Genre: Literary fiction, contemporary

Publication date: 20th October 2016 by Hamish Hamilton

Format: Hardcover purchased from Waterstone’s

Autumn. Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness. That’s what it felt like for Keats in 1819. How about Autumn 2016? Daniel is a century old. Elisabeth, born in 1984, has her eye on the future. The United Kingdom is in pieces, divided by a historic, once-in-a-generation summer.Love is won, love is lost. Hope is hand-in-hand with hopelessness. The seasons roll round, as ever. 

Ali Smith’s new novel is a meditation on a world growing ever more bordered and exclusive, on what richness and worth are, on what harvest means. It is the first instalment of her Seasonal quartet–four stand-alone books, separate yet interconnected and cyclical (as the seasons are)–and it casts an eye over our own time. Who are we? 

What are we made of? Shakespearean jeu d’esprit, Keatsian melancholy, the sheer bright energy of 1960s pop art: the centuries cast their eyes over our own history making. 

Here’s where we’re living. Here’s time at its most contemporaneous and its most cyclic. 

From the imagination of the peerless Ali Smith comes a shape-shifting series, wide-ranging in time-scale and light-footed through histories, a story about ageing and time and love and stories themselves.

(from goodreads.com)

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Autumn is one of those books that I struggle to review. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and as the first Ali Smith novel I have read (I have previously read some of her short stories), it was interesting to see her writing style in a longer text.

There is something about Ali Smith’s writing style that I really enjoy. It ebbs and flows, digressing in seemingly random places but everything works perfectly. I was surprised at how quickly I read it, but it was because of the writing. Nothing was stilted, though the plot is fairly difficult to nail down. I’m definitely a fan of her writing – though I can completely see why some people may not be – and I will be picking up more of her work in the future for sure. She is a true storyteller, with her words being flaunted throughout the book, and her story is powerful and beautiful.

It’s difficult to review this and talk about the characters and the plot because they all come and go. We do follow their growth and development, but it is so interrupted that it is almost difficult to follow – we just seem to end up with fully fleshed out characters. Effortless, is a good description of the reading process, I’d say. The prominent characters, Elisabeth and Daniel, were well developed and interesting, and I loved their relationship, and the way that grows and changes as the novel progresses.

The social commentary within this book is what makes it so important and relevant. I believe it was hailed as the ‘first Brexit book’ – whether that is true or not, I’m not sure. I do think it captured the feeling of both sides perfectly as they were after the vote. The portrayal of the hostility towards those deemed ‘foreign’ and the way other people responded to this hate, was extremely well done. Difficult to read at some points, but that’s because of it being so accurate.

Overall, I really enjoyed Autumn. I easily got into it, thanks to the writing style. I’d definitely recommend it, as it is very thought-provoking, as well as a generally good story. In the current climate, it’s an important read.

Rating: 4 / 5 🌟

Genre: Graphic novel, YA

Publication date: 14th October 2014 by First Second

Format: Paperback copy purchased from Waterstone’s

Anda loves Coarsegold Online, the massively-multiplayer role-playing game where she spends most of her free time. It’s a place where she can be a leader, a fighter, a hero. It’s a place where she can meet people from all over the world, and make friends. 

But things become a lot more complicated when Anda befriends a gold farmer–a poor Chinese kid whose avatar in the game illegally collects valuable objects and then sells them to players from developed countries with money to burn. This behaviour is strictly against the rules in Coarsegold, but Anda soon comes to realize that questions of right and wrong are a lot less straightforward when a real person’s real livelihood is at stake. 

(from goodreads.com)

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The artwork and colour palette in this graphic novel is absolutely stunning. There were subtle changes in the colours to indicate a change in location and whether Anda is in the game or not, and it was just beautifully executed. I fell completely in love with the illustrations, they made this graphic novel for me.

The plot was very different – I’m not usually one to pick up things related to gaming though, so I may be wrong. I found it relatively easy to keep up with, despite not being very familiar with gaming as a hobby. I loved the fact that the main character was female; I feel like games are predominantly thought of as a male hobby, so it was fantastic to see that the respected players were female.

