This is such an original story, and one which took me through several phases. At first, I thought it was just full of nastiness - all the characters (main character Iris, her mother Hannah, and mother's boyfriend Lowell) seemed to be full of hatred for each other. How can a mother show no sign of love at all for her daughter, even if Iris has her problems? Iris's way of coping with her home situation is by lighting fires - not just a small, outdoor, dry leaf pile sort of fire, but more of a burn your mother's wardrobe down fire, and let's start a fire in a store room at school sort of fire. The sort where people's lives are at risk, but there is no thought of that - the fire, the smell, the sound, the danger are all too attractive and addictive.
Iris at first finds help in friend Thurston, even though he doesn't really seem the ideal person. He seems a bit of a misfit, a loner, the sort of person you'd imagine wouldn't have many friends at school.
Then Hannah finds out that Iris's dad, Ernest, is gravely ill and dying. She also knows that he is incredibly rich - he owns many priceless works of art. She whisks Iris and Lowell off to visit Ernest. Iris remembers nothing of her father. Hannah has told her that he abandoned them when she was small, and was nothing but a bad father.
This part of the book set in Ernest's house was my favourite. We discover more about Ernest himself, about his love of art (one of Iris's favourite topics also), about his past, about why he was not there for Iris when she was little. Lies are uncovered, people humiliated and shamed, lost friends reunited, a true family revealed.
The title, Fire Colour One, refers to the title of a famous painting by Yves Klein, made in 1962. Yves created the piece by using nude models as the 'brushes' and then firing a hose of blazing fire at the canvas, putting everyone's lives at risk. In the last decade it sold at auction in New York for $36.4 million.
The scene in the book depicting Ernest's death and Iris's emotions surrounding the death are particularly moving, especially when you know that Jenny Valentine herself recently lost her father after a grave illness (which she too suffered, but recovered from). A touching and poignant end to a brave, original story.
Mikey and his friends are just about to graduate from high school. It's their final couple of weeks before the summer holidays and then they're off on their separate ways to university. But there are a few problems :
1) Mikey has OCD - it's so bad he thinks the loop won't break and he'll die;
2) His older sister Mel has an eating disorder and needs constant monitoring;
3) His dad is an alcoholic;
4) His mum is running for Congress and everyone has to appear normal;
5) He loves Henna, but hasn't told her, but Henna loves new boy Nathan, who seems very suspicious;
6) His best friend Jared is part God of feline animals;
7) The town they live in is about to be taken over by Immortals - they come in the guise of police officers with blue rays coming out of their eyes. But it's OK, the indie kids are around to save the day;
8) The indie kids are being killed off one by one;
9) There are zombie deer.
I know, sounds weird. It definitely seems that way when you start reading it, but strangely the main theme of teens struggling with emotions, exams, anxieties, sexual preferences, whether someone's your friend or not, whether someone fancies you or not, parents - all the usual teen angst stuff - makes the story seem more normal than it actually is. Many of you will spot throw-ins from other top-selling kids' novels - vampires (check), Greek Gods (check), cancer victims (check), zombies (check). I loved all the characters, and I think many teens will find something from each of them to identify with. I did spend rather a large amount of time wondering whether there was an underlying meaning to the Immortals and the indie kids. Were the Immortals just authority figures trying to run the kids' lives? Were the indie kids just synonymous with people being different and that it was ok to be different, that they matter too and are just as important as everyone else, in fact they can be the heroes? However in the end, I just enjoyed it for what it is - something a little bit different and a little bit wonderful by one of my favourite authors.
Review by Megan, aged 12
The Geek Girl series has always been a personal favourite of mine, and 'All That Glitters' is still a fantastic book, but unfortunately it broke the good streak. Harriet is mainly concerned about the goings on at home, and the story is basically just about school.
I was expecting another dramatic story about her having an amazing experience doing a photo shoot with Nick, even though he was supposed to be in Australia after they broke up. Instead, Harriet only has about two chapters actually in the modelling world, and most of the other time having a bad time at school.
Some people may like the change in the storyline, which is great, but personally, overall, still an impressive piece of writing, and I guess a repeat of Harriet's childhood. But, I have to admit, a little bit disappointing.
I started to read this book with some trepidation - it's been getting quite a bit of hype in the press and from other bloggers, but recently I've been feeling a bit let down with the teen books I've read. It just seems to have been all sex, drugs, misery, death, and it's saddened me that, as the mother of a near-teen, this is what is out there for them to read. But times are a-changing and I guess I'll have to come to terms with the fact that children are growing up a lot faster than when I was a child. When I was 13 I was reading 'My Family and Other Animals' by Gerald Durrell and absolutely loved it. My daughter is currently re-reading 'Twilight' by Stephenie Meyer. See what I mean?
