Author Archives: Rose Herbert

Review: Erik J Brown – All That’s Left in the World

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All That’s Left in the World
Erik J Brown

The superflu has wiped out 99% of the population. Pockets of people remain, some clustered, and some on their own. Jamie’s cabin-in-the-woods is well appointed and isolated, and Jamie is alone to contemplate life. When Andrew stumbles into the cabin, Jamie suddenly has to look after someone else – and maybe begin to care for someone he never thought would matter.

This novel was breathtaking. I couldn’t bare to put it down – I needed to read right to the very (bitter) end. Several hours later, and I’m still thinking about Jamie and Andrew and the future. I sank deeply into the universe and felt the dirty sneakers on their feet as my own. I couldn’t decide which character I liked more, which is quite rare for me with a dual narrator (usually I like the first one introduced the best).

I loved the slow-burn romance and the gritty reality of a world in pieces. I loved the fact that this was exactly how I imagined the next COVID-19-like outbreak to go in some countries. It doesn’t seem like society has learnt anything, and people are still demanding ‘rights’ across the world. I also appreciated how many issues the author managed to fit in, without seeming to over-dramatize the novel.

I’m desperate for another novel from this author. I am certain that he will reach the ranks of Adam Silvera and the like. I can’t wait to see the future of this debut author (and I hope the future comes soon).

If you liked What if it’s Us or Anything but Fine, this novel is for you. Even if you didn’t know you wanted a queer post-apocalyptic novel, you now need this one. Buy it for yourself, for the queer person in your life, or for anyone who enjoys post-apocalyptic fiction. I promise you won’t be disappointed. 5 stars from me.

Hachette | 8 March 2022| AU$17.99 | paperback

Review: Astrid Scholte – League of Liars

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League of Liars
Astrid Scholte

Cayder Broduck’s goal is to punish illegal users of magic. Anyone using extradimensional magic (edem) for their own self-interest should be stuck in Vardean for life. Cayder is determined to ruin as many lives as he can in retribution for his mother’s death. Unfortunately, the three criminals he’s supposed to defend seem to be more important and more interconnected than he knows what to do  with…

Another reviewer has put this really well – ‘all the characters are morons’! Oh! It’s so true! They could all go die, I couldn’t have cared less about the outcome.

League of Liars was a confusing novel because – of course – everyone is lying. However, the rate at which the lies are exposed is quite slow. Thus due to this slow pacing I could easily put this book down in the middle of reading it.

I wasn’t that invested in any of the characters – it’s not like any of them are actually actively dying. They just happened to get stuck in this prison together! Even what seems like a betrayal is pathetic and transparent. Perhaps it would have worked for me better if I hadn’t had all the different perspectives and I did only see things through the eyes of what I would consider the main character (Cayder).

Ok, now, the ending. It wasn’t really an ending. There’s got to be a second book for this because the ending, although it might clear up the current set of lies, doesn’t actually meet and complete most of the storyline criteria. I found it really quite disappointing and I’d only give it three stars. I was just so disappointed in the ending and novel in general. Even if there ends up being a sequel, I wouldn’t recommend it. Don’t waste your time.

Allen & Unwin | 1 March 2022 | AU$19.99 | paperback

Review: Zach Jones – Growing Up in Flames

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Growing Up in Flames
Zach Jones

After Kenna’s mother Ava dies, Kenna must live in the tiny town that Ava grew up in. Kenna struggles with guilt and PTSD from the bushfire that took her mother’s life. Noah lives with the trauma of his childhood and the call of flames. When the two collide, their paths cross for better or for worse.

Growing Up in Flames is theoretically a great young adult novel about the impact of potential bushfires on teenagers growing up in remote and regional areas of Australia. Unfortunately, although the main characters seemed to fear fire, it seemed to be used as a plot point that didn’t actually have a reasonable or even legally appropriate ending.

I found the jumps forwards and backwards in time quite confusing and I was frankly quite disgusted at the behaviour of some of the characters. I felt like there were quite a lot of legal guidelines crossed – particularly the psychologist that is theoretically treating the two main characters who just happened to become friends. And also that the psychologist gives tacit approval for Noah dosing his mother.

