REVIEW: Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Review by Carrie from teabelly

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs is a bit of an odd one. It’s told partly through the use of strange photographs the author had collected, and this means at times it feels a little like a story-by-numbers. The plot has to go a certain way or include certain things because the photographs say so. Sometimes that works well and the photos fit pretty seamlessly, but at others it feels more forced and takes you out of the story.

The basic plot follows 16 year old Jacob, who is coming to terms with his grandfather’s untimely death, and the circumstances surrounding it. Jacob goes to a remote island off the coast of Wales to find out the truth about his grandfather’s past, using clues he left in his last words to his grandson, and letters and photographs he left behind. Jacob witnessed his grandfather’s death and this has left him disturbed. He thinks the trip will help put an end to his nightmares, as well as shed light on the stories his grandfather used to tell him, and how grounded in reality they may actually be.

When Jacob arrives in Wales he meets Emma and follows her back to the children’s home where his grandfather stayed in the 1940s. Previously Jacob had been to the house and seen its run down state, but this time it is restored to its former glory. Emma has taken him back through a time loop, where the peculiar children live for their protection. Here it is always the same day, every day, as it resets. Jacob learns that the children are special: Emma can control fire, another child is invisible, there’s one with incredible strength, and so on. But they are hiding and stuck in time due to those who seek them out to kill them and feed on them. Jacob must make a decision whether to stay and help them or return to his other life with his parents.

The book has some very creepy moments and is mostly an enjoyable read, though I can’t say I was always totally engaged. There are some issues with continuity, which is a bit lazy, and there isn’t much resolution. Apparently this is the beginning of a series/it will have a sequel, but this leaves the ending feeling quite rushed and then abandoned. And I’m afraid I’m not interested enough to continue with this world and its characters. I think I would have liked it more if it had just been a stand-alone novel. I give it points for trying something new, but I am not sure it worked as well as intended.

Thank you so much for this, Carrie!

Review by Carrie: Flip by Martyn Bedford

Review by Carrie from teabelly

14 year old Alex wakes up one morning in a body that isn’t his. Instead he finds himself inside Phillip (Flip), in a town miles away from his home, and with a family who think he is still Flip. As they would, because Alex looks and talks just like Flip. There’s the obvious confusion and fear that such a situation brings about, but Alex manages to remain calm enough to go through the motions – which includes going to Flip’s school and studying subjects Alex knows nothing about – until he can find money to get back home. Surely once there he can explain everything and figure out how to become Alex again?

But there’s another shock – it’s been six months since the night he last lived as Alex. Where has he been all this time? Through internet searches and message boards he finds people who have gone through similar situations as his, but it looks bleaker than he first thought, as all those who have experienced it had died in their original bodies. Where is Alex’s real body now? Is he even alive?

One of the great things about this book is that the action starts immediately, there’s no slow build up, we don’t see Alex’s life before, we only learn about that after the fact. Instead he wakes up and we’re along for the ride, right there with him in his confusion, and trying to figure it out at the same time he is. And it stays gripping throughout.

I also really felt for Alex because it’s such an insane situation, and you wonder how you would react faced with the same thing. I understood his longing to get home and be with his family, and also that slim chance that they’d be able to see him for who he really is, and fix him. He’s in a house full of strangers, in a place he’s never been, no friends or allies to begin with. That’s got to be scary enough. But on top of the body switch it’s a lot to deal with.

It’s poignant in parts too, when Alex is coming to terms with being in this body and the loss of his family, and missing them. It shows how different the two boys are, both in looks and personality, but doesn’t exploit that for laughs or cheap jokes. It’s more serious than that, but that doesn’t mean the book is without humour. Alex is fairly ‘ordinary’. He is skinny, he plays chess, he’s not all that popular, though he does have friends. Flip, on the other hand, is very popular. He is handsome and athletic and has several girlfriends. Some of the things Alex has to deal with are these superficial things, what it’s like to be good looking and popular, and whether it’s all it’s made out to be.

This was a fairly quick read, but very enjoyable. Definitely one I’d recommend.

Sounds really good! Thanks Carrie

Review by Carrie: Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James

Review by Carrie from teabelly 

Katherine Patterson has moved to a new school to finish out her last year after a devastating family tragedy. She’s shaken off her old life – including her name – and is happy to go on being anonymous, when she’s befriended by the beautiful and fun Alice. Alice is an attention seeker with little conscience or thoughts of responsibility, but she draws Katherine in and helps her forget her sadness a little. Together with Alice’s on-off boyfriend, Robbie, they form a tight friendship, until Alice’s behaviour and cutting remarks start to grate on Katherine. Is Alice really all she seems?

This book is pretty dark in places, one of those that stayed with me for a while afterwards. Katherine’s family has suffered a terrible tragedy – the death of her sister Rachel in a horrific way. And it’s this death, and Katherine’s actions, that made me think the most. Would I have acted in the same way as Katherine? Should I judge her for getting into that situation in the first place? Can you blame her for doing what she had to do to survive?

