Category Archives: Teenage Fiction

Review: Flynn Meaney – Bad Habits

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Bad Habits
Flynee Meaney

Alex (she/her) doesn’t want to be at a Catholic boarding school. She wants nothing of gender traditions, boyfriends and study. In the spirit of getting kicked out, she decides to put on “The Vagina Monologues” to really shock the school into expulsion!

Alex is a badass young woman who speaks her mind and isn’t afraid to teach sexual education and action it. That being said, as the point-of-view is only hers, it was difficult to work out how much was her internal attitude and how much was her outer persona. At times, it seemed as if it was all a front – inside she’s just as scared about growing up as other kids.

There’s some lighthearted lol moments, yet this novel manages to get some important messages out. Sexual health? Tick. (ir)Responsible parenthood? Tick (and how I wish Australia had something like Planned Parenthood). Tampons? Yep, it has those too. Alex is a vehicle for change within her school and also somehow ignorant of the types of feminism that are equally valid. It’s a far better example of feminism than Juliet Takes a Breath, but it is still missing the trans* element that needs to be added to the feminist ‘agenda’.

What fell flat for me was a lack of actual action! Things seemed to be happening basically in a vacuum, with study and classes taking a back seat. That’s fine and all, but it seemed to me like all they did was plan extra-curricular activities. The play is supposed to be the highlight of the novel, but it never really happens. I also didn’t buy into the ‘best friends forever’ theme.

I’ve just realised that this is the third book in a row that had the setting of a boarding school. Now, maybe it’s just me, but boarding school always seemed to just be for rich people, and magicians! This novel doesn’t break the mold either. Still, it was a decent enough read that although I was somewhat embarrassed to read it (bright pink and yellow cover, anyone?) I did polish it off in a single sitting. For that, I’m going to give it 4 stars, and recommend it to teenage girls who need a strong female protagonist that isn’t afraid to say ‘vagina’.

Penguin Random House | 16th February 2021| AU$16.99 | paperback

Review: Phil Stamper – As Far As You’ll Take Me

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As Far As You’ll Take Me
Phil Stamper

Marty has always been the shy kid in the background, and he’s been happy like that. Being gay in Kentucky with a conservative community and Bible throwing parents isn’t exactly the best place to make waves. Marty decides to make the life he wants happen – he’s flying to London in order to play his beloved oboe and find a place to belong.

Did someone say that we needed more diversity in queer fiction? Even if they didn’t, this novel is a worthy addition to any gay teen’s bookshelf. It’s an accessible, friendly novel about Marty finally getting to live the openly-queer life he has always wanted since age six. The romance is a bit ugh, but I liked that it didn’t come to an obvious conclusion. Thank you, Marty, for not being a complete idiot.

I have suffered from anxiety in the past, and I could completely empathise with Marty that crowded spaces and new places freaked him out. However, the couple of times where he seemed to have a panic attack, and then had his new friends calm him down didn’t ring true to me. Thus, the ending to the novel seemed too neat.

Did I read this too fast, or something? I barely even picked up Marty’s disordered eating before his friends did. Yes, he seemed a bit obsessed about foods, but at the same time I felt like maybe it was harmless. I think that my sense of timing was off. The twelve weeks of summer seemed to go past faster than I realised. This was a complaint I had about The Gravity of Us as well.

I think that the blurb on this novel lets it down. I don’t think that Marty’s homesickness ever gets that bad, and he seems to be coping with his anxiety mostly ok. Also, I didn’t really get a sense of him running through his savings. And again, if it was so expensive to live in London, doesn’t that just mean that he should live at home with his aunt a bit longer? Certainly in Australia you are often expected to (or expect to) live with your parents for a while after you graduate high school.

I was very keen for this novel to come and I started reading it in short order. However, I took breaks in reading it because some parts just seemed too real and upsetting. I’m not sure that’s a complaint – just a comment that this book could potentially be triggering for some people. I won’t read it again, but I’d highly recommend it for any musically inclined travel-hungry teenager, gay or not. 4 stars from me.

Bloomsbury | 9th February 2021 | AU$15.99 | paperback

Review: Amy Tintera – Reboot Duology

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Reboot and Rebel (Reboot Duology)
Amy Tintera

Wren 178 is the oldest Reboot in the system. She died once, and it took 178 minutes for her body to reboot and become superior to a human one – no emotions, no problems. Wren’s favourite part of the job is training new reboots to kill ‘bad’ humans effortlessly. She always gets her first pick of trainees, and she always picks the ones that took a long time to reboot – only the fittest and hardest can survive. In a fit of confusion, Wren chooses Callum 22 to train, and then finds that she isn’t quite the emotionless monster she thinks she is.

