Wear the Old Coat

Where She Went (If I Stay #2) - Gayle Forman

2012-02-10T15:56:00.001Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.

It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future - and each other.

Told from Adam's point of view in the spare, lyrical prose that defined If I Stay, Where She Went explores the devastation of grief, the promise of new hope, and the flame of rekindled romance

** This review contains necessary spoilers for If I Stay and also spoilers for this book, which I've clearly marked! **

“How does it feel that the only worthy thing you ever created came from the worst kind of loss?”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
This book is the love child of The Piper’s Son and Before Sunset.

High Points.
Adam. Rock stars. Guitars. Song lyrics. Bowling. Camping. Groupies.[ “I’ve come all the way from England to f-...” You took the words right out of my mouth, nameless hussy!]. Brooklyn Bridge. Lady Liberty. Dinosaur eggs. Awkward conversations. Voids. Photographs. Borrowed iPods.

Low Points.
This is going to be a massive spoiler so if you haven’t read the book: I hated the ending.

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If I Stay - Gayle Forman

2012-02-08T14:53:00.000Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen year- old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make -and the ultimate choice Mia commands

“The cello didn’t sound half bad with all those guitars.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Gosh.

High Points.
Mia. The family. Groovy and the Geek. Music. Kim. Chocolate chip pancakes. Fancy dress parties. Brilliant characters. Two weeks of pizza-delivery tips. Feisty nurses. Making collages. Magic kisses. Musical sexy times. Dusty collections of punk-rock albums. Yo Mama. “I’ll let you go. If you stay.”

Low Points.
Even though I love Mia’s family and I liked that they were different without being cringey, no family is that perfect, right?
Also, I don’t think I could take a boy seriously if he was in a band called Shooting Star.
I mean, doesn’t Adam know that you can only be cool nowadays if your band name includes the phrase “and the”?
Liz and the Shooting Star.
There you go.
Much better.

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Lies Beneath - Anne Greenwood Brown

2012-02-06T14:24:00.000Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans, killing them to absorb their energy. But this summer the underwater clan targets Jason Hancock out of pure revenge. They blame Hancock for their mother's death and have been waiting a long time for him to return to his family's homestead on the lake. Hancock has a fear of water, so to lure him in, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter, Lily. Easy enough—especially as Calder has lots of practice using his irresistable good looks and charm on ususpecting girls. Only this time Calder screws everything up: he falls for Lily—just as Lily starts to suspect that there's more to the monsters-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined. And just as his sisters are losing patience with him.

“Would you please get it into your head that this is not a movie. Forget everything you think you know about merpeople. Forget that freaking Ariel, think Silence of the Lambs, think Friday the Thirteenth."

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Considering I thought I would absolutely hate this, I’m pleasantly surprised.

High Points.
Boy narrator! Evil mermaids. Lake Superior. Curses. Flirtatious fishes. The Bahamas. BBQs. Hammocks. A lady love interest who wasn’t completely ridiculous. A chance to have every single Little Mermaid song embedded in your soul for the entire you time you read this book.

Low Point.
OK, I actually only have one low point and I know it’s going sound stupid before I even say it… or, um, you know… write it.
But I’m going to do it anyway, my main problem was: mermaids.
“But, um, Jo… the synopsis has-”
“I know!”
“And the-”
“I know, I know.”
“Jo, the main character has a tail.”
I knew this and I truly wanted to believe.
I was the kid who watched The Little Mermaid approximately a million times and I was the kid who used to pretend the back of my chair was a rock and I’d climb up on it while warbling and pretending to be a mermaid. I even joined the queue of camera-snappy tourists and stood awkwardly next to the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen.
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Flipped - Wendelin Van Draanen

2012-02-02T14:08:00.001Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Flipped is a romance told in two voices. The first time Juli Baker saw Bryce Loski, she flipped. The first time Bryce saw Juli, he ran. That’s pretty much the pattern for these two neighbors until the eighth grade, when, just as Juli is realizing Bryce isn’t as wonderful as she thought, Bryce is starting to see that Juli is pretty amazing. How these two teens manage to see beyond the surface of things and come together makes for a comic and poignant romance.

"Some of us get dipped in flat, some in satin, some in gloss…” He turned to me. “But every once you will find someone who’s iridescent, and when you do, nothing will ever compare.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
*Eyes tree outside window*
I wonder…

High Points.
Juli. The entire Baker clan! Why don’t all YA characters have fun families?! Authors, you’re missing a trick! Bryce (eventually). Chest. Front yards. Eggs. Chickens. Basket boys. Pie. Girls with iron backbones. Tree climbing. Newspaper articles. “There’s a bee in her hair, stupid.” Paintings. The sum of all parts. Mystery Pisser. Science projects. Retractable pointers. Champ. Boys who smell of watermelons. “Proper lighting is everything”. Sycamore trees.

Low Points.
Even though I adored this book, I would have liked to have seen Bryce and Juli’s reactions be drawn out for a bit longer. This book was so short and it didn’t exactly feel rushed but I think it would have been really fun to see how both Bryce and Juli felt about each other when they were in high school.
Also, this is definitely because I’m a Brit and, after god knows how long I’ve been watching/reading American high school stories, I still have no idea about the schooling system.
Middle school? Grades? Sophomores? GRADUATION AT 18?!?!
So, with that in mind, I did get a bit confused as to how old these kids were.
But I still loved it, even if it did make me, you know, think a bit.
*shudders*

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A Day In the Life of Shirley Marr.

2012-02-01T12:59:00.002Z

Do you ever wonder what your favourite authors get up to when they think no one is looking?
OF COURSE YOU DO.

First up is the incredibly glorious Shirley Marr author of the brilliant Fury and the upcoming Preloved.

Over to you, Shirley!

--------------------------

Brought to you by Fast & Furious Productions.

I like to give the impression that my writing life looks like this:

It's a big fat lie! In reality don't use a vintage typewriter and I don't do it in a fancy frock with perfect makeup.

Real life, actually looks more like:

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This is Not a Test - Courtney Summers

2012-01-30T15:24:00.003Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

"…I think it isn’t enough to survive for the sake of surviving…. Surviving should mean something like it means something to them. And if it doesn’t-

If it doesn’t."

~~Initial Final Page Thoughts.~~

An Exchange of E-Mails between a friend and I.
[Censored for spoilery badtimes]

Last night.
10.49 pm.
OMG THIS BOOK.
THIS IS A BOOK THAT NEEDS TO BE TALKED ABOUT IN CAPITAL LETTERS.

[blank] and then [blank] and omg [blank] !!!

OMG CATIE. WHAT.... WHAT.... *head implodes*

11.06pm.
[A reply from Catie, aka, President of Courtney Summers' Fan Club.]
THIS BOOK. The title just kept passing through my head - THIS IS NOT A TEST. Too [blank]ing right it's not! She really pulled out all the stops I think. Her best.

11:20 pm.
CATIE. A chav just threw a snowball at my window and I swear I literally just died for a split second.

11.31 pm.
OMG WHEN HE [blank]. OMG I can’t even deal with this book now. I’ve actually had to stop reading for the night to calm down.
Blarrgh.

Next day.
11.45 am
[Shh, I had a lie in. It was Sunday!]
I hope [blank] doesn’t turn into a baddie. Or a zombie. Or a zombaddie.

11.48 am.
A [blank]?!?! OH COME ON *gnaws off hand*

11.55 am.
[At this point punctuation, never a strong point of mine, failed me completely.]
the [blank] ??? !!!! omg what is with courtney summers she is an evil evil GENIUS woman

12.08pm.
IS [blank] GOING TO BE A [blank]?!?!
Don’t tell me.
I don’t want to know.
UNLESS [blank] and then they [blank] and then omg [blank] and [blank].
no… still don’t tell me.

12.22pm.
OMFG.
Are you kidding me?!
ARE YOU ACTUALLY KIDDING ME?!

12.37pm
[When I reached the end. Censored for my language because I could make a sailor blush with my muck mouth.]
Holy [blank]-a-doodle-do.

The above should give you an insight on what this review is going to be like.
Manic? Possibly.
Gushing? Probably.
Incoherent? Pffft… you know me too well. ;-)
Let’s just call it passionate, shall we?
The above should also give you an insight on how brilliant it is to get an e-mail off me.

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A Week in Verse: Recommendations.

2012-01-29T14:54:00.000Z

Seeing as I, stupidly, only gave myself a week to do this feature I have missed out so many wonderful poetry collections and books in verse. So this post is all about them.

I've not read all of the following books but I have on good authority from my fellow-readers that they are amazing!

Cloud Busting by Malorie Blackman.

Under the Mesquite by Guadalupe Garcia McCall.

Orchards by Holly Thompson.

The Firefly Letters by Margarita Engle.

May B. by Caroline Starr Rose.

Lonesome Howl by Steven Herrick.

Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins.

Don't they all have gorgeous covers?! Just one more reason why you should pick them up...

For a longer list (and a few over-laps), the wonderful ladies at Gathering Books have come up with some brilliant recommendations.

I'm already planning my "A Week in Verse" Part Deux....

Gratuitous James Dean Picture.

Books: Making fit guys fitter since forever.

Interview with Sarah Crossan, Author.

2012-01-28T15:22:00.000Z

Seeing as this is "A Week in Verse" at Wear the Old Coat....
Wait, what do you mean you didn't know?

B-but I made a button and everything!

James Dean! POETRY!
Nothing?
Fine, find out more here and then come back quickly.

The lovely Sara...Also, I would like
to own that necklace.

Chop, chop.

Well today on Wear the Old Coat, I am incredibly lucky to have the wonderful Sarah Crossan, author of the beautiful THE WEIGHT OF WATER (my review, in case you missed it!) kindly answering a few questions about her book, verse novels in general and... psst, her upcoming dystopian book (in prose, sadly. I feel dystopian poetry is the way forward) which sounds absolutely fantastic.

Anyway, enough from me...

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The Weight of Water - Sarah Crossan

2012-01-27T15:00:00.003Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.

Armed with a suitcase and an old laundry bag filled with clothes, Kasienka and her mother leave Poland and head for the UK to find her father. Life is lonely for Kasienka. At home her mother's heart is breaking and at school Kasienka finds it impossible to make new friends. While the search continues, Kasienka is kept afloat by William, a boy she meets at the local pool who understands what it means to lose someone and who swims with Kasienka towards her new life.

“When I am in the water
My body moves like a wave:

There is a violence to it

And a beauty.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
“And it
Never felt so good.”
YES.

High Points.
Kasienka. William. The writing. Friendship. Saying goodbye. Reunions. Butterfly stroke. Kisses like Haribo. Love is a large W. Mama. Resilience. Culture. Blueberry ice cream. Girly sleepovers. Tummy tumbles.

Low Points.
I would have loved to have had a few more poems set when Kasienka and her mum were in Poland. I think it would have added a great contrast between the different cultures.
Also, from what was in the book… it looked really interesting.
Also, blueberry ice cream sounds delicious.

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Chasing Brooklyn - Lisa Schroeder.

2012-01-26T16:00:00.002Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.

Restless souls and empty hearts

Brooklyn can't sleep. Her boyfriend, Lucca, died only a year ago, and now her friend Gabe has just died of an overdose. Every time she closes her eyes, Gabe's ghost is there waiting for her. She has no idea what he wants or why it isn't Lucca visiting her dreams.

Nico can't stop. He's always running, trying to escape the pain of losing his brother, Lucca. But when Lucca's ghost begins leaving messages, telling Nico to help Brooklyn, emotions come crashing to the surface.
As the nightmares escalate and the messages become relentless, Nico reaches out to Brooklyn. But neither of them can admit that they're being haunted. Until they learn to let each other in, not one soul will be able to rest

"Motion is always preferable

to stagnation.

When you move,
things happen."

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
I would say that this book wanted to make me want to sign up for a triathalon.
But that would be a horrible lie.
It did make me want to go back to the beginning and read it again though.

High Points.
It seemed Ms Schroeder had a checklist of everything I dislike in books and she wrote this book just to spite me and show how wrong I am and to make me look silly.

People who shouldn’t be in love, falling in love against all the odds.
“I’ll meet you at the finish line.”
*sobs*
Boys teaching a girl how to be strong.
Taken at face value, yeah. But the girl’s not a bad teacher herself.
Boys buying girls red roses.
I’d still prefer yellow ones, but if it was Nico then I wouldn’t mind getting a bouquet of dandelions.
Boys singing to girls.
Maybe it doesn’t annoy me if it’s to the tune of ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star’…
Mini Golf.
I… uh…I got nothing.

Flower girls. Running. Lucky. Mint toothpaste. Notebooks. Fear. Acceptance. Greif. Playlists. Dreams. Pasta. Rainy day picnics. Whispering sweet everythings. Beginning. Finish lines.

Low Points.
I still
f e e l
A BIT ANTSY
when ~~poems~~
a r e

set out
in eXcItInG

ways.

Just personal preference but I just think that this book didn’t need that.

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My Favourite Childhood Poems.

2012-01-25T16:55:00.000Z

Due to a minor hiccough with my originally plan for today’s post, I have had to throw together something at the last minute.
But don’t fret, guys!
Jo, as ever, is on the ball.

Ish.

This post is going to be the blogging equivalent of putting a bar of Dairy Milk in between two slices of bread and then putting it in a toastie maker.

~~Desperate~~.Interesting. Intriguing. Informative. ~~Delicious~~. Inspirational.

Basically, ladies and gentlemen, I’m wingin’ it.

I thought that seeing as this week’s feature is all about celebrating poetry, I’d share with you just a few of my favourite children’s poems.

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Lies, Knives and Girls in Red Dresses - Ron Koertge

2012-01-24T16:00:00.005Z

The cover hasn't been released yet but here is a
hint at how amazing the illustrations
are!

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Writing in free verse honed to a wicked edge, the incomparable Ron Koertge brings dark and contemporary humor to twenty iconic fairy tales.
Once upon a time, there was a strung-out match girl who sold CDs to stoners. Twelve impetuous sisters escaped King Daddy's clutches to jiggle and cavort and wear out their shoes. A fickle Thumbelina searched for a tiny husband, leaving bodies in her wake. And Little Red Riding Hood confessed that she kind of wanted to know what it's like to be swallowed whole. From bloodied and blinded stepsisters (they were duped) to a chopped-off finger flying into a heroine's cleavage, this is fairy tale world turned upside down. Ron Koertge knows what really happened to all those wolves and maidens, ogres and orphans, kings and piglets, and he knows about the Ever After. So come closer
- he wants to whisper in your ear.

"Do you want to sleep? Find another story teller.
Do you want to think about the world in a new way?

Come closer. Closer, please.

I want to whisper in your ear."

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Eh..

High Points
Interesting new perspectives on fairy re-tellings . Great selection of fairy tales- some that I’ve only heard of in passing. Creepy. Illustrations. The macabre. Who said Ever After has to be happy? Imaginative. Princess in a coma. “Solar panel poetry machine with biceps”. Men in tights.

Low Points.
I think the difficulty with reading and reviewing anthologies of poetry (or short stories, for that matter) is that there will always be a few of them that you don’t really like.
The main problem I had with this was that all the poems got a bit similar. The fairy tales were inverted- the princes weren’t perfect and neither were the princesses. The beast was an alright guy. Hansel and Gretl were ruthless killers.
I just sometimes felt like I was reading the same story over and over again.
I mean, I love Diet Coke but would I want to drink it every day of the year?
Um… actually, that’s a horrible example because yes, yes of course I would.

It’s funny, actually, because I read this book as part of my A Week in Verse feature on my blog but I don’t think that writing in verse actually did Koertge’s ideas any favours. A lot of the stories/poems had some absolutely great ideas but they didn’t go into the depth that I wanted.
I kind of felt that his ideas were bogged down the verse (and made them just OK) and the verse watered down his ideas (and made them just Ok).
If that makes sense?
With that in mind, I’m not sure whether this would be a good place to start your journey in the land of verse… but I’d still recommend it to people who had already moved in and settled.

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Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats - T. S. Eliot

2012-01-23T17:19:00.003Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
The phenomenal worldwide success in the 1980s of the musical Cats refuelled interest in T.S. Eliot's classic Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats on which the stage extravaganza was based. Old Possum's Book, originally published in 1939 and dedicated to Eliot's godchildren, contains a delightful rogues' gallery of felines, including the Rum Tum Tugger cat whose "disobliging ways are a matter of habit", Mr Mistoffelees "The Original Conjuring Cat" and Macavity: The Mystery Cat "the master criminal who can defy the law". Loved by generations of children and adults alike, Old Possum is perhaps most remarkable for having been written almost as an aside, a plaything, by Eliot.

"But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?"

I have to admit that it was an embarrassingly short time ago when I realised that the poems written by T.S Eliot provided the lyrics for the musical Cats.
Don’t get me wrong, I knew that the musical was based on these poems (I’m not completely culturally challenged, I’ll have you know), but I had no idea that the poems were the exact words to the songs.
It was when I was in the first year at university and I had taken a module called “The Literature of Laughter” (fyi… that was a misleading title. I think I laughed once. And that was out of nervousness because the lecturer frightened me).
We had read all the set texts and we were nearing our exam and the lecturer had no idea what to do with us. So she brought in a boxful of the BBC’s The Nation’s Favourite Comic Poems edited by Griff Rhys Jones (A wonderful collection and I’d definitely recommend it, by the way) and we were told to find our favourite.
So I was skimming through and found a copy of “Macavity: The Mystery Cat.”
Now I love Cats, I’ve seen it about three times on the stage and I’d go and see it a million times more. My Cats claim-to-fame (because, like, everyone has one, right?) was that I once saw Mister Mistoffelees having a pint in the theatre bar after the show!
So back in the seminar room, I turned to my equally Cats-loving friend and we had a bit of a giddy five minutes.
Here is where I would love to tell you that my friend and I broke out into a full-on dance routine to Macavity but alas I can’t.
We did however go home and watch the DVD and recruit my other house mate to join us in our leaping.
And, guys, it was spectacular.
Although we did have to judge our high kicks so we didn’t knock over the precariously balanced tower of electrical goods that we kept in an alcove.

