Monthly Archives: May 2012

Review: What’s Up With Jody Barton? by Hayley Long

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This is a hard review to write. This book has a really important and surprising twist that I cannot tell you about as it would ruin the novel, absolutely ruin it. This therefore means that there is a lot I cannot talk about in this review, but I’m going to do my best to give you a spoiler-free review for this awesome book, which means this is probably shorter than a lot of my reviews, but trust me you don’t want spoilers!

I heard about What’s Up With Jody Barton? on twitter, where the lovely Lauren (who works for Macmillan in publicity) told a lot of us bloggers about it and I cheekily asked if I could have a copy to review as it sounded great. When it arrived in the post, I instantly started it and in fact had finished it within one sitting.

What’s Up With Jody Barton? tells the story of Jody, twin to Jolene, who is put in that awkward position of liking your sister’s boyfriend. I adored Jody as the character was really well developed, from Jody’s love of RIver Phoenix and Jim Morrison to Jody’s math geek status. As a teenager, I was a little in love with River Phoenix and obsessively watched Stand By Me, Running On Empty and My Private Idaho a zillion times, no exaggeration. I even remember being terrified of injections and my best friend sitting with me for a jab and talking to me about River Phoenix. Then the horrid person with the needle said, isn’t he dead? and then stuck a needle in my arm. Not cool, not cool at all. Diversions aside, I’m sure you can see I really liked Jody and enjoyed reading about the character – because, let’s face it if you listen to The Doors and like River Phoenix then there is no denying your awesomeness.

What’s Up With Jody Barton? deals with identity and being a teenager really well, along with some other very timely and important themes for teens. I think this book is a definite must read as the plot twist is so skilfully written and hinted at throughout the novel, the characters feel very real and the Barton family is brilliantly written, especially the twins’ dad.

What’s Up With Jody Barton is published by Macmillan and available to buy now. I received my copy for free in exchange for my honest review from the publicist.

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Letterbox Love No.3

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Letterbox Love is a UK based alternative to the popular US In My Mailbox meme and a fun way for British (and non-British) bloggers to share the fab books we may have got this week and all manner of book and bloggish news.

Bought:

                     

Jessie Hearts NYC- Keris Stainton.  I’m on the blog tour for Emma Hearts LA and decided it was high time I read this book; it looks awesome and fun.
Changeling-Phillipa Gregory.

For Review:   

                             

Blackwood- Gwenda Bond *
Shift- Kim Curran *
Poltergeeks-Sean Cummings *
The Assassin’s Curse- Cassandra Rose Clarke *
Saving June-Hannah Harrington  **

* Big thanks to the wonderful Amanda over at Strange Chemistry for sending me this amazing haul, every book look so good and I can’t wait to read them.

** A big thanks to the lovely Elise over at Mira Ink for this one. I heard such great things about it, I had to read it. Also it has a soundtrack, which is amazing and I have discovered some new music from it.

Blogging News:

The amazing Neil (devilslibrary on twitter) at Foyles was kind enough to send me free tickets to Cassandra Clare and Maureen Johnson’s Q and A in London on Saturday. I was incredibly excited about going and listening to some great authors. It was a hilarious talk and even Sarah Rees Brennan popped in and answered a few questions. Both Clare and Johnson had some great things to say about writing and answered some really interesting questions. I asked one about what the creepiest/weirdest thing they’ve found out in researching a novel is (what can I say, I love the macabre?). I got to meet up with the lovely Casey (Darkreaders), Andrew (Pewterwolf13) and Daniel (Cuds1988). Also the fantabulous, yeah that’s a word – I’ve made it up,  James Dawson attended. If you haven’t read his book Hollow Pike or followed him on twitter you should because he is awesome. I am not joking when I say at the Creative Voices event with Cat Clarke, Tanya Byrne and Kimberly Derting, I wanted them all to be my new best friends and James is so funny and nice.

 

Hope you all had a lovely week too, link me to your Letterbox Loves, or equivalent and I shall check them out.

