May 2016 – Page 2 – My Good Reads

‘The Infinite Sea’ – Rick Yancey

The second book of The 5th Wave trilogy, and I have to say that I was expecting to see more of Cassie’s story. I was thrown a little by how much to the fore other characters were. The varying perspectives meant, at times, I felt it difficult to keep track of exactly what was happening and how everything linked. However, this doesn’t stop it from being a great read.

In spite of my personal desire to have certain elements given more importance, there was plenty of action to keep me reading.

Ringer was a character that I never felt we knew enough about in the first instalment, though I don’t think she was interesting enough to focus on her to the extent that we are forced to. Perhaps it’s part of a bigger plan, but I must admit to feeling somewhat uncertain about how certain characters fit into the grand scheme. The hints of what is to come do, however, make it sound like we’re in for an explosive finale. Now I just need to wait for my eldest son to finish the book before I can find out what will happen!

‘When We Collided’ – Emery Lord

If it weren’t for my involvement with the YA Buddy Readers’ Corner group on GoodReads, I might not have stumbled across this book.

The love story of Jonah and Vivi on one hand, but it was so much more than that.

Jonah and his older siblings have virtually taken over the care of their younger siblings as their mother is experiencing depression after the sudden death of her husband. Understandably, this is a challenging situation. It allowed the writer to explore a range of relationships, but it seemed to weaken the story for me ever so slightly. I completely understand that grief will impact in many different ways, but I didn’t get enough to explain how the Daniels family have allowed this situation to develop.

Anyway, when Jonah and Vivi meet it really is a collision. They are both fragile and needy in their own ways, but they find each other at the time they’re needed.

There were so many lovely moments described in this book. While I thought Jonah and Vivi were really cute together, I couldn’t help but feel the story could have been more powerful without the romantic bond between them.

I enjoyed the split narrative, and felt the portrayal of how Vivi lives with bipolar disorder was searingly honest. A funny but unflinching story exploring how people can hurt but also save each other.

‘The Perfect Girl’ – Gilly Macmillan

I wanted to read this, in spite of the comments likening it to ‘Girl on a Train’ etc. Setting up such an expectation can sometimes backfire; thankfully, this time it didn’t.

The novel focuses on Zoe Maisey, a talented young musician with a genius intellect, and how actions from earlier in her life continue to haunt her.

Zoe and her mother have started a new life, far away from her past. Zoe has served her time for causing the deaths of three of her peers, but some things never go away. Knowing this about Zoe, and never being completely certain about the reliability of her evidence, means there’s an element of suspicion as we later see Zoe caught up in truly horrific events.

The story is told from constantly shifting viewpoints, and this makes it difficult to ever get a clear picture of what is happening until the author chooses to make her big reveal. There’s a lot to dislike about a number of characters, and although I understood why certain people acted as they did – and even felt some sympathy for them – the moral ambiguity is hard to take.

‘The Modern Faerie Tales Trilogy’ – Holly Black

As a fan of Holly Black I was keen to read these, though reviews are definitely mixed.

Tithe, the first book in the series, was not off to a good start if I’m being truthful. Kaye didn’t seem to be very well-drawn at first, and I can’t believe that nobody seemed to find it weird that this girl spent her early years claiming to see fairies. Of course, when, at sixteen, she discovers she is actually a pixie things start to make a little more sense – but not much! The whole thing felt quite disjointed for me as a reader, and I don’t think I really got my head around who played what role/how the world was set up.

‘Valiant’, the second book in the series, is the one that most reviews seem to be quite negative about. I’m not sure what it says about me that this novel was, in my view, a more appealing read. Though it was a little off-putting initially to have a new cast of characters, I found Val and her friends much better developed. The way in which they band together to try and puzzle out the plotting taking place in the faerie world was engaging. There was a clear sense of things being drawn together for the final part of the trilogy.

In ‘Ironside’ it is time for Roibin’s coronation, and Kaye risks telling him how she feels. When she is sent on a seemingly impossible quest to find a faerie who will lie, Kaye tells her mother the truth about who she is. I loved Corny and Luis in this, and this was a fitting end to the trilogy. Some parts were really creepy, but this was a definite hint of the great writing to come.

‘April Raintree’ – Beatrice Culleton Mosionier

A revised version of the novel In Search of April Raintree, written specifically for students in grades 9 through 12. Through her characterization of two young sisters who are removed from their family, the author poignantly illustrates the difficulties that many Aboriginal people face in maintaining a positive self-identity.

I knew nothing of this story before I received a digital copy from NetGalley.

This is a fictionalised exploration of some of the issues faced by the writer, her family and other Aboriginal people.

Perhaps this will have more resonance with readers who are aware of the Métis people, but I was fascinated by this story. We see the two sisters taken into foster care and, in their own way, dealing with prejudice and fear. April gets married and spends a lot of her life avoiding her cultural background. Her sister, who spent her younger years proudly announcing her heritage, becomes trapped by a lot of her own prejudices and fears.

Certain scenes within this novel were unflinching in their honesty and violence, yet they are vital for readers to gain any sense of understanding. This novel raises so many points for discussion and was an absorbing read. I think I will have to try and track down the original version.

‘Lily and the Octopus’ – Steven Rowley

Due for publication in early June 2016, this has all the makings of a genuine word-of-mouth hit. I wasn’t sure what to expect of this book, but I really have to offer huge thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC.

Not having a pet I felt a little detached from this initially. Reading about Ted and his dog, Lily, was interesting but I wasn’t that emotionally invested in what was happening. When Ted first becomes aware of the octopus that’s invaded Lily I really did start to question whether I’d finish the book as it just felt a little odd.

