Category: Contemporary

‘Lucky Girl’ – Amanda Maciel

Thank you to publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication. A hard-hitting and topical read, that will probably appeal to teen readers.

Rosie is one of those girls it would be easy to hate. Pretty and popular, she is used to using her looks to get what she wants. Initially, she seems shallow and quite unlikeable and definitely not a good friend to Maddie. However, Maciel tries to show there’s more to Rosie than people realise.

After her best friend returns from a summer in Spain, Rosie is jealous of her new relationship. Sadly, she ends up in a situation she can’t control and feels alone after she is assaulted by her ex. There’s no graphic description of the assault, and alongside the current media focus on sexual harassment it’s important to get teen readers exploring just what constitutes assault. Sadly I think there’ll be many teen readers who will recognise what happens to Rosie as an all-too-familiar story, and all too many who will think Rosie is wrong to question what happens to her.

Sadly, the novel felt like a powerful idea that didn’t quite work out. I personally felt I got too side-tracked by the plots surrounding Sophie’s relationship with her sister, and her friendship with Alex. Throwing in a best gay friend story felt like too many bases were being covered to really explore any in depth.

‘Little Fires Everywhere’ – Celeste Ng

In Shaker Heights people live by the rules, and anyone who doesn’t follow those rules is regarded with suspicion. Someone like Isabelle Richardson, youngest daughter of the Richardson clan, is seen as something of an outsider. When she leaves the family home, having burned it to the ground, people are convinced she has finally gone mad. What on earth could have caused such an action?

Initially I found it hard to place this story. We jumped from the fire – which immediately roused my curiosity – to mother and daughter, Mia and Pearl, who have moved to the area and are renting a home from Elena Richardson. How could these very different characters be linked?

Though it felt slow to get going, there’s no doubt that this is the kind of story that rewards looking beneath the surface. Having introduced us to the key characters we are then shown a little of their interactions, their past and we get a clear sense of who they are as characters.

Mia and Pearl seem destined to cause upset in the area, but it isn’t immediately obvious just how much damage will be done.

The side-story of Elena’s friends trying to adopt an abandoned Chinese baby seemed to come from nowhere, but it helps us to learn more about the background to some of our key players and to come to understand their motivation for acting as they do. It also allowed our younger characters the opportunity to explore their own views on identity and motherhood.

An enigmatic read, that I would highly recommend. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my review.

‘Goodbye, Perfect’ – Sara Barnard

Not due for release until early 2018, I am grateful to NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication, although I can see it being a book that will split opinion.
Let’s deal with the elephant in the room first of all…this book focuses on a teacher/student relationship which means it is not ever going to be an easy book to recommend. Though we learn about Bonnie’s relationship through her friend, Eden, there’s no escaping the fact that we’re likely to judge things even before we start reading. I can’t see my way past this, and think the subject will put a lot of readers off without them picking up the book. This would be a shame as I felt the book was more about Eden and her growing character.
‘Goodbye, Perfect’ opens with Eden finding out that her best friend has run away. There’s been some talk of an older boyfriend, but Bonnie hasn’t shared details and this struck me as odd. If you are best friends, the only reason you don’t want to tell someone about it is because you know there’s something inappropriate. Very quickly, Eden learns that this mysterious boyfriend is actually the girls’ music teacher. From this point on we’re in strange territory.
Eden has always been the friend most likely to cause trouble. Adopted as a young child, Eden has made her share of mistakes. Perfect she is not. But her best friend, Bonnie, fits the stereotype of perfect pupil. Straight A student, head girl, positive…we get the idea. So, is Bonnie a victim of grooming or a deluded teen desperate to break free from the constraints and expectations placed upon her?
Barnard takes us through the process of investigating Bonnie’s disappearance. We see a little of how the police work and we are encouraged to consider behaviour of adults and those in authority as Eden and those left behind try to come to terms with what has happened. We are offered numerous reasons to try to explain why Bonnie might have fallen for her music teacher. However, because we are never given the view of those involved directly it is difficult to feel we are being given a satisfactory reason for these events to have happened.
The initial part of the book seemed rather slow if I’m being honest. As a reader, I felt I’d already decided there was nothing to justify what was happening and it frustrated me that Eden didn’t immediately try to take the course of action I would have hoped for. However, I really enjoyed seeing the growth in this rather prickly young woman as she comes to realise what’s important to her, and overcomes her own barriers to try and forge her own life. The latter part of the book picked up the pace and became a story that will certainly engage readers.