Review: 0.4 by Mike Lancaster

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What if humans were upgraded? This is the central question behind Mike Lancaster’s brilliant YA novel 0.4 Told in the form of a transcribed tape recording by a future audience, Lancaster skilfully combines the idea of found footage into YA literature well. As a fan of all things creepy, including found footage films (shaky cam and all, I have to admit I love them) this book sounded so up my street when I read the summary I had a feeling this would be a novel I would love.

When Kyle Straker is hypnotised along with ex-girlfriend, Lily, and two locals in his small sleepy English village something goes wrong, very wrong. The audience freeze, the town freezes and everyone but the four of them are suddenly frozen. Then they wake up and something is different with everyone else. They can’t quite explain it, but something has happened to them.

As Kyle begins to learn there has been some sort of upgrade and he, Lily and the others have been ignored for it, everything he knows about humanity is about to change and things get very creepy.

This is an incredibly hard novel to review and I can’t think of one reason why. I’d like to say, for me, it was a really fresh and different read and one that has really provoked me as a reader. I have a lot of friends who don’t read YA, but who I would wholeheartedly make this read this book and am pretty sure they would love it.

If you’ve ever read House of Leaves by Mark Z Danielski (it’s an adult book, but one I love!) the quasi-academic interludes and found-footage will be familiar to you, but this is one of the first times I have seen it in YA. The additions were brilliant on how the future may see our pop-culture, the Teletubbies moment in particular was fabulous.

The tape format works well as a book, but would make a brilliant audiobook too however I think some of the ‘magic’ of the book, like the missing bits of tape and commentary around it would be harder to portray or really convey as well.

Lancaster’s novel is a chilling, exciting read that can be taken on the surface or analysed more deeply about humanity, who we are and why it’s so important as teenagers. Kyle and Lilly have become immediate outsiders to all of humanity as they knew it and this amplified way to explore such a theme is thought-provoking.

0.4 is available to buy now and it’s sequel 1.4 has just been released by EgmontUK which I will be reviewing in the next week. I bought my copy of 0.4 after receiving 1.4 from the publishers and am incredibly glad I bought and read it. It is simply a stunning ‘sci-fi’ that is well worth reading! Just a note to my American lovelies, this book was just released on the 22nd in the US as Human.4 rather than 0.4. Check it out, you won’t regret it!

Amazon UK
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Review: A Million Suns by Beth Revis

Beth Revis’ debut, Across The Universe, sucked me into YA sci-fi. I wasn’t much of a sci-fi reader beforehand; yes, I read paranormal novels, but sci-fi and particularly sci-fi in space had never appealed to me. Then I read Across the Universe and my interested piqued slightly.

Revis’ sequel A Million Suns is in my opinion even better than Across the Universe, so if you weren’t sure on the first book, do try this one. It’s tense and really explores the implications of the first book in detail.

One of the features of the novel that I was most interested in was that Revis explored the aftermath of attempted rape. In Across the Universe, Amy is almost attacked in Godspeed’s “mating season” and in some books and trends in YA this would just serve as a way of making the reader and love interest feel temporarily sorry for her and then bring on the hot kissing. Revis doesn’t do this though; we are given real insights into how Amy feels and her reluctance to engage with Elder as well.

Elder and Amy are both really strong characters and I love that Revis hasn’t put them together too quickly. Amy is reluctant to be with Elder, partly because of her almost-attack and also because Elder is one of the only few boys her age around. If there were more options would she like him that way or not? I think Revis handles this dilemma really well and I love that it isn’t just instalove and it isn’t that easy – but I remember that being a teenager dating was never easy for me.

There’s a big twist in A Million Suns, one that makes me wonder how the next book will be. I have to admit, I partially want it to turn into an epic monsters vs human showdown, but that’s just me.

On a purely aesthetic note, I wish that the cover had been kept to match the Across the Universe one as I’m not overly keen on the cover they picked, but having read the book I think I understand why they chose it. A Million Suns is published by Puffin/Razorbill in the UK and available now.  I received my copy for free for review from the publishers, which as ever does not affect the content of my review.