The book flashes backwards and forwards throughout, and this can be a little confusing if you’re not paying attention, as there’s nothing to indicate the time frame. It begins a few years after the events with Alice, and checks in with this older version of Katherine as the novel goes on. Then there’s the central storyline of Katherine and Alice’s friendship and what that leads to, along with flashbacks to the day of Rachel’s death. It builds up to that slowly, revealing little pieces as it goes on, before giving the full, final story. I think this structure just about works, it allows the sense of foreboding to build, and allows us to see what happens to Katherine without drawing out the book.

I liked Katherine a lot, and even Alice in the beginning. Their friendship early on is very believable, fun but also with depth. There is a twist to the tale that I saw coming, but knowing where it was going just added to my dread.

Beautiful Malice is sad and harrowing and has a lot to say about grief, overcoming it, living with it, the guilt of being a survivor…I felt sorry for all Katherine went through, but I didn’t really feel sorry for her. She’s very strong and capable. She wants to let go and move on but doesn’t always know how.

I wouldn’t say the book is very original, and it does rely a lot on coincidence, but overall it was a gripping story with characters I cared about. I’m not sure I’d call it a ‘publishing sensation’, and nor do I get why it was the centre of a bidding war, but it’s a solid, enjoyable book.

Interesting! Thanks Carrie

REVIEW: I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle

Review by Carrie from teabelly

I Love You, Beth Cooper by Larry Doyle is a very funny, at times even sweet, novel set in one night at the end of high school. On the day of his graduation, Denis Cooverman (uber nerd) uses his valedictorian speech to confess his love to Beth Cooper (cheerleader, pretty, insanely popular girl). Denis has never really spoken to Beth, but he’s sat behind her in class and stared longingly at the back of her head for years. After the graduation, Beth tells him it was a sweet thing to do, and Denis bites the bullet and asks her to a (non existent) party at his house later that night. Little does he know that this invitation is going to set in motion a night that will be the best time he ever had in high school. And give him some major injuries.

Beth’s boyfriend also happens so be at the graduation, and he’s on leave from the army. And he’s very territorial when it comes to Beth. He and his three friends make up some of the characters in the book, which also includes Denis’ best friend, Rich Munsch, a boy who can’t stop quoting films, along with their year of release and director. Together he and Denis are known as Dick Muncher and The Penis. And then there’s the Trinity, with Beth’s friends Cammy and Treece making up the trio.

The main thing that has stayed with me about this book is the characters and their dialogue. It is an incredibly funny book, but mostly thanks to what is said and how it is said, than the shenanigans that go on. It’s quite the night for Denis, and a lot happens, but the situations alone aren’t enough to keep you reading. The one liners and quick comebacks had me laughing out loud, however. And Doyle is a skilled writer, as he builds characters throughout the book that are believable even when doing or saying crazy things. Nothing seemed too crazy coming from these guys. And he doesn’t go the safe route of making Beth too nice. She’s actually not all that nice, for the most part, but I still liked her. She was a much more interesting character than a lot of the bland girls you usually get in books like this.

It’s a solidly entertaining book. It borrows a lot from teen movies, and I enjoyed trying to place the epigraphs in each chapter. It slows down a little in the middle and becomes a bit repetitive, with an unnecessary trip to the school thrown in, but I guess there’s only so much a group of kids can get up to in one night. And that’s a minor quibble really. All in all, a fun read. It’s not likely to make you think profound thoughts, but it should at least make you laugh quite a bit. And sometimes that’s all you really need from a book.

Great review! Thanks Carrie :)

REVIEW: Pretty Bad Things by CJ Skuse

Review by Carrie from teabelly

When twins Paisley and Beau were children they became famous for being lost in the woods after going looking for their father. They were discovered three days later after being presumed dead. Known as the ‘Wonder Twins’, the public followed their story for a while, with their grandmother cashing in on the celebrity. Ten years later and Paisley has been shipped off to one boarding school after another, losing place after place due to her bad behaviour. Beau is at home with the grandmother, bullied and alone at school. Their father is in prison and they haven’t heard from him since they were kids. Then Beau discovers letters their father has sent throughout the years, but their grandmother has kept hidden. Telling Paisley, they escape their grandmother’s clutches and go off in search of their dad.

Reaching Vegas, they are soon out of money, when Paisley hits on an idea. Rob candy stores and leave obscure messages only their dad will know, get on the news, and soon their dad will know they’re looking for him. Simple, right? It doesn’t all go to plan, but that doesn’t stop the Wonder Twins.

I enjoyed this one. It’s another quick and easy read, and it’s very entertaining. It switches point of view for each chapter, so we get to know Paisley and Beau equally. Beau is the quieter twin. He’s used to keeping his head down and not making trouble. Paisley…wouldn’t know how to keep her head down if she tried. If there were an evil twin here, it would be Paisley. Not that she’s actually evil, she just jumps into things without thinking, has a smart mouth and comes across as fearless, even if she is riddled with insecurities. There were times when I found her immensely unlikeable, and I wished she wasn’t dragging Beau into her schemes. I know they’re kids, but if they’d thought things through a bit more there are better ways of finding someone. Obviously that’s not the point of the story, but she did bug me a bit, and Beau too for not standing up to her more. I do understand why they acted they way they did, given the dynamic of their relationship and the lives they’d led to that point.

