Leave it to Eva Review

Title: Leave it to Eva

Author: Judi Curtin

Release Date: 1^st August 2012

Publisher: O’Brien Press

Fun, feisty Eva Gordon always tries to help her friends, but this time she might have a problem that’s too big even for her ...

When Eva and her family got to Seacove, she’s looking forward to seeing her friend Kate, but things have gone very wrong for Kate and this time Eva’s not sure if she should help her.

It’s not just Seacove Eva’s visiting – her friend Ruby offers her the chance of a visit to London. And there may be a way the trip with Ruby can help Eva sort things out for everyone...

If you have a problem that needs solving, just leave it to Eva!

 

Eva’s trip to Seacove is a much awaited one, she is really looking forward to catching up with her friends Lily and Kate. However, when Eva arrives in Seacove, she finds that things have changed since her last visit. Lily and Kate are no longer friends, Kate is holding a dangerous secret... one that  could get her into a lot of trouble. Eva’s friend, Ruby, is also having trouble in London, will Eva have time to fix everything before the end of the holidays?

I've recently begun working with a group of young people, listening to them read in my local high school. What struck me as interesting when working with these groups is how many children would love to read something exciting, with a fun story but simple language... Leave it to Eva is one of those stories. Written from the point of Eva, a determined and friendly young woman, the story follows her holiday adventures in Seacove and London. Eva can’t help but make her friend’s business her business and surprisingly, her determination means she manages to solve a lot of their problems.

I’m not sure if I would be able to stand having a friend like Eva, at times she seems a bit disloyal and does tend to thrust her input onto her friend’s lives which has surprisingly positive consequences... I tend to be a bit cynical in this respect, thinking that maybe things wouldn’t quite happen like that in real life. (I do realise the importance of escapism and am not for one second suggesting that the happy ending wasn’t vital to my enjoyment of the book). Eva is just such an unusual character in that, despite my determination to dislike her, I found I couldn’t help myself by the end! I’m slightly disappointed that I missed out on reading the first two Eva books before this one as they follow on in a sequence and explore her friendships in greater detail.

I did actually really enjoy this book. I found Eva’s character really captivating and the novel had an uplifting ending, despite the real life difficult issues that her friends face. The book deals with families, neglect, disability and friendships in a brutally honest way which contrasts with a positive escapist ending. I would recommend this title mainly to female readers who fancy something light and easy going but that deals with real themes and has a steady plot line.

4.5/5 For younger readers or those who would like something with simpler language.

With special thanks to O’Brien Press for sending me a copy of the novel.

Bite Club Review

Title: Bite Club (Morganville Vampires Book Ten)

Author: Rachel Caine

Release date: 2^nd May 2011

Publisher: Allison and Busby 

Morganville is a quiet college town where humans and vampires live in relative peace. But lately a great deal of blood is being spilt...

 

Having survived a number of adventures with her new night-dwelling friends, college student Clare Danvers has come to realise that for the most part, the undead just want to get on with their lives.  

 

But someone else wants them to get ready to rumble.

 

There’s a new extreme sport being broadcast over the Internet: bare-knuckle fighting pitting captured vampires against one another – or, worse, against humans. Claire soon discovers that what started as an online brawl will soon threaten everyone in Morganville. And if they want to survive, they’ll have to do a lot more than fight... 

Another day in Morganville, another problem that threatens the town’s safety. In a town where vampires roam the streets, this is no idle threat and once again, it’s down to Claire and her friends to sort out the problem. But somehow, Shane, Claire’s boyfriend is involved this time and so is Bishop, one of the most dangerous vampires – will anyone get out alive?

This book has been on my 'to read' list since 2011 when it was released. I absolutely adore Rachel Caine's Morganville Vampire series and couldn't wait to read this one. I started it over the bank holiday and with the sunshine and summer feeling that was about I felt like rejoining old friends with this read. Although the sunshine and warm weather didn't last (no surprise there really) I did enjoy reading this book while snuggled up in front of the fire with a blanket and a warm vimto.

Although it is a while since I read Ghost Town, book nine in the series, I found it so easy to get back into the story and didn't really feel like I had to re-familiarise myself with the characters, they were just there waiting for me to read them into life again – that's how readable her books are.

