I found this a frustrating read, because there were aspects I liked while there were definitely parts that I found annoying. When I boug...more3.8 stars
Jude:
I found this a frustrating read, because there were aspects I liked while there were definitely parts that I found annoying. When I bought the book I thought I was getting a dance story, which is THE reason I got it, but partway through I went oh o, not a dance story but one of the run of the mill bad boy meets good girl stories, where he laments that he's not good enough for her, she makes him go through the ringer, and so forth. And it was pretty much like that - a milder version of Beautiful Disaster, although I did like this book better, because Lucy wasn't horrible like Abby (I HATE ABBY).
What I liked about CRASH:
It was an okay read, the chemistry between the two main characters fairly good, and the beginning chapters were interesting, plus a certain twist in the book made me up the marks from a 3 to a 3.8 stars, although I still don't understand how Jude couldn't know that Lucy was the sister of a certain someone that a certain someone did something to (Sorry, I can't elaborate, because it's a spoiler, but people who have read the book will know what I mean).
Lucy/Luce:
What I didn't like about CRASH:
The repetitiveness of Jude saying he wasn't good enough for Lucy, that it would be better for Lucy to stay away from him. I really got tired of that part, plus Lucy could be infuriating at times, although I didn't dislike her. The miscommunications were also frustrating, plus I thought the bit where Jude saved Lucy from a certain someone at the party was rather contrived, and I could see it coming.
Conclusion: An okay read. I might get the second story, I might not, but I'm not bothered either way. (less)
This is not a review, but an update on the progress of this book:
Looks like Crying Out Silent is definitely coming out after Behind the Lens, the plan...moreThis is not a review, but an update on the progress of this book:
Looks like Crying Out Silent is definitely coming out after Behind the Lens, the planned publication month moving to either September or October. I would've liked it to have been published first as you will understand the character of Ant Torres more (as he's in both books), but I couldn't help it, and had to put it on hold for a few months because more people were asking for Behind the Lens than Crying Out Silent, plus I was on a role with writing Behind the Lens, the story continuing from the same day where Behind the Tears left off.
However, back to Crying Out Silent. I was talking to someone today about suicide and suicide prevention since these topics are the main theme of this book - go figure with a title like Crying Out Silent. But anyway, they were keen for me to get this book out asap and wants me to put in some suicide help prevention phone numbers, plus they are going to talk to a well known New Zealander about it, because suicide and the abuse that often leads to it affects them strongly. At the moment they are currently dealing with someone they love who has recently tried to commit suicide (someone I also know). So, this book has even more of a reason to be published now.
Like Graffiti Heaven it will be a hard hitting story, if not more so, plus Ant Torres's character makes it a difficult read in areas. All I can say is when someone is acting up, please see the signs before it's too late. Not everyone can verbalise what is happening to them, but they do cry out silent through their actions. We just need to pay more attention.
When I went into reading Rot & Ruin I did not expect to find it so engrossing. I’ve only read one other zombie book, Outpost, and liked it, but th...moreWhen I went into reading Rot & Ruin I did not expect to find it so engrossing. I’ve only read one other zombie book, Outpost, and liked it, but that one was a totally different look at the zombie lore. In Rot & Ruin zombies act like expected, but apart from that, the author doesn’t present his zombie story like others. Instead, he takes it from a very human angle, following the lives of Benny, his brother and friends. We get down to how life is for Benny, what it is like to live in a time where the old conventions of the world are no longer viable. In school, amongst their studies they learn how to handle zombies. When they reach 15 they have to start working so they can keep their rations. Because they live in an enclosed town, where it is supposedly safe from zombies, he has only a limited choice of jobs he can pick from, of which most he considers boring. So, in the end he ends up becoming an apprentice to his half-brother Tom, who is a bounty hunter (a closure specialist to be precise). At the beginning of the book Benny will annoy you, because he acts like a selfish teenager that unjustly blames his brother for things. He admires the wrong kinds of people, two other nasty bounty hunters, when he should be admiring, instead of hating, his brother. But as the story proceeds events happen one after the other and his affected and preconceived notions about how things are starts to be questioned, then falls completely away.
