Mini Book Reviews 2025: Part 1
- Matt Hill
- Jun 30, 2025
- 5 min read
A brief review of each book I've read from January to June
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.
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.
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 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.
I was content with the book and 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.
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 will 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.
Title: The Absurd Life of Barry White
Author: Rob Harris Genre: Comedy Pages: 254
A slice of life. That's what The Absurd Life of Barry White reads like, and I was okay with that. The character of man-child Barry is well written, and I quickly warmed to him. The cast of characters around him are plenty likeable too, each helping you understand him and his relationship with this lovable, quaint Welsh village he calls home.
The book isn't as funny as the blurb would have you believe, but it's an endearing tale that hits all the feel-good notes with some laughs along the way. I never fully laughed out loud, but there were plenty of lines that brought a smile to my face.
The tale is supposed to be about Barry White Jr acclimatising to his newfound wealth, but the book takes a little while to get going, establishing its world and characters, so the inciting moments don't kick the main tale into gear until around about 30% in.
In the end, I enjoyed my time with Barry's absurd life more than I expected, yet not quite as much as I'd hoped. It's a well-written tale and full of great lines and characters. Though the ending didn't leave me as fulfilled as I had hoped, it was still an entertaining and heart-warming affair that went down as smoothly as a pint in Barry's hand would.
Title: Man V Fat: The Weight Loss Manual
Author: Andrew Shanahan Genre: Health Pages: 240
2025 marks the year I finally committed to sticking to a weight-loss journey. I've looked into diets, started attending the gym regularly, and even invested in a personal trainer.
As the Man V Fat book suggests, it's an introductory help guide for people looking to lose weight, and acknowledges the limited environment for that with men. (It has increased in visibility since the book was first published in 2014) But it remains a very good book to help you understand weight gain and how to beat it.
Split primarily into 3 easy-to-digest sections;
Understand why you got fat
Learn how to lose weight
Create a winning structure.
The book's structure helps readers navigate its contents easily, and the information given is helpful and invitingly written to make you feel supported and prepared by the book, ready for the larger task at hand. In between the information are members and their stories to help you feel inspired and share their take on what worked for them. the first step is something other weight loss information tends to skim, helping you understand how you got to this position is the best way to avoid it, after all, "Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it".
It's not an essential read, but it helped give me some extra knowledge and was an enjoyable, informative read that I took in whilst working towards my own goals. It's a great addition to people looking to start losing weight, filled with an easily navigable layout, a clear timeline and some questions to help set you on your own journey.
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