My only criticism of the novel would be the first person narratives from Shane, Claire's boyfriend. While Shane has never been my favourite character (I find him whiney and a bit pathetic although I know he has ‘issues’ from his past) I have seen him as essential to the plot and believed that the reason I had any feelings about his character at all was down to good writing. I still believe Rachel Caine is a brilliant writer, who hooks you in and allows you to read her novels comfortably rather than trying to overpower you with complexity in plot or language but Shane’s character was driving me bonkers. From Claire’s point of view (the novel is written in third person but follows Claire’s character) Shane was behaving unreasonably and I found him irritating and hearing from his point of view, I didn’t feel any more sympathy.  

The plot (as always) was full of interesting twists and was dissimilar to the plot of the other novels in her series while following a similar formula that you can easily slip into. I find her novels really easy to read with recognisable and detailed characters and that’s why I wanted to read this book in the nice weather.  Morganville is a really interesting place and each book in the series adds more to the Morganville scene without becoming repetitive. Although the romantic vampire trope has become popular and over-used, I find Rachel Caine’s series is multi-dimensional with her own town and her own vampire rules. I would recommend this title and the series to anyone who fancies an easy read with (mostly) likeable characters.

3.5/5 Another novel in a brilliant series but one of the characters was a little on the annoying side.

There is no dog review

Title: There is no dog

Author: Meg Rosoff

Release date: 4^th August 2011

Publisher: Puffin

In the beginning there was Bob.

and Bob created the heavens and the earth,

and the beasts of the field,

and the creatures of the sea,

and twenty-five million other species,

including lots of gorgeous girls.

And all of this he created in just six days.

Six days! Congratulations, Bob.

No wonder Earth is such a mess.

Imagine that God is a typical teenage boy.

He is lazy, careless, self-obsessed, sex-mad – and about to meet Lucy, the most beautiful girl on earth.

Unfortunately, whenever Bob falls in love, disaster follows.

Let us pray that Bob does not fall in love with Lucy.

Bob is a teenage boy full of raging hormones and testosterone. He also happens to be the God of a little planet called Earth. Bob doesn't realise that he has to be attentive to his creations and often doesn't get up til midday, leaving his assistant, Mr B to get on with running the planet. But what happens when Mr B resigns? Can Bob ever restore humanity's faith in God?

This book caught my eye a few months ago because of its unusual title and the fact that it was also available in Playaway format at my local library. (Playaways are audio books stored on an MP3 player so they are easier to carry on the go). I must admit I couldn't get into the audio (although I do struggle with audio books at times) but was hooked with the book straight away. The book opens with a humorous quote from Stephen King which sets the tone of the book immediately.

This book had a Terry Pratchett feel to it and was very amusing throughout. I could just imagine the third person narrative being used as a voice over to a discworld film. The way each character is described with all their flaws gives the narrator a definitive character. However, I would add that Rosoff still has her own unique style and the book merely manages to capture Pratchett's hilarious and blunt omnipotent voice rather than mirroring his work. 

My favourite character was Estelle as she manages to command the page without doing or saying anything vitally important. She is a brilliant example of a magical supporting character. With her help, Mr B realises that he has more to offer the people of earth than Bob ever could do and helps offer a happy ending to the tale.

I found the book really funny and engaging with a variety of plot twists and a collection of well developed characters. The book works so well as a completed piece because each element of the novel is captivating and so well thought out. Rosoff has produced something that I would recommend for all readers, whether you are a fan of Pratchett or not.  

5/5 Something unusual that will appeal to fans of good, creative literature.

The Killing Joke Review

Title : The Killing Joke

Author: Anthony Horowitz

Release date: 1^st April 2005

Publisher: Orion

 
When Guy Fletcher protests at a sick joke he overhears in a pub, he finds himself headbutted and struck by an idea in quick succession. Is it possible to trace a joke all the way back to its original source?

 Guy’s quest takes him across the UK, from a humourless Hungarian dentist to a group of giggling grave-diggers, from a hyper active troupe of boy scouts to half a dozen undercover detectives. And along the way some pretty odd things are happening. Guy is sure he is being followed by an Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman. He has an unfortunate accident on a banana skin. There’s a fly in his soup, an army of nuns on his train – and an exploding house in Cambridge... Guy is on the verge of discovering something very unpleasant. Making jokes is no laughing matter.

If you were to trace the origins of a joke, how far would you go?

I couldn't work out whether this novel is pure genius or utterly bonkers... so I settled for a mixture of both.

The complex sentence structures and lexis give the book a sophisticated edge but the content is so ridiculous that I couldn't help but plough through the text.

