Book Review: Tease by Amanda Maciel

Emma should have probably been homed school.

 Emma Putnam is dead, and it's all Sara Wharton's fault.

At least, that's what everyone seems to think when Sara, along with her best friend and three other classmates, has been criminally charged for the bullying and harassment that led to Emma's shocking suicide. But Sara is sure she hasn't done anything wrong, because Emma brought it on herself. Sara is adamant that she was the victim - not Emma.

This book is told from the point of view of someone who bully someone who killed themselves. Interesting idea, but the fact is Sara isn't really that much of bully. I mean she wasn't the ringleader, the one who took it too far. I felt petty neutral through book. I felt more sympathy for Sara than for Emma the dead girl in the end.

To sound heartless, Emma encouraged the bullying to a lot. She did things to antagonizing the other girls. I don't think the author did a good job at all making Emma sympathic. We told she has a mental health issues (I don't think we ever told what exactly) before the bullying started so we straight away have out-cause. It happened over months, not years. The point of the book should be more understanding of other people, but it's not. Emma's parents basically decide to try and blame Emma's death on someone else. Maybe its Emma's not very likable or human. We don't learn anything at all about her as person, except she sleeps with boys she knows has girlfriends. Yes, the boys are dirt bags for cheating on their girlfriends but also she knew that there were cheating on the girlfriends with her. Some of it might meant to be rumours but it confirmed as being true more than lies.

I really liked the format of this book with the switch between now and the past. It worked well with what this book was trying to do.

Overall, I gave this book four out of five stars. It was interesting idea, there were some characterization issues but the actual plot and writing was good. I enjoy the preparing for the court case and the ending worked well.

I got this book for review off Netgalley and is being published by Hodder Children's Book on 1st May.

Book Review: Riot by Sarah Mussi

This is why Scotland should do a runner. Well, if it was true.

Years of cuts have devastated Britain: banks are going under, businesses closing, prices soaring, unemployment rising, prisons overflowing. The authorities cannot cope. And the population has maxed out.

The solution: forced sterilisation of all school leavers without secure further education plans or guaranteed employment. The country is aghast, but the politicians are unshakeable. No more free housing for single parents, no more child benefit, no more free school meals, no more children in need.

It's time for the young to take to the streets. It's time for them to RIOT.

This book is set fours years from now in England. I think its bit too soon. For the events that happen in this novel a lot would have to happen, for one the UK would have to leave the EU. It's breaking a lot of Human Rights and the UK would have been pressured by their allies not to do it. Also it jumps to extremes too quickly. It's everyone that meant to sterilize if they don't have a job; not just people who already have kids or who are drug addicts. Prisoners to underprivileged teenagers. It just doesn't make sense that you'd be able to get that sort of law even close to passing.

It another issue is that the conspiracy isn't blamed on a political Party but a person whose not even a party leader. The climax is a little bit too nicely wrapped up, though the ending isn't that clean cut. Also motive isn't fully formed, a more developed answer would have been good.

Tia is alright. She bit flat, she has the necessary skills and background for the plot but we don't really learn anything about her that doesn't relate to the plot. We learn almost nothing about the deuteragonist. There is a romance, however it's feels a bit forced. It wasn't needed and the book would have been fine if had it just been friendship. It didn't take or add anything. 

This more action packed, I did get carried a long with the story. It didn't stop me from questioning the details.

Overall, I gave this book 4 out of 5 stats for multiple phones. It's enjoyable read but there definitely some issues with it. If you really think about  the situation, then it's too unbelievable. Maybe not never, but fours year? A lot can happen, just not that much.

I got this book for review off Netgalley and is published by Hodder Children's Book on 1st May.

April Rain

With less than a week left in the month of April, I figure it's a good idea to go over what I actually managed to accomplished this month. The answer is not much.

My best laid schemes have went agley.Firstly,My novel writing stopped half way through the second week of the month and never started up. My blog post stopped being posted on time in any form either so writing of any kind did not happen the way it was supposed to.

The  Review-a-Thon never happen, but lets be honest that was always going to be a pipe dream. I think if I was going to do actual, successfully review-a-thon, I would need to have majority of the books I was going to review; read at the very least, reviews actually written before I announced my intention to do so. Probably not till after the summer, because maybe I go book mad when my book guilt finally catches up with me. I stare at my bookcase just thinking about it and my stats on Netgalley still bug me.

I broke my Book Ban, I should not be left in Waterstones by myself or any bookshop. I'm back on my ban with the strong intent and no plans to go anyway near any book selling shops any time soon. I must fight temptation.

I'm still behind on my TBR mount challenge, in fact even far behind as no books from the pile were read. The strangle is this doesn't bug me as much as it should.

