Category: Young Adult

‘GIRL (in real life) ‘ – Tamsin Winter

Girl (in real life) is a great teen read, broaching the topic of social media and the extent to which we invite unknown people into our lives while showing us a character trying to come to terms with who she is.

Eva is – in many ways – a typical girl…but since she was young her parents have vlogged about her. Videos of her hamster’s funeral and ‘cute’ events in her life have been viewed by thousands of people. She’s used to her home time being carefully orchestrated to protect ‘the brand’. As she’s grown up, however, Eva is more conscious of how this constant presence invades her life. Schoolmates mock her, some find it entertaining…but when her mum posts about her first period Eva decides enough is enough.

Eva tries to explain her reluctance – and her parents were portrayed as highly insensitive in this regard. But nothing changes.

As we can see coming a mile off, Eva takes matters into her own hands and enlists the help of a new student to reclaim her life. Badly thought out, messy, but it doesn’t totally backfire so Eva is happy enough and their comfortable ‘real life’ funded lifestyle isn’t affected.

With the younger audience in mind it doesn’t do anything than skirt a very complex issue. It is from Eva’s perspective so it’s quite easy to see it in isolation, but it’s a good starting point.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication in exchange for my honest review.

‘That Weekend’ – Kara Thomas

That Weekend hooked me from the outset…Claire wakes up, bloodied, in a wood, with no recollection of recent days. She is rescued, taken to hospital and we immediately wonder what happened. It’s clear she has suffered, but the fragments of memory she has of the night suggest there is more to this. Of course there is!

Claire was with her best friends, Kat and Jesse. They are nowhere to be found, and soon things head into what feels like a fairly typical mystery. The FBI are called to search…wealthy family are desperate for news, and the media whip up a frenzy to suggest Claire knows more than she lets on.

Before long we are getting flashbacks so we learn a little more of the dynamic between these three, and what might have happened. The book is split into clearly defined sections and – at least initially – we are led into fraught scenarios, desperate to piece things together.

I found it quite frustrating to be in the position of not knowing more than Claire, waiting to learn what had happened.

There were so many possibilities, and I think I was convinced of the guilt of at least three characters. The truth was more complex than I imagined, and though this was interesting it did feel somewhat skimmed over in order to move the story on. However, it was a great story with characters who were easy to empathise with, even if they weren’t particularly likeable..

 

‘Let’s Go Swimming on Doomsday’ – Natalie C. Anderson

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this before its June publication. A harrowing story, but one that should not be ignored.

Our main focus is Abdi, a sixteen year old Somali boy, who – in order to protect his family – was asked by the Americans to infiltrate the jihadi terrorist group Al Shabaab. He vividly recalls the day that Al Shabaab boys came to his town and took his brother. Abdi was thirteen.

Our story is split between the now – when Abdi is being cared for by Sam, a worker for the UN – and then – the process that lead to Abdi being recruited by the group and the activities he was forced to take part in.

There’s no getting away from the fact that the subject matter is tough reading. The indoctrination of children to such groups, and the callous disregard for human life shown by such leaders, is graphically conveyed to us. However, making it clear that Abdi did not participate willingly, and that he is now in fear for his life, meant the book did not seem to glamorise such actions at all.

The details given about how the group operated were fascinating. What struck me, however, was the very real focus on the emotional impact on Abdi and others like him of such groups. There was an emotional honesty to this that is hard to ignore, and I cannot wait to see how it goes down with teen readers.

 

‘None Shall Sleep’ – Ellie Marney

None Shall Sleep was an unexpected read, and one that I am amazed I’ve not heard more about. It’s dark, rather terrifying in its entirety but utterly compelling.

Emma Lewis and Travis Bell are teens recruited into a new FBI program. This has been done before, but the characters of Emma and Travis were quite different. Emma is the one that got away…the ‘final bride’ of a serial killer. Travis is the son of a US Marshall who was killed in the line of duty, by a teenage serial killer. They are both – naturally – affected by their experiences but determined to play their part in protecting others.

