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Book Review UKYA

REVIEW: Trouble by Non Pratt

Posted on 17 February, 2014

Trouble was my most anticipated novel of 2014 and so I was very excited when I was gifted a copy from the lovely Debbie at Snuggling on the Sofa. It feels as if I’ve been waiting for this book my entire YA-reading life. I cannot praise it highly enough.

Hannah is 15 and pregnant. Teenage years are hard anyway, so add a bump into the equation, and you have Trouble. The thing is, though, Hannah’s baby is fatherless. So when new boy, Aaron, steps forward for the role and offers to become a stand-in father, it’s unclear if he has ulterior motives or is just trying to be a good person.

Told in alternating perspectives, we get to know both of our protagonists, Hannah and Aaron, very well throughout and the thing that struck me the most about their similarities is that they’re both going through tough times. This leads for a very exciting read; with so many twists and turns it’ll give you whiplash. I’m usually a very good girl and get my beauty sleep, but Trouble kept me up reading until late (shhh…Don’t tell my mum!) because I couldn’t bear to put it down; I was hooked!

Hannah’s pregnancy was dealt with in a very good manner and it was easy to sympathise with her. Pratt has realistically portrayed her as a spirited British teenager, and conveyed her feelings to pregnancy and life so well. It was so good to get to know Hannah within the pages.

Aaron was such a complex character and so interesting. Because of the depth to his character, I enjoyed reading the chapters written from his perspective and it offered a nice contrast between Hannah’s character and his because they were quite different in many ways. He was so kind and caring towards Hannah and truly devoted.

I can’ t finish my review without talking about the authenticity of both Hannah and Aaron’s teenage voices. It makes me smile to think about it because it makes me want to shout from the rooftops about UKYA fiction. You all know how much I love it, anyway, and I think Trouble is right up there with all of the award-winning UKYA. It’s captured teen life so, so well, and I think this is a major selling point for those teens who don’t read as much as others: it’s so relatable they’ll fall straight into the story.

I don’t think I’ve read a book quite like Trouble before, so I’ll definitely be seeking more out now. It came at a time when I was in a bit of a reading rut and couldn’t get out of it. I can’t wait for you all to read it and love it just as much as I did.

Book Review

REVIEW: The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry

Posted on 3 February, 2014

After it popping up quite a lot and being rather intrigued, I decided to buy The Library of Unrequited Love by Sophie Divry. Being around ninety pages, it’s an incredibly quick read, and I managed to zoom through it one morning.

The Library of Unrequited Love tells the story of a French librarian who opens her section of the library one morning to find someone who has been locked in overnight. Written in second person perspective to this person, the narrator discusses her love of books, her problems with the library system, and shares her attraction to one library visitor in particular.

The Library of Unrequited Love is, of course, a book that will be loved by book lovers. There are many passages throughout the book I wanted to highlight and scribble over but it would probably pain me to do so because I hate to treat books in such a way. Even though the narrator isn’t in her dream section of the library, her passion for books really shines through. It’s one of the things I loved most about the book, and really stood out.

Something striking about our narrator is her bitterness. It was nice to read about a character who had such strong opinions about things as this really helped connect reader and narrator. This connection was very important, as there are a few gaps in the reader’s knowledge of our narrator, her name being one of those things. I think this worked in the books favour though, so it’s not a bad thing. It’s what makes the book so unique.

I’m not sure why I only rated the book three stars. The rating is not a true reflection of my feelings towards the books, because I could have given it five stars. There was just something stopping me from giving it five, or even four, stars. Rating does not equal enjoyment, though, so please remember this.

For such a short book, there was so much emotion and feeling packed in. It’s not a book I’m going to forget in a hurry. The length of the book was something I particularly liked. It wouldn’t be the same if it were drawn out for hundreds of pages.

And, another thing I liked reading about, was the French culture. As the book has been translated from French to English, I think the culture was shown more than if it had been written in English and not been translated. In the past, I haven’t enjoyed books that have been translated so I was pleased to see how well this was translated.

I really think you should all read The Library of Unrequited Love. It won’t take you long and is a lovely book to curl up with on long, winter nights.

Book Review UKYA

REVIEW: Leopold Blue by Rosie Rowell

Posted on 31 January, 2014

You may know by now that I’ll read practically anything Hot Key Books publish. So when Leopold Blue was offered to me to review, I jumped at the chance. Once again, I wasn’t let down. They really are a miracle publisher.

We all know how confusing it can be growing up, and Leopold Blue is a story all about discovery. One of the most striking things about the novel is its beautiful writing and voice. The protagonist, Meg, doesn’t have any friends due to the fact that her mother educates farm workers about AIDS. Set in 1990’s South Africa, the racial and political turmoil in the country during this time is informative without seeming too ‘know it all’ and there’s so much to take out of this book, especially historical information.

As a teenager myself, I know the feelings of wanting to fit in and find friends. When Meg meets Xanthe, the new girl who befriends Meg, we see the changes Meg makes to herself to try to fit in. I loved how authentic Meg’s voice was. There wasn’t a moment when I didn’t believe in the words coming out of her mouth.

Because it is set in such an important part in South Africa’s history, I felt, throughout reading, as if I was witnessing such significance. Even if you’re not familiar with the time, if you’re a younger reader like myself, all questions are answered immediately.

An addition I liked was the footnotes, explaining the language and cultural terms. I know I can sometimes find it tricky to understand such differences between cultures in some books, so it was nice to have an explanation and it also offered a very nice insight. I really enjoy learning about different cultures and I felt like it helped me connect to the story even more.