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A Week in Verse: An Introduction.

2012-01-22T14:28:00.001Z

Ladies and gentlemen, it’s time my first feature of 2012.
You know you’ve missed them.
If you’re new to my blog, or are just passing through because you thought this blog was called ‘Wear MY Old Coat’ and I was giving away my old coats, and therefore are not privy to my highly organised and professional features, I will explain.
Basically, every now and again, I look at the books that I own that I want/need to read and if any of them are remotely similar I turn it into a feature and pretend I was planning on doing it all along!

I also make an adorable button so it definitely looks official.

Because only the coolest kids read verse.

The incredible Mr James Dean is helping me out for this feature.
(He is reading the poems of James Whitcomb Riley, children's poet, if you’re interested.)

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Same Sun Here- Silas House & Neela Vaswani

2012-01-21T12:03:00.000Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Meena and River have a lot in common: fathers forced to work away from home to make ends meet, grandmothers who mean the world to them, and faithful dogs. But Meena is an Indian immigrant girl living in New York City’s Chinatown, while River is a Kentucky coal miner’s son. As Meena’s family studies for citizenship exams and River's town faces devastating mountaintop removal, this unlikely pair become pen pals, sharing thoughts and, as their camaraderie deepens, discovering common ground in their disparate experiences. With honesty and humor, Meena and River bridge the miles between them, creating a friendship that inspires bravery and defeats cultural misconceptions. Narrated in two voices, each voice distinctly articulated by a separate gifted author, this chronicle of two lives powerfully conveys the great value of being and having a friend and the joys of opening our lives to others who live beneath the same sun.

Pre-Review Thoughts: I have such a love/hate relationship with Netgalley. I love it because it’s an invaluable way for me, as a British blogger, to get access to books that aren’t published over here for months or, in some instances, at all. I hate it because it always seems that when a new book comes out it’s a fight to the death to get accepted for the popular, well publicised titles. But what I love most about Netgalley is finding books such as this one that I would probably never have found otherwise and absolutely adoring them.

“Let’s say right now that we can tell each other our secrets and we won’t make fun of each other. Don’t take this the wrong way, but you sound weird, too. I am glad of it, because I can be my own true self with you.”

“Sometimes you write things in your letters that I thought nobody had ever thought before, except for me.

But then there it is in your letter.”

Stuffed full of pictures, poems and drawings (which unfortunately weren’t shown in the ARC but will be in the hardback copy I’ll undoubtedly buy), this book tells a simple story. It’s not a particularly original one but it’s a beautiful one all the same.
With Meena and River, Ms Vaswani and Mr House have created two of the most authentic children’s voices I have read. Their letters are full of their worries, their pain, their dreams but they are also full of rich humour that had made laughing and shattering my early nights.

I know I always rabbit on about how much better most middle grade books are at dealing with serious issues honestly than most YA books but I’m just going to rabbit on a little bit more. Because Same Sun Here was no exception.
The environment, tolerance, different cultures, family and politics (this book is set in 2008 around Obama’s inauguration) are but a few topics that are covered in great deal within the letters between Meena and River. There is such a sweet and true message hidden within these pages but there’s a difference between talking about an issue and clobbering you over the head with it.
Fortunately, both Vaswani and House are well aware of this.

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Divergent - Veronica Roth

2012-01-19T15:25:00.002Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.

“But there is something wonderful about Dauntless chaos.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Duh duh duuuh.

High Points.
Tris (occasionally). Christina. Will. Uriah. Stiffs. Jumping off trains. Boys with piercings. Simulations. Ferris wheels. Zip-wires. Paintballing. Danger. The first to jump. Scoreboards. FIGHT.FIGHT.FIGHT. Blood and gore. Corrupt governments. Knife throwing. Boys with fingers so long that can span a girl’s ribcage….wait, what?

Low Points.
I’m always better reading this kind of book in one go because that way I can turn my brain off and just go with it.
But, as I mentioned earlier, my Kindle broke and it was a disaster.
And during the break I took from this book, my highly intellectual brain switched itself back on and started picking and asking questions that I couldn't ignore.
Maybe this is because, if I were a character in this book, I would be factionless for I am neither brave, clever, truthful, caring or selfless.
And, well, we all know how shifty those factionless are.
Also, what was up with Creepy Fingers McGee as the love interest?
*shudders*

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Goliath (Leviathan #3) - Scott Westerfeld.

2012-01-17T09:49:00.001Z

This is Book Three in the series so review/synopsis will possibly contain spoilers for Leviathan and Behemoth.

Synopsis from Goodreads.

Alek and Deryn are on the last leg of their round-the-world quest to end World War I, reclaim Alek’s throne as prince of Austria, and finally fall in love. The first two objectives are complicated by the fact that their ship, the Leviathan, continues to detour farther away from the heart of the war (and crown). And the love thing would be a lot easier if Alek knew Deryn was a girl. (She has to pose as a boy in order to serve in the British Air Service.) And if they weren’t technically enemies.

The tension thickens as the Leviathan steams toward New York City with a homicidal lunatic on board: secrets suddenly unravel, characters reappear, and nothing is at it seems in this thunderous conclusion to Scott Westerfeld’s brilliant trilogy

"Reality had no gears, and you never knew what surprises would come spinning out its chaos."

Dear Alek,
I know in my review for Behemoth I told you that I was going to dedicate this final review to you and I would think of a theme tune for you.
Well, I haven’t.
I thought that, instead of writing a proper review that will help readers decide whether to read this book or not (you’d think this was a review site/book blog or something), I’d write you a letter.
It’s not going to be a fancy one (or one with paragraphs set out correctly) but it will be a simple one.
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A Write- Up....

2012-01-16T15:51:00.001Z

Or... how I met one of my all time favourite authors.

*Slight spoilers for Froi of the Exiles follow. You’ve been warned.*

If you are a fan, you will probably know that Melina Marchetta is travelling Europe to gather the last bits of research for the third book in her Lumatere Trilogy, Quintana of Charyn.
Just before Christmas, MM sent me an e-mail asking if I would like to meet up with her while she was in London, I ~~sort of stared at my laptop for a moment before making this high-pitched squealing noise that I don’t really want to talk about~~ agreed immediately.
I thought it would be an amazing opportunity to write an extremely intelligent article about what it’s like to be a best-selling author that will provide advice and insider knowledge.

Um… unfortunately because it’s me…you’re probably not going to get an extremely intelligent article about what it’s like to be a best-selling author that will provide you with insider knowledge.

So, yeah, sorry about that.

Read more »

Interview with Zack Ahern, Photographer.

2012-01-14T12:30:00.001Z

Or... The Guy Behind The Shoulders.

I know you might be wondering why I'm interviewing a photographer on my blog today.
"Um... isn't this a book review blog?" I hear you ask.
And yes it is.
"So what's with the photographer? Oh god, you're not trying to be arty and cool again are you, Jo? You know how that worked out last time." I hear you despair.
No no, don't worry. I'm still as ridiculously lame and uncool as I always have been.

This interview definitely, definitely has something to do with books.

Do you know of an author named Melina Marchetta?
Yeah... she's not that well known.
She's only written seven books.
Critically acclaimed books.
Oh and she won the Michael. L. Printz Award.
No biggie.
Well this year she released the second book of her brilliant Lumetere Chronicles, Froi of the Exiles.
You may remember the cover.
No?

Yes, that's right.
Now you remember.
Those shoulders.

Well, Mr Ahern is indeed the man behind those shoulders for he is the photographer of the picture that was used on the Australian cover of Froi of the Exiles. He has kindly agreed to answer my questions on his passion for photography, what inspires him and how his photograph came to grace almost every YA blog on the internet.

Oh and yeah, did I mention he's the model too?

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, I have Froi on my blog today.
But let's call him Zack, shall we?
Read more »

Cracked Up to Be - Courtney Summers.

2012-01-12T17:20:00.000Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Perfect Parker Fadley isn’t so perfect anymore. She’s quit the cheerleading squad, she’s dumped her perfect boyfriend, and she’s failing school. Her parents are on a constant suicide watch and her counselors think she’s playing games…but what they don’t know, the real reason for this whole mess, isn’t something she can say out loud. It isn’t even something she can say to herself. A horrible thing has happened and it just might be her fault. If she can just remove herself from everybody--be totally alone--then everything will be okay...The problem is, nobody will let her.

Slight spoilers follow…

“I’d rather be certifiable than perpetually boring.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
ME TOO.

High Points.
I loved everything: the writing, the characters, the emotions, the subject.
Done.
*bats off hands*

Low Points.
This book was so small it could get lost in my back teeth.
I’m just being selfish because I wanted to spend more time with this book but hey, if book reviewers can’t be selfish then who can?
That is the real question, I think.
Read more »

The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind - Meg Medina

2012-01-11T14:37:00.000Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Sonia's entire village believes she has a gift, but it's only in leaving home that she finds out who she truly is. A compelling tale from a rich new voice in young adult fiction.

Sixteen-year-old Sonia Ocampo was born on the night of the worst storm Tres Montes had ever seen. And when the winds mercifully stopped, an unshakable belief in the girl's protective powers began. All her life, Sonia has been asked to pray for sick mothers or missing sons, as worried parents and friends press silver milagros in her hands. Sonia knows she has no special powers, but how can she disappoint those who look to her for solace? Still, her conscience is heavy, so when she gets a chance to travel to the city and work in the home of a wealthy woman, she seizes it. At first, Sonia feels freedom in being treated like all the other girls. But when news arrives that her beloved brother has disappeared while looking for work, she learns to her sorrow that she can never truly leave the past or her family behind.

“…they confessed they had always had a soft spot for old mountain stories like his, for tales of humble people and the courage it took to live their days. For true stories of magic and love.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
I have a soft spot for old mountain stories like this.

High Points.
Sonia. Pancho. Rafael. Oscar. Trains. Valleys. Milagos. Abuela. Spirits. Superstitions. Hibiscus. Poetry. History. Traditions. Community. Humble mountain folk. Family. Wishes. Tres Montes. Longing to be ordinary. The shades of a reading tree.

Low Points.
I think I had come to the conclusion that this book was going to be a magical realism book when it actually wasn’t. When I read the synopsis I got so excited because it sounded so completely different to anything I had read. I’ve always loved magical realism and superstitions and old traditions and “old mountain stories” and although this book has some of these elements; I was expecting more.
I don’t really want to go into detail but there were certain situations that, although were incredibly well-written and harrowing, seemed to eclipse Sonia’s story.
The more I think about it, actually, the more I realise how misleading the title of this book is. It’s not really about The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind because a great chunk of the book isn’t even told from her perspective.
I think this book is about community, friendship and family above everything, which is great and makes a refreshing change from “It’s my destiny to save the world blah blah blaaah”.
I’ve just read through those above paragraphs and realised I’ve said a lot without actually saying anything. I guess my only low point is that I assumed that this book was going to be a different book than it actually was.
I just wished we had been allowed to spend more time in the shade of a reading tree telling stories of superstitions, ghosts, traditions, community, magic and anonymous hibiscus flowers on your window ledge.

Read more »

Solace of the Road - Siobhan Dowd

2012-01-09T15:17:00.003Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Memories of mum are the only thing that make Holly Hogan happy. She hates her foster family with their too-nice ways and their false sympathy. And she hates her life, her stupid school, and the way everyone is always on at her. Then she finds the wig, and everything changes. Wearing the long, flowing blond locks she feels transformed. She’s not Holly anymore, she’s Solace: the girl with the slinkster walk and the supersharp talk. She’s older, more confident—the kind of girl who can walk right out of her humdrum life, hitch to Ireland, and find her mum. The kind of girl who can face the world head-on.

So begins a bittersweet and sometimes hilarious journey as Solace swaggers and Holly tiptoes across England and through memory, discovering her true self and unlocking the secrets of her past

“Your name’s made out of cloud, Holly.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Ms Dowd’s books sure do play havoc on my body clock. 3am. 3AM!

High Points.
Holly. S♥lace. Blonde wigs. Thule. Fiona. Vegan truckers. Grace. Trim. Rosabel. Slim-slam glamour girls. Mogits. The Titanic. “Walking out into a night sky, thumb out and fag in hand”. Ferries. Wales. Curry and chips. Araf. The kind of days that pull you out to play. Nameless boys on motorbikes. Miracles. Scenic routes. Baby Guiness. Strawberry birthday cake. Girls who are strictly sunshine.

Low Points.
I read A Swift Pure Cry before this one and it broke my heart a smidgeon more.

Read more »

Book Tour: Day in the Life of Michael Gerard Bauer. (Interview)

2012-01-07T11:37:00.000Z

A Quick Note: So when the lovely Leo (and then the equally lovely Jessica, who took over half way through!) at Templar asked me if I wanted to be part of the UK blog tour for Don't Call Me Ishmael by Michael Gerard Bauer, I jumped at the chance.
I asked Mr Bauer if he would write a guest post about a typical day in his life- mostly because I'm nosey but also because I thought it would be really interesting to gain an insight on what goes on behind-the-scenes for writers. My review for Don't Call Me Ishmael can be found here.

Over to you, Michael!

Read more »

Don't Call Me Ishmael - Michael Gerard Bauer.

2012-01-06T12:00:00.001Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.

There's no easy way to put this, so I'll say it straight out. It's time I faced up to the truth. I'm fourteen years old and I have Ishmael Leseur's Syndrome. There is no cure. And there is no instant cure to not fitting in. But that won't stop Ishmael and his intrepid band of misfits from taking on bullies, bugs, babes, the Beatles, debating, and the great white whale in the toughest, the weirdest, the most embarrassingly awful...and the best year of their lives.

“One of the Beatles had just fallen out of my pants.

I was pretty sure it was Ringo.”

~~A conversation~~. A heated debate.

Jo -So, I really enjoyed this book. It was full of colourful characters, hilarious dialogue and ridiculous (and fun!) situations, this book will definitely appeal to middle-grade readers. However I couldn’t help but think that there were some jokes that went on a bit longer than they should of. I imagine my face was similar to the face I pull when my granddad, my colourful colourful granddad, tells me his only-slightly offensive jokes.
I laugh loudly at first…. But then he collars me when I’m on my way to brew up and he tells it me again, with slightly different wording.
They’re still very charming but on occasion they wore a bit thin.
Interrupting Jo Who Understands That This Book Was Written For Readers Aged 8-12 - Pfft, like you know anything.
Jo - I...I’m sorry?
~~IJWKTTBWWFRAET~~ Jo 2-Well… no disrespect, Jo, but you are not supposed to be reading this book.
Jo -I… um. But I’m a book reviewer?
Jo 2 - Mr Bauer didn’t write it for people like you.

Read more »

The Terror Beneath (The Monstrumologist #1) - Rick Yancey.

2012-01-05T13:00:00.001Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed. But he is dead now and has been for nearly ninety years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets. The one who saved me . . . and the one who cursed me.
So starts the diary of Will Henry, orphan and assistant to a doctor with a most unusual specialty: monster hunting. In the short time he has lived with the doctor, Will has grown accustomed to his late night callers and dangerous business. But when one visitor comes with the body of a young girl and the monster that was feeding on her, Will's world is about to change forever. The doctor has discovered a baby Anthropophagi--a headless monster that feeds through the mouthfuls of teeth in its chest--and it signals a growing number of Anthropophagi. Now, Will and the doctor must face the horror threatenning to overtake and consume our world before it is too late.

A note: I promise the follow is actually a review and not my application for the position of President of the Rick Yancey fan club.

"There are times when fear is not our enemy. There are times when fear is our truest, sometimes only, friend.”

"…for only a mad man believes what every child knows to be true: There are monsters that lie in wait under our beds.”

When I was younger I never believed in monsters.
I like to think it was because even then I was a little clever clogs who knew that monsters didn’t exist and believing in them was for babies.
But…um… it wasn’t.
Because while most children were checking in their wardrobes and under their beds for monsters, I was convinced my house was haunted and that a ghost was going to eat me and/or possess me.
I was a strange child.
My house, for the record, was only built about thirty years ago and stands at the foot of the Pennines, not on an evil cemetery. Although there have been rumours that, like at Hadrian’s Wall, you can hear the sounds of marching Romans on cold, quiet nights….
Um… what was I on about?
Oh yes.
The truth: I always thought that monsters were stupid. They were stupid because they could never exist.
Read more »

Fury - Shirley Marr

2012-01-03T15:32:00.001Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Let me tell you my story.
Not just the facts I know you want to hear.
If I’m going to tell you my story,
I’m telling it my way.

Strap yourself in...

Eliza Boans has everything.
A big house.
A great education.
A bright future.

So why is she sitting in a police station confessing to murder?

"Is it because we’re girls. I want to say. You think a bunch of girls are not capable of something like this?"

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Iiiiinteresting.

High Points.
I was intrigued about this book before I even read the first page. I have this unofficial collection of my favourite book dedications. When I say unofficial it’s because normally I read a book dedication and say “WOW… that’s so funny/heart breaking/intriguing. I must write it down and remember it forever” but then I, well, don’t.
BUT I have written down Ms Marr’s because I love it and it’s intriguing and I want to know more but I kind of don’t because then the mystery will be gone.
….Anyway.
Back to the book and its high points. Eliza. Marianne. Lexi. Australia. Burgers. Parties. Money makes the world go around. “School of Hard Knocks, Jocks and Designer Frocks”. Sisters doing it for themselves. Boys with embroidered hankies. Dresses. Prison. Masks. Glasses of water. Friendships. Girls. Loyalty. Infamy. Fury.

