Category Archives: Book Reviews

Review: Iain Reading – the Dragon of the Month Club

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the Dragon of the Month Club
Iain Reading

Ayana and Tyler meet as unlikely friends in a library. Together they stumble upon a book to summon dragons – with the only catch that you have to have specific materials in order to summon some kinds. After an experiment goes slightly awry, Ayana and Tyler will have to use their individual twirks to get things back to normal.

25033448The synopsis might not set you on fire, but I’d advise jumping right in anyway. The front cover might make you feel like it’s just for cutsie little kiddies, but really it isn’t. There are real issues being explored, it’s just that the backdrop is of fantastic dragons!

This novel manages to inform the reader about a range of other novels, which might whet the reader’s appetite for other novels. I was certainly interested to go check some other ones out! This is a novel written by someone who just loves books.

Some of the dialogue and imagery were a bit clunky, but I think that is just the formula of a middle-grade novel to an extent, to help support beginning imaginations. Certainly the others I have read in this area are heavy on the details. This one (rather than the one I am reading right now) gets the balance almost perfect.

Oh no. Ooooh no. I just went to GoodReads to get my hands on a copy of this cover, and found out that the next novel in the series isn’t even written yet! And that the author has a bunch of other things to write instead (which I already knew from the interview with him I did awhile back). I finished reading this one and immediately wanted the next one.

This is a 4 stars from me, and for the right audience (ie. younger than me), I would give it a 5. There’s enough magic and some literature and some friendship, and a little bit of everything actually so that something will appeal to everyone.

4star

Review: Sarah Cohen-Scali – Max

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Max
Sarah Cohen-Scali

Max isn’t born yet. But once he is, he will be the first of his kind – the first of a bred blonde haired, blue eyed Nazi. Self-aware and self-proclaimed as brilliant, this novel follows Max’s growing up in Nazi Germany where he doesn’t know that the Nazi’s are ‘evil’ and knows nothing but his relatively privileged life.

28231016Max’s unique mature mindset makes it possible for the author to expose monstrosities in a matter-of-fact manner that nonetheless touch the reader and leaves them thinking about humans in general. Sometimes it felt like there was too much to absorb.

Something that irritated me about the cover was that there were ‘Two boys, two destinies.’ I spent the first half or so of the novel wondering when the perspective would change to the other boy, but in fact that never happened. The perspective remained with Max, even as his views and understandings changed.

This novel remains readable while also providing insight into an area of Nazi Germany that many people may not know about. It is based around the true story of a facility and breeding project that had been set up in order to breed perfect little Germans who follow the will of Hitler. The beginning of genetics! My favourite!

This novel has been translated from French, and there are no objections here from me. The dialogue and descriptions still flowed seamlessly, and I didn’t even know it was translated until I looked on GoodReads for the cover!

I think I enjoyed Dog Boy (also by Text Publishing), more than I enjoyed this one. While Max was more absorbing (I read it straight through, keeping me up past my bedtime), Dog Boy left me with more to think about. Either way, they are both worth 5 stars.

4star

Review: N.J. Fountain – Painkiller

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Painkiller
N.J. Fountain

Monica suffers from chronic pain. Not just chronic pain, but chronic neuropathic pain. Every second of her life is filled with acute pain which breaks through even the toughest and strongest medications. When Monica finds a suicide note that she has written, her mind begins to question what else has happened in a past she doesn’t remember.

28259431Normally I couldn’t tell you the names of half the characters, but the advantage of this novel being pretty much from Monica’s perspective (which is limited to dealing with people as she can’t really go out very much) meant that I got a good solid grasp of them in my mind. When the perspective changes up, you still don’t know the whole story or a truth.

Ooh, this is a twisty one, this is. It wants to portray itself as a potential crime, but in fact it is psychological thriller which just happens to have a bit of ‘potential’ crime involved. Its far more gripping, and not nearly as bloody. Monica might be acting like a sleuth, but in fact she seems to be only just coping.

Its an interesting insight into the world of those with Chronic Neuropathic Pain. I don’t think I would be able to live like that personally. It’s certainly something my girlfriend and I spent some time thinking about! It’s a bit like dementia, but it is drug induced. Monica can hardly remember her own name, let alone who might be responsible for her condition.

I could not put this novel down. I just had to keep reading. I took it to work with me, and just couldn’t stop reading. 4 stars from me now I know ‘who-dun-it’.

