Reviews, reviews, reviews!

I have two Library Thing reviews today. I read the books a while ago, but have only just had time to post the reviews (a wonderful friend has allowed Bel to stay with her at playgroup while I brought Willow home for a nap). So, without further ado, here are my reviews!

Notes to Self

‘Notes to Self’ by Avery Sawyer is a riveting story that deals with adolescence and consequences. Sawyer presents a realistic plot that comes to life through engaging characters, making her story one that teens can relate to.

Sawyer’s plot is a very simple one. Robin wakes in hospital to find that she has suffered head trauma after a fall and she needs to piece her life and memory back together. To add to her angst, her best friend, Em, remains in a coma. The character’s journey reveals the consequences of seemingly harmless choices and the isolation of being different. However, this simple plot is brilliantly revealed through Sawyer’s characters.

There is only a small cast of characters in ‘Notes to Self’. The story is told by Robin and Sawyer has beautifully captured her confusion as she struggles with her trauma. Robin’s mother is typical as she struggles to balance nurturing with her teen’s growing independence, especially as she tries to piece her own life back together. Reno becomes a constant for Robin, accepting her with her injuries when some of her friends do not. Their budding romance is very sweet and his character adds strength to help Robin through her confusion.

Sawyer writes very well for a teen audience. Her novel deals with most of the issues and insecurities adolescents face. While she portrays consequences, it is not done in a condescending manner, making her message more palatable.

‘Notes to Self’ is an excellent book for teens. It deals with pertinent issues such as loyalty, friendship and self esteem. Sawyer presents engaging characters who are dealing with the natural consequences of their actions. It is the sort of novel I could see on a junior high school English reading list.

4 Stars

And They Called Her Spider: A Bartleby and James Adventure

Michael Coorlim’s ‘And They Called Her Spider: A Bartleby and James Adventure’ is an engaging steampunk mystery that is easy to devour. The characters and plot are well presented in an alternative turn of the century adventure.

Set in England, ‘And They Called Her Spider’ begins with a lyrical description of a female assassin who has captured headlines. Bartleby and James are charged by Scotland Yard to find her before the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. In a partnership reminiscent of Sherlock and Watson, Bartleby and James sort through the clues to reveal Spider’s identity before it is too late.

The characters are quite dynamic. James, an engineer who loves to tinker and prefers his own company, tells the story. He is quite out of touch with society and relies on Bartleby, a rich aristocrat, to help him avoid social faux pas. Bartleby has a quick mind and a very cheerful disposition. Coorlim’s plot is well presented to allow each character’s personality to shine.

Coorlim’s style is very easy to read. While the story contains appropriate twists and turns, they are not difficult to follow. At times, formatting of the ebook does detract from the story. However, I found myself quite enthralled in Coorlim’s steampunk London.

‘And They Called Her Spider’ is an enjoyable read. As it is quite short, I would prefer to read a number of Bartleby and James Adventures as a collection rather than as standalone stories. As Coorlim’s characters are engaging and the plot is entertaining, I will be looking for more Bartleby and James Adventures in the future.

3 Stars

Hippe Boy: A Girl's Story Review

I have just posted my latest LibraryThing review...

 

Ingrid Ricks’ “Hippie Boy: A Girl’s Story” is an autobiographical account of one girl’s experience with religion and divorce in Southern America in the 70s and 80s. Told with great sensitivity and yet a poignant sense of truth, Ricks presents a story that is very relevant to modern teen audiences.

Told from her own perspective, Ricks reveals the anguish she faced through her parents’ divorce and her mother’s subsequent remarriage. The reader cannot help but feel sympathetic for Ingrid and her sense of impotence in the toxic situation comes through Ricks’ prose very clearly. Ricks provides relevant details and keeps her story concise so that it reads as a narrative rather than a memoir.

