About Books

Recommendations

2010-10-03T12:54:00.003+01:00

I know I've been remiss in the past months, but not having time to write full reviews, I'd still like to share a couple of great books I've read recently. Reviews should be coming soon:

Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (In my opinion, there are too many werewolf books. There are not enough werewolf books as good as this one. Listen to a sample chapter here)

The Maze Runner by James Dashner (Even if the non-ending is completely frustrating, it's definitely a series to keep an eye on. Read some sample chapters here)

Book review - Dreaming of Amelia by Jaclyn Moriarty

2010-08-20T20:45:00.004+01:00

In their words:
‘The first time I saw her I knew that my Amelia was a ghost.
Amelia and Riley have transferred to Ashbury High for their final year, and the whole school is completely obsessed with them. Glamorous, gifted and totally devoted to one another, they seem to be perfect. But there’s more to them than beauty and talent. Riley and Amelia have secrets. And everyone at Ashbury is about to find out that the past has a very long shadow...’

In other words:
It’s a ghost story. It’s a story about love, illusions, black holes, and Irish convicts. It’s a story about endings and beginnings. It’s a story about the last school year of a group of clever, witty, over-dramatic, endearing teenagers.

To me, Jaclyn Moriarty’s writing is special. Really truly unusual, even next to other teenage books. Why? Because she creates characters that come across as effortlessly genuine. They face real problems with varying capabilities, they’re individual, and they’re likeable. Other authors manage to write about teens well enough to convince you that they’re real. Very few can make you feel as though for the entire story, you’re eavesdropping on a real group of teens that you might overhear on a bus or at a school or cafe.

So now you know. I adore her characters and in this book they’re no different. There are some new ones to the Ashbury-Brookfield series and there are some returning characters (Lydia, Seb and Tony to name a few!). Regardless, I think if you were new to the stories then you’d still be able to follow it all perfectly. It’s a standalone that links in to the others, but you don’t need to have read them.

I was a bit worried starting the book because I’d found her last one (The Spell Book of Listen Taylor) very hard-going. Thankfully I didn’t need to be at all. In fact, I thought it was up to the same standard as Finding Cassie Crazy (though I should mention it’s much longer weighing in at over 500 pages!). It’s cleverly written in the shape of exam essays, meeting minutes and online conversations, with themes and seemingly unconnected details and multiple point-of-views all blending to create a gem of a book. Put that way, it sounds kind of like high literature. And it could be. This should be read in schools and then maybe more people would read. But that’s by the by because what really matters is that it is a book that teens will love.

Pages: 578
Publication date: 2nd April 2010
AKA: Ghosts of Ashbury High (US)

Book review - Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

2010-04-20T10:49:00.001+01:00

In their words:
'Auden has always felt like the odd one out. Since her parents’ divorce she’s shied away, studying lots and staying out of the party scene. But now Auden’s realised there must be something more and, just like that, she changes everything. Moving to her dad’s house opens up a whole new world of beach parties, food fights – and simply having fun. As she starts to get to know herself – and a secretive boy with dark, brooding eyes – can Auden begin to let go and finally feel like she truly belongs?'

In other words:
Auden’s grown up pretty much all work and no play, but the summer before university she has nothing to work towards – she’s already been accepted to her preferred uni, but in the meantime, has a summer to kill. Staying with her dad in a small town, she gets to know the teenage population. For Auden, who’s more at home behind a textbook, this summer is all about learning to let go.

Sarah Dessen’s books tend to follow not exactly the same formula, but similar themes. Family, friendship, love, and the main character is on a journey of self-discovery and growing up. She’s a master at writing books not only for teens, but books about teens. Each book, though similar, brings a new character with authentic issues and an authentic story.

So where does Along for the Ride fit into this strong repertoire? In my opinion it’s solidly in the middle. Auden is a character easy to relate to – she’s a product of her parents and her upbringing, slowly learning how to become her own person. The cast of characters are interesting – those who you’d least expect it of seem to be the most insightful. I did have a quibble: everyone in the town is essentially good – there are those with faults, but these are usually people from Auden’s past.

Eli is an interesting love interest, but I actually didn’t feel that I got to know him. Similarly, he was just too nice; going so far out of his way for a stranger reads as a little bit unlikely to me. Maybe I’m just too cynical. This small issue aside, I’m constantly amazed at Sarah Dessen’s ability to weave a story from almost mundane events and little action. She manages to do so without ever letting the story become stagnant or dull.

So where does it rate? I’d put it on a par with Lock & Key. A solid new read for any Sarah Dessen fans (especially as you will recognise cameos of characters from previous books). If you haven’t read anything by Sarah Dessen before then this is still worth reading, but my advice is to get yourself a copy of The Truth about Forever to read – one of my favourite contemporary books for teens. These books lean more towards a female readership, but I'm sure lads could enjoy them too.

Pages: 424

Category: Contemporary teen fiction

Book review - Dark Life by Kat Falls

2010-04-15T12:50:00.003+01:00

In their words:
'When the oceans rose, entire continents were swallowed up by the rising water. Now humans live packed into high rises on small tracts of land, while those willing to forge new frontiers settle deep beneath the waves. Ty has lived under the sea his entire life, helping his family to farm the ocean floor. But when outlaws attack, Ty finds himself in a fight to save the only home he has ever known. Joined by Gemma, a girl from Topside who is looking for her missing brother, Ty ventures into the frontier’s rough underworld – and discovers some very dark secrets. Secrets which threaten to destroy everything ...'

In other words:
Dark Life is set in a future in which Global Warming has swallowed up most of the land. Some people cling to the small remaining patches of land in ever-increasing sky-scrapers. Others take to the seas.
The science of this is mostly glossed over; people breathe in ‘liquigen’ just before leaving air. This allows them to breathe and also appears to alleviate effects of water pressure. In short, anyone can go underwater. The dangers arrive with what is an alien environment.

Dark Life actually manages to make a life under the sea sound tempting. In a world we know so well, the sea is a whole new frontier. Complete with some underworld pirates, an unsympathetic government and a group of children with strange secrets, it is a clever, exciting and compelling read. There is a relatable and diverse cast of children and teens, fighting to protect the homes that their parents have worked so hard to create. I loved the government cover-up aspect and the elements of mystery, though some parts are predictable.

I loved this world that Kat Falls has created and hope she’ll revisit it soon. With its unusual setting, interesting characters, layers of secrets and surprising powers, Dark Life is a book I would heartily recommend. It’s accessible to young teens while not alienating older readers. It actually makes me wish I’d been born under the sea myself a little bit!

Pages: 304
Publication date: 29th April 2010
Category: Slightly futuristic dystopia

Thank you to Simon and Schuster for providing me with a review copy.

Top 100 Poll

2010-03-29T13:22:00.003+01:00

Adele of Persnickety Snark is compiling a list of the top 100 YA books of all time. Go here to find out more and vote for your favourites.

Book review - Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

2010-03-10T20:03:00.004Z

In their words:
Brittany Ellis seems to have it all; wealthy parents, the perfect boyfriend and the “right” group of friends. But when Brittany is forced to become lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the wrong side of town, her perfect life starts to unravel. Alex is a bad boy, and he knows it, so when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it.
But as Alex and Brittany grow closer, sparks begin to fly and they both realise that sometimes appearances can be deceptive. Will their emerging feelings be enough to keep them together when the world is determined to tear them apart?

In other words:
Perfect Chemistry is most definitely a story that has been told before – that of the age-old star crossed lovers –in this case, rich white girl meets poor Latin-American boy. As to whether it offers something new? Possibly.

In terms of plot it was predictable, even formulaic, but where this book shines is the characters. Brittany and her family are believably flawed, Alex and his fellow gang-members are realistically conflicted. At the start of the book both are carefully maintaining their reputations, but as the story progresses each realises that the other is far more than the facade that they present to the world. Chemistry teacher Mrs Peterson completely steals the show despite relatively little page-time.

I did find it overlong – towards the end I was rushing my reading, hoping for the conclusion to come sooner. Though the last third of the book drags on, the epilogue redeems this somewhat. Slightly too much angst and a little too formula driven, still the message of the book is one which will never, I believe, grow old.

Pages: 357
Guidance: Contains some violence and sex
Category: Modern life

Publication date: 1st April 2010

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy.

Perfect Chemistry has the best book trailer I’ve seen to date

Giveaway - Dark Life by Kat Falls

2010-02-26T21:06:00.008Z

The lovely Simon and Schuster UK have donated two advance copies of Dark Life by Kat Falls for a giveaway! I really enjoyed this book - my review will not be going up until closer to the publication date, but I can tell you that it is positive!

The synopsis:

‘When the oceans rose, entire continents were swallowed up by the rising water. Now humans live packed into high rises on small tracts of land, while those willing to forge new frontiers settle deep beneath the waves. Ty has lived under the sea his entire life, helping his family to farm the ocean floor. But when outlaws attack, Ty finds himself in a fight to save the only home he has ever known. Joined by Gemma, a girl from Topside who is looking for her missing brother, Ty ventures into the frontier’s rough underworld – and discovers some very dark secrets. Secrets which threaten to destroy everything ...’

I'm afraid that this competition is only open to UK readers. For all of you international people, I'm sorry but I do believe that my next giveaway will be open to you.

UK readers, you have a chance to win one of two advance copies of Dark Life; all you have to do is comment below telling me in ten words or less what you'd like best about living under the ocean. I'll pick my favourite answer and that person will win one book, the other will be selected randomly. You will get an extra entry if you Follow this blog (please remember to tell me in the comments). You don't need a google account to comment, but please leave an email address so that I can contact you.

Alternatively, if you're not comfortable with commenting, you can email your entry to me at bookshelfbabble(AT)yahoo(DOT)co(DOT)uk.

This giveaway will close on the 15th March.

Book review - The Splendour Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore

2010-02-22T15:53:00.004Z

In their words:
'Sylvie Davies is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but what broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage. Still reeling, Sylvie is shipped off to stay with relatives in the back of beyond. Or so she thinks, in fact she ends up in a town rich with her family’s history ... and as it turns out her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, is the expected choice. But handsome, mysterious Rhys has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand. Then Sylvie starts seeing things – a girl by the lake and a man with dark unseeing eyes peering in through the window ... Sylvie’s lost nearly everything – is she starting to lose her mind as well?'

In other words:
Ex-ballerina is sent to the country, where she finds out that her dad has buried a long family history. Paranormal adventures ensue.

I’m not usually one for ghost stories, but for The Splendour Falls I have to make an exception. It’s creepy without being scary and more importantly, the creepiness comes without a sacrifice of the plot. The supernatural aspect seems to take a backseat to the characters – it’s very present throughout the story, but the characters are just as, if not more, interesting.

While a little predictable in some places, and sporting a couple of characters who seem to have come straight out of a formula machine, The Splendour Falls still manages to be original. I loved the idea that the supernatural can be BAD. Many books nowadays like to give characters supernatural powers, but this one explored the idea of the balance of nature.

The Splendour Falls is a compulsive read, an entertaining, almost Gothic novel, with an interesting cast of characters and an exciting mystery element. I really enjoyed it, though I’m not enamoured of the cover.

Pages: 528
Category: Modern-day Paranormal

Thank you to Random House for providing me with a review copy.

Book review - The Dragon Book edited by Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois

2009-11-17T22:54:00.004Z

The Dragon Book is a collection of short stories featuring dragons. It includes prolific fantasy authors such as Diana Wynne Jones, Tad Williams, Bruce Coville, Tamora Pierce, and Naomi Novik.

I was eager to read the dragon book because of the authors attached to it – either I had read their work and enjoyed it, or I had heard good things about them and wanted to see for myself. I also wanted to see how all of these authors dealt with dragons in new and interesting ways. There was certainly a spread of genres and writing styles, from alternate reality to historical fantasy to present day. Each author took a completely different approach to dragons, creating an interesting variety of creatures in a mix of genres that I don’t usually read.

However, just as the dragons varied, so did the quality of the stories. Many were awkward and rushed, some were downright cheesy and painful to read. The vast majority of the stories were spectacularly mediocre. They weren’t particularly memorable – they were clever in their use of dragons, but that seemed for some of them to be their only aim. Those didn’t have enough plot to sustain even the short length of their stories.

There were of course exceptions. Tamora Pierce’s The Dragon’s Tale stars Tortall’s Skysong, aka Kit. It was an entertaining story and up to her usual high standard of writing, but I wonder how accessible it would be to readers who hadn’t read her ‘Immortals’ series. On a side note, I have to say that ‘kraken spit’ may be the best fantasy expletive I have read to date! The definite highlight for me was an author I hadn’t read before, Mary Rosenblum’s Dragon Storm. Of all of them, it had the best premise and an actual plot, one which could have sustained a longer story. I’ll definitely be reading more by this author

To be fair, several others were fairly good and most had at least some good points. Some were simply not my style, as you should expect in any collection of stories. It’s an interesting look at the various takes on dragons, it’s inventive in most cases, and probably worth reading. But I found that there is definitely chaff there. If you are an ardent fan of dragons, this may be worth reading for you. If you like collections of short stories, likewise. Overall, the book is ok. There will probably be several stories that you like. Maybe even one or two that you love. Whether you think that makes it worth trying is up to you. Perhaps one to borrow rather than buy.

Thank you to Anderson Press for sending me a copy.

Pages: 448
Category: I think some stories are for children/teenagers, but some are adult. I’d rate some of them at a 12+
Authors: Cecilia Holland, Naomi Novik, Jonathan Stroud, Kage Baker, Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple, Liz Williams, Peter S. Beagle, Diana Gabaldon and Samuel Sykes, Garth Nix, Sean Williams, Tad Williams, Harry Turtledove, Diana Wynne Jones, Gregory Maguire, Bruce Coville, Tanith Lee, Tamora Pierce, Mary Rosenblum, Andy Duncan

Teaser Tuesday

2009-11-17T13:30:00.003Z

The Laurentine Spy by Emily Gee

'The secret passages didn't extend to the newer portions of the citadel - the men's wing and the royal chambers, the rooms where matters of military intelligence were discussed. If they did, there'd be no need to ask questions and draw attention to herself, no need to guide conversations to risky subjects.'

- page 16 US edition

Book review - Fire by Kristin Cashore

2009-11-11T22:16:00.003Z

In a world full of beautiful monsters that can bend men to their own will, Fire is that most dangerous of things – a human monster. Exceptionally beautiful and irresistible to all those who cannot guard their minds against her, she could even make men stick a knife in their own eye if she wished. But Fire is afraid of her huge capacity for power and influence, having seen her father abuse his own power so extremely that he almost brought about the downfall of the kingdom for his own amusement. Under her attractiveness, Fire is struggling with her own morality. She lives far away from court, afraid of both her influence and those people who hate her for it. Yet trouble is brewing in the Dells, a generation paying for their fathers’ mistakes, and Fire must master her own power to protect her home.

I’m of the opinion that Graceling was good, but not great. I think I should mention that so you have some context for this review, because I thought that Fire definitely was amazing.
Fire was stunningly crafted and filled with an array of excellent characters. There was a depth to even minor characters, making for a truly believable tale. It’s not hard to believe that these characters have an existence outside of the limited page space given them in the story. Fire herself was a great main character, both interesting and likeable. She’s also incredibly strong, battling the guilt of her own existence, unsure of her place in her world.

I’m beginning to get the impression that Kristin Cashore is incredibly interested in the psychological effects of events, rarely investigated in young adult fantasy. Cashore marries classic elements of fantasy – fighting for a kingdom, love, huge climactic events – with smaller, more individual elements – confusion, loss, subtle power shifts, – producing some of the most realistic fantasy I’ve ever read.

I love this world that Fire lives in, with its beautiful but deadly monsters. The country itself is completely unstable, establishing a world fraught with everyday dangers. It is so rare that a book combines all of these elements so successfully, and it engaged me completely. The plotting was nicely done, and although I predicted most of the revelations early on, still it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of it at all. For me, Fire was almost a perfect fantasy novel.

Also, just look at that cover! I mean, how could anyone resist!? (This is written as a YA book in the US, but for some reason, it's printed as an adult fantasy in the UK, so you'll find it in the adult sci-fi/fantasy section instead of the teenage one.)

Teaser Tuesday

2009-11-10T20:50:00.004Z

Warprize by Elizabeth Vaughan

"I have sworn the same oaths." He tilted his head. "Xylara ..."
"You can't get away with disobeying the King, Eln." I flashed him a smile, "he's not your half-brother."

- page 8 UK edition

I'm about halfway through and enjoying it thus far. Life has sort of got in the way for me recently, but I'm going to make an effort to post at least two reviews a week.

Book Review - Wake by Lisa McMann

2009-10-29T22:20:00.003Z

Janie often races out of a classroom in a panic and avoids sleepovers like the plague. The other kids just think she’s a little strange, but the truth is that Janie gets sucked into peoples’ dreams. If anyone falls asleep near her, she’s dragged along to watch the dream. She’s seen all of the mundane ones, the bizarre ones. She’s even gleaned surprising information about her classmates from them. But when she’s dragged into a nightmare with a sinister monster, she’s amazed to see herself in the dream as well. And there seems to be more than her strange ability than she’s ever realised, for in one strange dream, someone sees her watching.

The levels of coincidence in Fade were perhaps on the outskirts of believability. Several chance coincidences went by unexplained, possibly for use in further books, but it stretched my credulity at times. On the whole, I found Wake entertaining, clever, and interesting. The premise was fairly well explored, focusing more on Janie’s character and struggles with her powers than the origins of the powers themselves.

The dream culture was intriguing, though I’d say a little skewed. A lot of the dreams Janie finds herself in are ‘falling’ dreams or ‘being naked in a public place’ dreams, which I’m not convinced that all that many people have. Also, she learns many useful things from her dream walking. I would guess that for every person who dreams of true events, there must be dozens more who dream utter nonsense.

I found the set-up of Janie’s past helped me to understand her as a character. Her past and relationship with Cabel was especially touchingly written. I do wish though that there had been a bit more interaction and closure with her mum. I’d also say that the ending was quite rushed, and a certain revelation was more convenient than credible. Fade was far shorter than I expected, but despite this managed to tell an engrossing and original story. It was fleeting yet lasting, beautifully written, the writing evoking the feeling of a dream itself. The characters were especially well drawn and I look forward to reading more about Janie.

Thankyou to Simon and Schuster for sending me a review copy.

Teaser Tuesday

2009-10-27T10:44:00.000Z

Winter Song by Jean-Claude Mourlevat (translated by Anthea Bell)

'In the next row little Catharina sat up, unable to believe it. Buta glance at Milena's empty bed, impeccably made and empty, immediately told her what was in store for her. She tried to catch Helen's eye, but Helen turned her head away.'

- page 42 UK edition

Teaser Tuesday

2009-10-20T10:38:00.000+01:00

Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

'I might as well have gone crazy, judging by my new status as social pariah. And it's not as if the Myersons wanted to hire me again. After all, I was the girl who hung out with rabid goats.'

- page 22 US edition

Book review - Rampant by Diana Peterfreund

2009-10-19T21:49:00.002+01:00

Astrid’s mother has always told stories of killer unicorns. These stories have gone from fun to embarrassing as Astrid grew up with her eccentric mother. But these stories turn out to be less myth than history. Astrid is a Llewelyn, one of the few families that produced unicorn hunters hundreds of years ago. The unicorns were supposedly hunted into extinction three hundred years ago, but an increasing number of sightings suggest a re-emergence. Astrid’s mother is thrilled, and packs her off to a cloister in Italy to train to continue the family tradition.

Rampant was enthralling and entertaining, a cleverly constructed fantasy. The writing and the characters deserve a special commendation. Astrid’s cousin Phil is bubbly and engaging, though perhaps a little naive. Her new friend Cory is determined and wilful, yet also too bloodthirsty. Each character has depth, not only multiple facets, but also reasons for these facets, events that have shaped the personalities. Astrid herself is interesting, though I would say too weak-willed. I can’t really understand how her mother could force her to go to Italy to kill unicorns if Astrid didn’t want to – surely most teenagers would be able to say no to that?

Of course, the aspect of virginity is interesting, especially when some interesting guys come on the scene. The use of mythology to illustrate the plight of the hunters is clever – some are eager to do war on the unicorns and some are very reluctant warriors. The unicorns themselves are of course more complicated than they first seem. All-in-all, an excellent adventure with romance, action, fantasy and a cast of memorable characters. I can’t wait for the next book.

My copy is a US edition, I don't think it's being printed here in the UK at the moment, but it's available from Amazon.

Book review - Ice by Sarah Beth Durst

2009-10-10T11:43:00.000+01:00

Ice will be published in the UK on the 29th October
Cassie has been brought up in the Arctic with her father, a polar bear researcher. When she was younger, her grandmother would tell her stories of how her mother had been taken to the kingdom of the trolls when Cassie was only a baby. Now almost eighteen, she knows this is just a fairy story but this doesn’t stop her from imagining life with a mother. The day before her birthday she tracks the largest polar bear she’s ever seen. He’s fast and she loses him at a wall of ice she could have sworn he just walked into. As Cassie begins to learn the truth about this unusual bear she’s plunged into an adventure full of magic. Her past is entwined with this huge polar bear and Cassie has to decide how far she would go to bring back the mother she doesn’t remember.

This modern day fairy-tale is a good read. Sarah Beth Durst has created a modern world full of hidden magic, yet remarkably has also managed to achieve a fairy-tale quality to her writing. Bear’s history is far more complex than the usual ‘I did something wrong so the fairy turned me into a bear,’ consequently making the character himself more interesting, though I’d have liked to have learned more about his past. Cassie is a strong main character struggling with the impossibility of this new world she’s found herself in.

