And Baby Makes Two- Dyan Sheldon

When 15 year old Lana Spiggs meets Les, the manager of the local Blockbuster, it's love at first sight . . . for her anyway. All she has ever wanted is a husband and lots of children so when she finds herself unexpectedly pregnant she's well on her way to seeing her dreams come true. Or is she?

This book caught my attention in the book shop, standing proudly with Dyan's other books in their matching paper themed spines. The book itself was intriguing, but not ideal. Lana is very naive, childish and has her head in the clouds, this is very frustrating for the reader. She smooths things over to try and get perfection, but the reader can very clearly see the cracks. For example her relationship with Les is very shallow, and Lana (not wanting to pester him) leaves Les to lead a single mans life. Les is evidently not bothered at all with Lana once she becomes pregnant, and finds little baby Shinola a nightmare and a pain. But Lana keeps shining it up, imagining their relationship as being neat and ideal.

Lana has a turbulent relationship with her Mother, who seems to be rather neurotic, but then again I was getting frustrated with Lana by just reading the book- let alone being her mother. Dyan Sheldon is an American author but the book is set in London, England. She gets most things correct for this setting apart from that all of the names in the plot just don't sound very English. I'm sure London does have its Lanas' and it's Leses' but they just don't seem to fit the scene well. The book gave a unique point on teenage pregnancy, and is the first book i've read on the topic that doesn't make the reader feel empathy for the character. With it's dynamic end, I would say it is an ideal book to read on journies because the chapters are fairly short and end on cliff hangers.

Two stars

White Crow - Marcus Sedgwick

White Crow is set in Ferelith's tiny home town of Winterfold which, like so many places in the UK is by the coast and been dragged underwater by the sea. This is a somewhat gothically beautiful process, as the sea drags the graves from the churchyards, skeleton by skeleton. Ferelith is a mystery girl with a chilling presence in the plot, the chapters she narrates entitled after songs such as P!nk's "I'm not dead".

Rebecca (another part of the tri-narrative) arrives into the rotting town without knowing what to expect, she is here with her father, a former policeman with a very public, tainted past. Rebecca  instantly snatches reader's hearts and sympathies whilst tying up all three narrative and perspectives into a tight and fascinating story where the dark secrets of Winterfold's past tumble into the 21st century.

Dr Barrieux from the outside is a Christian; a rector, no less. He is rector of the church in 1798, and is living in Winterfold Hall, and his part of the tale is told through rough diary entries. It is through these that we learn of the doctor's longing to hear first-hand accounts of what the dying see in their last moments: angels or devils? He takes his studies to horrifying feets, but his subjects never come back to tell him what they saw.

White Crow is a gripping and engrossing piece of gothic fiction. Three narratives make the story really something quite spectacular and the variety in narratives is very assorted: a mad man, a mystery girl and a 'normal' onlooker. With shocking discoveries and emploring details 'White Crow' is a must read.

Three stars

The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins

In the Capitol there is a dark secret, behind the flashy technology and wonderful fashions everyone knows of the 12 districts that never see the high life. The districts, enclosed to prevent rebellion, are trapped and mostly poverty stricken. Katniss Everdeen lives with her Mother and her younger sister Prim, but after their father’s fatal mining accident the family have no money and very little food. Due to their Mother’s depression Katniss takes on the role of finding food and spends many a happy hour sneaking out into the forest with her best friend Gale to hunt, and gather herbs.


Every year a sick reality TV show takes place which puts everyone between the ages of twelve and eighteen in danger of forced participation. Contestants are picked at the Reaping event, but if you risk putting your name in more than once in return you will receive food to eat. The first year of being eligible for the hunger games, though her name is only in the reaping once, Prim gets picked. Katniss knows what she must do, she volunteers and leaves District twelve behind with the baker’s son Peeta. Together they must fight to the death against twenty four other contestants whilst everyone at home is forced to watch. Who will make it out alive?