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Review: Heart-Shaped Bruise by Tanya Byrne

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Juliet,

I know you’ve been waiting three months for this apology, but I have to start by saying that this isn’t an apology. I’m not sorry. I’m not. (1, Heart Shaped-Bruise, Byrne)

I approached this book with a little bit of concern; for a start I talked to Tanya on twitter and she is a wonderful person and I was dreading reading her debut and not liking it and having to tell her that, but it did sound amazing. The press release also compared it to one my favourite all-time novels, The Perks of Being A Wallflower, which set my expectations exceptionally high. As you know, high expectations can easily lead to disappointment though.

I was not disappointed in the slightest however. In fact, in the end I had to try and hold in my inner-fangirl and a long post about why this book and author is amazing. Whether I succeeded or not, I’ll leave up to you!

Heart-Shaped Bruise (HSB) tells Emily Koll’s story; she begins the novel in a psychiatric ward of a young offenders’ institution awaiting trial for an as yet unknown crime. Having listened to Tanya Byrne at the fabulous Creative Voices events at Foyles last week, she explained that Emily in fact has Borderline personality disorder, but has not been told this yet and that is why she behaves how she does.

The reason, we are told, for whatever leads Emily to await trial is to do with when Emily’s dad kills Juliet’s parents and she stabs him, everything is thrown into turmoil for both characters. Emily is shocked to learn her dad is a gangster, a murderer, and Juliet is placed in witness protection. When we’re young, we believe our parents are like superheroes and like Emily, I can remember the first times I realised my parents were human or they disappointed me. Granted it wasn’t quite so extreme, or illegal, for me, but that sense of betrayal and loss of innocence is one of those horrific things that happens before your grow up generally. Therefore, I could see why she blamed Juliet, as a catalyst, for everything. Naturally, I don’t condone stalking someone in witness protection and befriending them though which is what Emily does.

Both characters take on new identities within the novel which I found really interesting. As a teenager, I constantly attempted to reinvent myself, but the many incarnations of Lucy were still Lucy. Having to utterly change myself, my name, my look, everything? I don’t know if I could have done it or how I would have felt.

There is wonderful skill in Byrne’s characterisation; Emily pulls you right in and even though you know she’s done something wrong, you feel a great deal of emotion, even sympathy towards her. When you feel sympathy and like the villain of the novel, you know the author is doing their job really well and to be honest, this is a genuinely gorgeous book which has left me desperate to see what Tanya Byrne will do next. If this is her debut, what about her second or third novel?

The prose is beautiful and very quotable in places, a quality which I adored. I absolutely devoured my copy and read it in a matter of hours as I couldn’t put t down. This is definitely able to crossover into the adult market, in fact the hardback is the adult cover and the paperback will be the YA, but I don’t think it matters. This is a novel teenagers will get swept away by, this is also a novel I think adults will be swept away by. The main point here is obviously the sweeping.

There is a sort of romance and very slight love triangle, but it is written in such a way it doesn’t really feel like a triangle. I would say that this is because

I can’t spoil the end for you, but I hated it. I understood it, but I hated the decisions made by certain characters, but I was not a happy bunny.

If you loved The Perks of Being A Wallflower, are a contemporary YA fan, I cannot recommend this book highly enough to you. It already is in my top books of the year, and in one of my all time favourites perhaps already too.

Heart Shaped Bruise is Tanya Byrne’s debut novel and out now. I received a free proof of this novel in exchange for the above honest review.

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Review: Ghost Flower by Michele Jaffe

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Ghost Flower is Michele Jaffe’s chilling sophomore YA novel and is a highly atmospheric read. When Eve is approached by two rich teenagers who comment on her remarkable similarity to their presumed dead cousin, Aurora, she is paid to imitate her to help them gain their grandmother’s inheritance. The obvious culture clash between ‘poor’ Eve and the rich family is a clear cause of concern and one aspect to the story is a ‘My Fair Lady’ esque set-up. However the central plot is concerned with Eve working out what happened to Aurora, and also Aurora’s best friend, Elizabeth, who died on the night Aurora went missing. Did Aurora murder her? Run from the murderer? Eve needs to know and as Liza’s ghost begins to haunt her, Eve needs to know quickly.