The new mythology Sarah Beth Durst has created fits seamlessly into descriptions of the modern world, perhaps because Cassie’s existence is so isolated and different from most other peoples’. Apart from filling the modern world with unseen magic, I have to say I didn’t find the book too special. The 'circle-of-life' theme was rather sketchy and the plot was predictable - there was nothing too surprising in there. But then, aren’t all fairytales like this? And don’t we just enjoy them for what they are no matter how many times they are retold? I know I keep reading them.

Book review - Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

2009-09-27T21:03:00.003+01:00

The world is on the edge of a battle between the Clankers and the Darwinists, two sides with very different weapons. Prince Alek, the son of the Archduke, is forced to flee from his own people after an assassination leaves him orphaned. Deryn, a British midshipman aboard the famous Darwinist airship Leviathan, is actually a girl in disguise. These two people must navigate their way through the ugly outbreak of war that will eventually lead them together.

The idea of Leviathan, that in an alternate reality, World War One was fought between the Clankers (those who use machines) and the Darwinists (those who've evolved several ‘fabricated’ living creatures to replace machinery). It’s an unlikely premise and a wonderful idea, one that I would say was underutilised in the book itself. The idea of members of these two opposing sides colliding is creatively executed, resulting in neither a ‘good side’ or a ‘bad side,’ but an exciting mix of the two.

Alek was an interesting hero, confined by the lack of experience that often comes alongside privilege. I sometimes felt he was a little inconsistent as his voice is one of an intelligent youth, yet occasionally he would behave very stupidly, giving himself away by revealing his upbringing. Despite this conflict, I generally found him an interesting character, though perhaps he wasn’t as developed as he could have been. Deryn was a wonderful heroine, incredibly active and energetic. She was down-to-earth, very smart, and always entertaining to read about.

The ending was unusual. Now that I think about it, this part of the story had reached its conclusion, so the timing was perfect. Usually you get the sense of winding down towards the end or alternatively, a build-up of tension for a cliff-hanger. Leviathan did neither of these – it simply finished when the words ran out. Just to clarify, it had me surprised, but it wasn’t a disappointment, and it certainly has me second-guessing the next book. Leviathan was a really entertaining read, well-written and cleverly executed. For me, it didn’t have that indefinable sparkle-factor, but it had almost everything else.

Book review - Crossed Wires by Rosy Thornton

2009-09-24T11:07:00.003+01:00

Peter is a Cambridge don, widowed father of identical twins. Mina is a single mother, struggling to make ends meet with her call centre job and worrying about her wayward teenage sister. Both are miles apart, but their situations are similar. When their worlds collide after Peter drives his car into a tree stump and calls Mina’s insurance centre, they discover how much they have in common. They also learn about themselves, love, parenthood, and how small things can connect people.

Now firstly, I have to say that Crossed Wires is an adult book, not a teenage book, and it reads as such. Not that the content is graphic (I’d say at most the book would be rated a 12A), but in terms of its style. Crossed Wires is what I would call a gentle book. It’s character-driven instead of sensational, think of an indie character based film as opposed to an action blockbuster. The characters are utterly believable and completely sympathetic. The plot is also, for the most part, surprisingly plausible. The idea of two people meeting through a call centre is completely unlikely, but Rosy Thornton has injected exactly the correct amount of believability to their interactions, and created the right circumstances to allow their relationship to progress naturally.

A huge part of this book focuses on parenthood, which doesn’t necessarily alienate teen readers, as it’s done in an interesting and thought-provoking way. However, the slow pace, the seeming insignificance of the story, are things less common in young adult than adult literature. The book also felt, to me, a little bit too surgical. It was academic in its precision to detail, which dampened my interest in the storyline somewhat.

I do feel that many teens will enjoy Crossed Wires just as many adults will. It’s a masterful piece of writing, warm and hopeful. As long as teenage readers are aware that they are reading an ‘Adult’ novel, that the structure and writing style are rather academic, then I think they’ll find Crossed Wires an interesting read. It’s certainly beautifully written and deserving of praise.

Teaser Tuesday

2009-09-22T10:08:00.000+01:00

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

'Gradually he forgot that he was at the controls, feeling the steps as if they were his own. The sway of the cabin settled into his body, the rhythms of gears and pneumatics not so different from his runabout’s, only louder.'

– page 15 UK edition

Book review - Perfect Girl by Mary Hogan

2009-09-21T14:59:00.002+01:00

Ruthie has suddenly fallen in love with one of her best friends, Marcus. Just as she realises how much she likes him, a new girl appears at school. Jenna is perfect in all the ways that Ruthie isn’t and, worst of all, Marcus is definitely interested in the new girl. But Ruthie has her own secret weapon – Fabrique magazine’s ‘Goddess of Love,’ her Aunt Marty. Enlisting Aunt Marty’s help, Ruthie is on a mission to turn herself into a perfect girl and win the love of the boy next door.

Perfect Girl is definitely for younger readers, I’d say tweens and young teens, though the main character is supposedly fourteen. That said, Perfect Girl is a surprisingly deep book. With its cast of quirky characters; Ruthie’s chronic worrier mother, her seemingly perfect Aunt, the eccentric and talkative old lodger, Mr Arthur, Perfect Girl is far more about family than it is about chasing after boys. Ruthie’s chaotic family life and lack of a father leave her embarrassed and feeling not-quite-normal, but she slowly begins to appreciate her family for who they are.

Her position is an interestingly difficult one – her mother is hugely overprotective of her, she knows nothing of her father other than the basic information the sperm bank gave her mother, and her mum is currently at odds with her only other family member, her Aunt. This extreme situation makes Ruthie more than a little confused and angry, but it slowly untangles itself. While Ruthie may never achieve perfect, in chasing it she discovers more about her family and ultimately herself.

It’s a fairly short read, but well-written and fun, perfect for younger fans of Luisa Plaja or Liz Rettig.

BBAW Meme in 5 words

2009-09-16T11:17:00.003+01:00

Amy's suggested that we answer these questions in five words or less, but I'm going to go one better and answer each in EXACTLY five words, so here goes:

Do you snack while you read? If so, favourite reading snack?

I drink tea. A lot.

Do you tend to mark your books as you read, or does the idea of writing in books horrify you?

Write? In a book? NEVER!!!

How do you keep your place while reading a book? Bookmark? Dog-ears? Leaving the book flat open?

Memorise page number. Then forget.

Fiction, non-fiction, or both?

Fiction. Non-fiction is for work.

Hard copy or audiobooks?

Audiobooks make me fall asleep.

Are you a person who tends to read to the end of chapters, or are you able to put a book down at any point?

Usually read cover to cover.

If you come across an unfamiliar word, do you stop to look it up right away?

Invent meaning. It's usually wrong.

What are you currently reading?

Just re-read King of Attolia.

What is the last book you bought?

High Lord by Trudi Canavan.

Are you the type of person that only reads one book at a time or can you read more than one at a time?

Generally juggling too many books.

Do you have a favourite time of day and/or place to read?

Bed. At night. With tea.

Do you prefer series books or stand alone books?

Series that can stand alone.

Is there a specific book or author that you find yourself recommending over and over?

Maria Snyder rocks my socks.

How do you organise your books? (By genre/title/author's last name, etc.?)

Book goes where it's RIGHT.

And there you have it. Five word sentences are fun. See you soon, I hope.

A BBAW interview with ... Avis

2009-09-15T14:53:00.005+01:00

One of the best things I've discovered since I started reviewing is this great community of online bloggers. I love finding new blogs, so I liked the idea of the Book Blogger Appreciation Week interview swap. Basically, you're paired up completely randomly with another blogger and get to discover their blog and chat to them. I tend to know lots of the YA blogs out there, but not many others. I was lucky enough to be paired with Avis from she reads and reads, where she spotlights fiction written by women.

What is your favourite genre? Are there any genres you won’t read?

Literary fiction is my favourite genre although I also really enjoy mysteries, SF, contemporary fiction, memoirs, personal essays and certain types of nonfiction (such as The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell, for example). I’ve also recently been discovering YA and graphic novels. The genres I don’t normally read are chick lit, paranormal fiction, Christian fiction, horror, thrillers, academic nonfiction, romance and westerns.

Who is your favourite author?

Picking a single favourite author is impossible! Some of my favourites are Janette Turner Hospital, Barbara Kingsolver, Nancy Mairs, Michael Cunningham and Kate Wilhelm, just to name the first five that come to mind. There are others I’ve read more recently that feel like potential favourites (they can’t be favourites yet because I’ve only read one of their books so far): Pagan Kennedy, Michelle Richmond, Susan Olding, Stephanie Kallos and Marina Endicott.

Do you have any books that you reread time and again?

I’m not much of a rereader (there are so many books I haven’t read once yet!), but I do enjoy rereading my favourites every now and then. Three that I’ve read at least twice and will probably read again are The Diviners by Margaret Laurence (she’s brilliant and this is her best book in my opinion), The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver and A Door into Ocean by Joan Slonczewski.

Do you judge a book by its cover?

I actually think it’s almost impossible not to judge books by their covers. For me, covers act as a kind of sorting mechanism. I read a zillion blogs and come across heaps of books nearly every day, so I need a fast way to eliminate at least a few of them as potential additions to my wish list. (I don’t have time to read every single review I come across.) At their best, book covers should be a kind of visual shorthand, so that readers can recognize the types of books that appeal to them just by looking at the cover. Of course, it happens pretty often that a book’s cover is completely misleading. This happened to me recently with Crossed Wires by Rosy Thornton, which I almost didn’t accept for review because of its pink cover but ended up really enjoying. Obviously, the cover doesn’t make or break it—if somebody I trust strongly recommends a book, I’ll read it, whether or not I like the cover.

What do you do when you’re not reading or blogging?

For work, I’m a freelance French-to-English translator. For fun, I watch movies or TV, hang out with friends, play Carcassonne, write, cook, sleep.

If you had to pick the three best books you’ve read so far this year, what would they be?

Pathologies: A Life in Essays by Susan Olding
The Wishing Year by Noelle Oxenhandler
The Impostor’s Daughter by Laurie Sandell

Thanks for the fun interview Avis! You should all go and check out her blog.

*edit* And you can now read her interview of me if you want to.

Update. Also, Catching Fire

2009-09-13T22:48:00.002+01:00

I’m so sorry I’ve been neglecting the blog lately, but I’m going back to Uni soon so I’m catching up with friends as much as possible these last few days. I’m not going to do a review for Catching Fire because anyone who enjoyed The Hunger Games will buy Catching Fire regardless of what I say. (A review will probably come soon anyway though).

But for now, I’ll just give a few thoughts. When I finished, I wasn’t completely happy. It hooked me and was brilliant, but the things that happened weren’t what I wanted to happen. I thought it was amazing, but I also wasn’t sure about it. Then I remembered – I felt this way about The Hunger Games. Exactly the same. They’re definitely growers for me. This is why – what I want to happen doesn’t happen. What does happen is better, but it takes me a while to see that. So now I’m going to sit back and say that Suzanne Collins knows best.

Teaser Tuesday

2009-09-08T12:51:00.003+01:00

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

"I just can't wait for the whole thing to be over," I whisper.

"I know," says Greasy Sae, "but you've got to go through it to get to the end of it. Better not be late."

- page 15 UK edition

Book review - The Bride's Farewell by Meg Rosoff

2009-09-05T10:50:00.001+01:00

When Pell runs away, she leaves the life she’s known, her family, and her brand new wedding dress. She takes her horse and young, mute brother. She doesn’t know where she’s going, but she wants to escape a life of hard work and drudgery. On the way, she meets people connected to her past as well as to her new future. Through it all, she reacts with resilience and determination to the struggles thrown in her path. Will she find what she seeks, or forever wander, searching for all that she has lost?

The Bride’s Farewell a surprisingly short, though entertaining, read. Meg Rosoff is an author who can make her readers completely believe in the surroundings that she creates. There’s an interesting cast of characters, though I will say that the coincidences linking the characters together are at times unbelievable. There’s a slightly old-fashioned charm about the story that makes it so believable as a historical novel.

In some ways the plot is just too chancy. Various people are lost and found throughout the story, despite the fact that England is a big place. The chances of finding one another were rather slim. However, it was also entertaining and with a small suspension of disbelief comes an original, though somewhat predictable, story that’s worth reading.

Pell was a good heroine, hardworking and determined. Not only did I want her to have a happy ending, but I also felt that she’d worked hard enough to deserve one, a rare thing in many books now. Her relationship with the hunter was compelling and unusual. I wanted to know much more about him, but the fact that you know so little is one of the defining factors in their curious relationship. I suppose if too much page time had been spent on them alone, the book would have become far more of a love story than anything else. As it is, the romance is enough to flavour the book but not too much that it takes over. My biggest complaint with the book is the fact that Pell grew up with Birdie as her best friend, never discouraging him. I find it hard to believe she’d then just run away as she would have known how badly it would affect him.

I enjoyed this and would recommend it, though it was a quick read. It’s being published as a hardback this September and my advice would be to wait for the paperback as it’s just not long enough to justify hardback prices in my opinion. It is a beautifully written book nevertheless.

Teaser Tuesday

2009-09-01T11:00:00.003+01:00

The Magicians Guild by Trudi Canavan

'Looking up, she saw that several magicians had gathered around their fallen companion. Some crouched beside him, but most had turned to stare out at the people in the square, their eyes searching. Looking for me, she thought suddenly'

- page 18 UK edition

Book review - The Magicians' Guild by Trudi Canavan

2009-08-30T11:37:00.000+01:00

For five hundred years, the Magicians’ Guild has been the most powerful group of people, loyal enforcers for the King. Only people whose potential for magic has been ‘unlocked’ can manage the practise, and only people from the most powerful families are accepted into the guild. Thus it is incredibly elite – and incredibly hated by the poor, not least because the magicians enforce even the King’s more extreme orders. All this changes when one day the magicians are driving the poor out of the city, and a girl fights back. Sonea is furious with the magicians and the King, everyone who is forcing her out of the life she has worked so hard to build. But when she manages to knock out a magician right through the magical barrier protecting them, she is forced into hiding. The Guild are amazed to learn of this untrained magician and are determined to find her.

I bought this book because I read the first chapter or so online, and it absolutely hooked me. That chapter was the best part of The Magicians’ Guild. It’s not that the rest was bad, it was just long. 463 pages and the story could have fit into 250. By three-quarters of the way through, I was beginning to not really care what happened as long as something did. There’s also a hint of the inevitable about this book, and if I know what’s going to happen then I don’t want to spend 250 pages getting there unless those 250 pages have been very well written. The concept is brilliant, I just wish there had been more to it. Nevertheless, The Magicians’ Guild was an entertaining read.

Sonea is an engaging heroine, though not particularly unique. I enjoyed the contrast between the rich and the poor. Of course, the reader automatically supports the poor over their oppressors, especially since the poor live in the ‘slums,’ where there are gangs and ‘The Thieves,’ who have secret passages everywhere, almost every building it seems. A small part of me really enjoys the streetwise, savvy-ness of such a setting. The magicians themselves had interesting dynamics going on – not all are old and fusty-dusty as you might expect from such a guild.

I did enjoy The Magicians’ Guild, I don’t want to come across as overly negative. But then, I don’t want to be overly positive either. It was fun, held my attention despite the long-windedness of it, and I liked it. But it didn’t sparkle, it didn’t amaze me. Read it for fun, I’d even recommend it, but for me it was missing the final star that would make this book great.

And again...

2009-08-28T11:29:00.000+01:00

So, having been back a week from here...... which absolutely was as beautiful as the photo looks, (and hot! I'm from England. I'm not used to hot!) and then running into several problems with my internet, I'm leaving again! It's just for a long weekend though, over the bank holiday. I'm going to schedule some posts, so you might even get more than normal. But I definitely will have no internet access where I'm going. A clue - it involves a huge field. Another clue - it involves a tent. Yep, I'm going camping. Wish me luck.

(and one more because I have a huge folder full of photos of the amazing scenery)

Ahh, Greece. You are so very pretty.

Book review - Willow by Julia Hoban

2009-08-27T22:10:00.000+01:00

Seven months ago, Willow’s parents drank too much at a dinner party and asked her to drive them home. Willow was behind the wheel when they crashed, killing both of her parents. Willow herself escaped pretty much unscathed – bodily. She faces drastic changes in her life. She has to move in with her older brother, a brother who used to be so close and now hardly speaks to her. She has to work to help to pay rent and she has a new school. More important than the outer changes are the changes in Willow herself. She’s desperately struggling with her grief, trying to stay in control. People think she’s being strong, but Willow has a secret. She’s numbing the pain by secretly cutting herself. And then she meets Guy, and he discovers her secret. Now he won’t let her fade into the shadows, but keeps pulling her out, determined to save her.

Willow was a very special book. Not only does it deal with a main character whose parents died in a car crash while she was driving, it also manages to portray her sense of guilt and loss. And yes, she begins to cut herself, which is written in a completely empathetic way. Not only has Julia Hoban managed to accomplish all of this, but she’s also made the book somewhat compelling and definitely entertaining, something I’d have assumed almost impossible from the blurb. And here’s the thing – Hoban hasn’t sacrificed Willow’s story for the sake of this entertainment. She’s achieved a precarious, but almost perfect, balance of light and dark. And I’m a little bit in awe of her for it.

As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t really read ‘issues’ books – or if I do I expect to find them tedious but meaningful. So I was a little apprehensive beginning Willow, but I’m truly glad I did. The characters were all believable, especially Willow’s older brother David, and new friends Laurie and Guy. All have an interesting mixture of flaws and strengths. Willow’s relationship with David is always coloured by her feelings of guilt and his apparent denial. In contrast, her relationship with Guy is very open and honest, more so as their bond grows, creating a natural progression to their relationship. This relationship did seem a little too one-sided however. I’d have liked to have learned a bit more about Guy’s past because the way the book showcases him makes him seem a bit too perfect.

I was completely surprised by how much the ending satisfied me. It couldn’t be a perfect ending – not while also keeping the integrity of the subject matter – yet for me it struck exactly the right chord. Willow is a beautiful book that was honest and touching and I found it a surprising delight to read.

Teaser Tuesday

2009-08-25T16:00:00.001+01:00

The Hollow by Jessica Verday

The wind continued to howl around me, and the rain pounded on the scant shelter ahead. Whoever he was, he was crazy to be standing out there. Before I could even think it through, I found myself taking a couple of steps out from underneath the awning.

- page 24 UK edition

Author Spotlight

2009-08-25T12:17:00.004+01:00

The lovely L. Lee Lowe emailed me earlier this week, letting me know about her new YA sci-fi/fantasy novel Corvus. A free chapter and podcast will be posted every Friday. The first chapter is somewhat confusing, but interesting nevertheless and the second nicely sets up the world. It's an interesting idea and a serialisation I look forward to reading more of.

In her own words: 'In an alternate present the minds of teen offenders are uploaded into computers for rehabilitation—a form of virtual wilderness therapy. Zach is a homo cognoscens, one of the new humans who can navigate the Fulgrid. Though still a high school student, he is indentured to the Fulgur Corporation as a counsellor. Laura is a homo sapiens. Their story is part odyssey, part tragedy, part riff on the nature of consciousness.'

Book review - Lipgloss Jungle by Melissa de la Cruz

2009-08-21T17:27:00.002+01:00

Lauren has been accepted as one of the Ashleys, a select clique who rule the school she attends. Her plan is to bring them down from the inside, but now that she’s finally found a place with them she’s not so sure. They can be bossy but they can also be so much fun to hang out with. Soon she has more important problems. A rival group has begun to challenge the Ashleys, led by Lauren’s former best friend. All the Ashleys are outraged at this, but they have their own problems to deal with as well. Is the clique going to collapse under the pressure?

I’m not quite sure who Lipgloss Jungle is aimed at. It’s marketed as a young gossip girl, which seems fair. I’d say it’s about 11 or 12+, though the girls sometimes act more maturely than that and sometimes less maturely. I didn’t have any confusion reading this book as my first introduction to the series (It’s actually the fourth book), though I did find Lauren the least interesting character although she seems to be supposed to the central character. I also didn’t get engaged in her relationship with boyfriend Christian, perhaps because it and they were introduced properly in a previous book and left to play somewhat in the background in this one. For that reason I’d suggest beginning this series with the first book if you decide to give it a go.

The book is told from the alternating perspectives of each of the four members of the ‘Ashleys’ clique. The other characters are rather clichéd, though I will say no character is completely bad or completely good, making all of their motives that bit more interesting. All are overly obsessed with clothes, looks and boys, worrying over first kisses and suchlike.

A fun little summer read for tween girls. Though it has little substance it’s entertaining enough and will probably keep many girls happy for an afternoon.

Book review - City of Ghosts by Bali Rai

2009-08-19T20:18:00.004+01:00

1919 and the city of Amritsar is in turmoil. Unrest sweeps the streets as more and more citizens protest against British rule. Orphans Jeevan and Gurdial have been inseparable from a young age, but while Gurdial falls in love with a rich merchant’s daughter, Jeevan spends more time with his hot-headed new friends. Meanwhile a young Sikh World War One veteran waits patiently for a letter from the woman he fell in love with. Amritsar is a city of dreams and a city of ghosts. And the whole city is being dragged towards disaster in the wake of conflict between angry young revolutionaries and the British authorities.