Low Points.
So what do an ex-boy band member, an ex-boxer with a current love for starring in panto, a few literary heroines, an English rock legend, a glam-rock vocalist who has disappeared off the face of the earth and the most violent prisoner in Britain (or an actor) have in common?
I’ll give you a minute.
*twiddles thumbs*

Give up?
Answer: They all lend their names to a character in this book!
At first, I really loved it because it felt like Ms Marr was giving me knowing nods and cheeky winks but then, me being me and having a pop-culture pickled brain, I kept looking out for them. And it became quite distracting.
My main problem with this book was that I didn’t really connect with the characters. I wish we could have spent more time with the ladies at school rather than just Eliza and Dr Brian McFadden.
But all I could think of is what would happen if Jane Eyre and Ronnie Wood ever found themselves at the same party. I mean… what would they even talk about?
Would Jane drink beer or would she choose to drink a more fruity lady-drink? Would Ronnie eat all the nice crisps and leave the prawn cocktail flavoured ones for everyone else? Would Jane be scandalised as Ronnie poured the contents of his hip flask in the punch? Would Ronnie shake his head and mutter under his breath as he watched Jane dance drunkenly to Bonnie Tyler “I Need a Hero” and declare that the song is “All about her?”
Or vice versa.
And, more importantly, what would The Roch think of this friendship?! Would he approve? Would he be jealous? Would he be a fan of The Rolling Stones? Or would he be more of a Jeff Beck Group fan?!
And if that isn’t a book that needs to be written…
*cough*
But that’s not really a true low point for this book because it’s more for me ~~and the ridiculous way my mind works~~.
I did also have a few problems with what happened after what happened happened. I don’t know… I just kind of struggled with the plausibility of some things of what came next.

Read more »

The Book of Dead Days - Marcus Sedgwick

2012-01-02T14:00:00.007Z

Synopsis From Goodreads.
THE DAYS BETWEEN Christmas and New Year’s Eve are dead days, when spirits roam and magic shifts restlessly just beneath the surface of our lives. A magician called Valerian must save his own life within those few days or pay the price for the pact he made with evil so many years ago. But alchemy and sorcery are no match against the demonic power pursuing him. Helping him is his servant, Boy, a child with no name and no past. The quick-witted orphan girl, Willow, is with them as they dig in death fields at midnight, and as they are swept into the sprawling blackness of a subterranean city on a journey from which there is no escape.

This review is probably going to be a bit lacking because I thought I was being clever by reading this book about the days in between Christmas and New Year in the days between Christmas and New Year.
But well… I wasn’t.
Thanks to eating, drinking, generally being merry and trying to decide how it was possible for Robert Sheehan to still look fit as a Borrower, I read about a chapter a day.
So unfortunatley I didn’t get into this book as well as I thought I would and I don’t really have many notes on it.
But let’s see what I can come up with, shall we?

“This interlude was a strange and quiet time, a time somehow outside the rest of the year, outside time itself. It was as if the rest of the year were alive, but these days were dead.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Eh… the ending was a bit of an anti-climax.

High Points.
The setting. In my mind The City was Edinburgh and I love Edinburgh. It’s my second favourite UK city. I just love everything about it; the castle, the history, the cobbles, the cafes, the culture.
Also it has a Camera Obscura like in this book.
Coincidence? I think not.
And the bit where Boy and Co were in the underground city really reminded me of Mary King’s Close.
And I pictured the part in the graveyard as the Covenanters' Prison in Greyfriars!
Sigh. I need to go back to Edinburgh soon.
Anyway….Boy. Willow. Vaudeville. Theatre. Magicians. Fairyland. Baby dragons. Electricity. Camera Osbcura. Fate. Midnight. Tombstones. Grave robbers. Underground canals.

Low Points.
That ending really fell flat. After about 200 pages of fantastic build-up, the finale ended up being one page. It was far too sudden for my liking and, to be honest, it didn’t really make sense to me.
Also I wanted to know more about these baby dragons….and the Phantom that is mentioned once who EATS PEOPLE.

Read more »

My New YA Resolutions.

2012-01-01T11:01:00.000Z

***

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

I hope 2012 will bring you all everything that you wish for. Let’s make it a good ‘un.

So I’ve had a bit of a break over this festive season but now I’m back and I’ve collected ten of my New YA Resolutions that I will hopefully sticking to this year on Wear the Old Coat.

New YA? I hear you ask.

Nope I’ve not suddenly become extremely posh and well-spoken and Southern but I have decided that instead of doing any official reading challenges that require a fancypants button that I will undoubtedly fail and/or forget I’m doing them in the first place: I’m going to make my own Reading Resolutions.

Read more »

Signing off for....

2011-12-24T17:22:00.000Z

Christmas!

I just want to take this opportunity to thank every single one of my dedicated readers, people who occasionally read my reviews and even the people who have stumbled onto my page in hope of finding advice on where to find old coats.
*ahem*

Your support of Wear the Old Coat has been absolutely fantastic this year and I've had so much fun and I hope you have too!

I have lots of great things planned for you all next year and I'm so excited :)

Hope you all have a lovely festive season and a brilliant, book-filled 2012!

- Jo.

Froi of the Exiles - Melina Marchetta

2011-12-22T13:59:00.002Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Blood sings to blood, Froi . . .
Those born last will make the first . . .
For Charyn will be barren no more.

Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home... Or so he believes...
Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been trained roughly and lovingly by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds. Here he encounters a damaged people who are not who they seem, and must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad Princess.
And in this barren and mysterious place, he will discover that there is a song sleeping in his blood, and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen.

"....and he wanted to creep inside her head and join the madness."

So I guess I’m kinda a fantasy fan.
(But still very much a learner)
Because there have now been two series I can’t get enough of
And it’s all to do with Double M and Ms Whalen Turner.

It’s taken me a while to process this book
(Once I got over the jittery caffeine shakes and stiffness of the joints)
Because when I skimmed through my notes I found with dismay
My pages full of only sad faces and exclamation points.

I picked it up with the intention of spending a few days completely
Immersed… but I must admit I failed.
For I realised when I had found myself, in awe, at the end
That Froi of the Exiles had been accidentally inhaled.

Read more »

In Darkness - Nick Lake.

2011-12-21T17:18:00.000Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
"Shorty" is a Haitian boy trapped in the ruins of a hospital when the earth explodes around him. Surrounded by lifeless bodies and growing desperately weak from lack of food and water, death seems imminent. Yet as Shorty waits in darkness for a rescue that may never come, he becomes aware of another presence, one reaching out to him across two hundred years of history. It is the presence of slave and revolutionary leader Toussaint L'Ouverture, whose life was marred by violence, and whose own end came in darkness. What unites a child of the slums with the man who would shake a troubled country out of slavery? Is it the darkness they share . . . or is it hope?

Raw, harrowing, and peopled with vibrant characters, In Darkness is an extraordinary book about the cruelties of man and nature, and the valiant, ongoing struggle for a country's very survival.

“Death will continue… There will be a steady and endless stream of the dead, filling the land under the sea that can never be filled.

But this is not sad
This is beautiful.
The beauty of this is that when you die there will always be someone waiting, there will always be those you have lost, standing there, the curve of their back and the stance of their feet so familiar. There will always be someone there, saying:
-We have waited so long. It is so good to see you. Come here.
Come here.

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Woah… I can safely say I’ve never read a book like that before both in subject matter and emotions.

High Points.
Shorty. Marguerite. Toussaint L'Ouverture. Site Sole. One of the most original settings in any YA book I’ve read. Stories. Dirt. Vodou. Zombis. Notorious B.I.G. Voices in the darkness. Death. Hope. Friendship. Unflinching. Curses. Impeccably researched. Prophecies. Boys of cartilage and muscle and veins. History. The future. Then. Now. Always.

Low Points.
Even though I enjoyed (“enjoyed” isn’t really the word I’m looking for) the ‘Then’ parts and they were impeccably researched by Mr Lake, I couldn’t help my mind wandering a little. I found them interesting and beautifully written (One of my favourite quotes of the whole book was taken from one of these chapters [See top quote]) but I just wanted to get back to Shorty and his story.
So really… it’s Mr Lake’s fault for creating such a brilliant character in Shorty.
That’s right… his fault.
*cough*

Read more »

Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe - Shelley Coriell

2011-12-19T13:14:00.002Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.

Quick Note: I think I did this book a great injustice reading it straight after I'd finished The Queen of Attolia. No book really stood a chance after that.
So I feel I must apologise to Ms Coriell.

I hate writing reviews for books like this.
Because this book was OK.
It wasn’t atrocious and it wasn’t fantastic.
It was just OK.
The writing was great and the teen dialogue didn’t seemed forced not did it try too hard to be “with it”. Something that I feel is always a plus because so many YA contemporary books skip merrily down that path.
And that path should be hidden with traps full of spikes and…. um, bears, or something equally gnashy.
And I loved, loved, loved the concept.
School radio?!
Ace.

Read more »

Behemoth (Leviathan #2) - Scott Westerfeld

2011-12-16T13:36:00.004Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
The behemoth is the fiercest creature in the British navy. It can swallow enemy battleships with one bite. The Darwinists will need it, now that they are at war with the Clanker powers.

Deryn is a girl posing as a boy in the British Air Service, and Alek is the heir to an empire posing as a commoner. Finally together aboard the airship Leviathan, they hope to bring the war to a halt. But when disaster strikes the Leviathan's peacekeeping mission, they find themselves alone and hunted in enemy territory.

Alek and Deryn will need great skill, new allies, and brave hearts to face what's ahead.

Please Note: This review will contain mild spoilers for Leviathan so if you know want to know zilch avert your eyes please.

“Do I look like a ninny?” she asked Alek.

“You do indeed, Mr Sharp.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
I’m not supposed to be buying any more books until after Christmas... *bites nails* but this series is just too good. It would be a crime not to buy the final book, wouldn’t it?
WOULDN’T IT?!

High Points.
Ninnies. Dummkopfs. Mr Sharp. Beasties. Bovril. Lilit. ~~Costanipole~~ Istanbul. Libraries. Hotels. Taxis. Spices. Dress uniforms. Perspicacious. Elephants. The best love triangle since Green Wing. The illustrations that just get better and better.

Low Points.
There were a few points in this story that I got a bit lost with what was actually happening. This has absolutely nothing to do with Mr Westerfeld’s writing…. just my small brain.
All the plotting and the attacking and the whatnot….some of it went over my head. But I still enjoyed it immensely.

Read more »

Rules of Attraction - Simone Elkeles

2011-12-13T14:51:00.002Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.

When Carlos Fuentes returns to America after living in Mexico for a year, he doesn’t want any part of the life his older brother, Alex, has laid out for him at a high school in Colorado . Carlos likes living his life on the edge and wants to carve his own path—just like Alex did. Then he meets Kiara Westford. She doesn’t talk much and is completely intimidated by Carlos’ wild ways. As they get to know one another, Carlos assumes Kiara thinks she’s too good for him, and refuses to admit that she might be getting to him. But he soon realizes that being himself is exactly what Kiara needs right now.

If you haven't read Perfect Chemistry by Ms Elkeles... there may be spoilers ahead.

“Want to get in trouble with me, Carlos?”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
OK, so I have to admit I originally picked this book up with every intention of laughing at it as opposed to with it.
But Ms Elkeles definitely got the last laugh because this book and I had a whale of a time together and I'm thinking of proposing soon.
Also:
Some Things I Will Never Understand.
Why some girls (and some boys…) where leggings as pants. How they get the tiny writing to go all the way through Blackpool Rock. Dr Who. My 8 times table. Olly Murs. Why so many people prefer Perfect Chemistry over this book.
I don’t know whether I have to hand in my YA reader card in to someone or get a strike against my name or something… but I much much muuuuuch preferred this book.

High Points.
Carlos. Kiara. Being a badass. Perky privates. Shared bathrooms. Mountain walks. Homecoming dances. Lake side canoodles. Magnetic cookies. Chicas. Cowboys. The Ultimate Queers. Mr Westford’s Home for Wayward Boys. Swapping germs.

Low Points.
I didn’t really like the whole gangbanger (LOL) thing in this book. In Perfect Chemistry it worked with Alex’s character but with Carlos it just seemed like Ms Elkeles was like “Meep, we need more angst. I know… I’ll add a gang! That worked for the first one!”
Also… the whole pretend boyfriend/girlfriend thing. I have no idea why Carlos and Kiara did that at all. It just seemed a bit random….
I probably don’t need to tell you that the epilogue made me want to claw my eyes out but not as much as the first one.

Read more »

Copenhagen.

2011-12-09T08:50:00.001Z

I'm there until Monday.
Don't miss me too much ;-)

Losing It - edited by Keith Gray

2011-12-08T16:26:00.001Z

Also starring: Melvin Burgess, Anne Fine, Mary Hooper, Sophie McKenzie, Patrick Ness, Bali Rai and Jenny Valentine

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Some of today's leading writers for teens are gathered here in a wonderful collection of original stories: some funny, some moving, some haunting but all revolving around the same subject - having sex for the first time!

“It’s that kind of story. Certain words are necessary because this is real life, but you can’t actually show ‘em because we’re too young to read about the stuff we actually do, yeah?”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Has anyone seen Cinema Paradiso?
If yes: Stick with me for this bit and read my highly ~~convoluted~~ intelligent analogy.
If no but you don’t mind it being spoilt: Stick with me for this bit and read my highly ~~convoluted~~ intelligent analogy.
If no but you would rather it not be spoilt: I loved this book and you can skip ahead to the high points.

You know the part where the priest tells Alfredo that he has to censor the films he shows in his cinema? And Alfredo explains this to Toto, his young apprentice, that he has to cut all the rude scenes out and all these clippings are in the big box? And then when the cut film is playing the audience boo because the scene cuts just when the couples are about to kiss?
That’s usually me when I’m reading a YA book.
I can probably count on both hands the books I’ve read recently where teenagers have sex.
Maybe I’m just reading the wrong books or maybe it’s because it doesn’t have any relevance to the story and the characters or maybe it’s because if a teenager reads a book where characters have sex, or even discuss sex, they will obviously run out and have immoral sex in an alley behind the nearest paper shop.

So at the end of Cinema Paradiso, Alfredo sends the now grown up Toto a film of all the rude scenes spliced together and it’s all emotional and lovely and brilliant.
This book was the literary equivalent of that end scene.
It was like Mr Gray had gone through all the snippets and cut scenes of books from YA writers all across the world and put them together into one fantastic collection.

Read more »

ex·pla·na·tion

2011-12-07T13:44:00.001Z

So you might have noticed that my blog has been a bit.... uh.. non-existent recently.

I do apologise and I have been reading and I've been starting reviews band almost finishing them but... but...

OK, I'll start at the beginning.
So you know Flann? Yeah?
Flannery at The Readventurer?
Yeah.
Well, it's all her fault.
Because she told me that I simply must read the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning.
You may have heard of them, they are the series that can officially make grown women lose their mind.

Also, stay up waaaaaay past their bed time.

Having devoured the first two books in about a minute, I am just about to start Faefever this afternoon.

So that's why I've not been posting reviews for a while. I promise I'll remedy it soon.

I promise I'll be posting my review for Losing It by Keith Gray before the end of the week!

~~If Barrons will let me.~~

The Midnight Palace - Carlos Ruis Zafon

2011-12-05T15:02:00.001Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.

In the heart of Calcutta lurks a dark mystery. . . .

Set in Calcutta in the 1930s, The Midnight Palace begins on a dark night when an English lieutenant fights to save newborn twins Ben and Sheere from an unthinkable threat. Despite monsoon-force rains and terrible danger lurking around every street corner, the young lieutenant manages to get them to safety, but not without losing his own life. . . .

Years later, on the eve of Ben and Sheere’s sixteenth birthday, the mysterious threat reenters their lives. This time, it may be impossible to escape. With the help of their brave friends, the twins will have to take a stand against the terror that watches them in the shadows of the night—and face the most frightening creature in the history of the City of Palaces.

“Those places where sadness and misery abound are favoured settings for stories of ghosts and apparitions.”

I think I can sum up my disappointment in this book in a sentence:
Fantastic ideas that are described in breathtakingly beautiful prose but never explained properly.

This isn’t going to be a long review because I had the same problems with this book as I did with The Prince of Mist.
There was just not enough explanation and, it might just be me, but I couldn’t get over that. I’m trying so hard not to delve into spoilers but so many crazy things happened throughout which would have been brilliant (and were certainly unique!) had I just been given a reason as to why they were happening. Without this, I just couldn’t believe it and I wasn’t sure that I understood the majority of it.
I don’t mind suspending my disbelief and I love magical realism (it’s my favourite kind of realism!) but only when what’s happening makes sense.
And, to me anyway, parts of this story didn’t.

Read more »

Seraphina - Rachel Hartman

2011-12-01T16:46:00.002Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

Review contains the slightest of slight spoilers...

“Scattered and peculiar- some of us were sceptical and bitter- we were a people. And I was at the hub of this enormous wheel. I could bring us together. In a way, I already had.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
I liked it better than I thought I would… which says a lot for a fantasy-phobe like me.

High Points.
Seraphina. The world- It was beautifully constructed. Dragons. ORMA. Courts. Concerts. Parades. Emotions. Scales. Dreams. “Tending the garden” . Fruit bat. Mrs Fusspots. Gavotting. Intrigue. War. Gold. Trinkets. Secrets. Knights. Jongleurs. Memories.

Low Points.
See love interest.
Also, there were huge chunks of the story where hardly anything happened. I found myself flicking back to see if I’d just missed a major battle scene or something.
But I hadn’t.
When things happened it was great… but these parts were few and far between.
It’s clear that Ms Hartman is extremely skilled in world building and wow, what a world she built. It was so dense and intricate that you could imagine walking through the town. I just wish she had used some of those writing skills to add a bit more plot.
Now, I’m not the biggest fantasy fan (I’ve never even got through LOTR films… I know, I know. Smite me down, fantasy fans!) and I don’t mind admitting that it’s probably because of a mix of not finding it interesting and not understanding it.
I found Seraphina interesting and I probably understood most of it but I just really wanted more to happen.

