GUEST REVIEW: Solitaire - Alice Oseman

GENRE: Contemporary

PAGES: 400
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 5 Stars

This book is released in July and can be preordered in store now for a £3 deposit.

Find out details for the Solitaire launch party in Birmingham here.

SUMMARY

In case you're wondering, this is not a love story. My name is Tori Spring. I like to sleep and I like to blog. Last year - before all that stuff with Charlie and before I had to face the harsh realities of A-Levels and university applications and the fact that one day I really will have to start talking to people - I had friends. Things were very different, I guess, but that's all over now. Now there's Solitaire. And Michael Holden. I don't know what Solitaire are trying to do, and I don't care about Michael Holden. I really don't.

REVIEW

Oh God, I don’t even know where to start. I’ll begin with saying that this book is definitely a ten out of ten, and that I couldn’t fault it even if I tried. 

The protagonist, Victoria Spring (or Tori as she prefers to be called) is not a brave, out of this world character. But rather a real teenager that suffers through the days the same ways we do. I found that this was the main message of the book, not love or bravery or being above average, but being a teenager in this screwed up world, and how Tori grew as a person. She was so easy to relate to and I found myself on multiple occasions thinking to myself “That is literally me” or “THANK YOU for expressing my thoughts so perfectly!” The fact that she is so pessimistic and hates pretty much everyone, and simply can’t care makes it so easy for me to just relate to her. I also dislike many people at my school, I generally don’t get along with many people and just like Tori, I’d rather just sleep and blog. 

Michael Holden. Michael is one of those boys that you are likely to encounter at some point in your life. He’s not a strong, cool dude who everyone seems to love (I hate people who everyone loves), he’s a boy who is also trying to figure himself out, and figure the world around him. He’s real and honest. He’s also crazy and a bit weird, but that’s what made me love him. Lucas, Becky, Charlie and Nick are also very interesting side characters who make the book all that more interesting (and can I please have Becky’s hair??)

I loved that no one in this book seemed to be completely fine; no one seemed to have a perfect life either. Everyone had something going on, they all made mistakes, and that reflected life so perfectly. Even Solitaire, a blog that everyone suddenly started following and loving, made silly mistakes (like almost killing some people)- showing that even a strong figure that people look up to will make mistakes, and this reflected life so perfectly. 

The fandom mentions and school references (like PEE, ugh.), made the book even more real and agh, I love this book so much.

I did guess who was behind Solitaire quite early on (and got it right, whoop!), but the element of mystery was always there, and I was always second guessing myself and wondering whether I was just an idiot ha!

The ending of the book was not perfect, there was no real closure. But that’s what I loved most, the sheer honesty of it. Problems don’t get solved when you find romance or when you make up with your friends, some problems take years to go away, and some never do. 

I cannot recommend this book enough, go and preorder it ASAP if you haven’t already. Alice Oseman is going to be famous, I just know it. 

Also, follow Alice’s blog ( http://chronicintrovert.tumblr.com/ ) and her twitter. ( https://twitter.com/AliceOseman )

Thank you to Harper Collins for sending me the book, follow them on twitter too!( https://twitter.com/HarperCollinsCh )

- Maryam

Solitaire Book Launch Party!

We can now officially announce that we are so lucky to be hosting the Launch Party for Alice Oseman's Solitaire!

You might not have heard of this book yet. It's brand new. We announced it at our TFIOS party and here's what Alice had to say:

"Hello everyone!

I’m Alice Oseman, I’m nineteen years old and on the 31st of July, the amazing people of YA Birmingham are hosting the book launch for my debut novel, Solitaire. It’s going to be extra fabulous and you are all invited.

Solitaire is a coming-of-age story about a very pessimistic and very sarcastic sixteen-year-old girl named Tori Spring, who hates everything and is probably in love with her laptop. It’s also about an online group of prankers who decide they’re going to wreak havoc at Tori’s school. Tori Spring does not advise that you buy my book, but I strongly disagree. It has lots of awkwardness, many spectacular school pranks, a very annoying boy with glasses named Michael Holden, some Sherlock-style mystery-solving, numerous Tumblr references and teenage bloggers who get a bit carried away with themselves. It is definitely not a love story.

As you can imagine, I am very excited about all this and would love it if you could come to my launch, even if it is just to watch me drinking lots of wine and hyperventilating from excitement. I will draw pretty pictures in your copy of Solitaire, should you decide to buy one. And I’ll love you forever.

Hope to see you there!

Love Alice xxxxx"

We really think you're going to love Solitaire. If you've read Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell and loved it, then I guarantee you will adore this because it's 10 times better. And British. How many books open with an argument about Harry Potter Fandoms?? 

At 19 years old Alice really is an inspiration to anyone who thinks they can't get published. Come along to the launch and meet Alice and our big YA Birmingham supporters. She'll tell you about the book and answer any questions you have about the book and about writing.

We're going to have loads of lovely cakes and plenty of Diet Lemonade (and maybe something a little stronger for over 18s). You'll get your books signed and doodled on publication day and be part of something really special. I'm not joking when I tell you that Alice is going to be a massive star. 

See more about it on the Waterstones website

Find out more about YA Birmingham's events.

Visit Alice Oseman's blog.

The launch is on the 31st of July at 7pm. Tickets are just £1 and are available in store or on 0121 633 4353. This is your chance to meet an amazing up-and-coming author before anyone else!

YA Birmingham is proud to support Alice and Solitaire, young and British authors, and awesome literature on the YA scene.