Review: Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Rebel Belle by Rrebel belleachel Hawkins
Genre: Fantasy, Romance, Contemporary
Published by: Putnam Juvenile
Pages:
345
Format: Hardback
Rating:
★★★★★
Where to Find:
Goodreads | Amazon

I was definitely expecting a lot from this book since, when the book first came out, there was a general opinion that ‘Rebel Belle’ was better than expected and a total favourite. Thank goodness, I couldn’t agree more.

The plot combines two of my favourite things: high society girls that know how to kill a man with blunt objects and teens that gain super powers but have a surprisingly calm reaction to said super powers, so instantly I knew I would not be disappointed.

By the third chapter we’re sucked into a world where Harper, the protagonist of the book that is seen as the all around popular girl both inside and outside of school, has to dodge the evil hands of people that want to kill her. I loved the past pace and how the story moved. The first few chapters reminded me of Percy Jackson and the Lighting Thief when he has to fight off demon Miss Dodds and it was just thrilling. (There is no higher comparison than Percy Jackson in my book.)

Harper managed to get her ‘mission’ in the book very quickly and I appreciated the Hawkins didn’t beat around the bush when it came to revealing what Harper and David actually were. There’s nothing I dislike more than being 50 pages through a book with no significant plot movement, but ‘Rebel Belle’ had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to end.

Now, you may not think that proms and puffy dresses is not going to mix well with ninja fighting and knife throwing but, as I learned from ‘The Gallagher Girls’ series, a lady is more than capable when it comes to wearing heels and kicking butt (simultaneously). The balance between girly and, well, bad-ass was perfectly struck that meant the novel could be enjoyed both in battle scenes and in softer romantic scenes.

Although Harper prides herself in being well organized, I think the only problem I had with her was that she didn’t dump her boyfriend soon enough. That seems catty, but after realizing that she no longer felt the same way about him, especially after the entrance of slightly-annoying-but-really-adorable David, it seemed like the most logical thing to do. I get that she wanted to keep a part of her normal life but I think her prolonged decision meant that cute moments with David were sacrificed (and I loved David. This was a great shame.) It got to the point where I wanted to shout at Harper “You love David! David loves you! Just kiss already!” (My wish was granted in Chapter 39)

There was a lot of build up to the Cotillion, an excuse for seventeen year olds to dress up as brides, and I was not disappointed with the final battle of the book that could be best described as unpredictable and threatening, not exactly as Harper planned.

Consistently brilliant with a plot that was well built upon throughout, ‘Rebel Belle’ was a true gem. I seriously cannot wait for a sequel to come out, because Hawkins left the novel in such an intriguing place that it would be impossible to leave Harper, David and Ryan where they were. Also important to note that this is my first hardback since ‘The House of Hades’ and, gosh, am I glad I decided to take the plunge to pay extra for more than just a paperback. ‘Rebel Belle’ now resides among ‘The Gallagher Girls’ series and ‘Anna and the French Kiss’ as one of my favourite books, therefore I just have to give this beautiful book (and it’s beautiful cover) 5 out of 5 stars.

Review: Lemonade Mouth by Mark Peter Hughes

lemonLemonade Mouth by Mark Peter Hughes
Genre: Contemporary
Published By: Delacorte Books
Pages: 352
Format: E-Book
Rating: ★★★★★
Where to Find:
Goodreads | Amazon

Just ask yourself what two things would make ‘The Breakfast Club’ a better movie. Bridgit Mendler and singing did you say?

Oh, ‘Lemonade Mouth’ has both of those things set in detention, sign me up!

After watching the Disney Channel Original Movie, a title screen that will warm my heart for the rest of my days, I just had to get my hands on the book. I was mega disappointed that Mo and Charlie didn’t get together in the film, but finding out their relationship was canon was literally the best thing to happen to me since ‘Clearwater Crossing’. (Don’t even get me started on that twenty book series gem.) Let me tell you that the book definitely filled the ‘Lemonade Mouth’ void that the movie left me with. I really didn’t want those 112 minutes to be over, so was glad that I had a potential five hours of more lemon-flavoured fun.

