I'll Be Home For Christmas (anthology)

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 384

Publisher: Stripes Publishing

Released: 22nd of September 2016 

The UK's top Young Adult authors join together in this collection of new stories and poems on the theme of home. Contributors include: Tom Becker, Holly Bourne, Sita Brahmachari, Kevin Brooks, Melvin Burgess, Katy Cannon , Cat Clarke, Juno Dawson, Julie Mayhew, Non Pratt, Marcus Sedgwick, Lisa Williamson and Benjamin Zephaniah. GBP1 from the sale of every book will be donated to Crisis, the national homelessness charity. To find out more about Crisis, see www.crisis.org.uk 

What I Have to Say 

This book was beautiful and hard to read in places because of the nature of the subject matter. Some of these stories are tragic, showing teens living on the streets or with really homophobic parents. Other are beautiful and show that love doesn't care who you are or who you love. And then there was the surprise ghost story that I accidentally read in the middle of the night and didn't manage to sleep after. 

As with most anthologies there were some stories that I liked and some that I didn't, but with this one, I think it was only one or two that I didn't like. Most of the stories were were really good. And with such great names involved, that's only to be expected! 

This book truly highlights what it means to be a teenager and the struggles that they face in today's society. Also, buying this book will give a donation to Crisis and will help people living on the streets, so it's really worth it. 

My thanks go to Stripes and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Deviants by CJ Skuse

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 320 

Publisher: Mira Ink 

Released: October 2016 

When you set out for revenge, dig two graves

Growing up in the sleepy English seaside town of Brynston, the fearless five – Ella, Max, Corey, Fallon and Zane – were always inseparable. Living up to their nickname, they were the adventurous, rowdy kids who lived for ghost stories and exploring the nearby islands off the coast. But when Max’s beloved older sister Jessica is killed, the friendship seems to die with her.

Now years later, only Max and Ella are in touch; still best friends and a couple since they were thirteen. Their lives are so intertwined Max’s dad even sponsors Ella’s training for the Commonwealth Games. But Ella is hiding things. Like why she hates going to Max’s house for Sunday dinner, and flinches whenever his family are near. Or the real reason she’s afraid to take their relationship to the next level.

When underdog Corey is bullied, the fearless five are brought back together again, teaming up to wreak havoc and revenge on those who have wronged them. But when the secrets they are keeping can no longer be kept quiet, will their fearlessness be enough to save them from themselves?

Trigger Warnings (highlight to read) Rape, Child Abuse 

What I Have to Say 

It took me a while to get into this book, but the middle and the end were fantastic. It was very unclear from the start where it was going to go. It could have gone anywhere and I wasn't sure if I was going to like where it ended up. But as I got into it and they started getting their revenge, I really started to get into it. 

The ending was shocking and a complete surprise. I didn't see it coming at all, but it felt like the right end even if it may not have been the end that people may have wanted. It fitted neatly into the dark nature of the book and I felt it was right even if it was only a little optimistic

I have to say though, there are a lot of books like this cropping up where the twist is something that could be very triggering towards certain people, but they have no warning at all that it's coming. As much as the book is improved by the surprise factor of the twist, I do worry about people getting triggered by this sort of thing. 

Even so, this was a really great book. It may be a little slow to start but it's worth the read. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and MiraINK for providing me with this copy for review. 

Queen of Hearts by Colleen Oakes

Synopsis (from Goodread) 

Pages: 306

Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books

Released: 5th May 2016 

As Princess of Wonderland Palace and the future Queen of Hearts, Dinah’s days are an endless monotony of tea, tarts, and a stream of vicious humiliations at the hands of her father, the King of Hearts. The only highlight of her days is visiting Wardley, her childhood best friend, the future Knave of Hearts — and the love of her life.

When an enchanting stranger arrives at the Palace, Dinah watches as everything she’s ever wanted threatens to crumble. As her coronation date approaches, a series of suspicious and bloody events suggests that something sinister stirs in the whimsical halls of Wonderland. It’s up to Dinah to unravel the mysteries that lurk both inside and under the Palace before she loses her own head to a clever and faceless foe.

What I Have to Say 

This was awful. I don't often say this, but I honestly feel completely cheated by this. It wasn't what the blurb promised at all. The characters showed barely any similarities with their counterparts in the original story and most of the time I couldn't really find much sympathy with Dinah because she just felt spineless and spent most of her time moping while trying to suck up to her father. I feel she could have done something more to help herself. 

I initially liked the idea of the Mad Hatter being Dinah's little brother. It seemed like and interesting idea and could have really worked out. Except that the "madness" he showed completely lacked the whimsy of the original character or the realities of mental health disorders. It felt like an insulting caricature of madness made by someone who has a medieval idea of what madness is. 

 

Basically this was a book that tried to show a darker side of Alice in Wonderland and got too far away from the original text. It was very short, but reading it honestly dragged because I wasn't enjoying a word of it. 

I really wish that I could have enjoyed this more, but the fact is, I just didn't. 

My thanks go to Harper Collins and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Cell 7 by Kerry Drewery

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 400

Publisher: Hot Key Books 

Released: 22nd of September 2016 

Should she live or die? You decide 

An adored celebrity has been killed. Sixteen-year-old Martha Honeydew was found holding a gun, standing over the body.

Now Justice must prevail.

The general public will decide whether Martha is innocent or guilty by viewing daily episodes of the hugely popular TV show Death is Justice, the only TV show that gives the power of life and death decisions - all for the price of a phone call.

Martha has admitted to the crime. But is she guilty? Or is reality sometimes more complicated than the images we are shown on TV?

