Book Review: Panic by Lauren Oliver.

Product details:
Publisher: HarperCollins.
Hardcover, 416 pages.
Release date: March 4th 2014.
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Ages: 14+
Source: Received from publisher for review.

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

Kids will do just about anything to get the hell out of Carp…

For Heather, the high-stakes game of Panic is all about escape; escape from a recent heartbreak and from her crappy trailer-park lifestyle. Dodge, on the other hand, doesn’t care about the money on offer: he just wants revenge. Dodge’s sister lives out her days in a wheelchair thanks to Panic. Now, it’s payback time.

Lauren Oliver’s new offering, a gritty contemporary tale, recalls Stephen King in its depiction of disillusioned youth in a claustrophobic, no-hoper town. Because of its blurb, many have wondered if Panic is Oliver’s take on The Hunger Games, but it’s not like that at all. Panic, though bleak in is setting, is not dystopian fiction. The storyline here is pretty straightforward. Basically, the kids of Carp don’t have all that much to keep them occupied, so they invent a game for that very purpose. Year after year, the game of Panic takes place, and the winner, who takes all – a cash sum usually totaling in excess of $50,000 - uses those winnings to escape to the bright lights of various big cities. A secret duo of judges set an increasingly dangerous range of tasks –featuring everything from blindfolds to guns, to randomly, a duo of tigers- and whoever is last-standing, wins.

Panic could have been good. Oliver’s writing, as always, is beautiful, but there’s something lacking in this one.  As I read Panic, I found that I just didn’t really care at all about the characters. In a book like this, where lives are at stake, you really need to care: and I never did. It doesn’t help that the other participants in Panic, who should pose a major threat to Heather and Dodge’s very existence, are never fully realized. Oliver shares their names, but we never get to know their faces. Panic reads frantic and even a little rushed, and the characterization is lacking, to say the least. Both Heather and Dodge bring little to the table beyond their shared crappy home lives and their romantic yearnings; Dodge has a crush on Heather’s beautiful best friend, Nat, while recently-dumped Heather is crushing on her best-friend since childhood, Bishop.

Oliver amps up the tension in the final third of the book, and in the final challenge of Panic in particular, things definitely reach life or death stakes. But it all feels like too little, too late. For most of the book we have been fed predictable plot twists, and lackluster characters, and, for me, at least, Panic failed to make or leave much of an impression. It doesn’t help either that as the book progressed, I found myself liking Heather less and less. She’s willing to risk everything for Panic, and is selfish in her pursuit of the prize, even putting the lives of animals at stake (something which is never okay with me!) So, if Heather is meant to be the heroine of this piece, then that really didn’t work out for me. I appreciate that she has a tough time at home; but while Heather might be from a small town, she needs to open her mind a little more to the lives of others and to the world around her.

It’s strange for me, to love a writer’s words so much –the last lines of Panic, in particular, are beautiful- and yet to feel totally disengaged from a story and its characters. That said, I’ve also talked at length about Oliver’s style in the Delirium series, and yet, I never fell in love with those books either.  The TV adaptation of Deliriumnever got off the ground, but if Panicmakes it to screen, I think it could work well as an action-focused movie. I’m hoping that Rooms, Oliver’s next offering, and her first book for adults, will be a better fit for me.

 

Read All About It: News, Deals and Cover Reveals from Lauren Oliver, Becca Fitzpatrick, Gretchen McNeil, Cat Clarke & More!

Here's a round up of the latest book news, deals and some cover reveals that I've discovered over the past month or so.  It's also basically a digest of all the exciting news stories that come my way and which I've mostly already posted on my twitter and Facebook feeds, so if you want up-to-the-minute book news and you don't want to have to wait around for me to type this up, you can follow me on those sites!

 Like DaisyChainBookReviews on Facebook  ||   Follow  @daisychainbooks on Twitter and then you'll never miss a thing!

Rooms by Lauren Oliver || Release date: September 2014

The New York Times bestselling author of Before I Fall and the Delirium trilogy makes her brilliant adult debut with this mesmerizing story in the tradition of The Lovely Bones, Her Fearful Symmetry, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane—a tale of family, ghosts, secrets, and mystery, in which the lives of the living and the dead intersect in shocking, surprising, and moving ways

Wealthy Richard Walker has just died, leaving behind his country house full of rooms packed with the detritus of a lifetime. His estranged family—bitter ex-wife Caroline, troubled teenage son Trenton, and unforgiving daughter Minna—have arrived for their inheritance.

But the Walkers are not alone. Prim Alice and the cynical Sandra, long dead former residents bound to the house, linger within its claustrophobic walls. Jostling for space, memory, and supremacy, they observe the family, trading barbs and reminiscences about their past lives. Though their voices cannot be heard, Alice and Sandra speak through the house itself—in the hiss of the radiator, a creak in the stairs, the dimming of a light bulb.

