REVIEW: Reflection, by Jessica Roberts

Rating: 5/5      A stunning eBook which challenges the basis of memory, love and loss with exceptional style. This needs to be published.

Bright, spunky Heather Robbins has escaped her small hometown and is anxiously beginning her freshman year of college. Rising above her rocky childhood, she’s found a place where good things are finally starting to happen: her own private apartment, refreshing college classes, and an intense attachment to a mysterious and rugged classmate, Nick Richards.
But when her dreamy college life turns out to be nothing more than a wonderful dream while resting in a coma, questions threaten. 
Now, Heather must press forward to unlock the real past, and find the answers buried deep in her mind. What she unlocks instead is a roller coaster ride through flashbacks, embellished memories, and a whirlwind romance.nd when it’s all over and she comes face to face with the truth, will she lose everything she’s fallen in love with? 

Review

I was lucky enough to recieve a free copy of Reflection via the We <3 YA! group. Thanks to all involved who made that possible. Basically, I adore this book. It was like a breath of fresh air, a perfect summer's day read, despite the fact that I started reading this late one night and didn't stop until I reached the last page at 3am. The way the story is told is brilliant, with a mixture of first and third person, past and present, depending on Heather's condition. This could have been a mista...moreI was lucky enough to recieve a free copy of Reflection via the We <3 YA! group. Thanks to all involved who made that possible. I adore this book. It was like a breath of fresh air, a perfect summer's day read, despite the fact that I started reading this late one night and didn't stop until I reached the last page at 3am. The way the story is told is brilliant, with a mixture of first and third person, past and present, depending on Heather's condition. This could have been a mistake - it would have been so easy for it to become tangled and messy, but Roberts executed it with both class and ease. To be honest, I would have enjoyed this book even if the coma/memory element had been removed, because I just loved the world that was built, and the stunning relationship between Nick and Heather. Too often in YA fiction the latter can be rushed and thoroughly unconvincing, but not here. But the additional twist of Heather being in a coma, and not being able to remember what and who is real and what she's made up whilst in her 'reflective' state was a masterstroke. The way the present in the hospital was intergrated with her memories was both clever and unnerving. I've never read anything quite like it, and it kept me constantly on edge. The ending was heartbreakingand I felt devastated for Heather. The twist was simple, but something I hadn't factored in, and I cannot wait for the sequel to see how this is going to pan out.

REVIEW: City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare

Rating: 1.5/5
I just don't get it.

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder—much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It’s hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing—not even a smear of blood—to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary’s first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It’s also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace’s world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know...

Review

Before I get started on this review, I just want to make it clear that I have done everything to like this book, literally everything. I have read it, I have listened to it, I have read positive reviews, I have watched video blogs raving about the series, I have tried to love the characters – for god’s sake, I even went and MET Cassandra Clare, and yet it still made no difference.

The thing is, I didn’t hate this book. Not at all. In fact, that’s just the problem – I had absolutely NO feelings whatsoever when I read this book. I wasn’t happy, or sad, I wasn’t thrilled or let down. I could have been reading the Latin encyclopaedia of the theory of space and antimatter and I would have probably got more out of it. And for the record, I cannot read Latin.

It was just dull. (City of Bones, not the encyclopaedia). Dull, dull, dull, dull. And it dragged out for so long, that by the end I was forcing myself to read it. I could only stomach the final chapters by reading no more than a few pages at a time because I would become so bored. And if you ever have to force yourself to finish a book, then you know something is wrong.

You see, the problem I have is that I simply do not understand the hype this book has. I have tried everywhere (see previous listing) to find what I've been missing from these books, to find that morsel of knowledge that will make me reach up into the sky and go “By Jove, I’ve got it!”. But I can't find it. I don’t understand why people rave about this series, I genuinely don’t. And if there's some fans out there that want to enlighten me, then please do because I don’t get it, at all.

Firstly (and foremostly) the characters. May I just say that I have never come across a group of characters for whom I care so little. In fact, I don’t care for them at all.

Take Clary. Oh Clary. What an abysmal protagonist. She is possibly the most boring, self-centred, wretched “heroine” I know – and I have read Fallen. She runs around, with not a clue as to what she’s doing, just being annoying. She has not one redeeming quality, at all.