‘Turtles all the Way Down’ – John Green

I started this book a number of times and just wasn’t ‘clicking’…but I’m glad I got in the right place for this eventually. It’s a slow-burner, definitely, and I think I’d gone into it with a certain expectation. When this wasn’t there, I was a little non-plussed.
Basic story revolves around sixteen year old Aza and her best friend, Daisy. Aza has quite debilitating mental health issues. We watch these two girls go about their daily lives and there’s a side story involving a boy from Aza’s past, Davis, their fledgling relationship and the disappearance of his father.
At moments this felt very much like things I’d read before. The story about Davis’s father felt like a framework, and there was a real sense of episodes that we were bearing witness to rather than a cohesive story.
Those comments make it sound really negative, but that’s not the feeling I got from this read. The plot itself was fairly so-so; I wasn’t unduly bothered what happened. However, what I found absorbing was the inner workings of Aza’s mind.
This is a girl suffering. She’s very absorbed in herself, and constantly questions her actions. She is the kind of person who might be utterly draining to actually be around, but the attempt to get into her mind was fascinating. This will strike a chord with so many because of the way it explores mental health, and for that reason alone it’s a book I’d be happy to recommend. I cannot get the image of the spiral out of my mind, and I think the way the book ended offered hope without being saccharine-sweet and incredible. This doesn’t have quite the appeal of The Fault in our Stars, but I found it more satisfying as it forces you to confront your own misconceptions/views on mental health.

‘We Can’t Be Friends’ – Cyndy Etler

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my review, and I’m happy to post my thoughts but don’t really want to rate such a personal book.
Cyndy is a hard narrator to get under the skin of. She is quite abrasive, and jumps around topics almost as a coping mechanism when things get too uncomfortable.

We begin with Cyndy returning to high school after months in rehab. We learn she was sent there at fourteen, by her mother, who seemed convinced she was an addict after what could be seen as experimenting. I understand there’s another book chronicling this experience, but the flashbacks we get here are enough to demonstrate how abusive it was.

Any memoir is subject to criticism. We only get that person’s perspective. Their thoughts and emotions are valid, but we never know how someone else would view the situation. Unfortunately, we’re told that Cyndy suffered abuse at the hands of her stepfather which was ignored. We are told her young stepsister is experiencing the same things. But their mother does nothing…I know it’s not her story, but I just cannot comprehend how a parent can hear these things and not take action to benefit their child.

It becomes quite apparent that Cyndy seems to have low self-esteem and is depressed. Her reactions to her peers really illustrate her desperate need to be validated in some way. How she tries to get this validation is understandable, though upsetting to read.

An unflinchingly honest read. Definitely not pleasant, but certainly important.

‘A Short History of the Girl Next Door’ – Jared Reck

A Short History – for obvious reasons – and part of me feared that this would be like numerous books I’ve read before. Thankfully, this was a deceptive read.

Initially I was unsure how interested I would be in our main narrator, Matt, being neither interested in basketball nor interested in how it feels to be in love with your best friend but not able to tell them. However, I quickly warmed to him. There’s a gaucheness to him that he tries to cover up, but he is not a stereotypical arrogant jock…this is a very warm-hearted young man who often gets things wrong, doesn’t always say the right thing and who has the ability to mess things up without even speaking.

I couldn’t help but feel for him being in love with this ‘next door neighbour’ whom he’s known for years, and who is treated almost like an extra member of the family. This could have been really exciting if we’d had passages from Tabby’s point of view, though that would – inevitably- run into problems further into the novel.

Within pages I found myself getting under Matt’s skin. I laughed out loud, cringed at his awkward moments and truly loved the dynamics between the pair. This was a chance to see what someone’s thinking (even though, on occasion, we might have been better not knowing.)

As the story unfolds Matt is having to come to terms with the realisation that Tabby fancies someone else, a senior, who is actually a really nice guy. They can still be friends, but things are changing. You get the idea. It hurts.

Matt treats Tabby rather shabbily on occasion, and even takes her friendship for granted. While I wanted there to be some form of relationship between them, I sensed that we were not going to get that resolution. However,when the carpet was pulled from under me I was stunned. Shocking, heart-breaking but truly a great read.

I’ve already recommended this to many students. Thanks NetGalley for letting me read it early!

‘Kill the Boy Band’ – Goldy Moldavsky

Just know from the start that it wasn’t supposed to go like this. All we wanted was to get near them. That’s why we got a room in the hotel where they were staying. 

We were not planning to kidnap one of them. Especially not the most useless one. But we had him—his room key, his cell phone, and his secrets.

We were not planning on what happened next.

We swear.

How could you resist a premise like that? It sounds dark, full of black humour and a satire on the modern pop industry. Sadly, it doesn’t quite work.