The spooky and creepy moments, particularly in Aurora’s room at night, were very well written and had me at the edge of my chair, needing to know more. Jaffe writes mystery and that is-it-paranormal-isn’t-it atmosphere extremely well. That said, at times I felt like the rest of the writing didn’t pull me in quite as much. That said, the familial relationships and snipes between relations was very entertaining to read and Jaffe’s representation of upper class wealth and families illuminating.

The ghostly scenes were almost claustrophobic, the phone calls especially and I think that the unusual, eeriness of the Silverton house and novel’s themes really work in Jaffe’s favour. When I read the summary for this book back in February, I knew I wanted to read it because of the paranormalesque, horror tone to the book and it did really draw me in.

One relationship that really interested me was that between a police man who knew Aurora and Eve; here, we saw a character who didn’t view Eve as Aurora, even if he thought she was her, but began to see the differences between the two. In a book about becoming someone else and so concerned with identity, I felt that this was a strong contrast in the novel.

Overall, I was not sure about the twist. While in terms of the greater plot and overall plausibility on some issues with the novel, it made sense, I don’t know if I was a little too surprised by it for it to convince me fully. I won’t spoil it for the reader, but it was one that genuinely took me by surprise and that I have spent such a long time mulling over my feelings about before writing my review.

I don’t think this book will be for everyone but for those of you who like a little bit of creepy and a crime story to your YA, like me, it’s an engaging read and it’s play with the Prince and Pauper trope is worth checking out, particularly when the twist at the end is considered.

I received my copy of Ghost Flower for free from Atom Books – I apologise to them for taking a while to get this review out, but would like to obviously thank them for the chance to review this book. Ghost Flower is available to buy now:

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Review: The Traitors by Tom Becker

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Tom Becker’s The Traitors is a highly imaginative YA novel set in a world where children and teenagers who have in some way betrayed someone are taken away  secretly to a The Dial,  mysterious prison in another dimension where time is suspended to carry out a sentence (often of hundreds of year) in penance for their acts. The wardens and despot are cruel and the prison particularly unpleasant.

When Adam Wilson is sent there for betraying his friend, he is desperate to escape, but with every attempt foiled, it seems that in a prison full of traitors there is no one he can trust.

There are a lot of characters and I have to admit that some of the gang members sort of melded into one for me, but there were some standout characters like Adam’s roommate and Bookworm. I also loved the concept of Bucketball, it reminded me of a game my friends made up at school that was a sort of lawless free for all. Surprisingly there were few injuries, but we were obviously very refined young ladies.

I  enjoyed this book as it was a really unusual concept  (a timeless prison for teens? Come on, what more do you want?!) and I loved the Great Escape feel to it. That said, I think that at times it felt more of a younger book for the latter end of 9-12 and young teenage readers due to the language used and style of writing. I did enjoy reading it and I was taken on Adam’s adventure, but I have to admit at times it was harder to read as I felt the middle dragged very slightly. There are a couple of fun revelations and twists to the novel that helped pull me back in though. I loved the world Becker created and the opening where Adam is pursued by the Dial was really creepy and well-written. For me,  it was definitely a highlight of the novel as Becker both evoked the real world and fantastic so well.

I loved the revelation of who the traitor was, I really did. The ending for me was understandable, but I also felt slightly disappointed by it. I wanted a different ending for some of the characters I think, but I don’t want to spoil it for you.

It is a highly entertaining read and I think adventure fans and readers, particularly between the age of 11-14 will really enjoy this book. Older readers may however enjoy the deeper allusions to POW camps, The Great Escape, Colditz and the themes of justice and revenge so if you love a prison thriller then this book might just be for you.

Overall, I found the concept imaginative and compelling but at times was lost in the middle of the book, however a dramatic last quarter compensated for that even if I disliked the ending personally. My copy was provided as an ARC from Scholastic and I am very grateful for the opportunity to read and review this book.The Traitors is available to buy now.

