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‘Flowers for Algernon’ – Daniel Keyes

There’s a horrible inevitability to this, that even though I knew it was coming left me with a sinking feeling.

Flowers for Algernon is the story of Charlie Gordon, a man with profound learning difficulties, and an IQ of 70. He becomes part of an unusual experiment into intellect, and ends up with a genius IQ. We follow him through the experiment and after, as the significance of this event becomes clear.

Initially Charlie can’t read or write particularly well. He is given a job by an old family friend and seems content in his experience. The information he recounts in his reports makes it painfully clear that he is bullied and humiliated on a daily basis. Yet he is unaware of it.

After the experiment, nothing seems to change. Then it does. Suddenly he can read in numerous languages and understand concepts way beyond the level of those he previously looked up to. With this astonishing intellectual development comes the growing self-awareness of how he was viewed by others, and how his family abandoned him.

There’s no easy answers in this novel, but as an exploration of psyche and social interactions it was fascinating.

I’m surprised such an experiment could have been undertaken on a human, and that those around Charlie didn’t try harder to help him adjust mentally/emotionally to his world.

As he grows aware of the temporary nature of this change, it became painful to watch him change and regress to his previous state. This time round he knew what it would mean, and his inability to change things was difficult to read.
I’m quite surprised this is a staple in American schools, but I’d be interested to see what students thought of it.

‘The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods’ – Emily Barr

This story by Emily Barr is definitely one to go into without really knowing too much.

Initially I found the split in narrative quite disconcerting. We focus on sixteen year old Arty who is forced out of her commune when illness affects many of the group. She is thrown into a world of which she has no experience and her story as she navigates what so many of us take for granted was interesting. Alongside this is a curious story told from the perspective of someone locked in a basement.

As the story progressed I confess to getting quite carried away trying to plot how the two would be linked. It did become evident where it was heading, but not before I’d imagined things far worse than we were faced with.

I enjoyed the story, though the reaction of characters to Arty’s innocence did, on occasion, make me frustrated. That irritation aside, this was quite enchanting while not being afraid to touch on some rather unpleasant things.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read it in exchange for my honest review.

‘I Am Not A Number’ – Lisa Heathfield

A must-read book that shows people at both their best, and their worst.

Ruby has always been encouraged to value her opinion. She’s encouraged to make up her own mind about politics, and even when the Traditional Party get voted into power she imagines she will still be able to have her own views.

It begins quite innocuously with assemblies and an increased presence of those keen to uphold these traditional values. Slowly we start to see a clamping down on opportunities for people to dissent. Then, all too soon, Core supporters whose views are not welcome are herded together.

Taken from her home in the middle of the night Ruby is slowly adjusting to a life where she has no rights. Living in a modern-day concentration camp she is starved, forced to work and subject to brutal treatment. Like Ruby and those around her, we wonder how it can happen. But it does.

A chilling tale that shows just how easily the world we know can be changed, and just how vital it is for people to fight for others.

‘The Turn of the Key’ – Ruth Ware

A curious blend of genuinely creepy and rather more mundane reality.

Opening with a series of letters addressed to a solicitor, we quickly learn that our main character is in prison having been charged with the murder of one of her charges. Adamant she is innocent, Rowan reveals the circumstances behind her getting a job working for a wealthy family in the remote Scottish highlands.

Following the story of her arrival and work with the kids was unsettling since we know from the start things don’t end well. The family Rowan is working for definitely have their flaws and Ware plays up to our fears of smart technology by showing just how easy it can be to feel you’re losing control. Coupled with someone evidently hiding something, and mysterious noises from the attic above, Rowan spirals into a state of paranoia.

Desperate to not succumb to her fears, Rowan starts digging and learns she’s not the only one with things to hide. What we’re never sure of is the extent to which people are manipulating the information they’re giving.

The end – where we learn the truth – actually left me feeling quite upset on Rowan’s behalf. It felt like things were left unfinished.

That aside, a cracking read and thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity.

‘Underdogs’ – Chris Bonnello

A fast-paced action-packed read with some very real characters.

Though we’re never told exactly how this scenario came into play, we’ve got a world where one person has used clones to take over the country. However, there’s a small group who have not fallen…a group of teenagers from a special needs school. Though they’ve spent their lives being made to feel they’re not normal, in this scenario their ability to think outside the normal parameters is what’s helped them survive.

The writer’s knowledge of his subject means the characters are presented sympathetically, and the story is paced in such a way as to keep things moving.
Some questions are answered, but it’s nicely set-up for the second in the series to show more of what’s planned.

Thanks to NetGalley for giving me the opportunity read this prior to publication.