The living and dead are each haunted by painful truths that will soon surface with explosive force. When a new ghost appears, and Trenton begins to communicate with her, the spirit and human worlds collide—with cataclysmic results.

Elegantly constructed and brilliantly paced, Rooms is an enticing and imaginative ghost story and a searing family drama that is as haunting as it is resonant.

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 Conversion by Katherine Howe || Release date: July 2014

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane comes a chilling mystery—Prep meets The Crucible.

It’s senior year at St. Joan’s Academy, and school is a pressure cooker. College applications, the battle for valedictorian, deciphering boys’ texts: Through it all, Colleen Rowley and her friends are expected to keep it together. Until they can’t.

First it’s the school’s queen bee, Clara Rutherford, who suddenly falls into uncontrollable tics in the middle of class. Her mystery illness quickly spreads to her closest clique of friends, then more students and symptoms follow: seizures, hair loss, violent coughing fits. St. Joan’s buzzes with rumor; rumor blossoms into full-blown panic.

Soon the media descends on Danvers, Massachusetts, as everyone scrambles to find something, or someone, to blame. Pollution? Stress? Or are the girls faking? Only Colleen—who’s been reading The Crucible for extra credit—comes to realize what nobody else has: Danvers was once Salem Village, where another group of girls suffered from a similarly bizarre epidemic three centuries ago . . .

Inspired by true events—from seventeenth-century colonial life to the halls of a modern-day high school—Conversion casts a spell. With her signature wit and passion, New York Times bestselling author Katherine Howe delivers an exciting and suspenseful novel, a chilling mystery that raises the question, what’s really happening to the girls at St. Joan’s?

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Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick || Release date: October 2014
*Cover Exclusively Revealed at Entertainment Weekly*

Sometimes danger is hard to see... until it’s too late.

Britt Pfeiffer has trained to backpack the Teton Range, but she isn't prepared when her ex-boyfriend, who still haunts her every thought, wants to join her. Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage.

In exchange for her life, Britt agrees to guide the men off the mountain. As they set off, Britt knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there... and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target.

But nothing is as it seems in the mountains, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally?

BLACK ICE is New York Times bestselling author Becca Fitzpatrick’s riveting romantic thriller set against the treacherous backdrop of the mountains of Wyoming. Falling in love should never be this dangerous…

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Book Deals, Book Deals, Book Deals....

Sapphire Skies by Becca Fitzpatrick

17-year-old Stella Gordon lives with her mother in a lovely country manor near Philadelphia’s ‘old money’ Main Line. But one fateful night, Stella’s life is shattered by a single gunshot. Stella witnesses a crime, forcing her into the U.S. Federal Witness Protection Program to testify against the perpetrator—a crime boss named Danny Bolando.

Stella is whisked away to the sleepy town of Thunder Basin, Nebraska, and forced to start life over as someone else. She soon meets Chet Falconer, her boyishly handsome ranch hand neighbor, who swears he’s going to have her wearing cowgirl boots and riding horses before the summer’s over. While Chet’s flirting is a welcome distraction from her miserable plight, Stella is most certainly not into cowboys, and she lets him know it. But deep down, and against her better judgment, Stella can’t help but feel she’s falling under Chet’s spell.

Unfortunately, she also has to deal with Dusty Falconer, Chet’s hotheaded and rule-breaking younger brother whom Stella feels an unwanted but irresistible attraction to. As the hot Nebraskan summer wears on, Stella tries to settle into her new life.

But when she receives a threatening message on her doorstep, she fears she might never outrun her past. Is it possible she’s not as safe in small town Nebraska as the authorities would have her believe?

Expected publication: 2015. 

Safe and Sound by Cat Clarke 

Quercus have signed a major new two-book deal with Cat Clarke, author of YA novels Entangled, Torn and Undone.

Safe and Sound, publishing in spring 2015, is a taut psychological thriller, and marks a new direction for Clarke. It is about a girl whose young sister was abducted and returns to the family as a teenager.

Roisin Heycock, Publishing Director, bought UK and Commonwealth rights from Julia Churchill at AM Heath. 

Roisin Heycock says: ‘We are very excited about Cat’s new novel. She excels at suspense and ambivalent characters and has clearly enjoyed working these into a thriller narrative, to brilliant effect. Cat’s writing is both subtle and utterly compelling and we believe she is going from strength to strength.’

Between Us and the Moon by Rebecca Maizel

Jocelyn Davies at HarperTeen has acquired Rebecca Maizel's Between Us and the Moon, a contemporary YA romance about a self-proclaimed science nerd who, over the course of one summer, falls for an older boy and learns that there's more to life than what can be seen through a telescope, and more to herself than equations and experiments, along with a second contemporary YA standalone. The first book's projected pub date is summer 2015; Margaret Riley King at William Morris Endeavor held the auction for North American rights. 

