Category: Young Adult

‘Piecing Me Together’ – Renée Watson

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this.

In the sense that it explored race/identity it reminded me of The Hate U Give, but this focused also on our narrator, Jade, learning about who she was and how to feel comfortable in her skin.

A scholarship to a predominantly white school leads to our narrator feeling stuck in the middle. Too black for school; too white for home. When she’s signed up to participate in a mentoring program she starts a pretty tough process learning about what’s important to her.

Lots of questions raised about identity and the role race plays in our lives, and it was done in such a way that I think is pretty relatable on some level.

‘The Hazel Wood’ – Mimi Albert

‘Alice in Wonderland’ for contemporary readers seems to be the consensus of some early reviewers. Like Stephanie Garber’s ‘Caraval’ this is a novel that looks like it will inspire extreme responses. With a lyrical prose style, some dark content and a sustained use of the absurd, this book will either appeal completely and be devoured in one sitting, or you’ll admire parts of it but be left generally non-plussed.

I was completely smitten!

Alice has never met her grandmother, a reclusive writer, but her short book of fairy tales is a literary phenomenon. The stories surrounding the writer and her mysterious Hazel Wood estate hint at strange events. The only things Alice knows for certain is that her mother, Ella, is determined she will never go there and that she has spent her life moving from place to place hiding from the strange things that follow them.

One day Ella goes missing. Alice becomes convinced that the odd characters she sees have something to do with it. Mysterious letters arrive for Alice, but nobody can help her. With the aid of super-fan, Finch, Alice resolves to make her way to Hazel Wood and learn for herself the truth about the Hinterland.

Nothing could prepare her – or us – for what she learns.

Having been declined for an ARC from the American publishers of this book I thought I was stuck waiting for my copy to come in February. Then Penguin UK came to my rescue…I can’t wait to read it again, which I think is the surest sign of a book finding its mark.

‘Time Bomb’ – Joelle Charbonneau

A story about trying to find your place, and working out just how far you’ll go to make people accept you for who you are.

This is a tense read, which will thrill and captivate readers. With a cast of six key characters there is someone you are likely to identify with.

Charbonneau starts by introducing our cast. We get to see them all before the action starts: Diana (the senator’s daughter/perfect student); new girl, Cas (about to start a new school after being bullied); Palestinian-American Rashid (conflicted about his place in society); class nobody Z (who has been coping with his mother’s death and is about to be evicted at the start of the novel); Frankie, star football player and Tad, the mixed-race gay student who is a little closer to Frankie than people realise. They each have their dark secret and issues that impact on their daily lives. They each are desperate to be recognised for who they really are. But only one of them is desperate enough to cause chaos at their school.

While it seems slow and rather cumbersome to introduce us to so many characters and switch between them throughout the novel, it’s a useful tactic to keep us guessing about just who has done what and where it will end up.

A bit like some of those 80s movies the group who seem to have little in common end up stuck together when a series of bombs hit their school. They have to work together to try and survive, and to determine just how desperate each of them is to make their mark.

It was quickly apparent who was likely to be responsible for the events, but this was a tense read as we watch the teenagers struggle with themselves and their situation. It doesn’t end happily for everyone, but for those who do survive we get a flash of how it impacts on them.

‘The Truth and Lies of Ella Black’ – Emily Barr

I’ve loved the other books by Emily Barr that I’ve read, but this didn’t quite work as I’d hoped.

The premise sounds great.

Seventeen year old Ella has a perfect life. There’s hints of a dysfunctional personality when she refers to herself as Bella (Bad Ella, the one who says what she really thinks) and some details that are given to make more credible what is revealed later. One day she is taken out of school and whisked off to Rio by her parents. There she makes some pretty startling discoveries, and it launches a rather incredible series of events.

Ella seemed a little caricatured initially, and this split personality is part-explained later but it doesn’t really fit together. Once in Rio she doesn’t really push for answers, being more content to pursue the hot American staying in her hotel. Of course, they fall in love and he supports her in spite of the kind of chaos that would have most people running a mile! There’s a few near misses, but nothing too awful happens and Ella just happens to bump into kind-hearted characters who all help her out.

I can’t understand why so many reviewers have said they didn’t finish this, but it isn’t a particularly believable story and there isn’t enough detail about the characters of most interest to me.

Still, thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication.

‘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.

‘The Cruel Prince’ – Holly Black

An unexpected treat, and very different to the Magisterium series. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read this prior to publication (scheduled for January 2018).

As you may expect from Black, there’s plotting, intrigue, darkness and something otherworldly. I was uncertain at the beginning simply because it took a while to get into the character of Jude. However, as we pick up pace and start to see more of what’s going on it becomes more and more intriguing.

From the outset it seemed inevitable that the characters we thought we could trust might not be quite what they seem. There’s plenty of little details spread throughout the book that we only see the significance of later. I loved the premise of this, and the blending of fae and mortal worlds was deftly done.

Typically, we’re left with many questions for part two but this was a cracking start to the series. I’ll post a more detailed review/update after publication.

‘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.

‘Tarnished City’ – Vic James

Thank you to NetGalley for authorising me to read this. Number two in the series is another cracker, though there are signs that things are changing (and not always for the better).

I admit to being a little scared I would have forgotten details, as it felt a long time since I’d read book one. However, I felt I was quickly taken back to the world and didn’t feel too many details were missing from my mind.

There is a lot of alternating between Luke and Abi following the events of Gilded Cage. Neither is in a good place, but they at least have something to fight for. The Equals we observe are also in pretty dire situations, but some have more of a chance of escape than others.

I felt Tarnished Cage was bold in its attempts to explore the more morally dubious characters. I can’t say I liked many of the characters/ideas we come across, but James portrays them with skill. It was interesting to see their motivation, but there’s still an awful lot we’re not being told.

In many ways this was bleaker than Gilded Cage, but I got a sense of how events were moving on. I’m very excited to see where we go in the final part of the trilogy.

‘Purple Hearts’ – Michael Grant

Hats off to you, Michael Grant, for writing what I hope will become a must-read trilogy for anyone.

I’ve just finished this surrounded by articles in today’s press about the furore over whether or not to wear a poppy in remembrance of those who fought in war. From this remoteness, even though we can read of atrocities committed throughout the world at the touch of a button, it’s all too easy to forget about the sacrifices of those who went to war. We should never forget.

In this final instalment of the trilogy we follow our favourites Rainy, Rio and Frangie through the last push. We focus on battles that might sound familiar, but the details we’re given here vividly bring the events to life.

At times this was hard to read. Senseless brutality, questionable moral decisions being taken and a no-holds barred account of what happened. Some of it may have been imagined, and some of it may have been far worse. But it’s important not to ignore…how else will you encourage people to stand up for what is right?

Thank you NetGalley for granting me access to this prior to publication (scheduled for January 2018). It was a privilege to read…and I’ve pre-ordered my physical copy.

‘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.