Review: Whisper to Me by Nick Lake

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review5 Comments

26030238

Goodreads | Amazon

Cassie is writing a letter to the boy whose heart she broke. She’s trying to explain why. Why she pushed him away. Why her father got so angry when he saw them together. Why she disappears some nights. Why she won’t let herself remember what happened that long-ago night on the boardwalk. Why she fell apart so completely.
Desperate for his forgiveness, she’s telling the whole story of the summer she nearly lost herself. She’s hoping he’ll understand as well as she now does how love—love for your family, love for that person who makes your heart beat faster, and love for yourself—can save you after all.

There’s no denying I liked this book. It’s interesting, poetic, romantic, has a great range of characters, kept me invested for more than 500 pages and tackles some really difficult subjects.

So why does something just not sit right with me?

“It’s so hard, when you fall for someone—the temptation is to look back on the past and rewrite things so they seem more significant.”

Let’s start with the fact this book is extremely long. Like, I would class a book over 400 pages as long – but this one especially. It takes a very, very good author to keep me interested for that amount of time and want to be invested in this book (*cough* Chris Russell *cough*). But this book takes place with very few characters and in very few different places. Therefore, I guess I got…bored?

It just ended up feeling repetitive. Like, page after page of Cassie talking to the voice and battling with it. Sure, other things happened that I found pretty interesting. But a lot of one person and a voice just makes it drag.

The only other thing I found strange about this book is there is literally no chapters. Like, there will be a half page and the next part will start at the top of the next page. So there are breaks, but no actual chapters.

“There’s a part of me going: Did I know? Did I know the first time we met that you would change everything? That you would change me?”

But this book did deliver in other places – many other places, in fact. The writing was pretty good, poetic and meaningful. I felt like I got a lot out of following Cassie’s journey of self-acceptance and I finished this book feeling a sense of fulfillment. I also – and please bear in mind I haven’t suffered with anything similar to Cassie so I may be wrong – found the mental illness was done very well. I have read that Nick had professionals in the field read this book before publication and I think that shows the amount of respect he has.

I also found he kept Cassie’s thoughts very…real. They weren’t sugar coated, and it made me feel really connected to her. Overall, I really liked Cassie and the other characters. They were all extremely well-developed and I think they supported Cassie well. I’m also very happy to report that even though this was a ‘love-letter’ story, I think Cassie would have been okay without the romance. The fact she wasn’t magically cured by her love interest makes me so happy – she would have been okay on her own. Go Cassie!

So overall, I had gripes with this book but overall it was a very enjoyable read. Don’t go into it expecting an easy read, but do go into it expecting great writing and well-developed characters.

★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Goodreads |Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Redbubble |

My Salinger Year. Book Review #27

On By paperbackpeteIn Book Review, PeteLeave a comment

Hey guys!

Hope you’re all doing well

This week’s blog post is about a book that is outside the YA genre?

My Salinger Year by Joanna Rakoff is a memoir that follows a young Rakoff, living in New York, working for a publishing agency. The chronicle looks at the trials and tribulations of being young in a big city whilst giving insight into Rakoff’s relationship with the infamous writer, J.D Salinger.

I rarely read autobiographies but I was immediately attracted to Salinger Year because of the setting. New York is one of my favourite cities in the world and Rakoff’s description of it certainly did not let me down. Her account of her day to day life was oddly encapsulating and her description of some of the harsh realities of being poor and young in a place as expensive as New York were actually hilarious.

Despite the story being entirely true the plot was perhaps one of the most interesting ones I’ve ever read. It is certainly true that the best autobiographies read like fiction and this was the case for My Salinger Year. The pacing was perfect and the characters (despite being real people) were pulsing with detail and flair. Rakoff’s recollection of her time with Salinger were so special and it was definitely intriguing to learn some secrets about a writer who is so infamously secretive. Also if you are looking at getting into publishing then this book is for you! I learnt a great deal about the world of getting a book from a writer onto the shelves from MSY.

I would definitely, even if you aren’t fond of autobiographies or memoirs, recommend My Sallinger Year.

I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

Keep on reading!
And thanks again Beth.

The Winner’s Curse. Book Review #26

On By paperbackpeteIn Book Review, PeteLeave a comment

Hey guys!

This week’s book review is about a story that over the years has gained an almost cult following in the YA world.