 Edgewater by Courtney Sheinmel

Tamar Brazis at Abrams/Amulet acquired world English rights to Courtney Sheinmel's Edgewater, billed as a “YA Grey Gardens,” about a teen who lives in squalor in a crumbling mansion on Long Island and subsists on a mysterious trust fund – but who stands to lose everything when the secrets, lies, and scandals of the people around her are revealed. Publication is planned for fall 2015; Laura Dail of the Laura Dail Literary Agency was the agent. 

 The Law of Loving Others by Kate Axelrod

Rebecca Kilman at Razorbill acquired world rights to The Law of Loving Others, a YA novel by debut author Kate Axelrod. Emma returns home from boarding school to find that her mother is having a schizophrenic breakdown, and her boyfriend pulls away when she needs him most. Emma mingles newfound freedoms with the devastating implications of her mother's illness. The book is set for publication in January 2015; Melissa Flashman at Trident Media Agency did the deal. 

Shuffle, Repeat by Jen Klein

Michelle Nagler at Random House has acquired Jen Klein's Shuffle, Repeat, a contemporary romance in the vein of When Harry Met Sally, if Harry were a loner teen girl and Sally were the popular boy forced to drive her to school every day. When their epic battle over the music playlist develops into friendship and eventually love, no one is more surprised than these two opposites. Chelsea Eberly will edit, for publication in spring 2016. Lisa Gallagher at Sanford J. Greenburger Associates brokered the deal for world rights.

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More Book Covers of Awesome...

No Place to Fall by Jaye Robin Brown || Release date: December 2014

Jaye Brown's NO PLACE TO FALL, about a young girl's dreams of escaping a small town and dysfunctional family to pursue her love of song, to Sarah Dotts Barley at Harper Teen, in a two-book deal, by Alexandra Machinist at Janklow & Nesbit (World English):

Amber Vaughn is a good girl. She sings solos at church, babysits her nephew after school, and spends every Friday night hanging out at her best friend Devon’s house. It’s only when Amber goes exploring in the woods near her home, singing camp songs with the hikers she meets on the Appalachian Trail, that she feels free—and when the bigger world feels just a little bit more in reach.

When Amber learns about an audition at the North Carolina School of the Arts, she decides that her dream—to sing on bigger stages—could also be her ticket to a new life. Devon’s older (and unavailable) brother, Will, helps Amber prepare for her one chance to try out for the hypercompetitive arts school. But the more time Will and Amber spend together, the more complicated their relationship becomes . . . and Amber starts to wonder if she’s such a good girl, after all.

Then, in an afternoon, the bottom drops out of her family’s world—and Amber is faced with an impossible choice between her promise as an artist and the people she loves. Amber always thought she knew what a good girl would do. But between “right” and “wrong,” there’s a whole world of possibilities.

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Even in Paradise by Chelsey Philpot || Release date: October 2014 

When Julia Buchanan enrolls at St. Anne’s at the beginning of junior year, Charlotte Ryder already knows all about the former senator’s daughter. Most people do... or think they do.

Charlotte certainly never expects she’ll be Julia’s friend. But almost immediately, she is drawn into the larger than-life-new girl’s world—a world of midnight rendezvous, dazzling parties, palatial vacation homes, and fizzy champagne cocktails. And then Charlotte meets, and begins falling for, Julia’s handsome older brother, Sebastian.

But behind her self-assured smiles and toasts to the future, Charlotte soon realizes that Julia is still suffering from a tragedy. A tragedy that the Buchanan family has kept hidden … until now. 

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Get Even by Gretchen McNeil || Release date: September 2014 

Follows the secretive exploits of four high school juniors - Kitty, Olivia, Margot and Bree - at an exclusive Catholic prep school.

To all outward appearances, the girls barely know each other. At best, they don't move in the same social circles; at worst, they're overtly hostile.

Margot Mejia – academically ranked number two in her class, Margot is a focused overachiever bound for the Ivy League.

Kitty Li – captain of the California state and national champion varsity girls' volleyball team, she's been recruited by a dozen colleges and has dreams of winning an Olympic gold medal.

Olivia Hayes – popular star of the drama program, she's been voted "most eligible bachelorette" two years running in the high school yearbook and has an almost lethal combination of beauty and charm.

Bree Deringer – outcast, misfit and the kind of girl you don't want to meet in a dark alley, the stop sign red-haired punk is a constant thorn in the side of teachers and school administrators alike.

Different goals, different friends, different lives, but the girls share a secret no one would ever guess. They are members of Don't Get Mad, a society specializing in seeking revenge for fellow students who have been silently victimized by their peers. Each girl has her own reason for joining the group, her own set of demons to assuage by evening the score for someone else. And though school administration is desperate to find out who is behind the DGM "events", the girls have managed to keep their secret well hidden.

