Category: Young Adult

Book of the Week, Young Adult

Book of the Week: The Rest of Us Just Live Here

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It was a close call for BotW this week (I like it when that happens) – with Kevin Kwan’s Crazy Rich Asians deserving an honourable mention here for being utterly readable and totally cracktastic. But my favourite thing I read last week was Patrick Ness’s The Rest of Us Just Live Here.

The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness
My copy – which has a few marks from the commute…

Have you ever wondered what the rest of the kids were doing while Buffy and the Scooby Gang were off saving the world?  You know, the ones who voted Buffy class defender at the prom – who admitted that they knew there was something strange about Sunnydale and that she always seemed to turn up to fix it?  Or the rest of the kids at Hogwarts while Harry is busy fighting Voldemort?  The ones who aren’t The Chosen One(s)?  Well this is the book for you.  The Rest of Us Just Live here follows Mikey and his friends in the run up to graduation.

At the start of the book, it’s under 5 weeks away and weird things are starting to happen in the town.   It’s not the first time this has happened – and as always it’s the Indie kids who are fighting whatever the evil is that’s descended on town this time.  Mikey and his gang aren’t Indie Kids (you need a name like Satchel or Finn to belong) so they just see the blue lights, the zombie deer and worry that the high school is going to get blown up (again).  Each chapter starts with a summary of what the Indie Kids are up to and then you get into the nitty gritty of the daily life of Mikey and his friends.  And they have problems of their own.  Sure it’s not zombies or vampires – but alcoholism, eating disorders, Alzheimers, ambitious parents (of various types), OCD and being worshipped by cats and Mountain Lions are pretty tough too.

I’ve seen some criticism of this book for not a lot happening or being boring – but I never felt that at all.  What the kids are going through may not be as dramatic as fighting flesh eating monsters, but it’s important – and it’s relatable.  I was swept up in the dramas of what was happening in the kids lives – and I identified with them.  I wasn’t the popular kid at school and although I loved Buffy I would never have managed to be in her gang, but I did feel like I might have made Mikey’s team.

It is more low key than many other YA high school novels and it’s not as angsty and melodramatic as them either, but it’s touching and bittersweet and in it’s own way wryly funny.  If you’ve read all the stories about the Chosen Ones and want another side to the story, then this might well be the book for you especially if you’re a teenager or a student.  After all the schools are back, the novelty of a new year and new teachers has worn off and it’s nice to be reminded that as bad as your school life is, it could be much worse.

Get your copy from Amazon, Kindle, Kobo, Waterstones or Foyles or wherever fine books are sold.  Happy reading!

Book of the Week, children's books, Young Adult

Book of the Week: Carry On

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I know it isn’t that long since I had Rainbow Rowell’s Fangirl as BotW, but I loved this so much I couldn’t not pick Carry On – the book about the characters that Cath was writing about in Fangirl.  But you don’t need to have read Fangirl to understand Carry On as they’re separate entities – and there’s no cross over (or at least I didn’t notice any) between the story of this and the fan-fiction that Cath wrote in Fangirl (Rowell has said that this is Canon not fan fic).

So good that I read it on the train at 4.30 in the morning.
Paperback copy of Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

So, Simon Snow is returning to Watford School of Magicks for his final year.  But his girlfriend has broken up with him, his mentor wants to move him to safety away from the school and his roommate-cum-arch-nemesis hasn’t turned up – which Simon would be loving except that he’s a bit worried about him.  Then there’s the ghosts that keep turning up and the fact that the Evil Magic that’s trying to destroy the world (and particularly Simon) is still out there.

Now if this sounds a bit familiar to you, in Fangirl the Simon Snow series had a similar sort of world impact that the Harry Potter series did/does – so yes, it’s about a school for Wizards, and a Chosen One and his friends.  But it’s also not the same.  Magic works differently, the Baddie is different and the general dynamic is different and it’s not going to all work out the same (I don’t think that’s a spoiler).  As I was reading this I was reminded of how much I loved the Harry Potter series when it first came out, and how much fun there is to be had from a YA series about a Chosen One and which doesn’t feature a dystopian future world where everything has gone to pot.  And its been hard to find books like this – or at least I’ve found it hard.

I raced through this – reading pretty much 400 pages of it in practically one sitting (I stopped for dinner and Olympics) because I wanted to know what happened.  I suspect Harry fans may have a love/hate relationship with it – I wouldn’t describe myself as a super passionate fan* but I really liked it.  In fact I wish there were more books about Simon and Baz and their time at the school.  It did what I want an adventure-y thriller-y book for children/youngadults to do – it has a strong core group of characters with strengths and weaknesses (who compliment each other but also don’t always agree), who have challenges to overcome.  There is peril and adults are around but some of them are the problem and the rest might not be able to fix it.