The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a young adult fantasy book set in a deadly empire of secrets and lies. The tale follows Kestrel, the genius and beautiful daughter of the General. She has lived a lavish life of ballrooms and mansions and has never known what it is to be in need. In her world slavery is not an uncommon practice and nearly all of the Empire’s elite have personal slaves who wait at their hand and foot. On one seemingly normal day when Kestrel is perusing the market she finds a young slave up for auction and in a rapid turning of events becomes the new owner of Arin, a nineteen year old who changes her life and the lives of her empire forever.

I never want to be the negative one about anything but really I can’t lie and say that this book lived up to my expectations. I’m not sure what sort of standards I had going into the Winner’s Curse. I knew it was well held on Goodreads and it was about wealthy and beautiful people but past that, not much else. To me though, all throughout, it felt lacking in a quality that I can’t wholly put my finger on.

The story itself was interesting enough but the rebellion narrative has grown tired over the years of dystopian futures and high fantasy uprisings that have plagued YA for too long. There was a weird feeling that although all of the details I was learning about were new like the world, the customs, the people; sadly none of the actual storyline felt new.

The writing quality was good enough and it would be very difficult to argue that Rutkoski doesn’t have an extremely impressive grasp on words. Moreover the characters and settings were interesting and the topic of slavery and freedom was certainly explored very well. I don’t want it to seem as though I am overlooking all of these brilliant details because really these are all the ingredients to what should’ve been a great book and I do believe the Winner’s Curse could’ve been a great book and not just an OK one if it’s narrative was stronger and more unexpected.

I would recommend this book to you if you are looking for something that is similar to what you have read before in terms of rebellion, romance and deceit. Otherwise, there are so many more intriguing books out there waiting to be read!

I give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

Keep on reading!
And thanks again Beth.

 

Review: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review3 Comments

12700353

Goodreads | Amazon

Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment. He has only one friend, Earl, and together they spend their time making movies, their own incomprehensible versions of Coppola and Herzog cult classics.
Until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel.
Rachel has been diagnosed with leukemia—-cue extreme adolescent awkwardness—-but a parental mandate has been issued and must be obeyed. When Rachel stops treatment, Greg and Earl decide the thing to do is to make a film for her, which turns into the Worst Film Ever Made and becomes a turning point in each of their lives.
And all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.

I’ve been so distracted by life recently that even reading has taken a backseat. Yep, even reading. But honestly, I’m not too bothered. I’m ahead of my Goodreads goal, and I only need to read a book every week and a half to complete that!

Okay I don’t even know where to start with this book? Did I like it? I have no heckin’ clue. Was it good? I don’t know. It was weird, I’ll give you that. It was unlike any book I’ve ever read before, and that’s kind of…impressive.

But I unfortunately can’t say I enjoyed it. First of all…I didn’t really like Greg. I found him really insensitive, annoying and just plain weird.

“There was just something about her dying that I had understood but not really understood, if you know what I mean.”

One of the best parts of this book has to be the humour, but I even found that really off and insensitive. Sure, I laughed, but it also felt wrong. Jesse has the perfect opportunity to make this a deep and meaningful book about friendship and death, but most of it felt so off the mark for me.

Let’s talk a bit about the film part of this book. Greg and Earl were ‘filmmakers’, which should be great, make them rounded characters with genuine interests and make me (as a media student) very happy. But these guys didn’t have a clue. They literally had no idea. If someone has a genuine interest in film, they should know a bit about lighting and camera angles and shots and ideas. But they had made and edited several films and I wasn’t impressed by the sound of any of them. Frankly, they all sounded awful.

“I mean, you can know someone is dying on an intellectual level, but emotionally it hasn’t really hit you, and then when it does, that’s when you feel like shit.”

Greg was actually the biggest thing I had wrong with this book. He was also extremely annoying in the way he judged girls on the size of their boobs and kept complaining about how unnattractive people were. Like what? Really?

Before I stop ranting, I have one more thing I have to say. This book seemed so pointless. Like, the title literally happened. That was about it.

★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Goodreads |Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Redbubble |

Shadow and Bone. Book Review #25

On By paperbackpeteIn Book Review, PeteLeave a comment

Hey everyone!

