I borrowed Belzhar based on Lucy @ Queen of Contemporary‘s review from a little while ago. I devoured the book in one evening and was blown away. It was just stunning! Revision has been a little time consuming lately so I’ve done a little graphic instead of a full review…
I borrowed a copy of Belzhar from my local library.
Countdown to 7 May is a massive blog tour taking place at the moment; leading up to the date where a lot of great YA & MG titles are going to be published in the UK. The tour is stopping at a lot of great blogs & you can check out the countdown Twitter feed here!
Today I have the honour of hosting début author Sarah Govett on my blog for a guest post. Sarah is the author of The Territory – what sounds like a gripping dystopian set in the aftermath of an environmental disaster. I’m so excited about reading it! Read on for what Sarah has to say on her book…
LIMITED SPACE MEANS LIMITED NUMBERS
Try to imagine for a moment that it’s forty odd years from now. We didn’t cut back on carbon consumption quick enough so those icebergs went and melted just as all the scientists told us they would. Now half of Britain is under water. The flooded Wetlands are a breeding ground for mosquitoes carrying malaria and worse and you obviously can’t grow any food in what’s basically a salt marsh. So everyone wants to live on the remaining dry land, right? But there are far too many people to fit and feed. So how do you decide who gets to stay? Do you value each and every life equally and operate some sort of lottery system or do you recognise that humanity as a whole is better served if we keep the brightest and best as they’re more likely to be able to reverse the catastrophic climate change? And, if you agree with that, how do you find the best and brightest young people to keep around? By exams, of course, exams focused on the most useful subjects – maths and science – I mean they’re the best way of gauging intelligence. Aren’t they?
This is the backdrop against which I decided to set my dystopian thriller, The Territory – teens being forced to sit exams at 15 to see whether they get to stay on dry land or be sent to the Wetlands for a life of misery if not certain death. To make matters even worse, the most privileged kids have a huge advantage as they can upload information straight into their brains through a Node in the back of their necks, bypassing the need to study.
I wrote the book in snatched half hours after the birth of my first child. I’ve always been drawn to accessible novels about big ideas and my biggest influences are probably John Wyndham (particularly The Crysalids), John Christopher (the amazing Death of Grass), Margaret Atwood (too many to name), Daniel Keyes (Flowers for Algernon – if you haven’t read it you need to get a copy, believe me), and more recently Gemma Malley (her thought provoking The Declaration).
I wanted my novel to reflect the horrific pressure exams place on teenagers, society’s elevation of logical subjects above more creative ones and the unfairness of our education system whereby results are as much determined by quality of school as natural intelligence. I also wanted to make myself think about the idea of trying to objectively value or rank people. Which is basically what we do all the time. Whether through exams or differential salaries we decide that someone is worth more than someone else. And then a further issue that has really been brought home to me by becoming a mum – how do you reconcile the admirable desire of a parent to do the very best for their child with the unfairness that resulting differences in privilege can bring?
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I hope you enjoyed the guest post as I really did! The Territory will, predictably, be out on the 7th May – so be sure to find a copy should this post have piqued your interest… 🙂 You can follow the Countdown blog tour by checking updates on the Twitter page!
Published 9th April 2015 by Bloomsbury.
Hope you enjoyed the infographic! Ivy Pocket was a really fun MG book to read and I really recommend it.
Published 2nd April 2015 by Chicken House.
Goodreads Synopsis: From the author of CHASING THE DARK comes a thrilling young teen crime mystery, guaranteed to keep you guessing until the very end.
Not long after Aliya’s family escapes Afghanistan for Britain, her brother is accused of a bomb attack. Aliya is sure of his innocence, but when plumber’s son Dan finds a gun in their bathroom, what’s she to think?
Dan has his own reasons for staying silent: he’s worried the gun might have something to do with his dad. Thrown together by chance, they set out to uncover a tangled and twisted truth.
My Review: Recently, I’ve read quite a few books based around religion, intolerance and terrorism – so I was very excited about getting to Sam Hepburn’s latest title, which is along the same lines. I really enjoyed it!
Aliya is an instantly loveable character; from the moments we see her forced to leave her home, to the closing pages. Her chemistry with Dan was great. I was a bit nervous watching them develop as I was certain it would end up in a love story, but I’m really glad it didn’t. The story is focused on finding the truth about Aliya’s brother – and told through Aliya and Dan’s switching perspectives, which were really insightful.