It’s a really fun book, with some brilliant dialogue and insane moments. Worth a look.

Thank you for that Carrie!

REVIEW: The Fallen by Thomas E. Sniegoski

Review by Carrie from teabelly

In The Fallen by Thomas E. Sniegoski, Aaron Corbett is a fairly average teenager who is about to have his world turned upside down. As a foster child he hasn’t had the easiest life as it is, but he’s finally found his feet with loving parents and a younger brother. When he turns 18 strange things start to happen to him. He has bad headaches, hears voices and can understand other languages. A homeless man (who happens to be the angel Ezekiel) tells Aaron he is a Nephilim (son of a mortal woman and an angel). And with the bodily changes comes greater danger, in the form of The Powers. Aaron soon finds himself being hunted by Verchiel, the head of The Powers, who wants to rid the world of the Nephilim, as he sees them as an affront to God. He also refuses to believe a Prophecy that states a Nephilim will reunite those angels who have fallen with God. Aaron must learn to control his burgeoning new powers and fight to survive.

I should confess a couple of things here. Firstly, angels are one of my least favourite paranormal beings and so I was bringing that to my reading of this. Secondly, the book I have has the second story in the series in it, Leviathan, but I’m afraid I didn’t get that far.

My main problem with the book was that I could not connect to Aaron. He’s not very emotional and although I can understand being in denial when you’re told your father was an angel, that can only take us so far, and eventually you just want him to accept and get on with it. But it’s not just that, everything he does
seems flat. There’s a very important scene that happens nearer the end of the book that deals with Aaron’s family, and it should cause you to feel something. Only it doesn’t, because Aaron’s reaction is so empty of all feeling you can’t work yourself up about it either. On a more general level, the writing didn’t pull me in and I never fully engaged with the story. I definitely got to the point where I was skimming rather than reading properly, just to get to the end.

There’s also a non-romance with a high school classmate, Vilma, which feels a bit stuck on. I imagine it progresses in the later books, but there was nothing really here to make me care about the relationship, or the girl herself.

My favourite thing about the book was the dog, Gabriel. This probably doesn’t sound like much praise, but I liked the way his voice comes across (Aaron can understand him) and he’s much needed comic relief. I suspect there could be confusion later if the angel Gabriel ever shows up in the series, but overall the dog is very entertaining and gave me one of the few moments in the book where I actually cared what happened.

I can’t give this one much of an endorsement, unless you’re a die-hard fan of angels. In that case it may be worth a look, but I suspect there are better stories out there for you.

Thanks for your honesty Carrie!

REVIEW: Switched by Amanda Hocking

Review by Carrie from teabelly

Switched is the first book in the Trylle Trilogy from self-publishing ‘sensation’ Amanda Hocking. Hocking sold millions of ebooks before securing a publishing deal, and the paperback is the version I read. While I think what she has achieved is amazing, I also think she’s a good example of why traditional publishing, and
especially a good editor, are still valuable. I don’t know how much has been changed from her original version and the one in book form, but I would guess not much, and this hurts it. While there’s a reasonably enjoyable book here, it needs a lot of work to make it truly good.

Wendy Everly has never felt like she really fits in. When she was six years old her mother tried to kill her, claiming Wendy wasn’t her daughter, and she’s been in an institution since. Wendy was raised by her aunt Maggie and older brother Matt in a loving home, but she didn’t feel like she belonged. Then a mysterious boy appears at her new school and tells her she is different; in fact, she’s a troll. She has the ability of persuasion and so can make people do what she wants them to, and she’s a changeling – she was switched at birth, meaning the woman she believed was her mother was right all along. Wendy follows Finn back to Forening, where the trolls (Trylle) live, and meets her real mother, as well as unexpected duties.

As I said, I found this to be fairly enjoyable. It is a quick and easy read, fast-paced and Wendy is a likable character. If you’re looking for something to just pass the time then this may be a perfect fit. But there’s also a lot that works against it, including that fast pace, since it seems to rush through so many things when it should take its time a little more.

And I did have problems with the writing. It is very ‘tell not show’. As an example:

“Telling Maggie about the dance may have been the worst idea I’ve ever had, and my life is made up almost entirely of bad ideas. I hadn’t wanted to go, but as soon as she’d heard about it, she decided it would be the most fantastic thing ever. I’d never gone to a dance before, but she was so excited about it, I let her have this small victory.”

Couldn’t we have had this conversation fleshed out, so we could have been a part of it? We could have seen how excited Maggie was, rather than just been told. It’s very difficult to get a feel for other characters when things are written in this way. Given that the book is told from Wendy’s point of view we have limited access to other people’s thoughts and feelings. Conversations give us this access, so when they’re described as above we’re short changed. There’s too much of this in the book, and after a while it becomes frustrating.