Today’s post is about a book that always seemed like such a big deal in the YA world to me.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo is a YA High Fantasy Novel set in the nation of Ravka. This once great country, that is largely reminiscent of imperial Russia, is fighting a war on all sides and to make matters worse has been plagued by a deadly darkness that cuts the kingdom in half. Known as the Shadow Fold or the Unsea by the Ravkan people, the barren blackness strikes fear in the hearts of all and Alina is no exception. In a world where the Grisha, those who posses special magical talents, are revered she has always felt extraordinarily ordinary, that is until she discovers a secret about herself that could save the whole of Ravka and change her world forever.

A lot of people are divided on this book but after finally getting around to reading it myself I can definitely save I’m in the ‘this was pretty great’ camp.

Leigh Bardugo is known across the literary lands for her sultry and sardonic grasp on words and this book does not disappoint. Ravka is rich and bulging with its own feeling of culture and history. Bardugo cleverly drops hints all throughout the chapters that add to the sense that outside the events that Alina is involved in there is a whole world waiting. From the occasional ravkan word to the intricate descriptions of traditional ravkan food and clothing, there is a genuine sense across the whole narrative that this world has clearly been thought through.

I was one of the odd people who actually read Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom before starting this trilogy and it was certainly nice to fill in some of the gaps that people warned me would exist if I missed out Shadow and Bone. The characters were all complex and wholly refreshing. Alina’s love triangle had just enough melodrama to be interesting but not too much to be cringey. Even the descriptions of the settings in the book such as the capital Os Alta and the Little Palace were so completely enthralling and interesting that I could never put it down.

And the plot? Wow

I would recommend this book a thousand times over and I can’t wait to get my hands on the other two instalments in the trilogy.

I give this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars!

Keep on reading!

And thanks again Beth.

Review: Sing by Vivi Greene

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review4 Comments

27246877

Goodreads | Amazon

Multiplatinum pop icon Lily Ross’s biggest hits and biggest heartbreaks (because they are one and the same):
1. AGONY. (That feeling when her ex ripped her heart out of her chest and she never saw it coming.)
2. GHOSTS. (Because even famous people are ghosted by guys sometimes. And it sucks just as much.)
3. ONCE BITTEN. (As in: twice shy. Also, she’s never dating an actor or a musician ever again.)
But this summer’s going to be different. After getting her heart shattered, Lily is taking herself out of the spotlight and heading to a small island in middle-of-nowhere Maine with her closest friends. She has three months until her fall tour starts-three months to focus on herself, her music, her new album. Anything but guys.
That is . . . until Lily meets sweet, down-to-earth local Noel Bradley, who is so different from anyone she’s ever dated. Suddenly, Lily’s “summer of me” takes an unexpected turn, and she finds herself falling deeper and harder than ever before. But Noel isn’t interested in the limelight. She loves Noel-but she loves her fans, too. And come August, she may be forced to choose.

Ah I’m back with another review! It’s been a crazy few days and the only thing I seem to be able to do is read, I’m finding it so hard to focus on anything other than a good book.

I liked this book a lot, but I feel like I actually shouldn’t. This one feels like such a guilty pleasure! It’s somehow addictive, and I had no idea I would be so invested in the story.

Books about singers tend to always be cliche, and this one sounds no different. And in a way, it was cliche…but like I said, it was also a guilty pleasure and one I couldn’t put down.

“We don’t get to be normal.”

The things that really stood out about Sing are the writing, the characters and the setting. The small island where most of this book is based was absolutely perfect, and it complemeneted the story really well. In fact, I really love how Vivi included the location and intertwined it in the story. It really made the book feel summery and like a vacation!

I have to admit I adored Noel and found him very honest and a total sweetheart. If I have any gripes with this book other than the cheesiness, it’s how Lily treated him sometimes and how he would just jump straight back to her.

“I’m just the fool who keeps trying.”

The only other issue I have with this book is the whole pop-star-on-vacation thing. Like, it’s not like actual people in the industry can just do that, have their best friends work for and live with them or have managers that just…accept everything. Frankly, it doesn’t work like that. But then again, this is fiction…and Lily is one ficitional character who is just incredibly lucky.

I did find the plot very simple, but I think that’s actually exactly what this book needed. As long as you go into it knowing it’s going to be totally cliche but utterly heartwarming, this book is everything you could want and more.