Under the care of Agent Cooper they are tasked with interviewing teenage serial killers who have not complied with previous FBI profiling attempts. This leads them to Simon Gutmunsson, the Artist, and the young man who took the life of Travis’s father. Beguiling, but one to watch, Simon is intrigued by Emma and what she has endured. He drops hints about the profile and behaviour of the killer who has come to be known as the Butcher…and, very quickly, it becomes clear that Emma and Travis are getting results.

Ominously, they are drawn into a dark and tangled web. People are killed. They are in danger, and yet they are doggedly determined to do what they believe to be right – even it means working closely with someone they feel unable to trust.
There’s a deeply unpleasant level of detail in the crimes featured. We know we’re dealing with some incredibly dangerous people…but there’s something mesmerising about their behaviour too.

This will not be for everyone. Some scenes played straight out of the Lecter/Starling moments in The Silence of the Lambs but it always felt as if we were getting something a little different. I loved the presentation of our key characters and our closing scenes were deeply affecting. While I’m unsettled by how much I enjoyed this, I am genuinely keen to see what others make of it.

 

‘Namesake’ – Adrienne Young

Namesake picks up almost immediately after that rather frustrating ending of book one. Fable has been taken by Zola, and we are left to imagine what exactly he plans.

As we follow Fable we learn she is being taken to Holland. Though we haven’t seen her before, everyone fears her and it is suggested she is ruthless. However, over the course of the book she underestimates people time and time again and I wonder whether she is somewhat blinded by her familial ties. While it’s set up as something of a shock for those involved, Holland’s interest in Fable is obvious.

This book pits merchant against merchant. There’s the bigger picture of the wider community and how they are all affected by the dispute between Holland Saint. A lot of time is spent exploring the developing bond between West and Fable – though they are both so stubborn they forget that talking to each other is useful once in a while. We get a few diving scenes…and there’s more than one occasion for someone to spill their guts about their hopes and ambitions, and the plans they are putting in place to achieve them.

Once we’d got underway and I’d settled back into the rhythm of this I found myself racing through it. I enjoyed it immensely. However, things feel unresolved and I can’t help but wonder at the decision to leave some questions unanswered in something that is meant to be our closing chapter.

‘The Lucky List’ – Rachel Lippincott

Emily always felt lucky, and the bond she had with her mum was special. Unfortunately, Emily’s mum was diagnosed with terminal cancer, her luck ran out and Emily has not felt the same since.

When we first meet Emily she alludes to some of this trauma, and as the story progresses we learn more about her life and how losing her mum has affected her. We see her trying to come to terms with things changing…but this is, primarily, a story about one girl trying to figure out who she is.

The action takes place over the summer holidays. We see Emily finding a list written by her mum of challenges she set herself at the same point in her life. Emily decides – with a little push from her new friend – to carry out these challenges. As she ticks them off she starts to feel a little freer…but the biggest challenge is whether she will be honest with herself.

Emily was a very sympathetically presented character. She didn’t always make the best decisions, but it was rewarding to see her develop and gain the confidence to feel comfortable in her own skin.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication.

‘All Our Hidden Gifts’ – Caroline O’Donoghue

 

Maeve Chambers, the youngest of five children, is a fairly ordinary sixteen year old girl in many ways. She feels acutely conscious that she’s not as clever as her siblings, not as interesting as her peers and has no idea what she wants to do. She is fizzing with a desire to do something but doesn’t know what that something could be.

When she gets into trouble in school she is given a detention which involves clearing out an abandoned storeroom. While there she finds an old Walkman and a pack of tarot cards. So begins her new interest…

Maeve teaches herself to read the tarot cards and finds herself to have something of a knack for it. She likes the feeling she gets when she does readings for her schoolmates. Unfortunately, after she does a reading for Lily – the girl who used to be her best friend until Maeve abandoned her in an attempt to garner popularity – things go horribly wrong. Lily disappears, and Maeve is convinced (because of the presence of a mysterious card known as the Housekeeper) that she is responsible.

