Tag: young adult

Sunday Seven: My Next YA Reads!

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After having to read so many heavy (and sometimes dull) novels for my degree I decided to push the boat out and buy myself a stack of YA novels to get me through the summer months. More daylight means more reading, right? So for this week here are 7 of my next YA reads! I’m also on Goodreads if any of you would like to connect (link on the right of my homepage).

 

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A ‘Study Machine’ who cares for nothing else bust grades meets a fellow genius, after a podcast reveals more than it should both of their lives start to collapse. I won’t lie I was drawn to this initially by the title and cover, then I read the synopsis and was hooked. I can’t wait to get stuck in.

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After being told that they can’t afford to be taught at home anymore conjoined twins Grace and Tippi need to get the hang of the ‘outside’ world fast. They may have defied the odds medically their whole lives, but can they handle high school? This is something so different I needed to pick it up. I’ve always been interested in twins, but I’ve never read about conjoined twins, very exciting.

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Parker has his own set of rules don’t deceive him…especially using his blindness, don’t be weird and don’t betray him. It’s a fact that we need more books with disability in them and so I picked up Lindstrom’s novel off of the table in the book shop. I haven’t heard anything about this book but I’m hoping it’s going to be great.

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Despite being best friends for years, Caddy has always wanted to be more like Rosie and when Suzanne shows up she learns that a little trouble can also be fun. I keep seeing this novel everywhere and I caved and picked it up. It’s going to be interesting to see the effect that a third friend has on their relationship and just how much trouble they can get away with.

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Being allergic to everything sucks, being stuck inside your house and not seeing anyone but your Mum and your Nurse sucks…cute boy moving in next door? Now THAT might be interesting. I am really on the fence about this novel, the protagonist has a rare disease which means she is allergic to everything, when she see’s the new boy next door her thoughts start to change and she thinks that maybe she should start taking risks. I’m a little sceptical because it sounds like the whole, ‘this boy is going to save me even though the medical world can’t’ thing BUT I reserve judgement and hope that isn’t the case.

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What would you do if a character from your favourite story came to life? Jodi Picoult is one of my favourite authors EVER. So why haven’t I picked up the YA Novel she wrote with her daughter? I have no idea but it’ll certainly be interesting to see her writing style combined with her daughters.

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Auggie has always been different and now it’s time for him to finally go to school for the 5th grade. As well as living with a facial disfigurement Auggie has to make friends and deal with others who don’t want to give him a chance. I’m reading this at the moment and it’s already melting my heart. I haven’t seen ONE negative review of this novel, fingers crossed it stays as good as it currently is.

 

How about you guys? Anything to add to my list or have you already read any of them? Drop me a message in the comments below and let me know!

If I Stay – Gayle Forman

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After a fatal car crash that leaves 17 year old Mia barely alive, she has to make a choice to live or die, after being certain she has lost both of her parents. As she watches her family and friends come to terms with the disaster as she separates from her body she needs to decide. Will she let go and follow her parents into the unknown or fight to come back

As with many other people I became aware of this novel because of its film release, at the time it hadn’t been released and I haven’t seen the movie as I write this. I’d heard good things about the novel and so I decided I’d pick it up and give it a go. It’s certainly a difficult novel and at times can be slightly graphic. We’re guided through the novel by Mia herself as she struggles to watch the rest of the day unfold. All she can do is watch and listen. Her family, friends and boyfriend are all willing her to come back and it’s up to Mia to decide if that’s enough for her.

Although I like the idea, the novel didn’t particularly stand out to me. The novel is fairly short and sways between the present and past and gives us a good insight into Mia’s life before the accident. I found it hard to connect to the story, of course it made me sad, but I didn’t feel a deep rooted connection to Mia or the characters around her. That said, I did feel an incredible connection in relation to how she felt about her music and the prospect of being a musician and this added to the sense of tragedy. If anything I would have loved more insight into her love of music and her hopes and dreams, although maybe this was intentional.