City of Ghosts was captivating and superbly written. I had heard of the fact that one third of British troops weren’t from Britain, but I’d never really considered the practicalities of this – would a Sikh be able to wear his turban in the trenches? How would it feel to fight in a horrific war, be regarded as a second-class citizen by the side you fought for, then return home to unrest and countrymen who consider that your fighting for the British makes you a traitor? Bali Rai addresses these questions and many others in City of Ghosts.

It’s surprising how well he has told many sides of the same story – though it’s clear which side he sympathises more with, the author is careful not to vilify indiscriminately. In the afterword he mentions not sticking exactly to the facts. While I’m sure this is the case, he seems to have managed to capture the feel of the time. It’s refreshingly unbiased – I’ll admit that I usually cynically find that books like this have been written to prove a point, which, however valid, usually annoys me. However, I felt that with City of Ghosts, it was written to tell a story, one that has not been told before.

All of the characters are sympathetically portrayed. It’s interesting to see not only the characters and their actions, but also the circumstances causing their decisions, how far each of them will go when pushed. A city on the brink of chaos is the perfect setting to examine human principles and capabilities, to push characters as far as possible, which in turn creates an interesting sense of tension to the story. The love stories between Gurdial and Sohni and Bissen and Lillian are not simple, both relationships have huge obstacles in their way, yet somehow are still hopeful.

My one main complaint is that the book seems to condone Udham’s actions. City of Ghosts helped me to understand and sympathise with his plight, but however justified it may have been, his own action was still murder. I also found the ending of Bissen’s storyline slightly confusing, leaving me wondering whether the letter was legitimate or not. Other than that though, the book ended with clarity and conclusiveness.

A beautiful story of just a few citizens caught up in the strife that gripped Amritsar in 1919. Through telling the story of these young people, the story of the city itself is also told. A rich, vibrant city so well portrayed you can almost taste it. This is a masterful tale of love and loss, of falling, failing and dying, but also of hope.

Holiday

2009-08-11T00:15:00.003+01:00

I'm going on holiday tomorrow so will be away from the internet for over a week. I was planning on scheduling some posts for while I'm away but my internet has been down all day so there will just have to be silence at About Books for a week. I'm on a different computer just to post this quick note. Have a good week everyone!

Series or franchise?

2009-08-09T10:33:00.002+01:00

Many authors already established as authors of 'Adult fiction' have recently taken the leap to teenage (or 'Young Adult') fiction. This is probably because the market for YA fiction is currently large and thriving. Whatever the reason, I realised recently that these 'Adult' authors always seem to do so in series. Usually these series are more like a TV series than book series - the end of the book leaves you with more questions than you had at the beginning. No book in the series can stand alone, each is a chapter in the series. (There are some exceptions to this, for example Ally Carter who began writing for adults and then switched genres, has the Gallagher Girls series with the same characters but different stories. Each book is it's own story though they link.) I can name several authors - Lili St. Crow, Andrew Klavan, James Patterson, who've done this recently. I apologise if you're a Maximum Ride fan. I sort of was for the first three books, before I realised it would never end and never make sense.

I have nothing against series. If I've loved a story then often I'll want to return to that world. I just feel that each book should be whole and complete in itself. Write a book, conclude it and THEN decide to write another one. Some authors who do this well are Shannon Hale and Jaclyn Moriarty. Of course, some stories have too much plot for one book and need to be in a series. The author will have the whole series planned (I'll use Stephenie Meyer as my example here, though I've never read her books). So if it's not a series that I object to itself, it must be something else. A franchise maybe?

Maybe it's when I feel like an author hasn't written a book to satisfy the reader, they've deliberately NOT satisfied the reader to keep them coming back, to keep the mysteries. I want authors to create stories, not franchises. If those stories happen to connect, that's fine. Often the writing is good, they're enjoyable books, but they're blatantly a first-in-a-series and it's starting to drive me CRAZY. I don't want to be too judgemental as I know authors have to sell books to make their profits, but if the author doesn't love the book, how can they expect me, the reader, to? It isn't just the 'Adult' authors who do this, it's just that they seem to do it a lot. Because this is how 'Adult' series work or because they think teenage fiction is easy to write?

This isn't a slam on 'Adult' authors for trying to write teen fiction, I love it when they do. If I enjoy their book I'll check out their other books for adults. Just please make a story that has a beginning, middle, end. Over one book, over four, I don't really care (though Adult authors, if you're listening, I'd love to see some stand-alone teen books from you). But when all you put in is hook, hook, hook and never bother to conclude, I start to lose my faith in you.

So I have to ask this. As a reader, am I being selfish? Is it acceptable for an author to give you a set of books that are probably never going to conclude? Or is it because I am spoilt by the huge number of books in the teen market at the moment?

Book review - Ember Fury by Cathy Brett

2009-08-05T17:18:00.002+01:00

Ember Fury releases in the UK tomorrow (the 6th August)

From the back cover because I couldn't seem to manage to write my own summary for this one:
'Having celebrity parents isn’t as hot as it sounds. Yes, there’s money to burn, fame and some totally smoking guys... but when your dad’s more interested in blazing a trail to the top of the charts than why you got kicked out of school, again, it can make you seriously angry. And if there’s one thing Ember Fury knows, it’s that the smallest spark of anger can ignite a whole heap of trouble.'

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up this book – I didn’t even know what the plot was about. I read it because I heard that it’s an interesting blend of text and image. I don’t read graphic novels, I just don’t find that the medium works for me. But half graphic novel and half plain ordinary novel? That idea appealed to me because potentially you have the best of both. Ember Fury lives up to that potential.

You may notice the use of fire metaphors in the blurb. That would be because Ember is a pyromaniac – a fire starter. She’s been kicked out of several schools and recently landed in rehab due to her tendency to set light to things when she’s upset. At the start of the book Ember is quite a naive yet confident character – the stereotypical problem child of celebrity parents. As the story progresses, her insecurities and loneliness justify most of her actions. She’s a reluctant teenager thrust into the spotlight whenever she stays with her dad in America, but this time she’s just been kicked out of another school, she has a new step-mum to meet, and her dad hasn’t bothered turning up to see her. She has to face other people judging her and using her just because of who her dad is. Despite this she’s quite funny and very overdramatic. The graphic side picks up on this characteristic beautifully, showing images of how she feels as well as what’s happening.

There’s also a paranormal element to the book, though it’s never fully explained whether her invisible friend Ned is a ghost or just completely imaginary. Ember Fury is a good book that will have younger teens hooked. Because of the approachableness of Ember’s character and the way the text is broken up between graphic segments, it’s a great book for reluctant readers but unlike many other such books it doesn’t exclude confident readers either. Because of the maturity level of the character I would say it’s more suited to younger teens, who I think will really enjoy this fun but also deep book.

Series spotlight - Megan Whalen Turner

2009-08-01T17:36:00.003+01:00

You thought I’d forgotten about them, didn’t you? I hadn’t but I have been thinking and Series Spotlight is no longer going to be regular, just whenever I find an amazing series I want to give you a heads up on. It’s also going to be much shorter, just a flavour of the series, a recommendation more than a review. Why? Because the old format was too long and also because I’m lazy. It’s also hard to find a series every week that I love enough to want to write about!

But today I present to you...
The Thief, The Queen of Attolia, and The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner.

Gen is a thief. He can steal anything. Except himself out of prison. Which is where the first book picks up. Gen’s plans often land him in trouble, but always he is confident, witty and ingenious, with more than one trick up his sleeve. This series is set in a medieval world much like Greece and the stories are interwoven with myths. This is a favourite re-read series of mine. I can’t really tell much plot as it gives too much away – each book has a couple of very surprising twists – there’s always more going on than you realise. Political intrigue, adventure, action, humour, a rich and vibrant culture, entertaining characters, interesting plots, each book has all of these and more.

I highly recommend the series as one of my favourites (and look – it seems the Newbery folk back my recommendation!). Plus a sequel is in the works, which I’m super excited about. (I don’t think it’s published outside of the US but you can get it from sites like Amazon UK and this is one series I REALLY advise you to buy even if you don’t really like importing books.)

Book review - Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

2009-07-29T19:58:00.003+01:00

The UK paperback releases 6th August.
‘There are thirteen reasons why your friend committed suicide. You are one of them.’
They are sent from person to person. When Clay receives the package, he has no idea what’s inside. Intrigued, he finds seven cassette tapes. On each side of the tapes Hannah Baker has recorded a reason why she ended her life. The rules are simple. You listen all the way through and you pass it on to the next person in the story. Clay can’t think of anything Hannah could blame him for, but he received the tapes so he has to listen. Over the course of one long night he listens to Hannah’s story, wandering the streets of his town as he follows in her footsteps, coming to know Hannah better than he ever has before.

I’ll admit it, I was expecting a rather depressing story. A story with a big moral (anything you do could be one more reason that someone commits suicide). To be honest, I was expecting more literary highbrow-ness than entertainment, but somehow Thirteen Reasons Why delivers both.
Clay is an incredibly honest main character and can’t comprehend how he’s involved in the story. Hannah was the girl he liked from afar and never really got the chance to get to know. Through the tapes he can understand Hannah’s story and finally connect with her. Hannah herself comes across as composed and intelligent, fully aware of what she’s doing. She also has a sense of humour and perspective on the events she describes. As she says on the tapes, she blames very few of them, but she wants them to know how their actions affected her. This mature outlook is vital to the book as it means it’s not a narrative of finger-pointing and revenge so much as a story about the truth. Interestingly, several of the recipients of the tapes don’t see it the same way and judge others based on the story despite the fact that each of them received those tapes for a similar reason.

It’s a clever tale that allows the reader to see the same events from different interpretations. Everyone has preconceptions about other people. Hannah’s tapes illustrate how harming and misleading these can be, but also how they can come about. Especially in school, people can quickly be assigned a reputation and expected to stick to it. Other people see them as this characteristic – shy/funny/sweet and they may feel they have to live up to it. Thirteen Reasons Why plays up to this, challenging even the reader’s preconceptions. Clay comes across as a little dorky in his own narration, but in other people’s eyes he is cooler. Because of these two main narrators, this book is great for guys and girls, without excluding either sex. I recommend it to all.

I hate to end on a ‘this book makes you think,’ but it truly does. Not about life and death so much as image and seeing beyond the stereotypes. It’s not just meaningful though, it’s also an entertaining read. It wasn’t hard to get through, and I didn’t feel too noble reading it. I don’t want to detract from its meaning, but I also want people to understand it’s a good read! I wanted to know what happened next in Hannah’s story, I wanted to know how people fitted in, and especially how Clay fitted in. It was also interesting to see Clay wandering the streets of his town, meeting people from school and not knowing if they were on the tapes. Do they already know how he fits in? Will they be featured after him in the story? Do they have nothing to do with it at all? There’s a good element of suspense and I was intrigued to see how it would all play out.

What do you think of the new UK paperback cover? I like it more every time I see it, but I can't help feeling it will appeal more to girls than guys which is a shame.

What NOT to do 2

2009-07-26T11:48:00.008+01:00

I've collected a few more of these, so here for your reading pleasure is What NOT to do part deux, alternatively known as Please Authors, I beg you, don't ruin a good book by doing these things. Maybe before reading this post you should go back and read What NOT to do 1 if you haven't already.

As before, I'm leaving out general problems like poor characters or plot. Here are some specific things I've been picking up on recently. Again, I'm not trying to criticise specific books so anything in quotation marks is paraphrased by me.

Show that a Lord in a historical fiction book is a nice guy really by having him always address his servants like ‘if it isn’t too much trouble, would you be so kind as to fetch Miss Moore some tea and refreshments?’ – I don't care how nice a guy he is, it wouldn't occur to him to be so polite to his servants all the time. Plus it gets annoying very quickly. Show how nice a guy he is by making him rescue kittens or something instead.

Heroines who are absolutely gorgeous, but charmingly unaware of it. – Generally seen through the eyes of several males just so the reader realises she’s beautiful (because charmingly modest heroine has told the reader that she’s not beautiful and we can’t have the reader believing that their heroine is plain!) before moving back to her point of view. On the same note, heroines who have a childhood friend desperately in love with her, several men along the way in love with her, just about anyone who meets her, in love with her.

Quests whose success balances upon knife edges/hangs on single threads – Questers are frequently reminded of this by random wise people along the way even when they’re not in immediate danger of any kind.

Questers seek wise/knowledgeable person to shed light on their quest. Wise person falls over himself being friendly and generally wise yet doesn’t say anything useful, despite knowing stuff. Finally, he wishes questers luck on their quest, telling them that he can say little (and why is that exactly? ) but this ... proceeds to speak cryptically and in verse even though he managed normal conversation moments ago. At the end of the poem, wise/knowledgeable person can say no more (other than you have very little time, usually) and reminds questers of Knife Edge/Single Thread mentioned above – Questers and reader alike can then spend most of the book trying to figure out the cryptic poem, which adds a fun element. Hey, it’s interactive! Then they can feel stupid at the end when all is revealed. How obvious! Everyone say ‘of cooouurse!’

Have a character called Cat – I’m not being critical if you ALREADY have a character called Cat, that’s fine. I have nothing against the name, or your books. But authors take note! There are now enough Cats in YA literature to last us a while. And Kat is not a whole different name. Same applies. I know two Cats in real life. I have read about more than fifteen. Why is this?

Have a boy who turns out to be a girl in disguise at the same time as the Princess disappears – WE KNOW IT’S HER!!! Just because author has ever so casually mentioned how Princess has one colour hair and girl in disguise has a different colour hair doesn’t fool your discerning readers. Some of us have heard of wigs before.

Some cryptic verse making up a treasure hunt to treasure which an eccentric, but extremely wise old person hid centuries ago (it is generally unexplained why such crazy-but-genius old people are always in possession of priceless treasures) - said eccentric knows, of course, that the treasure must be hidden well, so only one who is worthy/really needs the treasure/is noble of heart can find it. They don’t consider how if it’s important, maybe they shouldn’t bury it/ hide it in that secret compartment in the loft/ build a house on top of it. If it’s so important, maybe someone will need it in a hurry and not have time for a treasure hunt. Invariably, it’s a close-run thing, but treasure is found in the nick of time to avert disaster.

Explain every action of a character to show how good they really are. If someone was shooting at us/chasing us/trying to kill us in some horrible way, most of us would have no qualms in retaliating. You don’t have to explain why it’s alright for character to fight back – ‘I know violence is wrong and all, but I firmly believe that in self-defence it is occasionally the only action and I’m no pushover despite being peaceful and full of goodness. So I pulled my arm back and punched him’ is unnecessary.

Decide to branch out into young adult books and create a series (*cough franchise cough*). The necessity of an actual plot is reduced and the writing doesn’t have to be as good because after all the readers are younger. We won’t even give them a satisfactory conclusion at the end because then we will have the impressionable youngsters hooked for life – I hate to break it to you, but the choice in YA lit is more diverse than ever before. There are some excellent books out there and teens are harsh critics. Just because a few teen series have been huge recently does not mean that you will win at this. You probably won’t.

Make your book seem ‘classic’ and your newly created world rich in history by sharing it all in a dry and unexciting manner – Yes, that reminds us of a history book. Yes, we believe in your world as a real place. No, we are not still reading because the dry and unexciting voice sent us to sleep.

That's it for today. What about you? Any pitfalls you find authors falling in to far too often? Any irritating little problems that stop a good book from being a great book?

Blogger appreciation week

2009-07-24T14:14:00.003+01:00

I know posts about this have been all around the blogosphere recently, but I thought I'd do a quick post for anyone not familiar with this. My Friend Amy is hosting a Book Blogger Appreciation Week in September, you should go and check it out.

Usually I'm a bit cautious with all the events with names like 'THE young adult review blog week' as I think the community of teen book bloggers can get quite clannish and unintentionally make non-bloggers or new bloggers feel excluded, but this week Amy is hosting seems like a great idea. You don't have to be a blogger to nominate your favourite blogs, it's all just (as the title suggests) showing your appreciation for good bloggers. I've nominated my favourite blogs and suggest you go and do the same (this is honestly not a plug for myself - I know there are tons of way better blogs out there. I just think that all of the winners will really appreciate being voted for and also Amy has done a fantastic job with the new site, so the more people who vote, the better!)

Book review - The Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Klavan

2009-07-16T17:14:00.002+01:00

Charlie is a good guy. He works hard, he’s a black belt in karate, and he’s never been in trouble. He has his problems as every teenage guy does, like talking to the girl he likes without making a fool of himself and the best friend who seems to be in some kind of trouble. When he goes to bed these things are important. When he wakes up they’re not. That’s because he’s strapped to a chair in a prison cell covered in blood, bruises and burns. He has no idea how or why he got there, but he knows he’s in trouble – someone outside the cell has just ordered his death. Charlie West is on the run, in danger and alone, and he doesn’t even know why. Because he can’t remember the last year of his life.

The Last Thing I Remember has a good premise (though admittedly it bears a striking resemblance to the Bourne Identity series). Charlie’s search for the truth leads him to police stations, a terrorist group, and a crazy lady with many cats. It’s an interesting plot although by no means concluded at the end of the book (have I mentioned this is the first in a series?). For the first half of the book the narrative cuts between his present problems and the last day he remembers. There are important clues in the last day he remembers to why he is in trouble now. The plotting here has been careful, but the writing is less smooth – some of the transitions are very awkward.

Charlie as a character is amusing on occasion. At times he seems a bit slow to grasp what’s going on, but that is to a reader who is reading objectively, not a person who’s just woken up in a room and has no idea why, so perhaps it’s understandable. Especially in the first few chapters, he’s interesting and smart. He does have some unforgiveable traits as the book goes on. Firstly he is just too good. He calls everybody ma’am and sir (even a crazy lady who’s warning him about the mind control people), he analyses and justifies every time he defends himself. I suppose to some extent this works to show that clearly he is a good person and he’s woken up in a world that he doesn’t belong to. Maybe it’s a personal thing, but to me he’s too self-righteous. There’s also just something about Charlie that screams to me this character isn’t a really teen! He was created by an adult!

Also, the writing seems to imply that you have to be religious and patriotic to be a good person, which irritated me. His reaction to someone suggesting that he’s a terrorist is I can’t be a terrorist. I love my country! which pretty much killed my irritation, being almost hilarious in its ridiculousness. To me it implied that if he didn’t love his country... What about I can’t be a terrorist. Blowing people up and suchlike is WRONG!

Having said this there are also some good characters, most noticeably Jane, who intersperses insanity with extreme wisdom. She’s also handled surprisingly sensitively. She does keep many cats as per crazy cat lady formula, but she’s also much younger than a stereotypical ‘crazy person’ and an interesting character. The idea is a good one, the plot partially predictable but interesting nevertheless. If you can ignore the self-righteous tone, I’d say read it. There are snatches of real humour in the writing and the action scenes are especially evocative. In my opinion the good does outweigh the bad and I will be reading the sequel despite my problems with this installment.

Book review - The Agency by Y S Lee

2009-07-14T21:20:00.003+01:00

When she was twelve, Mary was a housebreaking orphan, convicted and sentenced to the gallows. Five years later Mary is a well-educated, respectable young lady. Rescued from death by an unusual group of schoolteachers, she’s been taught to be independent and intelligent, an unusual education for Victorian girls. Miss Scrimshaw’s Academy is recruiting and raising girls of special abilities. The Agency is a secret society of female detectives and Mary is about to join their numbers. Sent to a merchant’s house to uncover the truth of his missing cargo ships, Mary is to all appearances a demure young companion to his daughter. She quickly realises that the house is full of deceptions, respectability masking mystery.

I bought this because of the words ‘Victorian detective trilogy.’ I love the idea of Victorian Ladies tripping around having secret adventures while pretending to be respectable. A Spy in the House introduces the audience to this world along with Mary – she’s on her first assignment and she’s learning as she goes along. Mary’s an intelligent, active but impatient main character who, true to the book, is a lot more than meets the eye. She has a past that was buried even before she became a thief and this past of course catches up with her somewhat. Her tenuous partnership with James, a civil engineer with his own reasons to investigate the merchant, is nicely written. There are enough romantic sparks to entertain the audience while still leaving room for the relationship to develop in the next books. Specifically, there’s a great moment when they are stuck in a closet together.

A Spy in the House was fun, clever and well characterised. The investigation of missing Chinese sailors gave the book an extra depth in dealing with a culture not usually shown within Victorian London. It was (and I seem to be saying this more and more often these days) the first in a new series. However, I do think that A Spy in the House managed a good balance with some unanswered questions, but enough plot resolution to satisfy the reader. Did it live up to my expectations? I’d have liked to have seen more of the fashionable world to contrast with Mary’s illicit doings. I also felt that the investigation was over-complicated at times, but I did enjoy it. A solid good.

Book review - Selina Penaluna by Jan Page

2009-07-09T14:44:00.004+01:00

Evacuees Jack and Ellen are twins, sent to the safety of Cornwall during the war. In the small seaside town they live with Mr and Mrs Rosewarne, a wealthy couple with a large house right beside the sea. What starts off as a holiday quickly becomes more serious. The Rosewarnes are peculiar, especially towards Jack, acting as if he was their real son. Ellen soon takes advantage of this opportunity, but Jack is uncomfortable. He turns more and more to the stunningly beautiful local girl Selina.
Selina was abandoned by her mother as a young girl, but not before Mora tells her that she’s not her daughter at all. Mora dropped her baby in a pool and she claims the baby who came out was not her daughter. Half convinced she’s a mermaid, Selina is left alone with her abusive father. She and Jack need one another, but the closer they become, the more they force Ellen out. Their passionate relationship seems destined to end in tragedy.