The entire content of the book relies on communication, whether this be in the form of jokes spreading throughout the country or what the author of a book chooses to tell you about their particular story (see the end of the book!). I'm not going to go on some obsessive joke hunt like Guy Fletcher did but the story did make me wonder about the origins of jokes. Who's to say there isn't a joke factory somewhere? The character of Liddy makes some compelling arguments about why jokes are a necessary part of society but I'd rather believe there's a 'fat boy in the attic' somewhere who has nothing better to do with his time than a terrifying international conspiracy.

Guy and Sally's romance adds another level to a ridiculous story and I hope I'm not ruining the plot for anyone when I say I'm really REALLY glad they got their happy ending. In fact the ending was brilliantly positive but in keeping with the silly style of the rest of the story. I did actually laugh out loud when I reached the final chapter of the book, Anthony Horowitz lets his readers know that the story never truly ends, just like jokes which are continually being revised and redistributed.

I felt that Guy really developed as a character which helped drive the novel. He has gone off on a wild goose chase but what if, this time, he can actually catch the goose? The entire story takes place over a few weeks but I felt like I'd known Guy for years and could really sympathise with him when his world comes crumbling down.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who fancies a good laugh. It has a compelling narrative, colourful characters and a string of unusual occurrences.

5/5 Beware the Englishman, Irishman and the Scotsman!

The Future of Us Review

Title: The Future of Us

Author: Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Release date: 5^th January 2012

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Children’s Books

It’s 1996 and less than half of all high school students have ever used the internet. Facebook will not be invented for another eight years.

Josh and Emma have been neighbours their whole lives. They’ve been best friends almost as long – at least they were until last November, when everything changed. Things have been awkward ever since, but when Josh’s family gets a free AOL CD in the mail, his mum makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When the two friends log on, the discover their profiles on Facebook.

And they’re looking at themselves fifteen years into the future.

Everyone wonders what their destiny will be.

Josh and Emma are about to find out.

The first time Emma uses the internet on her home PC, she discovers something life changing. Facebook. But it’s 1996 and her profile reveals details about her future self. Emma doesn’t even know what Facebook is, all she can deduce is that she doesn’t seem happy in the future. With the help of her friend Josh, can she create a future with a positive Facebook profile?

What I liked most about this book was that it allowed me to reminisce about a time before mobile phones and computers were so mainstream. I remember when it took ages to dial a connection for your internet and I also remember getting my first mobile phone. (I've just got my first ever phone with internet and now I wonder how I ever managed without it!) While many teenagers will enjoy looking back at how things were before they were born (imagine a life without Facebook! ), I felt that being a little bit older and remembering how things used to be added another level to my enjoyment of the book which younger readers might not experience.

The complex relationship between Emma and Josh is funny, heart-warming and emotional and really made the book a fantastic read. The way they verge on being friends/more than friends throughout the novel is made really obvious and humorous. Each chapter is written from the point of view of Josh or Emma and it was lovely to see both sides of their relationship as it developed.

The way Facebook is used within the novel as Emma’s indicator of whether or not her future is a happy one really made me think about the way we portray ourselves through social networking. Some of us are optimists and only try to post positive things so that other people think our lives are perfect and others only share their misfortune. It's interesting to think how much of ourselves we actually reveal through our personal profiles and how obsessive some people get over checking it, just like Emma does. 

I picked up this novel because the idea of a world without Facebook caught my attention. While adults in the world today grew up without home PCs, let alone the internet, many teenagers today can’t go a few hours without needing to update their status or check their wall. The novel explored the positives and negatives of being ‘Facebook obsessed’ while being hilarious and uplifting. It was a brilliant teenage novel but the future aspect made it a real page turner.

I wonder what my Facebook profile will look like in fifteen years time and  I wonder if I'll like it?

4.5/5 I think anyone who uses Facebook would really enjoy this book.

 

Warm Bodies Review

Title: Warm Bodies

Author:  Isaac Marion

Release date: 2010

Publisher: Vintage Books

‘R’ is a zombie. He has no name, no memories and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.

Amongst the ruins of an abandoned city, R meets a girl. Her name is Julie and she is the opposite of everything he knows – warm and bright and very much alive, she is a blast of colour in a dreary grey landscape. For reasons he can’t understand, R chooses to save Julie instead of eating her, and a tense yet strangely tender relationship begins.

This has never happened before. It breaks the rules and defies logic, but R is no longer content with life in the grave. He wants to breathe again, he wants to live, and Julie wants to help him. But their grim, rotting world won’t be changed without a fight...

I thought this would be something interesting to read and review. The film ‘Warm Bodies’ has unfortunately finished showing at the cinema (I did really want to go and see it but I didn’t get chance to go) but the new series on BBC three, ‘In the Flesh’ is continuing the new trend of zombies with feelings. (Check it out at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00szzcm - I think it's brilliant!)