Forman questions something that few of us will even consider thinking about, would you chose to live after losing so many people you love, if you had the choice? Many of us would instantly say we’d choose life, but would we? This is not the first novel of its kind, however, it is the first for young adult readers, it makes them think. I makes the reader consider a life without their loved ones and the choices and sacrifices that are made every day. I wouldn’t say that the novel is morbid in that respect but it deals with death in quite a straightforward way, for Mia it appears to be more of an escape. It also raises the question of  life after trauma. We have no idea how Mia will be affected by her injuries if she decides to live. Will she play Cello again? Will her dream of going to Juilliard be snatched away from her as her parents were? Is her younger brother Teddy, whom she adores, still alive? As I said it is a novel full of questions and what if situations.

If anything I’d say that the book could have been longer. Although well written, there was so much crammed into the book that at times I felt rushed through. I wanted to know the smaller details, memories and possibly more about more minor characters in the novel to give them a bit more life within the novel. Also what about afterwards? If she decides to die, does she meet her family? If she lives do her dreams come true? I guess to an extent this leaves us to make up our own minds but I wish this was included in the novel.

I give this novel 3 stars ***. I liked the idea and found Mia to be a nice character but failed to interact with her as a person. I also found that I was hungry for more at the end of the novel and felt that it could have had a better ending or more to it maybe? If you’re looking for a shorter read that raises questions then If I Stay may well be for you but I simply found that there was too much left unanswered at the end.

 

Review by Chloe Metzger

Book Review: Am I Normal Yet – Holly Bourne

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All Evie wants is to be normal. She’s almost off her meds and at a new college where no one knows her as the girl-who-went-crazy.

Evie’s been the ‘crazy girl’ throughout school when her OCD took hold of her and everyone viewed as that and that alone. Now she has a fresh start she’s under control, apart from her annoying therapist, no one knows about her past so now she wants to be normal. The thing is normal isn’t as easy as it looks she needs to find some friends, find a boyfriend and have absolutely no one find out. Oh and getting rid of the medication is a good deal too.

This is the second of Holly’s novels that I’ve ready and she solidified her place in my top 5 authors of all time. There is no doubt that Holly can write but the most amazing thing is that she can make the mind of a teenager come alive on the pages. Am I Normal Yet is different though because it also raises awareness of what it’s really like to live with a mental health condition as a young person right now.

Speaking as someone who has been through mental health and is still going through it now I think that Evie’s fears and anxieties are real. I don’t have OCD but there are a lot of overlapping fears, especially when you start somewhere new. Do I tell my new friends? How will they react? Why am I on these meds? I hate my meds. What’s the point of all this? Am I crazy? Am I doing enough normal things? The list goes on and on. Bourne captures this perfectly. She also makes it clear

The medication debate is a big one too and I’m really pleased at it is finally in literature for young adults. Medication is a strongly debated subject specifically in regards to young people, it seems that everyone has an opinion on this and they don’t really understand. Medication is a very personal choice for some people it works, for some people it doesn’t I’ve met people on both sides. It’s sad that people are made to feel like they are somehow ‘fake’ if they take medication to help stabilize their illness, you wouldn’t ask a diabetic to stop taking their insulin.

There was also something unexpected in the novel too, it talks about feminism in a totally unapologetic way the girls aren’t just going out of their way to meet boys or talk about boys. In fact that’s even a point in the novel they swear to have conversations that don’t even mention boys. It’s actually pretty refreshing, of course relationships feature but they’re not the absolute only thing.

Of course I’m giving this novel five stars *****. Bourne is one of my favourite authors for a reason and I think I love Am I Normal Yet more than I did The Manifesto on how to be Interesting (check out that review too if you like the sound of Holly, she won’t dissapoint). Holly has a third book that I am yet to read which was her debut called Soulmates, so I’ll be reading and reviewing that soon too. As always well done Holly another fantastic novel.

Book Review: Only Ever Yours – Louise O’Neill

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‘I’m a good girl. I am pretty. I am always happy-go-lucky.’

freida and isabel (intentionally lowercase)are finally in their final year at the school, all of their training will finally come in use as they fight to become companions for the wealthy young men who will come to choose them. The girls are high in ranking and expected to breeze into their lives as companions, that is until isabel does the unthinkable, she starts to gain weight. Can freida save them both in time?