What I Have to Say 

Just from the concept, I knew this book would be good. It's a little out there. Hopefully, not the sort of thing that would come out of our own society. But it still feels very believable. This concept that is dreadful and terrible and anyone could see is a completely insane idea is so grounded in the world that Drewery has created that you can see how the society has been indoctrinated into believing that this is the way things should be. 

It was really easy to sympathize with Martha too. To feel her suffering as she goes through the torture of each cell as her human rights are being stripped away and she suffers through horrors that no one should ever have to go through. Drewery makes it so that even though it's fiction, the reader feels angry at the society. The hypocritical nature of those in charge and the presenters on the TV show just added to this. 

I loved the bits of the book that were in transcript format as well.  It added to the atmosphere at the book and it made the bits where the presenters were cutting across people in order to hide the truth more effective because you could really see where they were cutting in. 

I've been hearing so many people talking about this book and saying how great it is, but I want to add my voice to the mix. This book is amazing and everyone should read it. 

The Secret City by C.J. Daugherty and Carina Rozenfeld

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 368

Publisher: Atom 

Released: 1st of September 2016 

'Remember: Demons lie'

Locked away inside the fortified walls of Oxford's St Wilfred's College, surrounded by alchemists sworn to protect them, Taylor and Sacha are safe from the Darkness. For now.

But time is short. In seven days Sacha will turn 18, and the ancient curse that once made him invincible will kill him, unleashing unimaginable demonic horror upon the world.

There is one way to stop it.

Taylor and Sacha must go to where the curse was first cast - the medieval French city of Carcassonne - and face the demons.

The journey will be dangerous. And monsters are waiting for them.

But as Darkness descends on Oxford, their choice is stark. They must face everything that scares them, or lose everything they love. 

What I Have to Say 

I can't believe this was only a duology! It was over way too quick for such a great, great series. C.J Daugherty and Carina Rozenfeld just blend so seamlessly on the page leaving gorgeous writing to combine perfectly with wonderful, gripping plot. 

The ending definitely didn't disappoint. It fit perfectly with the rest of the plot, showing a conclusion that the reader has never thought of but that isn't conceived in any way. It was the right solution and fit in nicely to the rules and plot that had been layed out.

I hope these two authors write together again, because they work so well together. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Atom for providing me with this copy for review. 

Every Falling Star by Sungju Lee and Susan McClelland

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 336

Publisher: Amulet Books 

Released: 13th of September 2016 

Every Falling Star, the first book to portray contemporary North Korea to a young audience, is the intense memoir of a North Korean boy named Sungju who is forced at age twelve to live on the streets and fend for himself. To survive, Sungju creates a gang and lives by thieving, fighting, begging, and stealing rides on cargo trains. Sungju richly re-creates his scabrous story, depicting what it was like for a boy alone to create a new family with his gang, his “brothers”; to be hungry and to fear arrest, imprisonment, and even execution. This riveting memoir allows young readers to learn about other cultures where freedoms they take for granted do not exist.

What I Have to Say 

The more I read about North Korea the more it scares me. This book depicts a lot of events that we read about in history books and the latest YA dystopia, but the fact is it's true. This really happened and is still going on to other people right now and we need to be aware of it. 

Sungju Lee has bravely told his story, showing the reader what it's like to be a street kid in North Korea. His story is woven with rich details about what he had to eat, how he had to get the food and the fight he had to put up with rival gangs just to survive. A lot of it made me want to cry, and so it should. It's seems easy when we live in our comfortable lives to imagine people living like this, but it's not so easy when you think of them as real people living right now. 

Lee's story is beautiful, even though it's hard-hitting and eye-opening. It was very easy as a reader to come to know and love the other members of his gang and want them to succeed The fact that they're still living out there in North Korea is painful to remember, but the story itself is easy to fall into. 

North Korea fascinates me as much as it scares me. I think that everyone should read this book and learn what children in this part of the world face, the indoctrination, starvation and harsh existence may be painful to acknowledge, but don't let that put you off. Enjoyable feels like the wrong word almost, but this book is still and entertaining one even as it educates. 

My thanks go to Amulet books and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

Pages: 472

Publisher: Penguin

Released: 28th of July 2016 

Despite their differences, Erika and Clementine have been best friends since they were children. So when Erika needs help, Clementine should be the obvious person to turn to. Or so you'd think.

For Clementine, as a mother of a two desperately trying to practise for the audition of a lifetime, the last thing she needs is Erika asking for something, again.

But the barbecue should be the perfect way to forget their problems for a while. Especially when their hosts, Vid and Tiffany, are only too happy to distract them.

Which is how it all spirals out of control...

What I Have to Say 

This is another book that keeps you up all night reading. Moriarty is an expert at keeping you reading on, always hinting at another snippet of the mystery but always holding on to the bulk of the information to keep you reading. This is how the best mysteries are written. 

Moriarty also has a fantastic gift of understanding people. She makes her characters so easy to sympathise with even when they aren't being the best friends to one another. The characters in Truly Madly Guilty especially are complex and beautifully written giving them a life of their own that the reader can sympathise with fully. 

The trauma she shows in this book is also very well written. She accurately depicts the character's struggle to get over the events that happen at the barbecue and shows them dealing with them in a variety of different ways. It shows both the different ways in which people process trauma and the way that conflict can arise between people dealing with trauma in vastly different ways. 

This is the second of Moriarty's books that I've read and I've immensely enjoyed both. 

My thanks go to Penguin and Netgalley for providing me with this copy to review.