What I loved about this book was the way the author didn’t make the zombies out to be the real villains. The zombies act on instinct, they have no hate in them, just need, you can’t judge them on a human level, because they are no longer human and are basically animals that don’t know any better. But the bounty hunters (apart from Tom) are the real villains. They know what they are doing, are supposedly with feelings, yet they do the vilest things: like preying on the zombies and young children for their own amusement. They’ve created a Gameland where they barter money to see which children can survive in a pit (and other scenarios) against zombies. They also hack at zombies for their own amusement, playing with them, and forgetting they were once people, people that were loved. This is Tom’s view of zombies, which is why he’s a closure specialist. He gets contracts from families to go put their loved ones (who have become zombies) to rest in a humane manner.
Because of what the bad bounty hunters do they have made enemies not only with Tom, but a girl who roams the wilderness. When the worst of the bounty hunters attack people that Tom and Benny love, taking one of them, the brothers go looking for her (Nix, and Benny’s love interest). Along the way the lost girl joins them, leading to an explosive climax. And the epilogue is so perfect, really moving.
This is just a fantastic novel, well worth your time reading. I’ve been told that this book and its sequels are being turned into movies, which I would absolutely love to see.
5 very well deserved stars. I highly recommend Rot & Ruin. (less)
This is not a nice tale, but it is certainly a cautionary one that I think would be good for teens to read: a lesson about trust, manipulation, and ri...moreThis is not a nice tale, but it is certainly a cautionary one that I think would be good for teens to read: a lesson about trust, manipulation, and right and wrong. It follows the character of Paul who isn't doing too well in his new wealthy high school. He's a bully's dream: he's not wealthy (he's there only because his mother has a job at the school), he's tall and gawky, and isn't adept at making friends since he was home-schooled prior to this. So, right from go he is picked on. But, a popular student, Charlie Good takes him under his wing, stopping this from continuing. And Paul starts seeing this very manipulative psychotic person with rose-coloured glasses until it's too late. Charlie is a user, and plays on Paul's insecurities to get what he wants. All the way through I could see where this was heading. The outcome was obvious, but I could understand (to a point) how a naive person like Paul could miss all of the signs that he was being used. Plus, he was too caught up in his problems to see what Charlie was up too. But, what Paul did was still very wrong and he understood this in the end, but Charlie didn't. He was psychotic - totally psychotic. He was despicable, a murderer in the making who used his wits, charm and family to escape punishment.
This story is even more chilling with recent events in America. Again, it's not a nice tale, so don't go into it thinking there is a happily ever after, because there isn't. It's a warning for students, teachers, and parents.(less)
Adrenalin pumping, gun toting, emotional roller-coaster and an all out brilliant story. Now the gushing is over let gets to the rest of my review.
If y...moreAdrenalin pumping, gun toting, emotional roller-coaster and an all out brilliant story. Now the gushing is over let gets to the rest of my review.
If you don't like reading about death and killing, this isn't the book for you, but if can handle extremely edgy content, then buy it now because you'll love the story. Yes, there were some bits where I cringed and thought, "Nooooo ... I like that character, bring him back, you big meanie!" but by and large I was completely wrapped up in the story.
Okay, a one line synopsis: A class of 42 students have to fight until there is only one left alive.
And this was the main reason why I held back a bit before buying this book, because I knew the majority of the characters were going to die and I didn't want to invest emotionally into them. By the way, The Hunger Games author must've read this book, because the ideas are too similar. Yes, she'd put a spin on her own story, but there are definite similarities, although Battle Royale is soooooo much better. And the reason why, besides the full on action and nail biting sequences,the characters were fantastic. I eventually came to the conclusion that it wasn't just about how the characters were going to leave this world, and in many of their cases biting the bullet, but it was also largely about getting to know these 15-year-olds and learning what made them unique and interesting. By the way, some of my favourites were Shinji, Shogo and Horoki. I also felt like protecting that poor boy who got shot trying to save that nasty girl's life. He was such a sweetheart and really put across how young these characters were.
