Claire Stevens's Blog, page 17

Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia

In the real world, Eliza Mirk is shy, weird, and friendless. Online, she’s LadyConstellation, the anonymous creator of the wildly popular webcomic Monstrous Sea. Eliza can’t imagine enjoying the real world as much as she loves the online one, and she has no desire to try.

Then Wallace Warland, Monstrous Sea’s biggest fanfiction writer, transfers to her school. Wallace thinks Eliza is just another fan, and as he draws her out of her shell, she begins to wonder if a life offline might be worthwhile.

Three words:  Super.  Nerdy.  Awesomeness.

I really enjoyed this book.  It was written in such an easy, flowing way - the narrative never once got boring or slowed down, despite the story being about a girl who is basically a socially awkward recluse who sits in her room drawing comic books.

I liked Eliza a lot, despite the fact that she  wasn't a traditionally likeable character.  She kept to herself, was sullen with her family, didn't socialise.  But she was super passionate about what she did and I loved that.  She's mega introverted and doesn't really fit in with her family or peers at school, but she has hundreds of online friends and worshippers.

There's enough geeky fandom in here for the most hardcore fans to relate to and  I liked the interspersed comicbook pages and the narrative thread of Monstrous Sea.  I wish I had this as a hardcopy book instead of an ebook as I think I'd have got more out of the comic side.  As an aside, Monstrous Sea read a lot like Saga, even down to the style of art.  So if you liked Saga, this could be a good book for you.

Underneath the main comicbook-writing thread of the story, there are other layers about mental health, anxiety, depression, isolation and social exclusion.  It's kind of darker than other geek books I've read, but was totally interesting.

The only thing I didn't fully buy into was the romance side.  I wasn't a huge fan of Wallace.  He was okay, but not great.

That aside, this was still a good book and definitely recommended.

4.5 stars

The Dazzling Heights by Katharine McGee

The Dazzling Heights is the sequel to last year’s The Thousandth Floor.  Set in 2118, the premise is that basically the whole of Manhattan is now a giant, two-mile-high skyscraper that is so well equipped with living space, jobs, schools, parks and so on that no one really steps foot outside.  Within the tower, a few teens find their lives intertwining despite the differences in their backgrounds until a final tragic night when a girl dies.
 
I really, really enjoyed The Thousandth Floor.  It read like an excellent drama / soap opera - high-emotion, pure escapism.  And I was hoping for more of the same from The Dazzling Heights. 
 
For the most part, I got it.  Actually, that’s unfair.  There was still the high-emotion, high-drama aspect and I still really liked the concept and the characters.  None of the rich kids have figured out how to be happy yet, despite their billions of dollars and cushy lifestyles and are utterly caught up in things that totally wouldn’t register in the lives of people with real problems (BTW - this isn’t a criticism).
 
Maybe the reason the sequel didn’t score quite so highly for me was the wow-factor originality of the concept of the first book wasn’t there.  Obviously.  Because I’ve already read the first book, I can’t be surprised by the concept twice.  It’s not the author’s fault, and I guess it’s a pitfall of writing a series.
 
And actually the author makes a really good job with this sequel.  She introduces a couple of new characters to keep things rolling.  The old characters are trying to adjust to the tragic death at the end of the first book, and they’re all doing it in really, really dysfunctional ways, which makes for an awesome read.  People are still attracted to people they shouldn’t be attracted to and hate people they secretly have tonnes in common with.  All good.
 
This series is shaping up to be a really good read.  Pure, indulgent escapism.  Really recommended.

4 stars

Waiting on Wedneseday - Invictus by Ryan Graudin

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that gives us all a chance to highlight the upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating.  This week my Waiting on Wednesday pick is Invictus byRyan Graudin.
 
Here’s the blurb:

Farway Gaius McCarthy was born outside of time. The son of a time-traveling Recorder from 2354 AD and a gladiator living in Rome in 95 AD, Far's birth defies the laws of nature. Exploring history himself is all he's ever wanted, and after failing his final time-traveling exam, Far takes a position commanding a ship with a crew of his friends as part of a black market operation to steal valuables from the past.

But during a heist on the sinking Titanic, Far meets a mysterious girl who always seems to be one step ahead of him. Armed with knowledge that will bring Far's very existence into question, she will lead Far and his team on a race through time to discover a frightening truth: History is not as steady as it seems.

The Power by Naomi Alderman

I’d like to start this review by quoting a question that was asked about this book on Goodreads:
 
What would happen if an author wrote a book about men having the power to electrocute to death, women?
 
And someone has answered:Bottom of Form
 
It would be under history category
 
And that’s pretty much all you need to know about where the author was starting from when she wrote this book.  We live in a society where, by virtue of superior physical strength, men have had the upper hand since recorded history began.
 
And that’s the key.  Since recorded history began.
 