Ricks has presented her characters as larger than life. Her own personality comes across as endearing and likable. I could not help but sympathise with Ingrid and relate to the highs and lows of her adolescence. From the very beginning, Earl is particularly loathsome. Whether Ricks’ description of him is purely subjective or not seems to be irrelevant and he does become a character that one lives to hate. Ingrid’s mother seems to epitomise mothers who try to do the right thing by both their children and their religion and become hopelessly conflicted. On the other hand, Ingrid’s flaky father is idolised and becomes Ingrid’s escape from her torturous home life.

Set in Southern America in the 70s and 80s, Ricks brings to life the openness of the southern states. From Mississippi to Utah and Texas, Ricks adequately describes each house, trailer and motel room. The irony of Ingrid preferring to sleep in the back of a car rather than the dilapidated house that she loathes constantly reinforces the anguish she faces at home.

I definitely recommend “Hippie Boy: A Girl’s Story”. As I read, I felt that it is very suited to a teen audience. Ricks’ story highlights the impotence that teens experience as they balance on the precipice between childhood and the autonomy of adulthood. Teens from any walk of life can relate to “Hippie Boy”. Those who do struggle at home can take away a sense of hope and perhaps take steps to better their own situation.

I gave the book 3 stars. It was a lovely read!

Kindred Spirits Review

I cannot say how much I am loving LibraryThing! I have won even more amazing books!! The latest one I have had the pleasure to read is 'Kindred Spirits' by Julianne Lee. She writes with the Book View Cafe and I am really looking forward to reading more of the ebooks from the site. I have put my hand up for a review copy of their Beyond Grimm anthology, and definitely have my fingers crossed!!
But I digress! Here is my review for 'Kindred Spirits'...

Julianne Lee’s ‘Kindred Spirits’ had me riveted almost from the beginning. I must confess I do not like ghost stories, but Lee’s descriptive style and dynamic characters had me wanting more. The more I read, the more I had to read to find out exactly what happened to Lucas Robert.

Set both in the present and during the American Civil War, Lee brought both settings to life with her vivid description. I really felt as thought I could see what Lee was describing, from Shelby moving into the old Brosnahan house and her first encounters with the ghost, to the horrors of the Civil War. Her descriptions of what the soldiers endured and their women who were left behind reveals how appalling and wasteful war is. The transitions between the settings are seamless and keep the plot flowing.

Lee’s characters are very dynamic. I adored Shelby and found her to be passionate, courageous and strong politically, emotionally and physically. She is not afraid to fight for those she loves and even those she has lukewarm feelings for, if it is the right thing to do. I found myself often amused at Lucas’s expense and loved how Lee acknowledged the character’s struggle between his feelings and Shelby’s propriety. I would have liked to know a little bit more about Mary Beth and Jason. This subplot often read as an afterthought with the characters a little two dimensional.

I found Lee’s style to be a breath of fresh air. A formal style of writing is unfortunately lacking in a lot of indie novels. However, Lee’s command of grammar and vocabulary are accessible while still being very polished.

I absolutely recommend ‘Kindred Spirits’.  It is a love story that is not a traditional romance. While it is a story that demonstrates that time is no barrier for love and fate, it is far from sappy. Lee’s resilient and dynamic characters and vivid description make ‘Kindred Spirits’ a thoroughly enjoyable read.

I gave it 5 stars. Go get it!!

Reveiw: Satellites Out of Orbit

I won 'Satellites Out of Orbit' by Chris Wind in the Member Giveaways section on LibraryThing. I rated it 3 stars.

Chris Wind’s ‘Satellites out of Orbit’ provides a “contemporary feminist perspective” of marginalised and silenced characters from myth, legend and modern history. The author attempts to reveal how a patriarchal society impacts the retelling of stories and history to reinforce the status quo and is, for the most part, very successful.

The book is divided into 5 sections: epistles, myths, letters, soliloquies and fairytales. Epistles contains the point of view of women silenced in the Bible. The concept is novel, but the execution is sometimes a little awkward. The ‘voices’ of Mrs Noah and Vashti in Epistles are very entertaining, but this is not consistent throughout the section, making the characters a little two dimensional. However, in the remaining sections, most of the characters have a distinctive ‘voice’.

