Young Adult – Page 61 – My Good Reads

‘Half Lost’ – Sally Green

I’d adored ‘Half Bad’, was less enamoured by ‘Half Wild’ and was keen to see where Sally Green would send Nathan in this final instalment of the trilogy.

At the start of this novel, Nathan is desperately seeking revenge on Annalise for her part in the murder of his father. He is the linchpin in the Alliance’s plan to bring down Soul, but those closest to him are concerned as to whether he can cope with the pressure he’s putting on himself.

This is full of action, and there are some great moments as we see Nathan drawing closer to his ultimate goal. I loved watching him come to terms with what has happened to him, and realising that it’s okay to be wrong sometimes.

Inevitably, there’s a lot of deaths in this novel – some of which I was more upset by than others. Though there were some unresolved questions (leaving things open for a return to this world?) I felt the ending was a fitting conclusion to Nathan’s story.

‘Undone’ – Cat Clarke

Jem has been in love with her gay best friend, Kai, for years. Though she knows they will only ever be friends, this relationship means everything to her. When he is outed in the cruellest way imaginable, Kai cannot cope with the pressure of his peers knowing and commits suicide. Jem is distraught, and is determined to find out who was responsible for what happened so she can get revenge.

From the outset, I liked Jem. Though she thinks of herself as an outsider, she is portrayed as a strong and witty character. Once Kai, her lifeline, is no longer around though she withdraws from everyone. It is only when she is given a parcel of letters by Kai’s sister that Jem starts to think seriously about how she can make people pay for what they have done.

I wasn’t sure where this novel would take us, but we follow Jem as she puts her plan into action. Watching her transformation revealed vulnerabilities that she didn’t even seem aware of. I liked the way she came to experience some happiness, and Clarke helps us to see that nobody is quite what we see on the surface. Everyone has secrets, and some are better at hiding them than others!

To be honest there were moments in the novel where I wasn’t as engaged as others, but the finale was explosive. It stunned me, and really was not what I expected. It also made me angry. We’d been given a few clues that this ending might be on the cards, but I had really hoped it wouldn’t go that way. For reasons I won’t share here, some of the other characters come out of things very badly. I also couldn’t shake the feeling that for someone who we’re told cared so much about Jem, Kai kept a lot of himself hidden and acted really selfishly.

‘Boy Toy’ – Barry Lyga

This review appeared originally on my Good Reads page.

Seventeen year-old Josh Mendel has a lot to deal with. Five years earlier, it comes to light that he was abused by his history teacher. Since the day she pleaded guilty he has had to come to terms with the things that happened to him.
The story is revealed slowly. We jump in and out of the present and Josh’s memories. This is a boy suffering, and it’s made more upsetting by the way he seems unaware of the extent of his suffering.

I imagine that there is a fine line when writing about such a relationship. It’s such an abuse of trust, but Lyga has Josh recall the events in such detail that it does, on occasion, come across as an attempt to titillate. While this isn’t comfortable reading, what happens later in the novel makes sense of what we’ve been told.

While the baseball obsession became something to wade through, it again helps make sense of Josh’s mindset and character. The moment where things click for Josh was the point at which I felt I understood the extent to which Josh had been affected by earlier events. By the end of the novel he was starting to take control of his life, and to come to accept his status as victim without letting it define him.

This is a hard review to write as my feelings about the novel changed throughout. It will probably offend some, and though I didn’t like the fact that Josh got to see Eve at the end of the novel I felt it showed how she was losing the hold she had over him at such a crucial time in his life.

‘In The Shadow of Blackbirds’ – Cat Winters

Having read ‘The Cure for Dreaming’ by the same author it seems that Winters has an eye for period detail and is fascinated by the supernatural and its place in our world.

‘In the Shadow of Blackbirds’ is set in America in 1918, and the attention to detail is to be applauded. Through the eyes of sixteen-year-old Mary Shelley Black we see the effects of war, Spanish influenza and the Spiritualist craze on a small group of people. There’s a lot packed in here, and I felt the writer created an intriguing background to events.

The story itself focuses on Mary and what happens to her when she is sent to live with her Swiss aunt. Mary is scornful of her aunt’s fascination with the latest craze for Spiritualist activity and she is dismissive of the efforts of an old friend of the family, who is determined to prove through his photographs that ghosts exist. When Stephen, the man she loves, is killed in war Mary becomes reckless. She is struck by lightning, and then seems able to communicate with Stephen.

If you are not prepared to accept the characters’ interest in ghosts then I would imagine you will not enjoy this novel. Mary’s initial scepticism is challenged, and there were moments that I felt it was all too incredible. However, it was a story that engaged me from the start, and the light it sheds on the experiences of people in war was to be applauded.

‘Radio Silence’ – Alice Oseman

In this novel, Osman focuses on Frances – a high-achiever, following the path expected of her – and what happens when she makes friends with Aled.

You may be forgiven for thinking this is a stereotypical YA romance; you wouldn’t be further from the truth. The relationship between Frances and Aled revolves around shared interests, and accepting each other for who they really are, not what they think they should be.

This novel explores so many areas, but never in a way that feels forced. It was a genuinely exciting read, and the ending was almost exactly what you wanted.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

While this review might seem short on details, it’s important that key details are unknown until they’re revealed in the reading.

‘What’s Left of Me (The Hybrid Chronicles 1)’ – Kat Zhang

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.

This is an intriguing idea, though I was not convinced from reviews I’d read that this would be a novel I’d find satisfying.

Initially I found the novel quite confusing. As a number of readers have commented, there’s a lack of detail to help explain why this world is as it is. However, there are some details given later on, and it’s strongly suggested that more answers will be given in part two of the series. On balance, this lack of detail doesn’t interfere with enjoyment of the story itself.