Firstly, what I love the most about the book is the diverse range of characters. I really enjoy reading books from mulemonade-mouth-51b77a1ec4913ltiple perspectives, in my opinion, the more the merrier. So to read about every character through different mediums, like letters and interviews and typed essays was refreshing and wholesome, just like a glass of lemonade.
The characters were not afraid to admit their flaws, but it wasn’t like a big deal was made of the fact that Olivia was chubby, or Stella was six foot tall or that Charlie could be best described by the word ‘thick’. None of their appearances mattered, instead the emphasis was placed on the personal growth that each character went through when they picked up an instrument and started to play.

The whole atmosphere of the book was toxic. I couldn’t get enough of what was going on in their lives and what they were singing. The foundations set for the plot were built upon in a way that everything was both expected and unexpected. You just knew that bad things were going to happen, after so much good especially with Charlie’s constant references to destiny and the balance in the universe.

What set this book apart from just being another ‘High School Musical’ drama was the constant stream of rebellion and the feeling of change. I think it’s really important for teenagers to realize that, no matter what their age or ability, they have the power to change the world and ‘Lemonade Mouth’ really proved that. I learned a lot about fighting for what I believe in, even if it seems like a lost cause, and to never doubt the power friendship can have on someone’s life. Olivia went from being a friendless nobody to a lead singer, a girl that was quiet and underestimated but when it came to saving the world, she didn’t hold back from joining the revolution.

And that’s really what it was. A revolution. I loved every single rebellious second and because of that I have no second thoughts when it comes to giving ‘Lemonade Mouth’ 5 out of 5 stars.

Review: Glitch: Lost in Time Book One by Brenda Pandos

GlitchGlitch: Lost in Time Book One by Brenda Pandos
Genre: Sci-fi, Romance
Published By: Corgi Children’s
Pages: 300
Format: E-Book
Rating: ★★
Where to Find:
Goodreads | Amazon

We received this book via NetGallery in exchange for an honest review.

The first thing I have to say is that this book was nothing like what I was expecting. When it said ‘zombies’ I was instantly reminded of ‘Warm Bodies’ and was expecting something like that – not the zombie love part, but just the zombies in general. It turned out that the zombies were just a myth told by the government as, you guessed it, a means of control. (Or were they?! Spoilers.)

As readers, we are thrown straight into the action, at a baseball game. A lot of world-explaining goes on within the first chapter that could have been slightly smoother in my opinion, but at least everything was explained so the author could get the plot moving forward. Our main character is Abby, and as main characters go, was quite nice. (High praise.) She is your perfect citizen so finds it slightly difficult, as you can imagine, to adapt to the world that’s been opened to her when she looks beyond the watch on her wrist that tells her when she’s going to die.

Generally, I thought there were quite a lot of concepts to the world; dates of death, zombies, Oracles and time travel to name a few, and this led some of the narrative to sound cluttered, but I enjoyed the fast pace of the first 25% and how the perfect world was destroyed quickly.

When Abby is abducted against her will, as she reminds us multiple times throughout the novel, she meets Kaden. Kaden is the love interest, though he and Abby have only had one conversation, if that, before Abby begins to have feelings for him. There is kind of a love triangle with Kaden and his brother Memphis (brotherly competition) but it’s always obvious that Kaden will come out on top.

Abbey is taken to Kaden’s colony, which is kind of ‘The Host’-esque. She is in inner torment about whether she should stay in the colony or try to return. (At least Melanie and Wanda didn’t have a choice – makes for less inner conflict.) This carried on until Abby decided to return and it took her a further 25% of the book to reach this decision.

Abby plays a big part in the destruction of her world. She is the Oracle, who has the power to time travel but doesn’t know how to use her powers wisely…like any superhero in the beginning. When her Complement, meaning her future self, tells her she has to murder someone, I was instantly confused. Time travel happened, it was very back-and-forth and hard to keep up with. A lot was happening and the pace was fast, so this probably didn’t help me to get to grips with what was going on. But, the book sure as heck ended on a cliff hanger.

