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‘Conversion’ – Katherine Howe

Conversion

A bestselling author, and Prep and The Crucible are mentioned in the blurb…this sounds too good to be true. It was!

Our setting for this novel is St Joan’s Academy in Danvers, Massachusetts, which is a high-achieving school. The girls who attend this exclusive educational establishment set their sights high, none more so than our narrator Colleen Rowley. Unfortunately, for a novel which was meant to be set in a modern high school the characterisation was a let-down. There was a very old-fashioned feel to the characters, even though they were talking about topical things, and the narrator was someone whose voice never quite rang true. Her self-proclaimed superiority irritated me, particularly because she spent so much of the novel being very smug (even when she didn’t have any right to be).

One day Clara Rutherford, one of the most popular girls in the school, has a fit that results in uncontrollable tics. This strange event is swiftly followed by a number of other girls falling ill. Local and national press are quick to follow this story – determined to find out what is causing these privileged and high-achieving girls to succumb to these mysterious ailments.

Sound familiar? It should, and the fact that the setting of this novel happens to have been known as Salem in the past gives a really obvious pointer as to where the writer is heading. Or so I thought.

We do get the character of Ann, a young girl caught up in the events of Salem, telling us about what happened and offering her account of the hysteria surrounding the witch trials. I was expecting (hoping) that Howe would blend these ideas and use the similarities between the events to make a comment on modern society and its obsession with achievement. Instead, we got two seemingly separate stories and they remained that way.

Perhaps if I’d expected less from this I’d have been more impressed, but it felt like a very good idea that didn’t quite work out.

 

‘Local Girl Swept Away – Ellen Wittlinger

Local Girl Swept Away

Thanks to Merit Press via edelweiss for the advance copy of this. I’d read mixed reviews, so I’m afraid this languished on my kindle for a while as I wanted to be in the right mood for this before I read it.

The story is set in a small village and focuses on a tight-knit group of friends. One of them, Lorna, is swept off the breakwater one night and her remains are not found. While life goes on, for those left behind – Jackie, Lucas and Finn – things are never quite the same.

Reminiscent of a lot of YA fiction I found myself wondering what the appeal of Lorna was for these teenagers – I never felt we got to see enough of her as a character to justify the way they reacted to her going missing. Though the three remaining teenagers evidently miss Lorna, the shift in their relationships makes for interesting reading.

I liked the way those left behind changed during the course of the novel, becoming that little more self-confident and less reliant on the figure of Lorna their leader to authorise their actions. I did feel that the focus on character meant what came towards the end was fairly obviously sign-posted.

 

‘Shadow Kiss’ – Richelle Mead

Shadow Kiss

 

Third in the series, we begin the novel seeing the impact that Mason’s death has had on Rose and her peers. Everyone seemed to have lost their way, but with the Strigoi attacking in ways that nobody has seen before it was evident that something unusual would have to happen.

Watching Rose suffer the guilt she feels at surviving the attack was uncomfortable reading. Her flashbacks and visions suggests dark times are ahead. The only ‘fun’ that was apparent in this part of the series was the moments describing the field experience, where Rose is placed in charge of keeping Christian safe. There were some genuine laugh-out-loud moments here.

Of course, I was keen to see what would come of Rose’s crush on Dimitri. We already know that they fancy each other, but Dimitri is determined to show control and do the right thing. All I can say is I spent most of the novel hoping he would change his mind!

A number of characters were introduced, and it was interesting to see Rose’s relationship with her mother develop. While I understand the necessity of what happens towards the end of the novel, it did not make me happy…at all!

Part of me feels that as an adult I should know better than to get so caught up in a series such as this. However, it was a belter of a novel and Mead certainly delivers plenty to keep you interested and make you want to keep reading.

 

 

‘Gilt Hollow’ – Lorie Langdon

Gilt Hollow

Thanks to Blink and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this novel in advance of its publication (expected late September 2016) in exchange for an honest review.

The cover immediately draws you in and hints at the mystery that we are told surrounds the events that took place in Gilt Hollow some years previously. We are told that Willow has always maintained the innocence of her friend Ashton – sentenced to a period in juvenile detention for killing one of his peers – but when he is released she begins to wonder if she is mistaken.

Initially, the opening to the novel was slow. However, the setting of Gilt Hollow and the characters who inhabit it were strangely reminiscent of Twin Peaks. Everyone seemed to be hiding something, and the stench of corruption was hard to avoid. It made for a very intriguing puzzle, as Willow tried to determine exactly what happened on the night Daniel fell from the cliff.

Of course, things do not happen in a straightforward fashion. Where would the fun be in that? For those who like mystery with a hint of menace, I think you’ll be impressed.

 

‘Silence is Goldfish’ – Annabel Pitcher

Silence is Goldfish

Not long before this novel was published in October 2015 I was lucky enough to get a sneak glimpse at three chapters. I’d loved My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece and Ketchup Clouds so was excited to see what this novel was like. Pitcher has always struck me as a writer who is adept at creating character and getting you to feel sympathetic towards characters who don’t always have something obviously appealing about them.

Tess Turner has always felt like she doesn’t fit in. She says and does things to please people, but the sense of isolation she gives off is pervasive. When the novel opens we see Tess reeling with the realisation that she is not who she thinks she is. After reading a blog entry that her father wrote, Tess learns that ‘dad’ is not her biological father.