As testimony to the changing of attitudes and subject material in teen books, 'Simon...' is bang up to date with the current LGBT trend (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender). Simon is gay, but he hasn't told anyone yet. He is terrified of coming out to friends and especially to his parents. He forms an online friendship with Blue, who is also gay, and whose real identity is unknown, both to us and to Simon. They only know they go to the same school. Simon also uses a pseudonym when he emails Blue. It's this anonymity which makes it easier for them to open up to each other, to reveal how they both feel, to be there for each other when the time comes to tell their family and friends they are gay, even though for Simon that time is forced upon him after a very evil and vile incident. All the while we as the reader, and Simon, are trying to work out who Blue is.
It took me a couple of chapters, but I grew to love this book. You really felt for Simon when the time came to tell his parents. Even though in this modern world being gay is almost as much the norm as being straight, the author shows that there are still plenty of people who treat gays as weirdos, or someone to bully and tease for who they are. In one of Simon's e-mails to Blue, he asks "Don't you think everyone should have to come out? Why is straight the default?....It should be this big awkward thing whether you're straight, gay, bi or whatever." They decide it should be named the 'Homo Sapiens Agenda'.
The author, Becky Albertalli, is a clinical psychologist, and co-led a support group for gender nonconforming children in Washington, DC. In the book, she deals with her topics sensitively and with insight and understanding. I loved all the characters - well, nearly all - and couldn't wait to find out who Blue really was.
Donald can see ghosts - and talk to them. His friend Merry can just about make them out. His mum is a clairvoyant, and is sometimes hired to talk to ghosts to put them to rest. His dad is dead - but lives on as a ghost in a big house in the woods playing records.
Donald's mum hears word that there are ghostly goings on on the South West coast, so Donald and Merry accompany her to a caravan holiday park to investigate. Unfortunately, the rather unpleasant boy Danny also turns up there with his family and latches onto them. They also encounter the scary Estella, a very clever medium, who hatches an evil plan to get rid of the ghostly monsters once and for all. Donald finds himself in a life threatening situation - how will he get out of this alive?
This is a very funny story for about 10 year olds - Ally really gets you giggling on each page. Sometimes the writing and the story is a little loose and haphazard, but overall I really enjoyed it. I also loved her last book - Midnight Pirates.
Madeline is sick - has been since a baby. She suffers from Severe Combined Immunodeficiency - she has to stay indoors as any contact with the outside world may make her ill. The windows in the house don't open, there's a special air filter mechanism that is used to get fresh air into the house. Any visitors to the house (and there are few - only Carla, the nurse, and Madeline's architecture tutor) are blasted with a cold air cleaning treatment. Madeline is 18, and has been used to spending all her time in her house with her mum, who is also her doctor. Then Olly moves in next door. She starts communicating with him firstly by writing on the windows, then instant messaging online. Her mum knows nothing about this connection, but Carla (having a teenager daughter of her own) is instantly aware something is happening between the two, and arranges for Olly to visit when the mother is not at home.
A beautiful romance blossoms, but one where they both know that a touch or a kiss could kill Madeline. Now that she is experiencing love, Madeline wants more from life, and to share it with Olly. How can this can be done within the confines of her home?
This is a touching story about a mother's love and about first love, about having only one life and living it to the full. What makes the book more interesting to read is that the text is interspersed with hand written hospital notes, diary entries, IM screens, and drawings. I thought I knew what was going to happen, but there were a few twists and turns to keep you guessing.
A lovely story with loveable characters. Move over Gus and Hazel, make way for Madeline and Olly.
Katy Birchall is currently an Editorial Assistant at Country Life magazine. 'The It Girl' is her first book in a new series about schoolgirl Anna, her labrador Dog, and her dad. It is being marketed as 'clean teen', and for being ideal for fans of Geek Girl and Louise Rennison. Seeing as my daughter loves the former and I love the latter, I was keen to give it a go!
Anna's parents are divorced, but are still good friends. Her dad is a journalist and has fallen in love with a famous actress, Helena, who he had to interview. Helena also happens to have a daughter Marianne, who is a socialite and an It Girl, so Helena and Anna's dad are keen for the girls to get along. Will the girls manage to become friends? What will Anna's school friends think of her joining the celebrity world?
On the whole, I rather enjoyed it. It was really funny, and it just so happens that, like Anna, my daughter also loves the Marvel characters (she knows them through all the films though, rather than the graphic novels) and Star Wars, and we also have a yellow labrador who is rather mad. I liked Anna's friends Jess, Danny and Connor, but of course none of us likes a show-off meany bad girl, of which there are many in one's life during school days, and of which there are a couple in this book. This was the part of the story which I thought let it down slightly. It was very predictable where the story was going and what was going to happen - so many school stories focus so much on the bully or the nasty girl. The book just seemed to lose its originality and its humour for quite a few pages.
However, I'd definitely read the next in the series (due out 2016), as I'd love to read more about the wonderful, funny Anna and what happens next in her rather mad world!