Now I need to read the second book, to know how the problems resolve and how the future was affected by Abby’s choices. Something tells me, now that we’ve had the first book to explain the world and set up the plot, the sequel is going to be juicy and jam-packed with stuff (more than this book, if possible.)

I’d recommend this book to anyone that enjoyed ‘Slated by Teri Terry’ as it has a similar premise, and the presence of zombies set this book apart from other dystopian series. Overall, I’d give this book 2 stars, as I did thoroughly enjoy the novel, but did have some problems with the extent of the content.

Review: Fearsome Dreamer by Laure Eve

Fearsome Dreafearsome-dreamer-wipmer by Laure Eve
Genre: Techno-Fantasy, Romance
Published By: Hot Key Books
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★★
Series:
The Illusionists (#2)
Where to Find:
Goodreads | Amazon

Laure Eve has created a beautifully original new genre of book, combining fantasy, technology and romance in a stunning debut novel that could not have been more satisfying.

Although the blurb suggests the story is told from Rue’s perspective, it is not only Rue’s mind we inhabit. Two other characters, both male, White and Frith offer their thoughts up to the scrutiny of readers, adding to the well roundedness of the novel. Each character has such an action packed story line, I would have been completely happy to have read individual books about each character.

Rue is a girl who was training to be a hedgewitch but felt that she was not as well suited to the role and knew that she had a power that made her different to other people in Angle Tar, the remote island where she lived, that had separated itself from World.

World is the rest of the world; countries that have come together, united under the technology of Life, sort of like a simulator that means travel is no longer an object and people can just connect to Life in order to meet others, shop, go to school, everything! White lived in World, but was being persecuted for his powers, the same powers Rue possessed, but he dealt with them with a lot more experience. He wished to seek the refuge of Angle Tar, a place that would not threaten a prison sentence for being a Talented individual.

Frith is a government agent, working to recruit Talented people like Rue and White in order to train them to be used for government means. Undertones of evil, I suspect.

Sometimes when a story is told from multiple perspectives in can be clumsy and ineffective, yet Eve’s characters wove together perfectly and the POV changed at just the right moments in order to gain the biggest scope of the story world.

I was expecting more love story between Rue and White, because their romance was tantalizingly forbidden by society. Neither Rue nor White would admit they had feelings for each other, leading to ultimate distress at the end of the novel for White in particular. But I think Eve has left it at a dramatic place for the next book – fingers crossed they’ll actually get the kisses they both crave!

Slowly, we were fed information about Angle Tar and World from a variety of sources and an emphasis was placed on choosing whom to believe. My advice: never trust people with unnatural eye colours. They’re just looking for trouble.

IllusionistsI loved the ambiguity surrounding the government and their involvement in things. Sometimes when explanations are too explicit it’s easy to see how the characters are going to react to the corruption but ‘Fearsome Dreamer’ left a lot unsaid which just made me want to read more and more. What’s the ‘Castle’? Why is there a ‘Ghost Girl’? Who are these people? Who am I?

Overall, I’d say that ‘Fearsome Dreamer’ is like nothing else out there. I never knew where the book was going to take me, literally, and loved the sense of surprise with each new development. I feel I’ve really discovered a gem with this book and can’t wait to read the sequel ‘The Illusionists’ in August (which could not come soon enough!) Did I mention that the covers are beautiful? I need this book constantly on display so I can bask in its beauty for as long as possible.

I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone that is willing to try something different compared to the popular ‘girl vs government’ dystopians that are flooding the shelves at the moment.

Rating: 4.5 stars Can’t be given 5 because I was not emotionally fulfilled with Rue and White’s relationship. More information needed! (and more dancing too, that was cute.)

Review: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac 51vf-m3-xol1by Gabrielle Zevin
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Bloomsbury
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
Rating:
★★★
Where to Find:
Goodreads | Amazon

It all started with a coin toss. A simple wager on who would have to go back to the school to collect the camera that they had left behind. It was Naomi who lost and subsequently fell down the front steps of her school. The next thing she knew she woke up in hospital. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac is the story of a girl who has forgotten who she once was and is trying to make sense of who she is now, but not everyone is quite so happy with the change. When she eventually does remember who she is she has to face moving on with the troubles she had previously forgotten, and decide what she is going to do with her life now that she has a fresh start.