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Letterbox Love No.2

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Letterbox Love is a UK based alternative to the popular US In My Mailbox meme and a fun way for British (and non-British) bloggers to share the fab books we may have got this week and all manner of book and bloggish news without having to delve into some of the recent drama in the blogosphere about the Story Siren. Sadly, I can’t actually post any new photos or images of the books this weekend, but as soon as I can I will update the post with them! This meme is hosted at the fabulous Lynsey of narrativelyspeaking.com

Bought:

Until I Die by Amy Plum (I wanted to have the set signed when I met her at Foyles)
Black Dawn by Rachel Caine
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
0.4 by Mike Lancaster

Gifted:

Die For Me by Amy Plum
Unrest by Michelle Harrison
When You Were Mine by Rebecca Serle.

What can I say? My parents are beyond awesome. I’ve heard amazing things about all of these books and I cannot wait to start them

Swapped:

I swapped my copy of Hunting Lila with the fabulous Casey at Darkreaders for  Life Eternal by Yvonne Woon.

For Review:

1.4 by Mike Lancaster. This is a sequel to 0.4 which I just finished and is an awesome YA sci-fi so I am incredibly excited about this one.

Between the Lines-Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer. When I was a teen I read a lot of Jodi Picoult’s adult novels and have always thought they have YA crossover appeal so I’m intrigued to see what her first foray into YA will be like, the fact she’s written it with her teenage daughter and the plot sounds absolutely adorable helps too.

Dreams by Danielle Sacerdoti. I’ve heard some great things about this book and a lot of my blogger friends are on the blog tour for this so when I was presented with an opportunity to read it, I knew I couldn’t pass it up. It’s a paranormal YA set in the UK too.

Blogging News:

I got to go to the first creative voices event at Foyles on Wednesday and had a fantastic time. I got to hang out with some of my fabulous blogger friends (Viv, Casey) and finally got to meet Laura (Sister Spooky) and Leanne (District YA) as well as Stacey at theprettybooks and BigBookLittleBook too. The panel was presented by Ruth Warburton (who is the biggest sweetie ever and I love seeing), Sara Grant (who is also amazing lovely and I had a lovely chat about writing with her), C J Daughtery (who I geeked out a little at as I’d loved Night School – sorry!) and the amazing Amy Plum (who complimented my dress, was a sweetheart and was just lovely – not just because of complimenting my clothes!)

Blog Tour: How To Keep A Boy As A Pet by Diane Messidoro

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So today, I am incredibly excited to introduce my very first blog tour post and welcome the fantastic Diane Messidoro to ChooseYA. Her debut, How To Keep A Boy As A Pet, is going to be reviewed here very shortly but having read it I can say it’s a fabulous, funny and at times a little sad read that I highly recommend!

Also, for your chance to win a copy of How to Keep a Boy as a Pet and the cover boy’s T-shirt, visit:

http://www.electricmonkeybooks.co.uk/competitions/how-to-keep-a-boy-as-a-pet-competition/

I will now hand you over to the wonderful Diane Messidoro!

THE STORY BEHIND MY STORY


Hello Lucy, and everyone who loves to read YA. I’m delighted to be popping in on day here of my blog tour.Right, now big deep breath, as this isn’t always an easy subject to talk about. The story behind my story, How to Keep a Boy as a Pet. Okay, here goes…

My earliest memories are of big smiles. My mum was kind and kept me out of too much trouble (although I was excellent at getting into trouble, even back then). And my dad, well, he was my hero: a really big character, always full of jokes and stories, always ready to take me off on some mini adventure in the back garden. The days I remember with him always seemed sunny and full of laughter.

Then, just before my fourth birthday, my dad left home. And he didn’t come back. And no-one really told me why, so my brain started to look like this…


Then, every now and then, my dad would roar up in a sports car, whisk me off somewhere exciting for a few hours, then disappear into the horizon, leaving me on the pavement waving goodbye, wondering if I’d ever see him again. So my heart started to look like this…



And when I was old enough to fancy boys, having a brain and heart like that made everything extra confusing. So I crashed about, chasing all the wrong boys, making pretty much every romantic mistake possible. Until my heart ended up like this…


But as time went on, I realised that with every heart-break, I learnt something new about boys, and dads – and myself.

