Amy & Matthew - A Love Story by Cammie McGovern

Amy & Matthew - A Love Story
by Cammie McGovern

Amy has cerebral palsy. She can't talk, so she types her words into a special voice machine that says them for her. She has to use a special walker to get around. Matthew has OCD. They are both students at the same high school and neither have any friends. Amy and her mother decide to allocate school peers to help Amy around school during the day and to introduce her to their friends. Matthew becomes one of the peers. They quickly realise that though they have different illnesses and handicaps, they are very similar people - they are both looking for friendship and love. But the path to love is not always a smooth one, and Amy in particular has to go through a huge upheaval in her life to realise that what she is looking for has always been there.

The book tackles the two disabilities quite well but I didn't like Amy's character very much. She was self-centred and secretive and I'm not surprised Matthew was so very frustrated with her. I did feel very sorry for him. He starts to make friends on his own and gets a job and even finds that a girl has a secret crush on him, but his love for Amy stays with him, even when she does something that no other boyfriend would forgive.

If you are interested in other books which tackle disabilities, then try Wonder by  R.J. Palacio which tackles facial disfigurement, The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison which tackles OCD, and Colin Fischer by Miller and Stentz which concerns autism.

Campari for Breakfast by Sara Crowe

Campari for Breakfast
by Sara Crowe

Sara Crowe is an award-winning British actress, starring in films such as 'Four Weddings and a Funeral', and the West End productions of 'Private Lives' and 'Calendar Girls'. This is her first novel, and what a cheeky little bundle of fun it is! It is a comedic and romantic farce, but with little serious bits in the middle. I did truly laugh out loud in most of her chapters. It took me about a chapter to realise that the horrendous spelling and grammatical mistakes were in fact intentional and just added to the hilarity of the book.

Sue Bowl is 17. She decides to go and stay with her Aunt Coral at her aunt's gigantic 16-room manor house, 'Green Place'. Her reasons are two-fold - to write her novel, and to get away from her father and his new girlfriend, Ivana from Denmark. Sue's mother, Buddleia, committed suicide in their local library a year previously (leaving no note) after finding out about her husband's affair, so Sue can never forgive her father nor face Ivana. Now I know that doesn't sound very hilarious so far, but please bear with it.

Once she enters Green Place, she and her aunt decide to run a writer's group, and it's from here that the fun starts. We are introduced to some colourful characters, including the Admiral who rents out a wing in the house, Delia who rents out another wing in the house, Delia's daughter Loudolle, Joe and Icarus from the local café 'Toastie' where Sue gets a part-time job, and many more besides.

It is during her stay with her Aunt that Sue discovers more than just her love of writing. The mystery of her mother's suicide note, the true story behind her parent's marriage, the revelation of the truth behind a family member, and how love can be right under your nose and you still can't see it.

If you're looking for a chuckle, look no further than this book.

Animals by Emma Jane Unsworth

Animals

by Emma Jane Unsworth

I loved loved loved this! I defy anyone who, after reading this in a day (because you will), does not a) crack open a bottle of wine; b) put on trance music and have a good bop around the house. The whole book is full of drunken naughtiness - the only way the 2 main characters can get through the day is to down a least 2 bottles of wine - and the rest. Drugs, litres and litres of alcohol, relationships, friendships, family, work, clubs, bars more bars - it's a never ending rollercoaster of booze-fuelled fun!

Laura and Tyler are best friends living together in a flat paid for by Tyler's father. When they're not working in their respective low-paid jobs (Tyler is a waitress in a coffee shop, Laura is a call-centre operative) they're out getting high and drunk. But Laura is engaged to be married to classical pianist Jim (who is constantly touring the world with his concerts) and both she and Tyler know that at some point Laura will be moving out, and moving on. Tyler is not keen on Jim, they've never seen eye to eye, so when Jim stops drinking and is constantly phoning Laura to see where she is and how drunk she is, she tries her best to dissuade Laura from marrying him. Will she succeed, and what effect will it have on their friendship and their future?

Caitlin Moran has a quote on the front cover - "I wish I had written this book...Withnail with girls." A great summation of a great book.

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Fangirl
by Rainbow Rowell

I've read Rainbow's other young adult novel Eleanor & Park, and even though it contains tricky topics and bad language, I rather liked it, as did many others (Goodreads Best Young Adult Fiction of the Year, Amazon's one of the ten best books of 2013). I was therefore looking forward to reading this next Young Adult offering. Hmmm. It was very long. When I finally finished it I was relieved. It was all too...well....American. Loads of speech - 'fast' speech, like they do - I didn't really care for the main character Cather, she's rather wet and wimpy - never goes out, stays in to write her fanfiction every evening, scared of meeting people. Then even though she loves writing she decides she can't and won't write a story for one of her final English papers. Just annoying really. I quite liked Reagan, her college roommate, all feisty and confident and costant rolling of eyes at Cather. Well actually, there was much rolling of eyes by most of the characters in the book - that was quite annoying too. Then there's the snippets of the fanfaction blog and the book the fanfiction is based on (basically Harry Potter with name changes) between each chapter. We know you can tell you a story Rainbow, there's no need to throw in bits of other stories too to muddle us with.