Then there’s the world building aspect. We’re given trolls as the supernatural being of a story. These are something I haven’t really come across, aside from in fairy tales, so I’d expect a rich history and back story. Instead we’re given a world that is basically ours with some minor tweaks and a people with a bit of magic who aren’t that dissimilar to you and me. Their main traits seem to be having unruly hair, liking to be barefoot and being picky eaters. Also they have anger issues, but this mainly comes across as being bratty. Even the changeling aspect of it is under written, the reason is sort of pointless and very human-like: financial gain. Where’s the mystery? Where’s the magic? It seemed like Hocking wanted to use paranormal aspects but keep the characters pretty. That’s fine, but also extremely dull.

As with all books of this genre there is a romance, and a romance with obstacles. Finn is the love in question, and he’s very dreamy (sorry, ‘foxy’ in this world, and boy did that description drive me mad) and protective but that’s about all you get from him. Part of the problem with believability is how Wendy acts around Finn. It seems she is willing to follow him back to Forening merely because he is hot and lurks around on her window ledge (don’t they always?). She doesn’t ask any questions about where she’s going, and even when she gets there and everyone is expecting her to act in a certain way, she still doesn’t ask questions. At one point Finn says to her ‘Do you realize what you’re giving up?’ No! Because you haven’t told her!

In the end I found the writing too frustrating to truly enjoy the book. I think it’s a shame, because there is enough here to make a decent story, it’s just not executed well. The whole thing feels incredibly rushed, and like a first draft that’s been thrown out there with no revision. It speeds along and everything happens very easily, even the ending feels rushed and wrapped up in a couple of pages, while of course setting the scene for the next book. I won’t be reading the next one based on this, I’m just not intrigued enough. But then what do I know? The woman has sold millions, she must be doing something right.

I find your review incredibly interesting! Thank you Carrie

REVIEW: Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber

Review by Carrie from teabelly

Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick by Joe Schreiber is as fun (and odd) as its title implies. Perry Stormaire is a high school senior preparing for college, playing in his band and trying to get his father to butt out of his life. Then his parents invite a Lithuanian exchange student to stay with them and everything goes to hell. Gobi is quiet and wears strange clothing but Perry tries to be nice to her and help her out with school, and then his mother does the unthinkable and makes him take Gobi to their prom.

Only, Gobi doesn’t really want to go to the prom, and nor is she your average exchange student. She’s actually a highly trained assassin intent on revenge, and Perry is going to be her driver for the night. In his father’s prized Jaguar. Together they speed around Manhattan looking for Gobi’s next target as Perry attempts to get away/keep his family safe.

Each chapter is shaped around an essay question from different universities, and these sort of fit into the theme of the chapter. It’s a clever way of shaping the book. It is a very quick read, both because it’s enjoyable and because it’s fast paced. Once Gobi reveals her true identity you’re off on the ride and it doesn’t really slow down until the end. Both main characters are well fleshed out and there’s a lot of humour even though some quite horrid things happen.

And it’s that last part that leaves me unsure about the book as a whole. My book bills it as an ‘entertaining thriller’ and while I suppose that’s true it’s also quite an odd combination. Perry is 18 years old, Gobi, I believe, is actually 24. She has kidnapped this young man and forces him to drive her around while she kills people. It’s sort of like Collateral for teenagers. But should it be so light and funny? Perry witnesses horrible things, things we see through his eyes, should I be horrified one moment and sort of amused the next? Maybe I should, since it’s supposed to be a fun novel, but it made me a little uneasy. There aren’t really any consequences, when really I think Perry would have been traumatised by much of what he saw.

In the end though, I enjoyed it while I was reading and apparently there’s a follow up book. I’d probably read it to see where the story goes, but I kind of hope Perry isn’t caught up in any more of the madness.

Interesting review, thank you Carrie!

REVIEW: Life: An Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet

Review by Carrie from teabelly

At its core, Life: An Exploded Diagram by Mal Peet is a love story set in the 1960s, between a working class boy and the daughter of a wealthy landowner, and their need to keep their relationship a secret. But it is also so much more than that. The book spans many years, beginning with the end of the Second World War and ending almost at the present day. Not only do we learn about Clem and Frankie’s relationship, but we’re told about his mother and father’s, and his grandparents, how they all met against a backdrop of world wars, and Clem’s own birth story is a delight.

War and the fear of destruction is very much central to the story. The main part of the love story is set in 1962 during the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. Having it hanging over their heads would have been one thing, but Peet gives us more, taking us into the discussions between Kennedy and his advisers, back to the beginning of the conflict, to little scenes that had a big impact on the world.

The writing in this book is just wonderful. It’s my favourite kind, and so I should be able to describe it better, but I don’t know if I can. The language is beautiful and yet not too convoluted. It sucks you in immediately with its storytelling and imagination. It gives you such a clear picture of the time it’s describing; I could see and feel everything. It’s told in such a way that, while being narrated by Clem, he’s given almost god-like powers, knowing things he couldn’t know and so filling in the gaps as he sees fit, all with a wonderfully dry sense of humour. But you can also feel sadness coming through.