Read more »

Cinder - Marissa Meyer

2011-11-29T16:16:00.003Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future

“I’m sure I’ll feel much more grateful when I find a guy who thinks complex wiring in a girl is a turn-on.”
Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Oooh… sequel should be promising.

High Points.
The idea. Seriously, this is possibly the most interesting and original idea of any YA series I’ve read. Cinder (except when she stomped her foot… come on, has that ever got anyone anywhere?). Iko. Peony. Scrap heaps. Flirty princes. Fairy Goddoctors. Plagues and lab testing (Mira Grant would be proud). Androids. Lunar. Secrets. Wars. Intergalactic love affairs. Hover cars. Ball gowns. Dances. Gloves. Technology.

Low Points.
I only have two but they’re kinda big ones.
First up, the characters.
I really wished that Ms Meyer would have just let her characters flourish on their own and within her story, without always checking over shoulder at the dusty book of fairy tales behind her. Some of the things the characters did seemed so forced and it was a shame because it really prevented me from connecting to them as much as I wanted to.
I’ve never read the original Cinderella, so I’m not exactly sure how close the story sticks to it, but the characters, which had so much potential, definitely suffered within these constraints.
Also, I guessed the major twist at about 20%. I’m not sure whether we were supposed to or not (I mean, it wasn’t subtle… AT ALL) but even if we were supposed to know, I would like to have had it a bit less blindingly obvious.
Maybe I’m just too clever for my own good.
*cough*

Read more »

Through My Letterbox #14

2011-11-27T11:31:00.000Z

In My Mailbox is a meme set up by the wonderful The Story Siren as a way of noseying to see what your fellow bloggers are reading.

Gosh, I've just realised I haven't done an IMM for the whole of November! Whoops.
I've been on a bit of a spending spree this month.
I know.... I know. I'm supposed to be being good but there were just so many books I ~~needed~~ wanted to own.

But because I've been so behind on my letterboxes, I can't remember which ones I got this month and some of them I've already reviewed and I've been so busy this month and aaaarrrrgh.
So I'm not actually going to be able to tell you which books I bought, you'll just have to keep your eyes peeled in the next couple of weeks because I'll be reviewing them soon.

Long story short: My book ban failed! Hurraaah.

But what I really want to share with you are these:

Something Won.

Interview with Jim Kay, illustrator.

2011-11-26T13:00:00.030Z

You may remember (unless you're like me and a night's sleep is a reset button) that on Monday I wrote a post called 'Illustrated Britain' that covered artists that illustrated the books that I grew up with and loved.
Now we've come to end of the Illustrated Book Week, I thought it would be a great opportunity to focus on a new British artist who has, in my opinion, truly raised the stakes in illustration.

Still not sure who I'm talking about yet?
I'll give you a clue.

This picture never fails to give me goosebumps.

Unless you have been purposefully ignoring every book website and blog across the world over the past few months you will, of course, know that the above picture is taken from A Monster Calls, a book written by Patrick Ness based on the original idea by Siobhan Dowd and illustrated by Jim Kay.

Still not with it?

Some words on Jim Kay's illustrations for 'A Monster Calls'.

"There are images in these pages so wild and ragged that they feel dragged by their roots from the deepest realms of myth." - The Wall Street Journal.

"Kay's menacing, energetic illustrations and the way they interact with the text, together with the lavish production values, make it a joy just to hold in your hand." - The Guardian.

"i will say this: it is a beautiful book. and i mean that both in the book-as-object sense and in its contents. don't ever read this book on a device - you are missing half its power"- karen

"The art in this is downright creepy, if brilliant; still, I originally started it late at night and set it aside after a few pages out of fear that it would give me nightmares."-Anila.

"Truly great illustrations do not distract the reader from the story rather they expand and add depth to the reader's experience.The illustrations in A Monster Calls are crafted with such thought and beauty that they add another level to an already amazing tale"- Trinity.

"The illustrations just fit so perfectly with the story. It gives you a whole other reading experience."- Aly (@ Fantasyeva)

"The eerie artwork paired perfectly with Conor's story. The whole book felt like he was stuck in an in-between place, which I suppose he was. Those aren't places I like to spend a lot of time but every once in a while..."- Flannery (@ The Readventurer)

"And the artwork! I mean, I had to stop everyone and make them flip through it because it was so visually stunning. Mr. Ness & Mr. Kay, if you're out there and read this review, you'd make a boat load putting that artwork into prints and selling it." - Wendy F. (I agree wholeheartedly)

"I held off on reading the e-book until I got my hands on the real book. Let me tell you… the illustrations are truly amazing and brings something wonderful to this story. "- Bonnie (@ Sweet Tidbits.)

I reviewed "A Monster Calls" a couple of weeks back and I declared that I would like to crawl into Mr Kay's mind and live there forever.
Perhaps not surprisingly, he didn't agree to that.
But he was nice enough to answer some of the questions I've been dying to ask him since I closed the book and wiped away the tears....

Read more »

Friends with Boys- Faith Erin Hicks.

2011-11-25T17:29:00.001Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.

A coming-of-age tale with a spooky twist!

Maggie McKay hardly knows what to do with herself. After an idyllic childhood of homeschooling with her mother and rough-housing with her older brothers, it’s time for Maggie to face the outside world, all on her own. But that means facing high school first. And it also means solving the mystery of the melancholy ghost who has silently followed Maggie throughout her entire life. Maybe it even means making a new friend—one who isn’t one of her brothers.

Funny, surprising, and tender, Friends with Boys is a pitch perfect YA graphic novel full of spooky supernatural fun

“What about you? What’s your brand of crazy?”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Um… huh?! Is this a series? But mostly fantastic.

High Points.
Maggie. Lucy. Alistair. The Brother’s Brill. New school. New friends. Alien. Sigourney Weaver in a bikini. Maritime Ghosts. Maps. “Awesome Rebel Social Group”. Change. “Drinking the Kool-Aid.” Awesome dad. Graveyards. Secret pasts. Volleyball boys. Friends you don’t grow out of.

Low Points.
I’m not sure whether Ms Hicks plans to write a sequel or turn this story into a series or not but there were two major questions that were left unanswered.
I didn’t really need to know the answers, but I would like to have.

I hope it’s a series, though.

Read more »

Liesl and Po - Lauren Oliver (Illustrations by Kei Acedera)

2011-11-24T18:00:00.001Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Liesl lives in a tiny attic bedroom, locked away by her cruel stepmother. Her only friends are the shadows and the mice—until one night a ghost appears from the darkness. It is Po, who comes from the Other Side. Both Liesl and Po are lonely, but together they are less alone.

That same night, an alchemist's apprentice, Will, bungles an important delivery. He accidentally switches a box containing the most powerful magic in the world with one containing something decidedly less remarkable.

Will's mistake has tremendous consequences for Liesl and Po, and it draws the three of them together on an extraordinary journey.

From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes a luminous and magnificent novel that glows with rare magic, ghostly wonders, and a true friendship that lights even the darkest of places

“Coincidences; mix-ups; harmless mistakes and switches. And so a story is born.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Loved the story, loved the characters but I wasn’t a fan of the style.

High Points.
Liesl. Po. Bundle. Will. Magic. The Other Side. The Living Side. Hats. Big ears. Trains. Alchemy. Attics. Accidents. Sketches. Illustrations. Ineffable.

Low Points.
This I the first book written by Ms Oliver that I’ve read and, I have to admit, that I was warned against her.
Notnotnot because Ms Oliver is a bad writer and her books are awful and she hates kittens but because my friend knew that I wasn’t a fan of this kind of writing style.
Over the past few months of reading YA, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m more likely to give up on a book because the writing style annoys me than if the character (although, AFPs are another story) or the plot does and I was so close to giving this one up or at least having a long break where I would sit and look at its cover, stroking it occasionally. Luckily, I didn’t because like I mentioned in my high points I loved the story and I loved the characters.
I just found the descriptions so distracting. Normally, when writers use long, sprawling descriptions of the smallest things it’s because they don’t really have a story to work with and they’re just spinning it out.
But Ms Oliver has a story and it’s a great one and it’s such a shame because based on that alone, this could have been one of my favourite reads of 2011.
It just wasn’t working for me and while I don’t want to jump head first into cliché land… this kind of style is like that yeast-based sandwich spread that we all love to have opinions on.
(If you’re wondering, I hate it. Even that pink champagne one they brought out… eeerrgh)

Also, it’s unfair that Bundle doesn’t come and visit me on occasion to cuddle me and mwark in my ear.
Stop hogging it, Liesl!

Read more »

Leviathan - Scott Westerfeld (Illustrations- Keith Thompson)

2011-11-23T19:00:00.002Z

Synopsis From Goodreads.
Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.

"A missing piece can be very bad for the puzzle, whether in the natural world, or politics, or here in the belly of an airship."

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
That’s what I want to know, Alek. That’s what I want to know.

High Points.
Deryn. Alek. This world… wooow, why doesn’t it exist yet?! Huxleys. Darwinists. Clankers. Flying wales. Cow farts. Trinkets&Diddies. Messenger lizards. Science. Nature. Snowshoes. Tazza. Dr Barlow. Frostbitten bums. Odd kind of tingling. The prospect of sequels…

Low Points.
I think I’ll appreciate this book all the more when I look back on it after reading the others… which may or may not be zooming down the motorway to my house as I type.
This isn’t a gripe directed solely at Mr Westerfeld… more like everyone who has ever written a story where a girl dresses up as a boy and no one notices.
Yes, that’s right. It’s also directed at YOU director of Shakespeare in Love and that film where Channing Tatum takes his top off a lot and there’s football… sorry, soccer, involved!
She’s the Man.
Basically this rant is aimed at Shakespeare.
*shakes first*
Sure, I could get over it if the girl in question was like… a baby.
People would notice a sixteen year old girl (who looks extremely pretty in the illustrations, I need to add!) was gallivanting around a whale!
Even if her diddies are on the small side.
The whole idea of people changing one thing about themselves and all of the sudden are unrecognisable is a serious pet peeve of mine (I ~~go off on one~~ provide an extremely sound and mature argument in my Shadows on the Moon review.)
But you know what?! I don’t care because Deryn is brilliant and if anyone could fool a ship full of silly boys she could!

Read more »

Blankets - Craig Thompson

2011-11-22T15:33:00.000Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.

Wrapped in the landscape of a blustery Wisconsin winter, Blankets explores the sibling rivalry of two brothers growing up in the isolated country, and the budding romance of two coming-of-age lovers. A tale of security and discovery, of playfulness and tragedy, of a fall from grace and the origins of faith.

“How satisfying it is to leave a mark on a blank surface. To make a map of my movement…no matter how temporary.”

and because I couldn’t decide between the two….

“At night, lying on your back and staring at the falling snow, it’s easy to imagine oneself soaring through the stars.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Those last 3 pages, wow.

High Points.
Craig.Snow. Brothers. Church camp. Patchwork. Under the pool table. Cubby holes. Identity. Faith. The future. First loves. Doubt (“It’s reassuring”).
And, of course, the illustrations.
How can people say they don’t like graphic novels when they look like these ones?
On the back of my book, Entertainment Weekly described Blankets as “visual poetry” and I can’t help but agree. It truly is wonderful.

Low Points.
This book won’t be for everyone and, I don’t mind admitting this, it wasn’t for me for a good 100 pages in the middle. But don’t worry because the other 400 pages I loved.
I’m not sure what it was but there was something about the feel of the story that I just wasn't getting.
I also didn’t know that this book was going to be so focussed on religion and Craig’s struggle with his faith. I’m not religious but I find religion fascinating and a lot of my close friends are religious so I know how (hopefully) how to treat it with respect, even if I don't agree.
I loved how Mr Thompson portrayed the conflict and his own personal struggles after having such an intense Christian upbringing respectfully and intelligently.
I also loved that he didn't go down the whole“Uhh, yeah, religion is crap”... “But why is it ‘crap’?”… “Uh well, because it is” road.
He actually had a reasoning for his feelings and he portrayed them honestly and without an agenda.
The only problem with this is that, because I’m not completely familiar with Christianity, a lot of it went over my head. I can’t help but think I would have enjoyed those 100 or so pages more if I’d known about the subject.

Read more »

Illustrated Britain.

2011-11-21T18:00:00.001Z

This is an art attack.

This is an art attack.

This is Art Attack.

Those words have haunted me since I was seven.

Every weekend I would mither my dad to go to Staples and bring me back some water colours, rolls of printing paper and, vital to every budding artist, some PVA glue.
And I would always fail miserably in making anything that.. that.... that man featured on his show.
I'm sorry Mr Buchanan, but it is scientifically impossible to create a Barbie Dream House using a plastic milk carton and a few egg cups and PVA GLUE.
IT'S JUST NOT POSSIBLE.

I think my love, obsession, passion- whatever you want to call it- for illustrated books came when I realised that I’m absolutely terrible at drawing.
Seriously, I’m so bad.
You do not want to be on my team at Pictionary.
So after spending about 3 years of my life being covered in glitter, sugar paper and pretending the pencil shavings in my hair were intentional, I realised it would be easier and safer (Mum was not impressed with Play-Doh in the carpet) to just look at pictures in books.
But, living in Britain, it wasn’t as if I was going to be short of beautifully illustrated books, was I?

Read more »

Illustrated Book Week: Introduction.

2011-11-20T12:00:00.003Z

Like most young adults (although I think I left that bracket when I took my first Sambuca shot in university) in the UK, I grew up on books that were illustrated by Nick Sharratt and Quentin Blake.
Out of every book that I read when I was a pre-teen the ones that I look back on most fondly are Jacqueline Wilson and Roald Dahl’s books. (Of course there are others, but these are the ones that truly stand out).
Why their books?
Sure, they’re funny and yeah, OK, they covered issues that hardly any books in their genre did. Parents with mental illness. Children in foster care. Parents who were in the midst of a divorce. Tricky sibling relationships.
Chocolate factories.

But what else?
What else attracted me to these books?

I’ll show you.

Read more »

The Prince of Mist - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

2011-11-19T13:32:00.002Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
A mysterious house harbors an unimaginable secret. . . .
It’s wartime, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they’ve recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house there still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners’ son, who died by drowning.
With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the suspicious circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called The Prince of Mist—a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden, which will change their lives forever.

“In an infinite universe, there were too many things that escaped human understanding.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Um… so no one thought to ring the police or tell any grown-ups what just happened? We’re just going to look back on it as if it was just a crazy summer mad-cap adventure? Um…

High Points.
Max. I’ve been acquainted with a lot of Maxs recently and I have to say… it’s a good name. Beach houses. Roland. Alicia. Cats in wardrobes. Genuinely creepy. Beautiful writing, seriously this book was cinematic.

“Sunbeams filtered through the water in veils of nebulous light that swayed gently with the motion of the waves and the surface was transformed into an opaque dancing mirror.”

See?!
I took down so many quotes from this book, it was gorgeous. The sea. Statues. Family mysteries. Old film projections. Creepy history. The prince of mist.

Low Points.
I won’t go on about this too much because there are spoilers poised ready to explode like a particularly vicious game of Minesweeper.
But… well, when you finish a book with about fifteen questions (no joke, I have them written down in front of me) that you want to ask so you understand it… well, it’s not good.
There was so much that didn’t get explained and the story was so great and so different and mysterious and intriguing and everything. This book needed a good 150 pages more to really get into the story and do Mr Zafon’s ideas justice.
Because, I’m sorry to say, there were so many gaps in the plot.
Also… I’m 87% sure there would have been a massive investigation into what happened in the last 30 or so pages. I mean… it’s kind of a big deal.
And it wasn’t as if it was subtle.

Read more »

Grave Mercy - Robin LaFevers

2011-11-17T17:19:00.001Z

Synopsis From Goodreads.
Why be the sheep, when you can be the wolf?

Seventeen-year-old Ismae escapes from the brutality of an arranged marriage into the sanctuary of the convent of St. Mortain, where the sisters still serve the gods of old. Here she learns that the god of Death Himself has blessed her with dangerous gifts—and a violent destiny. If she chooses to stay at the convent, she will be trained as an assassin and serve as a handmaiden to Death. To claim her new life, she must destroy the lives of others.

Ismae's most important assignment takes her straight into the high court of Brittany—where she finds herself woefully under prepared—not only for the deadly games of intrigue and treason, but for the impossible choices she must make. For how can she deliver Death’s vengeance upon a target who, against her will, has stolen her heart?

“When one consorts with assassins, one must expect to dance along the edge of a knife once or twice.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Well, I thought I was going to hate that... quite the opposite.

High Points.
Ismae. Breton courts. Nuns. The coolest convent EVER. Saints. The genre (my first historical/fantastical adventure… very exciting). Death’s handmaidens. 13th century gadgets. Poison. Saints. Horsies. Beast. Anne. Secret passage ways. Traitors. Secrets. Corruption. A kiss can be deadlier if you mean it. Chess games that could give Ingmar Bergman a run for his money. Court dandies. Soul searching. Scars. Marques. Dreams.

Low Point.
Lessons on “Womanly Arts”… really? OK.
Hmm, the love interest/romantic situation was…. Interesting. More on this later.
And in regards to this… situation… there was a lot of unnecessary boy-induced angst. But again… more on this later.
Soooo much elbow grabbing. Is this a new thing? Do men really have a thing about elbows? I’m not sure I’m on board with this new craze.

Read more »

Street Dreams - Tama Wise

2011-11-16T17:33:00.001Z

Synopsis From Goodreads.

Tyson Rua has more than his fair share of problems growing up in South Auckland. Working a night job to support his mother and helping bring up his two younger brothers is just the half of it. His best friend Rawiri is falling afoul of a broken home, and now Tyson's fallen in love at first sight.