Selina Penaluna was more than I was expecting. I knew it was a love story for teenagers, so I expected it to be a love story about teenagers. It is, but it’s also more than that. It spans several generations and the narrative switches between the present and the past that is catching up to main character Ellen. The depth of the story is reminiscent of Michael Morpurgo but for older readers. Selina Penaluna isn’t just a straightforward story, but deals with life, regrets and mistakes, leading readers to question their own lives and how they will view them years from now. The book also feels slightly old-fashioned in essence. Jan Page has perfectly captured the differences between generations and you can feel the depth of the story.

From about halfway through I’d guessed at the plot but that didn’t really detract from its meaning. It’s quite straightforward but the jumping around in time makes the story seem more thorough. I don’t think I’m making much sense here, so I’ll just say that Jan Page hasn’t just captured the voice of the past, but also created a story that has a quality of the past in itself.

Every character is deeper than is apparent at first glance. All three of the main characters act stupidly at times, yet it’s possible to sympathise with all of them even when they come to odds with each other. Those who act suspiciously or badly usually have motivations behind this and the complex relationships are much more like real life than the linear relationships usually found in books.

Selina Penaluna is quite slow paced. It doesn’t have a particularly exciting plot, but what it does have is absolute believability. Jan Page has created a story that I can imagine a grandparent telling me. It’s an unlikely story, but it rings true because of the detail, the characters, the mistakes. It feels like it could be a completely true story. It’s somehow deeper than most teen books out there at the moment. Not in terms of complexity of characters or plot, but in the added dimension of age. Most books I read shy away from the prospect of getting old, looking back on your life, preferring to centre solely on teen protagonists. Selina Penaluna is that too, but there’s more to it, it feels like the actions the teens do have more consequences because we can see them in Ellen as an old woman.

I apologise for making very little sense. Mixed feelings on the book as it was quite slow, but kudos to the author for making it so real. I think it’s probably worth reading for that.

Book review - Academy 7 by Anne Osterlund

2009-07-02T21:01:00.006+01:00

Only 50 pupils a year are invited to join the most prestigious school in the universe. Aerin is a wary fugitive, Dane is the son of the most powerful man in the Alliance. Both are at the top of their year, competing with one another. When Dane pulls a prank, Aerin gets caught up in it. Their punishment eventually leads to a truce and then friendship. They have more in common than they could possibly have first guessed. Both have secrets, both understand the limitations and rules of their friendship. Some things they won’t share, not even with each other. But when these secrets threaten to spill out and destroy everything they’ve made for themselves at Academy 7, they have to make a choice. Keep running from their troubles or try to fix the damage done by the previous generation. Their first year is full of danger and they need each other to survive.

Academy 7 is a sci-fi story that doesn’t feel like one. Let me explain: the Alliance is the most powerful group of planets in the universe. All the students come from different planets, a couple of which are described. BUT there are no complex explanations of how space travel began, no descriptions of the inner-workings of a space ship. There’s enough information to tell the story and no extra information to get in the way. There don’t seem to be any aliens, it’s more like colonisation of empty planets occurred years before and these separate planets developed separate cultures.

Aerin and Dane are interesting protagonists. The story is told alternating between their points of view. Both have dark pasts and both are struggling with them. As characters themselves they are smart, complex, and resourceful. Their competitive rivalry has a realistic development to friendship and eventually romance. The principal of Academy 7 was nicely written and the reader gets a lot of insight into her mind for the relatively small amount of time she appears on page.

Overall the plot was quite predictable and it was quite easy to work out what had happened between their parents. The writing was entertaining but not outstandingly beautiful. The only factor that pulled this story out of mediocrity for me was the two main characters and their relationship. I don’t want to come across as too negative about Academy 7 because I did enjoy it, but it’s one that I could stop thinking about as soon as I finished it. It’s good but I didn’t find it outstandingly memorable.

(And I also found Aerin’s name a bit distracting since it reminded me of this Aerin. I’ve never come across another Aerin before)

This is another one I don't think is publishing outside the US at the moment, but you can get it from Amazon.

Series spotlight index

2009-07-01T14:11:00.004+01:00

Series spotlight posts listed alphabetically according to authors' surnames

Dominic Barker - Blart series
Ally Carter - Gallagher Academy series
Clare B. Dunkle - Hollow Kingdom series
Adele Geras - Edgerton Hall series
Julia Golding - Cat Royal series
Shannon Hale - Bayern series
Mary Hoffman - Stravaganza series
Jaclyn Moriarty - Ashbury/Brookfield series
Lisa Shearin - Raine Benares series
Sherwood Smith - Crown/Court Duel series
Maria V. Snyder - Study series
Scott Westerfeld - Midnighters series
Megan Whalen Turner - The Thief series

Book review index

2009-07-01T11:22:00.062+01:00

Book reviews listed alphabetically according to authors' surnames.

Laurie Halse Anderson - Speak

Jay Asher - Thirteen Reasons Why

Bernard Beckett - Genesis

Robin Benway - Audrey, Wait

Cathy Brett - Ember Fury

Pamela Brown - The Swish of the Curtain

Gail Carson Levine - Fairest

Trudi Canavan - The Magicians' Guild

Kristin Cashore - Fire

Kristin Cashore - Graceling

Anne Cassidy - Looking for jj

Cassandra Clare - City of Ashes (book 2)

Cassandra Clare - City of Bones (book 1)

Rosemary Clement-Moore - The Splendour Falls

Suzanne Collins - The Hunger Games

Melissa de la Cruz - Lipgloss Jungle

Sarah Dessen - Lock & Key

Sarah Dessen - The Truth about Forever

Sarah Beth Durst - Ice

Jennifer Echols - Going Too Far

Simone Elkeles - Perfect Chemistry

Kat Falls - Dark Life

Gayle Forman - If I Stay

Sandra Glover - Spiked!

Michael Grant - Gone

Julia Hoban - Willow

Mary Hoffman - Stravaganza: City of Masks

Mary Hoffman - The Falconer's Knot

Mary Hogan - Perfect Girl

Mary Hooper - Newes from the Dead

Mary Hooper - Petals in the Ashes

Marie-Louise Jensen - The Lady in the Tower

Catherine Jinks - The Reformed Vampire Support Group

Danielle Joseph- Shrinking Violet

Caro King - Seven Sorcerers

Andrew Klavan - The Last Thing I Remember

Tanya Landman - The Goldsmith's Daughter

Y S Lee - The Agency

Gemma Malley - The Declaration

Sarra Manning - Let's Get Lost

Melissa Marr - Wicked Lovely

Sue Mayfield - Damage

Lisa McMann - Wake

Linda Newbery - Flightsend

Anne Osterlund - Academy 7

Jan Page - Selina Penaluna

Diana Peterfreund - Rampant

K. M. Peyton - Prove Yourself a Hero

Aprilynne Pike - Wings

Luisa Plaja - Extreme Kissing

Luisa Plaja - Split by a Kiss

Bali Rai - City of Ghosts

Liz Rettig - My Dating Disasters Diary

Meg Rosoff - The Bride's Farewell

Lisa Shearin - The Trouble with Demons

Lili St. Crow - Strange Angels

Rosy Thornton - Crossed Wires

Jenny Valentine - Broken Soup

Scott Westerfeld - Leviathan

Anthologies

The Dragon Book

Book review - The Trouble with Demons by Lisa Shearin

2009-06-26T20:23:00.002+01:00

From the back cover:
My name is Raine Benares. I’m a seeker. People hire me when they need something found. I’m not usually the one being sought. But that all changed when I found the Saghred, a soul-stealing stone of unlimited power – and the bane of my existence. Now mages and madmen have me in their sights, not to mention demons...
An opened Hellgate leads to a demon infestation on the Isle of Mid, and while there’s never an ideal time to face down demon hordes, it’s hard to imagine a worse one. Already fighting the influence of the Saghred, Raine discovers she is also magically bonded to a dark mage and a white knight, two dangerous and powerful men on opposing sides – and Raine’s stuck in the middle.

This is the third in the Raine Benares series and I strongly suggest that you read them in order. Like its two prequels, The Trouble With Demons packs a huge amount of plot and action between its covers. For those new to Raine Benares world, she’s an elf detective with a contemporary voice, living in a world with elves, humans and goblins (who by the way are gorgeous). She’s trouble-prone and she’s the niece and cousin of two of the most notorious pirates in the land. The writing is fast, action-packed and witty. In short, it’s impossible to assign a genre to the book. It has a little bit of almost everything. Which means that they could probably be enjoyed by almost everyone.

One of what I’ve come to recognise as Shearin’s trademarks is a large cast of characters all with complex relationships and motivations. All my favourite characters are back and in terms of the love triangle, I see Raine begin to lean in a very definite direction. The action moved very fast, keeping my attention riveted, though perhaps at times it was a bit too fast. Raine is propelled from trouble to trouble with very little breathing time. I didn’t have too much trouble following the plot, but a few quiet scenes where the characters think about the problems would have let me appreciate them properly. Instead I found the pace so quick that a life-threatening incident would pass me by almost before I even registered it. This matters less because it is the third book – I’ve had time to get to know the characters, so do care what happens to them.

I’ve really enjoyed the whole series so far and would recommend it. I do find that there are small things that annoy me, but in fairness I think they annoy me because I enjoy the series so much. As I mentioned in my review of Armed and Magical, one of these things is the representation of 18 year old Piaras. This improves in The Trouble with Demons, though I still think he’s treated as someone younger than eighteen. My other main irritation is the tendency for small phrases to be repeated. I get the impression the author gets fond of some small line of descriptions because from book to book the same line will be used. These lines were witty the first time, but when repeated word-for-word in the next book I feel slightly cheated. They’re not too common, maybe a couple per book, so most people probably won’t even notice them.

As I said above, I’m often extra critical of books I really enjoyed. I probably go into too much detail over the small things, but I guess in a way that shows how much I enjoyed the book. If the only problems I have with it are small then it was almost perfect to me. Technically the whole series is Adult rather than Young Adult, but I don’t think it’s at all inappropriate for younger teens. A highly recommended continuation to a fun series.

(As far as I'm aware, they're not yet being published outside of the US but you can get them from Amazon UK)

Book review - Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

2009-06-21T22:32:00.003+01:00

Dru’s life takes a turn for the worse when her dad turns into a zombie and tries to kill her. With her Mum long dead and no other family, Dru’s alone in a strange city with even stranger problems. She and her dad have travelled around hunting scary monsters for as long as she can remember, but something is different about this town. She doesn’t know what her dad was looking for here, but it seems he found it. The thing is, zombies don’t just happen. Someone did it to him on purpose. And that someone is looking is looking for Dru now. She may be tough and dangerous, but she’s about to get deeper into the Real World than ever before.

I was interested to read this book because I don’t seem to read that much urban fantasy. It had a lot that I expected in it – it was fast-paced, full of action and suspenseful. The characters and the use of backstory surprised me by their depth. Dru clearly has a hidden past which will be explored in the next books. And that brings me to my biggest problem with the book. Strange Angels reads like the most blatant first-in-a-series I’ve ever read. It felt like the pilot for a TV series; setting up scene, characters and the world and ending with a hook. Questions with no answers. The problem with that is there’s not going to be another episode next week, so I wanted far more closure. I also found that in some respects, it was too clichéd. For example the use of occult stores hiding the ‘Real World’ is nothing new and seemed to lack effort in a usually original story.

At first glance, Dru is a typical heroine for this type of story. She’s gutsy, knows a lot about monster slaying, is somehow very important to everyone though she has no idea why... However, as I mentioned, the use of backstory saved this. Dru has a real history, real problems, and reads like a real person. She’s not experienced enough and she’s in over her head, not knowing who to trust, yet she faces and fights these problems, making her a relatable and likeable character. Other characters were just as well developed, specifically Graves, a guy from school. His friendship with Drew is one of the highlights. The monsters were also original, especially the flame dog thing. They were coherently described and the action scenes were well written.

I actually think Strange Angels has been unfairly advertised. I admit I don’t know the genre that well, but it seems like the story inside is a lot different from what the cover would suggest. The cover looks to me like the most general, stereotypical urban fantasy clichéd cover. For example the tagline – DRU ANDERSON. Night Hunter. Knife Thrower. Heart Breaker. Yes she’s called Dru. There’s no specific mention of night, it just seems to be a sort of euphemism for ‘urban-fantasy-monster hunter’ and she’s not really the hunter so much as her dad was. Her dad has taught her how to fight, but not specifically with a knife, usually it’s a gun or unarmed. I guess she might be pretty, but to be a heart breaker you have to give someone the chance to lose their heart first and as she’s always moving and never really gets involved with people, I’m suspicious of this one too. I guess this is a really long-winded way of saying the cover’s misleading - the book’s not as formulaic and stereotypical as it suggests.

It wasn't my favourite read, though I'd say it's worth checking out. But if like me, you hate it when a book tries to get you to read the sequel by not finishing properly, Strange Angels will annoy you no end. I suggest you wait until the next book is out, then read them both together.

Book review - Graceling by Kristin Cashore

2009-06-11T15:28:00.004+01:00

When Katsa first killed a man with her bare hands, she was eight years old. Her one blue and one green eye had indicated that she was graced but until then, no-one knew what her gift would be. The court were afraid of her, but her uncle the king saw Katsa’s potential. She soon becomes his personal thug, reputed through the seven kingdoms as his bloodthirsty brute. Katsa can see no escape. She never wanted to kill anybody, but gradually gives up on open defiance.
She can see the injustice around her though, and seeks to anonymously improve the lot of others. When the Lienid King’s father goes missing, no-one can think of anyone who would want to kidnap a harmless old man. Katsa’s determined to help, and soon finds that at last she has met her equal in a strange Graceling man whose powers match hers. The deeper they search, the more sinister the reason for the kidnapping seems to be. The trail leads to yet another kingdom, and a strange king.

I really enjoyed this, despite the fact that the plot veered in a direction different from the one I expected. From the blurb, I assumed that Katsa’s story would be about her stealthy and growing defiance to her uncle – I expected a bit more court intrigue. Instead, much of the story is taken up with a journey, travelling between the seven kingdoms. I confess I’d have preferred the court intrigue, but not by much. The plot is interesting and kept my attention.

Yes, as others have said, this is yet another book with seven kingdoms. Yes, some of the names are stupid. Others bloggers have used the name Po as an example, but I have to mention the little girl Bitterblue. Despite the painful contrivance of some of these names, Graceling also has successful creativity. The idea of people with different coloured eyes being ‘graced’ in some way is certainly to me completely unique and an interesting premise. Graceling takes this clever world building and adds an adventurous plot. It did feel a bit of a ‘quest’ book, but there is nothing wrong with that other than over-usage, and Graceling is different enough in other ways that it doesn’t matter.

Overall, an entertaining and enjoyable read. Kristin Cashore has created a world that readers will want to return to. Despite my disappointment in some areas, it held my attention. I just feel that it had a bit more potential.

* I suppose I should mention that it has some sex in it. It would probably be a 12A in movie terms.

Book review - Shrinking Violet by Danielle Joseph

2009-06-09T12:46:00.003+01:00

Tere’s biggest ambition is to be a radio dj. While classmates ignore her because of her shyness and her mother criticizes her constantly, Tere finds sanctuary by rocking out with her ipod in her bedroom. When her stepdad, who owns one of the biggest radio stations, gives her a chance as an intern, Tere knows she has to step up to the mark. As SLAM’s newest hit, Sweet T is hugely popular. By day, Tere is the quiet girl at school. No-one would have dreamt of her double-life. But things get complicated when SLAM hold a song writing contest. The prize? A date to the prom with Tere. Not only does the thought of revealing herself to her whole school terrify her, she also wishes that she was going with a certain someone else...

Shrinking Violet was a really sweet read. Tere is at the start of the book cripplingly shy, something I think a lot of people can relate to. While Tere’s shyness is more extreme than in anyone I know, it’s written in such a way that perfectly evokes the need to fit in and avoid attention.
The characters are possibly the best part of this story, surprisingly deep. Tere’s mum, who criticises and nags at her constantly, has a much more complex personality than it seems at first. She irritated me a lot by answering for Tere when people talked to her, ‘Oh, she’s shy.’ This is a sure-fire way to undermine anyone’s confidence! The radio staff were fun, especially Derek the sleazy dj who also is surprisingly developed.

As Tere’s confidence grows, she makes a couple more friends at school, including the guy she likes. The group dynamic between them is amusing and believable and the relationship between Gavin and Tere is sweet. Shrinking Violet is definitely predictable and I wouldn’t say it’s groundbreaking either, but sometimes the well worn path is the best one. It’s a delightful read, though fairly short, and had more depth than I was expecting. I’d say it’s probably the ultimate comfort read for anyone in high school/secondary school. Somehow Danielle Joseph brought to mind the emotions and feelings I had at secondary school, though I couldn’t put my finger on when or how. It seems just that she understands what’s important to people of that age – how everything in school matters, even when you know that soon you’ll leave forever and never see these people again. Shrinking Violet somehow captures this, making it more special.
Oh and again, BEAUTIFUL cover!

* I don't think it's being published in the UK at the moment, but it's available from Amazon.

Book review - Genesis by Bernard Beckett

2009-06-04T13:22:00.006+01:00

Fourteen-year-old Anax is about to take the examination. The examination will determine her fate in the Republic, a community cut off from the rest of the world. She has four hours, three examiners, and a whole lot of knowledge on her special subject, Adam Forde. But there might be more to the exam than meets the eye. The examiners seem to know more about Adam Forde than the official history. And if that’s the case, why are they letting Anax in on the secret?

Genesis was different. The most obvious difference is the writing style, which is a complex written transcript of the exam, with small sections from Anax’s point of view. It took me a few chapters to get used to this format – at first it felt quite static – but it was cleverly done, so although the entire story only lasts four hours, the retellings of the past give it pacing and a sense of distance and time.

Anax is an interesting character. As a historian, especially while she’s being examined, she tries to think logically and coherently, so tries to suppress her emotions somewhat. It’s interesting to see a character who is passionate about their favourite subject, but attempts to quash that passion and be analytical in her approach. With each exchange between Anax and the examiners, a further layer of complexity in the development of the republic is revealed. The history of the republic is carefully woven into the tale. As each development is explained, it brings the history closer to Anax’s present reality until it comes to involve her explicitly.

Genesis is clever, with some surprising twists and plotting. It’s also what I’d call an ‘issue-raiser’ book, questioning Anax’s world, rights, and morality, but not presuming to answer these for the reader, instead giving space for you to consider this yourself. Genesis would be great as a discussion book, ideal for book clubs, or even school English lessons.

Personally, I find I need a bit more movement in a book, but that’s more to do with my impatience than the book’s pacing. I also found Anax a difficult character to relate to, so methodical and controlled was she. I found however, that I was watching her with interest – as though the entire book was in third person. It was an interesting effect, perfect for the character. As I’ve said, Genesis is a clever book, but it didn’t elicit a reaction from me. I was interested in the outcome, but I wasn’t emotionally involved.

All in all, a thought-provoking, somewhat unique read. It’s definitely been cleverly crafted and worth reading. What do you think of the Uk’s shiny new hardback cover (first picture)? This is a tough one for me. I like it, but for some reason it makes me think non-fiction. It makes me expect a humorous fact-filled book about nature, like a QI book or something.

Catching Fire cover

2009-05-30T12:36:00.002+01:00

I was just taking a break from revision, when what did I stumble across but the beauteous UK cover for Catching Fire!

What do you think? I think it has more character than the US cover, but I can't really work out what it's meant to be! Snow maybe? I think the purple is a nice touch though - it's definitely eye-catching.

Book review - The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

2009-05-29T13:17:00.003+01:00

Nina’s been stuck at fifteen years old since 1973, when she was turned into a vampire. She’s also been stuck in a vampire support group with a group of vampires she’s sick of, including Casimir, the one who turned her. Nina may find other vampires irritating and hate going to their Tuesday evening meeting, but when they find one of their group staked, she realises it could get a whole lot worse. Rising to the challenge, the group are determined to find the slayer. Along the way, they get entangled with a computer geek, a couple of thugs, and a lot of adventure. And Nina discovers that maybe vampires aren’t as bad as she thought.

Mostly from the title, I was expecting The Reformed Vampire Support Group to be a fun vampire parody with not much plot. Instead it’s a humorous story full of adventure and interesting characters. It’s incredibly refreshing to encounter vampires that aren’t superhuman, sexy people who can do everything. Instead, Catherine Jinks makes vampirism a kind of handicap. Because they don’t drink human blood, the vampires aren’t very strong. The characters of the vampires, especially their self-elected leader Sanford, make the group seem like a bickering parish council or something.

The idea of being stuck with people that you would never choose to be stuck with, talking the same thing over and over isn’t a nice one. Nina may have lived for fifty-one years, but in many ways she’s still fifteen and the rest of the group treat her like it. This is extra annoying when she decided that something is the right thing to do and the rest of the group assume it’s because she has a teenage crush with no evidence. However, Nina’s more than up to challenge of proving to them all how capable she is and I love her attitude. She’s understandably scared, especially of being shot – she wouldn’t die, but losing half a brain or her lungs wouldn’t really improve her quality of life a lot – which just makes her more relatable than all the super-vampires around nowadays.