      I loved the writing style; it was perfectly formed for a teenage audience. The banter between Naomi and her best friend Will was hilarious and there were some particularly great one liners that I’ll have to use at some point. Even though Naomi was confused and slightly off-kilter when it came to her emotions, as an audience we’re not annoyed by this because it’s understandable in her condition, whereas in other young adult books I will not refrain from shouting at the protagonist until she pulls herself together.

      However, regardless of that fact that she has suffered from some emotional and physical trauma, I didn’t think it was a good enough excuse for treating her friends badly. I understood why she didn’t want to tell them everything now that she was ‘a new person’, and for the most part she did handle things quite as well as I would have hoped, but when it came to Will I just didn’t get how she could ignore him.

      There were moments when she was with James (the boy that sort of rescued her from the fall) when I thought: even if she had lost her memory, surely she shouldn’t have lost her common sense, but apparently so. It was still an enjoyable read.

      The novel is split up into three parts: I was, I am and I will, and my favourite section was definitely I was. Everything was explained perfectly, and Zevin made sure to tie up the majority of the loose ends by ‘I will’, but I couldn’t help feeling slightly disappointed with the ending. I wanted more to have happened and there to have been more character development. I was proud of how Naomi dealt with her family, but with boys she definitely still has some work to do.

Therefore this one gets a 3/5 rating.

Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Night Circus UK

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Genre: Fantasy, Romance
Published by: Anchor
Pages: 387
Format: Paperback
Rating:
★★★★
Where to Find:
Goodreads | Amazon

I have heard nothing but good things about this book and I have to say it did live up to my expectations. The Night Circus is hard to explain as there are just so many elements to it and the blurb gives almost nothing away. From the title you can ascertain that it is indeed about a Circus and everything that comes to mind when the word ‘Circus’ is mentioned. You may also have guessed that as it is called ‘The Night Circus’ it is indeed only open…at night.

      The Night Circus is a story of romance, mystery and magic. Two magicians are to face a ‘challenge’ and what happens to the loser isn’t revealed until almost the end of the novel. Written in the third person, we experience chapters with almost every character and multiple time lines that all fit together in the end. We start with Celia Bowen when she is five, and we finish the story when she is in her mid-thirties. Although The Night Circus is a stand-alone novel the romantic elements do not feel like an ‘insta-love’ as so often is the case in young adult literature, simply because their love story has lasted almost twenty years in the scheme of things.

      Along with the third person narrative interspersed throughout the novel are second person passages that explain the circus as if you are really there. The Circus itself is a mystery; therefore having it explained to you in that way really helps to build up an image of the Circus. These passages are also key to the plotline even though you don’t quite realise how until more things are explained.

      Reading The Night Circus is very much like playing a game of ‘Jenga.’ With each new piece of information a brick is placed on top of the pile, and with every mystery a brick is taken away. However, you get to the final part of the novel and realise that the tower is way too high and the climax of the story has to topple it down. This is the part where you may be slightly disappointed. You’re still learning about the way of the circus and some things have started to piece together, but there are still bricks being taken and somehow everything still stands up. Just when you think everything is going to fall down, the tower stops swaying and you’re left pretty much where you began. I think there wasn’t quite enough closure, and the ‘competition’ wasn’t explained as well as it could have been – leaving it up to the imagination. It may have been a slightly laboured metaphor, but once you read it I guarantee that it won’t sound quite as ridiculous.

      Overall, I still got completely caught up with the story and will have to buy myself a copy – as I found this gem in my school’s library – so that I can re-read my favourite parts. 4/5 A must read as long as you’re okay to fill in a couple of blanks on your own.

Review: Slated by Teri Terry

Slated by TSlatederi Terry
Genre: Dystopian, Sci-fi
Published By: Orchard Books
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★
Where to Find:
Goodreads | Amazon

Originally, I wasn’t going to pick up this book. I’ve already had my fill of stories about girls that didn’t know the world they lived in was an elaborate lie the government produced as a method of control. But, after consulting GoodReads, my trusty reviewing companion, I decided that ‘Slated’ had something to prove.

