Book-review post!
All YA this time around, including two I read a while back for the CBI Bookfest Recommended Reads, so held off on posting here ’til that came out. Print reviews are in italics, extra comments are… extra.
David Levithan – Every Day
Every day, A wakes up in a different body. For sixteen years, that’s all A has ever known – shifting from one person to another, taking over their body and life and trying not to do too much damage. But today A meets Rhiannon – the mistreated girlfriend of Justin, whose body A is inhabiting. And today A falls in love. What happens next is fascinating and wise and thoughtful and pretty much everything you would expect from a David Levithan novel. Despite the fantastical element, it’s still very much grounded in our world, with lots of musings on identity and love. Well worth reading.
Laura Jarratt – Skin Deep
Fourteen-year-old Jenna is scarred, psychologically and physically, from the car accident eight months ago that left her best friend dead. When Ryan arrives into town with his New Age traveller mother, he’s the one person who treats Jenna like she’s normal. He’s also the one the police suspect when a body is found. Jenna and Ryan’s burgeoning relationship is moving while still being realistic; the murder and its amplification of the town’s post-crash tensions make this debut novel completely gripping.
This is so very good. Told in alternating viewpoints, we see two vividly-realised characters and a love story that is both about connecting emotionally and being attracted to someone physically (really well handled). One of my favourite YA books of the year.
Natasha Farrant – The Things We Did For Love
A teenage love story unfolds against the backdrop of a small village in Nazi-occupied France. The war has not left Luc and Arianne untouched, but their blossoming romance is enchantingly hopeful. World War Two tearjerkers are not uncommon, but the elegance of the writing here and the lack of sentimentality make this a haunting and memorable read.
This is gorgeous. I don’t want to say too much but it is worth reading, and also worth reading without reading anything about what prompted the author to write it. So stylishly written. If you like Eva Ibbotson’s YA/adult novels, or Meg Rosoff’s books, or Adele Geras’s YA novels, this one is likely to appeal.