I decided to read the Hunger Games when I heard the film was in production, it was on my to-read list anyway. I found the book incredibly engrossing and the characters are so detailed and realistic that you really feel part of the plot. Reviewing this has taken me a long time as the book is filled with fictitious words, terms and phrases that require explanation, but when reading the book it runs smoothly together and you understand naturally. The Hunger Games is not as gory as the blurb and title may lead you to think, I found myself noticing morals such as: friendship, commitment, love and respect for others. I loved this book so much, and will definitely reread it. The film is doing excellently in the box office and I really want to go and see it soon. I’d advice everyone to read the book though!

Five Stars

Mockingbird- Kathryn Erskine

'Caitlin misses her brother Devon. Since his death, she has no one to explain the world to her. And for Caitlin, the world is a confusing place, full of emotions and colours she can't understand. Dad tries to help, but he spend a lot of time crying in the shower. So when Caitlin reads the definition of the word 'closure' in the dictionary, she decides that that's what they need. And as she struggles to find it, she learns how to let a world of colour touch her black-and-white life.'

This book was a fascinating insight into what it must be like to be a child with Aspergers Syndrome, and how differently the condition makes you perceive the world. Erskine get's Caitlin's character just right, she makes the reader sympathetic towards her, but Caitlin isn't maudlin in the slightest. The book is written in a captivating first person with Caitlin as the narrator, this can be hard for authors to pull off, but Erskine hits it just right. The short chapters make easy breaking points (not that you'll want to put the book down that is!) and the discussion notes at the back are a nice little extra. In the back of the book, as well as the discussion notes, is a playlist of songs that Erskine listened to whilst writing the Mockingbird, and you can see how inspirational these pieces were to her when writing the story. A lot of research went into Mockingbird and I believe, with the amount of research that she lists on her website, that the portrayal of Caitlin's condition is very accurate. Mockingbird won the National Book Award in 2010, and I'm surprised it hasn't been more well known since then. 

I am not skilled enough to give this book credit for how truly touching it is, though it has been about a week since I turned the final page I can remember the plot and imagery vividly. The book puts you in a fascinating position, being able to see the world through an Asperger's perspective- whilst also knowing the reality. This is an art in itself as not once in the book did I have to stop and think "What does she mean by that?" It's very flowing, very natural, very touching.

Four stars

Entangled - Cat Clarke

Grace is in a room, everything is white- too white. There are pens and paper scattered on a desk. She has no idea how she got there or why she is trapped there. She has been kidnapped by Ethan, who is mysterious and asks a lot of questions. There is nothing to do, so she sets her mind, and opens her heart, to writing all the events that lead up to her being captured. Her family, her Dad's death, her rocky friendship with Sal and her romance with Nat. That's exactly what brought her to the park that night, armed with a bottle of vodka and a knife in her hand. That's where she met Ethan.

This was a fascinating book in so many ways. It is obvious from the start that Grace is on a downward spiral and it's not going to end well. Her character is so strong, and I think any teenager can relate to her. The book hits hard very relevant issues for its audience: suicide, love, friendship, alcohol and depression all feature. She is very much alone and is actually very afraid and nervous as a person, despite her loud exterior. I just fell in love with this character- she is a work of art. The layout of the book is flicking between her written memories (the lead up to her being in the room) and the present of being there with Ethan occasionally popping in.

The ending is a tiny bit disappointing, it is hard to understand and it took me a while to figure out. There I was; staring bewildered at my kindle, flicking back to try and make some sense of the madness. Eventually (i'm afraid to say) 'Yahoo answers' was my last resort. I had a theory about the ending but I was completely wrong and it caught me slightly by surprise. It is hard hitting thats for sure, and will stay with me for a long time to come.

SPOILER-
Throughout reading the book I had an ongoing theory about the ending. I believed that the elusive Ethan that found her in the park was some kind of doctor/psychiatrist and that she was in a mental hospital and encouraged to write down her thoughts as some kind of therapy. This also fitted in with Sal's worries about Grace (maybe Sal could of called the hospital?). I kind of wanted this ending because it would have been interesting.