I can’t guarantee that if you like Harry Potter you’ll like this, but equally I don’t think you have to like Harry to give this a try – if you like chosen one stories, quest stories, adventure stories then this one may well be for you.  And it should be everywhere.  My copy came from Tesco, but it’s also on Amazon, Kindle, Waterstones, Foyles, and Kobo.

*I own all the books (some in German and French as well), I reread Azkhaban fairly regularly and the other early books to a lesser extent, but don’t reread the end ones as much.  I’ve seen most of the films (but not the last one), I haven’t bought the script for Cursed Child, but I have tried to buy tickets to see it and I haven’t been to any Harry theme parks or attractions.

Book of the Week, books, Young Adult

Book of the Week: Fangirl

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This week’s BotW was an easy choice.  I fell head over heels for Fangirl.  I devoured it, nearly didn’t get enough sleep because of it and was annoyed when it broke two of my handbag-books rules (hardback, and at the point I was thinking of taking it to work I only had 150 pages left) so I had to wait longer to get back to it and finish it.  And we should just contemplate for a minute, why it has taken me so long to read this.   Yup. The state of the pile.  Exactly.  Hence my new shelf-reading kick (mentioned in yesterday’s post) to try and get down the pile.

Fangirl tells the story of Cath’s first year at college.  Her twin sister Wren seems to be rebelling against their previous closeness, and she’s struggling to find her own way and place on campus with out her support.  Then there’s Cath’s career as a successful Simon Snow fan-fiction author – the release date for the last book in the series is looming, and Cath has to finish her alternative ending first.  And then there’s her worries about their dad, loving and sparky – but fragile – and now at home on his own.

I loved this so much.  It tapped into some of my own experiences when I was Cath’s age.  I’m not a fan fic writer, but I was a child who spent hours in pretend worlds based on the books that I had read.  I could spend hours out in the garden during the summer, pretending I was in a series that I loved.  Then when I was finishing A-levels I fell in love with a West End show and got heavily into its online community.  I totally identified with Cath as she tried to fit Simon in with her “real” life.   And while I’m not anxious to the extent that Cath is, I am quite shy and I can remember the terror of starting university – and not knowing *anyone* – so I was with Cath as she baby-stepped her way into college life.

This isn’t the first of Rainbow Rowell’s books that I’ve read – I read Eleanor and Park a few years back and really liked it, but this is the next level.  I could go right back and read it all over again.  And I do now have Carry On (the story that Cath was writing) sitting on the pile – and I have Attachments on the shelf too, which I’ll be reading sooner rather than later.

I’m late to the party, but you should be able to get this *anywhere* that is selling books.  Amazon have it in their 3 paperbacks for £10 and it’s only slightly cheaper in Kindle.  Waterstones and Foyles have it too – and I suspect it’ll be in W H Smiths, maybe HMV and perhaps even some of the supermarkets still too. Go forth and read it.

Book of the Week, Young Adult

Book of the Week: One

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This week’s BotW is brought to you courtesy of heavy duty cold pills, painkillers and a bout of tonsillitis.   It’s all fun chez Verity I tell you.  So this post is late arriving and somewhat shorter than I intended.  Also it may not make sense.  I’m quite highly medicated and it feels like razors are playing at the back of my throat.

This week’s pick is One by Sarah Crossan.  I devoured this in one sitting after a late shift (when I should have been sleeping).  One is the story of conjoined twins Grace and Tippi, told from Grace’s point of view and in free verse.  They’ve beaten the odds and made it to 16, but now they’ve got to go to school because the money to home-school them has run out. But something is happening to them, something that Grace doesn’t even want to think about.

I was absolutely gripped by Grace and Tippi’s story.  Free verse (or verse altogether) isn’t often my thing, but I thought it really worked to tell the girls story, saying a lot in not a lot of words and packing a big emotional punch.  It also gives the book an air of uniqueness – which goes with the girls themselves.

It’s fascinating, touching and will probably leave you in tears.  Its a YA book that I can see being read in schools in the years to come.  Well worth a look. One is out in Hardback and should be available from all the usual suspects like Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles, Kindle, Kobo and Audible.

Now I’m off back to my sick bed. Apparently they don’t give antibiotics out for this type of tonsillitis these days and I just have to ride it out. How fortunate I have such a big to-read pile to keep me company!