There’s just the right amount of romance, but the book is mostly adventure. I really enjoyed The Reformed Vampire Support Group. Not too serious, but not completely light and fluffy either, I think this book will appeal to a lot of people. It's also refreshing to have a good young adult book not set in America (not that I dislike books that are, it's just nice to have a change of scene). And of course, no vampire book is complete without a werewolf, so keep that in mind!

2009-05-29T13:08:00.004+01:00

Sorry for neglecting the blog so long. I'm in the middle of exams, so going a little crazy. The good news is that from Monday onwards, I'm freeeee for the summer!! Other good news is that apparently one of my favourite ways of putting off exam revision is reading, so I've got a massive pile of books to review. They'll be up as soon as I can get them up.

Kreativity

2009-05-18T11:36:00.004+01:00

Thank you to the super lovely Jo who gave me the Kreativ blogger award! Jo has a great blog with fantasy book reviews - go check it out!

Rules:

* Post 7 things you love

* Give award to 7 other bloggers who are creative.

As I've said before, I don't think I'm as creative on my blog as I could be, but that is GOING TO CHANGE! Starting with my layout and banner, which I've still not got around to doing. I accept this award as a reminder of how creative I am going to be.

7 things I love:

* tea.

* sunshine

* friends

* books

* scarves

* different coloured highlighters

* finding out I have more time than I thought (I thought I had to be at uni for 12, but it's actually 1 we have the room booked for. An extra hour to spend catching up on my blog!)

I'm not going to pass this on to anyone in particular as it seems to have already made the rounds, so I'm throwing this open to anyone who hasn't had it yet. Go and be creative too!

Book review - Wings by Aprilynne Pike

2009-05-16T22:37:00.003+01:00

Laurel has always been a bit different – she doesn’t like to eat much, she doesn’t need much sleep. Moving house and starting school after being homeschooled for years isn’t her idea of fun, but she goes along with it because her parents have started their dream business. David knows there’s something different about Laurel. He knows she’s special and he’s drawn to her. Now something is happening to Laurel, something impossible, something magical. And they have to find out what’s going on.

Wings is a fun, light read. It has an interesting take on faeries, but I felt there was something missing from this tale. We’ve only seen a sliver of a world that Aprilynne Pike clearly knows very well. My biggest problem is that the plot is fairly straightforward and stretched out for the size of the book. However, the plot that we do get is nicely written, with a refreshingly original take on faeries. Often books have 'original' takes on mythical creatures that are incredibly similar, but Aprilynne Pike has created a whole new species with the faeries in Wings.

Laurel is a sympathetic protagonist and her need to fit in will be understood by most teenagers. Her chemistry with David and Tam was believable, and her relationship with her parents was also nicely played out. The 'bad guys' of the book were a tad formulaic, their motives were never really explained. Other than that though, Wings has a cast of believable characters.

As I’ve said, the faeries are a stroke of genius. I just wish that Pike had packed more plot in. This is a fun, entertaining book, but I have to say that I see it appealing more to younger teens than older. Usually I ignore the distinctions between teenage books, because children’s books can be totally suitable for older readers too. In this case though, I’d say young to mid teens are the ideal audience for this book if they’re looking for light, magical entertainment.

Book review - The Falconer's Knot by Mary Hoffman

2009-05-14T22:25:00.002+01:00

Chiara is a young girl sent to a convent by her brother after the death of her father. Silvano is the son of a Duke, on the run from accusations of a terrible crime. When a friary is plagued by a series of crimes, they and the neighbouring convent are horrified. Accusations are being thrown, secrets are being dragged up out of the past. The two reluctant novices find themselves in the centre of a dangerous mystery. Chiara and Silvano have to help to solve the mystery and fight to protect the friends they have surprised themselves by making. Because there’s a murderer on the loose.

Mary Hoffman’s area of expertise seems to be in creating medieval Italian intrigue, and she does it well. In Falconer’s knot this isn’t court intrigue, but far more complicated, spanning all ranges of class from the nobility to merchants to friars. This complexity is handled well. Although I had suspicions about one crime, for the most part I didn’t know who the murderer would turn out to be, making it more page-turning.

Chiara and Silvano were a nice pair. Because the friars and nuns were separate, their relationship begins slowly, with each noticing the other around and speculating about them. I appreciated this slow start as often with young adult books the relationships begin at breakneck speed. The older characters were interesting role models. Those whose stories begin with no apparent correlation are very cleverly twisted together to reveal interesting relationships between the characters, and one complete story.

The Falconer’s Knot is a cleverly plotted tale with several separate strands twisted together. As a murder mystery it held my attention and entertained me. I don’t think I’ll feel the need to re-read this though. Despite the intricate intrigue, I found that the writing itself feels underdeveloped. Somehow the characters are complex enough for a first glance, but I felt that looking at them further would make no difference; their characterisation was only page deep, as it were. I can’t imagine them as people outside the pages of the book. This isn’t a problem for the first read though, especially as they are very interesting 2D characters, if that makes sense. It’s worth reading for the intelligent plotting and mystery element.

Winners

2009-05-12T17:15:00.002+01:00

I've emailed all of the winners for the Extreme Kissing giveaway. Random.org has spoken, and the winners are...

Sarah K
Joby
Lauren Michelle
Laina
Llehn

I have most of your addresses, but I still need yours Llehn, so check your inbox!

Congrats to the winners. Hope you enjoy the book!

Gayle Forman's European tour

2009-05-08T22:21:00.005+01:00

I've really not been on top of posting this week. I've just started my revision for end of year exams and it's a bit crazy. I am reading though. I have a nice big pile of library books next to my text books and I'm working my way through both!

To tide you over, I have some good news for any UK readers who feel like all the good YA events happen in the US - Gayle Forman, author of the lovely If I Stay, is coming to the UK this week! On Monday 11th of May she's in Glasgow and on Thursday 14th she's signing at Harrods. Then on to Paris and Amsterdam. For more details and other events check out her events page. I can't get to any of them as I'm busy this week unfortunately. But anyone who can, go and have fun!

Book review - Newes from the Dead by Mary Hooper

2009-05-06T17:23:00.002+01:00

A terrified girl is hanged for the murder of a baby. She denies the accusations until the end, when she is hanged. Her body is cut down, one of the five corpses a year that the Oxford physicians are allowed to dissect. As interested scholars and doctors gather, they get a horrible shock. Her eyelids flutter. Could she still be alive? And yet she doesn’t move. The doctors are mystified. Should they try to revive the seemingly dead body? And if they managed it, wouldn’t she just be hanged all over again?

This is a really unusual storyline. It’s rather unbelievable, I agree. But even more unbelievable is the fact that it was based on a true story. As soon as I discovered that I wanted to get myself a copy of Newes From the Dead. Not only is it based on a true story, but it feels accurate. I’m sure Mary Hooper embellished the story a lot, but she did this with discretion. It doesn’t feel sensationalised, just more personal.

We get the narrative split up between Anne and a young scholar, Robert. Anne has woken up not knowing where she is, unable to see anything or move. Afraid that she is either in purgatory or has been buried alive, she distracts herself by going over the events in her head, basically telling her own story. In between these chapters is the account of what is happening in the doctors’ rooms. This works well as the speculation from the doctors regarding her trial coincides with Anne’s own account.

As far as characters, some are interesting and some underdeveloped. Unfortunately, Anne felt too flat. The author apparently tries to make her innocence clear by making her overly naive. This was taken too far, especially for a servant in 1650. On top of this, Anne seemed immature and had little redeeming features. She was simply the embodiment of ‘innocent young girl greatly wronged.’ On the other hand, I loved the dialogue between the scholars and Robert especially. Robert is struggling with a stammer, unable to talk to people but he finds that he can talk to Anne’s motionless body.

Despite some small problems, I enjoyed Newes from the Dead. The time period was realistically portrayed and the lack of justice for the lower classes is shocking. Younger readers should be aware that the book deals with some seduction, hanging and giving birth. These are handled well so aren’t too gruesome, but are integral to the plot. It’s an interesting and well-written read, but not too hard-going.

Guess who's only a billion years behind everyone else?

2009-05-05T17:41:00.002+01:00

That's right, me!

I've finally got a twitter account at twitter.com/Simply_Hannah
Sharon has compiled a good list of book blogger twitterers which I am slowly working my way through.

Book review - If I Stay by Gayle Forman

2009-05-04T23:12:00.005+01:00

If I Stay releases in the UK as a hardback on 7th May. It's already out in several other countries.

Mia has a close family, friends, and a wonderful boyfriend. Sometimes this makes it harder for her to decide about the future. However difficult her decisions are though, her life is set to be full of music, happiness, love. Then in an instant, on a snowy road, her life changes forever. She faces the hardest decision of all, and she’s more alone than she’s ever been.

‘Just listen,’ Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.
I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can. And I listen.
‘Stay,’ he says.

I thought I knew what this book was going to be. Having read the reviews, I figured I knew the plot. I expected it to be an amazingly written book that could only really end one way.

Then I started reading. Mia’s family were so believable, especially her little brother Teddy. I could almost see the whole family chatting around the breakfast table. Thankfully the pacing at the beginning was fast – I was expecting a long and dragging build-up. And suddenly, I wasn’t so confident that it could only end one way. The writing gripped me and I was invested in the characters. Not just Mia, but also her grandparents, Adam, Kim. I not only cared what would happen to Mia, but I cared how it would affect all those who had joined together to support her. The past and present was weaved together nicely to give a greater depth to all of the characters.

The book reads quite quickly, maybe because I was paying so much attention to it. For a relatively small book (210 pages), it’s packed with breath-taking story and doesn’t feel at all rushed. There is just enough plot to sustain it, especially as it's so short, but If I Stay is more a character study, a snapshot of Mia's life and choice than anything else. I wasn’t quite sure about the ending at first. It left me wanting more, wanting to know how her decision affects everyone instead of cutting off so quickly. Now I’ve considered it, I feel that the book is a story about a decision – it’s about the choice itself. The difficulty of the choice as opposed to the difficulty of the effects of that choice.

Mia’s decision was especially poignant. I cried more than once reading this, and I don’t cry when I read books. I not only felt her sadness, but understood it. A good writer can make you care when their character is in trouble. A great writer can make you understand the trouble, even if it’s something that you yourself can’t personally comprehend. For me, If I Stay was an example of the latter. It was a beautiful, uplifting book. I recommend it for those looking for a book with substance and heart.

Giveaway Reminder

2009-05-02T22:45:00.003+01:00

The Exteme Kissing giveaway ends this Wednesday, March 6th. I haven't had many UK entries, so if you are from the UK and want to read this fun book, enter! Or if you've already read it and liked it, please spread the word and give your friends a heads up about this.

The contest is also open internationally (the rules are explained here) So the upshot is, wherever you're from, you can win!

Read my review of Extreme Kissing here.

An update

2009-05-01T20:25:00.007+01:00

Neon shoes + fabric paint = A Bad Idea

Also

If my post yesterday wasn't enough, Steph Su has posted an interview with me as her Friday Featured Blogger! Her blog is one of my favourites, with very thoughtful book reviews - if she likes a book then I try to look out for it. Thanks for having me Steph.

Also also,

Lenore said she'd like to see my uninteresting cat. So here she is. She hates the camera, so this is actually quite rare to get a photo with her eyes open.

Despite what you might think from my description of her, I do actually like Sophie. But it can't be denied that she doesn't do very much. She's very good at lying but I don't think this counts as interesting like sitting in a pan does. And she definitely wouldn't let me put scrabble tiles on her.

Ten things about me you didn't necessarily know before and maybe didn't want to

2009-04-30T21:16:00.006+01:00

I hear your questions, your burning desire to know more. Who is the person behind that fascinating letter? you ask. It's about time I did an About Me post. (Yes, it's also about time I did a Series Spotlight post, being Thursday and all, but I'm finding it hard choosing a series. This was much more fun to write.)

So I present...

Ten Things About Me That You Didn't Necessarily Know Before And Maybe Didn't Want To

I have a pair of orange neon shoes. They are hideous.

When I told my mum I might start reviewing books, she laughed a lot. ‘Why not?’ I demanded. ‘You couldn’t even keep a book log,’ she pointed out. This is true but I wasn’t going to concede defeat. ‘I could if I WANTED to,’ I said. At primary school we had about half an hour reading to start off the day, reading anything we wanted. Then fifteen minutes to write in our book log our THOUGHTS and IMPRESSIONS. What might happen next. Er, how about I forego pointless exercise writing about what I think could happen next, and use the fifteen minutes READING MORE OF THE BOOK and finding out!? So I did. Then I mean really, what’s the point in writing about it after I’ve finished? I could be STARTING A NEW BOOK! I never wrote in my book log ever. My teacher never noticed. I’m actually not sure how my mum knew. I probably told her as a very smug ten year old.

I’ve never drawn on my shoes. I feel I’ve missed an important rite of passage for every teenager. Everyone in teen lit seems to have a pair of beat-up converse that someone has drawn on. This must be where I’ve been going wrong all these years.

I giggled a lot when I was sorting out the interview for Luisa Plaja. Not were we Extreme Emailing right up until I posted it, but I googled her name to see what else was out there and make sure that what I was posting hadn’t been done before. On the first page, I saw the same quote twice for two websites. It looked familiar. Did I write that? Maybe. I can’t remember. I click to check. Yes I did, and one of the websites is a bookseller website. My quote is listed under ‘what the critics say.’ This is so very cool, both that I’m quoted, and that I’m a ‘critic.’ I guess I am one, but you know, it’s cool to be referred to as one.

My spell check tells me that my grammar above is wrong. It shouldn’t be ‘I’m a critic,’ but ‘I are a critic.’ I think I ARE A CRITIC should be my new tagline. It should also be on a T-shirt.

It is no coincidence that there is a cup of tea in my profile photo. I love tea. My friend and I are almost single-handedly upholding the stereotype of English tea-drinkers. Though not from dainty teacups with doilies. Or with crumpets. Just the tea.

I think maybe I’ll cover the neon shoes with fabric paint. It might make me look like a walking paint-pot explosion, but at least I could wear them.

My grandparents owned a narrow boat. I grew up spending part of my holiday every year on the canals. I really recommend it. The feeling of lying on top of a narrow boat with a book and the sun so strong that it makes the paint you’re lying on almost too hot to touch and the sound of the motor chugging along and the very slow movement? One of my favourite things EVER.

Also, I’ve never fallen in. My middle brother (the incredibly competitive one) has. This makes me happy. This in turn makes me a bad person :)

When I was about eight, I learned the piano. One week, the teacher told me off for not practicing even though I had (probably not enough, but I DID.) A few weeks later, I didn’t practice. At all. In my lesson, she praised me and said she could tell I’d tried really hard with the piece. I was disgusted and from then on convinced that practicing achieved no result whatsoever. It was just a form of torture that parents and piano teachers dreamed up to keep kids out of the way. Needless to say, I am not a pianist today.

Book review - My Dating Disasters Diary by Liz Rettig

2009-04-28T22:41:00.003+01:00

Releases in the UK on 7th May
Kelly Ann doesn't understand why all her friends are suddenly getting love-crazy. Personally, she'd prefer to play football or video games than talk about boys. But as everyone else is getting boyfriends/girlfriends and leaving less time for her, she decides that she needs to find a boy too. Unfortunately for her, all her attempts seem to land her in trouble. Fortunately for us, the trouble she lands in is pretty hilarious. As Kelly Ann goes from thinking love just makes people do stupid stuff to having her first crushes to attempted dates, she also meets a favourite celebrity, forgets she's wearing pants on her head, and goes on a mission to get herself expelled.

Apparently this is a prequel to Liz Rettig's other Kelly Ann books – My Now or Never Diary and My Desperate Love Diary. I hadn't read either of these, but as it was a prequel this didn’t cause any problems. I'm looking forward to reading more about Kelly Ann.

First off, Kelly Ann is a straight-talking, no-nonsense character. While quite often she's completely wrong about things, she's never afraid to speak her mind, and Liz Rettig has vocalised a young teen's fairly well. At times however, she seems a bit immature for fourteen. With best friends Liz, who is always trying to analyse her, and Chris, who recently seems to be acting differently towards her, Kelly Ann does get into hilarious scrapes.

By the end of the book, which spans a year, Kelly Ann has grown a lot. She's still interested in football and video games, but she's also interested in boys and 'girly' stuff. I liked that it wasn't a complete change, and either/or situation, that she changes while also remaining the same. Liz Rettig has created a fresh young voice in a story full of entertaining scrapes and misunderstandings. I think this will be a hit with many younger teens, for fans of similar books such as the Georgia Nicholson series.

'Why can't we read interesting stories for a change? Like ones that have plots where stuff actually happens without a hundred pages of description just to tell you it's raining. And then another hundred to tell you how the character feels about the fact that it's raining.' – page 46

This was exactly how I felt about English in secondary school, I think most teenagers will relate to feeling this at some time or another. It's a good example of how great Rettig is at catching a teenager's thoughts and putting them onto paper.

Retirement Rescue - The Swish of the Curtain

2009-04-26T14:12:00.007+01:00

The Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown
Published - 1941
Pages – 308
In print? – Yes. Longwater books reprinted this in 2006
THEN – 4.5 stars out of 5
NOW – 4 stars out of 5

Jacket description:
When seven bored children discover an abandoned chapel in their home town, they decide to renovate it and to form the Blue Door Theratre Company. The talented and resourceful group soon discover that they are serious about their theatrical ambitions, but will their parents stand in their way?
This classic children’s novel remains a timeless inspiration to any young reader with a passion for the performing arts.

Seven children (all of whom have some special talent or other – singing, composing, dressmaking etc) set up their own theatre company. Yes, it’s more than a little unbelievable, but it’s also the sort of thing every child would have enjoyed. It’s also set in a time when such a thing is less hard to believe. The Swish of the Curtain is very quaint, old-fashioned but still charming and holds its appeal for children. The kids, especially nine-year-old Maddy, are some of the best characterised I’ve ever read, having an old-fashioned innocence along with extra maturity, especially when dealing with their nemesis Mrs Potter-Smith, head of the Women’s Institute. Mrs Potter-Smith (or ‘Smither-Pot,’ as Maddy refers to her) is constantly out to undermine the children’s plays because people enjoy them more than hers. Some critics have said that they talk as if they’re older than they should be, but Pamela Brown was only 14 herself when she wrote this. The Swish of the Curtain is definitely a children’s classic, and will appeal to many children today.

‘An answering thud was heard offstage, and Mrs Potter-Smith puffed on, wearing a Greek tunic, with primroses in her hair which she had “let down” for the occasion. She flung out her plump arms towards the audience, declaiming, “I am the Spirit of Spring!”
The ginger girl stuffed her hankie in her mouth, and Maddy whispered confidentially to Sandra, “Are we supposed to laugh?”’ – page 10-11

'“Personally, when I was eight, a really juicy murder appealed to me as much as anything,” Maddy told them.' – page 136

Book review - Gone by Michael Grant

2009-04-24T12:18:00.004+01:00

Gone releases in the UK on 6th April.
In a second, all the adults disappear. Not just adults, but everyone 15 or over. Communications are down, emergency services are down, all the people who would normally be taking charge and explaining this crisis have disappeared. Kids are running scared. Some take care of others, others only look out for themselves. Some see it as a disaster, others see it as an opportunity for power. Sam and Astrid are thrown together, trying to work out how to escape the huge wall now trapping them in the town. Everything is spiralling out of control in a feud between the two schools of Perdido Beach. Time is running out fast. But for some, the craziness started six months ago, when they realised they could do things no-one should be able to.

Nowadays, I notice when a book is mediocre. I notice and think ‘huh. That was only ok.’ And I’m surprised. Either the standard of teen literature is shooting up, or I’m getting better at only picking up the good books thanks to great recommendations from all the wonderful reviewers out there (I think both are true)

So Gone was noticeably better than the average. And if the average is now very good, then that makes Gone very, very good. I couldn’t put it down. The children were well-characterised and interesting, acting very maturely. Which brings me to one of only two problems I had with the book; the children should have been up to 16, not 14. I appreciate that people mature quickly in a crisis, but these kids seemed over 14.

The second problem is that there are a few big questions which are only partially answered – hello, book two – so if you can’t stand cliff-hangers, you should wait until the second book is out before reading this one. Overall, not exactly massive problems. Other than that, I loved it. Sam is known as ‘school-bus Sam’ for the day he saved the bus going off the edge of a cliff, but since then he’s blended into the background at school. Kids remember this and turn to him once disaster strikes, but he’s not sure that he’s up to the challenge. I like that he’s not overconfident, that he has to learn how to pretend he knows what he’s doing. This is also his big chance in a way, because he’s fancied Astrid for ages and now they’ve somehow been thrown together.

But my favourite character was Quin. Quin is not brave, he doesn’t have any special abilities, he doesn’t know what to do. Quin is a regular guy, so when he compares himself to Sam, he’s inevitably ashamed. Not everyone can be the hero and not everyone has the guts to do the right thing. Quin embodies this in what could otherwise turn into a story just about extraordinary people.

Gone was great. The pacing was good – the chapters count down in days and hours to Sam’s fifteenth birthday, which adds a sense of urgency. The idea was interesting. I want to know why the wall came up, how exactly it happened, how they can escape. While the story resolved and some questions answered, some were not. A thrilling story and one that had me hooked from the start.