So this book might not be the most exciting, action-filled or fast paced. It was completely predictable and not the most complicated out there. But all of this cheese worked together and made for an easy-to-read, addictive novel.

★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Goodreads |Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Redbubble |

Review: All the Wicked Girls by Chris Whitaker

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review2 Comments

35120509

Goodreads | Amazon

Everyone loves Summer Ryan. A model student and musical prodigy, she’s a ray of light in the struggling small town of Grace, Alabama – especially compared to her troubled sister, Raine.
Then Summer goes missing. Grace is already simmering, and with this new tragedy the police have their hands full keeping the peace. Only Raine throws herself into the search, supported by a most unlikely ally.
But perhaps there was always more to Summer than met the eye…

Thank you to Bonnier Zaffre for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I can already tell this one is going to be really hard to review – because I have really, really mixed feelings about this book.

It would be easy to say I disliked it, but that wouldn’t be true. I didn’t dislike it, but I didn’t particularly like it either. The easiest way to describe it would be confusing, because my head is still spinning and I don’t know where I stand. I don’t know how to even begin.

Let’s start with my dislikes, because unfortunately there are a lot of them. For one, there are so many freaking characters and I don’t even know why. Like, I understand we need a lot of characters for the story to progress, but I literally didn’t understand who half of these people where. Like, we had cops that acted like cops but weren’t actually cops? And then we had actual cops that didn’t seem to do much? And then it feels like I met every single person in the town in which this book is set.

“There ain’t a reason for everythin’, some things just were and are and will be.”

This book flicks between so many viewpoints, and authors have to really be skillful to be able to do that without confusion. I can see how it could have worked, but I really needed more depth of character for me to truly enjoy the book.

I also unfortunately found this one a bit of a tough read. One, because it is incredibly depressing and two, because it just read like that. In a weird way, I felt like I was reading a classic or something, because it really dragged. Also, is this book YA? I mean, it’s a mix between adults and teens and it confused me so much. I didn’t even realise Noah and Purv were teens until near the end of the novel.

“We are passengers trapped. If you trust, if you truly believe, then you’re immortal.”

Okay, so what did I even like? Well, I can’t lie, Whitaker really does have a talent in creating atmosphere. I felt fully absorbed and immersed in the dark world of Grace and what was happening there. I also really enjoyed the writing and especially Summer’s chapters.

Overall, I did enjoy this book. I didn’t love it, but I would recommend it as a great thriller mystery.

★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Goodreads |Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Redbubble |

Circus of the Unseen. Book Review #24

On By paperbackpeteIn Book Review, PeteLeave a comment

Hey everyone!

This week i’m going to be reviewing a book I read a while ago which I wish I never read at all.

Circus of the Unseen by Joanne Owen is a YA magical realism novel about Rosie, a girl who, after an accident at her grandmother’s house slips into another world where nothing is quite right and nobody is safe to trust. This story follows a cast of carnivalesque characters who all live out their lives in the sinister Circus without any hope of leaving. Yet this is all Rosie wants to do. In her quest to get home Rosie must find herself, discover who her grandmother really was and try to uncover the secrets of a Circus that has always remained unseen.

The premise of this book was so so promising and the world itself was actually quite beautiful. Owen believably crafts this dark and elusive elsewhere that is rich with a character and history. Going into this book I was sure I would love it: Who doesn’t love other worlds and sinister circus acts?

Sadly my hopes for this story were not met. I am not in the belief that any one book is truly terrible or ‘bad’ but the Circus of the Unseen possesses such an odd and poorly planned plot that at no point during my reading of it could I ever find myself fully immersed or fully addicted. It is a great shame that Owen’s writing of the plot was such a downfall because otherwise I think the unique ideas behind COTU and it’s gothic world could’ve made this book a winner. The writing did not live up to my expectations: the narrative was poorly paced and all of the characters felt flat. The worst of it was how unexplained Rosie’s situation seemed to be at all times. As a result of this I never found myself caring about what happened to them either way.

The whole story although unique in Rosie’s slipping into another world was just that – unique. Past it’s originality the book didn’t have the literary skill to make it anything more.

Sadly I would not recommend this book

I give it a 1 out of 5 stars.

Keep on reading!

And thanks again Beth.

