Young Adult – Page 48 – My Good Reads

‘My Ladybird Story’ – Magus Tor

My Ladybird Story

In this novel Tor focuses on the story of John, a young teenage boy who feels different but can’t identify why. We follow him through school as he becomes friends with the new girl, Aureus, a force to be reckoned with.

As soon as these two become friends it’s clear they have found their own support network. Together, John and Aureus find ways to cope with the demands and stresses of high school. Yet John remains quiet, prone to periods of intense depression and nobody can work out why.

The novel takes us on John’s journey as he comes to terms with his identity, eventually recognizing that he has gender dysphoria and undergoing therapy/counseling as part of his gender reassignment.

Novels exploring identity and transgenderism do seem to be becoming rather popular at the moment. That’s no bad thing – certainly for those who are living the experience and need all the support they can get. However, though this novel was positive in its affirmation I couldn’t help but feel there was a sense of earnestness about this that made it feel a little less effective.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in advance.

‘The Future of Us’ – Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

The Future of Us

Published in 2011, this is a romance that is unashamedly set in the past while trying to explore attitudes to what – in our contemporary world – has become the norm. What I felt throughout was that something always felt slightly off-kilter.

Emma and Josh are next-door neighbours, who have been friends forever. Naturally (this is a romance) Josh has made a move and Emma has panicked…so they’ve not really spoken for a while. This would be awkward enough, but throughout the novel we can see that the whole focus is on them trying to work out they are meant to be together.

While this might seem infuriating, the cast of friends surrounding them are interesting enough to stop it all getting too much. What irritated me was the premise used to get them to see the true state of their feelings for each other. Set in the past – way back in 1996 when teenagers had to do things like page each other if they wanted to speak or, heaven forbid, actually meet up – we are led to believe that when Emma is given a free AOL CD she finds a mysterious page called Facebook that seems to tell her the future.

Part of me really wanted to stop reading. Emma and Josh acted more like olden day peasants facing witchcraft rather than savvy teens on the cutting edge of their world. Still, it was mildly entertaining but more than a little unforgettable.

‘Caraval’ – Stephanie Garber

In the world of Caraval, nothing is quite as it seems.

Scarlett and her sister, Tella, have never left their tiny island. They obsess over the annual festival that is Caraval, an exclusive ticket-only event where the audience participates in the show. For both girls, the event symbolises escape from their abusive father and, though they are desperate to participate in the game, they stand little chance of being able to get there.

When Scarlett learns that their father is playing his own game, and has promised her hand in marriage it seems their chance to escape is well and truly dashed. Then, mysteriously, tickets to the game arrive…and a young man turns up at just the right time to help the sisters get to the island.

Once Scarlett arrives on the island, I felt the book came into its own. The world of Caraval and the mystery surrounding Legend was absorbing. Scarlett’s determination to help her sister – while also finding time to develop her own romance – was not particularly justified, but as long as you don’t question some of the details too much you won’t be disappointed.

Since starting this I’ve heard it’s to be made into a film…seriously, can’t wait! This was a cleverly constructed book that will, if you buy into it, completely dazzle you.

‘Freeks’ – Amanda Hocking

Sadly, this just didn’t get me as I’d like it to have done.

Mara is a necromancer and she travels as part of a Traveling Circus that has fallen on hard times. She dreams of living a normal life, one where she doesn’t have to worry about strange events. When the circus moves to the small town of Caudry it looks as though she’ll get her wish…at least initially.

The world of the circus was well-depicted and the characters we were introduced to intrigued me. They were a close-knit group thought it was clear that many of them were hiding secrets, sometimes for reasons that made little sense.

I couldn’t understand the haste with which characters occasionally fall for each other, and Mara’s relationship with local-boy Gabe had me on edge from the start. I’m pleased I was so off in my thoughts on where it was going with regard to the relationship, but the supernatural elements to this felt rather like they came out of nowhere.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance read and though it wasn’t exactly leaving me desperate to encourage others to read it, it will have its fair share of fans.

‘Coming Up For Air’ – Miranda Kenneally

Coming Up For Air

Due for publication in July 2017 I think this is a novel that will strike a chord with its intended audience.

Maggie is determined to be a professional swimmer. She trains hard, and doesn’t have time for much else in her life. As she draws closer to leaving for college, Maggie can’t help but feel she’s missing out on something-the opportunity to have a relationship.

What follows is, let’s be honest, all rather transparent. Maggie and her best friend, Levi, spend the novel trying to work out what we assume will be obvious from the start. However, in spite of its obviousness, this is still an entertaining read.

No major dramas, nothing that will offend anyone and it all ends as we expect. Safe, but it left me feeling a little flat. Thanks, though, to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in advance of publication.

‘Two Boys Kissing’ – David Levithan

Two Boys Kissing

The Valentines Reading Challenge seemed the perfect opportunity to get round to reading this novel by Levithan.