As the story went on though I did find myself enjoying it less. I found the history lessons in the book to be both immensely interesting and frustrating at the same time. It began to feel like two stories had been pushed together, rather than them complementing each other. I think Peet has some very important things to say about nuclear weapons, and chose to say them through fiction, but it did take away from the main story, for me anyway. It began to feel a little heavy handed, and a little preachy. Yes, nuclear weapons and the mad men who wield them are bad. I don’t think I’m the person you need to convince about this. I just wanted Clem and Frankie’s story, without so many interruptions. I was invested, and then I kept being taken out of it.

I was also disappointed by the ending, which felt incredibly abrupt. Again, I think this was done on purpose, but I was left wanting more, just something nearer to closure. I think bookending the story as he does is incredibly clever and it is affecting, and it is true to the themes running through, but it didn’t live up to the expectations I had when I started it. And I’m not really sure why it’s billed as a Young Adult book, as it seems much more general fiction to me, and I think it would be enjoyable to most ages.

Those niggles aside, this is a very lovely, brilliantly written book.


Thank you so much for that Carrie!

REVIEW: Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey

Guest review by Carrie from teabelly

Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey is set in 1872 and follows Violet Willoughby, the daughter of a fake medium. They live a fraught life trying to fit in with the high society people and make the right connections to hopefully keep them from going destitute. Violet’s mother Celeste is quite desperate to be seen as one of them, encouraging a romance between her daughter and the son of a newly wealthy family. Celeste even took in a homeless boy, Colin, to act as a servant and to make her look like she’s a woman of means.

Violet is initially sceptical about the existence of ghosts after years of helping her mother put on fraudulent séances. She’s hidden bellows to create gusts of wind and is good at the game of distraction when it’s time for her mother to do something sneaky. But Violet is suddenly immersed in the spiritual world for real when she begins to see ghosts. One in particular is persistent and demanding of her attention. While visiting Lord Jasper’s home to do a big reading, Violet starts to see the ghost of a young girl, often surrounded by water. She soon learns that a neighbour drowned the year before, and it is this Rowena who wants her help to protect her twin sister.

This is another of those books that surprised me, as I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. I’m not usually fond of historical fiction, even with the supernatural thrown in, but this definitely kept my interest. It’s very well written, has good characters, enough mystery to keep you guessing and a sweet love story. Violet is a sympathetic character as she must deal with her mother's emotional outbursts and social climbing tendencies, as well as her own developing medium powers. She handles both well, being both intimidated and strong when it comes to her mother and the ghosts. She doesn't have a lot of power when it comes to her mother as they could end up on the streets it she doesn't go along with it, even if she does hate what they do. And she's a believable 17 year old girl of the times, walking a fine line between wanting to marry for love and for duty/status.

It’s a fairly quick read and perhaps not immensely original, but it’s very enjoyable and worth a look. I’d be tempted to try more of Harvey’s books in the future.

Very interesting review, thank you Carrie!

REVIEW: Bloodtide by Melvin Burgess

Guest review by Carrie from teabelly

Bloodtide by Melvin Burgess bases its story on that of the Icelandic Volsunga Saga. Set in a London of the future that has been ravaged by gang warfare and abandoned to those seeking power, it focuses mainly on one of the warring families, the Volsons. The key characters are twins Signy and Siggy. At the beginning of the book their father Val is working on a treaty with Conor, the rival gang lord, hoping it will lead to them working together to leave London and take over the rest of the country. London has been walled off, and beyond the wall is the half-man lands, filled with creatures created in artificial wombs, mixtures of human, machine and animal. Val wants to destroy the half-men and move on through the land, and to rule it. But he needs Conor and a united London to do so.

Part of the treaty involves betrothing his daughter Signy to Conor and uniting the families. Signy is of course initially outraged by this, rightly saying that her brothers would never be expected to do something similar. She wants to be treated as their equal, she wants to fight, but her wants are dismissed. The wedding goes ahead and Signy has to leave the comforts of her home and her brother Siggy and travel to Conor’s territory. Things don’t quite go as Val planned and the Volsons’ power crumbles. Signy and Siggy are separated for many years as they both fight their own battles, one for power, one for freedom.

Interwoven amongst all this are the gods, specifically Odin and mentions of Loki. Odin steps in early on at a banquet, stabbing his knife into stone and saying whoever can remove it is its rightful owner. Everyone can sense the power of the knife, and Conor especially desires it, but it is not for him. The gods meddle every now and then, though I didn’t quite get the motivation for it, other than that, I assume, they are in the original stories, and it helped move the plot along.

I’m afraid I’d never heard of the Volsunga Saga or its characters so I couldn’t see what the author had used as his inspiration and where he’d taken more poetic licence. I’m aware of Odin and the knife/hammer (depending on whether you’re watching Thor or not), and Loki, but that’s about it, so I didn’t have much idea where it was going.

It’s hard to describe how I felt about this book. I didn’t enjoy it. It is brutal and hard to read at times, and it’s very difficult to like or really care about anyone in it. But I was definitely hooked by it and I wanted to keep reading to see what happened. I was continually shocked by the tone of it, and how explicit it is, with death and sex, given its intended audience. But I think that’s a good thing, at no point does it talk down to anyone or sugar coat anything. These people do bad things and have bad things done to them, they are selfish and vindictive and happily play with other people’s lives. I wasn’t that keen on the ending, it seemed to fade out rather than go with a bang, but the majority of the book was a gripping read. Having said that, I’m in no hurry to pick up the second book. I guess the easiest way to describe it is conflicted, which is better
than bored or unmoved.

