Exclusive Sneak Peak: GIRLS ON FIRE

Girls on Fire comes out TOMORROW, but here's a little sneak peak! Very exciting stuff...


But I'll only say a few things here, as I don't want to spoil it for everyone!

I'd never come across Wasserman before, which really surprises me. She has an exquisite turn of phrase; her prose is almost syrupy (but not sweet!). In fact, she has written quite a few novels before which are fairly well read - where was I missing in all of this?

Anyway, Girls on Fire. It was one of those hard-to-rate books because, though wonderfully written, it wasn't exactly enjoyable. I don't think I'd recommend it to people, although if I did it would definitely come with a health warning. It's, just to be blatant, horrific. But it's also viscerally real. It's certainly an experience reading it; emotional engagement is a non-negotiable.

In a way, I loved it. It was an amazing portrayal of the potential destructiveness of female friendship: a subject I feel I can really understand. It was a girl moulded by another. Familial scars being saddled on children. Secrets begetting secrets. 

But I just can't give it a higher rating, because it was so awful to read. Does that make any sense? Perhaps I get too emotionally involved in books...

All the same, I don't think this is the last novel I'll read by Wasserman; my feelers are out now, trying to see what I'll go for next.

Wordless Wednesday: Bloody News

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Characters We'd Love to Revisit as Adults

Linking up to TOP TEN TUESDAY at the Broke and Bookish

For future Top Ten Tuesday topics & info on how to participate, click here!

Today's topic is: Ten Childhood Characters You'd Love To Revisit As Adults (i.e. a novella or something to see what they grew up to be) -- you could always just pick YA characters you've read recently you wouldn't mind revisiting in 10 years or so. Or you could pick 10 characters and guess what you think they'd be doing in 10 years or 20 years. OR you could go the other way and wish for coming of age stories for adult characters you love. 

Giving the Top Ten Tuesday Thing another go... see what I can come up with!

1) Nancy, Peggy, Titty, Roger, Susan and John from the Swallows and Amazons series. Just a quick look in to see how they're all getting on!

2) Susan from the Narnia series. Her character, for me, and the way she behaved was completely heart-breaking. I'd love to see her as an adult, and realise that it was real after all.

3) Matilda from Roald Dahl. I have such hope for her as an adult :)

4) Garnet from Double Act by Jacqueline Wilson. I guess I'd like to see Ruby too, but Garnet's my favourite.

5) Elizabeth from Pride and Prejudice. Just to see her again - I love her!

6) Everyone from Harry Potter. 'nuff said.

7) Jo and Meg from Little Women.  I know we see them more grown up, but I'd love to see how their lives panned out.

8) Georgia Nicholson. I would love to see what kind of adult she turns out to be!

9) Becky Morley from Out of the Ashes.  It's actually my favourite Michael Morpurgo book, I think. Such a heart-breaking story, set during the height of the foot and mouth crisis, which was such a huge deal for anyone in rural areas, dreading it wouldn't come. (We had goats, which we planned to hide. Even though it was a bad idea.) Anyway, if you haven't read it - go ahead!

10) Richard or any surviving characters from The Secret History. Such an amazing book, made a big impact on my reading life.

So, there we have it! While writing this list, I'm not completely sure I'd like to meet any of them again. I thought of ten that would be very interesting to read as older characters, but I'm not sure I really would want to know if given the chance. A book is a completed thing. So, really, my answer is none of them :)

But that would've been a very boring post.

Go check out other people's choices at The Broke and the Bookish! It's fun seeing others' choices, particularly the difference between US and UK bloggers. 

Wordless Wednesday: Caddy Lamb Bottle Feeding

Wordless Wednesday: 200 Years Old

Wordless Wednesday: 30 seconds old

26 Books: A Book by an Author You've Never Read Before

Our Next One: A Book By an Author You've Never Read Before. So, without further ado.

This would be a number 6 book by an author you've never read before in 2015 books.



Hiroshima by John Hersey (J):
(read August 2015)
I heard about this on the radio the week before last, it being the 70th anniversary of the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, and found myself in a book shop with a book token a couple of days later. What might have put me off buying it or reading it was the likelihood of its being just too horrific. John Hersey manages this perfectly, I think. For anyone who either knows a lot or nothing about what it might be like to have a nuclear bomb dropped on you, this is excellent. He is just so matter-of-fact. We start with the normal people going about their normal business earlier in the morning, we have the detail of what happened when the bomb went off (none of them had the remotest idea what had happened) and for the immediate few days afterwards. This is indeed horrific, how could it be otherwise? Somehow, because it's real people that John Hersey interviewed 12 months later, and then followed up thirty years later, the horror is contained.
Should be compulsory reading for everyone, probably at school level!




