There are so many summaries of this newly released book, some of them are hella misleading.
In a large house in London's fashionable Chelsea, a baby is awake in her cot. Well-fed and cared for, she is happily waiting for someone to pick her up. In the kitchen lie three decomposing corpses. Close to them is a hastily scrawled note. They've been dead for several days. Who has been looking after the baby? And where did they go? Two entangled families. A house with the darkest of secrets.
This book follows Lisa Jewell's usual staple of the kids being the centre of what of the mystery but this time we have the kids as adults as well.
I'm not saying that all Lisa Jewell books are all the same, she definitely has a bag of tropes and themes that she goes back to. Incompetent adults are a common one and I guess this is similar to Then She Was Gone in some ways. Well, it shares the same trigger warnings.
Okay, one of the characters is gay. I can't actually remember Jewell having a Queer character before this book but I haven't read all of her works. It just raises the question can we have gay grey-characters when they are no other Queer characters in this book. Him being gay isn't a big deal and there are a lot of grey characters in this book. Except he is a POV character and he's the one we get the past events from through the book. He's probably messed up from the way he was raised, but a lot of his later actions don't have an excuse.
The mystery was okay. Things become obvious quickly and you know what's gonna happen as each piece is laid. It's not a bad thing. The cops do a very bad job of investigating, they missed some big evidence. I get the point was they didn't care but odd. They probably should have been more odd theories out on the internet about this case. At least a YouTube video. Like things that were public knowledge were never connected.
Overall, I give this book 3.5 stars for Unsold Bags. I have read a lot of Lisa Jewell's books now and have reviewed them (to different acceptable levels). I enjoy her books but I guess they will just never be favourite of mine. The family nor the house was that interesting. There were a lot of interesting tangents but are not what the book is about.
Read: 18/5/2020 to 24/5/2020
Reviewed: 29/5/2020 - /05/2020
Medium: Audiobook
Narrator/s:Tamaryn Payne, Bea Holland, Dominic Thorburn
Published Date: 8th August 2019
Publisher: Random House Audiobooks
Source: Library
CW: Child Abuse; Grooming; pregnancy from abuse; sexual manipulation; Domestic Abuse; forced abortion; Miscarriage; stillbirth; animal abuse; murdered cat; cult; poisoning; violence; forced imprisonment;
This book continued the trend of YA coma books I'm reading.
Three Peopledied
and no one's asking why.
But I needanswers.
I have to find out
whatreally happened
that night.
Back once again with another Cat Clarke book, this time the actual year of publication. Reviews of most of her books can be found here. I found Cat Clarke by her YA debut and I have followed her since. She an auto-buy author. Basically, I really like her writing and have high expectation of her.
This book does involve a band and the main character really like playing music, but it not really a music book. They only have gig practices and only pop artists are named. I mention because someone else said they thought the vinyls indicated it as a heavy music book. No, they broken vinyls that the thing to play attention to and obviously to match Clarke's other books.
Evan Page is suspicious about her Stepbrother's car accident that involved four people that didn't belong to the same circle. Basically, this is a murder mystery involving drugs and spoilery things. I did miss that Evan's last name was Page so I was real confuse when people would call her that. Did she go through a name change and it was somehow not picked up in certain places during the revisions. Nope, I'm just Dyslexic.
Characters and their relationships with each other play a big part. Different families dynamic are explored within Evan own family and her interactions with the families of those in the car, as she tries to solve the mystery of why.
Within the Band, there is a triangle of Exs with Evan at the centre. Evan is bi, Sid and Daze are friends and that events of the novel explore her feeling towards them. It's a nice addiction. I like it.
This book deals with a lot, most of it going into spoilers. (I do Trigger warnings in my labels). Clarke manages to handle all these well. The ending is slightly preachy, but also was a coherent and is a satisfying ending. With it being a hard subject, there no real satisfying ending of this book.
Overall, I give this 5/5 stars for Earned Guitars. In terms of mystery, I never guess exactly what was going to go down, which I often do and the writing is good as usual. Cat Clarke continues to breaks hearts. Breakfast Tim will stay with me and I will wonder about his career.
I got this book for Review off of NetGalley and is being published by Quercus Children's Books on 3rd of May 2018.