Boy bands are an entity that inspire a particular kind of frenzied behaviour in their fans. Girls, specifically, have always been keen to show their love…but with the advent of social media, and the ability to pay closer attention to schedules etc I think things have become a little more frantic.

This story focuses on a group of four ‘friends’, bonded by their love of the group known as The Ruperts. They follow the band to their hotel and thus begins a strange turn of events. One of the band members is inadvertently imprisoned in the girls’ room…and so begins a dangerous game, which ends in shocking ways that you can’t even begin to imagine.

While this has moments that are entertaining, there wasn’t enough distinction between the voices of the author and the girls. I was never entirely certain whether we were applauding the girls, judging them or sympathising with them. The treatment of the boys themselves was scathing, but without really offering anything to explain this view. I really disliked the attitudes expressed towards Apple-such negative body images really don’t have their place without more care to put them in context.

So, all in all, a book that had its moments but which, ultimately, felt rather missing in something. A bit like the thing it’s focusing on?

‘STAGS’ by M.A. Bennett

Feature film rights for M A Bennett’s debut YA novel S.T.A.G.S have been bought by Chernin Entertainment, ahead of its UK publication. The novel focuses on the exclusive St. Aidan the Great’s School (S.T.A.G.S.) in England and follows first year boarding student Greer as she navigates the traditions of the school hierarchy, until she is invited for a weekend getaway by the school’s elite and most popular group, known as the Medievals. The invite promises a weekend of bloodsports, but what Greer and the other invitees don’t know is that the Medievals just might be hunting, shooting, and fishing them over the next three days.

It comes as little surprise to me that there’s plans to turn this into a movie. It definitely has that feel to it, and there’s more than one or two scenes that I think have been inspired by classic films.

From the moment we meet Greer, we know she’s caught up in something shocking. She tells us she might be a murderer, and I couldn’t wait to see just how this came together.

Greer’s scholarship at S.T.A.G.S. – a school of traditions, where money is revered and there’s a sense that those who have money/status will always come out on top – makes her feel like an outsider from the start. The book itself reminded me of a number of films/novels, where we are asked to look at how privilege affects character.

Our story starts properly when Greer and the others are invited to the home of Henry de Warlencourt (leader of the Medievals) for a shooting, hunting, fishing weekend. I was fascinated by the aura of wealth and privilege, but also slightly repulsed by the air of menace that exudes from this group.

As the story picks up, the rose-tinted glasses fall from Greer’s eyes. What she’s involved in isn’t simply an attempt to make a group of people feel socially inferior, it’s deadly serious. Over years ‘accidents’ have happened and it quickly becomes a case of survival, and trying to work out just how far-up the chain this goes!

The focus on wealth and race felt uncomfortable. Yet I know this probably isn’t too far from the norm for some. Whether it goes quite this far is hard to credit, but it certainly makes for a thrilling story.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this in advance of publication (and I await news of the movie).

‘Boy2Girl’ – Terence Blacker

Firstly, this was not the book I expected. It wasn’t bad, but nor was it quite the exploration of gender/identity that I was expecting. This clash between what you might think you’re getting and what’s there could lead to a lot of disappointed readers.

Matt has a fairly safe life. Nothing much happens, then things are shaken up when his mum is given custody of her nephew, Sam, after the death of his mother. Sam is prickly, tough, but clearly deeply upset by the absence of his father. Naturally, perhaps, this is covered up with a kind of machismo, which just irritates Matt and his friends. So they decide to set Sam a challenge – one that will have serious consequences. Sam has to spend his first week at school as a girl.
Can’t see many 12 year old boys doing this, but Sam does. Of course it creates confusion, some humorous situations and a fair amount of chaos.

While there were attempts to explore issues around identity, it was itself upholding some of the sexist views it pertained to challenge. It also took some time to adjust to the different voices within the novel.

All in all this was reasonably funny, but it isn’t a guaranteed laugh out lead read (whatever it says on the cover).

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my review.

‘Moonrise’ – Sarah Crossan

‘They think I hurt someone.
But I didn’t. You hear?
Coz people are gonna be telling you
all kinds of lies.
I need you to know the truth.’

Sometimes the simplest story is the most heart-breaking.

Joe, our narrator, is 17 and on his way to Texas to visit his brother, Ed. They’ve not seen each other for years, but after confessing to killing a police officer – and spending years on Death Row – Ed is about to be killed.

Joe is dealing with things that nobody his age should have to face alone. How do you say goodbye to someone you never really knew? How do you prepare someone for their death, when you are fairly sure they don’t deserve it?

The style is clear and you might even say terse at times. A lot is left unsaid, but it’s a powerful story. Another hard-hitting one, that made me cry.

Thank you NetGalley for this one.