'What We Left Behind' by Robin Talley (E): 
(read September 2015)
I don't usually go for romance novels, as they all seem a bit too... girly for me? Well, that's certainly bad terminology when reviewing this book.

What We Left Behind is the story of Gretchen and Toni/y, girlfriends, moving into college and discovering their identities to do with sexuality and gender. That's it in a nut-shell. It was really refreshing to see a young adult novel about transgender or gender queer people, rather than just gay people. Not that I'm opposed to LGB books - not at all! Just that this was something a bit more original.

It really made me think a lot more about the nuances of things - before this I had never thought about the use of pronouns particularly, or the difference between gender queer, gender nonconforming, non binary etc. Toni/y is struggling with all of these things throughout the novel. I liked the way that each chapter alternated the perspective (Toni-Gretchen-Toni-Gretchen), but, unfortunately, Toni was a much more dominant character. Until the end, Gretchen is fairly passive and a sort of vessel for Toni's continued rumination on her problem of labelling. She came into her own a bit by the end, but it was still much more Toni's than Gretchen's story.

Talley captured, I think, the confusion of indecision and identity very well. As a window in to what some people's lives can be like, I think this is a valuable book. But, because of the nature of a lot of the circularity of her ruminations, the book felt like it was also perambulating and repeating itself a lot. Sometimes perfect portrayal of a feeling or experience doesn't actually make for the most scintillating reading. Maybe some more editing wouldn't have gone astray?

Basically, I liked the premise, the story, and sort-of liked the characters, but I felt the writing let it down. It was fantastic and fascinating, though, to have some small insight into this world.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.

'Vixen' by Rosie Garland(A):
(read ay 2015)
Joe's choice of book from Mr B's because of its cover which is exquisite - a beautifully red brown curled vixen in a nest of flowers and stars. The story is of peasant drudgery - middle ages? - with their respects to the plague, magic, religion, prejudice, humanity, and a lesbian story at its hard. Not really that great - nice writing at times, but not a good story.

26 Books: A Book Published This Year

So, here we are again with our 26 books for 2015 after a little gap. Lots been going on in the household what with awaiting lambs (!) and organising concerts and other bits and bobs. Poor 26 books got neglected. But here we go, a book published this year (this year being 2015 as we're so late!)

This would have been number five for Bringing up Burns 2015.

'The Honours' by Tim Clare (J):
(read October 2015)
Truly extraordinary. I am still reeling and don't know what to think. It was wild, exhilarating, weird, gruesome and probably very good. I do recommend it, and not to the faint hearted.

'Emma' by Alexander McCall Smith (A):
(just out of 2015, published a few months before:
(read January 2015)
First book of 2015 and I really enjoyed it! It's an extraordinary mix of the 'real' Emma with a modern twist. At times it felt as if it were jane Austen's words and characters and then suddenly modern speech and objects suddenly surfaced.











'Everything Everything' by Nichola Moon (E): 
(read November 2015)

Wow. What a book. There's been a lot of hype about this book, so I bought it ages ago and had forgotten the premise, and actually anything about it! A nice surprise.

I really enjoyed it. It drew me in from the start and even though I sort of guessed the ending, it kept me turning the pages until the end. It was sort of cheesy, sort of predictable, but I gobbled it up (1&1/2 hours straight). A fantastic read. I can't really explain why it was so enjoyable. It's not a masterpiece, and it felt far too short - I could've kept reading for a long time. I think it also could've gone into a bit more depth about Maddy living with SCID, as it felt as though her going outside wasn't actually shocking enough for someone in her position.

Definitely recommend - very, very fast (too fast!) and engaging from the start. Good book for an evening in. The ending was irritating, and cheapened the whole book. It made it much more of a generic YA romance that had stemmed from something different. I seem to be saying a lot of negatives for a book I've given four stars too! Basically, I enjoyed it despite its flaws.

Updated to add: thinking about this further, there are even more flaws in this book. It's actually pretty unsatisfactory and sort of silly. It's odd how perspective can alter your view on a book. I'll leave the stars up, as that was how much I felt on just finishing it, which seems valid.






Hope everyone's reading nice things, and enjoyed this post! Drop us a comment if you've read any of these books.

Top Ten Books If You Are In The Mood For Something Sci-Fi

This is something new for me - it's a meme from thebrokeandbookish that happens every Tuesday. I've been reading them for aaaages and sort of writing down my own ones, and then I thought I would join up!

The theme this week is Top Ten Books If You Are In The Mood For Sci Fi.

In retrospect, it's probably not the best week to have chosen to join in as I haven't read an awful lot of sci-fi, but I've decided to go ahead anyway. This is my list (I'll try for 10!).

1) 1984 by George Orwell

If you haven't read this, then you're probably living in an alternative
universe. Or you don't read. Fab book. (Duh).

2) Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Again, it's likely you have read it, but if you haven't -
go forth! Another dystopia, and completely
fascinating.

3) Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

(The hardback I read had a much cooler cover under the
dust jacket. Alas can't find a picture of it). Margaret Atwood
at her best. Horrifying, but amazing.

4) The Girl with All the Gifts by M R Carey

Much more modern one here. I loved it.
From start to finish. I've heard it called a YA,
but I think any reader would enjoy this.

5) The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Another very obvious one. I studied this at school and,
though a lot of it is over-referenced and a little obvious,
it's a great story.

6) Ancillary Justice by Ann Beckie

I think this is the first of a trilogy and I haven't
read the other two, but it's an absolutely
fascinating premise. It's from the PoV of a spaceship
in a world where there are no genders! I have
to say I found it somewhat difficult to read
but this is my stupidity rather than the book.

7) The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman 

This is kind of a YA fantasy/sci-fi cross over, I'm
not sure how you would classify it. It's a beautiful
coming of age/mystical/magical bizarre concoction
of brilliance.

8) The Time Traveller's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

I'm not really sure whether this is classed as sci-fi or not
to be honest. Where does the genre end/begin? Anyway,
I loved this book so much (the film was inferior) and
the way in which the story unravelled in such a non-
linear way.

9) Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Some die-hard Ishiguro fans see this as a dip
in his work; writing for popularity rather literature.
I love it, couldn't put it down, and have reread it loads.

10) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I kind of forgot that these were sci-fi somehow, but I guess dystopian
fiction always is. In which case, I've read a hell of a lot more YA
dystopia than I have in this list... Ah well. I'll leave it as it is.
Fantastic trilogy, as everyone who's anyone knows. The growing
darkness through the trilogy is handled well, and Collins is an
amazing story crafter.

Well, I certainly managed 10, and could've kept going! What are your top ten (or first ten that come into your head is more what I did) sci fi books? Anything amazing that I've missed out.

Happy TTTuesday!

x

Wordless Wednesday: Drops on a Car in the Rain

26 Books: A Book Recommended by a Friend

This would have been  number 4: 'A book your friend loves.'

'Americana' by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (J):
(read May 2015)

Splendid! The third of Adichie's I've read, and the first to listen to as an audiobook more than reading (using whispersync, which was only partially successful in terms of synching).
What was it about? Lots! Primarily the difficult moral world we all live in, and the many ways we deal with it. Taking place in Nigeria, the US and London from the late eighties to about 2010, and seen mostly through the eyes of Ifemelu, who is a mid teenager when we first meet her, and Obinze, her contemporary and soul-mate (though I don't think that phrase is ever used). It is also very good on the complex subject of race and racism in modern America.
That all sounds rather dry, and I didn't find it so at all. There are lots of lovely characters who I cared about (maybe too many) and I feel as if I learned a lot about places and ways of life I know nothing of through the lives I'm shown.
And although whispersync was a bit graunchy, it was read by a wonderful voice who did all the accents, adding tremendously to my enjoyment. 

J

'Stolen' by Lucy Christopher (E):

(read June 2015)

Written as a letter to her captor, Stolen encapsulates the journey of Gemma and her captor, Ty, who takes her from Bangkok Airport after an argument with her parents, drugged her and takes her to the Australian outback. Literally in the middle of absolutely nowhere, there is no way Gemma can escape, no way to call for help, no way to communicate with anyone besides Ty. But as the days go by, their relationship begins to change. Is Ty as awful as Gemma thinks?

I was a little disappointed with this book; people have really raved about how brilliant it is. Don't get me wrong: it is a good book, but it isn't revolutionary. It's the writing I had an issue with, it felt banal and not very well thought through. The plot was really interesting though, and gave me a real insight to how an individual can become attached to their captor. Ty's obsession reaches the absolute height of creepiness, but Gemma's response to him was actually believable. I wanted to read on after the ending.

So, a very good premise and plot, let down by, what often seemed like, sloppy writing. It feels like Christopher may have needed more help from her editor, but I seem to be in a minority thinking this.

E

Book Review: Tell the Wind and Fire

When I saw that there was an ARC for something by Sarah Rees Brennan possibly up for grabs - I had to request it. Honestly? I didn't even read the blurb. I liked the Daemon's Lexicon trilogy so so much

The Lady herself

(though didn't get on with the Lyndburn Legacy) that it was a must.

Tell the Wind and Fire is set in a New York that has been split into two cities: the light and the dark. The light have their own magic, and the dark's is much weaker, but the clinch is that when a light wizard uses a lot of magic, a dark magician is needed to drain their blood to stop them getting a sort of 'magic overload' as I think. This is the story of Lucie, born in the dark, child of the light, darling of the poster boy of the light who becomes, not entirely through her own choice in a historic battle between the two cities. There's witty humour, swords, pretty gems, secret hiding places, lies, plots and characters being unexpected. Ooh, and there's dopplegangers.