I really enjoyed this novel. It had a really passionate feel to it and was also written in a mature and sophisticated style. Despite R’s lack of ability to voice his thoughts to Julie and M, the first person narrative is written coherently and beautifully.

I really enjoyed the complexity of R's feelings. Originally, the reason he doesn't eat Julie is because he has eaten the brain of Julie's partner, Perry. The residual memories which he absorbs create his initial emotional attachment to Julie. I thought this was truly captivating, as R then goes on to form his own feelings for Julie which have built on Perry’s. This reminded me a little of 'The Host' by Stephanie Meyer (also due out as a film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNeCnKKHGE4) and the idea of residual memories existing which the new host takes on.  'Warm Bodies' is a really captivating and beautiful story set in the future and it really captured my imagination.

The approach is very different to many zombie stories in that they perform unusual rituals, such as getting married as they attempt to cling to human experience. The Boneys were an interesting addition to the tale in that they provided some form of explanation as to how people had begun to rise from the dead but little other justification was given, the characters had to try and survive living in the present rather than reviewing the past. However, while R has no memories, Perry and Julie are reliving theirs and this provided a welcoming contrast between the humans and the dead. What was revealing towards the end of the novel was how irrelevant memories become, Julie asks ‘You don’t want to get your old life back?’ to which R replies, ‘No [...] I want this one’.

Overall, a thoroughly brilliant read. It offered humour, danger, fantasy and love, encompassing several genres within one story. I can't wait until I (finally) get to see the film which has a lot to live up to.

 

5/5 A heart-warming, unconventional zombie story.

 

Can I just make a point that the prequel is only available as an e-book! I am horrified! What about those of us who like to thumb through a well read paperback ?!?!?!?!

Almost True Review

Book. 4

Title: Almost True

Author: Keren David

Release Date: 2^nd September 2010

Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children’s Books

Ruthless killers are hunting Ty. The police move him and his Mum to a quiet seaside town. But a horrific attack and a bullet meant for Ty prove that he’s not safe yet.

 

On the road again, Ty’s in hiding with complete strangers... who seem to know a lot about him. Meanwhile, he’s desperate to see his girlfriend Claire, and terrified that she may betray him.

Ty can’t trust his own judgement and he’s making dangerous decisions that could deliver him
straight to the gangsters.
 

Ty isn’t coping well with his current life and longs to go back to how things were when he wasn’t a witness to a murder. After another failed attempt on his life, Ty has to move in with his Dad’s parents, which turns out to be an exercise in learning about his past. While relationships with his Mum and girlfriend, Claire, seem to be breaking down, can he build a relationship with his new family or will he ruin it with recklessness and lies?

I really enjoyed ‘When I was Joe’ and so was looking forward to finally getting to read Keren David’s next novel about Ty’s life under witness protection. The opening chapter explodes with ferocity and the violence that has plagued Ty’s life since he was a witness to murder. While I did find the entirety of the book really engaging, I felt that actually, there were several plotlines going on at the same time and in fact, this tale could have been made into several books.

Keren David tackles several of Ty’s key relationships within this novel with main characters such as his Mum, his Grandma, his Dad, his girlfriend, his Dad’s parents and his new-found cousin Archie. While it was brilliant to get to know a lot more about Ty’s life previous to ‘When I was Joe’ which is revealed to him through forming relationships with his Dad’s family, I felt like the reader is thrown into information overload. However, despite this, I understand that this kept me engaged (I was desperate to know what had happened when Ty’s Mum and Dad separated) and also threw me into Ty’s world. He has to deal with the trauma of being under witness protection, his Mum’s shocking news and the truth about his past as well as worrying about lying to the police.

There is so much going on in Ty’s life that it is hard to keep up but the characters are so believable and captivating that they push through the narrative. My favourite characters in this novel have to be Helen and Patrick (Ty’s grandparents) as they offer guidance and support while he is struggling to come to terms with what is happening. The introduction of so many new characters meant that this novel is very unlike ‘When I was Joe’ in that it has a different setting and the reader is given much more background information on the crime.

I think if you liked ‘When I was Joe’ then you’ll like this too. I was surprised by how much content was covered in the novel and how many new characters were included but every page managed to maintain my interest. I look forward to reading ‘Another Life’ (Book 3 in the series) and seeing what happens to all the characters I have come to know and love.

4/5 A mammoth of content included!