Review: Lucy van Pelt – How to be a Grrrl!

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How to be a Grrl!
Lucy van Pelt

This is a super slim volume of selected comics by Schulz that have Lucy van Pelt playing a leading female role! The comics aim to have something good in each one that proves a point about girls being awesome!

26056077I’m not certain what kind of audience this book is aimed for. Maybe for a tween girl? Someone who just wants to dip into a book, be inspired, then come back out. It took me maybe 5 minutes to read it, and I wouldn’t see myself buying the book myself.

I’m not even going to star this, even though its technically a fiction book. How can I judge Charlie Brown?!?

Review: Liz Kessler – Read me like a Book

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Read me like a Book
Liz Kessler

Ash is in her final year of high school (college to you British people). She’s finding out what it means to have a boyfriend and be in love – not necessarily with the same person. Her parents are slipping apart, and Ash feels like she is being drawn apart in more ways than one.

22352840I feel like it is possible that this novel had too many themes crammed into it, but instead I felt like they all balanced themselves out. It read exactly like the protagonist was thinking and feeling. Ash struck me as so confused, and yet so cute. And don’t be put off by the ‘teacher crush’ thing. It’s not a big deal, its just used as a prop for forwarding Ash’s character development.

Personally, I’ve never seen ‘love’ used so much in a novel where it didn’t actually mean loving someone. I suppose it’s a bit like the Australian ‘mate’? That’s the thing that ticked the box of not being in my country, and lead me to feel some annoyance and frustration at times.

Ooh yes. This is a British version of ‘Keeping you a Secret‘. In keeping with that, I’d be recommending it for teenage readers to early YA readers (if that is such a thing), because the writing is a little superficial, despite having quite a few swear words in it.

Other reviews have been mixed, but for me, I picked it up the moment it arrived on my doorstep, and then read it until I was done. I’m going to give it 4 stars for another worthy contribution to Queer literature.

4star

Review: Jaclyn Moriarty – A Tangle of Gold

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A Tangle of Gold
Jaclyn Moriarty

What a Corner of White and Cracks in the Kingdom started, A Tangle of Gold is here to make it conclude. Madeline and Elliot’s worlds are going to combine with a crash. Well, the people in them anyway. As all the cracks are shut down and guarded again, others discover exciting abilities to free themselves around the bright colour storms.

25578558Ah, the ending. It tidied things up nicely. Perhaps too nicely. Worlds never end like that. So it could be unexpected, except the minute a couple of people do their ‘expose’ thing, then it becomes obvious what is happening around that, and it proves to be inevitable. It was already so unpredictable, in its own way it was predictable.

How much time can you spend thinking about similes and turned about sentences? Just as sometimes characters from different provinces don’t understand what is going on, neither did I! And not in a good, ‘I will work it out later’, kind of way.

I’m not sure how I felt about the romance. People kissing other people, true loves going wrong, was this a fantasy novel or a teen kiss-and-tell? And really, the chances of them all being so similar? I really can’t talk much about this novel because I’d give away the plot lines. But whatever is happening, and it is happening, the Colours are there to stay.

Again, I find myself undecided on where I would put this novel. I’m going to give it 3 stars again, just like the first two books in this series. I hate to be the party pooper, and I’m sure (I know, in fact), that a lot of readers out there are super keen on the series. I’d suggest reading the first, and then deciding if they are for you.

3star

Thanks to Macmillian for providing me with a proof copy.

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Review: Jaclyn Moriarty – The Cracks in the Kingdom

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The Cracks in the Kingdom
Jaclyn Moriarty

Madeline’s life has gotten a little simpler now that her mother is mainly better. The adults in her world mostly seem a little mad though. Elliot on the other hand is being forced into helping out around the Kingdom when all he wants to do is find his father.

18371573All the characters feel one-dimensional, which is ironic, given that pretty much only 2D things can slip through the current crack used by Elliot and Madeline. I’m sure they could all pass through too!