My exercising has currently stopped due to illness and musical. I plan to restarted it once the musical is over.

I have also stopped making videos. Filmed videos at the start of the month and never got around to editing them. So my YouTube is saddly not active. I've stopped watching BookTube videos as well, just not been in the mood for them.

I'm going to go now before I think of more failures. Join me next time where I lament over the fact I'm almost 21 and doing nothing with my life.

Book Review: The Girl Who Was Saturday Night by Heather O’Neill

This title has got Bon Jovi’s Someday I’ll be Saturday Night stuck in my head.

At birth, Nouschka forms a bond with her twin that can never be broken.

At six, she’s the child star daughter of Quebec’s most famous musician.

At sixteen, she’s a high-school dropout kicking up with her beloved brother.

At nineteen, she’s the Beauty Queen of Boulevard Saint-Laurent.

At twenty, she’s back in night school. And falling for an ex-convict.

And it’s all being filmed by a documentary crew.

This summary is so misleading. I was thinking it some The Truman Show like book, no it just her dad famous and she was famous because of him. She was part of a documentary when she was a kid and then a documentary crew show up after she became a Beauty Queen and she doesn’t even agree to take part in the documentary. I thought it would be like staging of her life.

What did I actually think of this novel? Now that’s a question. It was interesting, especially since my home country is deciding on Independence soon. The book was sort of focus on Quebec wanting to be independent from the rest of Canada and set around 1995 Vote.  They obviously don’t become independent.

The characters were a troubled lot. Nouschka quit school because her twin brother did but going back now. Everyone in this book has major issues, not as characters but as people. Nouschka does grow as person. You do feel for the characters at certain parts.

The thing I liked about this book was writing style. O’Neil has this arty, poetic thing going on. Also wanting to know what these half-crazed people were going to do next and what was meant by the chapter headings. There were lines from the actual chapter I think.

Overall, I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars. I’m not really what to think of this book. I mean, it definitely has plot and the characters are well developed but the book’s most appealing aspect is the writing style. I would recommend it on that based on the style, so if you like sort poetic writing then this book is for you.

Book Review: The Worst Girlfriend in the World by Sarra Manning

In the friendship type more than anything.  

My best friend was now my deadliest enemy, the one person I'd hate beyond all measure for the rest of my life . . .

Franny Barker's best friend, Alice, is the worst girlfriend in the world according to the many boys of Merrycliffe-on-Sea. She toys with them, then dumps them. But she'll never dump fashion-obsessed Franny. Nothing and no one can come between them.

Not even tousle-haired rock god, Louis Allen, who Franny's been crushing on hard. Until Alice, bored with immature boys and jealous of Franny's new college friends, sets her sights on Louis. Suddenly, best friends are bitter rivals.

Is winning Louis's heart worth more than their friendship? There's only one way for Franny to find out.

This is a book is more about friendship than romance, but of course there’s a romance. There is always a romance.  It nice romance, a slow develop romance.

Fanny is just a terrible name to give anyone; fictional or not. I didn’t care that much for the characters. I don’t why but with Manning books that fact that I don’t like the characters doesn’t really effect my enjoyment of them. It’s rather weird for a contemporary. There nothing about these characters that I particular dislike but there nothing I love either. There are dull cookie bunch. I did identify with Alice being jealous, so I guess there were relatable.

This books deals with a lot of themes, such as slut shaming, jealous and Mental illness. Fanny is generally resentful, of her mother and the rest of her immediate family because there don’t have to deal with her mother’s depression. She left alone to deal with her mother alone. I think it dealt with quite well.

Overall, I gave 4 out of 5 stars for messed up dummies. I enjoyed reading this book and that’s all that matters. I don’t know what I’m saying. It’s a fun, light read that has friendship as the main focus which is something I like.

Back to the Hydro

I'm still sick. Can you believe it? I think I might have throat inflection. I'm going to make a doctor appointment on Tuesday if isn't gone by then. I have this dry cough, making honking noises is getting old.

On the more excited side of life, I saw McBusted on Thursday. Their first official concert, they said so themselves. I drove up half the way there, mum the other half due to the fact it wouldn't have been legal if I had drove that part of the road. My driving is coming together of sorts. Soon I will be running down children and old people who don't leave the street fast enough.

So McBusted were petty great. They've really matured in ten years, tripled breast, jumping on each others backs, Matt in a dress and still obsessed with Back to the Future. We almost got shot with a t-shirt by Matt but the people who got there early did instead.
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The Review-a-thon is not happening. I have not written any reviews written for it and as I'm letting everything else slide I may well let this on go down the slide after the rest of my plans. I suppose it was a silly idea consider how sick I am of Reviews right now. I'm just finding it really hard to write my thoughts down. I've got to stop requesting so many books basically. I think I'm just going to slip reviews on Thursday randomly or something.


