Book Review: 'All That She Can See' by Carrie Hope Fletcher

As I've written about many a time, I am a big fan of Youtuber, actress and author Carrie Hope Fletcher, and so pre-ordering her latest novel was a given!

I didn't really know what to expect from  the story as she hasn't spoken a great deal about it really. Much like her previous novel, On the Other Side, I knew that it would include some magic, and I also knew from reading that book that I love Carrie's ideas, characters and imagination, but am not as big a fan of her writing style which rang true in this book, particularly to begin with.

It starts off with really quite simple, storytelling language, almost like a children's tale. I found some of the phrasing a little cringey, in the sense that it wasn't particularly 'sophisticated' but I also like dhow easily I could read it. I thought that some of the language used was quite particularly phrased to the UK, which may be more difficult for foreign readers, but otherwise it was encouraging to know taht well-written stories can be written in a more informal style, almost in the tone that Carriw herself would speak in.

I loved the concept.

Brief Summary: Cherry has a strange gift, the gift of being able to see people's bad feelings as tangible beings beside them, as monstrous 'Meddlums'. Other than her childhood friend Peter, who she hasn't heard from since she was seven, she doesn't know of anyone else like her. When at 18 years old she experiences family tragedy, Cherry decides to use her gift positively by touring the country, combating these Meddlums with baking that includes her own good feelings. But she is soon to discover that her gift is not quite as rare as she had thought, and that knowing of others may be more harmful to her than good, even if it allows her to finally feel a little less alone. Enter Chase, the bad boy with the bad rep and a spark with Cherry.

The idea of feelings as monsters, and the thought that Carrie has put into describing exactly what can both cause and combat these emotions is incredible... what they look like, how they manifest, etc. And alos how major a role they can play in directing our lives. My immediate thought was that she had drawn inspiration from a book she has frequently said she loves and which I recently read: 'All My Friends Are Superheroes' because this book also gave onomatopoeic qualities and abilities to otherwise invisible, notions or feelings. Later on, it also struck me that this idea could also have been combined with the Disney Pixar film 'Inside Out' idea, which again made cartoon characters which represented common emotions such as 'Anger' 'Sadness' and 'Joy' which each had a life and mind of its own and could effect humans (I haven't yet seen this film but have heard lots about it and really want to!). It may, of course, be that neither of these were part of Carrie's thought process, or at least consciously, but those were certainly the links my mind made!

One other comment to make is the rather random genre-mix that both of Carrie's novels have had. Like I said earlier, they begin quite child-like, but are in fact more teen/adult fiction because of the depth of the themes and some wee cheeky romantic scenes haha! In addition, All That She Can See seemed really different in the second half than the first, less fairytale and romance and more of a sci-fi meets thriller!

Overall, I really liked it though. It was unpredictable, quite easy to read and the characters were well-created, mysterious, unique and (mostly!) lovable (or hateable I suppose!). I reckon Carrie has, whether intentionally or not, set up so many we stories in this that a sequel could definitely happen, and I would gladly read it. I'd like to know what happens next for Cherry and Chase, as the ending (which for me was a little rushed feeling) was left quite open, and there are also other characters that I was drawn too and would love for them to have their own stories told in more depth in the future.

I'm also (hopefully!) going to a book signing with Carrie in October. Trying not to get my hopes up in case uni means I can't make it, but that would be amazing!

Catriona x



Reading Challenge: 10/21

Book Review: 'The Miniaturist' by Jessie Burton

I feel as though all my posts are book reviews at the minute. That's partly because I have been spending quite a lot of time reading, and partly because, in the style of Draft One posts, book reviews are quite easy to churn out in a way that other posts aren't because they take less time to compile together. However, while I definitely do have other posts in the pipeline, while I'm working full time and currently visiting my Grand and therefore only have my phone to work with, your stuck with book reviews for now!

I finished this book last week, and it took me about a fortnight as it's quite long, but I also started it right at the end of my holiday so I was reading the odd chapter here and there between work really. I'd heard of it from a number of different people and places and, in fact, when I went into Waterstones and bought my copy, the kady at the till said that I must be one of the very few people she knows you hadn't already read it, due to its extreme popularity a couple of years ago!