Now, I found out that this book is based on Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities, which I've read, and I had no idea. So, either: I have completely forgotten how that story goes, or this is a very loose adaptation. I can see the doppleganger idea with people looking alike and (wait for it...) the fact there are two cities. Please someone else enlighten me. To be fair, I haven't AToTT since I was about eight, so maybe I have just forgotten.

It was an enjoyable read. It did not remotely hit the spot of Dameon's Lexicon, nor was it as (in my opinion) poor as the Lyndburn series. It was told as first person from Lucie, but in a lot of ways I feel we still didn't really know here that well by the end. And we certainly didn't know any other character, bar Carywen. Makes sense because she's with him so much, but other characters are mentioned in a way that made me feel I should have the exact idea of who she's talking about, which is a little unnerving. 

To be published in early April

Unfortunately, there was a lot of information (no 'show don't tell') when describing the world at the beginning. Now, I really don't know how fantasy/sci-fi writers get past this because readers do need to know a lot before any action begins. It works better in other novels: e.g. Daemon's Lexicon, as opposed to Cecelia Ahern's Flawed I recently read, where it was horribly stilted. This was somewhere in the middle - and I really wouldn't know how to get it right!

Towards the end, where Carywn has little speech out about him not being 'good' and how he is still 'selfish' and that Lucie 'treated him like a was a real person'... Didn't work for me. A little OoC and a lot too cheesy.

Basically- I enjoyed it! At the end, Brennan said it can be a stand alone from A Tale of Two Cities. But surely this isn't a stand-alone novel in itself. There must be sequels!

PS Does anyone know has Carwyn is supposed to pronounced?

Wordless Wednesday: Evening's End

Wordless Wednesday: W49th Street, not Winscombe and apparently the coldest for 100 years

A Book You Chose Just for Its Cover

Bringing Up Burns 2015, would've been Number 3 for Bringing Up Burns

'Etta and Otto and Russel and James' by Emma Hooper (A):

(read April 2015)

This was my book bought for its cover without actually opening it and peeking at all! It's a beautiful cover - what I thought was a golden dog with three wise men below him and interestingly naive lettering. The inside was not quite as good as the cover - the dog was a wolf andwas great - a coyote called James and the three very elderly people in the shape of his legs had a story involving snapshots of their convoluted history together and a set of journeys. It was ultimately a sad or sentimental read about aging, different conceptions of the past, famines and childhood, as well as of determined travelling.

A






'Vixen' by Rosie Garland (J):
(read April 2015)

** spoiler alert ** I had no expectations of this book, as I bought it on the basis of its beautiful cover, which several other people commented on while I was reading it, so WELL DONE LINDSEY CARR, it did the trick. Then I noticed that the front cover's critic's comment was about Rosie Garland's "lush prose" and I started to have expectations. These were soon dashed: I found her writing jangly, spare and harsh, but this was in contrast to David Mitchell's in The 1,000 Autumns... which I had just finished, so that was a tough comparison. I realised after a while that some of the time Rosie Garland is attempting to write an English meant to represent what might have been spoken in 14th century North Devon. This is a very hard thing to do, and something I often find myself
critical of, both on screen and in books. It's not possible to do correctly for an era as distant as 14th century England: we wouldn't understand it if it was genuine, and to write in current colloquial English would also sound wrong. However, I find some authors more convincing in this than I found in Vixen. By the end of the book I had become used to the style so I wasn't jarred or irritated. Oh dear.

The story was oddly thin. Odd, because the basic themes were interesting and the sort of thing I expect to enjoy: history (the Black Death), relationships (men and women in that era, specifically a good speculation about what supposedly celibate priests and their housekeepers might have been like), a place I vaguely know (Barnstaple and nearby) and yet I wanted more to make me believe.
So, sorry Rosie Garland, I won't be coming back to you, but keep using Lindsey Carr for your covers, and you'll sell anyway!

J

'Weathering' by Lucy Wood (E):
(read in March 2015)

So,  I seem to have struck lucky with the pretty cover one! I chose Weathering because the skeleton leaf is just beautiful, and I love the font too. Never heard of Lucy Wood before last year, and I just spotted this in a book shop. (Mr B's actually!) It's a fantastic book; I love Wood's writing. The book hinges on her writing, in that sense it is very literary. A lot of the book was 'scene setting' which seemed more important than the characters in a way. I would go as far as to say that the place is actually a character in  the novel itself. The story is second to the place it's set in . Weathering is an apt title - the weather is so important, and beautifully described that no other title would have fitted. I don't know whether Lucy Wood has written anything since 2015, but I'd be interested to read it (along with the 500 other books on my TBR pile...)

Give it a go - it's more than just a pretty face!

E