Imagine that you live on
a picturesque communal garden square, an oasis in urban London where
your children run free, in and out of other people's houses. You've
known your neighbors for years and you trust them. Implicitly. You think
your children are safe. But are they really? On a midsummer night, as a
festive neighborhood party is taking place, preteen Pip discovers her
thirteen-year-old sister Grace lying unconscious and bloody in a hidden
corner of a lush rose garden. What really happened to her? And who is
responsible?
This book is also known as just
'The Girls', that is a bit generic so probably why they changed between
countries. This is the second book I've read and reviewed by Lisa Jewell.
There
was a lot of characters to keep up with; there being a gang of kids and
their respective parents. The POV changes focus staying in third person
with letters from Pip to her father mixed in.
The
setting is a bit interesting as it takes place in a private park, which
we rarely leave, that connect the flats to each other. Also a strong
sense of community as lot of the characters have know each other for
decades and from childhood. With strain of new comers adding a flare.
In
the start it was a bit confusing when "the sisters" were being
discussed as there are two lots of sisters. I don't know if this because
I listened to the audiobook and I wasn't listening at the right speed
for me. Another audiobooks note is that there's is reference to
pictures, that do appear in the novel, which I acquired the ebook of to
check these. The Map is the only one that usefully but you don't need
them for the story so the audiobook is a fine way to consume this story.
There's was two mysteries under running this
story and we only get underwhelming solutions. Lots of red herrings and
suspects. Some of it was weird and like hur? It works through and was
okay. I wasn't that invested in some of the characters but I did feel
for Pip's mother coming into this environment.
Overall, I give this book 3/5 stars for plastic bags. This was alright thriller and enjoyed listening to it. I think I prefer Then She Was Gone better. But if you like Lisa Jewell's other works you should like this at least.
IT STARTS like any
other day for Jess – get up, draw on eyeliner, cover up tattoos and head
to school. But soon it’s clear this is no ordinary day, because Jess’s
best friend, Eden, isn’t at school . . . she’s gone missing.
Jess knows she must do everything in her power to find Eden before the unthinkable happens.
So
Jess decides to retrace the summer she and Eden have just spent
together. But looking back means digging up all their buried secrets,
and she starts to question everything she thought Eden’s summer had been
about ...
This book takes places over a day, with flash backs to the events leading to Eden's disappearance, in first person, with a flash forward about as well.
Even with everything Eden is dealing with she still comes across as unlikable, especially with the flash back before the event. She has this perfect life, till the terrible thing happens and just come across as spoiled. I only cared about her being missing because the effect it was having on Jess and other characters. Jess is likable protagonist and I felt for the other characters.
This book deals with a lot of complex things including Hate crimes on sub-cultures and grief. It does a decent job of dealing with the topics.
Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars for Graveyard Snow. It was a quick read with some punch. I would recommend it for a readathon.
I swear I'm not reading another book by someone who taught autistic people.
Good covers don't mean good books
Funny, heart-warming and ultimately triumphant, The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr is the perfect story for anyone who doesn’t quite fit in – and for everyone who chooses not to.
LOL, No. F off.
Elvira Carr is twenty-seven and neuro-atypical. Her father – who she suspects was in the secret service – has passed away and, after several Unfortunate Incidents growing up, she now spends most of her time at home with her overbearing mother. But when her mother has a stroke and is taken into care, Elvira is suddenly forced to look after herself or risk ending up in Sheltered Accommodation. Armed with her Seven Rules, which she puts together after online research, Elvira hopes to learn how to navigate a world that’s full of people she doesn’t understand. Not even the Seven Rules can help her, however, when she discovers that everything she thought she knew about her father was a lie, and is faced with solving a mystery she didn’t even know existed . .
All the other reviewers on Goodreads are glowing about this book, being feel good and inspiration bullshit. I have yet to come across another own voices review, so here's mine: I'm autistic (Aspergers side) and therefore this book is not meant for me. It very reminiscent of the "The curious incident in the Nightmare" (I mean to write night-time, I'm keeping that in), a book I despised for its ablelist bullshit. Even if he not autistic, its still horrible book of presenting my disabled peers. I've rated this book super low for two specific things.