I felt some confusion on why the virus was only in Texas. I didn’t get a sense of anything in the rest of the global landscape. It would have been better, I think, if this had just been set in a new world. I spent a fair amount of time wondering what the other states/cities of the USA were doing about the virus. Is there scope for a sequel where Wren takes on other states that treat reboots like property?

I had some unanswered questions. Why wasn’t HARC looking into why adults that caught KDV went crazy? I feel like since some of the drugs they were testing on the under 60’s (Reboots that revived under 60 minutes) caused craziness rather than obedience, and the adult link could be useful.

This is a successful perversion of the fact that in some countries, war has created ‘child soldiers’. The ‘civilised’ countries can’t believe that someone would do that to an innocent child – but Tintera takes that concept and makes it worse. You only need to be 10 to train to be a Reboot soldier.

There’s a whole lotta kissin’ in these novels. Sure, two of the characters eventually have sex, and sex seems to be a sort of substitute for love/feelings earlier in the series – but it’s not satisfying. It’s not even that obvious, so you could even give this to a teenager who isn’t quite comfortable with the idea of sex yet.

I have to say that I was very disappointed in the ending of this. Riley was dealt with far too calmly, and the escape from HARC unlikely. I guess that it seems quite straight forward that the threat could be contained. This fits the feeling of the Ruina series (reviews here) where the first book was a fantastic 5 stars, but the later ones left me cold with only a 3 star rating. So it’s a 4 star average for this one – fun to read, but not a reread.

Review: Kevan Van Whye – Date Me, Bryson Keller

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Date Me, Bryson Keller
Kevin Van Whye

Bryson’s got a dare going – he has to date the first person to ask him out on a Monday morning. Kai has a secret – he’s gay, and perhaps a nice guy will notice him eventually. When Kai basically blurts out that Bryson should date him for a week, he doesn’t actually know what the week will have in store.

This came in the door, I read it right there and then, and then failed to review it. What can I say, COVID-19 has been sapping my energy because I spend way too much time in front of a screen. This is a heartfelt romance that starts out just as I would expect it to. Gay boy falls for straight boy, but there’s no gay baiting! Beautiful.

Kai is such an empathetic individual that it almost made me cry at times. I couldn’t bear it when he was hurt! And Bryson goes from a popular kid on a pedestal to being, well, human. Both are full realised characters that I enjoyed reading about.

I also really liked the cover. Mine was an ARC so it didn’t exactly match the one here, but it was cute. Oh, and did I mention that the Penguin on the spine (because it’s published by Penguin Random House) has a rainbow background? It would be easy to browse a (physical) bookshop and find a Queer novel that’s suitable for a young person in your life.

This novel is a cute love story that still manages to cover queer-phobia and coming out without being trite. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this as a teenage read, gay or straight. If you are looking for a gay novel that is a little more racey, try Jack of Hearts or CAMP. Oh! Or The Gravity of Us. There are some really excellent novels out there at the moment.

My only hope is that this book doesn’t trick young queer people into thinking that they can bring people over to being queer! But then, I imagine that they are already sick of reading straight romances where the queer person is the best-friend/side-kick/support-person. I had to resist rereading this again when I was going to review it, so it’s 5 stars from me.

Penguin Random House | 2nd July 2020 | AU$15.99 | paperback

Review: Megan Campisi – The Sin Eater

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The Sin Eater
Megan Campisi

May is thinking only of where her next meal is coming from, but she gets caught stealing a loaf of bread (how stereotypical!). The next thing she knows, she’s the town’s resident Sin Eater – bound to eat the sins of others on their deathbed. While her stomach might be full, her heart and life seem empty.

This novel initially had a lot going for it. I read ‘The Sin Eater’s Daughter‘ originally, and I actually first thought that this was a reprint of it. However, the longer the novel went on, the more painful it became. I couldn’t understand the purpose behind it.

What this novel did spark interest in me about was tongue tattooing. Is it really done? How much does it hurt? How accurate is the healing process? A quick google tells me that yes – people do it, no – it doesn’t really hurt that much and it should only take 3 weeks to heal up. In fact, a tongue tattoo isn’t a forever tattoo – it will eventually wear away. It can also damage your tastebuds. Hawaiian women used to have this done as part of tribal practices. Fascinating!

