Book Review: 'One Of Us Is Lying' by Karen McManus

I thought I'd take a quick study break this afternoon and finish up my back-log of book reviews with this great wee book One of Us Is Lying.

I had seen this book around social media a lot recently, and also on a friend's 'to be read' shelf, and I knew it had lovely red edges haha! So, when doing my first ever order from the wonderful site which is Book Depository (go check it out here - discounted prices on a huge range of books and free shipping worldwide! Best discovery of my summer!), alongside the Ravenclaw 20th Anniversary edition of the first Harry potter and a brand new copy of my all-time favourite classic Little Women, I added a copy to my basket!

I started this book just before I left for holiday and then took it with me and read it by the pool and on the beach. I thought the concept was great, and reminded me, on reading the blurb, of The Breakfast Club (a film which the previously mentioned friend showed me for the first time over the summer), and later revealed itself, at least in my eyes, to also draw on the kind of themes of Gossip Girl.

Brief Summary: 5 completely different pupils are in detention, after being caught with phones in class. Phones which are not theirs, and which they were unaware had been planted in their bags. When one of the students, Simon, has a fatal allergic reaction, the other 4 suddenly find themselves right in the middle of a murder investigation, and desperately attempt to stop the many secrets about them from coming out. Secrets that Simon knew and was going to publish on his gossip blog, giving each of them a motive for shutting him up for good.

The book goes on to explore how this situation affects each of the students, switching narratives between them, how it brings them together, shoves them apart, and changes who they are as people, their private lives, their priorities and the various relationships in their lives.

The 'criminal' aspect is interesting and makes for a good plot foundation. I did unfortunately guess the ending before it occurred (there were only so many suspects!), however, I didn't feel as though this reduced from the quality of the book as, for me, it wasn't so much about the mystery and more about the character dynamics.

I particularly liked the relationship between bad-boy Nate, and geek-girl Bronwyn, as it really emphasised how people's lives can be nothing like what they seem on the surface and we never really know people until we try to, but to be honest this was true of all of the characters and the secrets that tormented them.

Overall, this is a pretty quick and thoroughly enjoyable read which I think really stands out as something a bit different from your usual YA reads. Highly recommended!



Reading Challenge: 14/21

Book Review: 'Wilde Like Me' by Louise Pentland

I feel as though my blog is getting a bit samey and boring because all I seem to write these days are reviews, so I apologise about that! The reason is the reading challenge that I set myself at the start of the year, and the fact that I have really enjoyed spending my free time reading for pleasure more. Maybe I'll do Blogmas again this year to make up for it!

Anyway, Louise Pentland (Also known online as SprinkeOfGlitter) is one of the many Youtubers whose channel I dip in and out of, as in I watch the odd video but I don't follow or watch everything. I knew she was releasing her first fiction book, and it sounded good. But I hadn't thought much of it until the day before publication day when I saw that it was reduced to something like £5 on Amazon, and I couldn't resist treating myself to a gorgeous new hardback!

Once again, I finished this about a month ago, but haven't got round to posting until now.

Brief Summary: Robin is a single mum with a young daughter, Lyla, who has recently started at private school. As Robin's career finally begins to take off after lots of hard work, and the loneliness of single life starts creeping in too, Robyn struggles to keep her life on track and particularly with the never-ending Mum Guilt!

I liked how down-to earth this book was, particularly the day-to-day happenings of family life.

It was a really nice story and you really felt like you knew the characters and wanted the best for them.

However, overall I thought the book was overly descriptive and lacking in terms of plot. There isn't much action or drama in the story, there are several sub-storylines that could become climactic but none really do. Instead, Pentland focuses on greatly detailed descriptions of things which personally I don't feel as though needed quite so many words dedicated to them! I began to get a bit sick of reading about Robin's man-woes and day-to-day household chores and actually found her a little self-centred as a character (which, to be fair, was probably deliberate as the story is meant to be about a woman allowing herself to sometimes put herself first in life, which I do appreciate).

So, to sum up, a really lovely read, perfect for taking on holiday or something, but not personally my favourite read this year!

Catriona x




Reading Challenge: 13/21

Book Review: 'I'll Give You The Sun' by Jandy Nelson

When I was younger (I can't remember how old exactly, but maybe 12 or 13?), my mum bought me a book for Christmas called 'The Sky is Everywhere'. I think she had read a review of it as a good YA book in the Guardian or somewhere. I absolutely loved it, but no one I spoke to had ever heard of it, and so I spent several years telling everyone it was my favourite book (and rereading it many times!).

You can imagine my excitement then, when in early 2015, I realised that the author had actually written another book: 'I'll Give You The Sun'. I bought my copy and began reading it at the end of summer 2015. However, I wasn't very far through when I began university in September 2015, and the book was quickly forgotten.