Ellie never disclosed to the reader what her diagnosis is. It's refer to only as 'her condition' and that is gutless. If you're going to write a book about Autism, do it. Don't be spineless about it. I am sick of coded Autistic characters without the label. There is not enough representation of Autistic Adults to go without it. The term neurodivergent or neurotypical is hinted with the wrong term of "NeuroNormal". This is the wrong term. Normal is subjective and is not found in science. The correct term is Neurotypical. People on the Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) like correct terms when comes to sciencey things like the brain typically, and the way Ellie is presented I don't buy use the term "NeuroNormal". Normal is a dirty word when it comes to talking about neurodivergent people. Maybe once upon of time, but as of 2016 when this book is based, No one uses this term. Also another thing to know that neurodivergent/neuroatypical is also used to describes people with mental health disorders and other learning disabilities. For example, someone with mild dyslexic would be consider neuroatypical technically. Therefore, not neurotypical. Another random point, my autism makings me disabled, that is not a bad thing, it's just a thing about me.
Another big factor is there is random (trigger WARNING) sexual assault in this book. It happens twice, getting worst. Most women will experience sexual assault in some form in their life, from being slapped on the butt to worst thing possible, so realistic. But you can't bush past sexual assault of women considered mentally disabled. Sexual Assault and manipulation is a bigger problem for people considered disabled because they are vulnerable or seen to be. She doesn't tell anyone. The most that happens is someone guesses.This book is about learning life lessons, but she doesn't learn one from this. One of the next things that happens is she tells a strange man where her house is over the internet. Sorry, spoilers which I don't do in reviews, but I have to address this. I am going to do a video about this is Spoiler discussion about why in extreme detail about how this is done wrong because I can't without spoiling a big chunk of the book. I hate sexual assault being used as life lesson tool. It can be augured that there is victim blaming in this book also. She could have had that lesson another way, it could have stopped at one. She could have told someone. Sometimes books shouldn't be realistic, but the ideal and with the stigma about sexual assault, the representation is extremely important. How it's handled. Silence is might be realistic, but it shouldn't be.
Without the above, this book probably a three star book. But I rated it one stars after the first assault and so far I don't feel like changing that.
Now for my fun, less problematic and more just issues. Ellie reads Mills & Boon as 27 year in 2016, whose mother hates that sort of thing. Mills & Boons are an old lady thing and it is never explained why she would read them as 20 something. Romance books sure, I'm borderline Asexual and read romances. Lots of Aces do. (she repeatedly says she doesn't want a boyfriend). Yeah, ASDA still sell them, but why would she ever pick them up? Like I don't know anyone that reads Mills & Boons religiously in the that age group or even a few above it. I've read them but only cause an elderly neighbour gave me them. 'Chick-Fiction' seems more realistic, they are always on deal.
We going to just pretend that the term Autism is used in this book and talk about that. Ellie comes across as actually being high-functioning (I hate that term too, but there's not a better one to my knowledge) but she has been gaslit her whole life by her mother, whose an old lady at the age of 72 (I did the maths). I don't know how old Frances Maynard is but she comes as across as someone much older than someone in their late 20s, like at least a few decades. The relationship with her parents is interesting and probably best part of this novel.
So Autism, there are two autistic coded characters, our protagonist and someone she meets. There are the same, which equals bad representation. So...like I really can't separate their traits to argue they're not. Maybe this book is a little too much about her 'Condition'.
The writing is well done for a Début. I mean, if I hadn't blacklisted her in my mind, I would probably pick Maynard up again.
Overall, I give this book 1/5 stars for handsy "NeuroNormals". This may be a book about the Neuroatypical, but its not one for them. Therefore, I could never recommend it, but I'm don't absolutely hate it. This book will be compared to the "Curious Incident" and for me that's a real bad thing. That is not the book to based on what a book about Autistic person should be like. This probably does a better job of personifying them than that horrid book. My big tip is if you want to write about Autism, write about Autism, don't just thank the National Autistic Society in your Acknowledgements. Remember Autistic people will be reading and we will be taking notes.
My last few books I've reviewed, I have been tearing them apart for seemly small things, but small things can be important. Maynard also credits a few books by Autistic people, which is weird that she missed a few things normal to Autistic/Aspergers life. Like neither coded characters have sensory issues. I have mild issues compared to others, but there still comes up in my life. It also like she never came across why Autistic people don't like to be touch or that it effects all senses: e.g. sound, light, and I've heard of people having taste issues. I'm going to go over this stuff in the video discussion.