That is until one of their targets – a douchebag senior who took advantage of a drunk underclassman during a house party, videotaped it on his phone, and posted it on YouTube – turns up dead, and DGM is implicated in the murder.

Now the girls don't know who to trust, and as their tenuous alliance begins to crumble, the secrets they've hidden for so long might be their ultimate undoing. 

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The Bodies We Wear by Jeyn Roberts || Release date: September 2014 

People say when you take Heam, your body momentarily dies and you catch a glimpse of heaven. Faye was only eleven when dealers forced Heam on her and her best friend, Christian. But Faye didn’t glimpse heaven—she saw hell. And Christian died.

Now Faye spends her days hiding her secret from the kids at school, and her nights training to take revenge on the men who destroyed her life and murdered her best friend. But life never goes according to plan. When a mysterious young man named Chael appears, Faye’s life suddenly gets a lot more complicated. Love and death. Will Faye overcome her desires or will revenge consume her? 

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All Lined Up by Cora Carmack || Release date: May 2014 

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Cora Carmack follows up her trio of hits—Losing It, Faking It, and Finding It—with this thrilling first novel in an explosive series bursting with the Texas flavor, edge, and steamy romance of Friday Night Lights.

When your dad is a coaching legend in Texas high school football, your life isn’t your own. That’s why Dallas Cole can’t wait to get to Rusk University and finally get out of her father’s shadow. But when he makes the jump to college ball—at her school no less—it’s déjà vu all over again.

Now, half the team (and all their groupies) avoid her like the plague, convinced she’ll tattle to her notoriously hardass father about a frat party or a bent curfew. The other half just wants to use her to get closer to the coach.

And then there’s Carson McClain, the supremely hot, newly transferred second-string quarterback. Oblivious of her identity, he approaches her at a party, and for once in her life Dallas decides to kiss first and ask questions later.

While the heat between them is undeniable, Dallas and Carson have more than a few issues to tackle. He’s a football player with a lot to prove. She’s the coach’s daughter who just wants a life of her own. How can they possibly win when they’ve both got so much to lose? 

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Maybe Someday by Colleen Hoover || Release date: March 2014 

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Colleen Hoover, a passionate tale of friendship, betrayal, and romance—and the enchanting music that inspires one young woman to put her life back together.

At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori—and she is left trying to decide what to do next.

Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either: He seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one…

From the author of the New York Times bestsellers Slammed, Point of Retreat, Hopeless, This Girl, and Losing Hope, Maybe Someday is destined to become another bestseller and long-lasting fan favorite.

US Cover

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Phew! And that is it for this month's round-up. I could have kept going with the covers, but I decided to stop right where I was before things got out of hand! So many good books featured this time round. I'm very excited to read Conversion by Katherine Howe. I think that one sounds AMAZING. Unfortunately I was declined on Netgalley. Hate when that happens! 

Edgewater also sounds AMAZING. I love anything Grey Gardens. Can't wait to get my hands on that one. Also, LOVE the sound of Even in Paradise.

Let me know your favourites in comments! 

Oh, and new Cat Clarke. Super duper excited! 

 

Please note that book covers may not be final and may be subject to change.  Additional sources:  PW Children's Bookshelf, Entertainment Weekly, The Bookseller, Edelweiss & Goodreads.

Blog Tour: Tiny Taster of Half Bad by Sally Green!

Half Bad by Sally Green || Release date: March 3rd 2014

A stunning, magical debut. An international sensation.

In modern-day England, witches live alongside humans: White witches, who are good; Black witches, who are evil; and fifteen-year-old Nathan, who is both. Nathan’s father is the world’s most powerful and cruel Black witch, and his mother is dead. He is hunted from all sides. Trapped in a cage, beaten and handcuffed, Nathan must escape before his sixteenth birthday, at which point he will receive three gifts from his father and come into his own as a witch—or else he will die. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust—not even family, not even the girl he loves?

In the tradition of Patrick Ness and Markus Zusak, Half Bad is a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive, a story that will grab hold of you and not let go until the very last page.

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Hafl Bad by Sally Green - Part One The cage

There is your tiny taster of the much hyped Half Bad by Sally Green. You can read the rest when the book releases next week!

If you've already read Half Bad, I'd love to hear your thoughts!


Follow @Sa11eGreen on Twitter.

Stacking The Shelves #2 - New Books from Michelle Krys, Sarra Manning, Nyrae Dawn & More!

Stacking The Shelves is hosted at Tynga's Reviews.

What a stormy week! The weather has been insane here in Ireland. I was left without power for a whole 24 hours -and was so thankful of my e-reader during that time!-and my internet still isn't back to normal. Hopefully the worst of the weather has now passed. It was sunny today, at least!

