Month: May 2017

‘Spontaneous’ – Aaron Starmer

Never did I think I would be typing the words spontaneous combustion in a book review…but, it’s impossible to avoid mentioning that phrase seeing as that is what happens to many of the characters in this novel. Yes, really…

Mara is a senior who, in our opening chapter, watches one of her classmates spontaneously combust. Initially, there’s a sense of shock – but as more and more seniors go the same way, it’s evident that something odd is happening. It’s probably best to not ask too many questions (as we’re never really told why this is happening) but you will find yourself drawn into the way in which those remaining respond to events.

We watch Mara as she and her friends try to come to terms with the weird events taking place in their previously nondescript town. Rather than fretting about the normal everyday teenage concerns, Mara and her peers are simply trying to make it through one day at a time.

There were scenes in this novel that I could not help but laugh aloud at. The game with Mara trying to get her shot of classmates Wie, Love and Cox sitting on a bench will remain etched in my memory. Yet there are also many touching scenes.

An odd read, that I really found myself liking. Though I would have liked a neater resolution (it felt like there needed to be a purpose to this), this was – in Mara’s words – invigorating.

 

‘Seven Trees of Stone’ – Leo Hunt

An unusual read, but it will thrill fans of the series.

It’s been a while since I read book two but this gives some recaps while plunging us into a new story. It doesn’t take long to pick things back up, honest.

Luke has got used to a quieter life, and some time has passed since the events of Book Two. There are still issues between Luke and his mother, and his acceptance of her new boyfriend Darren. When Luke is persuaded to spend New Year’s Eve in Darren’s woodland home we are expecting something dramatic – but this was off the scale of what I thought might happen.

This story tells us about a New Year’s Eve with a difference. After an argument, Luke wakes to find himself in Deadside with no idea of how he came to be there. The world has frozen over, and something is attempting to take over the land of the living.

We watch Luke and Elza encounter some pretty nasty things, but they are resourceful and find a way to take on these Essentials. As with previous books, there’s some graphic description but it is exciting stuff.

I was pretty surprised by the final showdown, and think that’s a fitting ending to events. However, Luke’s final actions imply there could be more to come.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

‘One of Us is Lying’ – Karen M. McManus

Due for publication at the end of May 2017, I am really grateful to the author and publishers Delacorte Press (via NetGalley) for allowing me to read this early.

For readers of the target group, the John Hughes movie The Breakfast Club will probably not mean anything. But, throughout, I could see the influence of this movie – and one or two hit teen dramas of recent years – on the way this was written. Yet I never felt I was simply rehashing old ground.

The basic plot is simple. Five students of Bayview High – the “walking teen stereotypes” – are put in detention one night. One of the five, Simon, runs a hit app on which his peers depend for their gossip. Unfortunately Simon was planning to reveal a little secret belonging to each of the four students with him in detention. This provides each of the four with a reason to be a suspicious character in the investigation that ensues after Simon (who suffers with a peanut allergy) ends up dead.

A high-impact start, and we are taken on something of a rollercoaster ride as we learn a little more about Bronwen, Nate, Addy, Cooper and the young man who seemed to hold the key to their high school happiness in his hands.

Don’t worry, there’s no big reveal here. What I will tell you is that I was second-guessing everyone and everything I was told. I trusted nobody and, though I suspected the final revelation, I still wasn’t certain until very close to the end.

A greta debut, and one I will be heartily recommending to my students.