Maybe I’m not the target audience? I can’t say that English history (or history in general) excites me, and the theoretical wrong-doing of Queen Elizabeth I left me cold. Also, I didn’t even make that connection between the Bethany in the story and Queen Elizabeth – I had to go hunting through GoodReads reviews to find this interesting fact out.

I’m going to give this 2 stars from me. It didn’t seem that interesting, and as I wrote the review I felt more ambivalent about it. I’d recommend it for someone who enjoys historical fiction, and perhaps Elizabethan history in particular.

Pan Macmillan | 1st April 2020 | AU$29.99 | paperback

Review: Will McIntosh – Burning Midnight (N)

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Young adult novel with a unique take on small super-powers so to speak. One day indestructible marble-like spheres appeared the world over. When used in paired colours they would improve the person using, or burning, them, make them slightly better than they were before. Resistance to the common cold, become taller, better looking, be faster, stronger, increased ambidexterity, and higher IQ as examples. A total of 43 colours, each with a unique ability, and differing rarity based on availability. David “Sully” Sullivan, a teenager who started the second wave of spheres prior to the boo.

Sully is a sphere dealer, in addition to typical teenager, to make extra money to help his mother pay rent. He meets Hunter, a girl who knows sphere hunting more than anything else. They team up to find and sell spheres. Kicking off a discovery of where the spheres came from and why the spheres ended scattered across earth. The story overall has a solid hook that grabs you in the first few pages and doesn’t let go until you finish the book. It’s a smooth, easy, and satisfying read as an adult. The twist at the end of where the spheres came from was nicely handled. Possible explanations are mentioned through narrative, though none quite hits the mark in terms of reality.

Through Sully, we get a clear picture of what colour spheres provide scattered through the book with each mention. I was a bit frustrated that there was no complete list at the end of the book for easy reference. But the main colours and abilities were easy enough to follow. I’d definitely be curious why certain colours were mentioned and not others. Also why the two new types of sphere discovered in the book had the colours they had. That is largely idle curiosity and not really a requirement.

Overall it’s an great read as a young adult novel, it hits the all the notes it needs to really give a satisfying read. But the twist at the end means some of the mystery is lost for a re-read. That doesn’t stop it from being a very enjoyable way to pass an afternoon.

Review: Jason Segal & Kirsten Miller – Otherworld

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OtherWorld
Jason Segal and Kirsten Miller

Simon loves Kat. Regardless of everything else in life, that’s a fact. Sent away to boarding school, Simon can’t stop thinking about her – he falsely admits to cybercrime in order to get home. But when he gets there, Kat ignores him. Otherworld looks like a great place to find her in, but things really aren’t as they seem.

The opening scene of this novel took me off guard, because I didn’t really want to read about a self-absorbed rich kid who had a giant nose. I couldn’t have cared less about whether he was 6 foot and sunbathing naked on the lawn. I definitely couldn’t have cared less about the fact that his parents didn’t like him, and that his dad took his driving iron to his expensive, fancy gear.

Is this as good as Ready Player One? Mm, I’m undecided. Simon mostly just irritates me. Sometimes he’s so dumb… how would you expect not to wet yourself if you’ve been gaming for 2 days straight? How can that possibly be healthy? I’d love to play in a game as immersive as the others, although it’s really creepy if you can’t make it back out…

I’m not sure how I felt about the ending to this novel. It certainly seemed as if they had set it up for a second novel, which irritated me. Also, GoodReads tells me that this might be a knockoff of another Otherland? Regardless, I am going to read the next novel, because I’d like to know how people who have been plugged into the system can be rescued.

I originally received OtherEarth to review an embarrassingly long time ago. It looked great, but I didn’t read it because it was the second in the series. I’m making a concerted effort to work my way through books languishing on my shelves, so I decided to take the initiative and find OtherWorld online. I found it on Scribd and spent a very enjoyable evening reading it. 4 stars from me.

Review: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley – Fighting Words

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Fighting Words
Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Why does Suki scream in her sleep? That’s the question Della wants answered. Suki has always protected Della since their mother went to prison and her boyfriend took them in. The girls find themselves in foster care, but it’s still not right. Della is determined that now she’ll support Suki – even if Suki doesn’t want her.

Let’s start off by stating that this is not an easy read. This is a terrifying read. It is not comfortable or comforting. You’re going to want to put trigger warnings on it for suicide, bullying and child sexual abuse. This is an #ownvoices novel from this author, and the authenticity of the writing is heartbreaking in parts. It lead to this being a compulsive read for me.