And this brings me to the major theme of this story: TRUST. Some of the students trusted their classmates when they shouldn't have while others didn't trust when they needed to. This theme was all the way through the book and was a main reason behind why many of the characters died.
HEROES: Yes, there were a number of heroes in here, like Shuya, Shogo, Hiroki, Yukie, and some more.
VILLAINS: I HATED Mitsuko (although the author gives you good reasons behind why she was like this), Kazuo (the most stone-cold villain with literally no feelings due to an accident when he was a baby) and of course the despicable and deplorable Sakamochi.
Now, you've noticed all the names above are Japanese. Well, this is because this is a Japanese book that has been translated into English. I've read about some people complaining about the translation (luckily not too many). I personally didn't have a problem with it. Of course there were going to be some blips, but then again there are English books that have these too. Plus, I was so wrapped up in the story that I didn't care about a few not so smooth sentences. Remember, this also puts you in the mind-frame that you are reading a Japanese book, so just think of it as an accent.
By the way, Japanese names that start off with a Y must be incredibly popular, because there were a number of characters with Y names. Sometimes it was slightly hard to follow all the names, but the really distinctive characters, and the major ones that you were following the most, stuck out with no problems. As you can see I've mentioned some names above and I didn't need to look them up again, which is a sign of how much I got into this story, because foreign names are after all harder to remember. Anyway, if you have trouble remembering the names there is a list of all the students before the Introduction.
I'll stop here. Definitely a 5 star story, which is now classed as one of my all time favourite books (of which I have 4). I am now looking for the book's movie, which came out in 2000 (made in Japan). (less)
It took a while to get into this book, and I wasn't completely submerged until about 60% of the way through. But, once I did get into it I was complet...moreIt took a while to get into this book, and I wasn't completely submerged until about 60% of the way through. But, once I did get into it I was completely captivated and didn't want it to end. Though, I did love the ending and now want the sequel.
What made it harder to get in straight away? Don't get me wrong, I liked the first part of this book, and am notorious for getting distracted and putting reads down. So, for it to hold my attention and to get me to read it in less than a week is still a testament to a good story. And, I liked the concept very much. I also liked how the author weaved in the different aspects of the story, from the here and now to Marbury and then to Seth's story.
Jack, Connor and Seth were all fascinating characters (along with Griffin and Ben), Jack especially. I thought the trauma he went through was handled with care, which it should be for this age group (YA). It is definitely an edgy book that deals with tough issues, and all through it Jack grapples with his sanity.
Though, one of the things that I found hard at times to read was the repetitive element of Jack's thoughts, because it did irritate me. I know he was fighting with himself internally, at the same time deriding himself, but as a reader I had already heard it and didn't want to be reminded over and over again. That was probably the main reason why I didn't give the book a 5.
I also wasn't too fond of the way that Jack used third person at times, but I eventually came to the conclusion that maybe this was a device used to display the different sides of Jack's life: the here and now and in Marbury. Thus, I eventually went with this and stopped criticising it in my mind because in the end it did suit the story. For example, when Jack was in Marbury he still continued doing things in the here and now, but couldn't remember what he'd done when he got back and had to be reminded by photos, Conner or Nickie. Therefore, it made sense for him to talk about himself as though there were two of him, because in essence you could say there was.