Basically, it's about twins Cather and Wren (their mother wasn't expecting two, she just had one name ready, so she split it between them. Weird.) After giving them weird names because she couldn't be bothered to think of another one, she leaves them and her dad when the girls are 8, and never sees them again. The dad has a meltdown, recovers, but is prone to recurring meltdowns during high stress moments. The girls go off to college a few hours from home when they're 18, Cather not really wanting to but Wren not being able to wait. Even though they have been close all their life and write the fanfiction together, for some reason Wren decides not only does she not want to share a dorm with Cather, but she doesn't even want to be in the same dorm block. Another weird. Anyway, Cather lives her hermit life and befriends Reagan's boyfriend Levi. She also develops a writing partnership with Nick, a guy from her Fiction Writing course. We sense love is looming, it's just a waiting game to find out which one she goes for. Meanwhile, Wren is having the time of her life - parties, boys, drinking - until one night she goes a bit too far. Mother reappears on the scene for all of 5 mins - not sure why (and nor is Cather). Just to upset everyone really. And that's about it.

I guess it just wasn't for me and I was a bit disappointed, but I'm sure I'll be proved wrong.

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss
by Stephanie Perkins

Stephanie Perkins is quite big in America, so Usborne were excited at publishing this book over here in Britain, and have been giving it a big push. I know the title screams teen romance, and it's not the reading material I usually go for, but I wanted to see what the publisher was getting so excited about. I was pleasantly surprised. I read it in about a day, some parts I couldn't put down so found myself cooking tea with one hand and reading the book with the other (not advisable, quite dangerous, do not copy). It had your heart racing in some sections, others had you quietly screaming to yourself "Just tell him how you feel for heaven's sake!", then some parts I couldn't believe would actually happen in real life, but this is fiction isn't it?

Anna has been packed off to Paris by her famous author father, so she can study there for a year (almost like our final 6th form year over here) in an American school, before she chooses her University. She doesn't know anyone there, and she doesn't speak any French. She befriends the girl in the dorm room next to her, and then latches onto her group of friends, one of whom is the handsome - but short - Etienne St Clair. Anna left behind the beginning of a possible relationship with Toph and hopes to pick up where they left off when she returns home at Christmas, but finds herself drawn to Etienne, who unfortunately has a girlfriend. But relationships are tricky things, you can't help who you fall in love with, and this first term in Paris for Anna is a whirlwind of feelings - confusion, paranoia, love, hate, jealousy. Does Etienne feel the same way about Anna as she does about him? Will they admit their feelings to each other? Will Etienne leave his girlfriend?

A great teen romance which will make your heart melt. If you like this, also try Falling Fast by Sophie McKenzie.

The Boy on the Porch by Sharon Creech

The Boy on the Porch
by Sharon Creech

Sharon Creech writes what I could only describe as 'magical' tales (she's written 16 in all). I just loved The Great Unexpected. The Boy on the Porch continues her beautiful heartwarming style, but this one was very simple and, well, short. I still absolutely loved it though, but was glad I only paid 99p for the e-book I read it so quickly!

Married couple Marta and John find a boy asleep on their porch. He has a note "Plees taik kair of Jacob. He is a god good boy. Wil be bak wen we can." Jacob does not speak, but he communicates by tapping and nodding and smiling. Marta and John dutifully take care of him over the next few weeks, wondering who left him there and when they will come back. They grow to love him, and the boy seems to flourish in their company. He reveals many talents - art, music, a love of the animals on their farm, but his biggest talent being spreading happiness and filling their house with joy and love. Then the day comes that Marta and John have grown to dread. A man appears saying he is the boy's father and wants him back. Will the couple be able to hand over Jacob, and how will they able to fill the huge void that will be left in their home without him.

A wonderful story of the innocence of a child, the love and happiness they can bring, and how having a child can be the most enriching experience in one's life. You will cry.

This House is Haunted by John Boyne

This House is Haunted
by John Boyne

I have read quite a few novels by John Boyne and he never fails to disappoint. He has written modern fairy tale (Noah Barleywater Runs Away, The Terrible Thing That Happened to Barnaby Brocket), war stories (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, Stay Where You Are and Then Leave, The Absolutist), short story collections, and many other titles, and now he has tackled the ghost story genre. Not only a ghost story, but set in the 19th Century, so competing with Charles Dickens. The author even brings in Mr Dickens to make a short cameo appearance, where he is reading one of his ghost stories on stage in front of an excitingly expectant audience.

This story follows 21-yr-old Eliza Caine, primary school teacher, living with her ill father in fog-ridden London. A trip to the theatre in wet cold conditions worsens his illness and he dies. Eliza dreams of starting a new life somewhere, hoping it may bring her happiness and love. She spots an advert for a governess in Norfolk, and she leaps at this opportunity. However, the job at the stately manor calls for more stamina, determination, strength and courage than she could have possibly had imagined. Five out of the six previous governesses have come to a grisly end in very suspicious circumstances, and Eliza battles to overcome attempts on her life from invisible forces within the house.

If you liked The Woman in Black, and The Turn of the Screw, then you will love this.