Here are the books I received for review this week. I'm still on my book buying ban - and I'm sticking to it for another week or two at least! All links lead to Goodreads, so click through for further information on any of the books mentioned here.

Hexed by Michelle Krys (Netgalley)

Going Over by Beth Kephart (Edelweiss)

Hexed sounds like such a fun witchy read and that cover is gorgeous. I've followed Hexed author Michelle Krys on Twitter for a while now and she is a hoot! Really looking forward to this one. 

Set in 1980's Berlin, Going Over my Beth Kephart is one that immediately caught my eye when I spotted it on Edelweiss. My blogger friend Heather already read this one and loved it, so I'm hoping for good things!

Black Roses by Jane Thynne

The Winter Garden by Jane Thynne

I hadn't heard of these books before I was offered them for review, but I have to say they sound right up my street: Nazi wives, movie stars and espionage...I can't wait to get started on these!

Deeper by Robin York

Searching for Beautiful by Nyrae Dawn (Netgalley)

The Worst Girlfriend in the World by Sarra Manning

Wonderland by Stacey D'Erasmo (Netgalley)

I'm on the blog tour for Deeper in March - I'll have giveaway copies to offer too, so stay tuned! I've read a lot of good reviews for this one already. Not a  huge fan of the UK cover, but it's what's inside that counts!

I had high hopes for Charade by Nyrae Dawn but I didn't really like it all that much. I'm hoping I'll get on better with Searching for Beautiful. The premise sounds pretty good. 

A new Sarra Manning book is always cause for excitement. Arianne will be reviewing The Worst Girlfriend in the World a little closer to release date. Sounds like a very fun read!

I happened upon Wonderland by Stacey D'Erasmo in the Publishers Lunch BEA Buzz Books round-up, read the first chapter and wanted more!

Reading update: I finished Panic by Lauren Oliver and I have to say I was a little bit disappointed in this one. I love Oliver's writing, but sometimes her books just don't work out for me. I never did fall in love with the Delirium series (even though that was also beautifully written) and Panic, despite my high expectations, was just an OK read for me. I'll  have a full review ready soon!

Current read: One Night in Winter by Simon Sebag Montefiore.

That's it for this week! Leave your thoughts, links etc. in comments!

Book Review: Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell.

Product details:
Publisher: St Martin's Press.
Hardcover, 448 pages.
Release date: September 10th 2013.
Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Ages: 13+
Source: Purchased.

In Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl, Cath is a Simon Snow fan. Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan, but for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.
Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

Twin sisters Cath and Wren - Magicath and Wrenegade to the online legions who read their Harry-Potter-alike Simon Snow fan fiction – have always operated as two sides of the same coin. Painfully shy Cath is a homebody who likes to stay in and write, while Wren, well, she likes to party hard. The girls share a name split in two – it was seemingly beyond their absent mother’s capabilities to think of second name when she discovered she was pregnant with twins – but now, with the advent of college, the girls’ lives are diverging too. Wren has moved on from her fan fiction past, and it looks as though she’s also moving on from Cath; informing her sister that she doesn’t want to room together at college. It’s up to Cath to navigate this scary new world on her own; and as she meets her exuberant roommate Reagan, Reagan’s always-hanging-around close friend and maybe-boyfriend Levi ‘of the receding hairline’ and tries to figure out just where on earth the cafeteria is, Cath decides it might just be easier to snack up on protein bars and lose herself in her fan fiction world.

But life has other things in store for Cath…

Rainbow Rowell had quite a year in 2013.  Eleanor and Park and Fangirlreceived numerous awards, starred reviews aplenty and I’m pretty sure both of those books appeared on the ‘2013 Best Of’ lists of practically every blogger I know.  It’s taken me a while to get around to reading Rowell – I am generally wary of the kind of hype that surrounds these books – and while I was impressed in part by Fangirl, and in particular the depth of Rowell’s characterizations and her use of dialogue, I can’t say I was bowled over by this book to the same extent as so many others.

First off, I like that Rowell grounds her characters in realism, I do. There are no perfect size zero blondes here, no dark and brooding bad boys either. And isn’t that refreshing? Well, yes it is.  The problem is, while the characters in this book are realistic, some of them, just as in real life, really are an acquired taste. I thought I would find more to identify with in the two sisters. Cath is shy, she’s insecure and socially anxious. She’s also a big reader. But boy, does Cath have her quirks and then some. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I found Cath a little too kooky for my taste.  Let’s just say that Cath has a lot of hang ups. This is the girl that doesn’t leave her room for a month because she’s afraid to ask for directions to the cafeteria. I mean, who does that? And I get being shy. But, really? I guess being abandoned by her selfish sister doesn’t help. If it wasn’t for Reagan – possibly my favourite character in the book- I reckon Cath wouldn’t have survived until Thanksgiving.