I’m sure that things were very different back then (1970s?) but the fact that Kenna’s mom and boyfriend basically blame someone/anyone else for their problems is reprehensible. Not to mention that they then let someone else end up in a wheelchair and show no signs of remorse.

I knocked this over in about 2 hours sitting outside in the sun with a good drink in hand but I don’t think there’s any way to actually enjoy this novel. I’m going to give it three stars but again I don’t really know who it’s aimed at. You could give it to teenagers but only really if you want them to set things on fire – so it’s probably not a great idea for summer reading.

Text Publishing | 1 March 2022 | AU$ | paperback

Review: Jo Browning Wroe – A Terrible Kindness

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A Terrible Kindness
Jo Browning Wroe

William Lavery comes from a long history of embalmers and is proud of the work he does. Little does he know that the first professional job he does will bring his history, his present, and his future crashing together. While William tries to make sense of his life, the others who care about him are thrown aside and expected to cope.

A Terrible Kindness was a bit of an odd book in the way that it jumped forwards and backwards through time. What I was expecting was a book that had a bit more about the intricacies of embalming and looking after body after it has died. From the back cover, I thought that I was going to learn about different techniques that could be particularly used in an example where the bodies were quite degraded. Also, a direct discussion of about how traumatic it can be to embalm a child.

Unfortunately, this book seemed to be more about mental turmoil of the main character and how his background as a choirboy impacted his life choice to become an embalmer. I found myself very frustrated at times at the undercurrents of, not sexual tension, but hints of homosexuality that affected his wife and his friendships. It was weird to me that this was a thing that needed to be discussed. The music could have been a marvelous distraction and addition, but instead it seemed largely gratuitous and offensive.

In the end I wasn’t really sure what I got out of reading the book. I wouldn’t read it again because I already know what happens in “the big reveal” of what went wrong. What happened when he was a teenager isn’t as exciting as you think it will be, and the ending left me unsatisfied. I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to end it like that! How did William just walk away!? I don’t understand how any man could think that it’s a good idea to walk away from your life and make your wife try to choose someone else. If his life was soo terrible, why was suicide not an option? It was an option for others in similarly dire straights, why not William?

I finished the novel out of a sense of duty. I wouldn’t have bothered finishing it if I knew the ending. 3 stars from me. I’m not sure who to recommend this novel to.

Allen & Unwin | 1 February 2022 | AU$29.99 | paperback

Review: Jacinta Parsons – Unseen

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Unseen
The secret world of chronic illness
Jacinta Parsons

“Broadcaster Jacinta Parsons was in her twenties when she first began to feel unwell – the kind of unwell that didn’t go away. Doctors couldn’t explain why, and Jacinta wondered if it might be in her head. She could barely function, was frequently unable to eat or get out of bed for days, and gradually turned into a shadow of herself. Eventually she got a diagnosis: Crohn’s disease. But knowing this wouldn’t stop her life from spiralling into a big mess of doctors, hospitals and medical disasters.”

Wow. This is a heartbreaking and heartwarming account of one woman’s live destroying disease and how she got through and lives with her condition. I could hardly believe that doctors had gotten it so wrong, and the huge impact of a clinical trial gone wrong on the rest of her life. Remember that you don’t have an obligation to participate in something, but you do have an obligation to make the most of what you have. This is something the author realised over time, thankfully not too late.

Jacinta admits that Indigenous Peoples and people of colour or low socioeconomic standing struggle to advocate for themselves in the system. That’s fine. My problem arose in that she didn’t consider other countries where healthcare isn’t a basic human right at all. I think of the horror of the USA system, and I consider Australian healthcare to be brilliant in comparison!

Possibly TMI time, but I’ve always struggled with ‘period pain’. I generally think of myself as quite stoic and straight-forward, but it’s something I haven’t bothered to go to the GP about. I manage to somehow forget that it’s a problem! Jacinta highlights why this is a BAD idea, and also why it’s something that women do that undermines themselves – and gives the statistics to back it up.

I hope that the medical students that I help to train have compassion and curiosity to look deeper into chronic health problems, and the self-awareness that it’s ok if GPs are sick sometimes too. This is a book not just for ‘normal’ humans to understand chronic illness, it contains insights relevant to health professionals as well. I would recommend reading it in small doses – as an audiobook I found it almost overwhelming, yet compelling to listen to at the same time.

