Category: Contemporary

‘When Our Worlds Collided’ – Danielle Jawando

When Our Worlds Collided is a story that will rile you, dismay you but still leave you with the vague sense that there is hope.

The book began in a way that I found a little jarring, with our introduction to year 11 student Jackson who is out in Manchester on a date with the girl he’s fancied for ages. The dialogue between them felt a little unnatural on occasion, but you could put this down to awkwardness at the situation. There are occasional glimpses of a boy in a red puffa jacket, and we know this will be significant – and it isn’t long before we realise just how important. When Jackson and his date head outside they sense a shift in the mood – and then they become aware of chaos on the street. A boy has been stabbed.

While Jackson is worried about what he has seen – as a black teenager he is acutely conscious of how he is perceived – he feels compelled to try and offer assistance to the young girl doing her best to get help and stop the bleeding. The boy on the floor is the boy in the red puffa jacket. He is not known to Jackson, but 14 year old Shaq becomes a significant character for the three teenagers who stop to offer assistance.

We then follow the viewpoints of Jackson, Chantelle and Marc as they navigate their first real experience of something that they are aware of as a threat. Their reaction to Shaq’s stabbing was very believable, and I liked the fact that Jawando doesn’t shy away from some unpalatable truths about the media and how certain crimes are reported, or the evident upset felt by the two male characters.

From the moment Jackson – someone who offers assistance to a person in need – is checked out by the police because of his skin colour, it’s hard to ignore the underlying tension caused by racism. As a teacher I found myself riled up by the character of Mrs Edwards, and it made me desperately sad that in so many ways society is still determined to place unnecessary barriers in the way of others.

What happens to these three teens felt harsh, and this was more upsetting by the knowledge that this is the reality for so many people. Yet they find support from each other, and the lovely Eileen sticking with Marc when he’s not used to adults treating him with respect made me far more emotional than it should have.

While this made no difference to my enjoyment of the story, I found myself infuriated by the mistakes made in regards to grading in schools. On numerous occasions the students refer to getting grade 10s…there is no such thing! I also felt that once Jackson’s story develops it became rather lacking in credibility – perhaps if there’d been some link to Shaq’s story it might have felt credible, but everything felt rather rushed by the end – and included to make a point rather than as a realistic development of the story that had been started.

Nominated for the Yoto Carnegie 2023 Awards, I’m sensing a definite push with these nominations towards books that explore themes of identity and belonging and which have a clear focus on exploring social issues. This is certainly important, but I don’t want to lose sight of the value of just being able to recommend a book because it has a great plot or because it says something to you.

 

‘Never Ever Getting Back Together’ – Sophie Gonzales

Never Ever Getting Back Together was a story that I really didn’t know what to expect from…but it was so much more fun than I could have hoped for.

We are given the premise of a reality TV show (think Love Island meets The Selection) all about second chances. Even though it was two years ago, Maya still remembers how upset she was when her boyfriend of the time cheated on her. He maintains he did nothing wrong, and now he is in the public eye he is firmly in control of the narrative of their break-up. When he rings Maya and asks her to take part in this show – where he spends time in a remote location with a number of exes as he tries to work out which one he would like a second chance with – Maya, quite rightly in my view, is stunned at his audacity. However, then she takes it upon herself to see this as an opportunity to set the record straight and get her revenge.

What Maya didn’t bank on was the involvement of the other girl involved in her particular triangle, Skye. The two girls do not get off on the right foot, and while it is clear that drama between the two girls was being banked on for ratings what comes next is even more entertaining.

Over the course of their attempts to sabotage Jordy’s show, Skye and Maya end up realising they have a lot more in common than they first thought. Their relationship was far more engaging than the fake ones put in place for the show, and I could not wait to see exactly how things panned out. This was a relationship that it was hard not to root for.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this before its expected publication in November 2022.

 

‘The second Stranger’ – Martin Griffin

The Second Stranger takes us on an increasingly audacious journey, set in a remote location and featuring a small cast of characters that all seem to be hiding something.

Our main character Remie is the sole worker at the McKinnon Hotel on its last night before winter closing. There are only two guests, and she is counting down the hours until she can leave the next day. Unfortunately, things don’t go quite to plan.