Then, one morning, I sat down at my desk and a girl called Circe Shaw strolled into my head – a sassier, bolder, far wiser version of me as a teenager. And she started to tell her story, and although it was very different from mine, it turned out she was also totally confused about her ‘invisible’ dad and determined to find out the truth about the mysterious ‘male human species’.

So I wrote Circe’s story down. And now, three years on, it’s finally about to hit the shops – ta da! I hope you enjoy it.

Happy reading – and happy boy catching!

Tomorrow the tour concludes at www.carlybennett.blogspot.com!

Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

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When your debut novel is arguably one of the most successful YA novels of 2011, winning two Goodreads Choice awards including favourite book, the amount of pressure on your follow-up must be daunting. Insurgent thankfully delivers another addictive and compelling dystopian thrill.

Set immediately after the events of Divergent; Four, Tris, Marcus and Caleb and assorted other Abnegation refugees head to Amity HQ in the hopes of seeking out help against Erudite’s plans to crush the faction. I don’t want to spoil the plot events of Insurgent because it’s best to go into a novel like this cold in my opinion; I will say that we get a welcome insight into life in other factions. Tris’ experiences of Candor and Amity are examples of Roth’s overall detailed world building and by seeing them through Tris’ eyes, the reader is able to see the strangeness and differences between the factions. One of the most tense scenes in the novel demonstrates this and takes part in Candor HQ. I don’t want to spoil it as the book is released today, but all I will say is I approached the scene with dread and it tugged at my emotions.

Roth admirably does not use Four’s abusive background as a way to make him a sexy bad boy and much of his behaviour in Insurgent is dictated by his history and fears. One scene between Marcus and Four had me cringing, and I expect a lot of fellow readers may feel the same.

Fans of the romance between Tris and Four should be warned that this is not a romance. Yes, the characters do have some very cute scenes together, but this is a time of war, of conflict and Roth remembers that in times like these you probably don’t spend all your time snogging your boyfriend. Tris and Four’s relationship becomes complicated, but it had to; think about the end of Divergent!

The Divergent trait is explored a lot more in Insurgent and I found the exploration of this very interesting. Erudite are trying to find a way for their serums to effect Divergent and the chapters around that were chilling to read.

One character made me scream. One character kind of destroyed me a bit and left me in complete sympathy and shock for another character. There is a betrayal and I was surprised by it.

The ending is one that you will love or hate. For me, I admit it hooked me and I want- no, need- the next book, but I do dislike how the second book of a series always ends with an awful cliffhanger; Catching Fire and Pandemonium are two recent examples of the same ploy. I’m about to discuss the ending here, and while I’m trying incredibly hard to keep it spoiler free, please be aware there may be some spoilers or hints. felt the twist was somewhat predictable, however I’m incredibly interested to see where it is taken by Roth as it ties into the community as a whole and the mysterious outside world. I have to admit I spent part of the novel wondering if it might turn into some epic monster/zombie fest, but that may have just been me. There is a slight Forest of Hands and Teeth Vibe to Roth’s society’s mystery of beyond the border, but without spoiling it for you, the twist Roth elected to take was one I’m anticipating the development of and want to see where exactly Book Three will go.

Overall, if you liked Divergent, you will likely love Insurgent. For me, I did really enjoy it. It was accomplished, incredibly action-packed and every character was developed more and more throughout the novel. I’ve come out of Insurgent with a stronger awareness of Roth’s characters, world and satisfied from an exciting read. It may fall short of the hype for some and I can anticipate the ending will frustrate some readers, but for me the pros outweighed the cons and as as a fan of the predecessor, Insurgent delivered for me.

I received my copy ofInsurgent from Harper Collin’s Children’s Books (UK) in exchange for my review and as part of the ongoing InsurgentUK promotion. I am a member of the Abnegation faction and will be linking on twitter and a blog post here my teammates and faction leaders’ reviews and posts in the coming week. There have been some excellent promotional posts on twitter and Team Dauntless UK even did a fabulous blog tour, which as a selfless Abnegation member I am happy to tell you about!

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