I got the references to Isacc Newton this time, and understood more about why it was important, and what he really meant. Madeline tries to approach the question through science, while Elliot tries a spell.

I want to go to Spell Lake! Pity that I’m too old now. Amazing that the spell keeps most people out, except younglings.

The ending is a surprise, but a complicated one. I don’t know what I thought about it, and I still don’t. I guess that’s why there is a third novel?

For a minute there, this book had me grabbed. Well, maybe 5 minutes. But then it went back to its achingly slow pace and detailed mediocre details about each of their lives. 3 stars from me.

3star

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Review: Jaclyn Moriarty – A Corner of White

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A Corner of White
Jaclyn Moriarty

Madeleine and Elliot are from totally different worlds, one of which has forgotten the existence of the other. At first glance, their lives are hard by today’s standards, and things are upset. Little does the reader know simply how upset that is!

8661987This novel started so slowly and got so confusing at times that I couldn’t work out what was going on. I struggled to get into it, and found myself easily distracted. Near the end, I was finally hit with a shock of ‘wow’, but it only lasted a couple of pages.

A hint of history, for those of us who aren’t fabulous at history, but I’m not exactly certain how they fitted into the muddled text. Added bonus facts about Isaac Newton? Yes please. Jack thinking he is Byron? Really confusing in what I thought was the real world.

I wanted the different characters to grow tangibly, but I’m not sure they ever did. Madeleine and Elliot both make the same discoveries about themselves, through their communications. But I don’t think I really felt it happening, the rest of the text left me too confused.

The last surreal novel I read, In the Skin of a Monster, polarised me far more than this one – I hated it! aCoW at least had a sense of order, and I could understand the distinct worlds. Even the overlapping was reasonable, and I could cope with that. I think this novel could have been told just through letter to make it even more obscure!

From the blurbs at the back of my copy of the novel, Moriarty is a specialist in interesting forms of fantasy fiction. I’m not sure how tempted I am to read those other novels, although a couple involve schools, which usually gets me excited.

I’m really not sure how I felt about this novel. I’m going to give it a solid 3 stars, and get started on the next. I wasn’t enthralled enough to give it 4 stars.

3star

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Review: Will Kostakis – The Sidekicks

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The Sidekicks
Will Kostakis

Ryan, Harley and Miles have a single thing in common – Isaac. What each doesn’t realise is that their individual relationships with Isaac are build on different premises, but could still work out ok. Life keeps moving while you’re recovering, and the lives of these boys move particularly rapidly.

25574212I admit I had difficulty remembering which character was which for the majority of the novel. Not the main characters, but the side ones (haha). The abbreviations of their names tripped me up.

Each character rehashes some of what came before in their chapter. The author has done a fabulous job of twining these together and making a whole out of what could have been disjointed text. Each of the characters has their own particular voice, which is very important to me.

What I enjoyed about this novel was that there was no expectation of explanations for Isaac’s behaviour, and little-to-no blame on the other characters. In the end, it is the person who has taken drugs/alcohol/other who’s responsibility it is to look after their health.

I can’t believe how many teen issues Kostakis managed to cram into this novel and yet still make a beautiful piece of fiction that reads well. Being gay, having different parental relationships, drinking, college, the whole works.

4 stars from me. We need more literature like this for teenagers, boys and girls alike. The more I think about this novel, the more I like it.

4star

Review: Isobelle Carmody – Obernewtyn

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Obernewtyn
Isobelle Carmody

Elspeth has mental talents that she must keep secret from a post-apocalyptic world. She can hear the thoughts of humans and animals, and change those thoughts if she needs to. But she can’t protect herself from being proclaimed a misfit and sent to Obernewtyn. Things are not what they seem there, and freedom is not everything it could be.

3233802Elspeth goes from a lonely loner to someone who dares to have friends. Funny how losing everything seems to do that to a person. She progresses rapidly from someone only concerned about saving herself to someone who can and will help others. It’s that transformation that brought me back to this novel over and over again.