The Hotel is close to a high security prison. With a storm approaching, the news of a disturbance doesn’t bode well. When Remie hears police officer Gaines at the door asking for assistance she lets him in. Though the situation is tense, it ramps up in drama when a second man arrives at the hotel claiming to be Gaines.
Suddenly we have a very different situation. One of the men is Gaines, but which one? And how can Remie work it out?

From start to finish we are placed centre-stage in an increasingly tense scenario. There was a sense of disconnect throughout, which is linked to Remie’s secret, and though this seems rather implausible once we’re given all the details it made for a rather satisfying diversion.

 

‘Friends Like These’ – Jennifer Lynn Alvarez

For fans of Karen McManus and anyone who likes twists in their tales, Friends Like These is a story where you can never wholly trust the characters who are sharing their story.

Our main focus is rich girl Tegan, former friend of Jessica and ex of Jessica’s boyfriend, Jake. Her parties are synonymous with excess, but her end of summer party becomes known for all the wrong reasons.

It’s not giving anything away to say that this group of classmates have a long and complicated history. Things come to a head on the night of Tegan’s party when she kisses her ex and ends up having sex with him…but the whole thing is filmed and shared with their classmates downstairs (including Jake’s girlfriend). When Tegan goes missing the night after the party, people are quick to judge.

Before we know it, bodies are found in the sea. There’s a lot of background to this story, that seems a little distracting but is actually crucial to our understanding of what happened. We learn that a number of people are lying about their involvement in the evening’s events, and once things are wrapped up it made me very pleased to not be a teen today.

 

‘How to Kill Men and Get Away With It’ -Katy Brent

When victims fight back, things get dirty…

Kitty Collins is not a character I have any affinity with. As a beautiful wealthy Influencer, she’s not the type of character I expected to like…her proclivity for murder doesn’t do much to endear her. However, her snarkiness and deadpan delivery really do make her a rather entertaining young woman to spend time with.

Our first meeting with Kitty relays the evening when a sleazy guy from a bar follows her, tries to force her into becoming more physical and then ends up dead when he falls onto a broken bottle. Most people would call the police and hope for the best, but Kitty has form…so she goes home and continues her life.
The situations that Kitty finds herself in are increasingly audacious. Some are very graphic, and while I can’t say I enjoyed the book at times, it was certainly entertaining.

I had my suspicions about Kitty from early on, and it was gratifying to see that I wasn’t too far off the mark. The ending certainly left me open-mouthed and I’m wondering if perhaps Kitty has met her match in Charlie.

 

‘Her Majesty’s Royal Coven’ – Juno Dawson

A solid 3.5 stars, with a story that sweeps you up in its embrace and spits you out at the end…desperately waiting to see what comes next.

Slow to get started (at least it was for me) but our focus is Her Majesty’s Royal Coven, a group of witches, and four key women who have been friends since childhood. There’s a lot of backstory to these witches, and we get glimpses into their past, but key elements of the story focus on a battle between witches and warlocks that is never really explained clearly. Moments are alluded to, and perhaps there is a plan to further expand on these in book two.

A central focus of the story is the prophecy that the Sullied Child will rise and destroy the world. Now that they think they’ve found them, Helena is determined to try and work out how to prevent this prophecy coming true. She enlists the help of her old friend Niamh, an incredibly strong witch, to talk with Theo and establish how much of a threat this will be.

It was clear from quite early on that Theo was more powerful than anyone could predict. This is what prompts the need to investigate. However, we soon learn that Theo identifies as a girl…and so we move into a more political exploration of gender and attitudes to trans children.

Anyone reading this is likely to draw parallels between Helena, our trans-hating coven leader, and a certain female writer whose views on trans-rights are widely criticised. Dawson tries to allow Helena’s views to be aired, but the vitriol she spews and the reactions of those who fight against her establish clearly where our sympathies are meant to lie. In the portrayal of Theo we have a character who is simply fighting to be, and the happiness she radiates as people express their acceptance of her makes it hard not to want to champion her cause.

The background of the coven allows some context to the events taking place. Certainly, as we draw to the close and see Niamh’s sister setting something in motion I found myself very keen to get my hands on the next instalment. Unfortunately, the constant Spice Girls references grated on me and the pacing at the start was too slow to warrant a higher rating.

 

‘Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow’ – Gabrielle Zevin

 

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a book about gaming but it is also a book about friendship, and a rather unconventional love story.