I want to start this review by saying that I was surprised by this novel, it’s not something that I would usually pick up but the blurb was intriguing and the cover was more than a little creepy. I don’t think I was fully prepared for the novel and the social implications that it covers, because they’re not explicitly advertised. I’d have to say that there are some strong crossovers with that I know about The Handmaid’s Tale. It’s definitely different to novels that I normally read and it’s made me a lot more interested in dystopian fiction, so we’re on a good start!

So, a little background information, the novel is set in a world far into the future. Children are now created and only boys are brought up and given opportunities, girls are sent to the school to learn the ways of a perfect woman, be judged, ranked and immaculately dressed. They are told the importance of breeding healthy sons until they are deemed no longer useful. For those who are not chosen to live as Companions, live the lives of the Courtesans whose ambition is to sexually please the men of the world.

As I previously mentioned, the eves as they are named, all have lower case letters, they are not deemed important enough for a capital letter in their name. O’Neill makes a strong case for examining how we look at beauty and how we judge young women, yes we are not in the state that plays out in the book but how do we look at beauty and young women? There is an incredibly strong and well thought out message of feminism and the whole modern concept of a woman, we focus so much on our looks and being ‘ranked’ by other people on social media, it’s a scary glimpse into a terrifying world.

This is generally a fast paced and eerie novel, I loved the ideas and especially the relationship between freida and isabel. The girls aren’t given love or anything in terms of a motherly relationship so the relationship they share is even more incredible. Some people have argued that parts have a mean girls type feel and I can see where their coming from but I feel like it’s a lot deeper.

I’m giving this novel four stars ****! While I think it was very well done, cleverly put together and seeing as this is a debut novel (!!) we can expect great things from Louise O’Neill, she’s not afraid to tackle unpleasantness and things that we would rather not think about. The only thing I wasn’t that keen on was the ending of the novel, it wasn’t that it was bad, it just wasn’t what I was expecting. I’d love to hear what all of you think of the ending, so give me a comment below! Now, excuse me while I try and find a copy of O’Neill’s latest novel ‘Asking For It’, what seems like it’s going to be another unflinching novel.

Next Week’s Review: The Skeleton Cupboard

All reviews by Chloe Metzger and are not sponsored.

Book Review: The Manifesto on How to be Interesting – Holly bourne

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‘Apparently I’m boring. A nobody. But that’s all about to change.’ 

Meet Bree, she’s not popular, she’s not pretty and by the age of seventeen she’s already a failed novelist. Her school life bores her and it’s not like she has a great relationship with her parents either, she’s just too different. After being given some advice to be more open Bree has an idea, she’s going to conduct an experiment and find out how to be interesting and she’ll risk anything to find out.

How do I even begin to describe Holly Bourne’s incredible novel. I picked this up a few years ago, I’d never heard of Holly but saw her speaking at a Young Adult book fair. To say that I’m glad I picked this novel up would be an understatement, it’s a serious contender for one of my favourite YA novels ever. I mean ever. With it’s bright pink and black cover it screams out from the shelf but the idea of the novel jumped out at me to. I mean who hasn’t wanted to feel more interesting growing up?

The character of Bree felt intensely real to me, I understood her and I think that there are so many teenagers who will. It’s that feeling of not quite being comfortable with who you are and mocking things around you because you’re not quite there yet. I used to do this a lot when I was younger purely because I was so anxious all the time and it was a great way to cover it up. In that respect I think Holly hits the nail on the head with her relevant depictions of what teenagers are really like today.

I loved the relationship between Bree and Holdo, because it reminded me of a personal relationship I have. My oldest friend at university is a guy called Joe and through my first year we were so much like Bree and Holdo and I didn’t really ‘get’ the girl thing. I could really understand both characters and their feelings throughout the novel. I think this novel also looks at how relationships have to adapt as you get older and the kind of differences a male and female friendship have. I adored Holdo as a character and just wanted to hug him throughout.

If I had to try and explain the novel without spoiling it I’d say it’s kind of like a Cady Heron Mean Girls esque vibe meets the online world. It’s been very cleverly done and also has a way of reminding you what is important in life and just how damn hard it is to be a teenager sometimes. Holly’s books have this impossibly positive vibe to them and I absolutely love it. I wish her novels had been around when I was a teenager because they could have certainly taught me something.