Review: Andra and Tatiana Bucci – Always Remember Your Name

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Always Remember Your Name
Andra and Tatiana Bucci

“A haunting WWII memoir of two sisters who survived Auschwitz that picks up where Anne Frank’s Diary left off and gives voice to the children we lost. … An unforgettable narrative of the power of sisterhood in the most extreme circumstances, and of how a mother’s love can overcome the most impossible odds, the Bucci sisters’ memoir is a timely reminder that separating families is an inexcusable evil.”

I have been ‘enjoying’ a number of non-fiction novels lately about the Holocaust. I say ‘enjoying’, but really they are quite sad reads due to the devastating loss of life as a result of Hitler’s anti-Semitic policies. I found myself horrified and yet not surprised at the level of brutality exhibited by the Nazi’s. It’s one thing to have a critical idea of World War II (as I’ve said before, my history knowledge is poor) and another to really experience it as these writers did.

To hear that 230,000 children were deported, and that less than 200 survived is horrific. No, that’s not a typo. Somewhat confusingly perhaps, the book blurb suggests that all of these children were subjected to experiments by Josef Mengele, the Angel of Death. This was not the case – the majority of children were simply gassed to death because they were deemed to be useless. Andra and Tatiana remain together because they are thought to be twins – and remembering their names is crucial in being able to return them to their parents many years later.

I am haunted by the last fact I learnt in The Keeper of Miracles – some people don’t believe that the Holocaust happened. This makes it all the more important to keep publishing, promoting and researching literature about this catastrophic loss of more than six million lives. This book should be higher on the high school reading list than the iconic fiction book of The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (which has noticeable inconsistencies with the real events of the Holocaust) or the very dense memoir If This is a Man. Always Remember Your Name gets full stars from me.

Allen & Unwin | 20 February 2022 | AU$29.99 | paperback

Review: Wendy Mitchell – What I Wish People Knew About Dementia

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What I Wish People Knew About Dementia
Wendy Mitchell

“When Wendy Mitchell was diagnosed with young-onset dementia at the age of fifty-eight, her brain was overwhelmed with images of the last stages of the disease – those familiar tropes, shortcuts and clichés that we are fed by the media, or even our own health professionals. Wise, practical and life affirming, What I Wish People Knew About Dementia combines anecdotes, research and Wendy Mitchell’s own brilliant wit and wisdom to tell readers exactly what she wishes they knew about dementia.”

I’d recommend this book to basically everyone, regardless of whether they have a family history of dementia or whether they’ve barely heard of the condition. It’s compassionate and sensible, and filled with ways to help people understand dementia rather than just judging someone by it.

I need to get my hands on Wendy’s first book. You certainly don’t need to have read that one to understand this one, but Wendy’s accessible writing and friendly (and matter-the-fact) tone makes me want to read more of her work. I hope that she continues to write while she is still able. I’m also now following her blog.

My wife and I joke that I have to get dementia first – because I’m the person that hates telling stories more than once. Also, I’d love to be able to read all my books again for the first time. However, the way that Wendy illuminates the REAL advantages and disadvantages of living with dementia lets me think differently. Most people no doubt have a stereotyped image of what a ‘person with dementia’ looks like or acts like, but the reality is that it can be very different for every person – and that progression of the disease is variable too.

I wish I had had this book 10 years ago when my grandmother developed dementia. I found myself often confused and scared because I didn’t know what to expect. Although we laughed about the fact she put a wheat heat bag into the microwave for 90 minutes instead of 90 seconds, it was actually kind of terrifying to know that the house easily could have burnt down.

This was an excellent non-fiction book that I had to read in stages to get the most out of it. It will get pride of place in my new non-fiction bookshelf, and it’ll be a book I recommend to anyone and everyone who shows a passing interest in

Bloomsbury | 1 February 2022 | AU$26.99 | paperback

Review: Vanessa Len – Only a Monster

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Only a Monster
Vanessa Len

Joan loves summers with her Gran and mom’s family, and this year she has a great job too – working in a tourist attraction with the attractive Nick. When Joan loses part of a day, she becomes aware of the family secret – she’s a time-traveler and monster to boot. But are monsters the bad guys in this story? Joan is going to have to work out what she wants most in the world.