Wind’s style is politically feminist. Issues such as infidelity, incest, abortion, marriage, childbirth and ambition are examined in light of how society places constraints on women. Obviously the pieces are written with a post modern perspective and shed light on how far women have actually come – from being relegated to childbearing and having to disguise themselves as men to experience success outside the home to having ambitions apart from traditional roles realised.

Wind has also provided an extensive appendix and advises readers to be familiar with the original stories in order to get the most out of the pieces. However, in the Kindle version, the hyperlink to the appendix is at the end of each piece, making flicking back and forth difficult.

‘Satellites out of Orbit’ is an entertaining read. To get the most out of it, the reader requires an open mind. It needs to be taken for what it is: a subjective view on the subjectivity of literature and history. Wind exposes how the simple stories that are often considered ‘romantic’, or are the basis for belief systems, can be used for the subjugation of women. The pieces also point out that there is still a paradox in our society as women have greater freedom outside of the home, but are still expected to attain certain ‘ideals’.

Review: Wicked Sinners

A friend of mine recommended Charity Parkerson's 'Wicked Sinners' and I managed to snag a copy for free from Amazon. I have posted this review on Librarything and rated it 5 stars.

Wicked Sinners is not the formulaic dark, brooking supernatural guy meets hapless, social misfit girl that I was expecting. While Parkerson’s plot twists and turns challenged my romantic sensibilities, she weaves them together with talent. The result: a book that I devoured, breathlessly arriving at the end.

At its most basic the plot is guy meets girl, true love ensues. However, unexpectedly tragic events turn this formula on its head. While it took me a while to resign myself to this, Parkerson’s engaging characters convinced me that this is the way it should be.

Parkerson weaves her tale with a surprisingly small cast of characters. I adored Adriana, whose impulsiveness and devotedness were enchanting. The description of Julien and Jacques had my heart racing, yet the differences between their personalities are striking. I must confess that it took me a while to warm to the character of Alain and even at the end I was not entirely convinced. But I am looking forward to Parkerson’s next instalments to convince me!

I thoroughly enjoyed Parkerson’s style. It was easy to read and engaging. Her flare for description won me over early. Even though I had not read the first book in the series, I did not find this an issue as ‘Wicked Sinners’ stands very well on its own.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed “Wicked Sinners”. I found it difficult to put down and I look forward to the next instalment.

Bibliophile

Just recently, at the encouragement of a friend from playgroup, I've joined a couple of reading groups. I felt like smacking myself in the head during the conversation with my friend. I'm an English teacher for goodness sake! I read more than a book a week (if it's good, a book a day!).

I've joined numerous online sewing groups, so why not reading? So last week I joined 2 groups (and am open to joining more!).

I was very excited to be invited to my friend's facebook book club which has numerous members who are authors themselves and I therefore get the heads up about new books coming out and new up and coming authors. The second is uber-exciting. The site is www.librarything.com (forgive my inability to put links in!). On signing up, I joined their early reviewers section and put my hand up for member giveaways. The result: I got given a book for free in exchange for a review. How fantastic is that?!

So, without further ado, here is my first review, as posted on Library Thing, for Rebecca Hamilton's "Forever Girl Series - Sophia's Journey".

Hamilton creates an underworld that is both thrilling and enticing in ‘The Forever Girl’. She successfully interweaves myth and legend with reality in a refreshing take on the realm of the supernatural.

The characters are quite delightful and remain consistent throughout the novel. Sophia is engaging and easy to relate to, as we all feel on the outer at some point. While she is no shrinking violet, she has a softness to her and a realism as she discovers there is more to her life than she ever imagined. Similarly, I found the environmental consciousness of Charles especially entertaining and original.

While the market has been saturated with books of this genre, Hamilton presents a world that seems darker and more mythical than I have read so far. However, this seems to make her work more believable as the ‘elementals’ seem to form a more complete legend than vampires and shapshifters alone.