Inspired by a misremembered Walt Whitman quote, a real-life attempt to break a Guinness World Record and a need to chart some of the ways in which the attitudes to homosexuality have/haven’t developed over time this is a novel that gets under your skin.

The story is narrated, in the main, by a Greek style chorus representing the voices of gay men of the past. The idea of older men – whose lives have been affected in every different ways by their sexuality – narrating the tales of the younger gay men in this novel is an interesting one. There is a real sense of history here – putting certain events in context and showing just things have changed. Sometimes for the better; but, often, nowhere near far enough.

The central characters – Harry and Craig – are ex-partners who have remained close friends. Their attempt to kiss non-stop for over 32 hours becomes the focal point for many younger boys who are coming to terms with their identity and how it will impact on their lives/relationships.

There’s a lot of characters here, and we get little more than a superficial insight into their lives, but it’s enough. I’d urge you to read this if you haven’t already.

‘Windwitch’ – Susan Dennard

Picking up from the events of book one, many assume Merik is dead but we follow him as he attempts to prove the treachery of his sister.

Having finished this my overwhelming feeling was of frustration. Our key characters aren’t together throughout the story, and there’s an awful lot of characters being managed here which did make it hard for me to focus on at times.

The opening of the book felt slower than I’d like-and there wasn’t a whole lot of time devoted to filling us in on the events of book one. This isn’t necessarily a problem, but it was a while since I’d read Truthwitch and it took me a while to recall key events.

While the world described was interesting and well-portrayed I couldn’t help but feel that I spent most of the book waiting for something. There was plenty of action, and a lot of setting up for the next part, but I just didn’t feel as engaged by this as I’d hoped I would. That aside, I really am looking forward to what comes next.

‘A List of Cages’ – Robin Roe

A List of Cages

An incredibly moving – though somewhat hard to read – story of friendship and its power to heal.

Thanks to NetGalley and publishers Disney-Hyperion for granting me access to an advance copy of this hard-hitting book that focuses on the friendship between Adam, a popular senior, and Julian, a younger boy who does everything he can to keep himself apart from his peers.

The story is told from both Julian and Adam’s perspective, and I’ll admit that at first I found the book rather slow. We are gradually slipped details about how the two boys are linked, and little by little Roe reveals the extent of the abuse that Julian faces at the hands of his uncle Russell.

Throughout there was a real sense of discomfort as I read Julian’s narrative. Rightly so, as the level of abuse Julian experiences seemed so serious that I was amazed alarm bells hadn’t started ringing. It takes the reappearance of Adam – the foster brother he hasn’t seen for five years – to notice the changes in Julian and, as the boys’ friendship develops, Adam has to make some difficult decisions.

Sometimes we don’t make the right decisions. There was a point in the narrative when Adam allows his judgement to be swayed by the views of his friends. What follows does, sadly, seem inevitable but it leads to a dramatic climax to the story.

It was what came afterwards that interested me more. Learning to live with the events of this story – and coming to terms with the consequences of your actions – is a hard lesson to learn, and I liked the fact that Roe gave us a faint glimmer of hope that the friendship between Adam and Julian was strong enough to overcome the events they had survived.

‘Perfect’ – Cecilia Ahern

Perfect

When I finished reading ‘Flawed’ – the first in the series – I was impatient to get my hands on the next part of the story. Not due for publication until April 2017, I was more than a little excited when Macmillan publishers and NetGalley approved my request to read an advance copy of ‘Perfect’.

Our story picks up with Celestine North on the run, desperate to avoid the clutches of Crevan. She knows that her sixth branding would, if the truth were to be revealed, bring him down – and he is prepared to go to any length to avoid this happening.

With publication still some way off, I will just give my initial thoughts. There will be time for a fuller review later (as I will, undoubtedly, read this again).

In Celestine Ahern has created a strong character who we remain invested in. The setting plays a major role in the success of the novel; we are urged to question what perfection is, and whether flaws are things to reject or learn from. Though this series is marketed as YA fiction, Ahern tells a good tale and, in ‘Perfect’, she has created a powerful story whose message is timeless.

‘A Quiet Kind of Thunder’ – Sara Barnard

A Quiet Kind of Thunder

An intriguing title, and the cover unashamedly sells itself as a romance. It’s not brash or showy – but it will leave a rather warm feeling in you.

Steffi has, since she was young, been selectively mute and she suffers with social anxiety. Rhys is the new boy to her school and, because she knows some BSL, Steffi is asked to show him around. Initially, Steffi is acutely conscious of the fact that what she calls the two oddballs are thrown together. As she gets to know Rhys, she realises that it doesn’t matter. In each other, they find their voice.

Perhaps the focus on their developing relationship will be more appealing to the target audience. Following them from their first talk, through their texting to the inevitable boyfriend/girlfriend conversation and then onto their developing sexual relationship felt a little earnest to me. However, it does seem churlish to criticise a romance for focusing on the romance!

On the whole, this was a well-writer read – it just didn’t strike quite the same chord with me as Barnard’s ‘Beautiful Broken Things’.