Latest Posts – Page 105

‘Six of Crows’ – Leigh Bardugo

It’s been a while since I read the Grisha trilogy, but it was a series I thoroughly enjoyed and I was looking forward to this.

Although we return to the land of the Grisha, we are introduced to a new cast of characters. One of our main protagonists is Kaz Brekker, a young criminal who is determined to carry out a seemingly impossible heist.

As I was reading, it did take a while to get accustomed once more to the world/names, but this was a book that was full of action. The slow build-up to the attack on the Ice Court could have been a little less detailed, but once things got going they got going quickly.

I liked the fact that a lot of the novel focused on the relationships between some of the key characters. Watching their relationships shift and develop was entertaining, and there is definite potential for further visits to these characters to get some answers to the questions we are left with at the end of the novel.

‘Elementals 1:Prophecy of Shadows’ – Michelle Madow

When Nicole starts at her new school she thinks there’s a mistake with her schedule as she’s enrolled in special honours classes. Then she learns she’s a witch (as are all the other students in her class). Talk about getting straight into it!

Nicole and her friends are witches, they can do magic and there’s a dastardly plan to foil. There’s the token hot boy – complete with the token bitchy girlfriend -that Nicole develops a thing for. And before we know it there’s some Greek mythology thrown in for good measure, and we learn Nicole might actually be a demigod.

In that brief summary I’m aware I sound critical. There’s lots to remind you of countless other teen novels and this is off-putting. However, from the opening pages we are thrown into a relentless action-packed ride that does leave you wanting more.

I can imagine teenage readers will lap it up as there’s something for everyone and it will feel like stuff they’re comfortable with. It felt like the kind of thing I’ll see on Netflix soon.

‘Forbidden’ – Tabitha Suzuma

Published in 2011, Suzuma’s novel ‘Forbidden’ is definitely not one that you want to go into without knowing a little of the subject matter. As with many of Suzuma’s stories, love and family are at the heart of it…in this case, they form an uncomfortable alliance.

‘Forbidden’ takes a controversial subject, the incestuous relationship between seventeen year-old Lachan and his younger sister, Maya, and urges us to explore our feelings and responses to this taboo. Suzuma writes about the topic sensitively, and alternating the viewpoints of our two main characters means that we can clearly see just how each of them responds to their feelings and what they think they should do about them.

As with other stories by Suzuma, dysfunctional family relationships are a recurring theme. In this story, we are surrounded by them! Lachan and Maya are, essentially, teenage parents to their younger siblings as they cover for their alcoholic mother when she abandons them. Their closeness seems to make sense as they have, for years, depended on each other. When they finally make the decision to cross that line of social acceptability, we are asked to question whether what they are doing is really that wrong.

The angst felt by both characters stops this feeling like a doomed love story cliché. Unfortunately, Maya was a character that I often found irritating. Sometimes she seemed very naive, yet she also seems to be the one pushing for more and I felt that her reactions at key moments were not wholly credible. I also found it hard to accept that this situation would ever have gone on as long as it did without some adult intervention.

The ending, when it inevitably all goes wrong, was hard to take. By the time we get to the, quite frankly, stunning final moments, we are caught up entirely in the relationship between all the siblings. What we got was not what I expected and I’m not sure I can say I enjoyed this book, but it certainly got me thinking.

‘What We Saw’ – Aaron Hartzler

Heavily inspired by the Steubenville case of 2012, this novel packs a serious punch. Stacey Stallard is known throughout her school as a ‘loser’. She comes from the wrong side of town and many look down on her. The night she goes to a party and gets so drunk she can’t remember anything is the night so many lives in this small town change forever.

Unlike other books that deal with similar topics, our narrative is told from the viewpoint of another female student rather than the victim. Katie used to be friends with Stacey, she drank with her on the night of the party but then a close friend took her home and she was unaware of what happened later.