Brief Summary: Nella moves to Amsterdam to live with her new husband, Johannes, in a marriage that had been organise as a matter of convinience. Also in the house lives the master's 2 servants, 2 dogs, and unmarried sister Marin. Seemingly completely uninterested in her himself, Johannes buys Nella a miniature replica of their house in the hope that furnishing it will keep her occupied. But, as Nella begins to order furniture for her gift, strange things begin to happen, and as Nella grows closer to her new family, the authorities in Amsterdam have ideas that differ greatly from a happily ever after.

I really enjoyed Burton's writing style as it was suitably descriptive but not boring. I found myself engaged enough in the book that I wanted to keep picking it up and find out more, and so grew attatched to the characters, not so much Nella, but certainly some of the others.

I did find this book to be slow moving and thus uneccessarily long. It therefore took me a while to get into, because nothing much happens for ages.

I also failed to see a very strong connection between the overall plot and the relevancy of the miniature cabinet. As cool an idea as it was to have a cabinet creepily predict events that would occur, I didn't think enough focus was made of this, and rather that the story could have in fact worked (perhaps not as successfully!) without the Miniaturist at all!

Plot wise, I thought it was well written and not at all predictable... there were a couple of twists I definitely didn't see coming. In addition, Burton successfully avoided too much in the way of cliche or cheesiness, by keeping true to the intense and sometimes graphic nature of the scenes her characters find themselves in. For this reason, it wasn't a jolly ready, but definitely well-written.

Finally, one thing I really did love was the setting and the huge volume of research Burton had clearly done into the time period and historic elements of Amsterdam, giving the novel a very realistic feel as a piece of historic fiction.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to people as a read unlike anything else I've read really, and have since purchased another of Burton's books 'The Muse'. However, I would say that a little patience and perseverance is necessary due to lack of immediate action. In addition, this is a book I can imaging being made into a film, and I'd certainly give that a watch! Perhaps in that form, the true mysterious intent and events would be clearer to me too!






Reading Challenge: 9/21

Book Review: 'Everything Everything' by Nicola Yoon

I bought this book last summer, having heard its title quite a lot as a highly recommended YA title. Since then, it has also featured as part of the 'Zoella book club' and been made into a film  (which I haven't seen yet). I brought this book on holiday with me (finished it nearly a fortnight ago) and I was pretty hooked... every evening all I wanted to do was get back to reading it!

The book was quite short, with easy-to-read large writing, short chapters and even pictures and diagrams scattered throughout. This made it fun and light to read on holiday. However, in some sense it was also quite a heavy read due to its emotional story.

Brief Summary: 17-year-old Maddy is allergic to the world, and has spent almost her whole life living indoors, with every element of each day being strictly monitored. She just lives with her mother, who is a doctor, as her father and brother were killed in an accident when she was only a baby. However, when a new family move in next door, everything changes. Their teenage son Olly with his complicated home life and quirky personality gives Maddy a glimpse of something that finally makes her want to go outside more than ever before. Can the pair be friends? Or more? As the story unfolds, we discover the consequences of taking risks, both negative and positive, and what happens when you let fear win.

Due to the book's very accessible narration and format, I was quickly drawn to both of the lead characters, and even felt invested in the storylines of secondary characters, such as Maddy's nurse Clara or Olly's sister Rebecca. It was a very emotional read, particularly in the middle/towards the end. While the ending was ultimately a little bit predictable, there was a twist in the middle that kept up a high level of excitement and engaged me as a reader.

A real coming of age story, but with a twist, 'Everything Everything' deals excellently with concepts such as disabilities, being comfortable being yourself, the fact that we all have secrets and hardships, and the importance of working through challenges. This was Yoon's debut novel and I loved her style- I will certainly be looking out for her name in the future. For a pretty basic concept and storyline, it really is a lovely quick read which I would highly recommend.




Reading Challenge: 8/21