The mystery of what happened to Lily is at the heart of the book but never really examined, and glossed over later. It is inextricably linked to the rise of an ultra-conservative Christian group sowing discord and hatred amongst the community. No one escapes this.

There was a lot going on here, and it wasn’t always clear which strand was driving the book. Interesting idea, and certainly topical, but I didn’t really feel engaged enough by Maeve to care too much what happened to her and the characters I was intrigued by were often sidelined just when things could have been interesting.

‘The Ivies’ – Alexa Donne

Getting accepted into one of the Ivy League colleges is hard work, and this book exposes just how brutal the system is.

Olivia has a place at Claflin Academy on a scholarship. For reasons she’s not sure of she has been befriended by a group known as the Ivies…girls from wealthy backgrounds who will do whatever is needed to get into the college of their choice, and not worry about who they trample in the process.

When Olivia gets early acceptance into Harvard she should be screaming it from the rooftops. However, in the world she’s part of the Harvard spot was meant for Avery…and when she’s rejected it sets in place a truly scary sequence of events.

We have the death of a student, and Olivia is convinced one of her friends could be behind it. We follow her attempts to investigate what happened…and though it is quite ridiculous it is just on the edge of credibility. There’s intrigue and scandal aplenty, and I imagine readers will lap it up.

‘Instructions for Dancing’ – Nicola Yoon

#1 New York Times bestselling author of Everything, Everything and The Sun is Also a Star Nicola Yoon is back with her eagerly anticipated third novel. With all the heart and hope of her last two books, this is an utterly unique romance.When your family shatters around you it’s easy to see how you might feel somewhat disillusioned about love and relationships.


Evie Thomas has struggled to accept the breakdown of her parents’ relationship. She knows her father had an affair and she wonders if falling in love is worth it if it’s going to end badly. This book offers an alternative way of looking at things.

Evie finds herself picking up an unusual book, Instructions for Dancing, and it sets her on a path that is not expected but which offers her a more positive way of engaging with the world. She finds herself learning to dance and entered into a competition that involves her opening herself to new opportunities.

From the start, I loved this. There’s a genuine optimism to some potentially difficult subjects and I found myself desperate to see how things resolved.

Huge thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to read this before publication in exchange for my honest thoughts.

 

‘This Is My America’ – Kim Johnson

Tracy Beaumont is only a teenager, but she is a powerhouse. For seven years she has written to Innocence X asking them to review her father’s case. Imprisoned on Death Row for the murder of a business associate, her father only has a short time left until he will be killed. Convinced of his innocence, Tracy is determined to try and get him help.
We are given access to Tracy’s family and see the daily effect on them of this incarceration. She has been shaped by her experience and her moments of reflection on the racism experienced by her and her family is illuminating.
That story alone would be moving, but when her brother – a promising track student – is forced to run when police knock on the door it becomes a whole different thing. The girl he has been seeing – a white girl who happens to be the girlfriend of the sheriff’s son – is found dead. Jamal’s jacket is over her and witnesses claim he was the last to see her. As soon as this happened, I feared what was going to be unleashed.
What we got was a blistering story, revealing deeply ingrained prejudices, strong characters, a fascinating insight into the history of such attitudes and a compelling argument for never turning the other cheek.
There is so much going on in this book, but it never feels too much. Everything melds together so well. Certain scenes – the attack on the Beaumont home that heralds the understanding of the bigger picture behind this story, for one – made me feel physically ill. I felt anger, I cried and at times I even felt despair that such stories remain feasible. Thankfully, this is a story so there was hope at the end…Even though the love triangle element irritated me and felt unnecessary, I can’t knock a star off just for that (but 4 and a half would be right).
This is a book that I only happened to hear about from another reader. I had not heard about it or seen it talked about anywhere and I genuinely am curious to know why this isn’t being given more attention. I honestly feel this should be compulsory reading.