I also enjoyed the link across cultures covered in this book, with a friendship forming between Anda in America and ‘Raymond’ in China. It was interesting to see how the authors/illustrators decided to discuss the differences between them – how they struggled with finances in completely different ways. In the introduction by Cory Doctorow, he describes it as a book about economics, and indeed it is, but it is discussed in a much more interesting (and colourful) way.

Anda’s character is a particular favourite of mine – she’s just a normal girl, I guess – no superpower or anything like that is what I’m trying to get at. She’s an average girl who happens to be very good at gaming and wants to help people. She’s thrilled at being chosen to get involved in the first place and wants to please her ‘Sarge’, and then, later on, wants to help her new friend. She’s a good person, but complex too, and we see her conflict as she tries to help her friend in a different country, but please (and obey) her parents at the same time. I just really, really liked her character and her development (I’m struggling to elaborate without adding spoilers!).

I really enjoyed this graphic novel, especially as I was unsure about picking it up in the first place. Knowing very little about gaming didn’t impact my reading of it – as I have seen some people say – but maybe I would have enjoyed it more, had I more interest in games. The illustrations in it were simply gorgeous and were 100% the reason for me picking it up in the first place, and they definitely didn’t disappoint in reading it.

Rating: 4 / 5 🌟

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Genre: Mystery, crime fiction

Publication Date: 13th July 2017 by Hodder & Stoughton

Format: eARC from HarperCollins via Edelweiss

A shocking mass-murder occurs at a wedding in a small Dales church and a huge manhunt follows. Eventually, the shooter is run to ground and things take their inevitable course.

But Banks is plagued with doubts as to exactly what happened outside the church that day, and why. Struggling with the death of his first serious girlfriend and the return of profiler Jenny Fuller into his life, Banks feels the need to dig deeper into the murders, and as he does so, he uncovers forensic and psychological puzzles that lead him to the past secrets that might just provide the answers he is looking for.

When the surprising truth becomes clear, it is almost too late.

(from goodreads.com)

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NOTE: This review is from my mum, who is a longtime fan of Peter Robinson’s books. Personally, I do enjoy them, and whilst they can be read as standalone books, I do want to read them in order, but I’m not far through the series, as crime is not a genre I often opt for. 

Having read every novel written by Peter Robinson, I eagerly awaited the release of his latest novel. And it didn’t disappoint.

Usually it takes me a chapter or so to settle into a new story but Sleeping in the Ground had me gripped from the very first page. The reader is plunged straight into the scene of the crime, with a detailed description, that is both eloquent and shocking, of the events that unfold and is therefore drawn into the plot immediately. Each of the old characters are then introduced, which expertly takes you back into the familiar world of DCI Banks and his team (though strictly speaking, now Detective Superintendent Banks). The characters interact with the easy familiarity of a team who have worked together on many occasions, fitting back into their roles instantly recognisable by the reader. Old characters are also reintroduced.

The book is centred around a mass murder at an English country wedding and has enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested throughout. The main characters slot back into familiar patterns, pulling the reader into the plot. But these characters, who feel like old friends, also continue to grow as you learn more about them. The story jumps from one aspect of the investigation to the next, from past relationships to present life events, but in a logical way that doesn’t leave you desperately flicking from one chapter to another. Occasionally there are cliffhangers, often twists and surprises, but these just add to the enjoyment. As always, Peter Robinson handles the complexities of the plot and his characters brilliantly.

Another great novel by Peter Robinson. In my opinion, one of the best DCI Banks novels. Looking forward to the next one!

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Publication Date: January 9th, 2018 by Clarion Books

Format: eARC sent to me by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group via Netgalley

The only thing 17-year-old Jane Sinner hates more than failure is pity. After a personal crisis and her subsequent expulsion from high school, she’s going nowhere fast. Jane’s well-meaning parents push her to attend a high school completion program at the nearby Elbow River Community College, and she agrees, on one condition: she gets to move out.

 Jane tackles her housing problem by signing up for House of Orange, a student-run reality show that is basically Big Brother, but for Elbow River Students. Living away from home, the chance to win a car (used, but whatever), and a campus full of people who don’t know what she did in high school… what more could she want? Okay, maybe a family that understands why she’d rather turn to Freud than Jesus to make sense of her life, but she’ll settle for fifteen minutes in the proverbial spotlight.