Series spotlight - Hollow Kingdom series by Clare B. Dunkle

2009-04-23T13:58:00.004+01:00

There are so many good books that have been out in the market for ages. Series Spotlight is to introduce readers to series they may not have heard of before and will be featured every Thursday. Today’s spotlight is the Hollow Kingdom series by Clare B. Dunkle. I haven’t read the third book, and wasn’t too impressed with the second, but the first is well worth your time and can stand alone perfectly.

The Hollow Kingdom
Kate and her sister Em go to stay with their Aunts after the death of their father. Hollow Hill is a place shrouded in mystery and legend. Goblins were said to have stolen girls from their homes, although their cousin assures them, ‘We live in the nineteenth century now. Not even Mrs Bigelow really believes her goblin tales.’ But someone his eye on the girls, and nothing will stop him. Not locked doors, nor the girls’ guardians, for goblins have strong magic. The only thing that seems to cause him trouble is Kate herself, for she is quite determined not to go and very resourceful when she needs to be.
This is a great adventure rich in folklore, history, and excitement. Kate is a strong heroine. I did find the second half of the book peculiar as it took unexpected jumps – chapters would begin ‘six months later,’ which confused me a bit, but in general, a great book.

Close Kin
Em is old enough to marry, but when her best friend Seylin tries to propose, she brushes him off absently. Seylin leaves, intent on searching out the elves and Em, realising, goes after him. Everyone is shocked to discover that a few elves still survive. They accept Seylin, but sooner or later the goblins and elves are going to collide, stirring up ancient grudges.
Not as great as the first book, Close Kin is still interesting. I think the main problem is that Em is not nearly as compelling a main character as Kate was. Sable the elf is much more interesting, but doesn’t get enough time. Close Kin is good, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as it’s predecessor.

In the Coils of the Snake
(from the cover)
Miranda has waited her whole life to come to the goblin kingdom. Now she’s finally underground where she has always wanted to be, but she never imagined she would feel so lost. Her beloved Marak, the center of her world since childhood, has reached the end of his reign. But Marak didn’t raise a coward. He taught Miranda to be brave, intelligent, and proud—the ideal woman to take her place beside Catspaw, the new goblin King.Then a mysterious and highly magical elf lord brings his people back to their homeland, reigniting the age-old battle between goblins and elves. Miranda finds herself a prisoner. Caught between the two hostile rulers, she becomes their greatest reason for war—and possibly their only hope for a future.
I haven’t read this, don’t think I will. Unless someone tells me it’s brilliant (please tell me if it is). I loved the first book, but the second just lacked that sparkle, so I already was unsure about this when I found out that it’s about the next generation. I liked Kate as a heroine so much that I don’t really want to move a whole generation away from her.

Retirement Rescue - Prove Yourself A Hero

2009-04-21T19:19:00.008+01:00

Prove Yourself a Hero by K. M. Peyton

Published - 1978
Pages – 173
In print? – No. But see if you see a copy secondhand, snatch it up.

THEN - 4.5 stars out of five

NOW - 4.5 stars out of five

This was my favourite re-read book for years. It’s definitely my most-travelled because it’s so small and light.

Jacket description:
One can never prepare to be kidnapped: to anticipate the terror, exhaustion and violence: or to understand the disorientation and imbalance that accompanies the return to freedom – if one is lucky.
Jonathan Meredith’s disappearance, apart from anything else, was annoying. It cost half a million pounds and mucked up a lot of arrangements, particularly his parents’. And for Jonathan, things would never be the same again.

You can tell this book is old – look at the use of ‘one’ and the colons! But, the writing doesn’t feel dated. In fact, reading it now gives the impression that it’s a book written recently, but SET in the past. Everyone has their strange favourite book-themes, mine is kidnapping. This book is special in that doesn’t just deal with the kidnapping – that takes up about half of the book – it also deals with the aftermath. Jonathan, the son of a business tycoon, is extremely claustrophobic, but he faces his capture and the prospect of death very maturely. This is as good a book as I remember it being when I first read it.

'He didn’t see how he was going to even notice if he lost consciousness, because there was so little to show for being alive, except the spreading pain of cramps which he would have been all too happy to forego. There was, curiously, no sense of time: time was only as long as he could breathe, and time was running out.' - Page 22

'He could see one solitary star between the clouds, and it’s unwinking eye transfixed him with this extraordinary sense of his own being, because shortly he wouldn’t be.' - Page 65

Awards time

2009-04-20T20:07:00.010+01:00

Yep, it's that time again!

Jo has given me the You Don't Say Award for top commenters. I'm not even going to try to nominate people for this one, because I know I'll miss someone out. So if you have ever commented on this blog, then you're great. And if you've ever commented on this blog MORE THAN ONCE, you definitely win this award. Because it means YOU CAME BACK!!! And for that, I give you this Panda. Cherish him.

Aaaaaaand

The Book Gir l has announced that my blog is lovely! This award is for new blogs and new blogging friends. Isn't the button pretty? Because I'm lazy, I'm not going to follow the rules and award 15 new bloggers with this, but a couple of deserving newly-discovered bloggers are:

Jen from 50 for Jen

Jo of Ink and Paper fame

And just before posting this, Jo gave me yet another award, the Premio Dardos Award. Thanks Jo!

This is awarded for 'showing cultural values, ethics, great and fun writing skills, as well as individual values, through their creative writing.' I haven't written nearly as creatively as I could on About Books, but now I think maybe I could put more effort in. Like I could have fun subtitles for my reviews as Cecilia does. Or I could (try to) make my reviews as well-written and interesting as Adele's. I might at least go for coherance and try to give the impression that I think before I type (that would be Lenore, who makes relevance seem effortless.) Everything she posts is worth reading. So to you three, I pass on this award for being well-written and making your posts so much fun to read.

*I've just noticed that I never follow award rules. Maybe it's because I'm lazy and usually they demand me to pick (and link to) excessive amounts of blogs? Or maybe it's because I'm actually a rebel and like to shake things up? Take your pick.*

Operation Retirement Rescue

2009-04-20T19:30:00.006+01:00

When Adele posted her wonderful idea of Operation Retirement Rescue last week, I loved it. It’s always good to appreciate old books, which is part of the reason why I started Series Spotlight.

Before May begins I would like you to post reviews for 1-2 YA titles that -
1) were published more than five years ago,
2) hold fond memories, and
3) post the icon somewhere in your review.

I'm extending this to mean books that I READ 5 years ago, not old ones that I've read recently. That means only books that I read when I was 13 or younger. I thought it might be interesting for people to see what I had back then. I've been through my bookshelves and written a list of everything still on there (ie - not in boxes or passed on to younger brothers) that I owned 5 years ago.

So, in roughly chronological order (earliest to latest) I give you

What Was on my Shelf 5 Years Ago That Still is Now:

Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
Prove Yourself a Hero by K. M. Peyton
Promise Song by Linda Holeman
Set of Sharon Creech books
Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin
The Wind Singer by William Nicholson
Wings over Delft by Aubrey Flegg
Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
The Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown
Beauty by Robin McKinley
Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley
Finding Cassie Crazy Jaclyn Moriarty

I'll be writing mini-reviews for as many as possible before May, except for ones I've already spotlighted. I'll also rate them because you know, probably not all of these books are as good now as they were to 5-years-younger-me. What was everyone else reading five years ago?

Interview with Luisa Plaja and GIVEAWAY!!!

2009-04-17T18:11:00.012+01:00

*Update - the giveaway is now closed*

Extreme Kissing was inspired in part by the sport Extreme Ironing. What would be your ideal Extreme Ironing location if you could go anywhere?
I love this question! The truth is that I never iron anything, so ironing in my front room would be pretty extreme for me! But let's see... hmm, I think extreme ironing at Piccadilly Circus in London would be a challenge. It might not sound as exciting as ironing up a mountain or underwater, but there would be a lot of jostling going on, and some distracting people-watching. Or maybe I could iron while sitting on a lion in Trafalgar Square.

If you could pick anyone (fictional, dead, or real) to go Extreme Travelling with, who would it be?
Oh, another fun question! I'm going to give two answers to this one too. The real answer is my family - some of our holiday adventures would definitely count as Extreme Travel, even if it hasn't been deliberate. But if I had to Extreme Travel with a fictional character, I think it would be have to be Peter Petrelli from Heroes. I'm sure his Swiss Army Knife of special powers would come in useful on any extreme journey.

Would you say you’re more like Carlota or Bethany?
That's a hard one! I'm probably outwardly more of a Bethany, with an inner Carlota streak. I can be a huge worrier like Bets, but I can definitely be more impulsive like Lots at times. Of course, the truth is that I'm like both of them, but I'm ultimately like neither. And I could say the same for Jo and Josie from Split by a Kiss, even though Jo and I have definitely shared quite a few experiences.

The girls have several secrets that are revealed throughout the book. Are you good at keeping secrets?
I think I’m usually good at keeping other people's secrets. I'm often a bit rubbish with my own.

What’s your writing process like? What is a typical day for you, how many hours do you spend writing?
I don't really have a typical day because with young children every day is an extreme adventure! I mostly write at night, though, for as long as humanly possible, bearing in mind that I usually get woken up way too early in the morning.

Where is your favourite place to write?
I've tried different places - the library, cafes, the train - but really I write best sitting at my desk with music plugged into my ears.

How do you deal with writers block?
I'd like to say I haven't really had time for writer's block, because it's the truth. Every writing second is precious. Unfortunately, despite this, I have had moments when I've got completely stuck. The only way out for me is free-writing, otherwise known as 'taking the pressure off'. I let myself write anything at all for as long as I want to. Once I'm unstuck, I'll occasionally find that this process has produced things I can use in my work-in-progress. There are definitely a couple of paragraphs in Extreme Kissing that have been plucked from bouts of free-writing: the moment when Carlota first meets Bethany, for example. Oh, and I nearly forgot this one - the entire first draft of Extreme Kissing was written when I was stuck three-quarters of the way through Split by a Kiss. Writing 'the end' on Extreme Kissing gave me the confidence to go back and finish Split by a Kiss.

What book has had the biggest impact on you?
It's probably Masha by Mara Kay. It's a historical novel set in nineteenth century Russia and following a girl's life from the ages of 9 to 18, including so many ingredients I love: a fish-out-of-water main character, a coming-of-age storyline, a focus on female friendship. I first took it out of my local library when I was about 9 myself, and then I borrowed it repeatedly until I finally managed to buy my own copy when I was about 12. (It was already out of print by then, unfortunately, but I bought a battered copy from a library that was closing down.) I've since visited places featured in the book, which involved a fantastic trip to St Petersburg. And in my teens I wrote to the author several times, telling her I wanted to be a writer. She always replied and she was amazingly encouraging.

As well as writing, you’re very active on the Young Adult blogosphere, running the wonderful teen site Chicklish. Do you have time for any other hobbies?
Does reading count? Or sleeping? Or childcare? Or Facebook and writing forums? I'm not sure what else I do, but there must be something. It's definitely not ironing, anyway (extreme or otherwise!)

Are you working on another book right now?

Yes, I'm working on a sequel for Split by a Kiss.

Thankyou so much for stopping by Luisa! I never even considered Peter Petrelli as an Extreme Travelling companion, but now that you've put it in my head I think he's ideal!

Links:

My review of Extreme Kissing

My Split by a Kiss review

Chicklish review of Extreme Kissing

And now, the giveaway!

Between them the wonderful publisher and author have given me five copies of Extreme Kissing to give away! Three of these are for UK residents, and two are for international readers. This means that wherever you live, you can enter!

All you have to do is tell me who you would like to go Extreme Travelling with. You MUST also tell me if you’re UK or INTERNATIONAL and leave me an email address or way to contact you if you win.

You can tell me in the comments (even if you’ve never commented on any blog before, mine will accept anonymous users, so don’t be shy!) OR if you’re uncomfortable with that, you can email me the information at bookshelfbabble(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk

Extra Entries, you ask?
+1 entry if you tell me how you found out about this giveaway
+1 entry for every person who tells me that they heard about this contest from you (this means the more you spread the word, the more entries you get)

The deadline for this contest is Wednesday 6th May

Series spotlight - Blart series by Dominic Barker

2009-04-16T15:45:00.004+01:00

There are so many good books that have been out in the market for ages. Series Spotlight is to introduce readers to series they may not have heard of before and will be featured every Thursday. (Except for last Thursday, when I completely blanked. Woops!) Today’s spotlight is the Blart series by Dominic Barker.

Once again these are technically children’s books, and definitely more suited to younger readers.

These books are parodies on the fantasy-epic-quest genre. I honestly don’t know how I feel about the series. You might think that I must like it because I’m featuring it, but I’m trying to feature a wide range of series in this feature. Parts of the books are good (I wouldn’t feature a series I thought wasn’t well written) but parts are annoying.

Blart – The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Save The World
When the wise wizard comes to collect Blart for adventure, he’s surprised to find that Blart doesn’t want to go. Capablanca had studied for many years to find the first son of a first son of a first son (and so on) who is destined to be a hero. Unfortunately, Blart is ignorant, lazy, cowardly, and more interested in his pigs than anything else. But the quest awaits so he has no choice but to go and stop the evil Lord Zoltab from being released by his minions. They’re joined on the quest by bloodthirsty Beowulf, who is desperate to become a knight, Princess Lois, a sulky, rude Princess of the happiest Kingdom in the world, and Tungsten the dwarf, who is rather sensitive about his limited height.
This is clearly a parody of Lord of the Rings, but also other fantasy quest stories. Parts of the book are very amusing, but by making his antiheroes unpleasant and whiny, Dominic Barker has made them irritating to the audience too.

Blart II – The Boy Who Was Wanted Dead Or Alive – Or Both
The wizard Capablanca has made an embarrassing mistake. After capturing Lord Zoltab, he imprisoned him somewhere, then used a spell to erase his memory so that no-one can find him again. Unfortunately, they are suspected of having freed Lord Zoltab. The only way to disprove this is to produce him – which means they have to find him all over again. Joined once again by Beowulf and princess Lois and a new companion, Uther the enterprising merchant, they must rescue Pig the flying horse and find Lord Zoltab.
In some ways, this is better than the first book. Uther is a sleazy, money-grabbing character who isn’t above ripping off his fellow companions. There is also an amusing resulting in Blart wearing a dress and being serenaded.

Blart III – The Boy Who Set Sail on a Questionable Quest
(From Amazon)
Princess Lois has been kidnapped by Anatoly the Handsome, who wants to marry her. Cue 'damsel in distress' to be rescued by none other than our own heroic Blart. He sets out on the good ship The Golden Pig with Olaf the innocent - who believes what everyone says all the time - and Kupverstich the Strange - an explorer-come-scientist whose ingenious explanations for the natural world have one thing in common: they're all wrong. They must battle cut-throat pirates, a sixteen-tentacled octopus, escape the suffocating bureaucracy of Triplicat, where they are briefly marooned, not to mention evade the Guild of Assassins, who have a contract to kill Blart, in their selfless (well, almost) bid to rescue poor Lois. But will they make it in time?
I haven’t read this one and I’m not sure that I’m going to. I suspect that this book will be very like the others and there’s only so much fantasy satire I can take. On the other hand, it’s only £3.59 from Amazon at the moment, so I might. I’d like to find out what happens to Blart and Princess Lois next.

So do Laaaaaaaaaaaa

2009-04-14T21:27:00.003+01:00

I saw this on Lisa Yee's blog. Doesn't it make you want to go to the closest train station and dance? (Maybe that's just me)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k

It also reminds me of Extreme Kissing, where Carlotta and Bets get all the tourists at the London Eye dancing. Look at the crowd joining in!

I Splash You!

2009-04-13T18:34:00.002+01:00

I've been nominated for the Splash award by Jo. Thanks!

The Rules:

1) Put the logo on your blog/post.

2) Nominate up to 9 blogs which allure, amuse, bewitch, impress or inspire you.

3) Be sure to link to your nominees within your post

4) Let them know that they have been splashed by commenting on their blog.

5) Remember to link to the person from whom your received your Splash award.

6) Have F~U~N

I'm splashing:

Cecilia (for awesome giveaways. And giveaway rules. And general commenting awesomeness!)

Laina (for her two amazing blogs)

Yan (did you not see the April Fools contests she co-hosted with Carol?!)

Steph Su (posts WAY more than me. Enough said)

Chicklish (a great mixture of reviews on her blog)

Adele (again, puts me to shame with all the posting. Most of these people do actually. Also super-nice and has an interesting blog)

Lenore (as Aerin said, when I grow up I want to be Lenore!)

Amy (great blog)

Jenny (for interesting posts and great comments)

All of these bloggers impress me in one way or another, so consider yourselves soaked! (Jo, I'd splash you too if you hadn't got there first. Maybe we can have a waterfight)

Book review - Audrey, Wait! by Robin Benway

2009-04-11T16:14:00.003+01:00

The day Audrey broke up with her boyfriend, he wrote The Song. A song about their breakup. The song is a huge success, suddenly his band the Do-Gooders are famous and everyone wants to know more about the mysterious Audrey. She’s thrust into the spotlight, even at school people are acting differently towards her, as though she’s an actual celebrity. But the thing is, Audrey doesn’t want to be famous. All she did was break up with her boyfriend and now it seems as if half the world hates her for it. What people forget is that they don’t know anything about her. Only her name.

Wow. This is one of those books that makes you happy. In fact, I think it could be the ultimate comfort read. It’s witty, fast-paced, has an interesting plot, and had me laughing out loud a lot. The star of Audrey, Wait is definitely Audrey herself. I don’t think I’ve ever read a more lively, funny, confident main character. (For liveliness equivalent, think Em in Finding Cassie Crazy) Audrey and her best friend Victoria have some great dialogue that makes me remember how great being sixteen was. It also makes me want to be friends with them. A lot.

Yes ok, the plot is a little far-fetched – I don’t think you’d get nearly as famous as Audrey does if someone wrote a song about you, but then again she avoids the press and that would make them far more interested in her. It’s also handled very cleverly. The plot and characters are a bit larger than life, but at the same time, the writing somehow makes it all seem realistic. Audrey handles her breakup and rise to fame surprisingly maturely. Her relationships, especially with ex-boyfriend Evan, are far more layered than I expected.

The biggest problem I had with the book though is the editing. I don’t know, maybe it’s because punctuation rules are different in the US and it got a little scrambled in the translation, but it seemed little someone let a little kid loose with the punctuation marks. Example:

‘totally humiliate the rest of us, who just want, to say how much we love, the music and how much it means, to us.’

Does that look right to anyone? Because it kept distracting me trying to work out if I was reading it wrong, but to me I don’t think that quote needs more than one comma.

Apart from the confusing punctuation thing though, I loved this book so much. I can’t really explain how good this book is, or find a quote because every time I look for one I want to copy a whole page. And then I keep on reading and forget I’m meant to be writing a review. Go and get yourself a copy right now!

More contests!!

2009-04-07T22:19:00.006+01:00

I know I haven't been around much lately, but I've been busy visiting family and reading City of Glass! Anyway, it seems that recently the amount of contests on the YA blogosphere has got way bigger. So because I haven't posted enough reviews lately, I've collected all of these contests for you instead. I'm sorry if I've missed yours out - it's non-intentional, but I'm mostly doing this by memory. If I have missed any out, please tell me in the comments and I'll update the post.

Yan and Carol are having daily giveaways for April Fools - ends 25th April

Lauren from Shooting Stars Mag has organised a huge giveaway for the release of Willow. You just have to buy the book to be in with the chance to win a ton! - ends 30th April

Elizabeth Scott is having an out-of-this-world contest for anyone who's bought Something, Maybe. Just send in proof and you could win a star! - ends 26th April

Lauren also has a copy of Shrinking Violet to give away - ends 30th April

Chelsea is giving away a signed copy of Wake - ends 15th April

Jenny at Books of Wonder is offering a copy of Looking for Alaska to one commenter - ends 13th April

The Epic Rat is going giveaway crazy with The Agency - ends 13th April - a choice of Wicked goodies - ends 17th April - and Girls in Trucks - ends 28th April. And on top of that, she's having a monthly contest to win a book of your choice!

Stella has a copy of Undone - ends 17th April

The Story Siren has ten copies of Sophomore Switch (US only) - ends 9th April -Something, Maybe (US only) - ends 10th April - and a signed copy of Fade - ends 5th May

Sharon (who loves books and cats) has a copy of me, my elf, and i - ends 21st April

Steph Su has Swim the Fly to give away (US and Canada only again) - ends 17th April

Luisa over at Chicklish is giving away a signed copy of Extreme Kissing every week - ends 24th April

And that's it my lovelies, but let me also tell you that Steph Su does a great weekly roundup of giveaways you might want to check out, and Laina has a blog devoted to gathering contest links at Book Contest Links which I highly recommend.

I'd also like to thank The Epic Rat for giving me the Sisterhood Award - or is it the FAMILYhood award now? When I started blogging I had no idea of how many good friends I'd make and I'm really grateful to each and every one of you lovely readers, commenters, and bloggers. I know, cheesy, but so true. I didn't think people would actually ever read what I was writing!

Book review - Flightsend by Linda Newbery

2009-04-04T16:15:00.003+01:00

Charlie and her mum move out to the country to an old house, Flightsend. Her mum sees it as an exciting new start, Charlie sees it as a long bus ride from her friends. But her mother has made up her mind to enjoy this new life and Charlie hasn’t seen her so happy for a long time. She makes the best of it, but thinks her mum’s making a mistake. Instead, the house seems to be just what they need, and it is a summer of growth for both of them.