I got this book for review (let no one say I'm biased in my reviews of free books) from Netgalley and it being Published by Mantle on 24 August 2017. Who hopefully, won't blacklist me, as I love most of the books the Publisher there are imprint of. I also did a video about this book.
Brown Hair, Blue eyes and freckles doesn't make you a mutt. It makes you Scottish...looking.
How can you have a future if you can’t accept your past? Mel Hannigan doesn’t have it easy. Mourning the death of her firework of a brother, trying
to fit back into a school she’s been conspicuously absent from and struggling to deal with
the loss of three friendships that used to mean everything. Struggling to deal with a
condition that not even her closest friends know about.
So Mel tries to lock away her heart, to numb the highs and lows, to live quietly without
hope – but also without pain. Until someone new shows her that it can be worth taking a
risk, that opening up to life is what can make it glorious…
And that maybe, Mel can discover a tragic kind of wonderful of her very own.
The main character Mel has Bipolar Disorder and is in her second year of knowing she has it. This book does spend a lot of time going over what Bipolar disorder is and shows several characters with it that vary from Mel. I think a decent effect was made with this.
They were breaks from realities such as Mel going about being a freak for having very normal look aspects. Honestly, it was weird that she thought it was odd to have Blue eyes and pale skin, therefore freckles. Like who told her green eyes had anything to freckles (If reading this, Eric Lindstrom where did you get this)? Then someone else then mentions her appearance in this same detail. I think writers do fall in this trap sometimes.
So this is technically a romance book, but that's not really what I would sell it as and for me that's a good thing. I feel like it there because it has to be (old people set them up) and could have just been friends(I like friends). It fine though and definitely doesn't fall into the trap that 'love' cures all. There's a lot of friendships, there's a sprinkle of nice relationships throughout of the book, but I don't feel like the relationships were as developed as much as they should have been. Many they were too many things going on for the length of this book. There were lot of interesting dynamics, I think they could be in the one book and work, there's just wasn't enough dedication to them. I get why we did have so many characters with strong connections to Mel, I would have just liked more.
The novel is in the point of view of Mel, but I felt distanced to her and the other characters. They wrote well enough. I don't know if that due to the wall Mel has build surround her and the events we flashing back to a lot to, Or it could be I read it in one day because the world was on the bad side.
The title of this book is eye catching but it a bit generic and I don't think it suits the book that well. I have no alternative title suggestions so I'm the worst type of criticism bringer: says something is wrong and then runs away.
Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars for beach beer.This book deals with mental illness well and has okay Bi, LBGT stuff floating about. This is a quick book to read, so I would recommend it if you like your light reads to have complex stuff going on.
I got this book for review off NetGalley and was published byHarperCollins Children’s Books on 1st January 2017.
I don't think the British police would care about a protest.
The Japanese crime sensation that sold a million copies in six days. SIX FOUR. THE NIGHTMARE NO PARENT COULD ENDURE. THE CASE NO DETECTIVE COULD SOLVE. THE TWIST NO READER COULD PREDICT.
For
five days in January 1989, the parents of a seven-year-old Tokyo
schoolgirl sat and listened to the demands of their daughter's
kidnapper. They would never learn his identity. They would never see
their daughter again.
For
the fourteen years that followed, the Japanese public listened to the
police's apologies. They would never forget the botched investigation
that became known as 'Six Four'. They would never forgive the
authorities their failure.
For
one week in late 2002, the press officer attached to the police
department in question confronted an anomaly in the case. He could never
imagine what he would uncover. He would never have looked if he'd known
what he would find.
This is a very slow book for something that comes technically under the thriller genre.
Our protagonist Mikami is an outsider, working in the hated media department in Administer, while having previously been a detective. Office Politics is big part of this book, with the police officers and Admin going up against each other. Mikami also has personal stuff that effects where he lies in this 'war' and this does goes in a circle while Mikami is trying to find out what they all up to, especially as he thinks its vital for him to know.
The mysteries presented are mostly solved, a big one is left to wonder about. I go on the pessimist side of what is hinted about the one that isn't.
The writing is odd sometimes, obviously this is a translation (translated by Jonathan Lloyd-Davies) so that might come from what is the usual in Japanese. Mikami just starts listing things, which is especially odd as this book is written in third person. This book is quite long and the plot drags on sometimes.