Part of the struggle in this novel is that I wasn’t sure whose side I was on. Ok, it’s terrible that humans are losing part of their lives to monsters when they time travel. But also, how cool is that?? It could only be more awesome if they could take a regular human with them.

I like the way that the author addresses the paradoxes of time travel. It’s normal for people to go back to change the past, and it’s interesting to see how different monsters cope with the inability to change their past. Just like Joan, I feel certain that there must be a way around things!

Other reviewers have suggested that there is a love triangle enemies/friends sort of romance going on. I’d say that that cheapens the storyline for me. It’s not about the boys that Joan is interested in, it’s about the love she has for her family – both monster and other.

Let me give it to you straight – this is the first book in a series. Before you go and give up hope, I can tell you that the ending of this novel is entirely satisfactory, and didn’t leave me hanging at all. I am really looking forward to getting to reread it in preparation of the next novel in the planned trilogy. 5 stars from me.

Allen & Unwin | 1 February 2022 | AU$22.99 | paperback

Review: Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera – What if it’s Us Duology

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What if it’s Us Duology
Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera

What if it’s Us?

Ben and Arthur meet by accident as Ben tries to post a box of mementoes back to his ex-boyfriend and Arthur tries to grab himself a moment alone in New York. Arthur’s never dated a boy before, he’s not even sure he’s had a crush on one quite as badly as on Ben. In a world where summer is short, will the paths of these boys cross again when the Universe interferes?

One of the things I enjoyed most about this book was the ending. It could have made or ruined the novel, particularly as I knew there was a sequel. It turned out to be perfect. I unfortunately made the mistake of reading the second before reviewing the first. Oops? But I was just so excited to keep reading about Ben and Arthur! I needed to still be with them.

Here’s to Us

Ben has mostly moved on with his life without Arthur. He’s sort-of dating a hot new guy, he’s making do with his college classes and job. Arthur has a great new boyfriend who’s sweet, caring and… isn’t Ben. A series of Universe Events means that they will collide, but will their worlds align again?

This novel is filled with hope, and real relationships where it seems crazy that things could line up. I honestly could have been happy with any of the relationships that formed and broke apart. Despite being a feel-good novel, it does still briefly touch on racism and socioeconomic bias. Not everyone is bright enough to get a scholarship for school, and not everyone wants to go to college (or finish college).

Thanks Simon and Schuster for these review copies. They look fantastic on my new shelves, and I loved reading both of them. This’ll be a reread when I’m feeling a bit down – a goodhearted and satisfying read.

Simon & Schuster | January 2022 | AU$17.99 | paperback

Review: JingJing Xue – Shanghai Acrobat

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Shanghai Acrobat
JingJing Xue

“Jingjing Xue was born in China in 1947, during a period of civil war. Jingjing, left in an orphanage in Shanghai, was destined to a life of hardship before officials singled him out and enlisted him to train with the Shanghai Acrobatics School. Shanghai Acrobat tells the moving story of Jingjing’s rise from poverty to become an admired performer in China and beyond. Through the turbulent period of the Cultural Revolution, he realised the value of freedom. This is a story of hope and perseverance, of overcoming adversity and of finding a place to belong.”

I listened to this as a talking book after I was disappointed by the last two fiction audiobooks I tried. Unfortunately this one let me feeling a bit cheated. I expect and enjoy memiors that are filled with human nature and the feelings of their writer. This memior fails for me because it is filled with too much dry history and is quite repeditive. Someone who enjoys history will probably get more out of this book than me.

I learnt from this book that in Shanghai it is the custom to give children the same first name twice, so JingJing was originally named Jing. That’s something I’ll now be able to talk to my students about – so it’s not a dead loss!

While I admire JingJing’s devotion to ‘endure’, it didn’t seem like he could or would be evicted from the troop. This created an aura of holier-than-thou around him that didn’t seem to be cracked by the fact that many people he knew didn’t make it out of China. I didn’t get any sense of his humanity, and his relationships came off as quite sterile.

I don’t think this should be compared to Mao’s Last Dancer. While both books might cover the period of the Cultural Revolution of early Communist China, this book is more about history and Last Dancer is about the process of becoming the best. I wouldn’t recommend this book.