Reading in the Daisies

The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave  Published by Chicken House (UK)   Buy From Waterstones  This is the tale of Isabella, who along with her father lives on the small island of Joya.  Joya is controlled by the wicked Governor who came from across the sea and forbade all to leave, then banished those who resisted his rule away from the town Gromera and put up borders to divide the island.  When, one day, a girl from Isabella's school is murdered, everything in her life begins to change. Chasing after her friend Lupe (the governor's daughter) who runs into the forest to prove she's brave and find the murderer, Isabella gets caught up in the myth and magic of the island and soon finds out that the bed time stories she was told may be closer to the truth than anyone thought.  *****  I was recommended this book by a bookseller friend at Waterstones, with the caveat of it being similar to Philip Pullman's 'No...

So on Tuesday this week I went to see Romeo and Juliet, as performed by the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company. It had some amazing cast members - Lily James, Richard Madden and the pure brilliance of Derek Jacobi - and it was really enjoyable! In fact I think I had more of a smile on my face coming out, than I did when I saw Cumberbatch in Hamlet last October. But..I don't think it was the most outstanding piece of theatre I've seen. As a play R+J is performed across the world, in schools, in the West End, in gardens with children and in blockbuster films. And not only is it one of the most well known of Shakespeare's plays but it also inspires many piece of storytelling with its story of love through enmity and its tragic (but terribly romantic) ending.