I’m sure critics all over the country will class Flightsend as ‘bittersweet.’ It’s a story of self-discovery and growth. It’s also about making sacrifices for the people you love. Admittedly there is not too much of a plot, but the characters are interesting and believable, relationships between them are complex. There is also rather a lot of unrequited love, although the book is more about moving on and coming to terms with this than it is about angst.

Despite the emotional complexity of the story, whenever I think about it I don’t have much to say. I read this a week ago and I’m still not entirely sure what I think. The cover is absolutely perfect. That’s exactly what I feel about the book, it’s like lazily lying in the grass in summertime. Flightsend wasn’t outstanding, but it was pleasant, contenting and comfortable, like lying in the sun.

Happy Release day!

2009-04-02T16:47:00.006+01:00

For some reason, today is the official release day for a lot of great books:

Lock & Key (by Sarah Dessen) UK release

Seven Sorcerers (by Caro King) release

Willow (by Julia Hoban) US release

Extreme Kissing (by the amazing Luisa Plaja) release

So Happy Release Day ladies! Here is a virtual cake for you all.

Series spotlight - Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld

2009-04-02T16:22:00.004+01:00

- - - - - - - - - -

Today I’m stealing synopsises (which looks like it shouldn’t be a word but my spellchecker tells me is right) from Amazon because I don’t have time to write them myself.
I love the idea for this series – every day at midnight there’s an hour which most people don’t get, but five teenagers do. They’re not alone in this secret hour though, they share it with monsters. The series are well plotted and full of action. Half of the characters are well developed and half seem a bit spare-party. Westerfeld makes good use of maths and physics in this series – the teenagers have special talents that help them understand such things, and use it to explain a lot. This makes it more believable but at times a bit too technical. Although they’re not the best written books I’ve read, the series is fast-paced and full of adventure.

The Secret Hour
Strange things happen at midnight in the town of Bixby, Oklahoma. Time freezes. Nobody moves. For one secret hour each night, the town belongs to the dark creatures that haunt the shadows. Only a small group of people know about the secret hour - only they are free to move about the midnight time. These people call themselves Midnighters. Each one has a different power that is strongest at midnight: Seer, Mindcaster, Acrobat, Polymath. For years the Midnighters and the dark creatures have shared the secret hour, uneasily avoiding one another. All that changes when the new girl with an unmistakable midnight aura appears at Bixby High School. Jessica Day is not an outsider like the other Midnighters. She acts perfectly normal in every way. But it soon becomes clear that the dark creatures sense a hidden power in Jessica ...and they're determined to stop her before she can use it.
I haven’t actually read this yet. I know, these series spotlights are showing me just how bad I am at reading series in the right order! But it looks good and I will read it. Honest. I'm really interested to see Jessica meeting the other Midnighters, so I'll pick it up soon.

Touching Darkness
The Midnighters of Bixby, Oklahoma, know that their town is full of secrets - especially since they keep the biggest secret of all: knowledge of the secret hour. What they don't know is why earlier generations of Midnighters all disappeared, or why they are now the only Midnighters in town. As they learn more about the secret hour's twists and turns, they uncover terrifying mysteries woven into the very fabric of Bixby's history, and a conspiracy that touches both the midnight hour and the world of daylight. At the same time, the Midnighters' own secrets start to emerge, including some that were never meant to come to light, changing the fragile dynamics among the five. This time Jessica Day is not the only Midnighter in mortal danger. If the group can't find a way to overcome their differences, they could lose one of their own - forever.
This series is very clever, fast paced, and has an interesting plot. There is lots of tension between the Midnighters, too much some might say. The idea that people who have to put their lives in each other’s hands wouldn’t choose one another for friends and have very little in common is really interesting.

Blue Noon
The Midnighters now know much more about the secret history of Bixby and, with the halfling dead, the Grayfoots' link to the darklings has been severed. But the cost is high. Rex's horrific experience in the desert has left him damaged, painfully suspended between light and dark. Melissa's violation of Dess's mind and the shameful revelations of her past deeds have shattered the uneasy bond among the five teenagers. What they need now is some time to heal, but what they get is the surprise of their lives when the blue time arrives in the middle of the day. It seems the walls between the secret hour and real time are crumbling, and soon the dark creatures will break through to hunt after centuries of waiting. And as if that wasn't enough for Jessica to deal with, her little sister, Beth, is becoming more and more determined to crack the secret of midnight - a goal that could have consequences more dire than she can ever have imagined.
There is so much plot packed into this book! It’s a clever, interesting end to the series. The ‘eclipses’ of the blue hour in normal time make their lives even more dangerous and unpredictable. While the ending was interesting, I wasn’t completely happy with it – let’s just say that the life of one of the Midnighters is altered drastically.

Book review - Seven Sorcerers by Caro King

2009-03-31T15:48:00.004+01:00

Age - 9+

Release - 2nd April 09 in the UK

Nin hates Wednesdays, so when disaster comes calling, it’s kind of inevitable that it would happen on a Wednesday. Disaster’s name is Skerridge. Between going to bed on Tuesday night and waking on Wednesday morning, Nin’s little brother has ceased to exist. No-one remembers him. Except her. Why is she the only one who remembers Toby? Because whatever took him is going to come back for her. She runs away to rescue Toby from the magical land ‘The Drift.’ But Skerridge the Bogeyman is the best-of-the-best. He’s never let a child escape from his clutches before, and Nin’s not about to be the first.

(Yep, technially this is a kids book, not a teen book. But it's a GOOD kids book!)

The plot sounds formulaic, if funny, so that’s what I expected from this. I’m happy to say, I was really impressed with Seven Sorcerers. The writing is witty, refreshingly honest, and clever. The plot is complex – writing a summary was near impossible because there’s so much to this story that I had a hard time condensing it down. For example, the book’s title has a good reason for being what it is.
The characters are all interesting, but my hands down favourite was Skerridge the BM (bogeyman). His observations are genuinely funny and his attitude towards life is great.

Caro King has created a wonderful surprise in Seven Sorcerers. Not only has she created an interesting plot and great characters, but she also developed a history for the land itself. The ‘Drift’ is dying along with all of its creatures. The best way for the magical people to stay alive is through memory, and what do people remember more than fear? This gives an interesting angle on the bogeymen, whose actions are driven by necessity. This is a great book aimed at kids, but clever enough that older readers may enjoy some of the humour. Buy it for a child you know, then 'borrow' it for yourself!

This book is a wonderful mixture, it’s fast-paced, inventive, amusing and a little mysterious. It also happens to be the first in a series, which I’m happy about. I only know this from the spine, which tells me it is book one, not from the plot, which is tied up perfectly, no loose-ends or cliffhangers. Seven Sorcerers is just relying on its appeal as a story for readers to pick up the next book. And you know what? I think most will.

Book review - Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

2009-03-29T17:55:00.002+01:00

Meg hates being closed in, confined, limited to her small town. She can’t wait to graduate and leave forever. John joined the police as soon as he could and plans to stick around forever, despite great grades and offers of scholarships from good universities. One night on patrol, he comes across Meg and a few friends up on a forbidden railway bridge. Their punishment – each will ride around for a week with one of the services who got called out because of their crime. Meg has to spend a week of night shifts with the model policeman. They push each other further and further, demanding answers from one another, why one is so determined to escape and the other so dedicated to staying. But they begin to go too far, questioning each other’s deepest secrets and fears.

After reading the sneak peak on Jennifer's website, I really wanted to read this. I started reading with high expectations for Going Too Far and it met them. The situation of a criminal driving around with a policeman is original, and creates an interesting relationship between them. As it turns out, they’re not so different. The chemistry between John and Meg was perfect – sweet but not too overdone. John’s ‘secret’ was fairly predictable, but I expected Meg’s to be something quite different. In retrospect, I preferred the actual plot – my prediction would have made the story too neat and unbelievable.

*SPOILER ALERT!!! - If you want to stay spoiler-free skip ahead to the black text again*

I kind of thought that Meg’s claustrophobia, fear of machinery noises, and knowing the medics so well was because she had been in a car crash. Which would have given John as much foot-in-mouth at the car crash as Meg felt at the bridge. But you can see that this would have been way too neat – both of them stumbling so exactly on each other’s problems. I’m glad it didn’t work out how I expected.

*SPOILER OVER*

My only problem was halfway through when Meg acted how I felt was very out-of-character, practically yelling her secret at John. The yelling wasn’t out of character – there’s some very exciting tension between them! – I just felt that the situation didn’t really connect enough with her problem enough for her to want to share it. This is just a minor issue though, and one I can overlook because the rest of the book was so good.
There was far more depth to the plot than I expected, and ditto for all of the characters. In just a few words, Jennifer managed to turn secondary characters into believable people, especially Brian and Tiffany, two of Meg’s fellow partners-in-crime in the bridge escapade where they were caught. It is a sweet love story as the pretty cover suggests, but there’s so much more to it than that. (I seem to say that quite often for books like this, but only ever when I think it's true!) Overall, a fun, thoughtful and exciting read.

Thankyou to Jenn for sending me a copy!

Blog awards!

2009-03-28T23:05:00.009Z

This has taken me a while to get posted, but life has been busy.

Firstly, The Sisterhood Award from Yan and Prophecygirl. Thankyou!

Rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate up to 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award.
5. Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.

And then there's the incredibly creative Zombie Chicken Award from the lovely Priya.

The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken - excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their words.

There are loads of blogs that deserve these awards, but special mentions go to...

Prophecygirl at Wondrous Reads

Yan at Books by their Cover

Steph Su at Steph Su Reads
Amy at Addicted to Books

The Epic Rat at Epic Rat

Ink Mage at The Magic of Ink

Lenore at Presenting Lenore

Please consider yourself awarded with either or both of the above, whatever you would like! Honestly though, anyone who I follow or even comment on your blogs I would add your names if my hands wouldn't fall off from all the linking. And I didn't want to have a very, very long list!

I'm at home for my Easter holidays now (yay!!!) So all of the stressfull last-week work is out of the way and I should have some more reviews for you soon. Starting with Going Too Far which should be up by tomorrow.

Series spotlight - Crown and Court Duel series by Sherwood Smith

2009-03-26T20:34:00.005Z

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This is a bit of a golden oldie and most fantasy fans have encountered the series. The main character, Countess Meliara of Tlanth, and her brother are fighting to overthrow a bad King. Crown Duel takes place mostly on the rebel front, while Court Duel takes place (surprise, surprise!) at Court. These books are not without fault, but they are very well written and set in a comprehensive and elaborately constructed fantasy world. Both can be bought in a single book, The Crown and Court Duet. Anyone who hasn’t already read them should really check these out.

Crown Duel
Mel and Bran are leading a small group of rebels against the large force of the King’s army. He has broken an ancient pact, kills people without scruple and is generally an all-round tyrant. At first the rebellion goes well, but then the mysterious Marquis Shevraeth is sent to lead their enemies. In Crown Duel, Mel suffers injuries, is pursued across the country, becomes involved in complicated political factions, and comes face to face with the King himself.
Crown Duel is a fast-paced, exciting book. Fantasy, action, and war set in a deeply detailed world. In this world, wood is extremely precious and humans made a pact with the Tree Folk that they would never cut down any trees. (Tree Folk are suspiciously like Ents. But they dance.) The bad king of course ignores this and it’s up to the ragtag band of rebels to stop him. I really enjoyed this book, but it’s definitely not perfect. The main reason for this is the main character, Mel, who is ignorant, unpleasant, and stroppy. Which is a shame because the rest of this book is really good. The book is in first person, which is probably the redeeming factor for Mel, as we can understand her even if we don’t approve of her choices. It’s definitely worth reading, very cleverly written with an interesting plot.

Court Duel
Crown Duel saw Mel running around the country as a rebel, Court Duel sees her arriving at Court. It’s a whole new battle for her to learn to navigate the dangerous factions of court. Everything has hidden meaning and nothing is as it appears. As well as the socialising, Mel remembers her promise to her father even if her brother seems to have forgotten. She is there to find the best candidate for the crown, and offer them her support. This isn’t as easy as it sounds, especially when several Lords are flirting with her, a certain Lady seems out to ruin her, and people with designs for the throne hope to use her.
A good conclusion to the duet, Court Duel is an interesting read. Full of political intrigue masked by politeness, double meanings, and an elaborate ‘language’ of fan positions. I prefer Court Duel of the two, I find that it’s more interesting to see people scheming secretly and trying to work out what they’re doing than it is to see an army marching around. Mel’s character is still sulky and unforgiving which is irritating because her prejudices blind her to what the reader can tell in about a page. However, once again I could overlook this because of its being in first person, and the plot itself is intriguing. I enjoyed this and I recommend the books.

Book review - Lock & Key by Sarah Dessen

2009-03-24T23:57:00.003Z

Ruby Cooper is used to looking after herself. People, she has learned, just let you down. But when her mum abandons her completely, the authorities find out and, to her surprise, she is deposited in the lap of luxury – living with her estranged sister and brother-in-law. Ruby hasn’t seen her sister for ten years, she didn’t even know she was married. So while Cora and Jamie don’t seem to mind having her there, Ruby isn’t so sure. After all, this is the same sister who abandoned her with her unreliable mother all those years ago.
After a foiled escape attempt, Ruby slowly realises that she might just have to let people in. Her sister has a different side of the story and brother-in-law Jamie is wildly enthusiastic about whatever he does, including bringing Ruby into the family. Then there’s Nate, the boy next door. A cute, rich-boy type who seems determined to be nice to her, helping her out whether she wants him to or not. But as she slowly learns that it might be ok to let people in, she also realises that no-one’s life is perfect.

I seem to be reading a lot of Sarah Dessen recently, which is great because I love her books. Lock & Key was definitely worthy of the Dessen name. Something she seems especially good at is creating completely believable characters. Ruby has basically given up on people because of her past, she wants nothing more than to be legally an adult and completely independent, cutting all of her ties to people. Nate, the good-looking guy next door is kind, understanding, and seems to care for everyone else so much that he doesn’t really leave the time to take care of himself. I found the romance a little forced at times, but it was fun. However, it’s the people that Ruby meets along the way, the secondary characters, that made me enjoy the book so much. Down-to-earth Jamie, Cora struggling with her past, Gervais the twelve-year-old genius, Harriet the obsessive businesswoman, and especially Olivia, who takes no nonsense, but really supports her friends.

Lock & Key wasn’t my favourite by Sarah Dessen, but it was a great, entertaining read. Is that beautiful cover not enough to entice you? I’ll add that I was surprised by parts of the story, there’s more to Ruby’s journey than just coming to terms with her past and learning to accept help. The people she meets are not all as carefree as they seem at first glance, and she learns to helps them just as they help her.

* Random thing - why, when American books are translated into UK English, do they change everything but the word 'candy'? I just don't get why this seems to be the one word that always gets left in. Has anyone else noticed this, or is it just me?

Book review - Extreme Kissing by Luisa Plaja

2009-03-21T14:51:00.006Z

Extreme Kissing is out on April 2nd here in the UK.

Bets and Carlota have been best friends since Carlota moved to England. They tell each other everything (almost). But both have problems, so Carlota decides they need a relaxing day out. The solution – they will spend a day ‘Extreme Travelling’ – they will go wherever magazines tell them to go and complete challenges based on whatever page they open on. As they complete their challenges, they begin to surprise themselves – and each other. As the day progresses, they realise that they don’t know each other as well as they thought. Both have secrets. And on this crazy day, the secrets are going to spill.

Extreme Kissing has such a wonderful plot idea – it takes place on one crazy, challenging, action-filled day. But it’s not just the Extreme Travelling that makes this book so clever. Both the girls have secrets and the day serves to draw out confessions from each of them. It’s about friends and boys and family, all set in the unique backdrop of getting-lost-in-London. Bet is the quiet, studious one. Carlota is the wild guy-magnet. But there is more to them than this. Extreme Kissing explores just how well you can know your friends, how alike you can really be, despite the differences. As for the other characters, there’s some great guys involved and interesting parent dynamics.

I found Carlota at times quite annoying, but that’s just because as a person she would irritate me quite a lot. Her overuse of the ‘mwah-ha-ha’ is a perfect example. I personally had a few minor issues with the book – the issue of cheating on girlfriends/boyfriends is dealt with, but some instances of this seem to be more seen as more acceptable than others, which I don’t necessarily agree with. I’m also not really comfortable with the tarot card reading.

Overall though, Extreme Kissing was a great read. Once again, Luisa Plaja has taken a chicklit book, and made it so much more than that. Not that chicklit can’t be deep, but Extreme Kissing has so many facets. It’s a great book for any teen, addressing identity, friendship, family, and how deceptive appearances can be. The idea is cool, the pace is fast and the book is fun.

Oh, and can I just say I love the idea of Extreme Travelling so much!! Any takers? We can meet up somewhere, I’ll bring the magazines =) Of course, access to Carlota’s mum’s credit card was useful for the girls.

Series spotlight - Stravaganza series by Mary Hoffman

2009-03-20T16:37:00.007Z

There are so many good books that have been out in the market for ages. Series Spotlight is to introduce readers to series they may not have heard of before and will be featured every week. This is a Thursday thing (you may have noticed that it’s Friday today – see yesterdays post!). Todays spotlight is the Stravanganza series by Mary Hoffman.

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Whenever I read one of these books, it feels vaguely familiar, as though I’ve read it before somewhere. And of course I have. Random kids finding paths to another world and having some sort of destiny to save it is not a unique plot. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s something to be aware of. The series isn’t unique, but I would say that it’s done well.

As it progresses, the plots get more complicated and full of intrigue. The de Chimici family has been based on the historical de Medici family, so the books are full of intrigue. I read Book 4 recently, having read Book 1 a few months before, and the middle two a few years ago. Unconventional order, I know. Reading book 2 and then 3 first, I picked up the backstory fairly easily. However, coming to book 4, I got confused a lot because it was so long ago since I read the others. So many people are mentioned from the other books and it’s hard to keep track. For this reason, I’d say read the series in order. Start with book one, or even two, but start later than that and you will be seriously confused.

City of Masks
Lucien is seriously ill with cancer, able only to lie in bed all day, but he has discovered a secret. By using a mysterious notebook he can be transported to a different world whenever he sleeps. He soon realises that this is no dream, that the other world really exists. He is quickly caught up in the political intrigue and danger surrounding the city. With help from various new friends including the rebellious Arianna he must help to protect the city he has come to love.
I have a weakness for all things masks-involved. So the compulsory mask law interested me. Unfortunately, this isn’t really developed other than as a useful way for the women to not be recognised. Despite that, this is one of the better books. Read my full review here.

City of Stars

Georgia is miserable, bullied by her step-brother. That’s why the talisman chooses her. All stravagante are chosen because they are unhappy. And because they will soon be needed in Talia for some reason. Georgia loves to ride, so her talisman, a small winged horse, is just perfect. She befriends a young Talian, Cesare, who also rides. He’s actually the chosen candidate to ride in the Stellata, a hugely important hose race. With more competition, political intrigue and danger, City of Stars is a fun read.
Lucien and Arianna are back, the city is intriguing – split up into sectors, each sector containing stables where one horse will race against all the other sectors in the Stellata. This is possibly my favourite, or tying with City of Masks. Definitely the first two of the series are the best. The biggest problem is that the love interest goes the wrong way – she should have some sort of romance with Cesare! This isn’t even considered in the book.

City of Flowers

Sky is worn down from looking after his mother, but it’s just him and her, so there’s no one else to help. His dad is the famous singer Rainbow Warrior and Sky doesn’t want anything to do with him. His talisman – a blue perfume bottle, his city – Giglia (the Talian equivalent of Florence). The two warring families the de Chimis and the Nuccis are about to come to a head and Sky must help keep the peace.
Old characters are back, including the other Stravagantes, Arianna, and the de Chimici family. The parallel plots of what is happening in modern England and sixteenth century Talia make this a more believable story about time (and world) travel. However, the plots are so complicated that at times it’s hard to follow. The wonderful culture of eighteenth century Italy is just as good as in the previous books though.

City of Secrets
Matt is dyslexic, yet when he finds a book full of Latin, he buys it anyway. It transports him to the Scriptorium of Padavia (Padua). He becomes an apprentice as a book printer, which at first he finds strange, but soon realises that he can read perfectly in Talia. To his disappointment, he finds that matters haven’t changed in England. His dyslexia makes him incredibly insecure, he’s certain that his girlfriend will dump him soon. But in Talia, the de Chimici are close to working out how to stravagante, and Matt must help to conceal this knowledge from the power-hungry dynastic family.
Out of all the books, this one has least of its own plot in Talia. By this, I mean that most of the plot revolving Matt is set in England, and most of the Talian plot is more of a what-happens-next for all the Talian characters (Luciano, Arianna and Cesare to name a few). This made the book feel a little unnecessary. Parts of it were really amusing, the spies following spies following spies, and when the de Chimici decide that maybe you have to be knocked out to Stravagate... It’s a fun, interesting read, but you have to be in the mood to put up with a fair amount of confusion.

Where am I?

2009-03-20T00:30:00.004Z

Sorry the Series Spotlight wasn't up today but I have a big essay deadline for tomorrow at the moment, and another one for Monday. I'll have the Spotlight up by tomorrow and I've recently had the chance to read Luisa Plaja's fabulous Extreme Kissing, so the review of that will probably be up on Saturday. I'm also in the middle of Sarah Dessen's Lock and Key, which is distracting to say the least, knowing that it's sitting there, waiting for me as I type away!