Only thing is, it's another guy.

Living life on the sidelines of the local hip-hop scene, Tyson finds that to succeed in becoming a local graffiti artist or in getting the man of his dreams, he's going to have to get a whole lot more involved. And that means more problems. The least of which is the leader of the local rap crew he's found himself running with. Love, life, and hip-hop never do things by half.

“There had to be something to take the taste off life.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Sounds good to me too, Tyson.

High Points.
Boys, boys, boys! Seriously, there are two females in this book and it’s brilliant. I always forget how annoying YA girls are. But yeah… Tyson, Marc, Rawiri, Ihaia…. All of them . As a city girl myself, the urban setting was greatly appreciated. Auckland slang (Although I had to admit that I still don’t understand how the word ‘bro’ can be pronounced as ‘bru’… thanks to the lovely Trinity who tried to explain it to me in vain). Graffiti. Break dancing. Rap battles. Sexuality. Hot chocolate. Help lines. Train tracks. Best friends. Abs (no, seriously. Boom.) Dreams. Black books. Basketball jerseys. Basically I could have saved myself a lot of typing and gushing by saying that all of my high points could be summed up in one sentence: This book is completely refreshing, well-crafted and unique in its exploration of race, sexuality and friendship.

Low Points.
Eh… I could have really done without one bit towards the end. It seemed extremely rushed and completely random, especially because we weren’t really told much about the character in question and… eh. It wasn’t as if it was bad but I just think that with everything else going on, we didn’t really need it.
Also, completely randomly, every single character in this book was at one point described as “staunch”.
I actually got to the point where I started to believe that I had been thinking it meant something completely different my entire life!
I know it’s not really a low point, but you know when you’re reading something and you keep noticing a certain thing and then you notice you’re noticing it and then it just gets ridiculous because all you can see is that word?!
No?
Just me then.

Read more »

The Wednesdays - Julie Bourbeau

2011-11-15T16:44:00.002Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.

Something wicked is lurking on Mt. Tibidabo, something that only comes out on Wednesdays . . .

Every Wednesday, strange things happen in Max's village. The townsfolk shutter their windows, lock their doors and hunker down to outwait this plague of peculiarities referred to simply as "the Wednesdays." But Max is too curious for that, and when he accidentally lets the Wednesdays inside, his furious parents cast him out for the rest of the day.

Soon he meets the Wednesdays themselves; strange silver-eyed boy-creatures bent on spreading mischief and mayhem. Initially he thinks they're quite fun, but they can also be cruel and dangerous. With the assistance of an unlikely cast of characters including a popular girl with questionable motives, a slightly crazed parapsychologist, and the world's ugliest dog, Max must put an end to the curse of the Wednesdays . . . or become one himself.

“Max shrugged and decided to follow. He was quite certain that this was all going to turn out to be either a very good idea or a very bad idea. He just wished that he could tell which one.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Nearly….? :-D

High Points.
Max. A case of the Wednesdays. Clock towers. Little bastards. Thursday. Blue dye. Baby Elvis. Bird poo. Parapsychologists. Piano Tuners. Drink fountains. Gemma Swift. Noah. Tree houses. The setting.

Low Points.
I wanted more of everything because I'm greedy. More Max. More Noah. More Thursday. More story. But most of all more Wednesdays! In my head I had some kind of crazy hybrid of Gremlins, Yoda and Minions. YES.
Also, I just checked the prices for flights from Manchester to Mt. Tibidabo and it’s so expensive.
Even Ryan Air aren’t willing to cut me a deal.
*pouts*

Read more »

A Thank You...

2011-11-13T19:00:00.001Z

So, we've come to the end of my Poppies & Prose feature.

To say I enjoyed this feature is probably the wrong thing to say but I have enjoyed the opportunity to read and review books that were unknown to me before I started this. It's definitely been an emotionally draining fortnight but it has been completely worth it when I see just how much money I have raised for this fantastic cause.

I am going to leave the link to my Just Giving page up on the left of my page (<<< For those who, like me, get confused) until the end of November. If you have any spare change it would be greatly appreciated.

I just wanted to use this post as a thank you to every person who has donated money to The British Legion, whether it was via my own just giving page or from buying poppies from the veterans and the cadets that have been standing (in the freezing cold!) on the street for these past weeks raising awareness for the charity.

Thank you.
Here's to another 90 years!

Not NecessarilYA (#2) [MAUS Edition]

2011-11-11T17:58:00.004Z

On occasion I read some grown up books that are sooo good I need to chat on about them in public.
[But obviously, because these books are adult books there may be some situations that you as a parent, sibling, teenage reader yourself might not be comfortable reading or recommending to your kid. So maybe just flick through the pages or read some reviews to gage other reactions on them if you are concerned.]

WW2.

The Complete Maus by Art Spiegelman.

I wish this book was on every school syllabus.
And not just because it is a story about the holocaust and WW2, but because it is the perfect example of how literature should be written: impeccably researched, infinitely compelling and thoroughly memorable.
I'm not going to post my full review in this post for two reasons: Firstly, it's long. And secondly, it's really poorly written and does no justice.
You know how every reviewer says "Oh I hate writing reviews about books that I love?"... yeah. Well, I'm saying that right now.
(If you really want to read my review... here you go)
Just trust me (and the millions of other people), if you have any interest in history, graphic novels or literature in general... read it.

Read more »

Cross of Iron - Willi Heinrich

2011-11-10T17:53:00.001Z

This is not a YA book, but I'm posting the full review here... because I'm a BAMF.

Synopsis from Goodreads.
CROSS OF IRON is the thrilling story of a German platoon cut off far behind Russian lines in the second half of World War II. A resourceful and cynical commander somehow manages to coax his men through the bitter hand-to-hand fighting in forests, trenches and city streets until eventually they regain the German lines. But safety is only temporary. After the tension of waiting for the last overwhelming Russian advance the platoon is forced into futile counter-attacks and murderous house-to-house fighting until its final decimation becomes inevitable. A modern classic of war fiction both as a book and a film, this is a strikingly realistic story of action on the Eastern Front, where the grimness of combat seems to have neither pity nor end.

“We’re all the same here, he told himself; a handful of life trying to preserve itself like the candle light in the bunkers, a bundle of duties in uniform, feeling and thinking like human beings, but trained to act like automatons.”

Well, I honestly don’t know what to say about this book.
To say reading it was a bit of a slog would be doing it a great disservice and one that would be unfair.
So, because I’m a crazy kid and whatnot, I’m going to split this book into two.
Not the review.
No no.
The actual book.

And the first book I will be reviewing will be known as Cross of Iron: The Book Jo Disliked. (TBJD)
The second book I will be reviewing will be known as Cross of Iron: The Book Jo Liked. (TBJL)

Because this book made me feel conflicted something rotten.

Read more »

The Midnight Zoo - Sonya Hartnett

2011-11-08T16:29:00.001Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
World War II, Eastern Europe: Tomas and his younger brother, Andrej, have fled their Romany encampment which has been besieged by the Germans; they carry Wilma, their baby sister, in a sack. In an abandoned, bombed-out town, the children discover a zoo. In it are a wolf and an eagle, a monkey, bear, lioness, seal, chamois and llama. The animals tell their stories to the children as they try to begin to understand what has become of their lives and, when they try to figure out a way to release the animals, what it means to be free.

“No bird in a cage ever speaks. What is there to say? The sky is everywhere, churning above its head, blue and endless, calling out to it. But the caged bird can’t answer anything except I cannot”

I think I read this book all wrong.
I think I was reading too much into it or, as the case probably is, not into it enough.

Read more »

Goodnight Mister Tom- Michelle Magorian

2011-11-07T14:31:00.003Z

Synopsis From Goodreads.

The gruff and surly Mr Thomas Oakley is less than pleased when he is landed with a scrawny little city boy as a guest, but because it is compulsory that each villager takes in an evacuee he reluctantly agrees. It soon becomes obvious to Mister Tom that young Willie Beech is hiding something, and as the pair begin to form an unlikely bond and Willie grows in stature and in confidence he begins to forget the past. But when he has to return to war-torn London to face his mother again he retreats into his shy and awkward ways once more.

"Takes yer time, everythin' 'as its own time."

So I have this theory that whenever I read a book where there is a gruff old man who is prickly on the outside but a big softie in the middle, I will love it.

This book is one of my all-time favourites and I know I say that about every book, but I definitely mean it this time.
I first read it when I was about ten and I was in Year 5, learning about WW2 and the Blitz and evacuees. Seeing as I had read all the books we had to read and I was allowed to go into the library and choose my own book. And this one was the first book I chose.

Read more »

WW1 on Screen.

2011-11-06T13:55:00.000Z

(I tried to think of a snappier title but I failed miserably.)

So, as part of my Poppies and Prose feature I thought I'd rewatch and write about two of my favourite WW1-themed films and television programmes.
Just a heads up... I know you're probably thinking "Finally... maybe Jo's film and television reviews will be more coherent than her book reviews."

But.. um, you'd be wrong.
So very wrong...

Read more »

Not NecessarilYA. (#1)

2011-11-05T11:55:00.002Z

I know that Wear the Old Coat is a YA blog but on occasion I read some grown up books that are sooo good I need to gush and even though they haven't been marketed as YA they still could, and should, be read by any age. When it comes to books, I don't really believe in censorship (of course, there are some exceptions) because I think teenagers know what they are comfortable with reading about and I think it's important for books to show the truth about certain situations, emotions and events and not sugarcoat them or patronise their readers.
But obviously, because these books are adult books there may be some situations that you as a parent, sibling, teenage reader yourself might not be comfortable reading or recommending to your kid. So maybe just flick through the pages or read some reviews to gage other reactions on them if you are concerned.

The thing that I found most difficult about finding books for Poppies & Prose was the fact that it's so hard to put an age on war-themed books.
I mean, how can you say a book is only for adults when the men fighting in the war were 17, 18, 19, 20? Weren't they young adults themselves?
So I thought I'd compile a brief list of books set in WW1 that aren't necessarily YA but it would be impossible to do a feature on war-themed books without including them.

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks. ( My review ) || I re-read this (3rd time) a couple of days ago and, I swear it gets better each time I read it. I could not recommend this book more highly. Stunning.

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (My review) || This book broke my heart completely. It's such a fascinating and important book told from the perspective of a young man who was recruited to the German Army after leaving school.

The Regeneration Trilogy by Pat Barker || I've been meaning to get round to this for so long, but I haven't read it. It comes highly recommended by my big sister though. And she knows her stuff.

Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain

Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemmingway.

And, of course, I could write a whole book on the war poetry that came out of WW1. But you all probably know about that, don't you?
I just wanted to share two of my favourite poems, both written by Wilfred Owen.
Dulce et Decorum Est.
Strange Meeting.

Have you got any more recommendations? Please leave them in the comments below, I'd love to read some more.

Journey's End - R. C. Sherriff

2011-11-03T17:47:00.000Z

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Sherriff's play about life in the trenches in the First World War. This powerful play endures in the tradition of great drama because until wars are at an end, the human race will continue to question what our reaction should be to the cycle of killing and being killed in the name of foreign policy. Sherriff's play creates real characters, some of whom deal better than others with the stresses of warfare in the trenches, the close proximity of the enemy and the pointlessness and inevitability of dying

“You must always think of it like that if you can. Think of it as – as romantic. It helps.”

This review is going to be a quick one because it’s impossible to really go into depth without spoiling the story.
I don’t normally read plays because they seem to unleash a wave of high school-related memories and trying to think of quotes and line numbers and acts and basically getting myself into a tizzy.
But I love the theatre and I’ve wanted to read Journey’s End for a while now because I’ve heard it was beautiful and tragic. And they are my favourite adjectives when it comes to literature.
Journey’s End is an extremely claustrophobic play, set in the trenches in March 1918 as the war is drawing to a close. It tells the story of a group of officers and their commander over a course of three days. Apparently R.C Sherriff intended the play to be called ‘Suspense’ or ‘Waiting’ and, I have to say, they both would have been perfect titles for this.
This play was so tense.
And a lot of people may dismiss the scenes and the conversations as slow but I think that is the whole point and what makes the. In the films set around WW1 there is always something happening, shells exploding, machine guns hammering but in reality there was a lot of time where the men were just waiting.
Instead of writing a play that is about the combat, Sherriff chose to focus on the men and their feelings. The most striking part was that he could have chosen any group of soldiers on either side of No Man’s Land and still had the same play, the same feelings and the same message.
I loved the characters, each and every one of them feeling real to me. Complex Stanhope with his inner conflicts and extremely human fears, the dark humorous banter between Osborne and Mason, Hibbert and his terror, the ever changing relationship between Stanhope and the young Raleigh, the enthusiastic, optimistic officer who becomes more and more disillusioned when he begins the truth and sees what happens to men who are fighting.
I loved them all.
This play reminded me of the preface that Wilfred Owen wrote: “This book is not about heroes. English poetry is not yet fit to speak of them.”
And it’s so true.
The scenes between the men were extremely subtle and really drove home the complete and utter futility of it all. And I think it’s this subtlety that made the final scene all the more haunting.
Maybe I shouldn’t go and see this on stage… the public tears could be embarrassing.

This review is part of my Poppies & Prose feature. You can find out more here.

Lord of the Nutcracker Men - Iain Lawrence

2011-11-02T17:19:00.002Z

Synopsis From Goodreads.

Ten-year-old Johnny eagerly plays at war with the army of nutcracker soldiers his toymaker father whittles for him. He demolishes imaginary foes. But in 1914 Germany looms as the real enemy of Europe, and all too soon Johnny’s father is swept up in the war to end all wars. He proudly enlists with his British countrymen to fight at the front in France. The war, though, is nothing like what any soldier or person at home expected.

The letters that arrive from Johnny’s dad reveal the ugly realities of combat — and the soldiers he carves and encloses begin to bear its scars. Still, Johnny adds these soldiers to his armies of Huns, Tommies, and Frenchmen, engaging them in furious fights. But when these games seem to foretell his dad’s real battles, Johnny thinks he possesses godlike powers over his wooden men. He fears he controls his father’s fate, the lives of all the soldiers in no-man’s land, and the outcome of the war itself.

“Below me were my wooden soldiers. The nutcracker men were hidden in the dark shadows of the tree and the wall, but the moonlight gleamed on my Frenchmen and my Tommies…The guns in France pounded away with their faint little thunder, and I thought that my real dad would be just like my model, wide awake, watching the sky.”

This was one of those rare, wonderful books that you read without knowing anything about.
The idea of the book fascinated me: a toy maker is drafted to the trenches and sends carved soldiers that he sees to his ten year old son, Johnny, back in England. As Johnny collects the toy soldiers and creates an army to fight back the strong nutcracker soldiers that his dad made him before he went, he notices that the battles he makes up in the mud under the beech tree are becoming more like the ones that his dad writes about.
Doesn’t that sound like a brilliant and unique way of telling a story about a boy whose dad is fighting in WW1?
Yes.
And it really was.

Read more »

War Horse - Michael Morpurgo

2011-11-01T16:58:00.003Z

Synopsis From Goodreads.

Joey is a warhorse, but he wasn't always. Once, he was a farm horse and a gentle boy named Albert was his master. Then World War I came storming through and everything changed. Albert's father sells Joey to the army where the beautiful, red-bay horse is trained to charge the enemy, drag heavy artillery, and carry wounded soldiers not much older than Albert off of battlefields. Amongst the clamoring of guns and slogging through the cold mud, Joey wonders if the war will ever end. And if it does, will he ever find Albert again?

"I tell you, if we had one jot of the courage of these animals we should be in Paris by now and not slugging it out here in the mud... It was not their fault they were sent on a fool's errand. They are not circus animals, they are heroes, do you understand, heroes, and they should be treated as such."

So I have to admit when I first started reading this book, I didn’t have high expectations.
There are three reasons for this:
1) It’s so short! I know less is sometimes more but… it’s 165 pages. That could get lost in my back teeth!
2) It’s aimed at younger readers. And I mean…. younger readers. I’d say middle grade at least.
3) I’m kind of scared of horses ever since the one time I went camping with Brownies and a horse chomped on my culottes. They’re just too big and scary with their nickering and … *shudders*

And then I found out it was told from the perspective of a horse and…. OK, I really didn’t know much about this book before I started it so I was kind of aghast when I saw how short it was, how it was probably written for people half my age and that it was told from the perspective of probably the great great great granddad of the horse WHO NEARLY ATE ME.
And that, my friends, is why you should always do your research.
But research can sometimes be a problematic thing because if I had read about this book and found out the aforementioned stuff and I know I would have given this book a miss.
And I would really have missed out on a wonderful book.

Read more »

Poppies & Prose: An Introduction.

2011-10-31T12:09:00.003Z

The idea of reading books written about the World Wars actually came to me before I even had a blog.
It was nearly a year ago (almost to the day) when the Harry Potter cast were attending the premiere for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.
I was reading through the fashion blogs, trying to see what dress Emma Watson was wearing, when I read a comment that really surprised me. As it was a year ago and I can’t remember the site, I don’t know the exact quote but it was along the lines of: “I love the dress, but the poppy ruins it. Why are they all wearing poppies?”
I guess it surprised me so much because come the end of October until the end of November, poppies are an accessory that I don’t leave the house without.
(If you want to learn more about the Poppy Appeal you can read about it here.)
This year is the Royal British Legion’s 90th anniversary and I wanted to do my bit by dedicating the first two weeks of November to only reading books written against the backdrop of the two World Wars.
I have tried to find books that I have either never read before or ones that don’t necessarily come to mind when you think of war literature.
The books I will be reading are:

WW1.
War Horse by Michael Morpurgo.
Lord of the Nutcracker Men by Iain Lawrence.
Journey's End by R. C Sherriff (of course, this is actually a play. But I've never read it :) )

WW2.
Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian|| I’ve read this before but I couldn’t resist reading it again. One of my all time favourites.
The Midnight Zoo by Sonya Hartnett.
Cross of Iron by Willi Heinrich || (Not YA but a book I've wanted to read for a while so I thought I'd include it)

I will also be posting about other books that I have read about the war, that aren’t necessarily YA but could and should be read by everyone. In addition to this, I will be reviewing three of my most loved films/TV programmes set in this period (You can probably guess one of them… because you’re all as cunning as fox who’s just been appointed Professor Cunning at Oxford University.)