Because one of the truths the author works with is that history is written by the victors.  The main story, which is styled as a book written about the beginning of ‘The Power’, when women and girls developed the ability to generate an electrical current within their bodies with the capability to injure and kill others, is framed within a correspondence between the male author and his female editor.  Interspersed within the book are pictures of historical artefacts that have been interpreted within a strongly matriarchal paradigm.
 
The story of the rise of the power is interesting.  It’s definitely interesting. It is told from multiple viewpoints, including that of a man, and shows how women throw off the
 
It takes the basic concept of women suddenly having all the power and runs with it, speculating what would happen to individuals, relationships, families, communities and society. What would happen to our governments, to our crime networks.  There are a lot of ideas, and all of them are very clever.
 
However, the main reason this book didn’t get five stars is because while I was interested to read the many ideas in this book (and they were really clever), the plot wasn’t engaging enough for me.  The sparkle of the ideas didn’t make up for a storyline that felt just a bit too patchy.
 
Another truth the author plays with is the notion that absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Women, in her world, now have absolute power over men.  Aside from a few terrorist cells and ragtag insurgents, women soon find themselves completely in control.  Men are now the ones who are afraid to walk alone after dark (and, in fact, the book looks in depth at rape culture). 
 
And do women use their newfound power for good?  Of course they bloody don’t.  The power is misused in varying degrees by every woman in the book, but instead of finding this vaguely insulting, I actually found it very positive, because it supports on of the founding principles of feminism: at the end of the day, we are all human beings.  Given the same opportunities and without a society trying to shoehorn us into gender-specific boxes, we will all make the same mistakes, strive for the same things.  A world run by women wouldn’t be any more nurturing or peaceful than a world run by men, because if women had complete power, we would abuse it just as much as men do.
 
People have feted this book as ‘A Handmaid’s Tale for the 21st century’ and while I can see where they’re coming from, I don’t think The Power has the subtlety of A Handmaid’s Tale.  It’s so fantastical (magic powers) that the story has a really theoretical feel throughout, and lacks the This-Could-Really-Happen aspect of A Handmaid’s Tale that makes it so terrifying.
 
4 stars

Georgia Peaches and Other Forbidden Fruit by Jaye Robin Brown

Gah.  This book.  This book was really lovely.

So the premise is that Joanna Gordon is out and proud and has the full support of her radio evangelist dad.  That is, until they move to rural Georgia with Joanna's new stepmum, where it's a bit more 'Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve'.  So her dad asks her to keep quiet about being gay for the year she will be living there so as not to upset the locals.  Whichis fine, until Joanna meets Mary Carlson and totally falls for her.

So one of the things I really liked was how Joanna does an amazing balancing act between her faith and her sexuality.  Basically, her view of god is of a benign being who is happy with us just the way we are and she sees the scriptures as open for interpretation.  This is really inspiring because so many churches alienate people in this regard (*squints eyes at Church of England*).

I loved Joanna - she was so sweet and develops so much over the course of the book.  And the relationship between her and Mary Carlson was gorgeous (and hot).

There were some really great secondary characters in this book - all of them were fleshed out well in terms of personality and they all had actual story arcs.  Another balancing act was between Joanna's life in Rome and her old life in Atlanta, particularly with her best friend.

Ok, you know there's a 'but' coming ...

The issue I had was with the promises that the whole book was based on.  Don't get me wrong - it didn't wreck the book or anything, but it was a bit of a hurdle for me to get over.  I honestly had no idea why she didn't just tell Mary Carlson that her daed had asked her to lie low for a year.  What was the worst she could say?  It couldn't have been worse than how she would have reacted to being lied to.

Overall this was a really good book andI'd definitely recommend it.  What I wouldn't recommend is lying to your crush like Joanna did.

4 stars

Waiting on Wednesday - A Semi Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that lets us flag up the upcoming releases we’re eagerly anticipating.  This week, my Waiting on Wednesday pick is A Semi Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland.

Here's the blurb:
 
Esther Solar's family is . . . unusual.

Her father hasn't left the basement in six years.

Her brother is terrified of darkness.

Esther isn't afraid of anything - because she avoids pretty much everything.

Elevators are off limits, as are open spaces, crowds, family pets, birds, needles, haircuts, dolls and mirrors.

But when Esther is pickpocketed by her cocky old classmate Jonah Walker, Esther and Jonah become surprising friends.

Jonah sets a challenge: every week they must work their way through the world's fifty most common phobias. Skydiving, horse riding, beekeeping, public speaking, reptilehouses - they plan to do it all.

Soon their weekly foray into fear becomes the only thing that keeps them tethered to reality, and to each other.

But each is keeping a secret from the other, a secret that threatens to rip them apart.

Sway by Kat Spears

High school senior Jesse Alderman, or "Sway," as he’s known, could sell hell to a bishop. He also specializes in getting things people want---term papers, a date with the prom queen, fake IDs. He has few close friends and he never EVER lets emotions get in the way. For Jesse, life is simply a series of business transactions.