There were a few other nitpicks I had, mainly stylistic preferences, but they are of little consequence, and all up I really did like the book. I originally went to buy another book by the author,In the Path of Falling Objects, but the shop didn't have any in stock so I got this one instead. I remember humming and harring over it, because they only had it in hardback, but I'm glad I decided to buy it, because I will be definitely buying more of this author's works.(less)
WOW, WOW, and triple WOW! This is the most intense and powerful book I have ever read, and I have read A LOT. When I heard it was a male version of Sp...moreWOW, WOW, and triple WOW! This is the most intense and powerful book I have ever read, and I have read A LOT. When I heard it was a male version of Speak I thought I'd give it a read, especially since I'm writing something with a similar topic (although a very different story). But, this is so much more than just relating it as a male version. The tension in this book was rippling with more than steroid bound muscles. The build up to the horrible life changing event in the gym was perfectly paced and when it happened it was so sad. Although it was a shock (as well as shocking) it didn't come out of the blue. You'll understand what I mean if you read this, because the agro seen in those football players showed that they were capable of this horrendous act.
It was good that the reader is shown the before and after events in the story, because both were needed: the build up to the tragedy then the unwillingness to speak out against what happened. It was all about fear, such as Kurt worrying about being blamed because of what happened in his past as well as not wanting to relive things. So, you could understand how afraid he was to speak out. You could also understand Danny's fear in speaking out too, because he could very well have ended up in the same situation as the other poor boy.
I thought this book was done very realistically. The way the author described everything was spot on. His description of those three horrid boys in my opinion was accurate. I think I read some review about someone thinking that the boys' behaviour was over the top. BUT, that reviewer obviously doesn't understand what roid rage is. Even though those boys obviously had an innate evil in them, an inability to empathise, you could also see the part in the tragedy that the steroids played. I instantly understood the description of one of the boys and realised he was taking steroids due to the severe pimples on his neck, which is a side effect. People would probably just assume that the acne problem was a teenage thing. No, it was related to steroids just as much as the way in which the boy was beating his chest in anger, almost caveman like (roid rage). Hence, I thought the villains were described extremely well.
This book is portrayed from two perspectives: Danny and Kurt's. Kurt's character is someone that captured me from the start. He was both strong and vulnerable, and misunderstood with his stutter. The way he put himself in the line of fire to protect those smaller boys showed his beautiful nature. Combine this with his past and it shows how terribly brave he was. He was by far my favourite.
There was a little warming up needed for Danny, especially with his annoyance at Ronnie at the beginning: Not liking people thinking him and Ronnie were the same, his annoyance at Ronnie's weaknesses... But, I could understand where he was coming from because he didn't want to be shown as weak, which is why he was less friendly to Ronnie. And, when all the horrible stuff went down his pushing away of Ronnie was heartbreaking. You could see it was done out of fear, but the way in which he worked through the fear and eventually manned up took a lot of guts considering who he was going up against and the huge risks he was taking. He was a scared kid.
I loved the ending and thought what Danny and Kurt did, along with Tina, was perfect.
5stars isn't enough for this book. Once the pace snags you it is very hard to put down. Absolutely intense. (less)
One of the most original books I have ever read, and the first modern story that I have come across where the narrative is poetically stru...more4 1/2 stars.
One of the most original books I have ever read, and the first modern story that I have come across where the narrative is poetically structured. Even though my mother is a published poet and my daughter is a talented poet, poetry has never really interested me that much. I can write it, but I don't usually want to - and that includes reading it. So, I'm coming from a viewpoint where I tend to veer away from anything to do with poetry. BUT, this is not an average poetry book because the narrative and cleverly constructed composition, and use of wording, swept me along. Although I read a few chapters then set the book aside for months (a stupid thing to do), once I picked it back up again I finished it within a few days. I shouldn't have put it aside to start with, because Kristina's/Bree's story was really interesting. She starts off as a good, innocent sixteen-year-old who goes visiting her father, then comes across a boy who she falls in love with. But, Adam is not the real love of her life, because this is where Kristina also meets the monster, AKA Meth, and falls head over heels with this drug. And from this one meeting/experience she allows "the monster" to eventually take over her life. So, when she returns home she goes out of her way to get her hands on "the monster" again and because of her infatuation/addiction she ends up getting herself into A LOT of trouble.
