GUEST REVIEW: The Bone Dragon - Alexia Casale

GENRE: Fantasy
PAGES: 320
PUBLISHER: Faber
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 5 Stars

SUMMARY

Evie's shattered ribs have been a secret for the last four years. Now she has found the strength to tell her adoptive parents, and the physical traces of her past are fixed - the only remaining signs a scar on her side and a fragment of bone taken home from the hospital, which her uncle Ben helps her to carve into a dragon as a sign of her strength. Soon this ivory talisman begins to come to life at night, offering wisdom and encouragement in roaming dreams of smoke and moonlight that come to feel ever more real. As Evie grows stronger there remains one problem her new parents can't fix for her: a revenge that must be taken. And it seems that the Dragon is the one to take it. This subtly unsettling novel is told from the viewpoint of a fourteen-year-old girl damaged by a past she can't talk about, in a hypnotic narrative that, while giving increasing insight, also becomes increasingly unreliable.

REVIEW

This will be a short review to avoid spoilersg. You’ll see in the review-at-a-glance graphic above that I avoided declaring a genre for this one. If pushed, I’d have to go for magic realist thriller (which I realise isn’t an official genre, but it’s the closest fit I can come up with). It’s more magic realist than full-on fantasy, dragon notwithstanding, as it clearly takes place in our world and the dragon is the only fantasy element. The thriller aspect is achieved by means of very close first-person narration by Evie, who is clearly hiding many things. The reader is left to tease out the fragments of information and decide where the half-truths and omissions lie.

This is a gorgeous treat of a read – which is an odd thing to say about such a trauma-filled book – due to its dark beauty and the lyricism of its prose. If the premise intrigues you at all, you should absolutely give it a go.

This is my initial comment on closing the book:

Beautiful, startling and tense. A real struggle to classify by genre, with magic realism elements within a coming-of-age narrative which, at times, feels like a psychological thriller. Evie’s anxieties, fears and development are conveyed perfectly; I have rarely felt I’ve known a character so thoroughly (especially given all the gaps in her narrative).

- Beth.

REVIEW: Unremembered - Jessica Brody

GENRE: YA

PAGES: 302

PUBLISHER: Macmillan Kids

FORMAT: PB

BUY IT: Waterstones

RATING: 4 Stars

SUMMARY

When Freedom Airlines flight 121 went down over the Pacific Ocean, no one ever expected to find survivors. Which is why the sixteen-year-old girl discovered floating among the wreckage—alive—is making headlines across the globe. Even more strange is that her body is miraculously unharmed and she has no memories of boarding the plane. She has no memories of her life before the crash. She has no memories period. No one knows how she survived. No one knows why she wasn’t on the passenger manifest. And no one can explain why her DNA and fingerprints can’t be found in a single database in the world.

Crippled by a world she doesn’t know, plagued by abilities she doesn’t understand, and haunted by a looming threat she can’t remember, Seraphina struggles to piece together her forgotten past and discover who she really is. But with every clue only comes more questions. And she’s running out of time to answer them. Her only hope is a strangely alluring boy who claims to know her from before the crash. Who claims they were in love. But can she really trust him? And will he be able to protect her from the people who have been making her forget?

REVIEW

I'm lucky enough to have received an advance copy of this book from a rep and was immediately intrigued by its premise. I don't read contemporary novels very often but was glad that I picked this up. It errs towards science fiction and is as fast-paced as a spy thriller.

It's premise is great: A girl, named Violet by the nurses in hospital, is found floating in the ocean after a suspicious plane crash. After being placed with a foster family she becomes determined to find out where she comes from, and to also find out more about the mysterious boy who continues to follow her every move.

The Unremembered is a fantastically built novel. The suspense gradually grows into a high octane thriller that will have you gripping your seat. I was shocked time and time again by the abilities Violet discovers in herself and it was really fun to discover everything she can do at the same time she does. There were several times I was completely unsure how Violet was going to get out of the situations she gets in, which reminded me of the twists of The Hunger Games. You're never sure who to trust, or if any of her memories are ever real. It's not really a dystopian novel as such but will appeal to fans of these.