Absolutely intriguing review, thank you Carrie!

REVIEW: Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Guest review by Carrie from teabelly

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan is definitely a page-turner. Set in the future aboard a space ship, it follows Waverly Marshall and Kieran Alden as they travel to New Earth. Their families left Earth years before in search of a new home, and both teenagers were born aboard the Empyrean. Being amongst the oldest of the ship’s children, it is natural for Waverly and Kieran to start a relationship, and they fall in love. Their lives are interrupted when a sister ship, The New Horizon, suddenly makes contact, and their worlds are torn apart. Can Kieran and Waverly find their way back to each other and, if they do, will they ever be the same again?

I really enjoyed this book. The action starts almost immediately and it doesn’t let up until the end, when I was very invested in the world Ryan had created and am now fairly desperate to read the next instalment. It is not a perfect book by any means. I struggled with the beginning, and especially the main characters and how they were depicted. Kieran is a bit of a cardboard cut out at first, he’s a basic idea of what the perfect boy would be if you were trapped in space and your choices were limited. He’s a good boy, he’s smart, he’s a bit of a suck up, and he’s not used to people not liking him. Thankfully once the story gets going he becomes a bit more fleshed out, and I found him much more relatable. The way he is forced to change and how that will impact on his relationship with Waverly are some of the most heartbreaking parts of the book.

The two main characters are separated early on, and the author uses this as a device to tell each of their stories and see through their eyes. We get a much better sense of each character this way. It also becomes much less of a love story and more two separate stories of survival. I enjoyed this, it felt a bit fresher than the usual teen romances. Yes, there is the possibility of a love triangle, which comes in the form of Seth, but all the romance is on the periphery, as survival is much more the focus. They think of each other and miss each other, but it’s not constant, there is too much else at stake.

The book turned out to be a lot darker than I was expecting. It has similar themes to The Handmaid’s Tale, a book I’ve always found disturbing. It is not on the same literary level, but it draws on similar religious themes and makes the reader continually question who is right and who is wrong. And it is surprising. Characters I thought were one-note would do something I never would have expected, usually making my stomach churn. Waverly’s story is the stronger of the two, and I connected to her more. I didn’t really buy Kieran’s storyline and his conflict with Seth for much of the time, as it felt a bit heavy handed. There were certain bits where the religious parts made me uncomfortable and, again, I lost my ability to suspend disbelief. But, having said that, Ryan did manage to bring me back, mostly because I think the way she uses the religious aspects is very clever. It raises a lot of questions and I love it when books do that. As you might be able to tell, this one has stayed with me in the couple of days since I’ve finished it, and I think it’s a mark of a very good book that I’m still thinking about it.

I don’t know when the next book is coming out, but I want it now.

What a brilliant review, thank you so much Carrie!

REVIEW: Between by Jessica Warman

Guest review by Carrie from teabelly

Between by Jessica Warman is a wonderful read about a girl trapped between life and death. It’s one of those books that sucks you in and keeps you reading, usually long after you should have turned out the light and gone to bed.

Elizabeth Valchar is about to turn 18 and celebrates her birthday with her closest friends on board her father’s yacht. Waking the next day Liz is annoyed by a persistent noise coming from outside the boat. No one else is awake or seems to hear it, and Liz goes out to investigate, making the shocking discovery that the noise is a body and, more horrifyingly, it is her dead body.

Liz is initially comforted by the presence of a young man who can see her, but when it becomes clear that he is also dead and someone she had had no time for in life, the comfort turns to irritation. There are also other emotions to deal with: Coming to terms with the loss of her life and the sadness that comes with that, and of those that she’s left behind; confusion as to where she is now and what’s happening; and anger at being trapped with someone who so obviously despises her. And there’s the problem of her memories, which she can fall into at any moment, watching her life play out before her, but she can’t remember the most basic things about herself, including her last moments of life.

Liz and her friends were extremely popular at school, they received some special treatment from teachers and used to make life difficult for those they deemed to be beneath them. Alex, the boy Liz is stuck with, tells Liz some home truths about her and her friends, and she gets to relive these vicious moments and see the worst of herself. But Liz isn’t just a one-dimension character. This is not a typical mean girl out for redemption tale. Liz had problems, severe ones. Her mother died when she was nine, from complications due to an eating disorder. Liz flashes back to life with her mother and sees how unhealthy the obsession with food was, and how much of it she had carried with her into her teens. Her father remarried quickly after her mother’s death, to his high-school sweetheart. With that came rumours of a continued affair and that her step-sister Josie may actually be her half-sister. None of this may seem like a big deal or a reason for her to be cruel, but there is more to it than I am laying out here, mostly because I want to avoid spoiling what is actually a very engaging, gripping story.