I am so glad that so many books are being written on similar themes lately (see also: You’re Not Proper and One Of Us) as terrorism and victimisation are things happening every single day. If You Were Me tackles stereotypes and the way the media portrays events expertly and brutally honestly – within a tense and gripping plot.
The plot was incredibly well paced and engrossing. Solving the mystery was such a thrill ride – I guessed some elements, but there were a lot of surprises. I think the only problem I had was that I lost track of characters at points: There’s an intricate web of antagonists and allies in If You Were Me and I got a little mixed up sometimes (partially blaming that on reading distractions though…:P).
Overall, If You Were Me was a lot more than I’d expected. It’s a totally gripping read with some unbelievable twists and turns that kept me hooked. With prominent themes of media portrayal, and terrorist attacks, I hope this gets a lot of attention as it’s a very relevant book. Definitely recommended if you’re looking for a nail-biting thriller, or something that’s very relatable.
My Rating:
I received a copy of If You Were Me from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.
I’m helping with the cover reveal of Phoenix Rising today! Bryony’s Pearce’s first in this series is about pirate crews in a near-possible future, where the fuels we’ve depended on for so long have run out. Before the cover, here’s the GR synopsis:
In a future world where fossil fuels have run out and democracy has collapsed, an outlawed pirate crew fight for survival on their ship, the Phoenix, kept afloat by whatever they can salvage or scavenge on the debris-filled seas. Toby has never known anything other than life onboard the Phoenix and he’s desperate for adventure. But when trouble comes hunting the Phoenix down, Toby realizes that what you wish for isn’t always what you want. He meets beautiful Ayla from the Banshee, a rival pirate ship and sworn enemy of the Phoenix, and his world is thrown into disorder. How can he know who to trust and what to believe? The future rests on him making an impossible choice…A gripping novel, perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz, Eoin Colfer and Suzanne Collins.
Aaaand… Here’s the cover!
Will you be reading this when it’s out (In June from Stripes publishing)?
My review should be up soon! 🙂
Published 2nd April 2015 by Icon Books.
Goodreads Synopsis: When Nancy Tucker was eight years old, her class had to write about what they wanted in life. She thought, and thought, and then, though she didn’t know why, she wrote: ‘I want to be thin.’
Over the next twelve years, she developed anorexia nervosa, was hospitalised, and finally swung the other way towards bulimia nervosa. She left school, rejoined school; went in and out of therapy; ebbed in and out of life. From the bleak reality of a body breaking down to the electric mental highs of starvation, hers has been a life held in thrall by food.
Told with remarkable insight, dark humour and acute intelligence, The Time in Between is a profound, important window into the workings of an unquiet mind – a Wasted for the 21st century.
My Review: Upon starting this book I was trying to think of two things. One; if I had actually read an autobiography before, and two; if I had read a book on a mental health issue like anorexia. I couldn’t think of anything, so The Time in Between was completely new territory to me. I was very nervous to start it though also incredibly interested to read an account of an issue that’s really prevalent today, yet never fully talked about.
Nancy Tucker developed anorexia in her early teens and The Time in Between is her story, from late childhood to adulthood. It recounts all the terrifying moments where she was admitted to hospitals, and how anorexia and bulimia affected her so dangerously over her life, as well as family and friends impacts, and growing up in general.
The Time in Between discusses some very sensitive topics, but talks about them fearlessly. There are chapters, many chapters, that hit the reader hard, but that raw emotion Tucker has conveyed makes The Time in Between all the more unforgettable.
I can’t fault Nancy’s writing: It’s stunning, and I loved how parts of the book were written in different styles: from mock guides for how to care for sufferers, laced with dark humour; to movie-style transcripts of pivotal scenes in Nancy’s life. She writes so openly, not covering up any experiences, and that makes her book feel so honest. I wish more books about similar topics were written this way: In fiction and non-fiction.
Overall, I cannot recommend The Time in Between enough; to those who want to read a powerful and moving autobiography; to those who need something to relate to; and everyone in-between. I haven’t read anything like it before, and I doubt I will ever find something similar: this book just stands out. It’s simultaneously a shining example of evocative writing, and a uniquely honest memoir about mental health, and above all, hope. It was just extraordinary!