The idea is that teenagers that have done terrible wrongs in their lives are given a clean slate (hence the newly coined verb: to slate) and are ‘reprogrammed’ to no longer feel anger; their emotions controlled by a device with a death grip on their wrist.

Kyla (beautiful name) is the main character so, as we are reminded many times, is different. She can feel anger. She can remember parts of her previous life. She is unhappy to conform to the world the government is trying hard to maintain and is desperate to learn about her past self, and the horrible thing she did to be Slated.

 One thing I’ve learnt from novels like this: questioning the government ends in your ultimate termination….or the termination of the government, of life as we know it, of the truth. (These books can be a little melodramatic.)

Generally the pace of the book was very slow. I put this down to it being the first in the series, so a lot of explaining had to be done to build the world, but perhaps 300 pages of miniscule plot was slightly excessive. Kyla doesn’t actually get her ‘mission’ until the final third of the book and though the first two thirds aren’t without purpose they could have been more exciting.

There was a love interest, though like a modern Jane Eyre, Kyla was hung up on the fact that he may have been previously dating another girl that disappeared. The love story felt slightly forced, as if romance is a necessary part of all teen fiction, when in some cases it can only distract from the action.

The last five pages were thrilling, though slightly confusing because the pace of the novel rapidly increased, like Teri Terry was trying to sprint to the finish after she’d saved up her energy at the start of the race.

Dark and sinister in places, ‘Slated’ was a captivating read (when the plot was actually moving forward.) I enjoyed the relationships between Kyla and all other characters; there was so much development below the surface.
Overall, 4 stars.

Review: Tape by Steven Camden

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Tape by Steven Camden
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Harper Collins
Pages: 363
Format: Paperback
Rating:
★★.5
Where to Find:
Goodreads | Amazon

In 2013, a girl called Ameliah discovers a tape that a boy was recording a diary on. She had no idea who the boy is. She’s recently lost both of her parents to a car crash and illness, meaning she lives with her Nan. In 1993, a boy called Ryan decided to record a diary on tape to help him recover from the death of his mother. He is falling in love with a girl called Eve, who is living with her nan for a while during the summer.

The parallels are definitely obvious, though the identity of Ryan isn’t revealed to Ameliah straight away. Due to the time difference between the two, it was somewhat easy to guess how Ryan was significant to Ameliah butequally enjoyable to be with her when she discovers small things to connect the two of them, for example Nirvana mix tapes and sea shells.

The book is told in two very realistic voices. It was interesting to see how the behaviour of teenagers hasn’t changed much in twenty years. Despite being realistic, the book contained too many obvious coincidences – I know it was meant to, but as said, Ryan’s identity was easy to guess after the first…100 pages or so.

Generally a very quick read due to the big font size and average settings. There are no speech marks; the book is formatted like French novels with dashes to represent a new speaker. Strange.

 The blurb makes it sound like there’s going to be more inter-dimensional discussion between Ameliah and Ryan, which I was looking forward to, having watched and enjoyed ‘The Lake House’ movie, yet there was barely any conversational overlaps, despite Ameliah and Ryan both having the opportunity to speak to each other across twenty years. That would have definitely made the plot more captivating.

Apart from that, there was little fault with the novel overall. Ameliah slightly overreacts at the entrance of a new character, Joe, a 30 year old man who happened to know her dad, but then again, we’ve all imagined stalking someone, haven’t we?

An enjoyable and fast read, lacking somewhat in time travel, or love story as the blurb promised. 2.5/5 star

Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

17208924Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ
Published by: Penguin
Pages: 310
Format: Paperback
Rating:
★★
Where to Find:
Goodreads | Amazon

Will Grayson and Will Grayson, by John Green and that other guy, you have both failed to impress me. I had such high expectations for this book, after reading all of John Green’s other published works and having sampled David Levithan’s writing when I read ‘Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares’. Perhaps, because of these high expectations, I was guaranteed to be let down.

