When you are following a smash hit debut novel it could be a bit daunting for a new author. I loved Nijkamp’s first book (This is Where it Ends) and I must admit that I was a bit nervous picking up this one. How could it possibly compare with the sublime piece of young adult…
Tag: Young Adult
Book Review: The Truth and Lies of Ella Black – Emily Barr ****
Ella lives in London with her parents Graham and Fiona and their cat. It feels like an unremarkable life. She loves art and literature and these are the subjects she is studying for her A Levels. Ella has a secret that she hasn’t even shared with her best friend Lily or her “boy” friend Jack….
Book Review: Hunting Lila – Sarah Alderson *****
When Hunting Lila was first published in 2011 Sarah Alderson was an unknown writer trying to pay the bills in Bali. Now she is a screenwriter and successful author living in California and Hunting Lila is heading for the big screen this year. Lila is seventeen and there are two things that she would prefer…
Book Review: Crazy House – James Patterson ****
Not the most obvious choice of book for me. I’ll admit that I was drawn in the authors – James Patterson co-writing with Gabrielle Charbonnet. Crazy House is set in yet another dystopian future with downtrodden communities ruled by tyrants. Bizarrely I enjoyed this one. Seventeen year old Becca Greenfield is the wild adventurous type,…
Book Review: The Broken Bridge – Philip Pullman ****
Originally published in the 1990s The Broken Bridge is a gorgeous adolescent coming-of-age story. Although very different to his fantasy novels you still get those wonderful three dimensional characters that Pullman has become known for. Ginny is sixteen and lives in a small seaside town in Wales with her Dad. She feels different to everyone…
Book Review: Blacklist – Alyson Noël **
Blacklist is the second book in the Beautiful Idols YA series about shallow fame seekers fighting to win a coveted job in Los Angeles. See my review of Unrivalled if you want to catch up quickly. Starting exactly where the first book left off Madison Brooks is still missing and the weight of evidence seems…
Book Review: Missing – Kelley Armstrong ****
Known for her supernatural Otherworld and Cainsville series this is a different proposition from Kelley Armstrong. This standalone thriller is aimed at Young Adults but is enjoyable for adults too. Winter Crane lives in a small town in the middle of nowhere, Reeves End. Her sister Cam has already left town – like most of…
Book Review: A List of Cages – Robin Roe *****
Where do I start with this one? A startlingly brilliant story of friendship and about being different that will have you experiencing every emotion under the sun. A List of Cages isn’t always an easy read with some really very harrowing scenes especially in Part Two of the book. Billed as a Young Adult book…
Book Review: The One Memory of Flora Banks – Emily Barr *****
Sometimes you pick up a book and just know that you are going to love it. Flora Banks is seventeen. She lives in a Cornish seaside town and her best friend is Paige – who she has known since she started school. Flora has memory issues, anterograde amnesia. Not just forgetting what she wanted to…
Book Review: Freeks – Amanda Hocking ****
Amanda Hocking is one of my go-to authors for a good supernatural story and Freeks has all the ingredients that that make me very happy. Set in 1987, the story is interlaced with the music of the time and had me wishing that there was a playlist set up to go with the book! The…
Book Review: Scrappy Little Nobody – Anna Kendrick *****
I never read celebrity biographies. NEVER. Every Christmas there is a table in my local bookstore full of the latest asinine self congratulatory books, ghost written for people that don’t really deserve to be called celebrities. Honestly I was nervous picking up Scrappy Little Nobody. Anna Kendrick is only 31 and became a household name…
Book Review: The Deviants – C. J. Skuse ****
Ella, Max, Corey, Fallon and Zane were the Fearless Five. A group of teens living in a small sea-side town. They used to do everything together but drifted apart after the tragic death of Max’s older sister Jessica. She had been a friend and big sister to them all and losing her had been traumatic…