Cath’s character too affected the pace of the story for me.  Basically Cath doesn’t really leave her room a whole lot – so there’s not a whole lot of plot to this book- It’s a pretty simple coming-of-age story, sweet and funny in parts, with moments of family drama, but it mostly takes place in Cath’s room where she spends hours upon hours writing her fan fiction.

Which we get to read.

Now, I’ve never read fan fiction before and truth be told, I could have done without the fan fiction parts of this book – they just didn’t add anything to the story for me. In hindsight, I realize that I could have skipped the fan fiction parts of the book without affecting the main storyline whatsoever, and maybe I should have just done that.  The most interesting aspect of Cath’s fan fiction crusade for me was when she’s accused by a college professor of plagiarism after she hands her fan fiction in as part of an assignment. This serves as a wake up call for Cath who lives in her fan fiction bubble of escape and puts it before pretty much everything else in her life.

Including boys.

Oh yes, though Cath tries to avoid them, there are boys in her life. In fact, when she starts college, Cath has a boyfriend. Only he’s not really a boyfriend at all – just a friend she calls her boyfriend for security-blanket reasons…or something. But there are other boys. I can’t say the romance in this book totally worked for me – sorry, Cath is just too much on the wrong side of quirky for me – but it might work for you. Cath’s story is sweet, in its innocence.

A coming-of-age story with wit and insight, I enjoyed Fangirl mostly for Rowell’s writing, which is engaging and accessible and her spry use of dialogue and multitude pop-culture references which kept the story interesting even when the plot was slow. Fangirlhasn’t made my ‘favourites’ list and it hasn’t made me a Rainbow Rowell fan girl, but it has piqued my interest just enough that I’ll be checking out Eleanor and Park, which has been sitting patiently on my eReader for around about a year now.

 

Cover Reveal: FERAL by Holly Schindler.

So, very excitingly Holly Schindler recently got in touch and asked if I'd like to be involved in the cover reveal for her upcoming YA FERAL.

I said yes, for sure I would.

And here it is.

FERAL.

Coming August 26th 2014 from HarperCollins.

What do you think?

Feral by Holly Schindler || Release date: August 26th 2014.

It’s too late for you. You’re dead.

Those words float through Claire Cain’s head as she lies broken and barely alive after a brutal beating. And the words continue to haunt her months later, in the relentless, terrifying nightmares that plague her sleep. So when her father is offered a teaching sabbatical in another state, Claire is hopeful that getting out of Chicago, away from the things that remind her of what she went through, will offer a way to start anew.

But when she arrives in Peculiar, Missouri, Claire quickly realizes something is wrong—the town is brimming with hidden dangers and overrun by feral cats. And her fears are confirmed when a popular high school girl, Serena Sims, is suddenly found dead in the icy woods behind the school. While everyone is quick to say Serena died in an accident, Claire knows there’s more to it—for she was the one who found Serena, battered and most certainly dead, surrounded by the town’s feral cats.

Now Claire vows to learn the truth about what happened, but the closer she gets to uncovering the mystery, the closer she also gets to discovering a frightening reality about herself and the damage she truly sustained in that Chicago alley. . . .

With an eerie setting and heart-stopping twists and turns, Holly Schindler weaves a gripping story that will make you question everything you think you know.

http://www.hollyschindler.com/

Competition Winners: The Husband's Secret//Halloween 'Spooky Special' Giveaway//Unbreakable//In the Shadow of Blackbirds//2013 Survey//Happy New Year Mega Giveaway// The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant.

Here are the latest competition winners on the blog!

The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty 

Thanks to Penguin Books

Emma P.

Laura H.

Halloween 'Spooky Special' Giveaway

Jamie L.

 

Unbreakable by Kami Garcia

Thanks to Simon & Schuster

Sarah B.

Natalie L.

Blacky

Samantha S.

Louise W.

In the Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

Trish H.

2013 Reading Survey

Nikki B.

Happy New Year Mega Giveaway

Allie L.

January M.

Sarah

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant

Thanks to BenBella Books

Aanchal G.

 

 

If you haven't received your prize within 28 days of sending me your details, please let me know.

Reviewed by Arianne: Salvage by Keren David.

Product details:
Publisher: Atom.
Hardcover, 320 pages.
Release date: January 16th 2014.
Rating: 5 out of 5.
Ages: YA
Source: Received from publisher for review.
Reviewed by: Arianne.

Aidan Jones was my brother. But I couldn't really remember his face. I couldn't remember talking to him or playing with him. He was just a gap, an absence, a missing person.

Before she was adopted by a loving family and raised in a leafy Home Counties town, Cass Montgomery was Cass Jones. Her memories of her birth family disappeared with her name. But when her adopted family starts to break down, a way out comes in the form of a message from her lost brother, Aidan. Having Aidan back in her life is both everything she needs and nothing she expected. Who is this boy who calls himself her brother? And why is he so haunted?