Our key characters are Sadie Green and Sam Masur. Both reserved, they have a shared love of gaming. Their bond is almost obsessive, and from the moment they meet in hospital to the closing pages of the book, we see the role gaming has in their lives.

While in college they design a best-selling game…and with some help from Sam’s room-mate, Marx, game design becomes their world. A start-up created through shared passion, and though there were sections of the book where the gaming talk became a little much there was plenty to keep our interest.

While we’re immersed in the world of gaming, Zevin’s focus is also the dynamics between the key characters and the relationship shared by Sam and Sadie. Complicated, fragile and prone to over-reactions, these two seemed to have a closer relationship than most lovers. Marx’s role seemed to be to bridge the gaps between the two, and yet it seemed rather cruel to dispose of him in the way Zevin did.

This was a solid 3.5 star read for me, but I’ve rounded it up because there were some moments within the book that resonated. Of all the games mentioned within the book I’m surprised that they went with the Emily poetry one to help generate interest…

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this.

‘Nothing More to Tell’ – Karen McManus

Another McManus hit in the making, with many of the features fans will recognise and love…and definite potential for a very interesting follow-up.

This time round we’re focusing on a crime that took place some years ago. The body of Mr Will Larkin, a popular teacher at St Ambrose School, was found by three students. Popular belief is that the crime was random, but many still believe there’s more to the story than has been shared.

Our prime character is Brynn, an ex-student who has to return to the school she left four years earlier. She was friends with Tripp, one of the three students who found the body, and she is convinced that there’s more to the story. While her curiosity is understandable, she’s helped hugely here in her investigations by the fact that she has an internship at Motive, a true-crime show, and has access to police reports and details that your average teenager wouldn’t.

Much of the story focuses on Brynn’s attempts to uncover the truth. Of course, people are hiding things and the story behind Larkin’s murder is definitely not what people thought. The truth is almost crazier than anything you could dream up, but it does make sense.

Our narration is split between Brynn and Tripp. We also shift perspectives to the time of the crime, and this is well-constructed to keep us dangling. If I’m being honest, the ending felt rather rushed and the least credible of the strands we’d been given but to leave us with the teaser hinting at more to come from Brynn was a definite hit.

I’m grateful to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this prior to publication, and I can’t wait to get my hands on my pre-ordered physical copy…and to see how students react once they’ve had the chance to read it.

‘This Book Kills’ – Ravena Guron

Scheduled for release in January 2023, thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to review this early…a debut influenced heavily by A Good Girl’s Guide and the Truly Devious series. Great fun, and definitely one to recommend.

Jess Choudhary is a scholarship student at an elite school. She’s used to feeling on the outskirts of things, but when one of the wealthiest and most popular boys in the school is found dead things get difficult. Though it’s hushed up, his murder was carried out almost word for word like the story Jess and another student wrote for a school assignment. When Jess receives a text thanking her for the inspiration, we know things are about to become difficult.

Impeded by the stipulation that their behaviour is exemplary, neither Jess nor Summer can take the risk of stirring up too much trouble. With a secret society stirring trouble for the ‘poors’, it’s apparent that someone is exploiting the institutional issues for their own gain.

With its dark undertones of institutionalised racism, and the very apparent exploitation of status for personal gain, this gave a rather derivative book a real bite. Jess and her attempts at investigation are well-meaning but rather inept…and she comes to depend on the very people who are so keen to ostracise her just a little too much for my liking.

While this didn’t exactly offer anything new, it is still a great read. I can’t wait to see how it fares when it’s let loose on the world.

 

‘Husband Material’ – Alexis Hall

When you reach the age Luc and Oliver are in the book I appreciate that you are often caught up in the kind of situations they experience. Having got married at 21 I really don’t get the focus on weddings, but I appreciate that it can force you to feel certain responses.

Luc hasn’t moved on much – he would be exhausting to live with, and yet he brings a certain charm to his reactions. This time round we get to see them go through a number of weddings, some of which are more entertaining than others, and how it impacts their relationship.

Luc and Oliver continue to feel they have to behave a certain way, and I was pleased that they were given the opportunity to really have the chance to think about who they were/what was important to them. The scene following Oliver’s speech really did hurt – sometimes family are the ones who find it easiest to hurt you.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this before publication.