And then you have Jace. It's such a shame, really, because he could so easily have been a good character. It really wasn’t that difficult to make him one. The problem I have is the way in which every single sentence is sarcastic and follows the same “I am so hot, you cannot resist my hotness” format. I get it, really I do, that he only says it because he’s a tormented character who hides his pain underneath a cool façade BLAH BLAH BLAH…

The rest of the characters are just too dull to mention, and so vastly undeveloped that it's painful to read.
Then there's the plot, or lack thereof, to be more accurate. It stole from every single work of literature known to mankind. In fact, there's probably some of my history homework from last year tucked in there somewhere. Seriously, is it that hard to think of one thing original?

Yes, we have the world set up of the Shadow hunters (or whatever they’re called). And to be fair to Clare here, it does sound like it's quite a detailed world she’s built (or borrowed, whichever). The problem is that it didn’t delve deeply enough into the foundations of it, and so I just got bored of namedropping things that meant nothing to me.

And then there's that RIDICULOUS 'plot twist'. yes, I know the resolution to 'plot twist' but I'm sorry, cos that is just WRONG. I don't care if (view spoiler)[ she find's out two books later they're not brother and sister (hide spoiler)], the fact that it was introduced in the first place shows how stupid this book is. I don't want to read that kind of story.

I'm still not sure what the plot actually was, to be honest. Of course, it's the first in the series so it's mainly about set up, but still. There was something about her mum going missing (?) and a mortal cup but by page 340 I had simply STOPPED CARING.
So, sorry guys. It's a solid no from me. Not quite a 1 star, because I don’t like awarding them, but definitely not a good rating, because simply put: this book was not good.

My only true regret is the fact that earlier this month, a friend and I went to meet Cassandra Clare. (I don’t regret this part and in fact she was truly lovely and we had a wonderful evening). It was before I had gotten more than 50 pages into the book, and so I was still optimistic that I would enjoy the series. In my blind optimism, I purchased the five books in the series and got them all signed.

The problem is, I can't see myself continuing with the series, any more than I can imagine myself continuing my attempts to discover the first intergalactic planet of talking sofas (which, if it existed, would be very cool).

So I have wasted a load of money for nothing but a load of wasted time and a pile of signed books that I'm probably never going to read. Because of this, at some time in my life – when I recover the will to live – I think I may attempt book two. Hopefully at which point I will have a wonderful epiphany as to why these books are ‘good’. But unfortunately, this looks unlikely.

Eagerly Anticipated Books

In the next few months (and beyond) there are some brilliant books being released. By strange coincidence, these books mark the ending of various much loved series, and whilst I seriously can't wait for them to come out, I'll be mourning the end.

Here's a rundown, in order of release date:

Rapture, Lauren Kate (Fallen #4)

Release Date: 20th June 2012

I have to say, these books are my guilty pleasure. They are definitely a love/hate issue in YA fiction, but I genuinely enjoy them. Rapture is the last book in the series, so I'm expecting a huge climax, and loss, rather than just a cheap shortcut to an overly happy ending. In fact, if Kate decides to kill Luce off, I'm okay with that (after all, she is an annoying character).

Once, Anna Carey (Eve #2)

Release Date: 20th July 2012

Whilst I wasn't the biggest fan of the first novel, Eve, (see previous blog post for my review), I am intrigued to see where this series is going. It has potential, but didn't live up to it in Eve. However, I'm ready to give it a second chance, and see if by some miracle the main charcter (Eve) will suddenly develop a backbone...and a personality.

 Nevermore, James Patterson (Maximum Ride #8)

Release Date: 6th August 2012

Oh, Maximum Ride. How I weep for this series. My feelings towards this final installment will be the subject of a future blog post, so I won't delve too deep into it, but I seriously hope Patterson will be able to drag this series out from the gutter and restore it back to it's former and deserved glory (though this is pretty unlikely). Put it this way: if Max ends up with Dylan, I'm suing.

The Mark of Athena, Rick Riordan (The Heroes of Olympus #3)

Release Date: 2nd October 2012

Basically, I adore these books (and, moreso, the Percy Jackson series from which they follow) and simply cannot wait to get my hands on the book. The world Riordan created is one I just enjoy being a part of. I especially love that this book will focus on Annabeth, my favourite character. After the previous two installments being devoid of pretty much any Percabeth, I'm expecting Riordan to make up for it here. High hopes for this one.

The Evolution of Mara Dyer, Michelle Hodkin (Mara Dyer #2)

Release Date: 23rd October 2012

After having devoured the first book, The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, I can't wait for the sequel. Mara was a character I understood, and broke the conventions of what has recently become the standard YA female protagonist. What I am interested to see, though, is where Hodkin is going to take the plot, seeing as though the first book didn't actually demand a sequel.