The creation of two distinct characters is handled well by Zhang. I felt deeply for both girls as they struggle to do something they’ve been brought up to believe is dangerous though it might bring them happiness. It doesn’t ruin the reading experience to know that there are some unscrupulous people who are running experiments on children like Addy, and that a lot of the novel is set in the clinic where these experiments are taking place.

Personally, I felt parts of the novel dragged but the pace picks up towards the end and brings us to a satisfying conclusion.

‘The Universe Versus Alex Woods’ – Gavin Extence

This is definitely the kind of book that you’re better off not knowing a lot about before you start. I think I’ve found a new favourite though, and can’t wait to try Extence’s second novel on the grounds of how I felt about this.

The opening had me curious about where we were going, but I liked the fact that our narrator, Alex, takes us back to explain how, aged 17, he came to be in Dover port with an urn containing ashes on the front seat of his car and home-grown marijuana in the glove-box.

Alex is a precocious, yet touchingly innocent, character, perhaps because of the accident that took place when he was younger. He is very knowledgeable about subjects that might not be expected to engage many teenagers, but rather clueless when it comes to the things that might make his teenage years a little easier. His awkwardness results, sadly, in some rather stereotypical bullying, but this device is needed to introduce the two main characters.

The relationship that develops between Alex and touchy war veteran Mr Peterson was deeply moving. Some reviewers have criticised Extence for creating an all-too-neat ‘father figure’ for Alex, but in my mind Mr Peterson fulfilled the role of mentor. His presence is also needed to allow us to see how the character of Alex matures into the kind of young man that any parent would be proud to be related to.

I found parts of the novel laugh-out-loud funny. I am now resolved to find out more about Vonnegut, the writer who appears to be something of a favourite for Extence, and it made things about which I have very little interest in seem fascinating.

What happens in the final section of the novel is presented logically, and without becoming mawkish. The subject wasn’t what I expected to be reading about, but it was handled with sensitivity and the arguments presented were compelling. I want other people I know to read this, and soon.

‘The Prey’ – Tom Isbell

In the start of a trilogy that seems perfectly suited to the big screen, ‘The Prey’ lands us in the Republic of the True America. Rumours abound of radiation sickness, Crazies and mutated animals that everyone is warned about. Sometimes, though, those closest to you are the ones to be most afraid of.

We are introduced to a number of characters, each with their own stories (some of which get developed). We meet Hope and Faith, twins on the run with their father. When he dies, he urges the girls to separate. What does he know that makes this the best choice? We meet Book, a studious boy who seems haunted by his past. There’s also Cat, a mysterious boy running from his own demons.

These characters end up together, where they hatch a daring plan to escape the danger from within the camps they are contained in.

If I’m being honest, this was full of exciting action though it had the sense of scenes written with an eye on movie rights being obtained. I liked the characters and there was enough focus on them developing to keep me engaged. My main gripe is that I cannot imagine that, having been through what they had endured during this book, they would willingly turn their backs on their chance of freedom in order to return from where they came in an attempt to rescue the others.

‘Glass Sword’ (Red Queen 2) – Victoria Aveyard

‘Glass Sword’ picks up straight after the events of ‘Red Queen’, and we are thrown quickly into the bloody aftermath of the escape.

This novel focuses a lot more on the emotional impact of events on our key players, which might irritate some readers. It’s not that there isn’t action – there’s a fair few skirmishes – but it’s all part of a much bigger picture so in the grand scheme of things you could argue that not much happens.

That’s what my detached head response says. But as Aveyard keeps pointing out, anyone/anything can betray anyone. My heart has a much stronger response to this novel and I lapped it up whole-heartedly.

Without giving plot details away, this novel focuses on the attempt to find the Newbloods, those Reds with powers, before Maven can get to them. We get to see some interesting new characters, and there’s a definite sense of a strategic pulling together of various threads. Mare develops in ways that aren’t always welcome, but I felt for her as she struggles to become what people want her to be. Her changing relationships with Cal and Kilorn have me totally clueless about which way this romantic element will play out. There’s also a small part of me that would love Maven to be redeemable. I teared up at the loss of some favourites (and, no, I won’t spoil it by saying who) and was more than a little intrigued by the appearance of some new characters.

There’s been some criticism of the revelation that there are to be four books in this series. With an ending like this, however, I personally can’t wait. A powerful, yet ominous, final image that has me desperate to know what comes next.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy (sorry to not get round to reading it until a lot later than publication)

‘Lady Midnight’ – Cassandra Clare

At a massive 698 pages in paperback, this is a novel you have to be prepared to invest some time in. If you’re a fan of Cassandra Clare’s writing, this won’t seem much of a hardship!

This is the first in a new series, set in the ShadowHunter world but five years after the events of the Mortal Instruments series. It focuses on the Blackthorn family who run the Los Angeles Institute and their investigation into mysterious demonic killings that seem to be linked to the deaths of the Carstairs.

In this novel we are given some familiar characters, but the focus is firmly on Emma Carstairs and her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn. There are plenty of action scenes, some magic, romance – lots of it – and one or two unexpected twists that really suggest this series could be even better than the previous one.

While there were passages within the novel that interested me less than others (which I suppose is inevitable in such a large book), I quickly became absorbed by the events within this book. It doesn’t shy away from some pretty difficult subjects, and the questions posed by some of the events in the novel – along with the consequences for the characters involved – really did have me in knots at times.

There are some wonderful aspects to this novel: the exploration of the parabatai bond and its meaning for those involved; the role love and honour play in our decision-making; one or two interesting discoveries involving some familiar faces; Kieran’s relationship with Mark Blackthorn and the ending. Oh, the ending…

I can’t be the only one cross that I have to wait until April 2017 for ‘Lord of Shadows’, part two in the trilogy.