My Rating:
I received a copy of The Time in Between from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.
I have no idea if this has been done before, but the idea very randomly struck me. I was about to write mini-reviews for some books but wanted a new way to post them – and my Twitter tab was open. I’m prone to rambling about books for many, many paragraphs – so maybe it would be fun to try and sum up everything in 140 Characters or less?! Here goes…
The three summaries above were all of contemporary books I’ve recently read. If you liked this kind of post, let me know and I’ll think about doing some more, with books of different genres! 😀
Published 5th March 2015 by Hot Key Books.
Goodreads Synopsis: Escape from a bullying mother takes one young woman to an even more dangerous place.
Alice Angel has known only a life of rules, restriction and punishments as she strays from the rigid path of Victorian proprietary that her mother has set out for her. A constant disappointment to all but her doting father, she longs for the day that she might break free from the stifling atmosphere of her mother’s rule.
After a chance encounter with a charming stranger, and a final incident with her family that sees her condemned to the madhouse, Alice sees her opportunity to run and grasps it with both hands. She escapes to join the Agapemonites in their Abode of Love, where ex-Reverend Henry Prince rules his isolated colony of women as their Beloved. Prince ignites a passion in Alice that she never knew existed, and she dares to think she might be free at last.
But as Alice becomes more deeply drawn into the life of Prince’s strange religious sect, secrets are revealed that seem to hint at a darker nature lurking behind the man’s charm. Instead of freedom, is Alice in fact more trapped, alone and in danger than ever before?
My Review: I loved Alison Rattle’s previous YA novels –The Quietness and The Madness – so when I heard of her latest title coming out, I was ecstatic! From the synopsis, The Beloved looked like it was going to be just as haunting.
I knew from the opening pages that I was going to like Alice, the protagonist: In the first chapters she’s described as mad and insane and hysterical by her mother – but when reading from Alice’s perspective, you get to understand her and realise she’s not what everyone thinks she is.
I loved the first person narrative to the story as Alice’s outlook on the world was really interesting. What I found strange at first, though, was that every few chapters, there’s a third person chapter. It took me a while to get used to that but it was pretty effective, actually, as after being sucked into Alice’s story, you get to see the impact of her escaping on her family.
I actually thought this was going to be some kind of dark, runaway romance book – because when Alice first sees Henry Prince, preaching on a street, she is captivated; and soon after she escapes to find him, in hopes of finding a new way of life. From the moment Alice steps through the gate to his ‘Abode of Love,’ there’s suddenly a strange, sinister undercurrent running through the book.
The plot spirals quickly into really creepy territory. It was much more haunting than the first half of the story: And that was chilling! The final pivotal event in the book was completely terrifying, but I didn’t want to stop reading. The last chapter was very unexpected, but I found myself liking that outcome of the story.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Beloved. It was yet another brilliantly chilling tale from Alison Rattle and I can’t wait to read even more from her in the future. Alice was a realistic and vulnerable main character, and I really felt for her. The plot is pretty alarming at points but it’s a riveting story. I was in disbelief when I read that it was based on a true story (Details in the author’s note at the end!). Highly recommended!
My Rating:
I received a copy of The Beloved from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.
Published 19th March 2015 by Hope Road Publishing.
Goodreads Synopsis: Karen thinks she’s not proper white.
Her dad is Pakistani and her mother is white Christian, and somehow she feels as if she doesn’t quite fit in… anywhere. So she’s made a choice: she’s switching sides.
Karen’s going to convert to Islam to find her true identity.
But Shamshad, her Hijab-wearing school mate, isn’t making things easy for her. What’s her deal, anyway? Is Shamshad really any more proper than herself?
Trouble and turmoil await in the old textile mill town of Boardhead East, as school battles are replaced by family troubles, name calling turns to physical confrontation and cataclysmic secrets are unveiled.
Set against a backdrop of seething Islamaphobia, You’re Not Proper is the first in the Striker series, written by Tariq Mehmood to shine a light on issues of identity, religion, politics and class affecting young people today – a unique new series in young adult fiction.
My Review: I was curious to see what this book would be like, as I can’t say I’ve read many books on the same subject; and Islamaphobia is a really prevalent topic in today’s world. I was really interested to see how it was written about here!