In the 2 years that followed, I read many other books, and the author became extremely popular when 'The Sky Is Everywhere' was selected for the Zoella book club. I'm, glad that her fantastic talent started getting recognised, but I must admit I was a little disappointed that the book was no longer my own personal discovery!

Anyway, this summer I decided that enough was enough. My copy of 'I'll Give You The Sun', once beautiful with spray painted page edges and everything, was pretty tattered from being carried to many places and never read. So I decided to start again from the beginning and finally read it (although I finished it a while ago... starting back at uni has left me with a bit of a back-log of reviews to get through!).

It took me a wee while to get into, but I quickly fell in love once again with Nelson's style. It's so real, like you truly believe what her characters are feeling.

Brief Summary:  Noah and Jude are twin brother and sister who have always been inseparable, bound by their linked minds and wonderful imaginations. However, when things begin to turn sour between their parents, they drift apart too, and when tragedy hits the family, the two are broken apart. But as they grow apart, grow up, and learn who they are and what the need in life, they realise that all that's keeping them apart are the secrets they've been too afraid to share.

One issue with the book was a lack of chapters (instead, the narrative switched between Jude and Noah at various ages, in order to flip back in forward in proceedings. This was done well, and wasn't too confusing, but didn't allow the book to be split in to small, readable chunks.) However, I did like the variety in narrative, and the cleverness of the plot that failed to reveal what the two characters secrets were too quickly.

The story was complex enough to keep it interesting, but simple enough to follow, and each character was beautifully painted with a back story that helped you feel as though you knew them.

One of the thematic elements was ghosts, and fate, and other spiritual things that I can't day I particularly believe in. However, Nelson was not to heavy-handed in her inclusion of these ideas, and used them simply to shape her characters, rather than to prop up the plot. Therefore I found I could perfectly relate to the desires of the young twins for approval, acceptance, love, strong familial bond, etc.

I could gush about Nelson's amazing descriptive capabilities for ever, but I will simply highlight the opening scene. Discussing a 'coming of age' topic such as bullying is not uncommon among YA authors, but the image Nelson paints is so powerful.

Other issues addressed include pressures surrounding virginity, keeping secrets and telling lies, stereotyping of gender characteristics, mental health conditions/depression, sibling rivalry, suicidal thoughts, alcoholism, and fear over sharing one's sexuality with friends and family (closeting oneself, for want of a better phrase). No one of these is so explicitly stated as to become the centre focus of the novel, but integrated in a way which portrays the darkness that really can be seen in every day life when unsubstantial support is visible, to people of all ages but particularly teens who have experienced trauma or grief. I could talk more about how Nelson addresses each, but I don't have all day and I really would encourage you to read this book for yourself!

Although 'The Sky is Everywhere' will forever remain my favourite, this book is another triumph in YA literature and well worth a read.



Reading Challenge: 12/21

Book Review: 'Gone Girl' by Gillian Flynn

This book was very popular when it first came out in 2012, and then a film came out more recently and it regained an audience. I finished it about a week ago, having impulse bought it (along with 2 other books) in an always-to-tempting 3 for 2 deal in WH Smith, after one of my best friends recently read it and raved about it. I have a read a couple of thrillers this year and had enjoyed mixing things up by dipping into that genre.

I couldn't find an image

of the exact edition I had..

the cover was the same as this except

fully orange, with black and white writing.

Brief Summary: On the morning of their 5th wedding anniversary, Nick's wife Amy goes missing. Narrated in alternate chapters by Amy and Nick, this novel tells the story of what happened (eventually!) and the steps that transformed marital bliss into one sticky situation for them both, particularly for Nick who must deal with being the prime suspect in the investigation into his wife's disappearance.

As I began reading I was immediately enticed by Gillian Flynn's writing style... it is sophisticated and intelligent, but at the same time very readable. In terms of accessibility, I found the book clever enough that it kept you on your toes, asking questions,  but not too hard to follow.

I don't know if it was because it took me a while to read, in very short snippets between working at my dad's arts festival, or because the chapters were quite long, or as a result of a flaw in the plot, but I actually got quite bored of this book. I mean, I did enjoy it, but I wasn't totally won over by the plot or by the characters, particularly by Amy who I really didn't like, and didn't find particularly realistic. Having started out not wanting to put it down, I quickly found picking it up  bit laborious, and this wasn't aided by the rather underwhelming ending.

That said, I would like to see the film, and definitely to read more of Flynn's work in the future due to her excellent writing style. I was reading this book on the train back from St Andrews last weekend, and the conductor spotted it and said he liked it, and that the actress who plays Amy in the film has been on his train a couple of times!  I would recommend it if you like a thriller and, like me, enjoyed 'Girl on The Train' - another film I still haven't seen!

Catriona x


Reading Challenge: 11/21

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