Alice Oseman is a truly remarkable young author. At age 18 she had her first book published by Harper Collins, 'Solitaire'. As you can see from my review of that book, I loved it and thought Alice just wonderful (she's also lovely in person - she came along to Waterstones Truro for a signing of Solitaire, and she spoke to our Teen reading group, who were inspired by her).
As you can imagine, I couldn't wait to read her second book 'Radio Silence'. I was just blown away. It's incredible. She pulls you right into the story, makes the characters real. This is because she writes about real situations that everyone can relate to. Alice herself is now 21 and is at university studying English. She was an excellent student at school. Guess what Frances, one of the main characters is about to do? She's an A-grade student at school and is expected/wants to go to Cambridge to study English. Alice is currently hating her course at University (just read her twitter messages). Guess what Aled, the other main character in the book, is going through? Alice is a keen user of Tumblr. A Tumblr story is a key thread in this book. I keep reading advice from other authors about writing about things you know. It's absolutely true - Alice is proof of this. Keep it real and your stories are addictive.
The one character I couldn't believe in was Aled and Carys's mother, Carol. I truly hope that Alice wasn't basing her on anybody she knows, because that is one evil character. Can a mother do such horrific things to her children to disturb them so much mentally?
This is a fantastic book about discovering your true identity, believing in yourself, following your dreams and not feeling you have to do what is expected of you. It's also about realising that not conforming is ok - just because you're different doesn't mean you're weird. You're still a human being, with feelings. And lastly it's about the strength of friendships - never give up on your friends, true friends stay together forever.
I had read a few things about this book and all were positive, there was much praise about it. I don't often read non-fiction, but I was drawn to this one, even though the subject matter is the devil itself - cancer. We have all been affected by cancer in one way or another - I've heard the most scary statistic, that one in two of us will be stricken down by it. The worst thing in the cases that I have personally been aware of, and I'm sure millions have been through this, is that you fight it, you beat it, but it's not to be kept down. It stands back up again and overcomes you. A cure for all cancers cannot come quick enough.
This book follows the journey of 37 year old Paul Kalanithi, neurosurgeon, neuroscientist, and cancer sufferer. He was diagnosed with lung cancer at age 36, and he found himself going from doctor to patient. This book is not a diary, it's a journey of a young man who is on the verge of becoming a highly revered and very successful neurosurgeon, when he suddenly has the devastating news that he is facing death much earlier than he wanted to. His chapters on his time as a junior doctor through to his being at the top of his department are absolutely fascinating. What is hard to digest is that he is writing this while battling cancer, while going through chemotherapy, while looking into a future that may not exist further than the next 6 months.
He questions everything - mortality, the meaning of life, being a doctor, being a patient. He and his wife Lucy have many things to discuss before he dies, the main one being - should we have a child, even though they know that Lucy will be bringing it up on her own, and the child may not be old enough to remember her father when he passes away.
You know it's going to be an emotional ride when you start, and boy does it have you in tears at the end, but it's written by a very brave, and very strong, individual.
Katherine's first book in this series - The Mystery of the Clockwork Sparrow - was a huge success and an all round bestseller. Would this second in the series be able to live up to its fame? Well the short answer is - yes. Definitely. Katherine is such a great writer - she manages to keep the pace of the story going, along with the excitement and interest in the characters. The only thing I wasn't too sure about was Mei's character and story. I loved Sophie and her friends so much in the first one, that I almost felt like a schoolgirl having to accept a new girl in the class - not too sure and slightly awkward. I must admit that I would look forward to the chapters that Sophie and her gang were in.
Storywise, Sophie is still working at Sinclair's the department store, and her fame following the first case she was involved in (the clockwork sparrow) has led to her being taken on to locate the whereabouts of a stolen brooch - the jewelled moth. Sophie and her friends find themselves entering the glittering world of high society and debutantes. But Sophie also finds herself coming face to face with an old adversary - the Baron. Will she be able to escape unscathed, and will they all be able to track down the stolen jewel?
A joy to read. I can't wait for the next in the series!
Being mainly a Children's bookseller, I have only ever read Helen Dunmore's picture books (and I do recommend them - check out 'The Islanders' and 'The Ferry Birds') and her books for teenagers, notably 'The Ingo Chronicles' series. I'd read good reviews of one of her adult books - 'The Lie' - but never got round to reading it, so when the opportunity arose to read her new book 'Exposure', I jumped at it. And I'm glad I did. I enjoyed it immensely, it is so readable, I finished it in a few days - it was a real page turner.
Set in London in 1960 it follows Giles and Simon, who both work for the Admiralty, and Simon's wife Lily and their 3 children. Giles has taken home a top secret file which he is not authorised to read, but after an accident at his home he is taken to hospital. He telephones Simon to retrieve the file and put it back in its rightful place, but Simon is suspicious and does not execute Giles' commands. What follows is a string of events involving espionage, cover-ups, lies, exposure of intimate relationships, blackmail and wrongful imprisonment. The main events are retold by Lily, who struggles to bring up 3 children on her own and is fearful of a knock on the door, and Giles, stuck in hospital with his leg in plaster but with further health complications. Lily goes from being a quiet, dutiful wife with a teaching job, to a strong fearless individual, willing to do anything for her husband, while Giles goes from being a very unlikeable bully to a rather pathetic sorrowful person, wishing to right all his wrongs.
This book does not disappoint.