I was slightly confused by these characters, and their interaction with others. I think the girls were people of colour? And that they were able to be recognised by others in their community as needing help. It’s painfully clear that the foster care system isn’t fair to people of colour and that children’s knowledge of the system can be a rude awakening to fairness.

This novel highlights the sad truth that the foster care system is often understaffed in terms of specialist help for children and teenagers that have been abused. The people that foster in the foster care system can also be lacking in terms of compassion fatigue’ (it’s an official term). Working with traumatised young people can be difficult and unrewarding.

I unfortunately read an eBook copy of this, and I can almost statistically support that I like novels less when I have to read them on my laptop. With this in mind then (and the fact that I read it quite a bit ago now) I’m giving this novel 4 stars.

Text Publishing | 1st September 2020 | AU$19.99 | paperback

Review: Jenni Hendricks & Ted Caplan – Unpregnant

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Unpregnant
Jenni Hendricks & Ted Caplan

Veronica is the poster child for her parents – straight As and a prestigious college acceptance letter. She wears her chastity ring with pride, and her parents are glad that she didn’t turn out like her sister – married to probably-not-Mr.-Right with a third child on the way. When she gets pregnant despite playing it safe, her best friend of old has to get her out of trouble.

Oh dear. I had to look up the main character’s name. I at least remembered Bailey’s name, probably because I used to have a guinea-pig named Baileys (after Bailey’s Irish Cream liquor). Veronica on the other hand is a blank, boring slate with nothing unique about her. I mean, I felt for her having an unexpected pregnancy and having to drive a bloody long way to get an abortion, but it’s not like she was actually a 3D character I could care about.

Now, tell me how two high schoolers got away with stealing two cars. Yes, not one, but two cars! I thought Veronica was dumb and clueless, and I couldn’t believe Bailey tolerated her at all. Sure, we all dream of a roadtrip with our bestest best friends, but doing it with someone you don’t even really like? I don’t even get the reason why Veronica and Bailey broke up as friends (and I’m not sure they know either).

Veronica spends the whole weekend making sure that no one will know she ended up pregnant and then she ends up telling them all anyway! Just because she was new and empowered and didn’t care about that anyway, since she was so much more empowered and unafraid than she was before. I just couldn’t believe the 360 degree turn she made! She went to a lot of trouble to cover her tracks and then told everyone anyway, because she felt free and relieved.

Overall it was too much of a cliche. What was the purpose of this book, besides the “journey”? I knew from the beginning that she wasn’t going to change her mind. I knew from the beginning that they’d end up besties again. So why did I read it? Well, I was sent a free copy and I thought I should finish it.

TL:DR? The straight A girl gets pregnant and therefore takes a road trip with her ex-best friend to get an abortion, breaking multiple laws on the way. Also, don’t trust the dude not to get you pregnant. 3 stars from me.

Scholastic | 1st April 2020 | AU$16.99 | paperback

Review: Phil Stamper – The Gravity of Us

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The Gravity of Us
Phil Stamper

Cal’s going to make his FlashFame feed support his career as a journalist, do an internship at BuzzFeed and get a free ride to college with a full scholarship. When his dad is selected to become an astronaut of the Orpheus Twenty Cal’s plans are derailed – going to Texas isn’t in his ideal future! But with a cute boy in the picture, maybe something about this summer might not be a waste afterall.

The cute cover should give this away as a gay fiction. The recommendation statement on the back from Becky Albertalli says this book is a ‘story I didn’t I know I needed’. And she’s right! I didn’t know that I could be excited about a somewhat futuristic space voyage – but it turns out that there really is a current program to have humans on Mars by 2032. Thus I can confidently say that this is NOT science fiction.

The single paragraph devoted to his final high school year seems a bit perfunctory. I’m not complaining, because there are plenty of teenage fiction novels out there that cover high school and being gay well. At the same time though, I felt like that could have added a bit more depth for the protagonist, who seems to exist in his own little bubble most of the time.

I struggled with the sense of time passing. Perhaps instead of boring chapter numbers, a handy chapter date would have been more useful. This lack of time made their romance feel instant, and their feelings insincere. What I did appreciate was that Leon’s depression wasn’t cured in an instant by falling in love (lust?) and neither was Cal’s mom’s anxiety completely treated by therapy.

There seems to be a growing interest for novels about space and mathematics. I’m loving it! From avoiding meteoroids (Learning to Swear in America), to general astrophysics (The Square Root of Summer and Stargazing for Beginners), I’m excited for what will happen next. 4 stars for this one from me.

Bloomsbury | 17th March 2020 | AU$15.99 | paperback