I've also accidentally requested a review copy twice and they sent it to me twice so I'm not sure what I should do with it. Suggestions are welcome. 

Due to the concert I've also missed my exercise schedule and see no way of me catching up with it at this point so I'm letting this week go and will start a flesh on Monday.

I call this guess where we were sitting.

More disappointingly, I have not wrote anything of my novel in over a week now. I'm deeply annoyed with my self. I don't know if I'm going to attempt to catch up or not as I have three library books to read and return in two weeks.


I also happen to have broken my Book Buying Ban on Friday, in a major away but I did show some retaint but obviously not enough. This is also after sneaking charity super market books for a pound. I went 38 days without any buying full price books. I have spent more than a tenner I would have counted the charity books as a break. I'm back on it and hopefully I'll best myself. Maybe that will become a thing.

  

I'm gonna flee now to do stuff, like thinking about looking for black trousers.

 

P.S. Trying to put photos in these posts is such a pest. They never go where I want. 

Book Review: Torn Away by Jennifer Brown

Ain’t literal titles the best?

Born and raised in the Midwest, Jersey Cameron knows all about tornadoes. Or so she thinks. When her town is devastated by a twister, Jersey survives -- but loses her mother, her young sister, and her home. As she struggles to overcome her grief, she's sent to live with her only surviving relatives: first her biological father, then her estranged grandparents.

In an unfamiliar place, Jersey faces a reality she's never considered before -- one in which her mother wasn't perfect, and neither were her grandparents, but they all loved her just the same. Together, they create a new definition of family. And that's something no tornado can touch.

me. Together, they create a new definition of family. And that's something no tornado can touch.

This book deals well with lost and shows how destructive a hurricane can be emotionally. The hurricane and the damage were well written.

Doing most the book, people are just terrible to Jersey and all of them experience mood swings. There were points where I really wish that Jersey would stand up for herself. Her stand of action is bit late and redundant. You would find it very hard not to feel sympathy for Jersey at some point in this book considering he repeatedly abandoned throughout the novel in different forms.

I feel that certain characters were very flat and only there to serve their purpose. We get hints at depth but it was elaborate at much as I would have liked.

This book also sends mixed messages about the importance of biology in family. I feel like wanted to say that it doesn’t matter, but in action that’s not what happens at all. The only family tie that isn’t biology dumps her at the first chance.

Overall, I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars for numbered cats. It was a nice read but has a few issues. I do plan to read her other books soon.

I got this off Netgalley for a review. It’s being published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers on 6^th May 2014.

P.S. I read a proof but there is a really weird thing in that bugged me that it even made into a proof. This more note of something I want to point out. Half-siblings in the book are referred to as step which was confusing as hell. I really do hope that has been changed before the finial proof.

Book Review: The Fearless by Emma Pass

There are several songs that share this title. That is a fact

The Fearless. An army, powered by an incredible new serum that makes each soldier stronger, sharper, faster than their enemies. Intended as a force for good, the serum has a terrible side-effect – anyone who takes it is stripped of all humanity, empathy, love. And as the Fearless sweep through the country, forcing the serum on anyone in their path, society becomes a living nightmare.

Cass remembers the night they passed through her village. Her father was Altered. Her mother died soon after. All Cass has left is her little brother – and when Jory is snatched by the Fearless and taken to their hellish lair, Cass must risk everything to get him back.

 The invasion meant to happen roughly now and then 7 years in the future, in Britain.

The world building was interesting. The idea sort has been done a few different ways, but I like the combination of things that joined together.  There are certain minor things left unexplained that I would have liked answer. There are also aspects of the fearless serum I didn’t buy which would be going to spoiler area. There is a level of disbelieve that I had to put up with this novel, it was just minor stuff though. 

The story is told from the point of view of three different characters which I was not expecting. It’s in no proper format and mostly favours Cass’s POV. There is maps and stuff which I know some people love.

I feel like Cass is a tiny bit bland, she not really developed as character as much as she should have been. I also not all the relationships are fleshed out enough. I liked Myo.

I feel like this ends like a start of series, but I’m sure that it is meant to be a stand-alone. All the major things are resolved, but there could be another book though. No idea what would happen in a second book; maybe I read it as that as most YA Dystopia’s tend to be series.

Overall, I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars for cloudy eyes. I enjoy this book, it not the best dystopia. I think Pass’s first book is stronger (which my review can be found here), I definitely look out for more Emma Pass in the future. If you like survival and war movements in your dystopia then I would recommend checking this novel out. Also it set in Britain, which is another plus.

I got this off Netgalley for a review. It’s being published by House Children’s Publishers UK on 24^th April 2014.