 

‘The Taking of Annie Thorne’ – C.J. Tudor

The Taking of Annie Thorne opens in suitably horrific fashion. A teacher with a history of mental health issues bludgeons her son to death and writes Not My Son on the walls in his blood before killing herself. To the residents of Arnhill it’s another, albeit tragic, example of a life cut short.

Then we shift our focus to Joe Thorne. For reasons we’re not sure of he wheedles his way into a teaching job in his old school. There’s definite history with Joe, but we’re not told much until we have to be.

Slowly, we learn Joe – along with his friends of the time – is hiding a secret. Something to do with the disappearance of his sister, and an old pit that appears to be imbued with some kind of supernatural power.

Alongside this, we have a story about Joe’s gambling issues and his attempt to get out of debt while trying to avoid some pretty ruthless people.

While the story was a good read, it felt like it had been done before. There wasn’t enough information given about the scenario we’re asked to believe in, so it was built into something creepy without really building it up sufficiently. I really got irritated by the unnecessarily prejudiced attitudes towards autism and mental health issues. There’s also the rather implausible reveal regarding Joe’s ‘issue’ – surely there’d have been one or two clues before that point?

‘The Sharp Edge of a Snowflake’ – Sif Sigmarsdottir

I really dislike the term ‘snowflake’ and its suggestion of people not coping with life’s events. In this instance, the snowflake definitely shows its sharp edges.

Imogen Collins is a social media influencer. She’s also someone who had to abandon her degree studies as she struggled to adjust to life after a sexual assault. Caught up in her own plan to bring down the man who was responsible, she ends up embroiled in some very dubious events.

Hannah is determined to be a journalist and fed up that she has to go and live with her father in Iceland. On the day she arrives their journey home is disrupted by the sight of the police collecting a dead body that was dumped in a ravine.

Naturally, the two girls’ stories merge and we get a pretty tense thriller.
The setting was interesting, though there were elements of the characters/story that didn’t quite pull together for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this prior to publication.

‘What She Found in the Woods’ – Josephine Angelini

‘Be like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under’t’ – the advice given to Macbeth by his wife before he commits the murder of King Duncan definitely sprang to mind as I was reading this. Everyone is hiding something, and it’s not clear who to trust.

What She Found in the Woods is a pacy thriller, focusing on the story of a young girl with mental health issues who finds herself caught up in events beyond your worst imaginings.

Magda has – we know – done some awful stuff. She’s heavily medicated and comes from a life of privilege. When she is forced to live with her grandparents she finds herself drawn to the woods, where she spends her time hiking. There she meets Bo, a young man whose family live in the woods.

There’s a bit of everything in here, and yet it works. We quickly become invested in Magda’s story and curious to see how the strands come together. Some of the reveals were quite heavily hinted at, but there was plenty to leave us doubting the reliability of our narrator.

‘The Rest of the Story’ – Sarah Dessen

A coming-of-age story that explores family bonds, grief, friendship and romance…and even has time for a major event…

Emma Saylor is (dare I say it) rather bland as a character. Since her mother’s death she’s always been protected by her father and, at seventeen, leads quite a sheltered life. When plans for her to stay with a friend fall through, she is determined to do whatever it takes to ensure her father and stepmother go on their honeymoon. So she agrees to stay with her grandmother, the one she hasn’t seen since she was four, at the lakeside resort her mother lived in.

A rather slow beginning as Emma gets to know who’s who in the family she never knew. We have quite stereotypical reactions from Emma as she learns some of the truths about her mother that others have tried to hide. However, through these stories she also learns about herself.

There’s no major revelations, just a gradual self-awakening. But it was portrayed quite realistically and did leave me with a bit of a smile on my face.

‘Good Omens’ – Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman

Always lovely to read a Terry Pratchett novel and to lose yourself in the madness.

This time around I had half an idea what to expect, having watched endless adverts for the adaptation currently showing on Amazon Prime. I also confess to being highly tickled at the number of people who’ve signed a petition to have the series cancelled for its blasphemous content.

From the opening pages it’s clear that we are in rather unusual territory. There are plans afoot to swap a human child with the Antichrist but they get it wrong, and the child is adopted. They are taken to live in a rural village where nothing ever happens…until the onset of the Apocalypse.

However, there are certain entities determined to prevent the Apocalypse. It’s in their interests to prevent the end of the world. Unfortunately, when they realise they’ve misplaced the Antichrist it is a rather difficult job to work out what to do next.

I always find it hard to review novels by Terry Pratchett because the joy for me is not in the story, it’s in the random links and associations made and the rapid jumps from one idea to the next.