I'll leave you with random quotes from the pages of the books I currently have open, one of which I really want to read more of, and the other I have read entirely too much of writing this essay. But enjoy!

Lock and Key (page 338, UK edition)
'Well,' he said, 'I looked for one that said "If you expect the worst you'll never be disappointed", but they were all out.'

The Tempest (Act I, Scene I, lines 365-366)
You taught me language; and my profit on't
Is, I know how to curse.

Book review - Petals in the Ashes by Mary Hooper

2009-03-16T21:48:00.005Z

The year is 1666 and Hannah is determined to get back to her little sweetmeat shop in London as soon as the plague is gone. She returns with her younger sister Anne because older sister Sarah wants to stay with their mother – to help her and also to stay closer to a certain young man she’s met. Hannah, on the other hand, is impatient to return to London and find out if any of their friends and neighbours survived the terrible plague, and to seek out her own sweetheart Tom. But omens and predictions are rife – the year is 1666 and 666 is the number of the Beast. Many are afraid that the plague is just the beginning, something even worse is about to fall on London.

This book is a sequel to At the Sign of the Sugared Plum, in which Hannah and her sister encounter the plague. I hadn’t read the first book when I picked up Petals in the Ashes and it didn’t impair my enjoyment one bit. The back-story was easy to understand so Petals in the Ashes stands alone just fine. Although short (192 pages) and relatively simple, Petals in the Ashes is a beautiful and believable story following two shop girls as they recover from the plague. The rebuilding of London is genuine, the bravado mixed with fear of the people is completely believable, and their confusion as disaster strikes is relatable.

I hadn’t really considered how close together these two disasters occurred, or how much they must have affected the citizens of London. Statistically, it was believed that the great fire killed relatively few people (although nowadays, historians believe that the death toll was much higher). However many people died, it’s important to remember that many of these people had lost almost everyone they knew to the plague, they probably returned to London to find their shops and homes looted, they were already attempting to rebuild their lives when the great fire struck. Most of these people lost everything they had twice.

Petals in the Ashes is a beautiful book that brought this to my attention, but it also illustrates human spirit, the seeming indestructibility of London. The aftermath of the plague didn’t exactly bring people together – London was still a dangerous place with cutthroats, pickpockets and others like them. The people simply carried on as normal. They got the terrible plague, they dealt with it, they didn’t let it change who they were.

Hannah is a strong and likeable main character and her neighbour Mr Newbery is quite hilariously pessimistic. This book has been meticulously researched and it shows, not like a history lesson, but by producing a believable story. Extracts from Samuel Pepys’ dairy begin each chapter and fit the tone of the story perfectly. Petals in the Ashes is a short but entertaining read, manageable for some pre-teens, but not too childish that older readers won’t enjoy it too.

Petals in the Ashes has been published along with At the Sign of the Sugared Plum in a single book, The Fever and the Flame. Isn’t the cover beautiful! I might have to buy it so that I can have that gorgeous cover on my shelf! (and so that I can read the first book of course)

Book review - The Declaration by Gemma Malley

2009-03-14T19:58:00.002Z

In a future where people can live forever by taking longevity drugs, they have strict laws. If no-one dies and more children are born, the world would quickly become overpopulated and resources would run out. The solution seems simple – having children is illegal. Any children who are found are ‘surpluses’ and are taken away.
Anna is a surplus and has lived at Grange Hall since she was two and a half, since the Catchers found her. She obeys and believes the rules, but that doesn’t stop her from keeping a secret diary. And when a boy is brought in from the outside, she is intrigued despite herself. He leads her to question the rules, the fairness of the world. But life is going to get difficult for both of them. Someone knows that Peter is causing trouble and their lives might be in danger.

The Declaration was an interesting book. To teach children from a young age that they don’t deserve to exist, that they have to work off their debt of being born and that they don’t have the right to appreciate beautiful nature (like snow) inevitably results in a group of children who struggle among each other to achieve some sort of power. But even Anna, the most loyal surplus, begins to slowly question her life once Peter arrives and tells her new things about outside. This brings hope to the story that no matter how indoctrinated, people are always capable of adapting and changing their beliefs, of deciding things for themselves.

I kept expecting this book to be more complicated than it was. I thought that Peter had probably run away to rescue Anna without anyone knowing, which made more sense to me than this adoptive parents ever letting him go. After a while, I learned to sit back and enjoy the simplicity. The plot is simple because the ideas and issues are anything but.

The main characters were likable and even those doing terrible things could be understood and empathised with. The other characters seemed underdeveloped; all of the surpluses were the same. This made for a small cast of characters I was interested in and made the story seem a bit slow. The ending by no means solves all of the problems with the world although it resolves Anna and Peter’s storyline, which is both annoying and realistic. I was glad to discover that there will be a sequel as I think that Anna and Peter have more to say and do. The Declaration was a thought-provoking, interesting read.

Series spotlight - Gallagher girls

2009-03-12T17:42:00.007Z

There are so many good books that have been out in the market for ages. Series Spotlight is to introduce readers to series they may not have heard of before and will be featured every week. This will be featured every Thursday. Usually, these series will be ongoing, like today’s spotlight – Ally Carter’s Gallagher girls series.

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This series is very popular in America. I haven’t seen them in any UK bookstores, I don’t think they’re published here, but you can buy them from Amazon or any similar websites.

The Gallagher Academy for exceptional young women is home to girls more exceptional than the outside world could dream at. The students are studying espionage, their future – spies for the US government. This series follows main character Cammie and her roommates; smart Liz, athletic Bex and gorgeous Macey through their adventures at spy school. While there has been a sudden increase in teenage-spy books in recent years, the Gallagher girls books stand out because the girls are not spies, but in training. Their adventures are relatable because they are balancing everyday life – boys, parties and school, with their training.

I’d Tell You I Love You but Then I’d Have to Kill You
Cammie is the chameleon. She can tail anyone, anywhere, blend in and not be seen. So when she is on a training exercise and is noticed by a boy, she is more than surprised. So are her friends. They decide that either he is a rogue spy investigating the academy, or he might be her soul mate. Either option requires further investigation. Unknown to the teachers, the girls begin to secretly investigate Josh while also studying for their exams and starting their hands-on ‘covert operations’ classes.
This book is fun and fast. I love the depiction of the academy and Cammie (whose mother is the headmistress) knowing all of the secret passages that enable the girls’ illicit wanderings. The girls are all well-portrayed and have a good mixture of experience and innocence – they may have helped parents on missions, but they still enjoy a good movie marathon.

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy
The girls are shocked when they accidentally discover a training school for boy spies. They are determined to find out more about these boys, but are still unprepared when they come face-to-face. With more classes, new boys to worry about, and the suspicion that Cammie’s mother is hiding something important, this term promises even more excitement than the last. On top of this, they suspect that someone at the academy is leaking information to an enemy – the girls have to investigate further.
The second book takes the world introduced in the first book and develops it much further. The old and new characters are well portrayed (I admit to a soft spot for unstoppable Bex) and there is more of a plot. It’s just as much fun, and perfect for young teenage girls.

What’s next?
Don’t Judge a Girl by her Cover (don’t you love the name!) out on June 9th, 2009
Taken directly from Miss Ally Carter’s own website:

When Cammie "the Chameleon" Morgan visits her roommate Macey in Boston, she thinks she's in for an exciting end to her summer break. After all, she's there to watch Macey's father accept a nomination for vice president of the United States. But when you go to the world's best school (for spies), "exciting" and "deadly" are never far apart. Cammie and Macey soon find themselves trapped in a kidnapper's dangerous plot, with only their espionage skills to save them.As her junior year begins, Cammie can't shake the memory of what happened in Boston, and even the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women doesn't feel like the safe haven it once did. Shocking secrets and old flames seem to lurk around every one of the mansion's corners as Cammie and her friends struggle to answer the questions, Who is after Macey? And how can they keep her safe?Soon Cammie is joining Bex and Liz as Macey's private security team on the campaign trail. The girls must use their spy training at every turn as the stakes are raise, and Cammie gets closer and closer to the shocking truth...

This seems to feature the girls outside of the academy more, which I was hoping for. It will be interesting to see them outside of their usual environment and away from the teacher-student relationships.

To find out more you can visit the authors website here, or you could visit her blog, where she is currently posting a small snippet from book three every few days.

What NOT to do

2009-03-10T23:42:00.007Z

Most books aren’t perfect. Everyone understands this, usually we will notice a mistake and then ignore it. I’ve read a lot of books recently that have really annoying problems that pull my attention away from the story. What’s even worse is that most of these are good books! Yep there are worse faults in books – poor editing and an unbelievable plot spring to mind. But when a book is so nearly there it's almost worse. These things are so basic, so easy to avoid! I've written a list of the most recent that I've read, leaving out more general problems, like having characters who don’t act their age. I don’t want to mention any names or point fingers, but I do want to share these with the world.

Things that authors shouldn’t do but seem to far too often:

Have an ‘expert’ spy make loads of mistakes. Like every now and then pausing and instinctively feeling that someone is following her, but not being able to see someone and shrugging. No matter, I have more important matters to deal with. – I get that this is to show the audience something the character doesn’t know – uh-oh, someone must be following her! But a master spy just wouldn’t repeatedly ignore their instincts. Especially when they have just been set up for murder by another expert spy and are running for their life. Such a spy would think, maybe it’s the person who set me up! They are following me. It is because they are an expert spy who can manage to set me, another expert spy, up, that I can’t see them, not because there is no-one and I’m just feeling a little jumpy.

Having a ‘positive’ ending being that ah well, the guy she loved has died, but they’ve defeated the bad guy and for the last page we suddenly move to the point of view of a completely different man whose point of view we’ve never seen before. He is thinking ‘I’m glad we’ve survived because I’ve been in love with her since first I saw her.’ – There was NO CLUE to this through the entire book. And this is supposed to make me feel better. Yay, the main character has a chance at love after all! That guy was interested in her the whole time!

Having aforesaid guy feeling happy in the last page of the book that he has a chance with her. – Erm, he has a chance because HIS FRIEND WHO SHE WAS IN LOVE WITH HAS JUST BEEN MURDERED!!! This is maybe one or two days after the death. And it’s supposed to make the reader feel that the ending was positive. Also, Aforesaid guy, you should concentrate on more immediate problems, like getting down off that roof.

Having main character children realising that adults have a secret that somehow involves them. They then get into (life threatening) trouble trying to discover the secret. The finale is that the adults come and rescue them – The children have essentially accomplished nothing. Granted, the adults admit the truth in the end, but I’d like the kids to play an actual role.

Main characters arriving in a new and (inevitably) very dangerous world where everyone they meet is suspicious and not to be trusted. By coincidence, the first person they meet is a nice person who helps them and warns them about not trusting anyone else – Usually this person goes far out of their way to help these random strangers, like going on a whole quest with them. Quite often by more sheer coincidence, the person’s past is somehow linked with the quest that the main characters now face. They may not remember this past but then a chance clue will show them that everything is somehow linked.

A sweet lovely family of kids with the oldest looking out for the youngest since the mother died – The dying mother usually extracts a promise from her eldest child to take care of the baby. Often if you work the ages backwards, this oldest child was about eight at the time. There is a perfectly acceptable father, yet the mother feels compelled not to ask him to take care of the kids, but to make an eight-year-old promise to do it.

Character’s who are ‘klutzy’ and therefore knock over everything in their path (and sometimes out of it too) and can’t control anything that comes out of their mouth – this is more of a personal pet peeve. There’s just too many of these characters in teen fiction.

Characters who are geniuses and therefore are inevitably socially incompetent. They will get nervous whenever they experience human interaction, quite often actually forgetting how to speak, putting words in the wrong order or something – I understand not being able to think of anything to say. But forgetting how to speak entirely? Every time anyone speaks to you? This isn't someone just not knowing what to say, this is people going 'there I'll over put it. I mean I'll put it over there.' These characters almost always get the cute, popular guy/girl, who finds their lack-of-speech-ability amusing and endearing rather than strange.

Historical fiction books where the character will ask a question that they would know the answer to just so the author can explain it to the audience – example being a person in Henry VIII’s reign asking what attainting is. Anyone in that time would know because it happened on a regular basis, there’s no way a teenager of the time would have no clue. It’s simply done for the audience today, who can’t be expected to know what attainting is because it doesn’t happen now. But for anyone who already has good knowledge of whatever time period the story is set in, this stands out badly.

Having books start with letters along the lines of; ‘dearest mother, I can’t believe I haven’t seen you for three months, ever since you went to London with my elder sister Primrose in the hopes of finding her a husband. We have visitors. As you know, our modest country house has enough room to hold ten visitors quite comfortably so the group of thirty staying with us presently is causing problems. My childhood friend James and I have been visiting my Uncle...’ – Information overkill! Can’t the author find a better way of setting the scene? Straight away I know it’s out of character before I even know the character. (I completely made that particular opening up as I’m sure you can tell. I’ve read too many books that start similarly though).

I'm sure there are lots more, but I can't think of any right now and I don't want to carry on finding fault. Without exception, all of these were taken from books that I've enjoyed, (even with the more general problems, I've liked books that are guilty of them) some directly from books that I've loved. Please authors, you've written a wonderful book, don't let me get distracted by little things like those! I want to carry on loving your work, not feeling critical.

Rant over =)

Any specific problems you've run into recently? (please don't turn this into a shooting match though. I don't want to know the name of every book you hate, just any problems that have stopped a good book being a great book for you)

Books into film?

2009-03-08T14:40:00.006Z

I've just read over than the Longstockings that the Hunger Games is being considered for a film. While it could potentially become one of the best-films-ever, I'm apprehensive. The story just seems to me like it's better suited for a book than a movie.

I know there are a lot of Hunger Games fans out there, what do you people think? Will the Hunger Games make a good movie?

*Edited to add*

And a random question - I often get posts up on my Blog follower feed on my homepage where the post that hasn't actually been posted on the blog yet. Usually, the post goes up some time later that day or the next day. Does this happen to other people too? Is it because the blogger has written the post as a draft and does this mean that when I write a draft but don't post it, it's still coming up on peoples feeds? I hope this makes sense to people.

Book review - City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

2009-03-07T21:04:00.003Z

Clary’s mother is still in a coma and father is presumably up to no good somewhere. Jace is under suspicion from the clave, who suspect that he’s loyal to Valentine. In the city of New York, underworld children are going missing and Valentine seems to be the culprit. On top of this, Clary still needs to sort out her feelings towards Simon, now her boyfriend, and Jace, now off-limits.

City of Ashes starts off a bit slow but quickly speeds up. Valentine wants the second mortal instrument and of course Clary and Jace get in the way once again. One of my favourite parts of this book was the werewolf group. I loved Luke in the first book and Maia, a werewolf teenager, is an interesting addition to the cast. I had a major plot point spoiled for me before I read City of Ashes, but the spoiler was wrong! The essence of it was right, but the details wrong, so all the way through I was expecting something to change and it didn’t, which was amusing.

Truthfully, I enjoyed City of Ashes, especially the scenes between Clary and Jace, which were every tense. I liked it, but it wasn’t wonderful. It felt like City of Ashes was written so that Cassandra Clare can get to City of Glass, which I fully expect to be great. There was nothing wrong with City of Ashes, it just didn’t completely wow me. I get the necessity of it – Valentine goes after one of the three mortal instruments in each book, he’s confronted at the end of each, but he can’t really lose everything until the third book.

City of Ashes wasn’t bad, it was better than average, I just felt that it missed the spark that City of Bones had. On the other hand, there were lots of interesting developments and it could be argued that the plot was better structure in Ashes than it was in Bones. I just felt the limitations of the book in being the second part of a (somewhat formulaic) trilogy – there are a lot of things that can’t happen until book three, which took some tension out of the writing. However, I felt exactly the same about the second Lord of the Rings film and anyone who likes them will appreciate just how good The Two Towers is and understand that I’m probably just being picky. I’d recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed City of Bones and I’m sure the plot is vital to understand City of Glass, which releases on the 24th March (US hardback).

Series spotlight - Edgerton Hall trilogy by Adele Geras

2009-03-05T17:47:00.009Z

There are so many good books that have been out in the market for ages. Series Spotlight is to introduce readers to series they may not have heard of before and will be featured every week. This seems to have become a Thursday thing, so I’m going to make it official and say that Series Spotlight will be featured every Thursday.

Today’s spotlight is a series of connected short stories – The Edgerton trilogy by Adele Geras. The three stories each focus on one of three best friends who share the Tower Room at Edgerton Hall, where they are completing their last year of school before leaving for University. They are modern(ish) retellings of the stories Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White, set in the 1960s at a strict boarding school. For the people who have just winced and gone ‘not more fairy stories!’ I’d like to add that they’re not fairytales and there’s no magic. They are just clever retellings of the original stories. Each of them includes the main themes of friendship, growing up and falling in love.

The Edgerton trilogy has been published together in one book, Happy Ever After, and if you want to buy this series, I recommend you get this. It’s easier to follow if you read the books together and has a lovely cover as well.

(The books say they are unsuitable for younger readers and I would agree)

The Tower Room:
The first story seems to be more of an introduction to the friends. It’s main character Megan is a ward of one of the teachers at the school, who has just hired a science assistant – young and male. At a girls school this is bound to cause trouble, but Megan is surprised to find that he seems interested in her. The Tower Room is told from alternating perspectives of at Edgerton Hall and some mysterious place afterwards, where she reminisces on the events that led to her being there.
The Tower Room is my least favourite of the stories and Megan is my least favourite character. Still, it’s a good introduction to the characters and their world and it gives more context for the other stories.

Watching the Roses:
Alice is the shy, quiet one of the group. The story begins after the Tower Room and something has happened to Alice. As the story progresses, it’s clear that she is traumatised by something, although what is kept hidden for much longer. As she says in the beginning;
‘I decided not to speak a week ago, and since then not one word has passed my lips.’
Watching the Roses is written as a diary in a notebook of her father’s that Alice found. He was an expert on growing roses, and throughout the tale are names of roses with descriptions of them that he has supposedly written. Underneath, Alice has added her own comments about the roses that she can see from her window.
Watching the Roses is my favourite of these stories. I like that Adele Geras didn’t go for the obvious option of putting sleeping beauty in a coma, she just puts her in a state of withdrawal.

Pictures of the Night:
Finally, Bella’s story! While Alice’s is my favourite story, Bella is still my favourite character. She is the outgoing, confident, knowledgeable one, the type of friend you might want to hate but can’t. Bella is staying (secretly) with a band that she sings with. They have been offered the chance to perform in Paris and Bella goes with them.
Once again, Adele Geras defies the stereotype of a wicked stepmother. Marjorie is simply jealous and foolish. The elements of the traditional story – a poisoned apple, a tight corset, are cleverly worked in throughout all of the Edgerton short stories. I love how the author hasn’t ignored the aspects of the traditional stories that would prove difficult, but cleverly twisted them in anyway. Bella is so full of life and energy that it’s impossible not to like her.

The Edgerton Hall trilogy aren't the best books ever written, but they are an interesting concept, the stories weave together neatly, and they have great characters. I would recommend them to someone looking for something different, or anyone who is getting tired with all the fairytale retellings around.

Book review - Broken Soup by Jenny Valentine

2009-03-04T23:06:00.007Z

When a boy stops Rowan and hands her a photo negative that he insists is hers, she knows he’s wrong, but accepts it anyway out of embarrassment. When she develops the photo she gets a shock – for all that she didn’t drop it, it’s definitely hers. She begins new friendships with Harper, the boy who handed her the negative, and Bee, a girl from school. But they are linked with her past, the past that she is trying to recover from.

Rowan’s family are recovering from the unexpected death of her older brother and it is Rowan who bears the biggest burden. Like a worrying number of teenagers today, it is she who must hold the family together, caring for her younger sister. Rowan’s character is a result of this responsibility – she is mature beyond her age yet extremely cautious with new people. But when she meets Harper she is drawn to him. The characters in this book were incredibly realistically portrayed. I especially loved the younger sister Stroma, who is just so understanding and yet innocent.

Broken Soup is full of friendship, romance, the importance of families and general life. The plot develops beautifully with an interesting twist at the end, but I had a minor quibble. I don’t see the necessity for Jack to have kept his secret when he was alive, except that it is an interesting shock for Rowan. It was so cleverly written though, that this doesn’t matter so much. Parts of the book are so realistic that it could easily be depressing without the unlikely subplots. If I was in Rowan’s position, all I know is that I would love to meet a Harper, I would love to have that negative handed to me.

I wanted to read Broken Soup after Jenny’s review of it and it certainly didn’t disappoint. Great characters, an interesting plot, and clever writing combine to produce a book worthy of high recommendation.

And good news for all Americans – Broken Soup will be released in the US this month. Put it on your wishlists!

It's a happy monday to yoooouuuuu

2009-03-02T16:09:00.006Z

I'm in a kind of fantasy shlump at the moment. Everything I've been reading is contemporary and while I love that, I need some magic to balance it out! I don't know what to read next though, any suggestions? I have City of Ashes, which I can't wait to read. Or I could try A College of Magics by Caroline Stevermer, Black Powder War by Naomi Novik or Seven Sorcerers by Caro King. Does anyone know if any of them are good? Or have any different books to recommend?

On a random note, there have been lots of helicopters flying over here all day. It makes me wonder what's going on, especially as the building I'm in shakes every time!

Also, to celebrate the release of Something, Maybe, Elizabeth Scott is having a countdown celebration. I'm definitely going to be celebrating because I'm looking forward to reading it!