The characters in this book are all fully fleshed out and believable. And although Liz can be frustrating and extremely superficial, there’s so much more to her, things that are slowly revealed as you read, that you can’t help but warm to her. Her relationship with Alex seems very real too. They’re two people who have little in common stuck together, trying to figure out why, and they don’t always get on. To say that such a significant thing has happened they still focus on petty problems, and I believed that. We get insights into Liz’s other friends’ lives also, through her memories and following them around. Each time you think you’ve got them figured out, another layer is revealed, and it’s often surprising.

The only thing I could say about this book that might be slightly negative (although I didn’t think of it that way) was that the ending wasn’t surprising. The main mystery, such as it is, was resolved exactly as I expected it to be from the beginning. This didn’t take anything away from my enjoyment of it, however, as the getting there was worth it. I hadn’t read any Jessica Warman books before this, but given how much I enjoyed it I would definitely look for any others she’s written. They’d be a hard act to follow though.

Ooh! Thanks for that Carrie!

REVIEW: Breathing Underwater by Julia Green

Guest review by Carrie from teabelly

Breathing Underwater by Julia Green is a sweet story about loss and moving on. 14 year old Freya spends every summer with her grandparents on a remote island, with the freedom to roam around and make friends with the children of vacationing families. Having once spent those summers with her brother Joe, she returns alone after the loss of Joe in boating accident the year before. Freya’s parents are not coping with the loss, and she worries they may split up. She’s also trying to remember what went on last year, why Joe was so distant, and exactly what happened the night he died.

Julia Green explores this in two separate timelines. There’s this summer and last summer. Here we get a sense of Joe, and some of the reasons for his moodiness as he pulls himself away from his sister. Freya is putting the pieces back together, but this means remembering a Joe she didn’t particularly like, one who wouldn’t always let her join in, who left her alone and angered easily. She’s looking for an explanation, but also worries about the part she played.

This is a quick and simple read, but also moving. And although it deals with grief, Freya isn’t overwhelmed by it. She’s getting on with things the best she can, she’s trying to have a life, to have fun, to still be around people, while also trying to resolve her feelings for Joe and what life means without him. She has a crush on an older boy which is complicated by her friendship with his girlfriend, and there’s also a younger boy’s affections to deal with.

I think the cover of this book does it a disservice, as they one I have makes it look like a throwaway teenage romance, like it has little substance. And while it isn’t the best book I’ve ever read, it has much more going for it than the cover suggests. I’m trying to avoid puns here about depth or other water related imagery, but that does sum it up nicely. It is deeper than you would expect. The writing is strong and I enjoyed all the characters. Possibly more could have been made of her crush, since it’s hard to see exactly what Freya sees in him, but her friendship with his girlfriend and Freya’s doubts about her own feelings are well done. The overall mystery, such as it is, of what happened to Joe seems to be resolved too quickly, and I was a little disappointed with the resolution, but all in all, a nice read.

Thank you very much Carrie!

REVIEW: Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison

Reviewed by Carrie from Teabelly

The best way I can think of to describe Here Lies Bridget by Paige Harbison is as a snarky version of Before I Fall, (with a little touch of It’s a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol thrown in). It’s not exactly original, but it’s enjoyable enough.

Bridget Duke is the most popular girl in school, and in keeping with that stereotype she’s also mean. She keeps others in line by death glares and digs at them, making even her so-called best friends’ lives miserable. After following her through a few days of her life, and seeing how a ‘misunderstanding’ leads to Bridget alienating her friends, ruining someone’s career and causing problems in her family, we find her on trial for her life. After a car accident she wakes up in an unknown place, surrounded by those she has injured, and having to see life through their eyes. It is only after these revelations that she begins to understand how her actions have affected them, and she hopes to fix it.

Bridget is, frankly, detestable, and is so for most of the book. I can only hope there aren’t actually girls like this out there, so selfish and arrogant, and if there are I am especially glad I am no longer in school to deal with them. For two thirds of the book I wanted really terrible things to happen to her, and I wouldn’t have been at all upset if she had died. Part of the problem with the book is that it makes it too easy to hate Bridget, and it’s also hard to understand how someone can be so oblivious to their own actions. She honestly seems to have no idea that how she acts is wrong, or that her words can hurt. Everyone else is the problem, everyone else is just being too
sensitive, while she’s just being real. If she had actually been straight out horrible and known it, but had reasons (whatever they might be – the loss of her mother is sort of glossed over, as is her absent father), she might have been more relatable, and her change of heart more believable.

Thankfully the last part reigned it in a bit, and gave us more to Bridget than just being mean to anyone who might be stupid enough to care about her. Sure, this is done through oft-used tropes, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work. It’s not particularly subtle – a main character named Anna Judge for example – and there’s a bit too much ‘And it was all a dream’ about it, but it’s fun, and it has a decent message that will hopefully come across to any teen who might be a Bridget in the making. Don’t do it kids.

Thank you Carrie!

REVIEW: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You by Ally Carter

Reviewed by Carrie from Teabelly

I wasn’t expecting to overly like I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have Kill You by Ally Carter. I mean, just look at that title. It was going to be silly and cheesy and I probably wouldn’t like the characters all that much, but maybe it’d be a cute enough way to pass the time. Oh I do like being wrong about books.