Authors I love, Book of the Week, Fantasy, new releases, reviews, Series I love, Young Adult

Book of the Week: The Shepherd’s Crown

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Crivens! This week’s BotW will come as no surprise – it’s the final Terry Pratchett novel, the 41st Discworld book and the fifth to feature Tiffany Aching.  I managed to force myself to read it slowly (for me anyway) and made it last a week. I’m already listening to the audiobook on my walks to work.

 

As you can see I have the others in the series in paperback, but I wasn't prepared to wait this time.
As you can see I have the others in the series in paperback, but I wasn’t prepared to wait this time.

In the Chalk, something is brewing.  Tiffany can feel it coming, the Kelda can feel it coming. An old enemy is gathering strength.  To quote the back of the book, Tiffany stands between the light and the dark, the good and the bad.  And there will be a reckoning.

And to be honest, that’s about all that I can say about the plot of The Shepherd’s Crown without giving too much away. I encountered a massive spoiler in the Audible sample a week before the book came out – and my sister ran into the Guardian review which reveals the same Major Event – and I’ve become really concious of the fact that I  don’t want to ruin the story for anyone reading this the way that plot twist was spoilt for me.

What I can say about the book is that it made my cry, repeatedly.  But it’s not a sad book.  As the back cover says, it is a time of endings and beginnings, and they’re handled beautifully.  It is a Young Adult book and there are Serious Issues in there, but it deals with them very well, with Sir Terry’s trademark wit and warmth.  I laughed and smiled and really enjoyed Tiffany’s adventure.

I wish there were going to be more. But as I said earlier this year (in this post), we knew that the end was coming sooner than anyone could have wished for.  I still want the Moist the Tax Collector book.  I am greedy for more from the Discworld.  And the afterword in Shepherd’s Crown drops tantalising hints about what could have been.  But I absolutely respect (and agree with) Rhianna Pratchett’s decision that if her father is not here to write them, there will be no more new Discworld books.

And if the end had to come, The Shepherd’s Crown is a very good place to finish.  There are plenty of old favourite characters and there are some new favourites too.  Of all the Discworld regulars, Mistress Tiffany has more life ahead of her than the others (unless you count Young Sam Vimes) and so it seems fitting that she is the centre of the last book.

The Shepherd’s Crown doesn’t feel like a goodbye, like a world is coming to an end – it feels like the Great A’Tuin is still out there, swimming through space with the elephants and the Disc on his back, it’s just that we won’t get to hear about the goings on there anymore.  And maybe that’s Sir Terry’s greatest achievement – he’s created a fantasy world so real that we can’t believe that it could stop.

The spines of the 5 Tiffany books
It’s not as if I had a matching set to start with, so I’ll cope with the non-matchingness.

I’m planning to re-read the whole series.  If you haven’t discovered Tiffany yet, start with The Wee Free Men and enjoy her whole journey.  If you are a Discworld fan, who’s been hesitant about reading this, don’t worry.  I don’t think this will be a disappointment to you.  It is safe to read it.  It feels right.  You should be able to get hold of a copy of The Shepherd’s Crown anywhere which sells good books – but just in case: Amazon, Kindle, Foyles (sadly no discount), Waterstones.

Enjoy it. Make it last. Raise a glass to it’s creator. And mind how you go.

 

Book of the Week, new releases, Young Adult

Book of the Week: Fire Colour One

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This week’s BotW is Jenny Valentine’s Fire Colour One.  I do try to mix my choices up a bit – although when I go on a massive reading jag of one author that doesn’t help – so here’s some new YA fiction.  I got my copy via NetGalley and raced through it in two train journeys.

Iris likes lighting fires.  She doesn’t like her mum – or her mum’s boyfriend.  She’s lost touch with her best (and only) friend Thurston. Then the dad that she hasn’t seen for years gets in contact to say he’s dying.  Her mum is delighted – she wants Ernest’s art collection to fund her lifestyle. Iris is angry.  But her dad has things he wants to tell her.

Now, it took me a while to warm to Iris.  She’s a bit difficult to like at first, but then you see what she’s dealing with.  And she’s dealing with a lot.  Her mum sees her as an inconvenience and really isn’t on her side.  Her mum’s partner is the most narcissistic guy I’ve come across in a book this year.  Iris can control the fires.  She can’t control her life, or stop her dad from dying (and she’s not sure she wants to either).

Death is such a theme in YA literature at the moment, that I was worried that this book was going to leave me miserable and upset*, but I got to the last page with a tear in my eye and a smile on my face.  Then I went back and read the last chapter all over again.  I can’t really say much more about why the end worked for me, without giving it away and that would really spoil the book, but it’s clever.  Really clever.  And I’m desperate to know what Iris does next.