4star

Review: Pierre Lemaitre – Irene

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Irene
Pierre Lemaitre

Camille has a loving wife, a successful career in crime fighting and an unborn child. Life is good, until a killer starts recreating scenes from classic crime novels. As the level of horror rises, Camillle is fighting against someone he thinks he knows.

19480636If you are squeamish, this isn’t the novel for you. Apart from the part about eyeballs, which is my personal phobia and that I skipped over, I can say the horror was visceral.

This novel reminds me of Angel Killer, mainly in the type of horrific crimes that are being committed. I didn’t know that I appreciated horror novels. Or maybe because this one is fixed around crime that’s why I enjoyed it.

The twists and turns in this novel! I was constantly reading, wondering what shock would happen next. I was completely and utterly devastated by the ending. At the same time, I’m not sure exactly what I expected. It was just so good.

This novel is translated from French, and I have to say it was a brilliant translation. Something about the floral goodness of French Literature translates beautifully into English (not like Spanish!). It meant that I was enjoying the streets while also having no real grasp of how crime solving went in French. It didn’t bother me in the least.

I’m giving this a really solid 4 stars, and would consider giving it 5 stars. Such a thriller, psychologically awesome!

4star

Review: Nicci Cloke – Follow Me Back

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Follow Me Back
Nicci Cloke

Aiden’s ex-girlfriend Lizzie has gone missing. Or maybe she’s been taken. Aiden is a prime suspect, or is he? There are so many potential perps that even he doesn’t know who he is talking to.

27799026Unbelievable! The number of hidden twists in this is epic, and I have no idea how the author kept them straight. It’s an interesting and relevant novel to these days – both in hiding your tracks and tracking others.

Aiden is such a satisfyingly unreliable narrator. Without his self deception the novel wouldn’t work at all. You get this sense that he is hiding something the whole time, and then when it comes out, it’s believable.

I don’t know whether I agreed that Aiden was a selfish bastard. I’m pretty sure Lizzie had a lot to do with it too. It’s not his fault he’s forgetful! Or that he is no good at feelings (was this because he was a football jock?).

The reality TV show issue complicated things nicely. I have trouble remembering that some people are superficial and awful, but I know that way too many of them are. Disgusting, the lot of them.

I’d like to know what Aiden’s stepfather had in mind in the long term. I can’t say more without giving away the plot, but see what you come up with.

I’m giving this 3 stars for being readable, but also not riveting. Sorry Aiden and Lizzie, most of the time your action was too slow for me to care too deeply.

3star

Review: Shivaun Plozza – Frankie

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Frankie
Shivaun Plozza

Frankie is a hard hitting teenager faced with expulsion from school for smacking someone over the face with a dictionary. Apart from that, she’s just discovered that she has a half-brother and that love isn’t always what you expect it to be.

27193294I found myself confused at times. I don’t think it was ever explained exactly why Frankie was angry, even though the events surrounding her life were certainly messy. I’m not sure I’m objecting about this, except that perhaps the blurb focusses on that anger too much and not enough on Frankie’s changing life.

I feel completely inside Frankie’s character. She lept off the page at me, and then spent the rest of the novel in my head, narrating the well-depicted scenery. I could understand how each of her actions was motivated, and how easy it was to keep lying once she had started. That’s often how it works isn’t it…

There’s a great range of character relationships here. It’s not as straight-forward as Frankie falling in love and everything being happy after that. Instead it’s a meaty drama that explores complicated family relationships, how far you will go to protect someone you think you know, and friendship.

The ending! Devastating. But as expected I suppose. I didn’t know how else it could end. Well, I can guess. But the way it ended was just perfect as far as I was concerned. Ahh. Happy.

4 stars from me, a fabulous contribution to teenage literature that should be on the shelves of every school library.

4star

Review: J.M. Douglas – The Bound

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The Bound
J.M. Douglas

The Bound are important for the balance between rulers. The Bound without Masters are dangerous. It’s so important to have a Bound that people will kill for the right, without thought or purpose. When an important artifact is broken, it is unclear who the Bound are, and what impact they will have on the inequality in the country.

29009728I didn’t like the cover, and the synopsis didn’t set me on fire. But I was promised some queer characters, and then I read the first page or so and I was hooked. I got attached to characters too quickly, and then they died! Talk about a masterwork by the author on hooking me in realistically with her character building then just easily killing off my heart.

Finian seems to have a background that we really aren’t aware of, and don’t get to know. He’s so tortured, and yet we don’t know why. Why is he this way? I think I was left with more questions than answers.