I wanted to start off this fortnight with a bit of a personal introduction on the wars. Don’t worry, I won’t be giving you a history lesson because I’m guessing if you wanted to know about it you’d have already researched it on your own and if you don’t want to know about how it all started… well, my rambling won’t persuade you otherwise.
I just wanted to explain the reason why I am doing this feature on my blog and why I am supporting, and will continue to support, The Royal British Legion.

Read more »

Through My Letterbox #13

2011-10-30T10:30:00.000Z

In My Mailbox is a meme set up by the wonderful The Story Siren as a way of noseying to see what your fellow bloggers are reading.

I've been really busy this past week reading and running around taking pictures in preparation for my Poppies & Prose feature that will be starting here tomorrow!

For the next two weeks I will be reading books that are set in WW1 and WW2 in honour of The Royal British Legion's 90th anniversay this year.
Like I said, the feature starts tomorrow... so I won't go into much more until then but I just wanted to give you a heads up as why this IMM is not as hilarious and intelligent as it so normally is. ;-)
Make sure you come back tomorrow to read more about it, what books I'm reading and what else I'm planning for the fortnight.

Anyway... back to the scheduled programming.

Something Won.

Oh, I'm so excited about this! I won a copy of Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor on Book Angel Booktopia. So thank you to the lovely Emma for sending me this. I've read this before but my copy was an arc that I had to send back to the owner, so I'm pleased as punch. Isn't it gorgeous? It's so shiny and lovely.

Something Bought.

YOU GUYS.
YES.
But because I have lots of exciting things planned in the upcoming weeks on Wear the Old Coat I probably won't get around to reading this until December.
I know. I KNOW. And Froi keeps looking at me over his shoulder, enticing me.
Meanie.
Anyway.. I probably don't need to describe how excited I am for this.
*jitters*

What do you get this week?

Sing When You're Writing- Halloween Edition

2011-10-29T15:18:00.000+01:00

I’ve never written a scary story.
Well, that’s a bit of a lie… I once wrote a story that was so shockingly ridiculous that it was scary.
But the less said about THAT the better.

So as this blustery October draws to a close, we creep nearer to the scariest day of the whole year.
Yes that’s right, ladies and gentleman, the final of X-Factor.
WHUAAAAHAHAHAHAHAAA.

I’m just kidding with you.
Even I, the queen of ridiculous TV shows, haven’t watched it this year.
And that’s saying something… I once watched four episodes of Cash in the Attic back to back.

Of course I mean Halloween!

I have spent the past few days searching through my iTunes* looking for spooky songs that will get you in the mood for a spectacular Halloween full of too many sweets and, hopefully, Hocus Pocus.
DON’T LET ME DOWN CHANNEL 4.

So grab a pumpkin and a torch and hold it under your chin and join me for a Dead Man’s Party. (This doesn’t count as one of my songs but no Halloween list would be complete with Mr Elfman)

Read more »

You Against Me - Jenny Downham

2011-10-28T12:48:00.003+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads

If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right? If your brother's been accused of a terrible crime and you're the main witness, then you banish all doubt and defend him. Isn't that what families do? When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her at a party, his world of work and girls begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the crime, but says he didn't do it, her world of revision, exams and fitting in at a new school begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide. Brave and unflinching, this is a novel of extraordinary skillfulness and almost unbearable tension. It's a book about loyalty and the choices that come with it. But above all it's a book about love - for one's family and for another

This review contains small thematic spoilers...

“It was strange how words meant something when they came out of your mouth. Inside your head they were safe and silent, but once they were outside, people grabbed hold of them.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Wow, what beautiful ending. And book, actually. Extremely unique, fascinating and honest.

High Points.
Ellie. Mike. Trust. Doubt. Truth. Lies. Perception. Bracing rivers. Baked potatoes. Old cottages. Bunking classes. Cookery. The future. Team Karyn.

Low Points.
Even though I liked the romance between Mikey and Ellie, I’m not sure whether it would have progressed so quickly in reality. I think, with a subject matter like this one, there would have been a lot more anger in there and it would have taken longer for them to turn to each other and realised how they felt.
I kept getting muddled with how much time had gone past in this book, it could have been a little clearer.
But that’s only a little quibble- the rest was absolutely brilliant.

Read more »

Sweethearts - Sara Zarr

2011-10-26T12:23:00.001+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.

As children, Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were both social outcasts. They were also each other's only friend. SO when Cameron disappeared without warning, Jennifer thought she'd lost the one person who would ever understand her. Now in high school, Jennifer has been transformed. Known as Jenna, she is popular, happy, and dating—everything "Jennifer" couldn't be. But she still can't shake the memory of her long-lost friend.

When Cameron suddenly reappears, they both are confronted with memories of their shared past and the drastically different paths their lives have taken.

Sweethearts is a story about the power of memory, the bond of friendship, and the quiet resilience of our childhood hearts

“I do have more memories of Cameron, things I know for sure, good and bad. Like: (…) How us being together all the time made us a bigger target, the whole of our exile being greater than the sum of our outcast parts. How we didn’t care because we had each other.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
I loved that ending and it was so perfect and exactly what would happen if this book was real life… but I couldn’t help being underwhelmed by the whole story. I wish I hadn’t started off my Zarr-ventures with How To Save a Life because that book spoiled me. But even though I wasn’t too struck with the story and the characters… the writing, in true Zarr form, was breath-taking and toe-tingling.

High Points.
Cameron. Jennifer. Drama club. The past. Strength. Friendship. Childhood. First loves. Security. Letters. Dollhouses. Family. Cheap, blue rings. That ending.

Low Points.
You know when you finish a book and you’re like: eh.
But you can’t pinpoint why? This was one of those books for me.
I didn’t like Jenna as a narrator and I’m not sure why. I wish this book had been told from Jennifer’s p.o.v, I connected with her a lot more and I would have loved to see what she would have come up with.
Also, and I hate to keep comparing it to HTSAL… but I’m gonna do it anyway, I so wish that this book was told from dual perspective. Cameron’s story was so compelling and the snapshots I got just wasn’t enough. I didn’t feel like I knew him at all.
I love the cover but it gives me the overwhelming urge to snaffle delicious sweet treats all the live long day.

Read more »

Through My Letterbox #12

2011-10-23T15:18:00.002+01:00

In My Mailbox is a meme set up by the wonderful The Story Siren as a way of noseying to see what your fellow bloggers are reading.

I need a disclaimer... I had a lot of books this week and um, yes.. I'm supposed to be being good and not buying any books.
And I've done that!
These books are leftover books from last week (and the week before, actually!) so they don't count.
I may or may not have bought more books this week and blown my 'I'm not buying any books this week' stance to smithereens.
But they haven't got here yet... so again, they don't count.

Read more »

A Swift Pure Cry - Siobhan Dowd.

2011-10-21T11:07:00.000+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
After Shell's mother dies, her obsessively religious father descends into alcoholic mourning and Shell is left to care for her younger brother and sister. Her only release from the harshness of everyday life comes from her budding spiritual friendship with a naive young priest, and most importantly, her developing relationship with childhood friend, Declan, charming, eloquent and persuasive. But when Declan suddenly leaves Ireland to seek his fortune in America, Shell finds herself pregnant and the centre of a scandal that rocks the small community in which she lives, with repercussions across the whole country. The lives of those immediately around her will never be the same again

There are slight spoilers hovering around in this review… I’m going to try and not spoil it outright but if you don’t want to know anything about it… here’s the short version: read it read it read it.

“Together always. Free… And their lives ahead of them, around them, spilling from them as they screamed Whoooooooooo like three demented owls. What joy it was to be, what joy.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Breath taken and hairs on the back of my neck standing up… wowowow. This book was spectacular.

High Points.
Shell. Father Rose. Trix. Jimmy. Caves. Rhymes. Altar boys who think unholy thoughts. Buckets and spades. Doing a Mary Magdalene. Ireland. Jezebel. See Shells. Piers. Mirrors. Faith. Spirituality. Bras. Hope. Ferris Wheels. “The dreams and laughs and tears. The here-and-nows and the here-afters.”

Low Points.
I honestly can’t think of one that won’t sound lame like “It wasn’t long enough”.
So… I’m passing on this one.

…..
But it wasn’t long enough. I wanted to know what happened after… what happened to Shell, what happened to Father Rose, what happened to Trix and what happened to Jimmy….
*sulks*

Read more »

How To Get Your YA Book Published Masterclass

2011-10-19T20:16:00.005+01:00

An overdue write up.

Apologies that this has been so late… grovelgrovel and all that jazz.

**Again, due to the fact that I have had to rely on my shoddy notes, quotes may not be exactly right and I may have been putting words in people's mouths with giddy abandonment. Just so you're aware.**

Edit: I added more pictures because someone was complaining.

There were tons of people already waiting at the theatre when I got there and the queue snaked around the building like… well, a snake.
A snake of fellow literary minded folk.
Literary minded folk who were all about 20 years older than me.
Seriously.
I swear I’ve never felt younger in my entire life.
Even those times when I attended that over 50s Pilates class by accident.
(Those old gals were alarmingly flexible!)
And I felt hideously aware of the fact that these guys probably had been writing non-stop for those 20 years. And I’d only been seriously writing for about 2 years.
But I shook my doubts away and pretended that I had an edge because I was young and therefore had more time to ~~be rejected by agents~~ write my bestseller.
HURRAH.

Anyway, they let us in to the HOTTEST theatre in the entire world and the front rows filled up pretty quickly. I didn’t mind because there was still the niggling fear that they would start to bring up people and ask them to enact their manuscript out using the underused art form of interpretive dance. So I climbed up to the top of the theatre, forgetting miserably the fact that hot air rises, and got out my notepad… to use as a fan.
Then they turned off the lights and we were all plunged into darkness and my stomach dropped. But like I said in my earlier post I managed, like a blogging ninja, to find a ray of light coming from some unknown source and, positioning my notepad at a jaunty angle, readied my pen to write down their words of wisdom.

For some unknown reason, my computer wouldn't let this revolve... but it doesn't really matter. You get the gist as to what I was working with...

Just a quick run down of the panellists in case you didn’t read my earlier post and have absolutely NO idea what is happening right now and you just came to my blog because you thought I’d give you advice on how to wear an old coat and look classy.

Barry Cunningham - Founder of Chicken House Publishing and man responsible for bringing Harry Potter to print.
Zoe King- A literary agent with the The Blair Partnership who represent Ms Rowling and are behind Pottermore.
Amanda Craig- The Times literary critic. (Her website)
Sophia Bennett - Author of the Threads series.
Melvin Burgess- General literary BAMF and author of books such as The Cry of the Wolf, Junk and, his latest, Kill All Enemies.

Read more »

The Cardturner - Louis Sachar

2011-10-17T12:43:00.001+01:00

How gorgeous is this cover?
Lovelovelove.

Synopsis from Goodreads.

When Alton's ageing, blind uncle asks him to attend bridge games with him, he agrees. After all, it's better than a crappy summer job in the local shopping mall, and Alton's mother thinks it might secure their way to a good inheritance sometime in the future. But, like all apparently casual choices in any of Louis Sachar's wonderful books, this choice soon turns out to be a lot more complex than Alton could ever have imagined. As his relationship with his uncle develops, and he meets the very attractive Toni, deeply buried secrets are uncovered and a romance that spans decades is finally brought to a conclusion. Alton's mother is in for a surprise!

“I was beginning to get concerned by falling pianos.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Well.... that was a book about Bridge.

High Points.
So, I feel like I need to explain my low point already and you’ve not even read it because it does eventually lead into a high point. Even though the Bridge thing completely went over my head, I absolutely love that Mr Sachar wrote this book knowing full well that a lot of his readers will be like… um, WHAT?
I had no idea what was happening for the majority of this book, Sachar’s enthusiasm and passion for the game was so evident that I couldn’t help but wish I knew what was going on. I loved how he didn’t try and trick the reader with his evil Bridge-playing agenda, he put his… wait for it… cards out on the table and made no apologies. I can just imagine the meeting he had with his agent and his editor and being like ‘You know what? I don’t care. I love Bridge and I want to write a book about it and make other people love it as much as I do’.
I’m 100% sure I’d love the game if I had a clue what was going on.
Anyway, back to the high points.
Alton. Toni. Old people. Whales. The writing. Quilting. Ghosts.

Low Points.
Well, I don’t know what I was expecting… this book is, believe it or not, about Bridge.
It says so on the back of the book, right there… I’m looking at the words right now.
The author’s note… it’s says it again.
It’s not as if Mr Sachar lied and said “This book is about car chases and scantily clad girls and boys with leather jackets and chocolate muffins” and then wrote a book about Bridge.
He quite clearly stated that this was a book about Bridge.
So it’s not as if I wasn’t warned.
And Sachar did a splendid job trying to explain the rules and didn’t dumb it down for readers.
Which brings me to the low point. I kind of wish he had dumbed it down a little. I know we had the handy whale (which I adored by the way) that nodded to Moby Dick and warned you that there will be a section coming up about Bridge and warned you that there will be a section about cards that you will probably zone out in and then a handy little box that helped you understand it.
But I still didn’t get it and I’m quite good at cards once I get into the swing of things.
I think my biggest claim to cards fame (is that a thing? It should be) is that I once played a game of Bullshit without lying once...and won.
Also, I’m the Snap Master.
And that’s definitely a thing.

Read more »

Through My Letterbox #11

2011-10-16T10:04:00.000+01:00

In My Mailbox is a meme set up by the wonderful The Story Siren as a way of noseying to see what your fellow bloggers are reading.

I don't know what it is about Sundays but I always seem to have computer nightmares when it comes to sitting down and doing my IMM. The cable for my laptop has decided to not work and my battery is absolutely useless... so my blog posts for this coming week are probably going to be a bit.... well, uh lacking.
I am definitely going to try and write up my notes for the 'How to Get Your YA Book Published' masterclass I attended to...
At least now I can account my ridiculousness to computer issues and not just I'm a Grade A scatterbrain. :)

Something Reviewed.

So the wonderful Leonora from Templar sent me a parcel full of Arcs this week.
I'm not sure if you can see them properly but they are
Sword of Light by Katherine Roberts.
Don't Call Me Ishmael by Michael Gerard Bauer
India Dark by Kirsty Murray
Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer (which is about Sicilian werewolves.. um, YES)

Something Bought.
So while I was in Cheltenham, I bought lots of exciting books at this gorgeous secondhand bookshop. It was the kind of bookshop you see in films where there are towering piles of books and you have to get on your hands and knees to get a proper look. And then you find the best book at the bottom and you have to play some kind of intense Jenga.
But I had to leave my purchases at my brother's house because I couldn't carry them on the train. He should be coming up sometime this week so you'll just have to wait.
I did however buy something....

You Against Me by Jenny Downham
I've had my eye on this one for a while now so I thought I'd treat myself.

That's all this week guys!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway (Scroll down to the bottom if you're not interested in my rambling. I won't hold it against you!) to be in for a chance of winning a signed copy of Patrick Ness' A Monster Calls and a copy of Jason Wallace's Out of Shadows.
It's international!

What did you get this week?

Letters to Harry. (Books 1-3)

2011-10-14T13:28:00.003+01:00

Synopsis from... Wait.. do you really need a synopsis? REALLY? Can you even get internet connection from under the rock you live in?

Synopsis from me.
Boy is a wizard. He has adventures. He is amazing. There's a bad guy. He is also amazing. But in a different way.

Quick Note.
I guess my decision to re-read the Harry Potter books started after a conversation a few friends and I had after we saw that you could buy t-shirts that said ‘I’d get sleazy for Ron Weasly’.
Don’t get me wrong, I love Ron as much as the next girl (and guy, let’s not underestimate the power of Ron) but it got me thinking of t-shirts that we’d probably wear more frequently….
Some examples:

I’d get dishevelled with Neville.
I want to tumble more with Dumbledore.
Once you go Black, you never go back.

You know.
The usual.
This conversation took place on the night that I saw the last film and I was feeling all nostalgic and I wanted to go back to the beginning and read them all over again.
The thing was, though, my family copies of the Harry Potter books had been read so often (and the spines are full of sand from beaches all over the south of France) that they are falling apart and the pages have started to come out.
Which I love, because there’s nothing better than a well-read book, is there?
But it didn’t help me because I had no money to buy them again and the library was so far away… and I'd have to get a bus and buy a Megarider and FAFF/
So when my brother leant me the fantastic audiobooks narrated by Lord Stephen Fry I was over the moon, smitten, pleased as punch and all of those other things you are when you get to revisit your favourite books again.

I’m going to split my reviews/thoughts up into three sections. This first post will focus on books 1-3, the second will focus on books 4-6 and the last one will be dedicated to the final book.
Also… ~~because I’m lazy~~, ~~because I like writing letters to fictional characters that I wish were real~~ seeing as everything has been written about the Harry Potter series and anything I would write will have already been written about a million times on other blog, I’ve decided to be a bit different.
So I've dusted off my quill, unrolled my parchment and prodded my owl into doing something more useful than regurgitating mice bones onto my bedroom floor….

Read more »

Monsters and Shadows with Patrick Ness and Jason Wallace.(And GIVEAWAY!)

2011-10-12T15:54:00.005+01:00

Warning: This post contains a slight spoiler for Ness’ The Knife of Never Letting Go. But I’ll give you fair warning so you can skip that paragraph.