Requiem, Lauren Oliver (Delirium #3)

Release Date: March 2013

Another beloved series coming to an end. Delirium, the first book in the series, utterly blew me away. Oliver's writing is sublime, without being overly poetic and the relationship she created between Lana and Alex was beautiful, refreshing in a genre where insta-love is far too common. The ending of Delirium and the following sequel, Pandemonium, broke my heart and set up Requiem to feature what will be a stunning resolution to a brilliant series.

Untitled, Veronica Roth (Divergent #3)

Release Date: 3rd May 2013

Whilst dystopia has become an exhausted and repetitive genre, the Divergent trilogy is a refreshing take on the classic bringing-down-the-government story. The cliffhanger of the second book, Insurgent, was exactly what this series needed, and I can't wait to see how it will all be resovled.




Light, Michael Grant (Gone #6)

Release Date: March 2013

Well. What a series this has been, and I don't mean that in a wholly good way either. Such a brilliant premise though, and Grant created such a believable world that, even though I don't actually like any of the characters, still I was drawn to these books. At times they have become far too graphic, and beyond weird (that's you, Fear) but I'm hoping for a satisfying conclusion to the series.

REVIEW: Eve, by Anna Carey

Rating: 2.5/5
A hit-and-miss dystopia which doesn't fulfil it's potential, but builds the way for what could be an interesting trilogy

The year is 2032, sixteen years after a deadly virus—and the vaccine intended to protect against it—wiped out most of the earth’s population. The night before eighteen-year-old Eve’s graduation from her all-girls school she discovers what really happens to new graduates, and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she’s ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Separated from men her whole life, Eve has been taught to fear them, but Caleb slowly wins her trust...and her heart. He promises to protect her, but when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

Review

After having my eye on this book for quite some time, I finally decided to take the plunge and give it a go. I had high hopes for it, but with reviewers it seemed to be a very cut-glass love or hate, which made me slightly weary about which I'd fall into.

Strangely, the answer was neither. I did not hate this book. I did not love it. I'm in a very murky middleground, to be honest. It wasn't exactly a bad book; on the contrary I found it easy to get into, and there was some lovely prose from Carey.

However, I just think it falls down on the basis that it is simply not a good dystopia .
Thanks to a certain trilogy (and no, Divergent, I'm not looking at you) dystopia is the must-have of young adult. And that's fine, that's fresh - hell, its a thousand times better when Twilight brought in a shipload of miserable paranormal "romances" with it. But the problem is that all these dystopia are cutting corners.

Take "Eve". You have a (relatively) new premise, one that has potential, but the execution cuts corners. America - sorry New America - has a King. I can work with that, but I want to know why he's there. We're given a brief mumbling about a politician taking advantage, but I don't buy it. Why did no one overthrow him before? Not to mention the fact that he's so elusive that he never even seems a threat.

The basis of the dystopian world is that in 2016 (16 years before "Eve" is set) a virus ravaged through the world. A cure was provided, but this only made everything a whole lot worse, and so everyone - except, for some reason we don't know, the children - died.
But did they all die at once? The build up of cars with skeletons insides would suggest so - but how does that work? It makes no sense.

Moving onto the characters, I have to say that for a change, there were none that particularly infuriated me, or elicited any emotion from me whatsoever. This is mainly because they were just so bland .
Eve is a dull protagonist who just doesn't ring true. She makes mistake after stupid mistake, being ridiculously naive and completely unprepared for what lay ahead. Its like putting a barbie doll into a war zone - she just stumbles about relying on others and the oh-so coincidental situations which miraculously allow everything to fall into place.
Being brought up her whole life shrouded in propaganda and being told she is beautiful, her future is secure, the society she lives in good, she abandons all beliefs within about 5 seconds of finding out the truth of her School. It just wouldn't happen!

And then Caleb, the love-interest. I can't help but think he is a wasted character. He's basically a cut price Alex from Delirium with about as much development as a cardboard box. He had potential that was just thrown away. Also, his and Eve's "love" was pretty pathetic. There was no one moment where it made any sense for either to show an interest in the other, and even at the ending, I wasn't convinced.

The only character I actually liked was Arden, Eve's antagonist-turned-best-friend-within-two-milliseconds. She was genuinely likable, and felt like the only one who had guts. God only knows why she decided to stick with Eve - 'cos it sure ain't for the intelligent conversation they'd have. She was edgy, rough and brave - you'll end up wishing she was telling the story.