The ending in fact appears to be that she did actually try to kill herself as intended in the park and the room and Ethan don't actually exist. She is in a coma. I missed this because I forgot that earlier in the book Grace mentions that if she were a boy her name would have been Ethan. Ethan seems to be her subconscious: asking questions she doesn't really want to face. I remember distinctly that Grace says that the door to the outside is open, but she doesn't want to go through it. She is talking to her subconscious to make sense of things. The very ending is her with hope of recovery. Which is the best thing for the character.

Loved it! But shame the ending isn't very clear! I give a fabulous four stars!

Hush Hush - Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush Hush is possibly one of the most boring, predictable and tiring book I have ever read. It is identical to the millions of other vampire fiction books currently invading our book shelves plot-wise.

It consists of:
A mysterious guy
He is very annoying
Yet you love him
You endure several deadly encounters
However through it all you still predictably love him.

It really is rather infuriating, but I am a fair reviewer so I shall type out a brief summary of the plot:

When Nora is forced to sit next to a guy called Patch in science she is disgusted by his obnoxious personality. He is very irritating and seems to know everything about her even though she has told him hardly anything. However she cannot possibly judge Patch because she cannot trust her own judgement of herself, let alone anyone else. She keeps seeing dangerous scenarios involving a mysterious person wearing a ski mask. Once its running them over in a car, then its being pushed out of a roller coaster, then a woman being mugged in the street, then her friend V being attacked. Every time the evidence seems to magically disappear before she can show someone the proof. But is she imagining? It doesn't help that a transfer student who could have been previously involved in a murder wants to mingle with her and V. But deep down Nora doesn't want patch to be involved, to her he is as perfect as an angel.

Compared to my previous Angel related review, this was a major disappointment and didn't fulfil the idea of angels well at all. When one of the main characters turns out to be a fallen angel there is no discussion on this, in fact Nora seems to accept this as perfectly normal with not as much as a question.
Plus, can you think of any other young adult dark fiction books where the two main characters meet as lab partners? Slightly twilight-esk me thinks? This annoying lack of originality means that you can work out the ending from the very start. Plus the main character appears to be either deluded or suicidal, constantly putting herself in danger in the poisonous name of love. Also the police are at her house almost every night to investigate crimes that appear to have never taken place, would she not have been referred elsewhere? The only good point I can think of is that for reviewers you want to read till the end to see JUST how bad it can get.

I give it an awkward one star.

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Angel - L.A Weatherly

My first NBCS book review! Here we go! 

This is a book that I have never seen or heard about before, the cover of a pale girl is quite menacing and makes you want to know what's in store. It is a crazy mix of romance, action and drama and is a nice alternative to vampire fiction. 

Willow's life is perfectly normal, she lives with her disabled Mum and her aunt and has a girly best friend called Nina. But Willow isn't normal, she's psychic and can see into the future by simply holding someone's hand. When she first agreed to read Beth's aura she had no idea what trouble it would cause and how it would change her life forever. Beth is popular and clever at school, but an encounter with a mysterious man is going to pull her astray and take Willow with her. Next thing Willow knows she is fleeing from the Church of Angels - a mad cult who worship angels who supposedly saved humanity. She isn't alone, Alex is seventeen, incredibly handsome and an angel hunter who was instructed to find and kill Willow by the CIA. Everything is not what it seems: the CIA has been taken over by angels. Is it even possible for Angels to be bad? One thing is for sure - Willow is a half angel... whatever that is. 

One thing I realised by reading this book was how much of a novelty and truly unique idea it is. The plot line is common for vampire fiction books; but the concept of angels is completely new and fresh. It turns our pretty much set-in-stone concept of angels upside down, and by the final page you seriously begin to ponder whether it could actually be true. 