I glance at the paper. There's a big picture on the front page. A girl with dark red hair. A girl with eyes that might have been green or they might have been grey. I sit down and stare at Cass, and it is her, it is. My stolen sister.

Aidan's a survivor. He's survived an abusive step-father and an uncaring mother. He's survived crowded foster homes and empty bedsits. His survived to find Cass. If only he can make her understand what it means to be part of his family. . .

I wish I could say otherwise, but I’m just not very good at writing glowing reviews. I've given a trickle of starred ratings in the past, but Salvage is one of those rare books that convinced me to part with a fully-fledged constellation, and for that, I cannot thank the author enough. Keren David has written the kind of book you don’t ever want to forget. It's better than chocolate, and I just did not want to put it down. 

Aidan Jones hasn’t seen his sister since she was four years old. For all he knows, she could have completely wiped his existence from her memory - whisked away into a life of safety and privilege while he was left to fend for himself in a system that barely even gave him a chance. He doesn’t resent Cass; he just misses her. He’s moved on from foster care, got himself a girlfriend, a job and a place to live. He’s finally on the right track – okay, he drinks too much and his past keeps dragging him down, but he's a good guy, really. Isn't he?

For Cass Montgomery, her derailment is only just beginning. She's smart but what's more she's hard-working, dreaming of Oxford and the degree in history that awaits her there - but ever since her politician father shacked up with his intern and shattered family life as she knew it into a million pieces, she’s been stumbling around in the dark. Defensive and unforgiving, she tries to hold it together for her mother and younger brother Ben, but she knows she won’t be able to keep it up for long. Then her other brother Aidan – the one she thought long lost to her – contacts her out of the blue, and suddenly, there’s a whole new world open to her. It’s risky, it’s nothing like she’s ever seen before; a world of single mothers and secret meetings with siblings in London parks, but what if it’s exactly what she needs? What if the collapse of her own family means she can finally discover another one?

Salvage is a fantastically well-written book. The description is unobtrusive but searing; it plays out like a movie, somehow grainy, gritty and glossy at the same time. Told in alternating double chapters, the narrative voices of Aidan and Cass are so different they set the other all asunder; but it works.  It feels important that we’re hearing from both characters, who even at the moment their paths cross are living very different lives. The dialogue is eye-catching and entertaining, hurtling along in a flurry of biting remarks and flashes of humour.

One thing Aidan and Cass have in common is the influence of outside forces on the direction their lives have taken. These people have shaped the route our heroes have travelled, presenting a whole host of complications and challenges and leaving them with little personal say in the matter. They're flawed kids, scratched, dented and broken by their upbringing. They earn the reader’s alliance immediately. 

Their stories are littered with scenes of utter desolation, bitter fury, deep hurt and above all, fierce hope. The complex breakdown of Cass’s adopted family is met with stellar handling. Her parents’ split has been splashed across the headlines and the impact it has on everyone involved is monumental. 

I loved that Cass was angry and bitter. All too often young adult heroines embroiled in family drama are encouraged to simply feel confused, bewildered and in need of constant reassurance, but Cass? She takes control of her emotions and makes her own decisions, whether they end up being good decisions of not. That’s the beauty of this book – Keren David allows her characters to make mistakes. They’re human; human enough to find courage, and human enough to have to deal with consequences.

I was surprised at how much I loved Aidan's interaction with his long-term girlfriend Holly - because on the surface this is a book about long-lost siblings, but it is in fact an exploration of family in all its forms. There are characters here who are connected by blood and experiences, love and hate. From Aidan’s sense of duty, responsibility and affection for Holly’s son Finn - who’s become just as much a part of his life as Holly has - to the harsh realities of life without the guidance of parents or good role models, the depth and care with which Keren approaches her themes is astonishing. It's clear that Aidan in particular has a lot of personal issues he needs to resolve, but you never stop rooting for him as he struggles to find a way through.

Even minor characters have their own troubles and triumphs throughout the book. The cast is diverse but sports a number of stand-out roles. Will doesn’t just serve as a romantic experiment for Cass, he’s also helping her brother Ben to make friends in his new school. He’s artistic, out there and totally cool. He’s the antithesis of Cass, who’s barely begun to discovery her own sense of identity. He knows who he is and where he wants to go, but he’s prepared to take a few detours to get there. Likewise, Rich isn’t just Aidan’s friend, he’s a young man struggling with depression. If only he was about to meet a certain future love interest. Here’s looking at you, Brendan from Walthamstow…

In short: Reading Salvage was an experience I lack comparison for. It’s an extraordinary novel about messy, complicated kinds of love. It’s about admitting your brokenness and finding your own path. It’s about family, forgiveness and forging on, for yourself, for the people who matter and even for the people who don’t. It’s completely full of heart; utterly absorbing and engaging. Cass and Aidan are fighters, and warmth shines out from every page. It's not bound by the traditional drawbacks of any one category - it's a story like none I’ve ever read before, and one I’ll never forget.