Thematically it centres are the themes of both love and scientific advancement, one a modern miracle and the other a timeless concept. It asks how love exists within us: Is it something that is lodged deep down and can't be erased or damaged as part of our brain? Is it a lingering part of a persons soul that can always react to someone you love? Or are there just different parts of our brains that are harder to damage? I really enjoyed these questions and finding out about Violet's past in the flashbacks as she 'restores' her memories.

One thought that struck me through the whole novel is how it seemed to pull the themes of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein into the modern age. Frankenstein asks us the price of scientific advancement and if it is worth sacrificing our humanity or morality. Unremembered asks these too, and also what faculties the modern world would demand of us if we were trying to recreate Dr. Frankenstein's Creature today. 

I highly recommend this book for adults, for teens, and even for younger readers ready to move up to teenage. I don't think there is anything in there that parents would have a problem with. Add this to your Goodreads and get pre-ordering, you won't be disappointed.

- Bex.

REVIEW: Adaptation - Malinda Lo

GENRE: Thriller
PAGES: 432
PUBLISHER: Hodder Children's
FORMAT: PB
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 4 Stars

SUMMARY

Flocks of birds are hurling themselves at aeroplanes across America. Thousands of people die. Millions are stranded. Everyone knows the world will never be the same. On Reese's long drive home, along a stretch of empty highway at night, a bird flies into their headlights. The car flips over. When they wake up in a military hospital, the doctor won't tell them what happened. For Reese, though, this is just the start. She can't remember anything from the time between her accident and the day she woke up almost a month later. She only knows one thing: she's different now. Torn between longtime crush David and new girl Amber, the real question is: who can she trust?

REVIEW

This was a really enjoyable, easy to read and captivating novel; I started reading it on Sunday morning and had finished it that evening as I couldn't put it down!

Resse is a great character, she is funny, quirky and whilst being thrown into an incredible situation, she deals with everything that comes to her whilst others may have given up. The blurb is deliberately vague, and as I don't want to give anything away - the shocks and twists and brilliant and they are what kept me reading all day - all I'll say is I loved the characters, the plot and the outcome! I can't wait to read Inheritance and find out what happens next.

- Gem

REVIEW: Impostor - Susanne Winnacker

GENRE: Fantasy
PAGES: 304
PUBLISHER: Hodder Children's Books
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 4.5 Stars

SUMMARY

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she's spent the last two years with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. There she trains with other Variants, such as long-term crush Alec, who each have their own extraordinary ability. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again. Tessa hates everything about being an impostor - the stress, the danger, the deceit - but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she'd do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.

REVIEW

The tagline on the back of my proof copy of this was "Veronica Mars meets X-men" so immediately this drew my attention as I love both of those things!

I really enjoyed this book, the plot was exciting and a brilliant blend of crime and the paranormal. I really sympathised with Tessa, she was given a really dangerous mission but despite this she does her best to try and track down the killer, all the while battling with her personal feelings about the situation she is now in (don't want to give away any spoilers though!).

I've read another of Susanne Winnacker's novels, The Other Life, and I really liked that too. In both novels the tension increased throughout and the ending was dramatic and intense. Impostor wrapped up the initial mystery well but given how well thought out all the elements were - the FEA etc. - I'm really glad there is going to be a sequel and I'll definitely be reading it!

- Gem.

REVIEW: Fire and Flood - Victoria Scott

GENRE: Fantasy
PAGES: 384

PUBLISHER: Chicken House
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 5 Stars

SUMMARY

Tella's brother is dying. He's got cancer, and Tella is helpless to save him. Or so she thought. When an invitation arrives for Tella to compete in the Brimstone Bleed, a deadly competition that will lead her through treacherous jungle and scorching desert, she doesn't think twice. Because the prize is a cure to any illness. But Tella will be facing more than just the elements.

REVIEW

I was so surprised by this book, the blurb makes it sound a bit Hunger Games-ish, but it is SO MUCH BETTER than that! It has a fantastic and unique twist that makes the plot unlike any other YA book I've read. Tella is a brilliant character; she's brave, feisty, determined but above all she feels "real". Coming from the present world, not a dystopian world, makes it much easier to relate to her as she strives to reach the end of the trials. I laughed out loud lots of times, and I also sobbed my eyes out at least twice! I can't wait for book 2.