This novel explores how upbringing can overcome past history, but also that fairness and bravery play a large role in the development of young people. Yedda and Corliss basically swap spots. From being the trouble-maker and the follower, both become strong young women in their own rights. Both are expected to be Bound, but in fact it’s more complicated than that. I’d love to see what the future holds for them.

I can’t decide if it will get a sequel or not. It finished so nicely, and yet there’s more to be told in that world. The author has updated me that she’s thinking about writing a sequel, and perhaps a very very early prequel. I’d be on that pretty keenly.

4star

Review: Sanjida Kay – Bone by Bone

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Bone by Bone
Sanjida Kay

Autumn is being bullied in the aftermath of her parents’ divorce. A new school and new parents – her mother Laura is feeling lost too. When Laura acts thoughtlessly in protecting Autumn, the wellbuilt range of lies in the community will come tumbling down.

28209238The whole time, I was on Laura’s side. I couldn’t believe how shallow some people were. But at the same time, I couldn’t believe how stupid Laura was. As if you would let an unknown person unlimited access to your computer! And use the same password for everything. And not have backups!

I kind of wished that I could have had more insight into Autumn’s mind. As it was, Laura’s mind was so full of thoughts and questions that I felt quite lost. Why oh why does she not stand up for herself? Why do neither of them?

Bone by Bone was a horror. I didn’t know what to expect, and the creepy corners were completely unforseeable. The ending! Oh dear. I don’t know how I felt about that. How can people so horrible exist?

I’ve been reading a bunch of novels at the moment which are filled with incomprehensible violence and awful people. The question is whether or not I’ll be able to keep tolerating and enjoying it, or whether I will become immune to it.

I didn’t know if I wanted to pick it up, the synopsis made it seem more boring and straightforward than it actually was. Then I did, and it was worth it. 4-stars from me.

4star

Review: Eva Hornung – Dog Boy

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Dog Boy
Eva Hornung

After being abandoned by his mother and uncle, Romochka is adopted by a yellow dog, her two other adult dogs and four puppies. What follows next is confusing yet satisfying at the same time. Romochka becomes a weak dog, but a potentially powerful animal.

16566340For a novel which could have been quite dry as a translation, it spoke powerfully to me and I was thinking about it while I wasn’t reading it. It seemed like more of the straight forward questions I had were answered, yet at the same time, more questions were raised. Is this really possible? Can you be raised by dogs, or wolves as in The Jungle Book?

Something that both irritated and pleased me was the doctors, and how their perspectives were portrayed. I couldn’t believe how much they used him. Until just now, thinking about where the book is set (Moscow), and the medical ideas of the time, I had thought it was barbaric.

I couldn’t believe the events leading up to the end, and the end itself! I mean, I guess I should have seen it coming, but it was a shock and horror moment all the same. I am still struggling to come to terms with it, several days later.

Now, this book, this book should be on literature lists everywhere. If it isn’t, it’s a chastity. It’s got so many interesting themes and a good meaty (haha) storyline to keep readers enthralled. I know it worked on me! Better than Levi’s ‘If This is a Man’ any day. Less depressing but just as rich for thinking about past political times and complicated discussions of animals (including men).

I’m giving it 5 stars – I wish I had the time to reread it because I feel like it has so much more to offer me.

5star

Review: Mette Jakobsen – What the Light Hides

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What the Light Hides
Mette Jakobsen

Ben has committed suicide, leaving behind his devastated parents. As a boy full of life, his father David is left trying to come to terms to his death, by trying to find out the situations that lead to it. Is it his fault as a parent? Or is it something unique to his son.

28958494At times, I felt exactly as David did about his son. Ben couldn’t be dead. It was painfully clear that David’s self-deception as a character came through as an unreliable narrator. This was such powerful writing, and I could feel all of the characters leaping out of their pages like real people.

This ‘romance’ is all I wanted to refresh me after finishing a dud. It’s not primarily a romance, it is more an in depth look into what happens to a variety of relationships when traumatic life events happen. Suicide, alcoholism, break-ins, dementia; this novel covers the whole spectrum of upsetting events with ease and without feeling like the author is trying to push an agenda down your throat.

What more praise can I have? I felt like I was walking the streets of Sydney and the mountain homes. I could see David’s work taking shape, and imagine previous masterpieces. My only complaint would be that I didn’t get to hear more about Vera’s work. Ah well. I can’t have everything! What I had was satisfyingly enough.

It’s not a reread for me, but I did really enjoy it and had trouble putting it down (I finished it off in basically one sitting). 4 very healthy stars from me.

4star