As we quickly learn, Stacey has accused a number of the stars of the basketball team of raping her. Sides are quickly taken, and the small town falls into line behind the boys who are regarded widely as heroes. For Katie, this crime is not so easy to ignore.

There is video evidence circulating of the crime that many say didn’t happen, or that Stacey brought on herself through her behaviour. When Katie herself sees the clip, she realises a tough decision has to be made. Does she turn the other way (like so many of her peers) or does she speak out?

There’s no doubt that Katie will do the morally right thing. What I thought was interesting was that this novel focuses on exploring the rationale of all the others who actually witnessed this and did nothing.

Alongside this painful narrative, we have the emotionally upsetting story that focuses on Katie and her best friend, Ben. Friends since they were five, they have always been close. Ben is one of the good guys, and he and Katie – in the aftermath of this party – end up starting a relationship. Unfortunately, Ben has his own problems and these definitely affect his decisions. Suddenly, nobody is quite what they seem.

As I felt when I read Louise O’Neill’s ‘Asking for It’, this made me angry. Angry that we live in a world where this can happen. Angry that we have become so selfish that many of us will turn the other cheek when we see something awful happening. Angry, above all, that there are still people who think stories such as this are the fault of the victim. While this is unpleasant reading, I think it’s the kind of book that every teenager and their parents should have to read.

‘Game (Jasper Dent 2)’ – Barry Lyga

This, for me, was better than book one in the series. I liked the fact that we stick with Jazz and see how he copes with being the son of an infamous serial killer, but I think focusing on those close to him allowed more of an insight into Jazz’s psyche. At times, Connie and Howie do some stuff that I can’t imagine anyone in their right mind would consider, but they help us gain a more rounded impression of Jasper.

In this thrilling novel, we find out about a serial killer causing chaos on the streets of New York. I know it’s highly unlikely – but it’s possible to overlook this stretching of the truth – but Jazz gets asked by the FBI for his opinions on what has been taking place. What follows is pure heart-in-mouth territory. Not necessarily credible, but when you’re so keen to find out that crucial detail you can overlook quite a lot!

As we journey deeper into the mind of Billy Dent, there’s a dreadful sense of worlds colliding. We watch a dangerous game play out in front of us, and as Jasper and his friends get further drawn into it there is a horrible sense of the inevitable about what we are reading. The twists and turns in this kept me enthralled, and there are hints that the final part in the trilogy will get close to the bone.

The main thing that I found hard to take with this novel was the final revelation about Jazz’s family, and the uncertainty about the situations that our three young protagonists find themselves in at the close of the novel. If I’d been reading this as it was published, and had to wait for the final part, I think there would have been much teeth gnashing and wailing.

‘You Know Me Well’ – David Levithan and Nina LeCour

First things first, books that I have read by David Levithan have transported me to a different place. The characters are intriguing, and I cannot wait to find out their fate. To this book I didn’t quite have the same response.

On the night Mark and Kate finally talk, in a bar in the city as they celebrate Pride, they are both running away from something. They talk, and just click. Nothing romantic here, but these two help each other to get through their last week of high school as they’re trying to come to terms with how things are changing.

There were some lovely moments in here, but there also seemed to be some moments that I felt overly complicated the essence of the novel. At times it felt a little like a fairy story and the events seem very unlikely. However, the friendship between Kate and Mark is endearing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

‘My Name is Leon’ – Kit de Waal

A huge thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for the ARC. This book has already created quite a buzz, though it’s not due for publication until early June 2016, and I was keen to read it.

The synopsis is quite straightforward. Nine year old Leon and his younger brother Jake are taken into care when their mother’s inability to care for them is revealed. Sent to live with Maureen, the boys experience genuine care for the first time – but Maureen cannot give them the one thing Leon craves, his mother’s love. When Social Services arrange for baby Jake – who is white – to be adopted, Leon is left stranded. He seeks solace in the local allotments, but spends most of his time trying to cope with what is happening to him.