I always wonder what might have happened about Jes if things were different. There’s more powers than seem obvious, and I’m certain that given more space (which could happen since Isobelle has promised me a sequel!!!) there could be more explanation of this. Evolution keeps happening afterall.

This is one of my favourite Carmody books. I’ve never reviewed it before because it’s just a given for me that it is fantastic, and what more can I say about it? But my girlfriend had never read it, so we set about having me read it to her as a pre-sleep ritual. Reading it out loud made me appreciate again the gentle nuances of language and foreshadowing of the rest of the novels.

I in fact own two copies of it (the pictured illustration and the plain Penguin classics version). So that totally suited us when we were travelling between two houses and wanted to keep up our reading each night. Note to self though, after I’ve been reading aloud for at least 2 chapters, I start to stumble over words.

5 stars. You expected? Of course I love this novel, and I’ve lost count of how many times I have reread it. I started in high school, and spent the last 15-odd years waiting for the series to be finished. You can read my review of ‘The Red Queen‘, the last book in the chronicles.

5star

Review: Robyn Mundy – Wildlight

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Wildlight
Robyn Mundy

Stephanie has been exiled to an Island for the final year of her high school in her parents’ quest to recapture peace. Her time is split between her school work, her art and taking weather readings of the lighthouse. When Tom shows up, Stephanie’s days take an interesting turn and it seems like she’s found her first love.

27993790I always wanted more. It wasn’t enough for me that Stephanie’s brother was dead. I wanted the gruesome details. And it wasn’t enough that her mother wept, or that there was something interesting going on in the deal with her grandparents, that we never found out about.

The time period passed rapidly. Too rapidly. I didn’t get any sense of the days dragging on for Steph at all. It felt like I only really heard about her at the interesting points, so what she views as an exile from the mainland is just a really short period for us readers.

Frank is scary, I’ll grant you that. But Tom is really just a wuss. Sorry Tom. But why can’t you stand up for yourself? Really? It’s too hard? And when you decide, it’s like you can’t make sense of it and you want to wander off. That’s about as spoiler-free as I can be.

How did I really feel about the ending? Satisfied? Actually no, but I was ok with that. I think. I don’t know! Tom’s struggle seems real, while Stephanie hardly seems to have changed. It was nice seeing the future, but it was left so open-ended.

It wasn’t the fast-paced novel I thought it would be. 3 stars.

3star

Interview with Jaclyn Moriarty

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An Interview with Jaclyn Moriarty, author of The Colours of Madeleine trilogy.

I’m going to be reviewing three of your novels from The Colours of Madeleine. From your other published novels, are there some that I should absolutely read?

Are you mad?  All of them!  (Well, if you like comedy/friendship/romance/letters, then the first two, Feeling Sorry for Celia and Finding Cassie Crazy might be good.  If you want to read a murder mystery about the least popular girl in the school, Bindy Mackenzie makes sense, and if you’re drawn to ghost stories, Dreaming of Amelia might be best.  Finally, The Spell Book of Listen Taylor is a strange and fantastical book about a shy girl who finds a book of spells.)

I both love and hate novels that don’t leave a discrete ending for the reader. Have you ever felt the need to write sequels for specific novels, other than this set?

I think it’s VERY important for a novel to be complete within itself, even if it’s part of a series. As long as there is some kind of story arc that has been completed, I don’t mind if there’s more of the story to come – that makes sense when it’s part of a series – and I don’t even mind if there’s an unexpected twist at the very end that creates a kind of cliffhanger.  But I can’t stand it when you turn the page and the story’s suddenly, unexpectedly over and the characters are just in a room looking at you blankly.  As if you’re in one of those chain-story games where the person next to you needs to take up the reigns.

There’s always another novel in the pipeline to write… Tell me about it! Does it have even a working title?

I am working on few different books.  One is about a girl whose parents have run away to have adventures with pirates (the working title of that one is, ‘pirate book’, so it’s not even really a working title); one is about a woman who joins a self-help course which claims it will teach her to fly (the working title is The Effort of Pleasure but I’ve also got a title in mind that I love and don’t want to say it in case anybody dislikes it); one is a new Ashbury-Brookfield book about Emily’s younger brother (working title is, Killing the Hummingbird); and one is about time travel.