- Gem.

REVIEW: Stella - Helen Eve

GENRE: Contemporary
PAGES: 368

PUBLISHER: Macmillan Children's Books
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 5 Stars

This review refers to an uncorrected advance edition.

SUMMARY

17-year-old Stella Hamilton is the star blazing at the heart of Temperley High. Leader of the maliciously exclusive elite, she is surrounded by adulation; envied and lusted after in equal measure. And she is in the final stage of a five-year campaign to achieve her destiny: love with her equally popular male equivalent, and triumph as Head Girl on election night. By contrast, new girl Caitlin Clarke has until now lived a quietly conformist life in New York. With the collapse of her parents' marriage she has been sent across the Atlantic for an English boarding school education, only to discover that at Temperley, the only important rules are the unwritten ones. It's a world of the beautiful and the dangerous, and acceptance means staying on the right side of Stella Hamilton, the most beautiful and dangerous of them all. Not everyone is happy to be under the Hamilton rule. But fighting the system means treading the same dark path as Stella - and if Caitlin puts a foot wrong, it's a long way down ...

REVIEW

This is a fantastic YA thriller - think Mean Girls meets Pretty Little Liars with a heck of a lot more venom thrown in!

The dual narrative by Stella and Caitlin was brilliant, it allowed insight into each characters thoughts as things got more and more complicated and heated. Each chapter provides more revelations into Stella's past and Caitlin's developing character and your alliances to characters change consistently. 

This is a really dark tale of friendship, romance, obsession and power play... I loved it!

- Gem.

REVIEW: The Bunker Diary - Kevin Brooks

GENRE: YA/Thriller

PAGES: 272
PUBLISHER: Penguin Books
FORMAT: PB
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 5 Stars

Please not that this review refers to an unedited advance copy.

SUMMARY

Room meets Lord of the Flies, The Bunker Diary is award-winning, young adult writer Kevin Brooks's pulse-pounding exploration of what happens when your worst nightmare comes true - and how will you survive?

I can't believe I fell for it. It was still dark when I woke up this morning. As soon as my eyes opened I knew where I was. A low-ceilinged rectangular building made entirely of whitewashed concrete. There are six little rooms along the main corridor. There are no windows. No doors. The lift is the only way in or out. What's he going to do to me? What am I going to do? If I'm right, the lift will come down in five minutes. It did. Only this time it wasn't empty...

REVIEW

The Bunker Diary appeared one day in my pigeonhole. I hadn't requested it, didn't know anything about it, and I've never read anything by Kevin Brooks before. Odd. They say that the right books find the right people in the end and if that's the case this book should find everybody. It is truly incredible. 

Linus is abducted and put in an old bunker, soon to be followed by 5 other people from completely different walks of life. No one knows why they're there but they're stuck. In each cell is a notebook, and the story is a transcribe of the day to day diary that Linus keeps. Linus is an incredible narrator. He is strong and humble and really likable. You will root for him against a faceless enemy. Its a cruel, horrible book in places. Its cold and nasty, but it will makes you understand how the human psyche reacts to these things. It will make you ask yourself how you would cope, what you would do. Would you give up and wait to die? Hope for rescue? Plan your escape? 

Kevin Brooks has created something incredibly special. He will play with your sympathies, make you feel claustrophobic even if you're reading this in the middle of a field, and probably terrify you too. The only limits he sticks to are the white concrete walls - psychologically he will make you experience everything. It's really hard to tell you the things I found so powerful about this because they lie in the events. Each one pushes you closer to madness and the end, dear God the end. For days afterwards - even now when I think about it - I couldn't quite believe how it ended. I can't even tell you why, I don't wanna give the impression of hope or hopelessness because you should really go in to this as blindly as possible. You need to experience these things with Linus. 

Since reading it, copies have spread around our staffroom like wildfire. Everyone has loved it and been affected by it. It will move you and force you to experience extremes of emotion: compassion, terror, confusion, greed, desperation, and even love to an extent. 

In a years time, when everyone has had chance to read this, I will write a spoiler-full post, more about what I thought about specifics event but until then it's over to you. Go and read it. You won't be disappointed. You won't be the same but you certainly won't be disappointed.

- Bex.