Last year, my Cannonball book was a crashing disappointment. A one star disaster that I HATED. I didn’t want to repeat the same problem this year. I wanted book 52 to be a treat, a rave review, a delight. A book I tore through in a day because I couldn’t put it down. After loving Eleanor & Park so hard, I bought Fangirl so this was the obvious logical choice to take centre stage as book 52 this year. An obvious shoo in for a gushing and effusive review. […]
Bring It On was never like this….
I have mentioned before how I’ll happily read books where I am FULLY aware I am really not said book’s target market. It’s been a while since I wandered so far outside of my demographic as I have here with this story of cheerleaders, rivalry and Generally Bad Goings-On. But Abbott has garnered acclaim for her YA as well her non-YA novels, a few of which I’m also interested in reading. And who among us watched Bring It On and thought “yeah, I bet it’s not really […]
How to Survive the Unsurvivable
Reading The Shock of the Fall took me back to my early teens a little bit. Because back then, before wizard, vampires, and dystopian societies had exploded the YA market, the age-appropriate books found in my local library fell mostly into two categories: the ones with horses and the ones with problems. Sometimes the categories overlapped of course, so you’d get books with horses and problems. For a few years, after picture books and Nancy Drew, but before my brief Serious Adult Classics Only phase […]
My First Rainbow Rowell
I generally avoid romantic comedies as a genre, but there are some that I will watch every time they’re on TV, despite the plot holes etc.; this book felt like those. It had a good pace and lots of charm, I liked the variety of characters, I loved the depiction of female friendship. Sort of spoilers ahead: My main problem was that Lincoln, although well written, and although I was rooting for him, just didn’t seem all that interesting. I wasn’t sure what Beth saw in […]
So awesome, so awesome
So this was an intriguing one. The two biggest YA superstars collaborate on a book, each writing alternate chapters, about two high school boys both named Will Grayson. John Green takes the straight Will, best friend to the biggest, gayest teen (ironically nicknamed Tiny, of course) while Levithan gives us the gay will, who is too cool to use capital letters at any point ever, but otherwise leads a tortured existence, prone to black moods and on medication to stabilise his moods. A freak turn […]
Blend In or Stand Out?
Everything I Never Told You is a novel about thwarted dreams, love, and parental expectations; about race in America in the 1970s, women’s rights, the desire to fit in and the desire to stand out. And the mysterious death of 16-year-old Lydia Lee. Was it suicide or foul play? The story begins with Lydia’s death. Her body has been found in the lake, and since it is known she couldn’t swim, foul play is assumed. Our initial image of Lydia is as a genius with […]
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