However, as we follow Ted through this journey I am so pleased that I did not give in to my initial confusion. This is a novel about love and loss, coming to accept what is happening and making the most of the time you have. Let’s just say it struck a chord, and I think there is a message in these pages for everyone.

I felt Ted’s reactions to events were honestly portrayed. There’s an element of craziness to this, and the humour shown throughout kept this from bordering into cloying sentimentality.

An unusual book that I will certainly be recommending to others. I’m keen to see what certain friends make of this one.

‘Six of Crows’ – Leigh Bardugo

It’s been a while since I read the Grisha trilogy, but it was a series I thoroughly enjoyed and I was looking forward to this.

Although we return to the land of the Grisha, we are introduced to a new cast of characters. One of our main protagonists is Kaz Brekker, a young criminal who is determined to carry out a seemingly impossible heist.

As I was reading, it did take a while to get accustomed once more to the world/names, but this was a book that was full of action. The slow build-up to the attack on the Ice Court could have been a little less detailed, but once things got going they got going quickly.

I liked the fact that a lot of the novel focused on the relationships between some of the key characters. Watching their relationships shift and develop was entertaining, and there is definite potential for further visits to these characters to get some answers to the questions we are left with at the end of the novel.

‘Elementals 1:Prophecy of Shadows’ – Michelle Madow

When Nicole starts at her new school she thinks there’s a mistake with her schedule as she’s enrolled in special honours classes. Then she learns she’s a witch (as are all the other students in her class). Talk about getting straight into it!

Nicole and her friends are witches, they can do magic and there’s a dastardly plan to foil. There’s the token hot boy – complete with the token bitchy girlfriend -that Nicole develops a thing for. And before we know it there’s some Greek mythology thrown in for good measure, and we learn Nicole might actually be a demigod.

In that brief summary I’m aware I sound critical. There’s lots to remind you of countless other teen novels and this is off-putting. However, from the opening pages we are thrown into a relentless action-packed ride that does leave you wanting more.

I can imagine teenage readers will lap it up as there’s something for everyone and it will feel like stuff they’re comfortable with. It felt like the kind of thing I’ll see on Netflix soon.

‘Forbidden’ – Tabitha Suzuma

Published in 2011, Suzuma’s novel ‘Forbidden’ is definitely not one that you want to go into without knowing a little of the subject matter. As with many of Suzuma’s stories, love and family are at the heart of it…in this case, they form an uncomfortable alliance.

‘Forbidden’ takes a controversial subject, the incestuous relationship between seventeen year-old Lachan and his younger sister, Maya, and urges us to explore our feelings and responses to this taboo. Suzuma writes about the topic sensitively, and alternating the viewpoints of our two main characters means that we can clearly see just how each of them responds to their feelings and what they think they should do about them.

As with other stories by Suzuma, dysfunctional family relationships are a recurring theme. In this story, we are surrounded by them! Lachan and Maya are, essentially, teenage parents to their younger siblings as they cover for their alcoholic mother when she abandons them. Their closeness seems to make sense as they have, for years, depended on each other. When they finally make the decision to cross that line of social acceptability, we are asked to question whether what they are doing is really that wrong.

The angst felt by both characters stops this feeling like a doomed love story cliché. Unfortunately, Maya was a character that I often found irritating. Sometimes she seemed very naive, yet she also seems to be the one pushing for more and I felt that her reactions at key moments were not wholly credible. I also found it hard to accept that this situation would ever have gone on as long as it did without some adult intervention.

The ending, when it inevitably all goes wrong, was hard to take. By the time we get to the, quite frankly, stunning final moments, we are caught up entirely in the relationship between all the siblings. What we got was not what I expected and I’m not sure I can say I enjoyed this book, but it certainly got me thinking.

‘What We Saw’ – Aaron Hartzler

Heavily inspired by the Steubenville case of 2012, this novel packs a serious punch. Stacey Stallard is known throughout her school as a ‘loser’. She comes from the wrong side of town and many look down on her. The night she goes to a party and gets so drunk she can’t remember anything is the night so many lives in this small town change forever.

Unlike other books that deal with similar topics, our narrative is told from the viewpoint of another female student rather than the victim. Katie used to be friends with Stacey, she drank with her on the night of the party but then a close friend took her home and she was unaware of what happened later.

As we quickly learn, Stacey has accused a number of the stars of the basketball team of raping her. Sides are quickly taken, and the small town falls into line behind the boys who are regarded widely as heroes. For Katie, this crime is not so easy to ignore.

There is video evidence circulating of the crime that many say didn’t happen, or that Stacey brought on herself through her behaviour. When Katie herself sees the clip, she realises a tough decision has to be made. Does she turn the other way (like so many of her peers) or does she speak out?

There’s no doubt that Katie will do the morally right thing. What I thought was interesting was that this novel focuses on exploring the rationale of all the others who actually witnessed this and did nothing.

Alongside this painful narrative, we have the emotionally upsetting story that focuses on Katie and her best friend, Ben. Friends since they were five, they have always been close. Ben is one of the good guys, and he and Katie – in the aftermath of this party – end up starting a relationship. Unfortunately, Ben has his own problems and these definitely affect his decisions. Suddenly, nobody is quite what they seem.

As I felt when I read Louise O’Neill’s ‘Asking for It’, this made me angry. Angry that we live in a world where this can happen. Angry that we have become so selfish that many of us will turn the other cheek when we see something awful happening. Angry, above all, that there are still people who think stories such as this are the fault of the victim. While this is unpleasant reading, I think it’s the kind of book that every teenager and their parents should have to read.