I’m sorry it has taken me so long to get around to doing this. When I got back from Cheltenham, the place where your responsibilities and real life things do not exist, I suddenly realised I had a million things to do.
Real life things.
*shudder*

ANYWAY.
I mentioned earlier the problem I had with this show and the fact that I didn’t write any notes and just sat there, front row, eyes wide, silly smile on my face hanging on to every word the guys said. But I’ve delved into my mind (and lived to tell the tale) and flicked through my notes and the following is what I came up with.

Read more »

Perfect Chemistry - Simone Elkeles

2011-10-11T13:47:00.002+01:00

Synopsis From Goodreads.

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more. In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

“Alex probably brings his dates sharp knives as gifts, in case she’ll need one when she’s out on a date with him.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Well considering I thought I was going to read about two pages of this book before giving up, I’m surprised how much I enjoyed this one. Maybe I am a girl after all. Gosh.

High Points.
Brittany. Alex. PacoPacoPaco. Pom squad. Garages. Motorcycles. Science projects. Beaches. Leather jackets. Bandanas. Chichis. The phrase “ripped bod”. Muffins. Hand warmers…and sex.

Low Points.
I’ll be the first person to admit that I get unnecessarily angry about epilogues.
WHY? Why are they needed? Books, as a rule, are better just left with an ambiguous ending. Because us readers like to fill in the blanks, don’t we? We like to get our own way. We like to give our beloved characters a happy ending. We like to give our most hated characters a quick shove off a cliff.
Most epilogues force characters into ridiculous situations that are either twee, implausible or just so sickly sweet you just want to throw not the book out of the window, but yourself.
This epilogue was one of them.
I was half expecting Albus Severus Potter to be chilling out in the back of that classroom as they all come up with the cure for the common cold.
Also…. There seemed to be a whole lot of nothing happening in some chapters and then A MILLION things happening in others.
And, I think the American definition of ‘gangbanger’ is different to the British one.
If not… Alex just got a whole lot more interesting.

Read more »

Cheltenham Literary Festival: An Introduction

2011-10-10T22:22:00.000+01:00

Or How I Realised I Could Never Be a Journalist.

Alright, folks, what’s happening?
I’ve had a right mare of a day today but I’m back and fully(-ish) functioning and ready to tell you all about my weekend at Cheltenham Literary Festival.
Well, I say ready…
I’ll start from the beginning because it’s a bit of a long story… well, it’s not.
It will probably surprise you when I say I am fond of tangents.
I learnt a lot this weekend and in the next couple of days I’m going to attempt at sharing this knowledge with you lovely people.
I’ll start with the first thing I learnt this weekend: I would make an absolutely rotten journalist.
I’m OK with this because it’s probably the only career that I haven’t decided that I simply must go into or else I will die. Also, I can’t even fold a newspaper without getting in a pickle so god knows what would happen if I tried to write an article….
Let me explain.

Read more »

Back on Monday...

2011-10-07T08:15:00.000+01:00

I'm away in Cheltenham for the weekend but guys don't fret, I'll be back on Monday with a ~~hopefully~~ definitely beautifully written and exciting account of my adventures.

Have a great weekend!

The Book of Blood and Shadow- Robin Wasserman.

2011-10-06T17:04:00.000+01:00

I found this lying around *ahem* so until the cover is
released... it'll have to do.

Synopsis from Goodreads.

It was like a nightmare, but there was no waking up. When the night began, Nora had two best friends and an embarrassingly storybook one true love. When it ended, she had nothing but blood on her hands and an echoing scream that stopped only when the tranquilizers pierced her veins and left her in the merciful dark.

But the next morning, it was all still true: Chris was dead. His girlfriend Adriane, Nora's best friend, was catatonic. And Max, Nora's sweet, smart, soft-spoken Prince Charming, was gone. He was also—according to the police, according to her parents, according to everyone—a murderer.

Desperate to prove his innocence, Nora follows the trail of blood, no matter where it leads. It ultimately brings her to the ancient streets of Prague, where she is drawn into a dark web of secret societies and shadowy conspirators, all driven by a mad desire to possess something that might not even exist. For buried in a centuries-old manuscript is the secret to ultimate knowledge and communion with the divine; it is said that he who controls the Lumen Dei controls the world. Unbeknownst to her, Nora now holds the crucial key to unlocking its secrets. Her night of blood is just one piece in a puzzle that spans continents and centuries. Solving it may be the only way she can save her own life.

“Never date a guy who can fit into your jeans- Adriane often warned me- failing to mention that it was because I might someday need him to save me from a secret society of murdering Renaissance Faire rejects.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Sigh…. And we were doing so well.
OK, up until about 80% this book would have been a 5 star book. I was happily ignoring the mental far-fetchedness of the plot because I loved the characters and the setting and the writing. But even I couldn’t suspend my disbelief at the end. More on this later….

High Points.
Boys, boys, boys. Nora. Friendship. European globetrotting. History. Murder. Love. Double crossing. Churches. Prince Charming. Language. Latin. The writing. Letters. Secrets. Blood. Conspiracies. Ninja moves. On the lam. Novelty underpants.

Low Points.
OK, the last 20% were just ridiculous. So much crazy stuff happened that even if I ignored my no spoiler rule… I don’t think I could actually tell you everything that happened. Some of the reveals I had ‘guessed’ (when I say guessed I mean I thought ‘Oh no… that’s not going to happen is it? He’s not… she’s not… Oh god… he is, they are!’ way) and they still confused me. Others were just so random. And then there were the chosen ones and guns and the melting faces.
Also, I’m particularly good at ignoring historical inaccuracies (within reason) and authors bending theories to fit their stories because that kind of thing isn’t my strong point. So I’m not entirely sure, if that is your area of expertise how you’d feel about this book. But I’m just saying… it wasn’t a low point for me but it could be for others.
But other than that… I really did enjoy this book. The story was a bit fanciful and I haven’t been completely sure about religious sects and secret societies and whatnot post-Mr Brown… but the characters, the writing and the narration made up for this.
But…authors: STOP KILLING OFF LOVELY LOVE INTERESTS. Seriously, I have only just got over the fact that I could never be with Charlie and then you throw Chris at me.
No fair, Ms Wasserman. No fair.

Read more »

Poison Study - Maria V. Snyder.

2011-10-04T14:22:00.000+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.

Choose: A quick death…Or slow poison…

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear…

"It's a dirty way to fight, but I'm late for lunch."

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
I think I’m broken… why didn’t I love this one?

High Points.
The premise. Poisons. The setting. The baddies. The magic. Valek. Close combat. Acrobatics. Fire festivals. Valek without his shirt on. Ari. Janco. Maren. Tree climbing. Chocolate. Delicious food. Kick ass ladies. Secret Valek without his shirt…in a pile of hay.

Low Points.
The narration. I know Yelena is supposed to be educated but I found it difficult to believe she would casually throw words like “mucilaginous” into conversation… I don’t know. The found the dialogue jarring and inconsistent. One minute we’d be all britches and monarchy and then the next we’d be in “funks”.
Yelena… we’re not in AFP waters, not at all. But… well meh… see heroine.
Bad haircuts. Come on… there’s only so much my imagination can handle. Black, shoulder length ringlets? A shaved head… except the fringe? NOOOOO.

Read more »

Through My Letter Box #10

2011-10-02T10:57:00.000+01:00

In My Mailbox is a meme set up by the wonderful The Story Siren as a way of noseying to see what your fellow bloggers are reading.

I actually stuck to my 'You are only allowed to buy ONE book this week, Jo' rule.
Hurrah.
But also.... this leads to a boring Through My Letter Box this week.

Something Bought.
I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan|| Quite a few of my friends have recommended this to me and the cover is absolutely gorgeous. I couldn't resist. I'm weak... weeeaaak.

Something Borrowed.
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray || This book seems to get extremely varied reviews, but my best friend leant it to me so I trust her judgement.

Also *exciting news*
My ticket to attend Patrick Ness and Jason Wallace's 'Monster and Shadows' talk at Cheltenham Literature Festival landed on my door mat this week!
It's next Saturday and I'm sosososo excited. But very underprepared in how to deal with the emotions that this will entail. I'm hoping that I can stop myself from throwing myself at his feet and wailing 'YOUR BOOKS BLOW MY MIND AND SHATTER MY SOUL' while I sob onto his shoes.

So far it doesn't look likely.
But I guess that's what security is for, yeah?

It'll be fiiiiine.
*nervous laughter*

What did you get this week?

Out of Shadows- Jason Wallace

2011-09-30T12:44:00.003+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
If I stood you in front of a man, pressed a gun into your palm and told you to squeeze the trigger, would you do it?No, sir, no way!What if I then told you we-d gone back in time and his name was Adolf Hitler?
Would you do it then?Zimbabwe, 1980s.
The war is over, independence has been won and Robert Mugabe has come to power offering hope, land and freedom to black Africans.
It is the end of the Old Way and the start of a promising new era.
For Robert Jacklin, it's all new: new continent, new country, new school.
And very quickly he learns that for some of his classmates, the sound of guns is still loud, and their battles rage on . . . white boys who want their old country back, not this new black African government.
Boys like Ivan. Clever, cunning Ivan .
For him, there is still one last battle to fight, and he's taking it right to the very top

“I nodded subserviently while inside I was chewing over his words: tipped the balance of power. It seemed a strange expression to me because it gave me an image of a seesaw, and when one end was up the other was always down. It was never actually balanced.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.

What… wait.. was that…? No.. it couldn’t be. Could that be an epilogue that didn’t make me superfluously angry?! I believe it was. Gosh.

And also… sadness.

High Points.

Let’s hear it for the boys. History. Unflinching. Raw. Nelson. Snakes in the grass. Honesty. Brothers. Thought-provoking. Difficult questions. The writing.

Low Points.

Oh won’t somebody think of the ~~children~~ parents? Seriously… I know in YA Land parents are normally dead/divorced/ awol for unexplained reason and I’ve come to accept that. But this was ridiculous. These boys were just running around like the lost boys at the end!

And speaking of the ending, it was.. um.. interesting but a little unconvincing and about as subtle as a ton of bricks.

Also, I wish we had spent more time in 1985. It was nice to see Robert starting off in the boarding school but I think it went on for a bit too long and, I know Mr Wallace had to set the scene because some people (like moi) may not know about this era at all, but I would like to have had more time looking at Robert when he was older because I think his character really started to develop and, of course, break my heart and make me scowl and sigh in exasperation and write ‘ROBERT NOOOO! Come on!’ and ‘Robert don’t do that. Why are you doing that?!’ and ‘PLEASE JUST STOP EVERYTHING THAT YOU’RE DOING’ in my little notebook.

A Monster Calls- Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dowd.

2011-09-27T14:29:00.001+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting – he’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It’s ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd – whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself – Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined

Quick Note: This review is going to be extremely incoherent and incredibly useless. So if you have seen this book anywhere around and been a little bit curious…. I urge you to read it.
It probably won’t surprise you to see that I’ve decided not to write this review in my usual form. This is because the ‘High Points’ would consist of just a picture of the book. The Low Points would be redundant (I can usually find a few low points, even if I adore the book, but this one… I got nothing). I can’t think of Conor without my heart exploding and to choose a theme tune for this book would force me to admit that something made me feel the same way as this book did. And, as I always try and keep my reviews honest, I can’t do that.

Stories are wild creatures, the monster said. When you let them loose, who knows what havoc they might wreak?

This book is one of those rare books that you can go into knowing everything about but it doesn’t matter at all.
You’ll know the plot, you’ll know the theme, you’ll know the idea and you’ll know the emotions. You can even take a pretty good guess at what’s going to happen at the end but you’ll still be sat there as the you close the book softly (probably in the early morning, trying to stifle your tears with the nearest pillow/blankey/teddy bear… though that could just be me), shocked beyond comprehension and physically numb.
Read more »

Anna Dressed in Blood - Kendare Blake.

2011-09-26T15:02:00.003+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
But she, for some reason, spares Cas' life.

“You do know what we’re dealing with here, don’t you?” I ask. “She’s not just a ghost. She’s a hurricane. Overkill is fine by me.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
I don’t know about something strange but there’s definitely something AWESOME in this neighborhood.

High Points.
Cas. Anna. Telepathic Tagalongs. Girls with too much daylight about them. Bloody deaths. Ghosts. Ghostbustin'. Cool mamas. Daddy issues. Moody kitties. Attic Ladders. Hitchhikers. Prom dresses. Drip, drip, drip. Ghost stories. Small towns. Voodoo. Flashbacks. Basement lightshows. Things that go bump in the night.

Low Points.
OK, if there are lots of ghosts running around America and killing people… why haven’t people cottoned on yet? What are the police doing? Why aren’t there as many exorcists as there are Starbucks? Why isn’t this song blasted out from public buildings to make people aware that there is a 98% chance that a ghost is going to eat them whenever they leave their house?
….just a thought.
Also, I’m pretty sure even Demi Moore would have rolled her eyes at some bits...but I'll get to that.

Read more »

Through My Letter Box #9

2011-09-25T10:42:00.001+01:00

In My Mailbox is a meme set up by the wonderful The Story Siren as a way of noseying to see what your fellow bloggers are reading.

A bit quiet here (um....ish, anyway) at Jo HQ. Do you ever find that when you're trying to be good you seem to end up buying more? And you find yourself surrounding by parcels whimpering to yourself because your willpower is practically non-existent?

No...?

Anyway, let's get to it. Again, sorry about the lack of visual treats but my camera is so far away....

Something Bought.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (Kindle) || I read the wonderful Grave Mercy a few weeks back (I have to wait until closer to the publication date to post my review) and absolutely loved it. I've been told that Poison Study is similar in both plot but also style. The premise sounds fantastic. I wonder whether historical/fantasy will be my paranormal....

Out of Shadows by Jason Wallace (Paperback)|| Part of my aim to start reading more British authors, I saw this one and thought it looked really interesting and original. Also... there's another reason why I'm reading this one but I'll let you in on that later.... excitement!

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr (Paperback)|| I seriously think I'm the only person who hasn't ~~lusted after Cameron Quick~~ read this book yet. I absolutely adored How To Save a Life so I'm really eager to read some more by Ms Zarr.

Something Borrowed.

Divergent by Veronica Roth || You guys, I miss my dystopians. I've not had much luck with them for a while and I've been paddling in more contemporary waters. I've heard this is supposed to be great, so I'm excited.

Something Reviewed.

Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard (Delacorte Press)

The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman (Random House Children's Books)

What did you guys get this week?

Virtuosity- Jessica Martinez.

2011-09-23T15:20:00.001+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Now is not the time for Carmen to fall in love. And Jeremy is hands-down the wrong guy for her to fall for. He is infuriating, arrogant, and the only person who can stand in the way of Carmen getting the one thing she wants most: to win the prestigious Guarneri competition. Carmen's whole life is violin, and until she met Jeremy, her whole focus was winning. But what if Jeremy isn't just hot...what if Jeremy is better?

Carmen knows that kissing Jeremy can't end well, but she just can't stay away. Nobody else understands her--and riles her up--like he does. Still, she can't trust him with her biggest secret: She is so desperate to win she takes anti-anxiety drugs to perform, and what started as an easy fix has become a hungry addiction. Carmen is sick of not feeling anything on stage and even more sick of always doing what she’s told, doing what's expected.

Sometimes, being on top just means you have a long way to fall....

“And once the nervousness had completely disappeared and the flatness descended, it seemed like whole world took on a matte finish. No gloss to slip on.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
That last page saved what would have been a ‘WHAT THE EFF’-type of ending… but we’ll get to that. Don’t worry.

High Points.
The cover… it really doesn’t have anything to do with the story but, man, do I wish my hair would do that. Music. Pizza. Ball gowns. Walks in the park. Jazz clubs. Curfews. Makeovers. Almost-there. Beautiful prose. Original idea. Balconies. Shirley Temple.

Low Points.
That ending…. bar the last page. Love interest.

Read more »

Boy: Tales of Childhood- Roald Dahl

2011-09-22T12:37:00.001+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
"'I am only eight years old,' I told myself. 'No little boy of eight has ever murdered anyone. It's not possible.'"

So thought Roald Dahl in 1924 when his plan to get revenge on the mean and disgusting candy-store owner Mrs. Pratchett seemed to have worked all too well. Writing about this and other boyhood adventures, the author has recalled only those that stand out as spectacular. "Some are funny. Some are painful. Some are unpleasant. I suppose that is why I have always remembered them so vividly. All are true."

We are told of his first automobile ride, in which he nearly lost his nose; of the canings by Headmasters and older schoolboys; and of the grisly methods of Matrons, those guardians against misbehavior who supervised the dormitories. There were glorious times, too, with his big family at home in Wales; on holiday each summer on a remote island in Norway; and in the class of an endearing math teacher who thought numbers the dreariest things in the world.

Roald Dahl's adventures and misadventures during his school years are crowded with people as strange and wonderful as any character he has created and are as exciting and full of the unexpected as his celebrated fiction.

(Deciding to re-read this book was inspired by the wonderful ladies at Gathering Books and their fantastic bimonthly meme‘Everything Dahl and Magical’. Which I absolutely adore. )

“When writing about oneself, one must strive to be truthful. Truth is more important than modesty. I must tell you, therefore, that it was I and I alone who had the idea for the great and daring Mouse Plot. We all have our moments of brilliance and glory, and this was mine.”

I first read this glorious memoir aged twelve when I had to do a project in history on a historical person of my choice.
I went to Staples, giddy as a kipper, and bought about five piles of coloured sugar paper and two packets of gel pens (the smelly glitter ones, of course) and set about completing possibly my favourite piece of homework.
I was minding my own business in the classroom, armed with a Pritt Stick and a copy of every one of his book, when this absolute… so and so… in my class said ‘Roald Dahl? Historical? I don’t think so. You should have chosen a monarch or something. You’re going to get a rubbish mark.”
Because I was a shy and retiring wallflower back then, I muttered something under my breath and glared at her from underneath my unfortunate fringe.

