing the book's humour and absurd tone perfectly.

It's a children's tale at heart, one that can help capture anyone's imagination. It's full of good laughs and silliness, and I found it hard not to get swept up in the ludicrous display unfolding page by page before your very eyes.

It's an entertaining read, one that will likely please readers of most ages, from the young to the old, and one book that I'm sure to revisit in the future with a child of my own.

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