I may be suffering from 'Angel Burn' but this book seems fantastic. It's narrative is unusual yet simple to follow, sometimes third person narration of the plot, then flipping between Alex and Willow's point of view. Knowing both characters thoughts made the romance even more painstaking, L.A Weatherly spun Alex and Willow's relationship so skilfully that the reader ends up begging for them to get together. Alex is also the perfect fictional boyfriend, which means the book ticks all boxes for teenage girl readers! 

A story of betrayal, romance, angels and a whole new side to the world. Warning - this book will change the way you think about angels forever! I give it a flying five stars! 

Yay For Little Reviewing Job!

Hello!
First of all I am very sorry for the lack of updates, I've been reading too much ;)
Anyway at the moment I have a fantastic system going on for book reviewing!
Ever heard of a charity called the National Blind Children's Society? Well let me tell you something... They are AMAZING! They have a unique service called Customeyes, which provides large print books in any format for young people with a visual impairment. So I can get my books just how I like them:

• In Arial 
• Bold
• Size 24
• On yellow paper

Call me picky! 

Anyway a fantastic deal has been struck up between me and customeyes, they send me books and I review them! I also got my link on their website:

http://www.nbcs.org.uk/customeyes/CustomEyes-member-writes-review/731

Oh oh oh! I was also on the front of their newsletter this morning! It was amazeabubbles! Thank you so much NBCS :) 

Anyway so I am going to get writing my first review for them now, Exciting stuff! 

TTFN! 

:)

My so-called Phantom Lovelife - Tamsyn Murray

My so-called phantom lovelife is a wonderful read for anyone who loves paranormal young adult fiction!

It is the fascinating tale of a girl called Skye, who was born with a fantastic psychic ability. Skye uses her skills for good by working at the 'Dearly Departed' spiritualist church, here she helps spirits pass over to the astral plane. She sees ghosts everywhere she goes and when a ghost called Owen alerts Skye to her drowning friend in the lake, they hit it off straight away. She begins to get to know Owen, he is a beautiful teenage boy with a noticeable scar on his face. Skye is curious because she knows that ghosts only stay on this earth if they have unfinished business or died tragically. Owen soon reveals that he had fallen through the ice, which he stepped on for a dare, during the snow . He has a mourning sister who visits the scene of the accident regularly, but Owen can't do anything to comfort her. Skye teaches Owen how to move away from the lake by carrying a pebble with him. But when Skye gets closer to Owen than her professional capacity allows she tries to encourage Owen to let go of this world and move onto the astral plane. Owen refuses point blanc and no amount of Skye talking to him will change his mind. In despair she resorts to getting back together with her ex, Nico. Nico is a member of the evil cult 'The Solomanarii' which promise ghosts a way to stay on this earth by enslaving them to the cult. This is Owen's dream ticket... can Skye stop him in time?

Tantalizingly twisting this book is very addictive. It is infact the third book in the series which includes (My so-called afterlife and My so-called haunting). I haven't read either of the previous books but I came against no problems in slipping straight into this one. I would read the others in the series because I enjoyed this book a lot.  There were certain characters which I would have liked to see have a bigger role in the plot: like Mary. Mary is an ancient ghost of a witch, I think she could have been used a lot more for comedy purposes rather than just appearing occasionally to remind the reader that it is actually different to any other teen novel. About half way through the plot you stop thinking of Owen as a real ghost but as just a normal boy, this was quite misleading sometimes. Also the scene where she gets back together with Nico is slightly unrealistic considering she knows he is part of an evil cult? I wouldn't take someone back who was in that kind of group, no matter how 'normal' he makes it sound! I give this book a fantastic four stars!

The Truth about Celia Frost - Paula Rawsthorne

The Truth about Celia Frost is utterly captivating, It traps you within its pages and won't let you go until you have read it cover-to-cover. It is the story of a girl named Celia, she lives with her Mum Janice. Celia is sick, she has a rare blood disorder which means if she has the tiniest cut: the cut will never close, and she could bleed to death. She is also sick of the solitude her disorder brings her. She endures terrible bullying at school: universally known as 'Freak'. Meanwhile, Janice is living in constant panic about Celia and worries intensely. But when Celia is involved in a stab attack at school, something strange happens and it puts light on a whole new scenario. It's a secret so terrible that Celia can barely believe it, but is it true...?