 As House of Orange grows from a low-budget web series to a local TV show with fans and shoddy T-shirts, Jane finally has the chance to let her cynical, competitive nature thrive. She’ll use her growing fan base, and whatever Intro to Psychology can teach her, to prove to the world—or at least viewers of substandard TV—that she has what it takes to win.

(from goodreads.com)

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TW: depression, suicide

I haven’t read a book this hilarious in such a long time, the humour was sharp and sarcastic and best of all, real. Jane Sinner is such a realistic character, and I can already tell – despite finishing it on the 5th January – this will be one of my favourite books of the year.

Written in a journal style, I found it easy to understand Jane’s character and her relationship with others. It also allowed insight into Jane’s emotions regarding an event previous to the beginning of the story – her not mentioning it to begin with and later discussion makes it easy to comprehend her thoughts. I surprised myself by enjoying the way that the dialogue was written too, as it is written as a script. However it did mean that we don’t get as much depth to the other characters and they are perhaps not as fleshed out as they could have been, but I still found them to be interesting and well-developed.

As a character, Jane is perhaps “unlikeable”. Saying that, I actually loved her, but I can see why some may get annoyed by her constant dry wit and self-deprecation. This is a part of her that is startlingly real though, especially in teens. Her discussions of depression and suicide can come across as somewhat dismissive, as though she doesn’t quite believe in it. However, the format undermines this surface portrayal as her vulnerabilities are revealed as the story progresses, and she struggles a lot more than she would care to admit. I admire this book for taking this step. Depression and suicide are not romanticised in the slightest and they are also dealt with in a realistic way; Jane’s struggle, denial, acceptance, dark humour and coping mechanisms are all examples of this.

A lot of aspects of Jane’s character are relatable – her mannerisms, her behaviours, and also the fact that she is deeply flawed and recognises this. I mean, we’ve all embarrassed ourselves in public, multiple times. She does too, in small ways – like the average person, no ‘grand gestures gone wrong’ kind of thing – and I loved this.

There are a lot of passages which are quite raw, and the writing in this is absolutely wonderful. Not necessarily because it’s beautiful and poetic (much more difficult with a first-person narrative anyway, and Jane’s voice is very blunt), but because it reveals so much more than what is said. I genuinely don’t think I’ve read a YA book in a long while where so much has been packed into short extracts. Jane appears to brush off her experience – or the ‘event’, as she calls it – but it’s evident that there is so much more emotion than what she thinks she is showing. For a debut novel, I am incredibly impressed.

The plot was different and fun, and the challenges that the housemates have to compete in had me laughing aloud (and getting odd looks from strangers as I read it in public – oops). They were so ridiculous, but equally I didn’t feel like they were ‘cringey’ – just well thought out (and I mean, they’re students, and my uni experience so far tells me that students will go to any lengths to earn some cash… or food). Leading from this, the pranks that they pull on each other made me crack up. Jane’s plan to stop her food being stolen was just brilliant. The fact that it’s about the first year of college (though Jane is technically a minor to begin with), just made it more relatable and entertaining for me personally.

One thing to quickly mention is Jane’s views on religion. She leaves Christianity (before the book even begins – not a spoiler!) and is critical of the religion. Her thoughts and the developments that lead to her eventual leaving are discussed as the book goes on, and I enjoyed this. However, I have no love for religion in the slightest, so the criticism amused me more than anything (she does explain her arguments), but someone who is deeply religious may struggle with what she says (it completely depends on the individual here I think, a lot of people would be fine with it, whereas others may be more sensitive). It does not make up a massive part of the book, though I did feel it should be mentioned.

If I’m honest, I don’t think I can truly do this book justice in my review. I absolutely loved it. It takes on several difficult topics and deals with them well, and in an absolutely hilarious way. Well worth a read, I can already tell this is going to be a popular release of 2018.

Rating: 5 / 5 🌟

Genre: YA, Contemporary

Publication Date: April 6th, 2017 by Macmillan Children’s Books

Format: eARC from Pan Macmillan via Netgalley

Sometimes I feel like everyone else was handed a copy of the rules for life and mine got lost.

Grace has Asperger’s and her own way of looking at the world. She’s got a horse and a best friend who understand her, and that’s pretty much all she needs. But when Grace kisses Gabe and things start to change at home, the world doesn’t make much sense to her any more. 