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Guy Langman, Crime Scene Procastinator - Josh Berk

2011-09-20T17:36:00.000+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.

Guy Langman can't be bothered with much. But when his friend Anoop wants Guy to join the forensics club with him in the (possibly misguided) hopes of impressing some girls, Guy thinks why not.

They certainly aren't expecting to find a real dead body on the simulated crime scene they're assigned to collect evidence from. But after some girlish, undignified screaming, the two realize it is indeed a body. Which means they have stumbled across a real, dead murder victim.

Meanwhile, Guy has been looking into the past of his father—a larger-than-life character who recently passed away. He was much older than Guy's mom, and had a whole past Guy never even knew about. Could his father's past and the dead body be linked? Does Guy want to know? He's going to need all his newfound forensics skills to find out . . .

Taking a break from my usual review method ~~because I'm feeling lazy today~~.
I was really disappointed with this one and it makes me sad. I thought I was going to absolutely love it.
But something really didn’t sit with me.

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Unearthly - Cynthia Hand

2011-09-19T12:39:00.000+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

"Maybe I don’t want to be remarkable, don’t want to fly or speak some bizarre angel language or save the world one hot guy at a time. I just want to be human."

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
So… apparently not all PR make me want to punch wildly at things. Consider me told….

High Points.
A paranormal romance book that didn’t make me want to gouge my own eyes out. Tucker. Clara. Angels. Snow drifts. Bluebell. Cowboys. Black Wings. Fly fishing. Heaven. Hell. Visions. Horses. The Pink Garter. Glory. Skiing. History classes. T-Shirts. Secrets. Prom. Carrots.

Low Points.
The majority of the twists were very predictable, especially that last one.
See boy angst.
Also… that ending was a tad anti-climactic.
If it wasn’t for those things, however, this book would definitely be a 5* book.

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Zero- Tom Leveen

2011-09-16T12:00:00.001+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
For aspiring artist Amanda Walsh, who only half-jokingly goes by the nickname Zero, the summer before college was supposed to be fun—plain and simple. Hanging out with her best friend Jenn, going to clubs, painting, and counting down the days until her escape. But when must-have scholarship money doesn't materialize, and she has a falling out with Jenn that can only be described as majorly awkward, and Zero's parents relationship goes from tense to relentless fighting, her prospects start looking as bleak and surreal as a painting by her idol Salvador Dali. Will life truly imitate art? Will her new, unexpected relationship with a punk skater boy who seems too good to be real and support from the unlikeliest of sources show Zero that she's so much more than a name.

I couldn’t actually find a quote that I loved that wouldn’t spoil things so I’m going to quote a quote.

“Love, I said, strangely resembled certain gastric sensations… producing an uneasiness and shudders so delicate that one is not sure whether one is in love or feels like vomiting.”- Salvador Dali.

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Phew. I’m glad it ended like that. I thought I was going to get stabby…

High Points.
Zero..ish. Mike. Awkward first love. Dali. Coffee shops. Band t-shirts. Golden records. San Francisco. Friendships. Art classes. Charcoal smudges. Rainbows. Gothic rainbows.

Low Points.
Hmmm… see heroine.
Also, see sadness scale.
Did we really need five bajillion pages of art metaphor?
Yes? Oh…ok.

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Anne of the Island- L. M. Montgomery.

2011-09-14T16:11:00.001+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Anne Shirley has come a long way since her days as a mischievous orphan living in the house at Green Gables. She is now eighteen and headed to faraway Redmond College in Kingsport. Anne's college years are sure to be full of fun, but they will also be a time for soul-searching and big decisions. When her longtime friend Gilbert Blythe proposes marriage, Anne feels they can never be more than friends. But is her new admirer, the handsome and wealthy Roy Gardner, really the man of her dreams?

"In imagination she sailed over storied seas that wash the distant shining shores of "faery lands forlorn," where lost Atlantis and Elysium lie, with the evening star for pilor, to the land of Hearts Desire. And she was richer in those dreams than in realities; for things seen pass away, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

Dear Lucy Maud,

Thank you.
Love,
Jo.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Manchester,

Anne says hi.

Hope you’re well.
Jo.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gilbert,
[Censored]

Always,
J.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mrs Gardner,
You called your son Royal?
ROYAL?
What is wrong with you?

Yours Truly,

J.Williams.

ps. Tell him I say HA.

Anne of Avonlea- L.M. Montgomery

2011-09-13T15:35:00.001+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.

Avonlea is the prettiest little town on Prince Edward Island, which is the prettiest little island in all of Canada. Anne had come here as an orphan—a skinny redhead showing up on the steps of Green Gables with a shabby suitcase and a heart full of dreams.

Anne's dream of finding a home had come true. But now she is a young woman, with new dreams, She has a teaching job in the city, with a chance to become a published magazine writer.

And an even greater adventure awaits: Anne is about to begin her first romance—with a handsome Boston millionaire whose dreams are very different from hers....

Anne of Avonlea continues the story that began in Anne of Green gables. These beloved classics are among the most popular novels ever written; they have made their author, L.M. Montgomery, a legend in Canada and around the world.

"Don't you know that it is only very foolish folk who talk sense all the time?"

Another Series of Letters.

Manchester,
A woman picked a leaf out of my hair on the bus today (true story… it's very windy and ~~I don’t brush my hair~~ there are a lot of trees near me). Also, I’m pretty sure One Direction (and their fan girls) were on the same bus this morning. (Brits… you’ll understand my pain. Everyone else, you don’t want to know...I promise you.)
Also, the postman didn’t knock on the door and just shoved one of those ‘SORRY YOU WEREN’T IN’ things through my letter box.
That would not be tolerated on Prince Edward Island.
You’re making my decision to move all the more easier.
Yours faithfully,
Miss Williams.

Anne of Green Gables - L.M. Montgomery

2011-09-12T13:11:00.001+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
When Marilla Cuthbert's brother, Matthew, returns home to Green Gables with a chatty redheaded orphan girl, Marilla exclaims, "But we asked for a boy. We have no use for a girl." It's not long, though, before the Cuthberts can't imagine how they could ever do without young Anne of Green Gables--but not for the original reasons they sought an orphan. Somewhere between the time Anne "confesses" to losing Marilla's amethyst pin (which she never took) in hopes of being allowed to go to a picnic, and when Anne accidentally dyes her hated carrot-red hair green, Marilla says to Matthew, "One thing's for certain, no house that Anne's in will ever be dull." And no book that she's in will be, either.

"I don't believe I'd really want to be a sensible person, because they are so unromantic."

A series of letters.

Dear Jo (aged 11),
Get off The Sims and pick up a copy of Anne of Green Gables and read it now. It will change your life.
Best wishes,
Jo (aged 22)

Dear Ms Montgomery,
I would like to take your beautiful prose and drape it over the washing line in my back garden to create a mystical den that only I and my friends may enter.
Who would I have to talk to for this to happen?
Thank you in advance,
J.W

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Through My Letter Box #8

2011-09-11T11:30:00.001+01:00

In My Mailbox is a meme set up by the wonderful The Story Siren as a way of noseying to see what your fellow bloggers are reading.

Something Bought.
I treated myself to quite a few books that I've been hankering after this week.

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness and Siobhan Dowd.
And guys, it's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life. The illustrations are breathtaking and the dustcover is so soft it's like stroking a kitten.
Or.. um...

Yeah.
I've heard that it's completely heartbreaking and will leave me a quivering wreck for about a month. But I'm a Nessochist.

I also bought The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson.

Something For Review.
Without Tess by Marcella Pixley. (Macmillan Children's Publishers Group)

And also How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr (Little, Brown). I've already read this and LOVED it. You can read my review here.

Thank you!

Something Borrowed.
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. SO excited for this one. Apparantly it's very similar to Hold Me Closer, Necromancer which I have to say, I wasn't too fussed about. But, I loved the premise so maybe I'll have more luck with this one.

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand. Not something I would normally read (Angels..? Ew) but lots of my dear friends really rate it!

That's me done.
What did you get this week?

How to Save a Life- Sara Zarr.

2011-09-10T09:52:00.000+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Jill MacSweeney just wants everything to go back to normal. But ever since her dad died, she's been isolating herself from her boyfriend, her best friends--everyone who wants to support her. You can't lose one family member and simply replace him with a new one, and when her mom decides to adopt a baby, that's exactly what it feels like she's trying to do. And that's decidedly not normal. With her world crumbling around her, can Jill come to embrace a new member of the family?

Mandy Kalinowski knows what it's like to grow up unwanted--to be raised by a mother who never intended to have a child. So when Mandy becomes pregnant, she knows she wants a better life for her baby. But can giving up a child be as easy as it seems? And will she ever be able to find someone to care for her, too?

“And here I am, all of those small hopes getting me from one day to the next, the way they my whole life.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Wow. Captivating.

High Point.
The ladies. The gentlemen. Train stations. Raw. Emotional. Coffee. Pancakes. Pho. Old friends. New friends. Moving on. Siblings. Cornfields, Ferris wheels and stars.

Low Point.
This isn’t really a low point but I couldn’t really think of one so I’m clutching right now. The ending was a little predictable but I think I would have been angry/upset if it hadn’t ended like that.
Also… I wish I hadn’t waited so long to read a Sara Zarr book.
See, clutching?

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Anna and the French Kiss- Stephanie Perkins

2011-09-08T13:30:00.007+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

Note: Apologies that I have no accents on my Frenchie vowels... my laptop was having a mare. You get the gist.

"Girl Scouts didn’t teach me what to do with emotionally unstable boys."

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
Urgh, fine. Whatever. I’ll admit it. I swooned… a little. Can we move on?!

High Points.
Anna. Etienne. Paris. Boarding school. Swoon. Clomping boots. Convenient breezes. Canadian flags. Shakespeare & Company (I have a book from there!) One of the sweetest scenes set in Pere Lachaise ( First, obviously. Sewell reference. BOOM.)Chocolat Chaud. Fisticuffs. Notre Dame. Airplanes. Girl Scout cookies. Chocolate moustaches. Dancing on desks. E-mails and New Year’s Eve. Poetry. Briticisms. Victor’s victor.

Low Points.
See bit about Heroine.
See Boy/Girl Angst Scale.
Also… how else do you pronounce ‘directions’? I get the banana/banarna (Thanks Death Proof!)… but directions?! *pouts*.
OH and another thing. I did not go from Year 7 to Year 9 with a mouth full of metal to still be stuck with the whole ‘British have bad teeth’ stereotype!
NOT EVERYONE IN BRITAIN HAS GNASHERS LIKE SHANE MACGOWAN.
So, I do not care for Etienne’s crooked teeth. There… I said it.
*grumbles*

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Stick- Andrew Smith.

2011-09-07T12:06:00.001+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Fourteen-year-old Stark McClellan (nicknamed Stick because he’s tall and thin) is bullied for being “deformed” – he was born with only one ear. His older brother Bosten is always there to defend Stick. But the boys can’t defend one another from their abusive parents.

When Stick realizes Bosten is gay, he knows that to survive his father's anger, Bosten must leave home. Stick has to find his brother, or he will never feel whole again. In his search, he will encounter good people, bad people, and people who are simply indifferent to kids from the wrong side of the tracks. But he never loses hope of finding love – and his brother.

“It’s just…well, it’s ugly”
She shrugged. “I don’t think so. I think it’s cool. Everyone else is so…the same. You know?

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
I need a cuddle.

High Points.
Stick. Bosten. Emily. Strength. Brothers. Talking through pipes. Best friends. Being different. Catching crabs. Anotia. Bubble baths. Jock straps. Surfing. Breaking out. Milkshakes. UFOs. Beanies. Playing California.

Low Points.
I wasn’t all that fussed with Stick’s road trip. What I really liked about this book was that even though there was a hell of a lot of dark and gritty subject material, it wasn’t gratuitous or done purely for shock factor. Except for one scene just over half way through. I don’t think it added much to the story except make the reader feel uncomfortable and shocked. But that might just be me.
And I know I know that California is made of rainbows and sunshine and ~~the Kardashians~~ wonderful stuff…. But does it hold the power to solve every problem with surfing and no pants at breakfast?
It can?
Oh…. OK, I apologise.
Scratch that last bit.

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Looking for Alibrandi- Melina Marchetta

2011-09-03T10:37:00.000+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.

For as long as Josephine Alibrandi can remember, it’s just been her, her mom, and her grandmother. Now it’s her final year at a wealthy Catholic high school. The nuns couldn’t be any stricter—but that doesn’t seem to stop all kinds of men from coming into her life.
Caught between the old-world values of her Italian grandmother, the nononsense wisdom of her mom, and the boys who continue to mystify her, Josephine is on the ride of her life. This will be the year she falls in love, the year she discovers the secrets of her family’s past—and the year she sets herself free.

“I’ll run one day. Run for my life. To be free and think for myself. Not as an Australian and not as an Italian and not as an in-between. I’ll run to be emancipated. If my society will let me.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
I honestly think the world will stop turning the day I read a MM book I do not like.

High Points.
Strong females. Josie. Nuns. Religion. Family. The past. Jacob. The future. FBA. Identity. Culture. Fast food first jobs. Stories. Catching me off guard with the sadness (which I did NOT appreciate). Friendships. Speeches. Politics. Motorbike helmets. Boys with eyes that are just green. Smuggling biscuits. Dances.

Low Point.
I really wanted to find out more about Josie and her father’s relationship and how it developed. I know this book was more about the females in Josie’s life but I really loved their relationship and I believe I would have enjoyed this book a lot more if there had just been a few more prickly road trip scenes thrown in.

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Graffiti Moon- Cath Crowley

2011-09-02T11:00:00.002+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
It’s the end of Year 12. Lucy’s looking for Shadow, the graffiti artist everyone talks about.

His work is all over the city, but he is nowhere.

Ed, the last guy she wants to see at the moment, says he knows where to find him. He takes Lucy on an all-night search to places where Shadow’s thoughts about heartbreak and escape echo around the city walls.

But the one thing Lucy can’t see is the one thing that’s right before her eyes

“It’s the time wasting that gets you somewhere.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
I have five fingers pressed on my desk in reaction to this book right now. I can’t get much more love for this book.

High Points.
Shadow. Lucy. Best friends. Poetry. Melbourne. A night that lasts forever. Mistaken identities. Missed connections. Graffiti. Eggs. Secrets. Arse-grabbers. Lyrical. Adventure. Insecurities. Mesmerizing. Art. Train carriages. Undercover good guys. Letting go of the breaks. Visibility. Twirls in the place. Cubicles of truth. In for the thrill. No guts, no glory. Moving to the extra beats. Zing.

Low Points.
I wishwishwish this book had pictures of Shadow and Poet’s work. Ms Crowley described it so perfectly (I could almost smell the paint drying) but I wanted to see and experience what Lucy did. Even my over active imagination couldn’t do those pictures justice.
Also, I always thought that New York was the city for late night adventures and mischief. Now I’m going to have to recalibrate my life plan.
Sigh.
Here I come, Melbourne.
Hope you’re ready.

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Raw Blue- Kirsty Eagar

2011-09-01T10:28:00.002+01:00

Synopsis from Goodreads.
Carly has dropped out of uni to spend her days surfing and her nights working as a cook in a Manly café. Surfing is the one thing she loves doing ... and the only thing that helps her stop thinking about what happened two years ago. Then she meets Ryan and Carly has to decide ... Will she let the past bury her? Or can she let go of her anger and shame, and find the courage to be happy

“Even though the world looks grey and gloomy, the water’s warmer than you’d think.”

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
My entire body aches.

High Points.
Secrets. Honesty. Brutal. Raw. Glitter skin. Seeing colours. The ocean. Salsa dancing. Strength. Delicious treats. Accidental best friends. Tattoos. Board shorts. Sex. Love. Forgiveness. Understanding. Her. Him.

Low Points.
The entirety of my knowledge of surfing comes from this song and that one time I got stuck on a train from Manchester to Bangor with approximately A MILLION people heading to Abersoch for Wakestock …. so I got extremely lost in the sea of crows and cutting and boards and gettin’ a few.
But… it didn’t ruin it. Just made me scratch my head a bit and make my frownythinky face.

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Good Oil- Laura Buzo

2011-08-31T14:42:00.003+01:00

This cover really bothers me.
She looks about 30!

Synopsis from Goodreads.
A wonderful, coming-of-age love story from a fresh new voice in YA ﬁction.

'Miss Amelia Hayes, welcome to The Land of Dreams. I am the staff trainer. I will call you grasshopper and you will call me sensei and I will give you the good oil. Right? And just so you know, I'm open to all kinds of bribery.'

From the moment 15-year-old Amelia begins work on the checkout at Woolworths she is sunk, gone, lost...head-over-heels in love with Chris. Chris is the funny, charming, man-about-Woolies, but he's 21, and the 6-year difference in their ages may as well be 100. Chris and Amelia talk about everything from Second Wave Feminism to Great Expectations and Alien but will he ever look at her in the way she wants him to? And if he does, will it be everything she hopes

"I can’t run my own race. I’m constantly checking what’s happening in the other lanes"

Initial Final Page Thoughts.
YES, AMELIA, YES. *nods in approval*.

High Points.
Amelia. Check-out girls. Intellectuals. Aimless drifters. Wanderlust. Literature. Drunken house parties. Blushes, butterflies and tingly toes. Late night phone calls. Swapping letters. ~~Grey’s Anatomy.~~ Phew.. that was close. *shifty look* Half-off flowers. Plenty.

Low Points.
Hmmm, I go into my minimal problems in my heroine/hero sections so it would be ridiculous to go through them twice.
I’m just hankering for a sequel now… hankerhanker.

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