May 2016 – Page 4 – My Good Reads

‘A Game of Thrones’ – George R.R. Martin

For some time it seems that a lot of people I know have been obsessing over the TV adaptation of Game of Thrones. From what I could gather, the characters spent lots of time fighting and having sex. Some were honourable characters; others were far from honourable. The whole point of the series seemed to be watching people fight to have the right to rule. I’m pretty certain somebody had also mentioned dragons! I was curious, but not so curious that I could face trying to catch up with a show that was five series in.

May’s reading challenge was all about pages read. Someone in the group came up with the great idea of reading A Song of Ice and Fire – one book a week – which seemed like the ideal opportunity to try it. At over 900 pages, I admit to being uncertain whether I’d the stomach for it (not when I had so many other books I also wanted to read).

Honestly, I was a little reluctant to get started. I found it a bit hard-going initially. There’s a lot of names to get your head around, and I did have to concentrate to try and work out exactly who was related to who. Having managed to complete the novel in four days, I have to say I wonder why it’s taken me so long to read this. A richly-imagined fantasy land, with some fabulous characters. The scheming and plotting makes the novel rich with tension. There’s a curious blend of formality and earthiness. Not at all what I expected, but I really enjoyed it.

‘The Paladin Prophecy 1’ – Mark Frost

Will West has spent his life trying not to stand out. His parents have drummed it into him that he should live by the rules they have taught him. He must keep below the radar, not draw attention to himself and the rules must be followed – at all times.

Not knowing much more than this means you are a little unsure what’s going on initially. The opening of the novel starts with dramatic chases, mysterious alien-like characters and some seriously odd stuff. I couldn’t help but be sucked in, and found myself desperate to find out what Will would do.

Will ends up in a special place, a school that you have to be invited to. There’s all manner of odd things going on, and watching Will trying to work out who to trust and what’s going on makes for a thrilling read. When he uncovers a secretive plot involving a number of students in the school he has to rely on his own judgement.

The supernatural features heavily, and this did make me less convinced in places. We’re asked to accept a lot, without really being prepared for it or given a satisfactory explanation.

On the whole, this is an exciting idea and involves some great characters. I’m curious to see where Frost takes this next.

‘We Are All Made of Molecules’ – Susin Nielsen

This novel uses humour to mask its more hard-hitting messages, but it’s an entertaining read for those just starting to make the leap into more adult ideas.

Ashley Anderson, 14, is the original Mean Girl at the start of the novel. She is at the top of the social chain in her group of friends, and is put out by the news that her mother’s new boyfriend has been asked to move in. Given that Ashley is still trying to come to terms with the fact that her dad is gay, she is less than pleased by this news. As if this weren’t bad enough for Ashley, mum’s boyfriend has a son – Stewart – a gifted, but socially inept, thirteen year-old.

The story is told from alternating points of view, and this gives us valuable insights into the way each character feels about events. Both the main characters are great, but for very different reasons.

While I found this all a little conveniently resolved, it will certainly get younger readers thinking about the key ideas within its pages.

‘Half Lost’ – Sally Green

I’d adored ‘Half Bad’, was less enamoured by ‘Half Wild’ and was keen to see where Sally Green would send Nathan in this final instalment of the trilogy.

At the start of this novel, Nathan is desperately seeking revenge on Annalise for her part in the murder of his father. He is the linchpin in the Alliance’s plan to bring down Soul, but those closest to him are concerned as to whether he can cope with the pressure he’s putting on himself.

This is full of action, and there are some great moments as we see Nathan drawing closer to his ultimate goal. I loved watching him come to terms with what has happened to him, and realising that it’s okay to be wrong sometimes.

Inevitably, there’s a lot of deaths in this novel – some of which I was more upset by than others. Though there were some unresolved questions (leaving things open for a return to this world?) I felt the ending was a fitting conclusion to Nathan’s story.

‘The Wicked Boy: The Mystery of a Victorian Child Murderer’ – Kate Summerscale

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the advance copy of this novel. Just as with ‘The Suspicions of Mr Whicher’, I was absorbed by this meticulously researched and fascinating story.

Set in 1895, we see 13 year old Robert and his younger brother, Nattie, spending money that it seems they should not have. They tell neighbours that their mother has gone to visit relatives in Liverpool, and they have been left in the care of a family friend. For ten days their behaviour is not seen as out of the ordinary. Our suspicions are raised by comments about a foul smell coming from the home and Robert pawning much-loved possessions to obtain money.

It is not until their aunt becomes suspicious and forces her way into the family home that we learn the source of the smell. The badly decomposed body of their mother is found upstairs in her bedroom, and Robert confesses to matricide.
Summerscale takes us through the trial at the Old Bailey and details of what happened next. This was packed full of information about the case, but it also included a wealth of details about life and attitudes of the time. We are told of the plea that Robert was insane, and I could not help but be shocked by the generally held beliefs about the effects of educating the poor.

When Robert is sentenced to imprisonment in Broadmoor, that could have been the end of it. What follows seems more a work of fiction, but we learn of the chance Robert was given to start a new life and the way he seizes this opportunity. This, for me, was what made the story special.