I’d Tell You I Love You is set in the world of the Gallagher Academy. On the outside it’s a private school for over privileged girls, on the inside you have to be careful what you touch, lest poison gas suddenly erupts from a statue. See, the Gallagher Academy is a school for spies. Cammie ‘The Chameleon’ Morgan is in her third year and about to take Covert Operations. Cammie’s mother is the headmistress of the school, also a spy, and they came here after Cammie’s father died during a mission. Cammie is known as The Chameleon due to her uncanny ability to disappear in plain sight.

On her first mission for covert ops, Cammie meets Josh, an ordinary boy from the town near to where the Academy is based. Of course, Josh can never know who Cammie really is, but she likes him and, more importantly, he seems to like her. Cammie’s friends Liz and Bex decide to do a background check on Josh, to see if he’s not actually been sent to infiltrate the Academy though Cammie. And hijinks ensue. Hijinks including Liz and Bex abseiling down the side of Josh’s house while he’s right there under their noses, and intricate plots to help Cammie go on dates.

This book is incredibly good fun, it had me chuckling quite a lot over what Cammie and her friends got up to, and I loved all the characters. Cammie narrates as if she’s writing a report on a mission, and there are fun notes dropped in like ’18.30 hours: The operative realised it’s almost impossible to look pretty and/or seductive if you SERIOUSLY have to go pee.’ Cammie is funny but also smart, and loyal to her friends. She’s also hurting after the loss of her father and starting to realise the effect this has had on her and her mother. And also how dangerous spying can be. Is a life in the field really what she wants? Josh is a part of her escape from that life, if only for a little while.

Even though it’s a book about teenage spies, the things that happen to the girls are relatable. I also like that a new girl appears on the scene, but that storyline doesn’t go where you necessarily thought it would. For a book about girls living in close quarters, there are very few ‘bitchy’ moments, and mostly they’ve got each other’s backs. As you would expect from spies I suppose. Still, it’s always nice to see books that don’t go the easy or obvious routes. I’d definitely recommend this one, and will happily continue with the series.

Thank you for that Carrie!

REVIEW: Exodus by Julie Bertagna

Reviewed by Carrie from Teabelly

Exodus by Julie Bertagna is set less than a 100 years in the future in a world ravaged by global warming and rising sea levels. The ice caps have melted and most of Earth is under water. 15 year old Mara Bell lives on the isolated island of Wing with her family, trying to survive the stormy seasons and advancing tides. Many on the island cling to the idea that they are safe, but Mara can see they need to move before their home disappears altogether. There’s little time for anything except survival, but she has close friends and an annoying little brother to contend with. She also has The Weave, a sort of defunct version of the Internet, which she pokes around in trying to find information on the past, and ways to save her island.

She gets unexpected help from Fox, another traveller on the Weave, who gives her hope that the rest of the world may not be lost. He tells her of giant sky cities where civilisation is thriving and, armed with this knowledge, she convinces her people they must leave Wing in search of this new world.

I did have some problems with this book. At its core it is a well written, well meaning story with some compelling themes and terrifying ‘what-ifs’, but it’s also missing a lot of things that could have moved it from merely competent to great. One of its main strengths is Mara, a wonderful character who carries the burden of saving her people (and another group thanks to a prophecy), and never gives up even when everything seems lost. She’s smart, loyal and brave and you want things to work out for her. Unfortunately the book moves at such a fast pace that those around her do not get the same treatment, character-building wise. We go from the threat of disaster on Wing, the exodus, arriving at the sky city of New Mungo, being a refugee, finding the Treenesters and coming up with a rescue plan, to getting into New Mungo in not very many pages. There’s no real time to relax into it and enjoy what’s happening or get to know the people Mara meets. It all feels very superficial and makes it hard to connect. Therefore moments which should have been affecting just did not touch me at all. There’s no impact, and that’s a shame given what goes on.

I think if it had been a longer book, with more of a slow burn and higher tension it could have been much better. I never really felt that Mara was in real danger, or would not succeed. It all happens quite easily, despite the losses she sustains. A lot more could have been explored – the horrors of their journey to New Mungo and the first days in the boat camp. And it’s not because it’s trying to sugar coat it exactly, there are still deaths and truly horrible things that happen, I just had no emotional connection to them.

I also wasn’t totally sold on the world Mara lives in. I could just about picture Wing, but when she goes into the Weave I was lost. Likewise with the sky cities. These are massive feats of engineering that house thousands of people over vast oceans of water, but I could not imagine them at all given the descriptions here. A little more world building would have gone a long way to making this book more enjoyable.

It may be that this book is just aimed at a younger audience, and they would love it immensely, but I’m not sure if this is the case or not. I feel like the language would suit such an audience, but some of the subject matter it tackles might be a bit much for them, so I’m not sure where it fits. And there may be more to come in the trilogy, picking up the threads of storylines that seemed incomplete or abandoned here, but as a first book it hasn’t really held my interest enough to make me want to continue Mara’s journey. Maybe I will, but I was hoping for more.

Very interesting review, thank you so much Carrie!