This could have been a heart-breaking misery-fest. What we get instead is a heart-warming story, told through the eyes of an insightful young boy. The contrast between Leon’s home life-that he spends most of the book trying to think about how to return to-and the care he receives from Maureen angered me. It made me so frustrated that the family could be in this situation. I also have to admit to getting irritated by Carol. I appreciate that her mental health issues were crippling, but in many ways she seemed so much more immature than her son and I desperately wanted her to step up to her responsibilities.

I think this is the kind of story that will resonate with readers, and I can certainly think of one or two people that I will recommend this to.

‘Carry On’ – Rainbow Rowell

Simon Snow is the worst Chosen One who’s ever been chosen.

That’s what his roommate, Baz, says. And Baz might be evil and a vampire and a complete git, but he’s probably right.

Half the time, Simon can’t even make his wand work, and the other half, he starts something on fire. His mentor’s avoiding him, his girlfriend broke up with him, and there’s a magic-eating monster running around, wearing Simon’s face. Baz would be having a field day with all this, if he were here — it’s their last year at the Watford School of Magicks, and Simon’s infuriating nemesis didn’t even bother to show up.

Carry On – The Rise and Fall of Simon Snow is a ghost story, a love story and a mystery. It has just as much kissing and talking as you’d expect from a Rainbow Rowell story – but far, far more monsters.

When I read ‘Fangirl’ I found the intrusion of the Simon Snow characters irritating at times, but I loved the characters and was curious to see what ‘Carry On’ would be like. The fact that Rowell has published this would suggest that the characters also got under her skin, and she was curious to see what their story would be like.

I felt the start was a little slow in setting up what became a really engaging story. It was great fun to see these wonderful characters a little more developed. I felt the way Rowell described their relationships was engaging. Top of the list for pure entertainment though has to be the Baz and Simon relationship – brilliant.

Rowell’s story bears very obvious similarities initially with Harry Potter, and there seem to be more than one or two nods to other culturally well-known relationships/stories. However, that doesn’t stop the novel being engaging and entertaining in its own right. The actual plot concerning the Mage and Simon’s role in all this was a brave move. For me, it highlighted the idea of Simon being a pawn in someone else’s game all the way through (or am I reading too much into this?)

‘Vanishing Girls’ – Lauren Oliver

Nick and Dara have always been inseparable, but the love triangle with best friend Parker has caused problems. I liked the fact that Oliver gave us an insight into how their relationships were affected by this, without going on and on about it.

The narrative is split between the views of Nick and Dara. This gives us a rather slow, but well described, account of how each girl is feeling at key moments. We are told how the girls are feeling in the aftermath of a terrible accident that scars Dara.

When a young local girl, Madeline Snow, is reported missing, people are shocked. When Dara goes missing on her birthday Nick is convinced the two incidents are linked. At this point Nick starts to investigate what might have happened to Dara.

A little slow to start, this quickly became compelling reading. The force of Oliver’s prose made me desperate to see where this was going and exactly where this mystery would take us. Watching Nick and Dara flounder as they try to reconnect was heart-breaking.

Then the weird bit happened. I totally did not see it coming until just before it was revealed (the idea had occurred initially but it seemed to make no sense so I disregarded it). Suddenly everything got turned on its head and the last part of the book became an exercise in tying up loose ends. Up until the twist I was convinced this was going to be a book I’d be raving about and desperately pressing on anyone who might be interested. Right now I can’t work out if the end was pure genius or bonkers, but it threw me so much!

‘The Shadow Queen’ – C.J. Redwine

Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic…

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and, despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

Yes, this is a reworking of Snow White and it is as odd as it sounds. There’s some great action and the magical elements will really captivate readers. I found it a quick and fairly exciting read, but it wasn’t quite what I hoped. I think the moment Kol was identified as part-dragon and I realised Irina would use him to try and defeat Lorelai was the moment when I lost a little interest. It all seemed rather inevitable, and I feel it could have been much darker.