‘Undone’ – Cat Clarke

Jem has been in love with her gay best friend, Kai, for years. Though she knows they will only ever be friends, this relationship means everything to her. When he is outed in the cruellest way imaginable, Kai cannot cope with the pressure of his peers knowing and commits suicide. Jem is distraught, and is determined to find out who was responsible for what happened so she can get revenge.

From the outset, I liked Jem. Though she thinks of herself as an outsider, she is portrayed as a strong and witty character. Once Kai, her lifeline, is no longer around though she withdraws from everyone. It is only when she is given a parcel of letters by Kai’s sister that Jem starts to think seriously about how she can make people pay for what they have done.

I wasn’t sure where this novel would take us, but we follow Jem as she puts her plan into action. Watching her transformation revealed vulnerabilities that she didn’t even seem aware of. I liked the way she came to experience some happiness, and Clarke helps us to see that nobody is quite what we see on the surface. Everyone has secrets, and some are better at hiding them than others!

To be honest there were moments in the novel where I wasn’t as engaged as others, but the finale was explosive. It stunned me, and really was not what I expected. It also made me angry. We’d been given a few clues that this ending might be on the cards, but I had really hoped it wouldn’t go that way. For reasons I won’t share here, some of the other characters come out of things very badly. I also couldn’t shake the feeling that for someone who we’re told cared so much about Jem, Kai kept a lot of himself hidden and acted really selfishly.

‘Boy Toy’ – Barry Lyga

This review appeared originally on my Good Reads page.

Seventeen year-old Josh Mendel has a lot to deal with. Five years earlier, it comes to light that he was abused by his history teacher. Since the day she pleaded guilty he has had to come to terms with the things that happened to him.
The story is revealed slowly. We jump in and out of the present and Josh’s memories. This is a boy suffering, and it’s made more upsetting by the way he seems unaware of the extent of his suffering.

I imagine that there is a fine line when writing about such a relationship. It’s such an abuse of trust, but Lyga has Josh recall the events in such detail that it does, on occasion, come across as an attempt to titillate. While this isn’t comfortable reading, what happens later in the novel makes sense of what we’ve been told.

While the baseball obsession became something to wade through, it again helps make sense of Josh’s mindset and character. The moment where things click for Josh was the point at which I felt I understood the extent to which Josh had been affected by earlier events. By the end of the novel he was starting to take control of his life, and to come to accept his status as victim without letting it define him.

This is a hard review to write as my feelings about the novel changed throughout. It will probably offend some, and though I didn’t like the fact that Josh got to see Eve at the end of the novel I felt it showed how she was losing the hold she had over him at such a crucial time in his life.

‘The Teacher’ – Katarina Diamond

The novel opens explosively with the suicide of the Headteacher of a Devon boys’ school after he receives a mysterious package, which clearly holds some meaning for him. There are more deaths, increasingly bizarre, and the reader is given clues that they are linked…somehow.

There are clear warnings about this novel not being for the faint-hearted, but I wasn’t prepared for the level of sadistic violence that was exhibited. The violence makes sense, eventually, but it is pervasive and it seemed that everyone had some deep secret or an event that had tarnished them in some way. Even people who hadn’t shown any inclination for violence are revealed to be capable of extreme cruelty.

Putting the graphic violence aside, I did struggle a little initially with the ever-changing points of view and shifting time-frames. Ultimately, this also makes sense but there are moments early on when it feels like it intrudes on the events. I was also surprised by the ending-it just felt a stretch too far, given what we know about the characters involved.

The thing that saved the novel for me was the relationship between DS Miles and DS Grey, and their resolve to uncover the truth rather than accepting the easy answer. Both traumatised by their own events, they quickly establish a working relationship that is entertaining to see. The sequencing of events and gradual revelation of details does lead to a pretty explosive climax (though you will probably guess the killer’s identity long before it’s revealed).

Not one of my favourite reads of the year so far, but it is a fairly decent example of its genre (just not really my thing).

‘Girls on Fire’ – Robin Wasserman

I received this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I have to say thank you for being given the opportunity to read such an intriguing book.

‘Girls on Fire’ focuses on the obsessive friendship between Lacey and Hannah. The novel begins with the discovery of a boy’s body in the woods. The rumour is that he killed himself, but it’s soon clear that there’s more to this case than we’re told at first.

Hannah has always been a good student. Quiet and unassuming. When she is befriended by Lacey, who has more than her fair share of problems, Hannah finds a new confidence. Together, the pair are trouble.

Initially, the style is a little disjointed. We shift viewpoints and none of the main characters seem particularly likeable. Sticking with it – and as we learn more about the situation of these teenagers it is easier to feel the allure – the skill of the plotting becomes evident. Washerman perfectly captures the obsessive nature of a lot of teenage relationships, and I loved the fact that it was set in the 1990s so I completely got a lot of the references.

By the end I have to say I wasn’t sure who to see as a victim. There were many. This was a tense and claustrophobic read that won’t be to everyone’s tastes, but it is certainly a novel to notice.