Also, I want to write a book about my great-grandmother whose name was Keziah.  So that just has the working title: Keziah.

Some advice other writers have given is that your first novel is best sitting in a drawer for a while, because then you feel stronger about choppingup ‘your baby’. Do you still have a copy of your first novel? Whether this was published or unpublished, I need to know!

I wrote my first (illustrated) novel when I was seven and it’s a minor masterpiece about talking dolls that is extremely reminiscent of Enid Blyton, and it earned me a dollar.  My dad used to commission us to write novels.

Do you have a dedicated writing space? How does it meet your writing needs?

In the mornings I work in a cafe.  My favourite is the chocolate cafe, which meets my writing needs in the following ways: it is small and quiet; they play great music yet the music is not distracting; every now and then people come in and have interesting conversations and it’s easy to eavesdrop and take notes; they give you chocolate with your tea.

In the afternoons, I work in my study at home which meets my writing needs in the following ways: my window looks out onto the courtyard so I can watch people come and go from their apartments and, if I don’t know what a character is wearing, I just steal the clothes of one of those people; there is a computer on the desk; my kitchen is down the hall and it provides tea and chocolate.

What is your writing process? Have you ever thought about changing it? Other authors I have interviewed talk about having an outline – post-itnotes in an office, or writing in paper journals. Is there something like that in your writing technique? Or is it all digital for you?

In the mornings, I use notepads and coloured textas and pencils in a cafe.  I draw pictures and scribble notes, plan chapters and do research.  In the afternoons I write the chapter on the computer, or half the chapter, or a paragraph of the chapter, or a sentence.

How do you know when a novel or short story is finished? How do you know to step away and let the story speak for itself?

I don’t know.  I always think I could keep rewriting and reworking forever.  It’s usually the fact that the deadline has passed or I’ve run out of money that makes me send the manuscript out into the world.

Do you have a preference for ebook or paperback format? This is for both your own reading and your novels.

Paperback, but I don’t mind people reading ebooks.  One day I will try one…

Social media is becoming a big thing. How does managing media outlets come into marketing your brand and your books?

People tell me I need to use more social media and I try for a minute, in a chaotic, helpless way, and then I stop, and then it happens all over again.

You have answered other sets of interview questions, is there something you wish someone would have asked you? Or conversely, something you wish they hadn’t asked?

I wish somebody had asked: ‘Would you like some chocolate?’

 

This interview is as part of the A Tangle of Gold Blog Tour by Macmillan Australia – I will be reviewing all three novels in this series over the next couple of days, so check back in!

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Review: Sharon Guskin – The Forgetting Time

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The Forgetting Time
Sharon Guskin

Noah spends his nights in nightmares and his days fearing water. His mother is at the end of her patience – job running down, daycare refusing her son, and the situation getting worse all the time. When psychiatrists can’t help her, she turns to a man losing language to see if he can get her inside Noah’s mind.

9781509806805The back of the novel simply didn’t pull me in, but I took it with me somewhere and I couldn’t sleep, so of course this got read! It should have said something more about past lives, and then it would have gotten me straight away.

Ooooh, the premise of this book is a tricky one. Chasing past lives is interesting enough, and then there is someone trying to do science on it. I would have enjoyed more stories, but overall it was fascinating enough. The trials and tribulations of both of the adults felt real and relatable.

In the swaps between perspectives I could definitely tell the differences in the mental voices. That brought alive for me the other parts of the story (such as the teenager). It highlighted to me again though that the law system can be so very wrong, even if murder is an accident.

I’m not sure what else to say about this one. Worth a read. It sent me away questioning all kinds of things, and wanting to read some of the reference materials that the author presented in the acknowledgements. I’m a scientist for goodness sakes! I guess that’s what appealed to me about it.

3star