So, I didn’t read a lot last week, but I’m still thinking about this one – and I’m wondering if there are any teenagers in my life that I can buy it for (I’m not sure there are).  I know that I’ll go back and read it again too, which is unusual for me and YA fiction that’s not boarding school stories.  I’ve added Jenny Valentine’s other books to my to-read list too

Fire Colour One came out last week – get your paperback from Amazon, Foyles, Waterstones or on Kindle or Kobo.

 

* A la the 3am Fault in Our Stars crying jag.

Book of the Week, books, Children's books, Young Adult

Book of the Week: Wonder

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This week’s BotW is RJ Palacio’s Wonder.  It was hands down my favourite book of last week’s reading –  I was enjoying it so much I nearly took it to London when I went down for work at the weekend – even though it was a hardback library copy!  And the first thing I did when I got home on Sunday afternoon was to curl up on the sofa and finish it.

Wonder is the story of Auggie – born with a terrible facial abnormality and starting school for the first time after years of home schooling.  With multiple narrators, you see the world from his point of view and from those of the people around him as he tries to fit in and make friends and be “normal”.

If I could have read this in one sitting, I would have done (don’t you just hate it when real life gets in the way of reading?!), it’s that kind of book.  It really is one of those novels where you fall in love with the characters and the world and don’t want to leave it behind. And you can insert my usual comment about the state of my to-read pile meaning I don’t get to good stuff soon enough – because this has been on my to-read list since it was mentioned in an Emerald Street mailing soon after it came out.

I need to get my own copy – firstly because my library copy didn’t have “The Julian Chapter” in the end of it and secondly because I want to lend it to my sister and my mum.  And I want to read it again.  It’s that sort of book.  And don’t be put off by the fact that it’s a children’s/YA book if you don’t usually read that sort of thing.  It’s really worth it.

You can get your copy of Wonder from Amazon, Kindle, Foyles, Waterstones etc.  You won’t regret it.

books, Children's books, new releases, reviews, Young Adult

Young Adult Reading Round-up

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Welcome to my (roughly) quarterly round-up of what Young Adult and Children’s fiction I’ve been reading recently.

We start this time with Gail Carriger’s Etiquette and Espionage*, which is the first book in her Finishing School series.  Published 18 months ago – the third book is due out next month – it’s a steampunk school story which ticked quite a few of my boxes (Nineteenth century setting, school story, assertive female lead) and stayed on the right side of what I can get into when it comes to vampires and supernaturals.  I loved the premise – a finishing school which teaches its students espionage alongside social graces.  The cast of characters was interesting, the plot was pacy and you get the feeling there are lots more things still to be revealed in the rest of the series.  I think it would suit an early teen who was a Worst Witch fan and who likes Harry Potter – but it works for those of us who are Young Adult at heart with a thing for school stories as well.

In the last round-up I mentioned that Fools’ Gold by Philippa Gregory was on the to-read pile.  This is the third book Gregory’s YA series The Order of Darkness, which is set in the fifteenth century.  I suspect in coming to a middle book in this series I’ve probably spoilt the plots of the previous two – but hey, I wasn’t going to get books one and two just to read them in order because I happened to have bought book three.  That would be insane.  But this is an illustration (again) of why I prefer to read series in order.  Anyhow, enough digression.  Fools’ Gold is set in Venice where our intrepid heros Luca and Isolde are trying to track down the source of an influx of English gold that has hit the Venetian market, whilst also pursuing their own quests for various things.  It was fine.  Just fine.  It fell slightly the wrong side of my supernatural/paranormal limits – it’s more White Queen than Other Boleyn Girl – which may suit others but not me.  It filled an afternoon, but I won’t be hunting out the rest of the series.

In the last post I also mentioned that I was behind the curve with Rainbow Rowell’s work – and I have (finally) read Eleanor and Park.  For those who’ve missed it, set in the 1980s  Eleanor is the new girl in town with a troubled and chaotic home life; whilst Park is the boy in the headphones and black t-shirt at the back of the bus, busy trying to make himself invisible.  As the two get to know each other – through  mix-tapes and cartoons they fall in love.  But it’s not as simple as that of course.  Although I was worried for a while it was going to end up with me in tears on the train, it was all ok in the end (in that I wasn’t a weeping mess on the train) and I really enjoyed it.  I’m saddened (but not surprised) that this has been a bit controversial in areas of the US (swearing! sexuality!) but luckily that doesn’t seem to have dented the book’s performance. One for a mid-teenager I think – around the start of GCSE time.