I loved the concept of the story and I wish books like this were more talked about. The plot of You’re Not Proper was a complete emotional roller-coaster, as Karen is so desperate to find faith and belonging in a pretty divided Manchester community. I found it really eye-opening to read about the harsh treatment of people because of their backgrounds – even from their peers.
The pacing felt a little strange at points, and I’m not sure how to describe it. I felt like some scenes felt rushed where they could’ve been longer and more descriptive of the narrator’s feelings. The switching narratives between Karen and Shamshad were great and I found the girls both really realistic and I wish I’d gotten to know their mindsets a bit better.
The plot twist towards the end of the story was really unexpected and made a really interesting ending. There’s careful hinting throughout the novel as to some kind of family secret – but the truth was far more shocking than I’d imagined! Very quickly, the story spirals from bullying to a really dark outcome – which in turn reveals the huge secret. It was a little strange how the final events played out – I would’ve preferred to see how everything developed.
Overall, You’re Not Proper is a really thought-provoking read and I enjoyed it! I definitely recommend it for those who want a brilliant, relatable insight into what it’s like to be a teenager and Muslim in a place where it’s often frowned upon. I had a few thoughts while reading it and would’ve liked to get to know the characters in more detail, and the ending didn’t feel completely solid to me – however, it’s a short and enjoyable read that’ll definitely make you tear up a few times!
My Rating:
I received a copy of You’re Not Proper from the publisher, in exchange for a review. In no way at all did this affect my thoughts.
My favourite songs are ones I find relatable or with beautiful lyrics. Occasionally, I’ll listen to a song and not attribute its lyrics to my own life, but to characters in books. I may be the only person who does this… XD
Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve been jotting down book titles, alongside the titles of songs that fit the stories. Rather productive procrastination, seeing as it might by worthy of a blog post…
It took me a while to get widgets working for Spotify (and I’m not 100% sure these widgets will work…) but now I’ve finally managed to put together a list of songs and stories! Here’s hoping my music taste isn’t that bad…
#1: ALL THE BRIGHT PLACES BY JENNIFER NIVEN
“If you’re ever feeling lonely, if you’re ever feeling down, you should know you’re not the only one ‘cause I feel it with you now…”
I was listening to Kodaline’s new album while revising and I’d just finished All The Bright Places – a story of a girl coping with the death of her sister, and a boy coping with depression, who form a really strong bond. The chorus reminded me of the book so much and what no I definitely didn’t cry at the song.
#2: WHERE SHE WENT BY GAYLE FORMAN
“Love is a game that we could play, even only for today, I don’t wanna lose you, we’ve been apart for far too long, now we only have a song, let the music move you, there was a part of me that never left a part of you, I wish I could be everything you wanted…”
If I Stay Spoilers?? >> I love Neon Trees lyrics and when I listened to this immediately thought of Where She Went! I felt like the lyrics could have been from Adam’s perspective as he meets Mia again for a day, and how he doesn’t want to lose her again, and about the music guiding the relationship… Uch my feelings.
#3: LIES WE TELL OURSELVES BY ROBIN TALLEY
“We are surrounded by all of these lies, and people who talk too much, you got the kind of look in your eyes, as if no one knows anything but us…”
The verse I copied above is exactly why I chose this song for Lies We Tell Ourselves, which is a story about a gay teenage girl in the ’50s who falls for another LGBT* girl: All through the story, they have to keep everything a secret because of the people around them. The chapters in Robin Talley’s début all begin with a lie Sarah says to herself – which is why the first line of the verse above clicked with me straight away!
#4: THE BUNKER DIARY BY KEVIN BROOKS
“I feel you in these walls, you’re a cold air creeping in, chill me to my bones and skin…”
Though the song’s called My House and obviously the people who are so inhumanly captured and locked away in this book are not in their house, I found the lyrics could be attributed to the story. There’s a lot in the song about a person who the singer’s afraid of, who is in the house somewhere, and the singer can’t run away.
#5: ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE BY BENJAMIN ALIRE SÁENZ
“Oh and the answer, well, who would have guessed, could be something as simple as this…”
It was easy to pick a song for this book! I had to go with Simple as This. The novel is about Ari and Dante who are both taking very different pathways in life – yet eventually gravitate towards each other again: And the Jake Bugg song is about trying lots of things but coming back to what the narrator couldn’t believe he’d missed.
What did you think of the songs I picked? Are there any songs you can relate to a favourite book? 🙂
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