Well, this book definitely had me riveted! I looked forward to every chance to read it, and had to finish the last 150 pages in one sitting late into the night. It has that ghostly, eerie feel to it that gives you a slight chill and an uneasy feeling of dread.
Every Easter, 'Tonto' (as is his nickname, I don't recall ever finding out his real name) and his elder teenage brother Andrew (mainly known as Hanny) go with their parents, a priest (Father Wilfred)and a group of religious believers, on a pilgrimage to a coastal village near Lancaster, named by the locals as 'The Loney'. They stay in an old house called 'The Moorings'. Their main purpose there is to try to cure Hanny - he is mute and mentally impaired. When Father Wildred dies suddenly, an Irish priest Father Bernard takes his place and goes with them on the next pilgrimage. However, much has changed in the village. There are suspicious locals and disturbing incidents. What doesn't help the atmosphere both within the group and the feel of the book is the constant lashing of the rain, the mist and fog rolling over the fields and the beach. The feeling of unease stretches out from the characters themselves to make you feel rather uncomfortable. You dread what may happen next.
The only criticism I may have of the book, is that all this dread builds up but then seems to peter out. I was expecting something really bad to happen, but it never actually did - although there are enough chilling moments to make up for it! The locals are a menacing lot - I can't believe the family stayed in the awful house as long as they did. Tonto is a great narrator, his relationship with Hanny is moving, they have such a strong bond. The fact that Hanny is mute adds to the chill of the book. He is often stood staring and pointing, and we're left wondering for a few seconds what on earth he's seen or heard. The suspicious death of Father Wilfred was also a bit of a letdown for me - I found myself skim reading the chapter describing the moment fear overcame him and the loss of strength of his faith.
Overall however, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants to feel a little bit unsettled!
This is Tom and Lucy's second book. Their first 'Lobsters' was shortlisted for both the YA Book Prize 2015, and The Times/Chicken House Children's Fiction Competition 2013. Not having read this first book, but hearing good things about this second one, I was keen to get hold of a copy. I was also interested in reading it because it's aimed at a slightly younger audience than 'Lobsters' (a definite teen book due to content). 'Never Evers' is aimed at the tween market (12-14yrs), which my daughter, unbeknownst to her due to unfamiliarity with this book market lingo, is part of.
After struggling through the first 30 or so pages (girls being horrid to each other, boys just thinking about 'getting off' with girls) I was starting to think I couldn't read any more, but then the humour set in and I really enjoyed it. I finished it the next day. 'Mouse' has been kicked out of ballet school for not being good enough, and has returned to her old school just in time for the school ski trip. On that trip is Lauren, who she beat into getting the place for ballet school and who has since seemed to hold a grudge. Mouse is reunited with her old friends Connie (who is just hilarious and decided to bring her pet hamster on the school trip) and Keira. Also arriving at the same ski resort from a different school is Jack, Max (who decides the main reason for the trip is to kiss a girl and buy fireworks - random) and Toddy (who has some great cool one liners).
Jack falls for Mouse immediately, but many circumstances come between them, including the horrid Lauren and the local French pop star Roland (I just kept thinking of Justin Bieber as a comparison). Misunderstandings, accidents, lies, hamster bites, snow storms - they're all in there, and they all make a perfect package. I will definitely be passing this on to my daughter.
I thought A Little Life was long - this is a massive tome at over 900 pages. The main difference between the two books is that I loved A Little Life. Sorry, but I can't say the same about City On Fire. It was overlong (it's taken me over a month, perhaps two, to read it), confusing, a bit pretentious (keep a dictionary at hand if, like me, you are an ordinary person with an ordinary person's vocabulary. Not quite as bad as Will Self, but nearly there.) I totally lost the plot (literally) a number of times, I got confused over the characters (mainly the Post Humanist gang - I still don't know who has the tattoos or the green hair).
The main premise of the story is this. It is 1970s New York. A girl is found shot in a park on New Year's Eve. That's the gist. Add into that many characters who are linked to the girl in one way or another, so you are left wondering who may have done it. But i didn't really care - even when the guilty person was revealed there was no gasp from me - nada. We have Regan and Will, son and daughter of a wealthy business man William Hamilton Sweeney, whose name is known all over New York. The snake-like and unlikeable Amory Gould, Regan and Will's step uncle from their father's second marriage to the money grabbing Felicia. Regan's husband Keith, who is having an affair with Sam, the victim in the park. Mercer, Will's black boyfriend, who also found Sam's body. Um, then we have Will's 'friends' from when he was in a short-lived punk band - Nicky Chaos, Sewer Girl, Sol, DT. Then there's the reporter Richard, his neighbour Jenny, Sam's father the firework maker, oh and not forgetting Regan and Keith's children Cate and Will. Yes, there are 3 Wills. When the story goes back and forth in time it gets mildly confusing. Then there's Charlie, who had a crush on Sam, and when he finds out she's been shot becomes Messiah-like. Oh, nearly forgot the crippled detective who has to sort out all the mess - and from what I understood, he didn't really solve it, someone showed him all the clues and led him to it.
There are fireworks, fires, black-outs, business frauds, drugs, anarchists. I've read good reviews and bad reviews - if you have the time to spare, read it yourself and make your own mind up.
Alice Oseman is a truly remarkable young author. At age 18 she had her first book published by Harper Collins, 'Solitaire'. As you can see from my review of that book, I loved it and thought Alice just wonderful (she's also lovely in person - she came along to Waterstones Truro for a signing of Solitaire, and she spoke to our Teen reading group, who were inspired by her).