Suddenly everything threatens to fall apart, and it’s up to Grace to fix it on her own.

(from goodreads.com)

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This release was really popular when it came out, and it is one of the few books I have seen/read where the main character has Asperger’s. I had high hopes for it due to the hype, and it lived up to my expectations, that’s for sure. It was refreshing and honest and though I cannot comment personally on how Asperger’s can impact someone’s life, it appears to be a sensitive and thoughtful representation (I am going off other comments I have seen so I may be completely wrong. Please correct me if that is the case).

Grace was a wonderful, complex character, with a lot of development throughout the novel. I don’t just mean in terms of her Asperger’s – she is portrayed as more than that (thankfully – I’ve read too many books where a character is merely a tool for discussion). Yes, she has Asperger’s and it does influence a large part of the novel, but there is a lot of development in other aspects of her character too; relationships, personality, hobbies, etc.  Her relationships with a whole number of people – and also animals – are beautifully portrayed and very much make this book a fantastic one.

That being said, a lot of the other characters come across as fairly underdeveloped and simple, in that there is little else to them besides someone for Grace to communicate/interact with. I would have preferred more detail in these characters – her sister, love interest etc – just to make this communication more realistic and believable.

Grace’s mother was the main problem I had with this book. She was awful. I know that sometimes it is frustrating coping with someone when you can’t work out what is best for them, but it was throughout pretty much the entire book. I just find it hard to believe that she doesn’t understand her daughter at all – they seem so distant throughout – I mean, I know relationships can be strained, but it just didn’t seem realistic to me.

Other than those issues, which I didn’t find to impact my reading that much if I’m honest (I got too sucked into the story to notice the undeveloped characters until afterwards, and Grace’s mother just annoyed me a bit), I really loved this book. I would highly recommend picking it up, as it’s a new perspective – I haven’t seen books with a character with Asperger’s, I could just be reading the wrong books though – and it is done well. I really enjoyed it, and will definitely be reading other works by this author.

Rating: 4.5 / 5 🌟

Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Mythology

Publication Date: June 28th, 2005

Format: Paperback published by Puffin Books

Look, I didn’t want to be a half-blood. I never asked to be the son of a greek god.

I was just a normal kid, going to school, playing basketball, skateboarding. The usual. Until I accidentally vaporized my maths teacher. Now I spend my time battling monsters and generally trying to stay alive.

This is the one where Zeus, God of the Sky, thinks I’ve stolen his lightning bolt – and making Zeus angry is a very bad idea.

(from goodreads.com)

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This was so good. Everyone raves on and on about these books, and now I can see why. There are so many things to love about it, and I will cover some, but I also plan on reviewing later books in the series, and I want to see how some things develop.

The narrative voice is incredibly readable. It hooks you in with its informal, chatty tone and makes you feel as though you’re listening to a friend recounting the events of their summer to you (albeit very dramatic events). It made it an easy read, perfect after some of the books I’ve read recently (I’m looking at you, Dostoevsky), and I was drawn into the story straight away. I felt as though I left 2017 bordering on entering a reading slump, but that reading slump has definitely been avoided.

Character development in this is just brilliant. I felt like I got to know Percy, to see him grow and develop. How this continues in the later books, I have yet to find out, as character growth is unavoidable in a plot like this – Percy has to discover facts about himself for the story to unfold. Regardless, it is done well. He has to figure things out for himself – they aren’t just suddenly apparent. I, therefore, have high hopes for this to be continued throughout the series.

I loved the integration of the mythology. Okay, I know it’s pretty essential for these books to have mythology woven into the plot, yet it is the subtle mention of smaller stories that aren’t necessarily important for the plot’s progression, but add a bit of background to the characters and make it all a little more interesting. I love Greek mythology, and I’ve read plenty of the myths before, though they never seemed to stick in my mind – but I feel like reading these books may be different. I hope so, anyway.

I cannot wait to continue on with this series, and then onto the rest of Rick Riordan’s books. I initially read this both because of ‘pressure’ from my best friend Hannah, but mainly because of the readalong she is hosting. (Both Hannah’s blog and the Epic Riordan Readalong Youtube channel are linked.) All I can say is I wish I had read these sooner, but at least I’ve started them now, and I can’t wait to find out how the events unfold.

Rating: 5 / 5🌟