But when Ken Foster, captain of the football team, leading candidate for homecoming king, and all-around jerk, hires Jesse to help him win the heart of the angelic Bridget Smalley, Jesse finds himself feeling all sorts of things. While following Bridget and learning the intimate details of her life, he falls helplessly in love for the very first time. He also finds himself in an accidental friendship with Bridget’s belligerent and self-pitying younger brother who has cerebral palsy. Suddenly, Jesse is visiting old folks at a nursing home in order to run into Bridget, and offering his time to help the less fortunate, all the while developing a bond with this young man who idolizes him. Could the tin man really have a heart after all?

I really enjoyed this book!  Sway was such an arsehole to literally everyone he came in contact with - like this Rasputin / Machiavelli / Vicomte de Valmont hybrid.  This was sold to me as a Cyrano de Bergerac story, but I don't remember CdB being such a wanker.  Maybe I'm misremembering?  Anyway, this book was a whole lot more fun (I quite like an offensive MC - see my review of Monsters by Emerald Fennell).

The political machinations of high school were probably a bit more over the top than they are in real life - I doubt principals really go around asking pupils to plant drugs in lockers - but it was written convincingly.  I loved how Jesse developed over the course of the book and how he tried desperately to convince himself that he wasn't in love with Bridgit.  And also how he became friends with Bridgit's brother and the guy at the nursing home.

The only thing I don't get was the original cover - it's a kissy-kissy cover, like a boy-next-door summer romance novel, which it assuredly isnot.  If you picked this book up on the basis of the original cover I can see you'd be a bit disappointed.

4 stars

In A Handful Of Dust by Mindy McGinnis

This was an okay follow up to Not A Drop To Drink, but I don't think it had the massive impact that the original book had.

It picks up about ten years after the first book and Lynn is now a grown woman and Lucy is now a teenager. Water is still an issue in their post-apocalypse world and now illness has become a major issue as well. Illnesses that had been allbut eradicated arenow reappearing and no one has the knowledge or skill to fight them. Lynn and Lucy are forced to travel across the country when their community is threatened.

The journey they undertake is frought with danger, which makes for a rollerrcoaster plot, but the characterisation let the book down. Lynn is a taciturn character and always has been, but in the first book we had the benefit of her internal monologue to flesh out her character. Here we just see her as a dry, grumpy woman. I never really got a grip on Lucy's character. She didn't really have anything going for her - no wit or spark or cunning or whatever ittakes to make a character in a book interesting. And god knows Mindy McGinnis can write some interesting characters.

There was some romance in the book, but it's just announced at the beginning of the book and we don't see it build or grow so it doesn't have the emotional impact it needs for us to actually care what happens to either of them.

Ultimately, this book was only ok - the first book didn't end on a cliffhanger so it's debateable whether it's worth reading this one.

The ending confused me a lot. I won't give anything away, but it basically involves Lynn making a decision that made me stare, rub my eyes and re-read the page. It was such a ridiculous decision that even now I can't believe she did it!

2.5 stars

Waiting on Wednesday - Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme that lets us flag up the upcoming releases we’re eagerly anticipating.  This week, my Waiting on Wednesday pick is Moonrise by Sarah Crossan.  Here's the blurb:
 
They think I hurt someone.
But I didn't. You hear?
Cos people are gonna be telling you
all kinds of lies.
I need you to know the truth.

Joe hasn't seen his brother for ten years, and it's for the most brutal of reasons. Ed is on death row.

But now Ed's execution date has been set, and this might be the last summer they have together.

The astonishing new novel from multi award winning author Sarah Crossan explores life, death, love and forgiveness. It will stay with you long after you have turned the last page

Moonrise by Sarah Crossan

'They think I hurt someone.
But I didn't. You hear?
Coz people are gonna be telling you
all kinds of lies.
I need you to know the truth.'

Oh my god. Sarah Crossan has hit it out of the ballpark yet again with this beautiful story of Joe Moon who travels to Texas from New York to see his older brother, Ed, who is on Death Row. But it's also a book about love in all its forms, and about life and injustice and hope in hopeless situations.

I don't know how she does it, because I am agressively opposed to free verse poetry (in fact, if I'm honest, I hate all poetry) but her words are just so beautiful and readable and her characters are so real and complex and vulnerable, I literally can't get enough of this author's writing.

There is romance in the book, but it complements the main story instead of overshadowing it or seeming to be included for the sake of it.

While Moonrise is a criticism of police brutality and of capital punishment, but it never goes overboard with condemnation. This book should be required reading for everyone (*coughs* Daily Mail *coughs*) who has ever said 'Bring back hanging'. Crossan pitches her arguments perfectly for maximum effect using exactly the right words to leave you feeling like you've been put through the emotional wringer and stillbegging for more. I read Moonrise in one heartbreaking sitting and two weeks later I'm still thinking about it.

I can smell a Carnegie Medal in the air. Just saying.

5 stars

I was given a copy of Moonriseby the publisher in exchange for an honest review.