Tag Archives: mystery

ACID

By Emma Pass, published by Random House.

Acid

Goodreads synopsis: 2113. In Jenna Strong’s world, ACID – the most brutal, controlling police force in history – rule supreme. No throwaway comment or muttered dissent goes unnoticed – or unpunished. And it was ACID agents who locked Jenna away for life, for a bloody crime she struggles to remember.
The only female inmate in a violent high-security prison, Jenna has learned to survive by any means necessary. And when a mysterious rebel group breaks her out, she must use her strength, speed and skill to stay one step ahead of ACID – and to uncover the truth about what really happened on that dark night two years ago…

My review: ACID was one of the most thrilling books I’ve read this year! It had a really strong beginning that hooked me right in, and I honestly couldn’t stop reading. The plot was epic and a real adrenaline rush- there was no point where the action and drama faded! I loved reading every second of it. The whole story was totally unpredictable and the events unexpected. I thought this book would just cover a run for survival for Jenna Strong, but actually, it included first love, fights for freedom, hidden truths… even a terrorist gang set on blowing ACID to smithereens. There were some really great plot twists too that left me shocked and on the edge of my seat- especially the one that took place just after the halfway point of the story- not saying what happened, because I’ll spoil it!

Jenna Strong has got to be one of the best protagonists I have ever read about. She was strong, and independent, whereas in many books I’ve read the main character has been leaning on one person, and she could fight her own battles. Quite literally, with super-fast karate chops and guns and everything. She was a totally kick-butt heroine, and I loved her narration too. Her situation was understandable and well-explained through her narrative. In all, I loved her character so much. The story also had themes of identity, and self-discovery in it. I really enjoyed seeing Jenna develop as she has to pretend to be different people while on the run and finding out some shocking truths about her past.

Overall, ACID was one of my favourite reads of the year. It was fast-paced, dramatic and full of adventure. I enjoyed it so much and really didn’t want to finish it, because I so wanted to carry on reading about Jenna! And, I really loved how the story stayed in one narrative but also contained news reports from ACID and letters-from-a-secret-someone-who-I-won’t-reveal! It gave a really great 360 degrees perspective on how Jenna Strong’s breakout from prison had affected different characters. Strongly recommended to dystopia fans; this book had such a frighteningly real vision of the future that both terrified and interested me. Go pick up a copy of ACID now, this is a must-read!

I received ACID from the publisher, in exchange for a review.

Drummer Girl

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By Bridget Tyler, published by Templar Books.

Goodreads synopsis: It was supposed to be the summer of her life. Instead, 17-year-old Lucy finds her best friend Harper shot dead in an LA swimming pool. How did it come to this? Lucy Gosling is the drummer in Crush, a rock band formed by five London schoolgirls that has just won the UK semi-final of an international talent contest. But when the band lands in Hollywood for the big final, things are not quite as they seem. The band’s lead singer, Harper, has just one thing on her mind- to win back her bad-news ex-boyfriend. Lucy must decide whether she’s playing to Harper’s tune, or setting the rhythm for the rest of the band…

My review: Since I had found out about this read, at a bloggers lunch, I had been itching to read it. Thanks to the lovely people at Templar, I got the chance to! I already loved it from the synopsis, and was totally sucked into the story from the first page. I really loved how it began with the scene of Harper’s murder, because that added an element of suspense, before the first real chapter had even begun. I think the beginning was a bit too quick for me, though. The five girls formed a band, then about twenty pages later they were already on their way to L.A. I would’ve liked it if the pace could’ve slowed down a little then, because I was pretty interested in the reality show the band Crush were in, and wanted to know more about it. Apart from that, the plot was absolutely brilliant. Many characters were introduced when the girls arrived in L.A., which was a bit overwhelming at first, but then that really made me think. It got me guessing throughout at who the murder could possibly be- most people had reasons to dislike Harper, so the outcome was totally unpredictable!

The plot and story also dealt with some very serious, and common themes in teenage life- such as self-image issues and love. They were dealt with very well in the book, and there was definitely a clear message about one band member’s self-image problems, which was, I think, very important to the story and added some very realistic drama.

I really liked the protagonist, Lucy- the Drummer Girl of the band. You could tell she was trying to keep everything together in the band whose members were growing apart, and I adored her determination and the fact that she never gave up. I also really loved the sudden rebel growing inside her- as she ran off to L.A. without permission from her parents, to try to win Project Next– the band show. It was interesting to see how she developed and grew apart from her parents throughout the novel, and then to join back up with them at the end, after the murder.

Speaking of the murder, HARPER! She was such an intriguing character. I didn’t really like her at all. She had her good things, but the bad points about her covered up those. It really added a conflict between her and Lucy during the story, as certain reasons behind Harper’s sudden interest in going on Project Next came to light. I only really grew to like her a bit more just before her murder, unfortunately! It was very interesting to see her true emotions come through right before her death. It made her tragic death even sadder and much more tear-jerking.