Basically, this story should be taught in schools, because it shows how drugs can ruin your life. Also, it will teach children some very unique ways of conveying themselves through poetry. But, don't think this is about rhyming, because it's not, poetry encompasses a range of techniques, and the rhyming technique isn't a factor in this story. The author instead uses some very clever turn of phrases and word coupling, metaphors, etc. and places them into interesting patterns, some of which can have double meanings if you pay close enough attention. For example, on some pages, if you read the story in the tradition left to right manner like most western books, you get a flowing story, but if you see some words separated off to the left (or right) don't move to the next page until you read them vertically, because occasionally you will find a message running downwards, like on page 293-294, where it says:
I
didn't
belong
to
my
mom
anymore.
You will also (very often) get Kristina's/Bree's (her alter ego) thoughts and dialogue on one side and another character's dialogue on the other. However, although I use the word "characters", they didn't feel like fictional constructions, but instead they all came across as real people, which made me feel like I was probing into someone's life, and eavesdropping into their conversations. (This book is based on the author's daughter, which also puts credence to this feeling).
Overall, I am extremely impressed. So, don't let the unusual structure put you off, like it almost did for me, because there is a fantastic story within these VERY cleverly structured pages.(less)
This certainly deserves all the accolades it has gotten. I was totally transfixed by Melinda's inner voice, and thought she was extremely well portray...moreThis certainly deserves all the accolades it has gotten. I was totally transfixed by Melinda's inner voice, and thought she was extremely well portrayed. I read this in a day and even though there are slower areas I still didn't want to stop. The things that made this story so good were:
1) Melinda's thoughts, her sarcastic but vulnerable way at looking at things. You could see how depressed she was, but no one truly looked at her, with maybe the exception of the art teacher who recognised pain in her sculpture. 2) Melinda's actions and her unwillingness to talk was very realistic. There was nothing outrageous or unrealistic about her behaviour, she was a normal girl who'd been put through a harrowing experience. She went through daily life trying to cope with what had happened to her and doing things that one would expect from a girl in her situation. 3) As said above, it was realistic. I think this type of book is also good for teenagers to read as they are at their most vulnerable at this age and what Melinda went through is a lesson or warning in what not to do, eg. the party scenario where she put herself in danger without realising it. Although it wasn't her fault as to what happened, kids need to be taught situation awareness just as much as lessons like English and Maths. Additionally, this book also encourages people to speak out, the title in this case so appropriate. 4) This is the type of book that should be in schools, not the unrealistic old fantasy stories or books that put students asleep. Kids would learn from this book. I think girls more, but in cases boys would also. They should be taught that this is how girls are affected, not the objectifying way girls/women are depicted on TV. After reading this book I gave it to my daughter, and we are both watching the film together now. 5) The topic is gutsy and well handled.
I'll stop here. Again, I think females will appreciated this more than guys, but still it's a very good book and thoroughly deserving of 5stars.(less)
A big disappointment, the series was so MUCH better (I love the telly programme). This story (what there was) really went nowhere. It had some amusing...moreA big disappointment, the series was so MUCH better (I love the telly programme). This story (what there was) really went nowhere. It had some amusing parts, but they were few and far between. Plus, the use of the f word was monotonous, and this is coming from ME! Not someone that has a problem with swearing in books, but really, it was extremely overused and in areas where it really wasn't necessary. It's like, "Do you want some story with those swearwords?" Because you pretty much didn't get it here. It took ages (months) for me to finally finish this book. Also, I didn't like Effie's point of view. I don't really like her in the series either, but definitely prefer her mind to stay a mystery. She was just a selfish person, someone that I really didn't think deserved Freddie. However, the other characters in the book were fine, Emily and Cookie standing out the best, and of course my favourite, Freddie.
Sorry to anyone that likes this book, it really wasn't to my taste.(less)
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