Not Hungry

Not Hungry – Kate Karyus Quinn

Soooo, I don’t usually tend to read much poetry, but requested this one purely from its summary in NetGalley – basically, a fat girl starving herself to lose weight but other people not realizing and just thinking she’s on a diet.

I’ve been that person, I’ve been the person who skips meals so that I can lose weight. I’m the person who doesn’t like eating in front of other people because in my head they’re thinking “look at the fat girl eating”. I’ve been the person at a size UK 12/14, I feel like I’m massively overweight and everyone must be laughing at me. I’ve been the girl that even though I know some of those thoughts are irrational, I have no control over them. So I completely understood June. June rarely eats, and on the occasions where she binges, she vomits after to purge herself. Admittedly, I was expecting this to be a novel when I first began reading it only to find it was poetry. Did that impact on the overall effectiveness? No. Would I read it again? No. Did I completely enjoy it? Kind of.

I probably would have enjoyed it more if it was a novel, but I do feel like the line breaks helped move the poem along and was used to create impact. It paused in just the right places and created silences for dramatic purposes. It touched on so many subjects, eating disorders, abusive relationships, first loves, you can kind of see how it’s suited to its young adult audience. In today’s society, unfortunately, these are things that our youths do go through. We are made to feel we can’t be anything but slim, we can’t look anything but perfect, no one will love us if we’re not perfect. It’s not until you get a little bit older that you start to understand that that really isn’t the case. I’m 29 now, am I comfortable in my own skin? Absolutely not. Do I love myself? No. But do I know I’m worth more than I thought I did as a teenager? Yes. This would probably be a useful read for a secondary school, it touches base on those subjects that are relevant to children of that age and therefore might be a great mental tool for the vulnerable ones that may need it.

The Space We’re In

The Space We’re In – Katya Balen

Autism is something I like to think I know a fair bit about. As a teacher, I work with children with autism daily. I have a degree in disability studies and an award in autism, so to find a book that genuinely feels authentic and realistic is rare and this is certainly one of those rare ones.

Frank is going into year 6, his final year of primary school. He tells his story from his point of view, the emotions that come with having an autistic younger sibling, the emotions of everyday life as a ten/eleven year old and the emotions of losing a parent. I read this in just two sittings, which for me, is certainly unheard of. This truly was something special.

Max (Franks younger brother) is autistic. He melts down, he bites, he shouts, he hits… he sees the world in a slightly different way. Frank loves him unconditionally of course, but does that mean he can’t resent the way people look at him, how he sometimes feels embarrassed about his brother’s differences, or how he doesn’t quite get as much attention from his parents that he feels he deserves? When we think about autism, we often think about the children it directly involves. This book was a breath of fresh air in the sense that it shows us how it impacts on the children and families of those children too. Frank was entitled to sometimes struggle and I feel this book is beneficial in the fact that it truly does show the emotional turmoil he went through trying to be the doting big brother but also being a child himself.

The book struck another chord with me when his mother died. Having been the kid at school as Frank described himself as ‘the kid whose parent is dead’, I just completely got it. I believe it actually portrayed those emotions really well and having been in that situation myself, it was nice to know that all those years ago… I wasn’t a wimp, I was allowed to feel that rubbish, I was allowed to be that low, and my family was allowed to fall apart for a while, just like Franks did.

As an educator and someone who believes strongly in inclusion and feel that people should know more about autism, I feel this book is invaluable. I would love to see it in my school library one day so that the children I work with, and the children who have autistic children in their class, the children who might grow up to have an autistic child of their own, the children who might have autistic siblings and so on, can make that step forward in understanding what autism is and how it can affect not only one person but the people that surround them too.

Charlotte Says

Charlotte Says

The much-anticipated prequel to the bestselling FROZEN CHARLOTTE, a Zoella Book Club title in Autumn 2016.
Following the death of her mother in a terrible fire, Jemima flees to the remote Isle of Skye, to take up a job at a school for girls. There she finds herself tormented by the mystery of what really happened that night.
Then Jemima receives a box of Frozen Charlotte dolls from a mystery sender and she begins to remember – a séance with the dolls, a violent argument with her step-father and the inferno that destroyed their home. And when it seems that the dolls are triggering a series of accidents at the school, Jemima realizes she must stop the demonic spirits possessing the dolls – whatever it takes.

Oh lordy, at the not so young age of 29, it’s odd to find a YA novel that genuinely scares you… until this! I made the mistake of reading this before bed and then had to convince myself to think of happy things before closing my eyes! Alex Bell, you are a truly wonderful author!

This is the prequel to Frozen Charlottes, to which I’ve never read. I requested this book from NetGalley purely because of the cover (yes, I’m that shallow!) and didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did, but this was smashed out in a matter of hours. Creepy dolls are cliche, but not in this book, they genuinely creeped me out and had me on the edge of my seat throughout.