Of course I am going to give this novel five stars *****! It’s an absolutely incredible piece of writing and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve personally met Holly and she is one of the nicest authors I’ve ever met as well as being insanely talented. The novel is refreshing because it’s one of the very few characters I felt like could have easily been me at points in my life. I’d definitely recommend picking this up the next time you’re in a book shop, I can guarantee it will not disappoint.

Review by Chloe Metzger

Book Review: Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls – Lynn Weingarten

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‘It was like being in love, but more…And now, one year later , Delia is dead. 

I love a good suspense novel, after glancing at this I had to get it, because it just sounded too damn good. June and Delia were best friends, closer than sisters, until they grew apart, one night Delia dies but June knows that things don’t quite add up. They say it was suicide, but June is convinced it’s murder and will go to any lengths to find out the truth about her best friend.

This is the best kind of thriller, once you think you know what’s going to happen a twist comes out of nowhere and you’re floored and devouring the book to find out what happened. I give you fair warning Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls will keep you up all hours of the night not only reading it but also trying to work out what really happened, was it suicide? Did someone have a grudge against her to the point of murder? It helps that Delia is a character who is very unpredictable and June knows it.

I thought the character of June was well written, there is really hurt, pain and confusion that you can feel as you read the book. I felt that she was very real to the reader, with her own feelings and problems outside her search for Delia. I found the book similar to Far From You but in a good way because both have completely different characters and endings. If you like this novel that is another one to check out later.

There are a lot of suspects in this novel, people who could have murdered her and it drove me half crazy as I came up with theories for each and every one of them, not once did I get to the truth. The fact that I never got it but the ending was so well planned really made me amazed at Weingarten’s talent as an author, I think she is definitely one to watch in YA literature and I wouldn’t be surprised if this made a great film later on. I saw that because this would make a much better film plot than Gone Girl ever did.

Of course I’m going to give this review 5 stars *****!!! This really is a brilliant book and I’m so pleased my book club chose this as the novel to read for this month, it’s brilliant. I’m now planning to read the rest of Weingarten’s novels and hope they are just as addictive and satisfying as Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls. I hope you all enjoy and please let me know your thoughts. Have you read any other Weingarten novels? Or have you read Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls already? As always let me know in the comments!

Book Review: It’s Kind Of A Funny Story – Ned Vizzini

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“Sometimes I just think depression’s one way of coping with the world. Like, some people get drunk, some people do drugs, some people get depressed. Because there’s so much stuff out there that you have to do something to deal with it.”

Craig has a good life, he goes to a top school in New York, has a loving family and a good group of friends. Craig is also depressed. After deciding he doesn’t want or need to take his medication any more, a few nights later he decides that he’s going to kill himself. But something stops him that night and he finds himself checking into a psychiatric ward and into a completely new world. To get better a lot has to change and Craig has to get to know himself.

There are books in life that somehow just explain your life. They make you feel like you’re not alone and you’re not as crazy as you thought you were. For me, It’s Kind of a funny story was like that. I’ve only ever read one other book that understood how I felt was The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. You see, Vizzini’s main character Craig is a perfectionist, he wants success and if one thing goes wrong he spirals he starts to ‘cycle’ which, if you’ve never experienced it is a bad thing. Thoughts keep coming and coming until you can’t think straight,sometimes you feel like you can’t breathe. His high ambition and determination takes over his life to the point that the majority of his cycles are about the work he’s going (or lack of it).

A few people have criticised some of the actions of the teenagers on the ward and I’ll admit that, at first, I was sceptical and thought could things like this really happen? Then I remembered I was reading about teenagers, and I think that’s something you have to keep in mind while reading this novel. Craig isn’t an adult and while some of the things he struggles with might be hard to understand as an adult I can fully remember these feelings and emotions as a teenager myself.

I can fully praise this novel for its portrayal of what it’s like to have a mental illness as a teenager and also for reiterating that you should never just stop taking your medication. I don’t think I’ve ever been able to read something and just feel every bit of what the character is going through; the anxiety, the need to achieve, thinking that you can handle everything when in fact you’re only slightly getting better and last but not least finding a creative way to release all the frustrations. The reason that Vizzini can write this so well is because he himself has lived it. Like Plath’s novel, Vizzini’s is semi autobiographical; he was in a mental health unit as a teenager. On a personal level, I don’t think that experience ever truly leaves you. I’m inspired by him and incredibly saddened to learn that he took his own life a few years ago.