While this news would be upsetting, I was struck by the fact that Tess’s relationship with her parents is so bad that she can’t talk to them about what she has seen. Her reaction was, to me, a little odd. Stopping talking and withdrawing from all social interaction was the kind of coping mechanism that I can’t imagine occurring for long.

I’m pleased that I got the opportunity to read this via NetGalley, but it was not one of those novels that I’d urge people to read.

 

‘The Fixes’ – Owen Matthews

The Fixes

 

Published at the end of August 2016, I was fortunate to receive a copy of this novel from Edelweiss and HarperTeen in exchange for an honest review. Described as Gossip Girl meets Heathers this novel is one that will definitely not appeal to everyone.

The Fixes tells the story of a group of high-school students determined to fix the things that they see as being wrong in their town. Unfortunately, their methods for fixing these issues are not always particularly acceptable – and some are highly illegal. Eric Connelly – destined for great things in his father’s eyes – is not used to going against expectations. However, when he meets spoiled rich kid Jordan Grant it is clear that Eric has been looking for the opportunity to break out of his pre-defined role.

My views on this varied as I was reading. Initially I liked the tone of voice that had Eric talking directly to us, and telling us what was coming (it reminded me of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off). During the novel I felt more than a little irritated watching spoiled rich kids swanning round town and doing silly things for entertainment, and then I found myself desperate to found out just how we were going to arrive at the point we’d been told to expect.

For me this was a novel where the writer was trying very hard to be clever – and had to forcibly remind us just how clever he was being. However, this did not detract too much from what was actually a refreshing idea and an interesting exploration of contemporary ideas.

‘The Truth About Alice’ – Jennifer Mathieu

The Truth About Alice

This debut novel deals with a number of highly relevant issues, and is written in a very easy-to-read style that will appeal to those teenagers who want to read something topical but don’t necessarily want to have to read a lot.

In Mathieu’s book we are told about Alice Franklin, a young lady who has always been a little different to her peers. Rumours circulate that she had sex with two boys in the same night at a recent party, and so begins a rather inevitable process of name-calling. The conflict between how male and female behaviour is regarded is important, but the real story comes from the fact that not long afterwards one of the boys – a local football hero – is killed in a road crash and it seems Alice was sending sexually explicit messages to him just before he died.

While the exploration of attitudes to teenage sexuality and reputation is pertinent, I found the novel itself quite hard to like as much as others I’ve read on similar topics. We are told about Alice and what happens through the eyes of everyone else, so I think it’s difficult to feel any real empathy with this character. A lot of the other characters who feature in the story are fairly unpleasant, and the hypocrisy of their attitudes annoyed me (I’m sure this was intentional).

 

‘Misty Falls’ – Joss Stirling

Misty Falls

I chose to read this as part of a Reading Challenge, and didn’t realise that it was part of a series. I feel I may have been more invested in some of the characters if I’d read the earlier books, but it does still work as a stand-alone novel.

As a Savant, Misty is incapable of lying. This, inevitably, causes some issues – but her biggest problem at the start of the novel is the revelation that a serial killer is hunting down young Savants and murdering them.

There’s the somewhat inevitable romance between Misty and Alex, though his appearance is important for what comes later.

During the story I definitely felt that certain events were overly manipulated, but I think this would appeal to younger teenage readers.

‘A Step Toward Falling’ – Cammie McGovern

A Step Toward Falling

Published in October 2015, thanks to NetGalley for the digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

When Emily is at one of her school football games she sees someone being attacked and does nothing. Convincing herself that Lucas, one of the football team who comes onto the scene just after her, will do the right thing and call the police she leaves. Neither student says anything, and it is down to Belinda – a student with a learning disability – to save herself.

As a consequence for Emily and Lucas’s lack of action they are instructed to volunteer in a class for students with learning disabilities. Not that this really does anything to help Belinda deal with what happened to her, but it allows the writer to get her message across that we need to look beneath the surface of people and see what they’re really like rather than judge them on appearance/reputation.

Initially, it looked like the focus would be on the attack and its consequences but the writer seemed to skirt around this issue. It was never explicitly discussed and it seemed to be more of a device to get Emily and Lucas – who would never have ended up in the same room – together. For this reason I wonder if it was necessary.

We jump viewpoints and this is a little confusing at first, but it does allow us a clear insight into the minds of Emily and Belinda. Though their lives are very different, we come to see how similar they are.

The story itself is quite slow. There’s not a great plot here, but it is a thoughtful attempt to encourage people to consider others and how we often miss out on opportunities due to our tendency to prejudge others. Unfortunately, it all felt too earnest to really make me want to tell others to read it.

‘Eligible’ – Curtis Sittenfeld

Eligible

 

I love the satire of ‘Pride and Prejudice’ and I suppose that means I’m slightly more open to it being updated. In this fourth in the series of Jane Austen updates Sittenfeld gets to play with a great cast of characters.

The whole point of these characters is that we’re not meant to find them particularly appealing, but I find that intriguing. On the whole I think Sittenfeld is successful in transplanting the Bennets et al into modern American society. Bingley is now Chip, a reality TV star/doctor, and Darcy is a brain surgeon. The Bennets are a family obsessed with appearance, but Mrs Bennet has a shopping addiction and Mr Bennet is in denial about the state of the family fortune and his ailing health. Their relationships are fairly true to the original, while having the updates needed to reflect our modern obsessions/concerns.

Personally, from the first pages I was giggling away and laughing out loud on occasion. A thoroughly enjoyable read.