Jemima’s character was likable, she wanted the best for the children she worked with… and as someone who works with children, and often disadvantaged children, this struck a major chord with me. The schoolmistress was painted as a villain throughout, and I really did grow to dislike her. The relationship between Henry and ‘mim was obvious and rather cliche, I knew how that would pan out throughout the story and I think I would have enjoyed it even more if they’d managed to keep me guessing at times.

The actual story, is brilliant. I didn’t know what was going to happen. Horror, I find, is a hard genre to write. I’ve watched hundreds of horror films and no longer enjoy them, mostly I find them amusing as they are never scary. It’s so easy for horror to become comedy, and I believe Alex Bell has done well to keep up the thrill and scares throughout.

If you’re looking for a genuine fright, then this one might be for you. I’m off now to purchase Frozen Charlottes and continue this horrific read! An awesome 4.5 stars!

Planks Law

 Plank’s Law

Trevor has known since he was ten years old that he has Huntington’s disease, but at sixteen he is informed that he has one year to live. One day while he’s trying to figure stuff out, an old man named Plank finds him standing at a cliff by the ocean. It’s the beginning of an odd but intriguing relationship. Both Trevor and Plank decide to live by Plank’s Law, which is -just live.- This means Trevor has to act on the things on his bucket list, like hanging out with real penguins, star in a science fiction movie and actually talk to Sara–the girl at the hospital who smiles at him.
With the aid of Plank and Sara, Trevor revises his bucket list to include more important things and takes charge of his illness and his life

Requested this book a loooooong time ago on NetGalley and then kinda fell out with reading for a while. Then summer came along and I find myself with six weeks off of work, and I pick my Kindle back up and BOOM, two books read within 24 hours.

Plank’s Law was number one. Was it a good read? Ummm, not really. Did it reinvigorate my love of reading? Yes. It was an incredibly easy and simple read, and one of the shortest books I’ve read. It would have been better marketed as a short story rather than a full novel in itself because it left me a little disappointed with the lack of substance.

Trevor was a likable character, his relationship with Plank was admirable. It is unusual for the youth of today to be so invested in spending time with people of different generations and show them the respect that Trevor did – this was incredibly nice to read and wish that life was truly like this. His relationship with Sara was strange, it was rushed and an entire loving relationship formed of a smile (yes, this can happen in real life, but they were totally in love after one smile!)

Totally predicted how this one would turn out which kind of ruins books for me, I like to be kept guessing, I like twists and turns, I like it to turn out completely different to how I imagined, but this one was just too simple for me.

Unfortunately, would only give this one two stars.

Hogworts Express Metal Earth!

Ok, so I should have picked a simpler one for my first ever metal earth (for those that don’t know, Metal Earth is like a little modelling kit made solely of sheets of metal that you have to manipulate together.) This one is known for being tricky… but I was desperate to make my first one, something I liked! Theres a fair few mistakes… the barrel of the train is even on back to front, but by the time I noticed I could do nothing about it! These are known for taking a couple of hours to make… it took me ALL DAY, probably from lack of experience, but I loved it nonetheless. Now to figure out which one to try next….

The infinity of You and Me

What if every life-altering choice you made could split your world into infinite worlds?

Almost fifteen, Alicia is smart and funny with a deep connection to the poet Sylvia Plath, but she’s ultimately failing at life. With a laundry list of diagnoses, she hallucinates different worlds—strange, decaying, otherworldly yet undeniably real worlds that are completely unlike her own with her single mom and one true friend. In one particularly vivid hallucination, Alicia is drawn to a boy her own age named Jax who’s trapped in a dying universe. Days later, her long-lost father shows up at her birthday party, telling her that the hallucinations aren’t hallucinations, but real worlds; she and Jax are bound by a strange past and intertwining present. This leads her on a journey to find out who she is while trying to save the people and worlds she loves. J.Q. Coyle’s The Infinity of You & Me is a wild ride through unruly hearts and vivid worlds guaranteed to captivate.

Wooooow, another weird read, but another great read too! I spent a lot of this book confused as to what was happening and where Alicia was, there were multiple versions of her, her world, and it was often hard to follow. Did this bother me? Noooo. It was brilliant.

Untraceable

Untraceable – S.R. Johannes

16-year-old Grace has lived in the Smokies all her life, patrolling with her forest ranger father who taught her about wildlife, tracking, and wilderness survival.
When her dad goes missing on a routine patrol, Grace refuses to believe he’s dead and fights the town authorities, tribal officials, and nature to find him.

One day, while out tracking clues, Grace is rescued from danger by Mo, a hot guy with an intoxicating accent and a secret. As her feelings between him and her ex-boyfriend get muddled, Grace travels deep into the wilderness to escape and find her father.

Along the way, Grace learns terrible secrets that sever relationships and lives. Soon she’s enmeshed in a web of conspiracy, deception, and murder. And it’s going to take a lot more than a

compass and a motorcycle (named Lucifer) for this kick-butting heroine to save everything she loves.