I want to give this novel five stars *****. This really is something else, not only is there a positive portrayal of young people with mental health conditions but also of teenagers in general. Craig does nothing wrong except try, and I think that’s more common than a lot of people realise. People with mental health problems can have a perfectionist side, which without help can take over, I certainly know mine does. I want everyone to read this because it is amazing, educational and I found that it really gave me some hope and someone to connect with. Go and pick a copy up now!

Review by Chloe Metzger

What I’m reading: August Bookhaul!

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Hello to my lovely readers! It’s time for this months book haul and this month it’s more than my normal six books because I won an amazon voucher for some writing I did for Endsleigh Student Insurance company!

This months books are a mix of shop bought, reccommendations and a few on the amazon 3 for £10 offer that I am in love with. So here we go!

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Pretty Think – Jennifer Nadel 

This was one of my recent finds in the YA section at Waterstone’s it was tucked away but immediately got my attention. A teenage girl, an older man and attacks happening around town? Count me in.

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The Tiny Wife – Andrew Kaufman 

Another one of my wandering finds as I was looking for another one of Kaufman’s book (which I’ll talk about later) the plot sounded weird and wacky and the Tiny Wife is one of many characters in this book. It’s really short and I’m very excited!

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Never Always Sometimes – Adi Alsaid 

This was recommended to me by my friend Becky who I met at book club. It’s a typical boy/girl YA read by the looks of things and I’ve already started it. It’s not as exciting as I hoped for but I still have a fair bit of it left so hopefully it will pick up!

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All my friends are superheroes – Andrew Kaufman

Just the title of this grabbed me, I read it in one sitting the day I bought it and I am SO glad that I picked it up! There are awesome illustrations, great original ideas and I’d happily read this again. This is the special 10th anniversary edition with more superheroes in it, I’d recommend paying the extra!

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Hope in a Ballet Shoe -Michaela and Elaine DePrince

I love stories of going against the odds and winning, I suppose they speak to me on a personal level. I’d been looking at this book for a while, so when I saw it on 3 for £10 I had to get it. I’m really hoping this will be a great memoir.

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Yes Please – Amy Poehler

I haven’t watched a lot of Amy Poehler, but from what I have she’s funny. Funny is good. Last month I chose to read Lena Dunhams Not that kind of girl instead of this. It was awful so this month I decided to give Yes Please a go. I hope it’s better, a lot better.

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How I Lost You – Jenny Blackhurst 

I had to have a thriller in there didn’t I! I love these kinds of novels, a little dark, a lot of secrets. The main character was charged with murdering her baby son and sent to a psychiatric hospital, but what if they lied? I’m sure I’ll be up all hours reading this.

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Extraordinary Means – Robyn Schneider 

Another YA novel, this time about a sick teen who gets sent to boarding school, he believes to die. Then he meets some trickster loving friends. This novel has a big of a TFIOS feel about it but with less love and more laughs, I hope I’m right!

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The Day We Disappeared – Lucy Robinson

A chance buy on this one, two women running away from something the reader doesn’t know about. Sounds interesting and some good reviews!

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Bad Feminist (A Collection of essays)  – Roxane Gay

I watched Roxane Gay’s Ted Talk about this collection and ever since I’ve had to read it. It just spoke to me, this things she mentioned I found myself nodding along with and after just reading the introduction I’m already excited because this seems like someone who really knows what she’s talking about, especially as a young woman. I’m so excited about this one!

These are my 10 books for this month and I’m planning to get through all of them by the end of the month. Have any of you read these or would you like to read them, let me know!!

On the topic of books, my reviews are every Thursday with the following for the rest of the month:

20th – It’s Kind of a Funny Story

27th- The Fever

3rd (September) – 15 Reasons Why

10th – We are completely beside ourselves

17th – Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls  

My First Book Club!