I feel as if there wasn’t a lot going on in terms of a strong plot because Leopold Blue is very character driven. Understand that I do not mean this in a bad way at all. Sometimes a good character driven novel is just what you need. With high fantasy and dystopia novels so big at the moment, a change is so, so good.

I really enjoyed Leopold Blue. It was a refreshing read and one I will definitely be recommending. You all must read it!

Book Review

REVIEW: The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

Posted on 27 January, 2014

I don’t usually read classics. I’m not sure why. For some reason, classics are totally different to other books and scare me off. So when I was assigned to read this for school, I was a bit skeptical. After all, it is one of the ‘great American classics.’ The thing is, though, I ended up really, really loving it. It’s now one of my favourite books of all time.

To explain the plot is quite hard because there isn’t really a plot at all. The Catcher in the Rye is very character driven, almost entirely character driven. We get hints of a core plot running through the entire novel, but, even at the end, and after thinking very hard, I’m still not entirely sure of the plot. I think you just need to pick it up and read for yourself.

Our protagonist is Holden Caulfield. At the start of the novel we find out he has been kicked out of his fourth school, Pencey Prep. After a string of events meaning Holden leaves Pencey days before he is supposed to, he finds himself in New York.

The Catcher in the Rye is a story of adolescence and identity. Holden often talks of adults being ‘phonies’ and has a very childlike mind. Throughout the novel we get the idea that Holden is grasping onto the last threads of his childhood whilst coming to terms with his impending adulthood. It’s such a difficult time and age is something that is mentioned a lot during the novel, whether it’s Holden being told he’s too young to drink in a bar, or calling someone ‘old.’ The contrast between young and old is striking and I think it’s very interesting to think about.

Another major theme is acceptance. Through his actions, it is clear that Holden is seeking the acceptance and attention he so needs. It’s as if he needs the bridge between childhood and adulthood to be acknowledged.

Holden is such an interesting and inspiring character. I felt as if I understood him to such a great extent and his words were so thought provoking. Salinger has created a character that is the epitome of teenage thoughts and feelings. Teenage years are full of discovering who you are, and Holden’s journey was all about discovering himself. I really wanted to give him a big hug.

The Catcher in the Rye isn’t the right book for everyone, but you won’t know until you try it out.

Book Review

REVIEW: This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Posted on 6 January, 2014

Lately I’ve been going through an unconscious phase. For some reason I’ve been reading a lot of music related books and This Song Will Save Your Life was one of those books. I don’t think I have an expert ear when it comes to music but I have some knowledge and one of the things I loved about this novel was that it was so informative without you realising until afterwards. It’s a book that definitely deserves the hype it’s getting.

Elise Dembowski is one of those people who have never fitted in. She sets out, over the summer, to ‘popularise’ herself, but when she turns up at school for the new year nothing has changed. She’s still the social outcast and she realises she’ll always be the same. So she makes a big decision and walks the many miles home and plans to take her own life. Skip forward a few months and Elise is walking at night when she stumbles across two girls who lead her to a nightclub. It’s only there for one night a week and it could offer her the chance to finally be accepted.

I really liked Elise and grew to like her even more as the book progressed. She was quite a complex character but it was easy to slip into her head and understand her. Sales has written her in such a way that you feel as if you are her and I enjoyed it more because of that.

Vicky was by far my favourite character. I just wanted to give her a massive hug and she was so accepting of Elise. Do you know how sometimes you crave a companion novel to a book? I would love to read a book entirely about Vicky. She was so awesome!

One of the main things I loved about This Song Will Save Your Life was its originality. I don’t think I’ve ever read a similar book before that contained so many different elements. Although music is a large theme, there was so much more going on in the background.

The musical element felt so natural and to hear that Sales is not a DJ herself really surprised me. For someone like myself who knows nothing about it, I was eased right into DJ’ing and didn’t struggle to understand it at all.

I really think you should all pick up a copy of This Song Will Save Your Life because you won’t regret it. It’s a truly beautiful book that will blow you away.

Book Review UKYA

REVIEW: More Than This by Patrick Ness

Posted on 23 September, 2013

More Than This is the first of Ness’ books that I’ve read and, understanding the hype that comes with his books, I was very nervous about starting this.

The novel starts with the main character drowning. That may seem like a spoiler, but it’s not. When Seth drowns, he wakes up in an empty world; he is the only person there. It just so happens that the place he wakes up is the English town in which he moved from after a horrific incident happened to his younger brother, Owen. Where is he?

More Than This is very hard to put into one genre. I would describe it as a futuristic psychological science fiction thriller because it’s a mish mash of lots of different elements. It worked surprisingly well and I was glad that it didn’t get confusing.

Seth, the protagonist, really grows throughout the novel. His arc is particularly notable because he goes on such a journey. We see him open up and really come into himself. His situation is difficult and Ness has written such an emotional and true character.

I’m trying not to spoil anything in this review because so much goes on throughout the novel that could spoil things later on. I was kept guessing and then Ness would throw something at you that sent you reeling. I think I had whiplash whilst reading this!

I really loved the writing style. Written in third person with flashbacks from before Seth’s death, More Than This wouldn’t have worked any way else. The flashbacks were revealing but didn’t give away too much and having it written in third person meant that you weren’t always stuck in Seth’s head.

I really enjoyed More Than This and will be posting something to do with it next week. It’s something different to the norm and I’ll definitely be recommending it now. It’s not often that you read a book that you completely fall in love with, but this is one of them.