Category Archives: Book Reviews

Review: Nicci Cloke – Follow Me Back

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

Posted on by
Reply

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

Review: K.J. Gillenwater – Acapulco Nights

Posted on by
Reply

Acapulco Nights
K.J. Gillenwater

Suzie’s current lover is pushing her to set a date for their marriage. The only thing stopping her is the fact that she is already married to a man in Mexico. When an old school friend is planning to go there, Suzie jumps at the chance to set things right, and move on with her life.

AN-KindleCover-FinalRomance. Romance, romance, romance. I forget that I generally don’t enjoy the ‘smoking’ sex scenes or powerful erections. I appreciated the differences between James and Joaquin’s love-making styles, but I wasn’t left asking for more. I read other great romances (Deep Blue) lately, and they just have an individual spark that makes them great. This novel attempted to keep me interested in Mexico, specifically Acapulco, but it just didn’t happen.

I struggled to finish this, and left it sitting on my bedside table, half read for more than a month. When I picked it back up again, I finished it off in half an hour. There just wasn’t enough substance for me in there.

Isn’t Suzie an adult? She is a complete and pathological liar. Poor Suzie, she has to choose between two smoking-hot men, and to do that, she has to insist on having a divorce from a mistimed earlier marriage. Excuse me for not feeling more sympathetic. If you can afford to live in a house by yourself and buy an overpriced coffee once a week, I’m pretty sure you could afford the trip to end the marriage yourself.

I didn’t find myself satisfied with the Mercedes-Suzie dynamic at the ending. I also couldn’t have cared less about who she ended up with. James might be a soft-touch, but I don’t think he’s blameless either, even if he isn’t the total user of Joaquin-standards. Perhaps I would have enjoyed reading it from different perspectives instead.

Didn’t love it. Unless you have a thing for Mexico and love triangles, don’t worry about reading it.

2star

Review: Maria Toorpakai – A Different Kind of Daughter

Posted on by
2

A Different Kind of Daughter
Maria Toorpakai

Maria was born in a part of Pakistan where being a girl means that you must travel with a man at all times, and remain inside the rest of the time. Maria felt trapped, but luckily her parents were free-thinkers that knew how to support their daughter. After Maria burns her dresses, there is no turning back and she lives as a young man for a number of years before being outed on a squash court when pursuing her dream.

27416066I could hardly put this novel down, which was surprising because its basically a memoir. I’ve never heard of her though, so it was all new to me. I did enjoy the ‘journey’ right from the beginning of her life.

I would go mad on ‘house arrest’. Maria was so brave, doing what she really wanted to do – but she also knew she would die if she didn’t play. I didn’t understand how destructive she could be, but I could understand how she felt she had no other options. All the same though, the kitchen seemed like a better place of practice than her bedroom!

Dengue! She catches Dengue virus! That’s my area of work, so I generally get super excited when it is mentioned. Here it is in a real world situation. Although it bring Maria to her knees, it doesn’t make any difference to her desire to play sport.

What wasn’t clear to me is whether Maria identifies as a woman or as a man, or something in between. With all the sports testing that is going on at the moment, I would expect this to be a problem. That’s not a complain about the book though. Just my particular interest in biology and genetics.

I really did enjoy this, and I’d recommend it to a wide range of readers – those who have doubts about Muslims being all part of the Taliban, or people who are interested in elite sport, or people who want to know about some every-day life in Pakistan.

4star

Review: Joaquin Lowe – Bullet Catcher

Posted on by
Reply

Bullet Catcher
Joaquin Lowe

Against a desert backdrop, Imma longs to be a Bullet Catcher – a seemingly mythological person who can bend bullets back away from themselves. Bullet Catchers are always the good guys, while Gunslingers are the bad guys. Once Imma has a chance at glory, she will need to make a decision about where her alliances lie.

27799031Where can I start talking about this novel? It arrived, I spotted it, and next thing it was 2 hours later and I still couldn’t put it down. …yes I have problems with being attracted to new books. The pages grabbed me right from the beginning, pulled me in, and kept me reading because things could change at any moment. And of course, I love reading about the training of new and innovative skills.

What I’m commonly seeing in fiction at the moment is a turn towards plot twists. Some are really obvious, while others are really sneaky. This one is not particularly sneaky, but it is heartfelt. Not to mention it keeps changing even as you are yelling at Imma inside your head not to be such an idiot!

Not even a sniff of romance. Apart from family ties, and master-apprentice matches, not a bit of teenage love. And honestly, Imma has enough to worry about without that. There’s plenty of character development for her, and a persuasive plot to not need it. In that way, it sort of reminds me of The Way We Roll, in which exploring different kinds of friendship and ties is the main agenda.

I couldn’t put this down. Maybe I’m getting soft in my old age (*cough* mid-20s *cough*), but I really think I could read it again. I connected with the main character really well, and I could feel all of the emotions. Not to mention the attainable ‘magic’ skills.

4star

Review: Catherine Jinks – Theophilus Grey and the Traitor’s Mask

Posted on by
Reply

Theophilus Grey and the Traitor’s Mask
Catherine Jinks

Theo has survived and thrived as a servant of the Crown of England. Yet all that responsibility for his crew and his other commitments are overcrowding his head. When he can’t think clearly, that’s when things begin to fall,well, not apart, but it all becomes messy.

9781760113612As always, it can be dangerous reading a sequel of a novel you loved. This one lived up to expectations though, and had me hanging on the edge of my seat for almost as long as the first! I guiltily picked it up the moment it arrived at my doorstep…

I recognised some of the streets in this one – Drury Lane! From the nursery rhyme, not because of any knowledge of London geography. Despite not really knowing where each thing was, I managed to get an image of where Theo and his crew ran. That’s something that’s really important in this novel, and just in case you struggle there is a handy map inside the front cover.

Theo is quite confused for the majority of this novel, and the audience is a little bit too. But it’s on purpose! I can’t talk about the plot too much or I’ll give away the lovely twists. Some of Theo’s friends are sometimes just too bright for their own good!

I’m going to go so far as to give it 5 stars for the right audience. I think this on has re-readability to teenagers in order to pick up the plots and hints that you might have missed on the first round of reading. For me, it’s a 4 stars, couldn’t put it down and really enjoyed it. I am sad that it is only a duology.

4star