...The wounds sealed by themselves...

On the other side of the city, A women who is code-named 'Nemo' instructs private investigator Frankie to find the mother and daughter. She strings him along with the promise of a heavy pay check, but will she push him too far? The character of Frankie is very mysterious, he became a private investigator after being chucked out of the police force for corrupt practice. He is being instructed to find and follow Celia and Janice, but is there more to him? Or is he just the 'baddie'?

This book had me absolutely drawn in from the ominous title, to the very last paragraph. Paula Rawsthorne leads you to several different conclusions during the plot, and you are wrong every time until the very end! I must have thought up at least seven different theories about Celia until I found out the truth!

Celia meets the mysterious boy Sol through a near death experience, yet another wake up call. He becomes the perfect excuse to get out more. It's the perfect match and they spend afternoons by the lake as he teaches Celia how to swim and become more of a teenager. Sol tries to shed light on Celia's mother's strange ways, but is he right? Celia begins to play mind games with Janice and forces her into letting her go out, blinded by rage and unaware of the hurt she is causing. Or the danger she is putting them both in.

A must read... five stars!

Meeting Matt Haigh

In my town every year there is a literature festival, and it is usually a community 'cup of tea and scone' affair. This year me and my friend went to see Matt Haigh (author of 'The Radleys').

I have read the book, it is about a family of vampires trying to be normal while their mad uncle is the typical Dracula type. They hide the fact that they're vampires from their kids so they develop terrible rashes. It is a book that I would rate 3 stars- it wasn't great, could of been better.

But I went to meet Matt, hoping that what he'd say would compel me to flick through again! Or that there was another aspect to the book I missed completely. So (tea in hand) myself and a friend went to listen to what had to be said! Matt was unlucky, he started Writing the book before the Twilight phenomenon started, and finished and published it during the twilight boom. This must have been hard, to have your unique and wonderful idea of vampires demonified by an aisle of books with bite! The name 'Radleys' came from 'to kill a mocking bird''s Boo Radley who was a mysterious, shady character and a definite outsider. Matt spoke about the link between these characteristics and the way his vampire clan feel. Later, he described the places where he had set the book (a mixture of local villages near us). He then read a chapter and submitted himself into book signing.

It was a good night, but I don't think I'll re-read The Radleys, it just doesn't appeal to me. It was really interesting hearing about how the book came to be published and how the idea came to him.

Still here!

Hey guys,
Just to say I am still here and blogging! It's been a hectic few weeks and I have been non-stop! Been asked to write a few things for my other blog and some charities too! My other blog is: www.smallprintlarger.blogspot.com in case you want to be nosy! Thanks for following the blog and I hope to have something for you to read soon :)

Dizzythinker

Stone Cold - Robert Swindells

For Link life is tough. His mum gets her new boyfriend, Vince - a drunken fool who is violent and cruel.  Vince used to Lock Link out of the house at night and turn his mum against him. Then he isn't welcome anywhere - not even at his sister Carole's house because of her moody boyfriend Chris. To top it all off he was given a sleeping bag for Christmas. So Link sets off in search of a better life on the streets of London - he wants a flat, job, friends and to be happy. After struggling with mad landlords, muggers, job centers and cold winter nights he meets Ginger. Ginger could be the answer to all his problems - just her smile makes him feel warmer even in the coldest winter night. But Link better watch out: mentally unstable Shelter could be at every turn. Shelter is ex-army and on a private mission to 'save' the country from homeless people. His techniques to do so may not be classed as law abiding or humane though...

Another Robert Swindells Book that I have enjoyed, Robert is clearly an exceptional writer. This book will make you laugh and cry. This addresses the growing issue of homeless people in the UK perfectly. Shelter is a very complex but brilliant character and Link is very charming too. You must read this book because there are lots of amazing surprise twists! A Fabulous Five star!