Review: Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson

On By Beth JonesIn Book Review5 Comments

18189606

Goodreads | Amazon

It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.
On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?
Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.
Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?
Kiss a stranger? Um…
Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane’s list. Who knows what she’ll find?
Go skinny-dipping? Wait…what?

This wasn’t my favourite Morgan Matson book (Amy and Roger definitely still holds that title!), but I did still really enjoy it. I loved a lot about this book – but some things did disappoint me. For one, I kind of knew everything that was happening. Nothing shocked me or made me think Matson had written outside of her comfort zone – but I did find it very comforting to read.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it was a great contemporary summer read, but I did unfortunately have a few issues with it.

“Real friends are the ones you can count on no matter what.”

So let’s start with the good stuff! The whole friendship and mystery I really loved. I don’t think I’ve read a book with a list to complete like this one did, and it definitelty made for good plot development.

I also loved the friendship between Dawn, Collins, Frank and Em. It felt really cute and real. I also think Em’s family offered something we don’t often see in YA, and I do love books with great relationships with family. Beckett made for such an adorable little brother!

“The ones who go into the forest to find you and bring you home.”

Unfortunately I did have a few tiny niggles about this book, as I did with The Unexpected Everything. For one, the ending! As cute as it was for two characters, what happened to the others? Without spoilers, is Em forgiven by a certain girl? Or the other friend?

Another thing I have to mention is Slaone. As close as her and Em were, I have to say she just kind of…annoyed me. Like, she literally abandoned Slaone and Em just forgives her when she manages to get new friends. I felt like the ending of the book, and the whole road trip (without giving any spoilers), should have been…more important. Bigger, somehow.

“And real friends never have to tell you that they’re your friends.”

Other than that, I really loved this book. The love interest was really good, and even though it was predictable as I mentioned before, it was also relaxed and comforting. If you love a good summery contemporary or anything by Morgan Matson, I’d definitely recommend it!

★★★★

-Beth

May your shelves forever overflow with books! ☽

| Goodreads |Instagram | Tumblr | Twitter | YouTube | Facebook | Redbubble |

The Smell of Other People’s Houses. Book Review #23

On By paperbackpeteIn Book Review, Pete3 Comments

Hey guys!

It’s that time of the year again when summer slowly and then quickly begins to slip away and everyone begins to go back to their actual lives. Some people hate the change in weather or the going back to school but I think we should embrace it! Plus, rainy days are the best kind for reading.

This week i’m going to talk about a book that really is as good as it’s title makes it out to be.

The Smell of Other People’s Houses by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock is a young adult short novel that follows Ruth, Dora, Alyce and Hank – four teens who are each struggling with the shifting state that their lives are in. Ruth only wants to be remembered by a Mother who forgot. Alyce is locking away her future to please her parents. Dora wishes she could hide forever from her abusive father and Hank and his brothers are running from a family home that doesn’t want them anymore. Set in the gritty and nostalgic backdrop of 1970s Alaska, this story is about hope, love, pain and family.

This book is completely different to anything I have ever read before. Hitchcock’s execution of the winding and well crafted plot is so seamless that the book simply drips with realism.

One of my favourite elements of the story is the effort Hitchcock puts into the culture and landscape of her characters. TSOOPHs touches lightly on the statehood that Alaska faced in the late 50s yet the feelings of resentment and strife are present all throughout. These emotions represent an ethos at the time felt by many who didn’t want to lose their traditional way of life. This issue along with others raised such as the discrimination Alaskan natives faced educated me immensely on topics I didn’t even know existed. It is a massive credit to Hitchcock’s talent that she is able to weave such an addictive and adventurous story that is also able to enlighten the reader all within under 300 pages.

The tone and general feel of the book possessed that intangible and rare quality that makes you feel nostalgic and reminiscent of another life despite never reading the story before. It was a genuine treat to experience such a rich cast of characters each with their own problems that were explored just the right amount through the alternating four chapter layout Hitchcock follows.

A final point that must be made, aside from the writers beautiful use of words, is her ability to see the bigger picture at all times and, as a result of that, amalgamate a tale that offers hidden easter eggs and those light bulb moment links that pull each of the character’s individual adventures together in a warming and intelligent way.

If would recommend The Smell Of Other People’s Houses highly and consider it as one of the best books I have read this year.

I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

Keep on reading!

And thanks again Beth