Overall, Drummer Girl was a really thrilling read. It was dramatic, fast paced, and had an constant element of suspicion throughout which kept me guessing at the murderer. Although the murder did not actually take place until very near the end, unlike I had expected, the story was still very action-packed and unpredictable. I loved all of it- what an amazing debut! he author really has a great talent, and I can’t wait to read more from her in the future!

I received Drummer Girl from the publisher, in exchange for a review.

Everything is Fine (and other lies I tell myself)

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By Cathy Brett, published by Headline.

Goodreads Synopsis: Things haven’t been going so well for fifteen-year-old Esther Armstrong. With her brother Max – her closest ally – absent, she’s forced to face everything alone, not least her parents’ heated arguments. As the summer holidays stretch endlessly ahead, she’s desperate for something, anything, to divert her attention.

Then she finds some letters hidden in the walls of her family home, sent by a soldier to his sweetheart from the trenches of WWI. Esther is consumed by the mystery of these lovers – not very much older than herself – and what became of them. Perhaps in piecing together the jigsaw of someone else’s life, Esther can work out how to reassemble her own, and how to make everything fine again…

My review: Having previously enjoyed Cathy Brett’s past books so much, I couldn’t wait to start on this one! I read this in two sittings. It was amazing and seriously unputdownable. The story started off really well, and the pace was great throughout the novel. I really liked the idea of finding love letters from world war one in your bedroom wall, coincidentally as a film crew are shooting a WW1 film in your house. Cathy Brett played out the story really well, and I especially liked that she drew out the suspense a little by revealing the content of the letters every couple of chapters- that really made me want to keep reading on, and also left me wondering what was in the last, unopened, letter at the ending.

as well as the two World War One-based stories in this book, Everything is Fine outlined some thought-provoking issues of grief and loss and how a family can deal with it. Although this read was pretty uplifting, and funny at parts, it maintained some serious notes throughout that really got the whole message of the story across to me.

Esther was a really great protagonist. She was unique and really caring, overall. I fell in love with her personality right away because she was so determined to make sure that both lover’s from the WW1 letters had been okay, and survived the war, even though they had no connection to her and weren’t even in her generation. I could see those caring thoughts again through her emails to her brother Max. I could tell there was a really special bond between them and loved that element of unconditional love. it absolutely broke my heart at the ending, when you find out hat has really happened to Esther’s family. Although there was a lot of great description about Esther’s feelings, I feel that I would’ve gotten closer to the character a bit more is the story was in a first-person narrative.

Overall, Everything is Fine was an absolutely brilliant read, with a strong plot and really special characters. I loved it so much! It was very different to Cathy’s dark-humored previous books, but still so enjoyable. It was really brought to life in a unique way, unlike any other book, with the beautiful watercolor illustrations and the drawings; also by the author. I can’t wait to her more from Cathy in the future!

I received Everything Is Fine from the publisher, for review.

How to Fall

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By Jane Casey, published by Corgi.

How To Fall

“Sometimes the truth hurts. Sometimes it kills…”

Sixteen year old Jess Tennant moves to a holiday home by the sea with her mum, to escape London for the summer. It’s Jess’s mother’s old hometown, where her side of the family still lives… except for one member.

Freya is Jess Tennant’s never-met-before cousin, and she died under mysterious circumstances a year before, plunging to her doom on the rocks after falling from a clifftop. When Jess begins her summer, she’s already turning heads in the town- she looks exactly identical to her cousin. Confused at the dismissal of her cousins death as ‘accidental’ she delves into an investigation, forming a list of suspects and determined to discover whether the death was suicide, murder, or if it really was an accident. Suspects include the mean queen of the town Natasha, and even the boy next door, Will. Along the way she’ll get tangled up in other situations too, one involving falling in love with Will.

How did Freya really die? And what lengths will Jess go to in order to find out?

I picked this book up this morning, and as soon as I began reading I couldn’t stop. Despite the huge amount of pages (just over 400) I read this book pretty quickly, and loved every second of it! Jess was a really great character; and I loved her from the start. She made a great narrator… She’s the twenty-first century, female version of Sherlock Holmes- inquisitive, determined, adventurous; the perfect detective! The other characters were absolutely brilliant too.

I loved the plot; it was a classic whodunit? story line with a twist of love thrown into the mix. There were lots of plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat. I found myself guessing ahead, trying to work out who was the killer, and in the end I had gotten it totally wrong! The ending was really shocking, yet satisfying. The hint of secret love and teenage rivalry made the story more exciting than it already was, as the reasons behind Freya’s death all came down to the dating side of things. The story was realistic; with a strong essence of the extreme consequences of bullying.

Overall, I seriously enjoyed it and recommend it to any young adults, and of course to crime fans in general. It’s brilliantly written, and a really great, thrilling read!