Readthisreadthisreadthisreadthis!

Massive ‘I can’t be bothered to read’ stint over. Hello extremely hot British summer. Hello, lets sit in the garden and get lost in a book weather. Hello Untraceable!

So, first hour of this book I was a little bored. I was half tempted to put it down and not pick it back up again, but the more I read… the more I wanted to read on. It probably took me like, a good month to get through this but once it FINALLY had me hooked, it was a great read. I can’t wait to read the next one now.

Grace was badass. The ability to navigate through the wilderness, the determination to find her father, her heartwarming love for nature and bears. The cliche love triangle was a bit of a pain, but I can get over that for the captivating read. It kept me guessing all throughout with a ‘is he alive’ or ‘is he dead?’ there was very almost even a leaky eye towards the very end of this book!

 

Extinction Of All Children

Extinction Of All Children – L.J. Epps

A young adult, fantasy novel about a teenager who is the last eighteen-year-old in her territory. There will never be another child; every baby born after her has been taken away. Everyone wonders why she survived.

Every now and then, I fall out of love with reading. You can probably tell that from the breaks I take from blogging about books! But then, a book comes along and it just reignites that desire to get lost in a different world again; for me, that was this book.

This book wasn’t ridiculously exciting, it wasn’t something unlike I’d ever read before and it wasn’t one I couldn’t put down. But what it was, was a nice, easy read… which I think we can all admit, sometimes we just need? It was very hunger games-esque (which I’m a fan of btw) which probably helped capture my interest early on. I instantly felt relatable to the main character, Emma, as she worked hard to protect her family and always wanted more for herself. That passion and ambition is something I love reading about as I believe we should all be more ambitious in life.

I think the relationships were a little cliche… it’s like every YA novel needs to have a love interest or be torn between two boys, in this case, I don’t think that it added anything more to the story.

The way this book ended made me think there will be a sequel… would I read it? Yes. I want to know what happens next, I want to know what happens to Taylor and Emmas family. Will they find Abigail…. will she be alive? So many unanswered questions.

★★★1/2

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free digital ARC in return for an honest review.

Running away.

This pretty much sums up everything I’m running away from, avoiding or feel at present!

We Are Still Tornadoes

We Are Still Tornadoes – Michael Kun and Susan Mullen

I wanted so desperately to like this one, and on the whole, I kind of did. The book was finished within a day so it was by no means terrible, it was just a little slow at times and awfully predictable.

It’s the summer of 1982, and for Scott and Cath, everything is about to change.

Growing up across the street from each other, Scott and Cath have been best friends for most of their lives. Now they’ve graduated high school, and Cath is off to college while Scott stays at home trying to get his band off the ground. Neither of them realized that their first year after high school would be so hard.

Fortunately, Scott and Cath still have each other, and it’s through their letters that they survive heartache, annoying roommates, family dramas, and the pressure of figuring out what to do with the rest of their lives. And through it all, they realize that the only person they’ve ever wanted to turn to is each other. But does that mean they should think about being more than friends? One thing is clear: Change is an inescapable part of growing up, and we share unbreakable bonds with the friends who help us navigate it.

Right from the onset, I knew what the ending of this book would be. That’s a little disappointing. I like suspense, twists and turns, unpredictability, but I didn’t have any of that with this book which made it a little dull to read. It wasn’t all bad though!

Scott and Cath are best mates, their bond is undeniable and is portrayed well throughout the series of letters that they send each other. Yep, this book is entirely letter format! Which I love by the way. It just feels so personal and intimate and ultimately highlights the fact this book was set in the 1980’s as who writes letters anymore these days? We live in a  world of technology and the art of hand written letters is long forgotten by most. Scotts character is literally like the ideal boy, he isn’t afraid to show passion or emotion and I instantly felt drawn to him. I spent the entire book hoping/waiting for the moment that he would realise that he was madly in love with Cath so I was not disappointed. Cath on the other hand, was not as likeable. She seemed whiney and I don’t feel like she was overly nice to any of her female companions.

As a former University student myself, I feel it captures University (or American college) life well. The pressures of studies thrown in with the drunken antics, sports teams, financial issues and the pressures of living away from home. It really is a pretty accurate representation of what life is often like!

The book touches on some pretty heavy subject, affairs and loss being just two. Scott loses his dad, the letters after this are almost unbearably raw. As someone who also lost their father at a young age – I totally got this. I understood and recognised every. single. feeling. that Scott had said in his letters. It was hard to read at times but also a little encouraging to know that those feelings that I once had were justified and that I’m not the only person that will have ever have felt them.

I enjoyed the ease of reading this book but at times had to convince myself to keep going, it was just a little slow. A worthy three and a half stars.

★★★1/2

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with a free digital ARC in return for an honest review.