Capote, Shan

Transition Year Extended Essays are to be completed in just over two weeks. Here are two more recommendations :-

Virginia Peck is reading Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's (original film trailer above), and comments:-

This is set in the 1940s in New York City, where the martinis flow from cocktail hour to breakfast, at Tiffany's. Nice girls don't, except of course Holly Golightly. Pursued by mafia gangsters and playboy millionaires, Holly is a free spirit and an eyeful of tawny hair, a turned-up nose, a heartbreaker and a tease. She is definitely 'top banana in the shock department', in Capote's words. Holly is one of the greatest women in American fiction, and this book tells the tale of a reckless romantic through the eyes of a besotted writer. Set in the glitter and shimmer of the Manhattan Upper East Side, Breakfast at Tiffany's is a classic, but remains fresh and it can easily be read in one sitting. I think this is due to the way it is written, which is very beautiful - and a thing of beauty remains a joy for ever. It is such a heartbreaking story, and it may even reduce you to tears!

One of Thomas Emmet's books is very different, Darren Shan's Bec :- This book is fourth in the Demonata Series. Set during the ninth century, it is about a trainee priestless (the titular Bec) going on a quest to stop a demon crossing. As with all Shan's books, there is a large amount of gore. All the characters are well-rounded and the first person narration is a great story-telling device, giving us an insight ionto Bec's thinking. This is the best book in the series so far, but can be read as a stand-alone novel. It's highly recommended.