 

--Arianne.

Book Review: The Dead Wife's Handbook by Hannah Beckerman.

Product details:
Publisher: Penguin.
Paperback, 477 pages.
Release date: February13th 2014.
Rating: 4 out of 5.
Ages: Adult
Source: Received from publisher for review.

'Today is my death anniversary. A year ago today I was still alive.'

Rachel, Max and their daughter Ellie had the perfect life - until the night Rachel's heart stopped beating.

Now Max and Ellie are doing their best to adapt to life without Rachel, and just as her family can't forget her, Rachel can't quite let go of them either. Caught in a place between worlds, Rachel watches helplessly as she begins to fade from their lives. And when Max is persuaded by family and friends to start dating again, Rachel starts to understand that dying was just the beginning of her problems.

As Rachel grieves for the life she's lost and the life she'll never lead, she learns that sometimes the thing that breaks your heart might be the very thing you hope for.

Hannah Beckerman gives an unforgettable exploration of love and loss in her first novel, The Dead Wife's Handbook.

Thirty-something Rachel’s life was perfect. A good job and a happy home with her wonderful husband and beautiful daughter, she had it all.  And then, suddenly Rachel died.

The Dead Wife’s Handbook, Hannah Beckerman’s debut, narrates Rachel’s life from beyond the grave as she dips in and out of the lives of the family and friends she has left behind; seeing them move on with their lives and loves while she is stuck in a hazy afterlife while she processes her own grief for the life she to which she never got to say goodbye. Though the subject matter of The Dead Wife’s Handbook could easily verge on bleak, even depressing, it never does. Instead, Rachel’s story is one beautifully told with dashes of wit to lighten the load

We catch up with Rachel, her husband Max and her seven-year-old daughter Ellie on the first anniversary of her death.  Max is still lost in his grief, Ellie too, and yet, it is around this time that friends and family start suggesting that Max should start moving on with his life.  Rachel’s best friend Harriet even suggests that Max should try internet dating. Rachel doesn’t know what on earth Harriet is thinking, and she’s thankful that Max balks at the idea too. After all, it’s much too soon for him to even think about dating someone new. As far as Rachel’s concerned if Max never dated again, it would too soon.  But she knows she can trust Max to respect her memory. And she knows Max. She knows that it’s far too soon for him to start dating again.

Or is it?

The next time Rachel happens upon Max from her cloudy afterlife, he’s sitting in a bar. And he’s waiting for a woman. The date, with a dour vet called Dodie, doesn’t go well, but Rachel is appalled that Max ever considered such a thing. I mean, she’s only been dead just over a year.  Is she so easily replaceable?

Things are about to get far worse for Rachel. When, a little later, she happens on Max in a restaurant he’s on another date. And this date isn’t awkward. This date is no dour Dodie. This date is Eve. This is the first of many dates with Eve. This is the beginning of something new for Max; something good.  And it’s also the first time that Rachel has to witness her husband kiss another woman.

Can Rachel be happy that Max has found someone new? Someone who will love and cherish the family she left behind. Or will her afterlife forever be tinged with bitterness and regret? As Rachel moves through the stages of grief from shock to denial to depression, will she ever reach acceptance?

The Dead Wife’s Handbook will evoke emotions and provoke strong reactions, and it will be interesting to see from different readers what those reactions are. For me, though Rachel is dead, I was on her side from the start. I too thought it too soon for Max to start dating. I mean, a year, in the grand scheme of things, is nothing. Here, though, we’re mostly getting Rachel’s point of view. I had to stop, take a second, and put myself in Max’s shoes: he lost his wife in the blink of an eye; so now, he most probably feels like life is for the taking, not for the wasting. Still, Max is not perfect. He does his best, but he makes mistakes, and when embarking on his new relationship with Eve, he makes certain decisions that even surprise Rachel, the woman who thought she knew him best. Not to worry though, Max has Ellie to keep him in check.

Ah, Ellie. Welcoming another woman into the life that she still sees as her mother’s is not on the cards for Ellie. This little girl clings steadfastly to her mother’s memory. Mature beyond her years and with more memories of her mum than I thought possible for one so young, it is Ellie who questions everything,  who keeps her mum’s spirit alive, whose love for her mum is evident in every heart beat, on every page.

It is Ellie who will make your heart crack, in the end.

The Dead Wife’s Handbook is a touching tale of love, loss and learning to love again. It teaches a lesson too in the art of letting go, moving on, and being thankful for what you have in this life.