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Yesterday was a busy day, after spending most of the day in the office at Kingston Hill working on The Student Room for results day I was pretty exhausted by the evening. I could have easily gone home, microwaved something and curled up in bed but I’d been looking forward to my first Young Adult Book Club all month talking about Ned Vizzini’s It’s Kind of a Funny Story which is next Thursday’s review. Book Club is something I’ve never done before and after missing out last month because of Basingstoke Live so I was determined to go.

Buuuuuut, determination is hard when you’re anxious. As usual my anxiety reared its head as I was walking to town with thoughts swimming around my brain. What if everyone knows each other? What if I’m the oldest? What if no one shares the same opinion as me?! Part of me wanted to run (ha, I wish I mean struggle to quick walk) away and forget about it.

As usual the staff at my local Waterstone’s were lovely and engaging. I got there half an hour early and had a lot of conversations with different members of staff and got compliments about my jumper again ( It’s says – Me? Wrong? Never. on it and it went down a storm at the office). Then I bumped into a girl who bonded with me over books we loved and that’s just the beginning.

At this point let me introduce Becky who is scarily similar to me and feels like she’s been a friend for years! I think she’ll feature on my blog again! We hit it off straight away, she’s heard of my band (!!) and ended up talking way after the evening had finished. The only worry that came of my anxieties was that I was the oldest non staff member of the group, but that didn’t matter. The girls were great and I’m already thinking of some people from uni I want to bring down.

It was a big step for me tonight to do this when I didn’t know anyone. It’s the kind of situation that makes me incredibly anxious and panicky but I did. It’s nice to do something that only I’m really interested in and meet other people who like it too. I’m definitely going to be going for the rest of the year which is super exciting and something to look forward to every month. So I would say it was a success! I also treated myself because I was proud with two next YA books (of course), a new fox keyring, some pens, an about me type book, a to-do notebook, a new academic diary, Harry Potter Pop and some brightly coloured pens! 🙂

Are there any other YA readers out there who can give me some good recommendations?! Throw them my way!

Book Review: The Baby- Lisa Drakeford

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1 party, 5 friends, 1 unexpected guest.

Imagine you’re in the middle of your 17th birthday party, drinks are flowing and your having a great time when you realise you haven’t seen your best friend in a while. You’re not ready for what you find. Your friend is on your bathroom floor about to give birth to a baby you know nothing about, and apparently neither did she. Olivia’s head is spinning as she has to help her best friend Nicola deliver the baby. Little does she know this baby will blow their friendship group apart. This is the start of Lisa Drakeford’s novel The Baby. The book is divided into five sections, one for each of the main characters Olivia,  her best friend Nicola, her controlling boyfriend Jonty, her gay friend Ben and her little sister Alice. We see the aftermath through each of their eyes, but all isn’t as it seems.

I’m always interested in books that focus on teenage parents and have been for as long as I can remember. As someone who stood by their best friend as they had a child at the age of 17, I was intrigued to see what Drakeford would do with her characters. It’s easy to assume that a child changes things, but I feel like there was almost too many issues with the characters and not enough novel. There are complex relationships within the group, Olivia is struggling in a controlling relationship with Jonty, Jonty hates Ben for his closeness to Olivia. The only character that isn’t involved with the group, but in my opinion has the best chapter, is Olivia’s sister Alice. Alice has no friends of her own but observes everything around her and loves helping out with Nicola’s baby at any given moment. She’s just the strange little sister but through her eyes you see more than through any other, she was my favourite character by far. As for Olivia, I felt like she was a kind of punch bag throughout the whole story and I really struggled to like her. I would have like to have seen more of Nicola and how she copes with her daughter and more of Jonty’s backstory, that was something I really enjoyed and made him a much more relatable character.

There is a big twist towards the end of the novel, which I couldn’t stand. It kind of derails the entire plot up to that point and then adds a real question mark to the end of the novel. After reading 200 pages I was beyond angry and frustrated at the twist, I’m pretty sure it’s a love or hate scenario, there will definitely be people who recommend the book to their friend on the basis of the ending, although I’m not a fan.

I’m giving this book two stars **. I really wanted to enjoy it but there really are too many issues in one short book for me to enjoy. I think that the biggest reason for my low rating is the twist at the end, it kind of ruined it for me. It isn’t that I completely loved the book throughout, but I did struggle with having positive feelings about it at the end.

Review by Chloe Metzger