      Being a co-written book, ‘Will Grayson, Will Grayson’ is a mixture of good and bad. Unlike other co-written books, such as ‘Beautiful Creatures’, it is easy to tell which writer is writing which Will Grayson. I preferred the first Will, who had a fairly robotic way of life until his joints were oiled by love. The way that this Will Grayson articulated his feelings was occasionally beautiful but generally easy to relate to. It was easier to love this Will Grayson, compared to the second one.
      The second Will Grayson was distinguished by his inability to use capital letters. He was suffering from depression and knew that he shouldn’t use his mental condition as an excuse for being a rude and horrible person, but did it anyway. The way he treated his friends and his mother made me want to distance myself from his character, or completely skip his chapters all together. One Will Grayson was definitely enough for me.
      The second Will Grayson was gay. This book did a lot to raise the awareness of homosexuality; the plot is all about a musical production about being gay. But, I didn’t understand why it was so necessary to make a big deal over who was gay and who wasn’t. Isn’t the point of raising awareness about homosexuality to promote that everyone is normal, no matter what? Why did the fact that a character may or may not be gay have to constantly be mentioned?
      Also, one of the main aspects of the book was that the Will Graysons were both meant to meet. This meeting didn’t happen until 100 pages in, yet the I felt the plot in first 100 pages could have been at least halved. Not a lot was happening up until the point they met, and to be honest, not a lot happened after that either. I’d say, out of the whole 308 pages, both Will Graysons were together for 20 pages, max. Not what I expected.
      The ending was abrupt and unsatisfying, but at least one Will Grayson got a happy ending.
Of course, if you’re looking for a book that has a trial and error (or trial-error-trial) attempt at being witty and somewhat insightful then this is the book for you. If you’re dead set on reading this book just because John Green co-wrote it, may I recommend ‘Paper Towns’ instead? The library also has a copy of this and you won’t regret the decision of deciding to follow the story of Quentin and Margo over Will Grayson and the other Will Grayson.

Review: Dead Ends by Erin Lange

Dead Ends by Erin Jadead-endsde Lange
Genre: Contemporary, Friendship
Published By: Bloomsbury
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Rating:
Where to Find:
Goodreads | Amazon

I picked up this book because a lovely friend of mine said she had mixed opinions on it and I wanted to see if I could come up with a more definitive thought on the novel to share with her. Plus, I loved the colour of the cover.

‘Dead Ends’ is told from a bully’s perspective, though like many bullies, he doesn’t realise what he’s doing is wrong until someone else, in this case a kid with Down’s Syndrome, Billy, points it out. Dane, the bully, is roped into helping Billy around school and their on-off friendship leads to trouble, mayhem and more trouble as both boys try and find their lost fathers.

It was definitely interesting to read a novel told from a troubled perspective. It was a different dynamic that I’m not entirely sure I enjoyed. Dane didn’t seem very anxious about the repercussions of his actions, whereas I’m sure Voldemort might have felt at least some inner turmoil.

The relationship that grew between Dane and Billy was a Marmite relationship – they either liked each other or they didn’t. Dane had a few double standards when it came to Billy – he didn’t like other people treating him differently because of his appearance yet would distance himself from Billy’s company by not wanting to call him a friend. As the novel progressed, I’m sure his outlook changed but it annoyed me that Dane wasn’t completely accepting of Billy like he wanted others to be.

Slightly ‘Paper Towns’-esque when the boys were trying to figure out a trail of clues left for Billy by his dad on how to find him. That was slightly interesting, but not enough to make me turn the pages any faster.

Billy had his own double standards when it came to honesty, though I won’t go into that but it made me feel as angry as Dane at the injustice of his outbursts, which were valid but not at all fair.

The plot progressed nicely, with new things being weaved into the story at semi-regular intervals that helped me to keep reading. My favourite character was probably the love interest, Seely, but it seemed she was only written in for convenience and didn’t hold a bigger purpose other than ‘the girl with the computer’.

Still, it would be wrong to say I didn’t enjoy parts of the novel, though it didn’t contain anything that wowed me. My rating would therefore be: 2.6 stars because I felt, in the end,  I was just reading it to finish it, not to love it.