Which brings me to my final point. The writing.
The sentences themselves were good, and there were some lovely parts that read brilliantly. That wasn't the problem. I just felt like the whole story read as a fairytale, rather than a dystopia. It was almost dreamlike, as if an 80 year old Eve was sat with Grandchildren around her, recalling some far off memories of when-the-world-was-bad-and-I-stumbled-around-for-300-pages.
There was never any tension built - I never felt even slightly concerned for any of the characters. The whole thing would have been a thousand times better in present tense (not something I usually say, because at least then we'd have even considered a threat).

So, to conclude this review, "Eve" is not a terrible book. Its just not great. If you're choosing between this and, say, Delirium or Divergent, read the latters. I personally will read the next book, Once, purely because I'm a completionist and I want to see where - if anywhere - Carey's going to go with this, (although, being a dystopia, its not hard to guess).

REVIEW: Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Rating: 5/5
An incredible and relatable story which needs to be heard. A must-read for all book-lovers.


"THE FIRST TEN LIES THEY TELL YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL
1. We are here to help you.
2. You will have enough time to get to your class before the bell rings.
3. The dress code will be enforced.
4. No smoking is allowed on school grounds.
5. Our football team will win the championship this year.
6. We expect more of you here.
7. Guidance counselors are always available to listen.
8. Your schedule was created with your needs in mind.
9. Your locker combination is private.
10. These will be the years you will look back on fondly."
From her first moment at Merryweather High, Melinda Sordino knows she's an outcast. She busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops - a major infraction in high-school society - so her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't know glare at her. No one knows why she called the police, and she can't get out the words to explain. So she retreats into her head, where the lies and hypocrisies of high school stand in stark relief to her own silence. But it's not so comfortable in her head, either - there's something banging around in there that she doesn't want to think about. But, try as she might, it just won't go away...

Review

"Speak" is one of those special books that only come around every so often, the ones that take your breath away with their power and leaves you trapped in thought hours after you've finished.

I read this book in one straight sitting. Not because the story was gripping, or I just needed to know what was going to happen next (although both points are actually true of the book). No, the reason I read "Speak" in one go was because I just did not want to leave Melinda.
This is a book which is so completely about the protagonist. She broke my heart. She made me want to reach through the pages and envelop her into a huge hug and tell her that I was there for her, that I was listening even though no one else was.

Melinda is a character who I can relate to on so many levels, evoking emotions within me that I thought I'd buried away long ago.
We've all been through high school. I'm sure most would agree that ,for the majority, its a traumatic experience: uncomfortable, lonely and incredibly painful.

What Melinda has gone through is something most of us haven't, and Handerson does not shy away from facing the details. But the feelings she struggles with, the isolation she feels at school is something I feel is more familiar to the readers.
I know for one that I hated high school. There were often days where I woke up and simply could not face it. There were many more where I'd try and disappear into the walls, desperate to escape.
I had friends, I was not bullied. But I was sure as hell miserable.

That's why Melinda's story is so resonant. It strikes a chord deep within you. Her voice will captivate you, the beautiful stream of conciousness working so brilliantly for the story. Melinda is an broken character. The events that have led her to becoming the isolated freak of the school so damaging that she nears complete breakdown, but she is also incredibly, overwhelmingly brave.

What Anderson has done in "Speak" is tackle issues that are far too often shied away from, and forced us to confront them. It could so easily have gone wrong; so easily have undermined the trauma Melinda has gone through, but instead she has managed to create a piece of writing that not only makes your heart ache, but makes you want to stand up, to speak out.

A few years ago I read "Thirteen Reasons Why", something which deals with similar issues to "Speak". It is a fantastic, breathtaking novel, and I thoroughly reccommend it. But don't go thinking they are the same, because they each have different stories to tell and both deserve to be heard in their own right.

I am a firm believer in that books should be written for a reason. Far too often in YA, books are written for the sake of it, for the trends, rather than having a purpose, a message we need to hear. "Speak" is a vital message we need to hear. Its a book that everyone needs to read.

Hello!

Hi everyone.

This is my new blog, where I will be posting book news, reviews and musings every month.
My focus is generally on YA books, but I will also look at books that catch my eye from various other genres.
So stick with me as I set up my blog, and get some posts done.

Thanks :)

TLC