They were some culture barriers in this book for me. A big early plot point is the Journalist threatening to put in a written compliant to the police and I honestly don't get why anyone would care as they were complaining about something Mikami was ordered to do. The police have no respect/like for the Journalist so why was a big deal if they complained. I know Japan does have a big thing about honour and shame so maybe because its a shamefully thing to happen, or the whole disconnect they have with their bosses. It doesn't really matter I guess if you understand why, it is important for plot reason and then what that leads to.
I listened to the audio book of this and I don't think I would recommended that. I didn't really like the actor's, Richard Burnip, voice. He also made the female character kinda whinny and didn't like a lot of the choices for the other characters either. I also found it confusing since I'm not familiar with Japanese names it was hard for me to remember character's by the sound of their names and would have been better reading it, but ar last I did not have the time to do that and got used to both these issues eventually.
Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars for Irritable Reporters. While I enjoyed this book, a lot things are left unresolved and everything that is resolved is done very quickly compared to the size of the rest of this book.
Discamilar: I listen to book on Audio book from the library, but I had also received a ebook version off it from NetGalley and Quercus Books when it came out in Hardback over here.
'I have a voice but it isn't mine. It used to say things so I'd fit in - to please my parents, to please my teachers. It used to tell the universe I was something I wasn't. It lied.'
Fifteen-year-old Tess doesn't mean to become mute. At first, she's just too shocked to speak. And who wouldn't be? Discovering your whole life has been a lie because your dad isn't your real father is a pretty big deal. Tess sets out to find the truth of her identity, and uncovers a secret that could ruin multiple lives. But can she ask for help when she's forgotten how to use her voice?
This is an interesting book in that the main character doesn't stop speaking straight after the 'traumactic event' and develops an imaginary friend or a Tulpa I guess. I went into this book basically blind. I must have read the summary of this book where I request it for review and brought it (the cover is really cool) so mostly went on the fact that Annabell Pitcher is award winning writer who has really interesting titled books. I think that worked for this book, but I'm not the person to advocate for that (I intentionally spoil myself all the time to find out if something is worth investing the time in). Still nothing I considered a spoiler is in this review.
Tess is a typical awkward teenager who's relationship with her parents is secretly stained. Major secrets on both sides. There were times where I wanted to shake Tess but I'm certain that was intentional. Tess has bad decision making skills, so generally a realistic teenager. Her relationships with the other characters are complex and the important one all have some form of lie attached to them.
Tess also spends a lot time of arguing and lying to herself in a form of Mr Goldfish. While this done mostly well, there were times where Tess described communication would have been noticeable to the people around her.
I think the silence that Tess develops is done well. That mainly comes from the fact it does develop and immediately after the cause. Its starts with Tess not wanting to say anything for spoiler plot reasons. Then from this she trapped in continuing not to say anything as the book goes on. I have Select Mutism so I have dealt with being unable to talk in awkward situations myself and found Tess emotions and reactions to this to be realistic. Her interaction with teachers (especially one near the end) were very reminiscent to my own. This is definitely the best book I've read so far where the main character is mute for most of the book.
That being said I declared that Main characters that don't talk was going to be a trend and I think I can say safely say it is a trend now so I might keep an on going rank with books that try the whole Selective Mutism experience on for size. I'm going to write why that problematic in another post and not side track this review for a book that does a good job of it to criticize the ones that don't (that being said I found a book that can only be pigging backing on this one). For those unaware of Selective Mutism, this is not nor is it meant to be a portrayal of it. Selective Mutism would come into play if it was long-term issue and she did talk in situations she was comfortable in. Still successfully captures some of the things you experience if have Selective Mutism.
A big part of the book relies on Tess making big leaps and doing stupid stuff. I know people can be blinded by what they want to be true, other realitity but Tess is meant to be a teenager and
often she would have a complete disregard for reality. We have Mr Goldfish to prove that she does see the reality, it just she talks about her fantasy as though they could actually become reality. She also seems to live in a world where no one else has complicated families e.g. step dads. I mean if somehow not in her own life, this stuff is on TV and various other media now.
There was also a bit of a rush to resolve everything in the book. I would have liked more time spent on her friend Isabell. She mostly just a plot device than a character and her ending is bit unsatisfying.
Overall, I give this book 4/5 stars for Redundant Taxis. This was an interesting book that deals with realistic issues with uncommon ideas. Some parts could have been executed better, but as a whole it was good read with complicated life issues in it.