Out next week is Oh Yeah Audrey* by Tucker Shaw – which is the story of 16 year-old Audrey Hepburn super fan Gemma and her meet-up with fellow fans who she met through her tumblr page dedicated to the Breakfast at Tiffany’s star.  I can’t say that I loved it, but it was perfectly fine whilst it lasted – although it did have a few issues, like a late plot development which I didn’t think was adequately resolved.  It’s set over the course of one day – so naturally there’s not a whole lot of scope for character development, but it does have a nice take on some of the best – and worst – bits of the social media revolution.

And a massively advance heads-up about Unspeakable* by Abbie Rushton – which isn’t actually out until February – which is bonkers.  I’m sure I’ll mention it closer to the time to remind you, but it’s really worth putting a note in your diary to look out for it because it’s really good. It deals with difficult issues, it’s powerful, it’s emotional and it’s gripping.  Unspeakable is the story of Megan.  She doesn’t speak.  She wants to – but the voices in her head won’t let her.  Then Jasmine joins her school and suddenly talkative Jasmine is unlocking things inside Megan – could she be the answer?  But what will happen if she rediscovers her voice?

So there you have it – the best bits of my latest Young Adult reading.  A quick mention should also go to the first Wells and Wong book* – which I reviewed in the Back To School post and is also well worth a look if you have someone to buy for who has read all of the Worst Witch, St Clares, Mallory Towers sort of books.  Book Two is due out early next year.  As usual – any more recommendations for what I should be reading in the YA world always welcome – pop them in the comments.

And thanks as always to NetGalley who provided me with my copies of the books which have asterisks (*) next to their titles in return for an honest review (as if I’d ever do anything otherwise).  All the others come from the pile of purchases!

Children's books, reviews, Young Adult

Children’s and Young Adult Round-up

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Just a quick post about some of the Children’s and YA fiction that I’ve read recently.  I may be a grown-up, but I’ve never grown out of children’s books and teen fiction.  I love buying picture books for the little people in the extended family – and I still collect several series of books that I used to read when I was at primary school.  So it follows that if I hear about some good books in the Young Adult genre I’ll pick them up!

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green – I was very late to the party on this one, only getting around to reading the book a couple of weeks before the film came out.  I found it really readable and suprisingly upbeat for a book about cancer – right until the final act, which left me a weepy snotty mess at nearly 3am after I stayed up to get to the end and find out what happened.

Death Cloud (Young Sherlock Holmes) by Andrew Lane – This was an impulse request on Net Galley because I’ve always had a soft spot for children’s versions of adult characters.  And actually it was really readable – enough of a thriller to satisfy the reader and with Sherlock doing a lot of the leg work, but not so much that it seemed unrealistic for what a young boy could have accomplished.  Definitely a good set up for a series – and I’ll be bearing these in mind when I’m picking books out for my godson next time.

Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret by Judy Blume – which was put up as a Net Galley download after a vote on favourite books by Blume.  And re-reading this 20 years after I first encountered it, I really think it still works.  I worry that some of the books that I loved as a child won’t attract children today because the world they portray is so different to the one that they live in – no mobile phones, no computers let alone the internet.  And then I re-read a book like this and realise that good story telling is universal and timeless.  it might take me a lot less time to read it these days, but I still enjoyed it – and if you have a girl in your life about 9 or 10 years old who hasn’t read this – why not?

Red by Alison Cherry – A rare book that I gave up on (I really hate not finishing books) but I just couldn’t work up any enthusiasm for this one once I started reading it, which was a shame as I’d liked the look of the blurb.  Set in a redhead sanctuary, it’s the story of the town’s queen bee – who is hiding the fact that her red hair isn’t natural.  I grew up on classic school stories and Sweet Valley High, Babysitters club etc none of which are completely focused on looks and external appearances and mostly focus on the underdog rather than the Prom Queen which may explain why this didn’t draw my attention.

Waiting on the shelf to be read at the moment are Flambards – which was on a list of classic children’s books and which I hadn’t read –  Philippa Gregory’s Fool’s Gold which I picked up in a shopping spree in The Works and How To Love by Katie Cotugno – which was part of the same competition prize as Red and which I’ve been putting off reading as I didn’t enjoy Red!  I really need to read some Rainbow Rowell and I want to look at some more John Green.  Any other recommendations for Children’s/YA novels that I should try, please put in the comments – I think I’ve done the most of the obvious (Harry Potter, Hunger Games) but I’m always looking out for stuff I’ve missed.