A Life Discarded - Alexander Masters

148 diaries found in a skip. The author is unknown and a stranger starts to read them, and then write this book about them.

It's years since I read a biography (and I don't think I've ever done it just for fun). Invariably, they're all about celebrities of some sort (generalisation, I know, but still....) but this one! The social researcher inside me was alerted and my brain chemistry was already smouldering.

A Life Discarded is a wonderful interweaving of the biographer's inner thoughts with those of the unknown diarist. Who were they and, perhaps more intriguingly, why were these diaries dumped (died alone was probably my foremost presumption)?

The diarist doesn't name themselves, and there doesn't seem to be a clear chronology. This makes for lots of narrative twists and turns, which A Life Discarded uses to good effect. The biography is deliberately written and structured to heighten this sense of intrigue and ever-deepening mystery. Alexander Masters alludes to this intention by offering up, early on, mistakes that he discovers in his assumptions about the diarist's life. Of course, these add an extra element of humour and poignancy to the narrative.

And, of course, there is the whole question of ethics: entering into the private space of a person's life - these are a lot of diaries; does them being in a skip mean you have been invited or not? And history; again 'of course', how do we make it and record it? How reliable is it, and at what and whose expense? Masters doesn't ignore these issues that are potentially big ethical problems, and includes conversations he's had with his history and philosophy academic friends. Throughout the novel, Masters talks his way through his ever-changing methodology. It feels a bit like the Famous Five Does a PhD, and I was charmed on both counts.

A Life Discarded brings the diarist's recordings (otherwise discarded both on paper and in their own mind) alive, and also plays a wonderful tribute to important people in Alexander Masters' life, most notably Dido Davies who gave him the diaries and was living with terminal cancer throughout the development of the autobiography.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It's probably one of those where little things about it will stick with me and I'll bring them up in conversation at some point in the future.

Read further if you want to find out a bit about the diarist. It's a little bit spoilers but not too much. You decide.


Publication details: 2017 (paperback edition), 4th Estate, London
This copy: received for possible review from the publisher




Spoiler Alert! 

Spoiler ahead!


Alexander Masters talks about the diarist as a 'he'. And then he discovers that he is a 'she'. This brings another ethical dimension to the biography, which Masters does not shy away from: a man reading a woman's intimate thoughts and descriptions about her personal life. Oh boy! Frankly, this could have gone so wrong. But, it doesn't.

The Serpent King - Jeff Zentner

Working my way through this year's Carnegie nominations list, The Serpent King wasn't at the top of my to-read list. The first page was good but I wasn't too sure about the plot and its religious themes. Plus, I've tried to approach this year's longest with a blank slate (ie. avoiding reviews etc) and I've done quite well. Except for the The Serpent King. And especially once it won the Morris award. I picked this book up not because it appealed to me but because of the favourable criticism it was receiving.

One of the best things, for me, about The Serpent King, was that it's a novel that I wanted to go and on. I was sad to finish it. At the end, I felt like I knew the characters and I wanted to hear more about their stories. This doesn't happen to me very often anymore (it happened a lot when I was a child/teen reader) so I was quite delighted.

The Serpent King is primarily Dill's story. He's in his last year at high school, he lives with his mother in poverty stricken conditions, and his father is a religious extremist who's in prison. But, Dill's story is very strongly interwoven with his friends Travis and Lydia such that this is also a novel about a friendship trio in rural Tennessee.

All three characters are very likeable and quite different from each other. Some wonderful dynamic tensions are played out. Character and friendship-wise, The Serpent King is reminiscent of the styles and interests of other American authors like John Corey-Whaley, John Green and Pat Schmatz.

What seems particularly distinct, for me, about this novel is the unflinching space the plot gives to an extreme religious faith. Dill's parents are fanatical and, in turn, this has made pariahs of them: not something that's easy to deal especially when you're a teenager. While the narration does not necessarily endorse this way of life, it gives it a very respectable, almost judgment free space. On the other hand, it balances it with Travis' religious family and Lydia's very educated middle class family.

This novel is full of some sincere and some (slightly) overplayed tragedies, a handful or two of good and bad luck, buckets full of dorky vintage love, a spot of glamour, and making tough and brave decisions. Hugely recommended and I'm keeping my copy.

Oh, and it's in third person - if that's the kind of thing that matters to you.


Publication details: Andresen Press, 2016, London, paperback
This copy: received for possible review from the publisher

We Come Apart – Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan

I loved this novel from beginning to end and thought it was one of the best books I’d read for a while. So, I waited for a few weeks before I wrote this review, just in case that feeling wore off. It didn’t. Jointly authored by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan, We Come Apart is a clever little book, combining voice and verse beautifully.

We Come Apart is the story of a London mascara-stealing girl and a Roma gypsy-boy immigrant who unexpectedly find themselves on the same community service programme. Through their contrasting perspectives and homelives, the novel deftly explores racism, nationalism, criminality, friendships and belonging.

The two distinct voices of Nicu and Jess are captured perfectly by the pairing of Crossan and Conaghan’s very different styles. You are in no doubt which character is speaking. Nicu’s voice takes a little getting used to but it’s possibly my highlight of the novel.

Perfect for fans of The Weight of Water, One and Stephen Kelman’s Pigeon English.

It’s out in hardback in Feb 2017. If you’re not a hardback buyer, jot this one down for its paperback release. You’ll not forget about it because it’ll be turning up in all the award listings, I’m sure.

Publication details: 9 February 2017, Bloomsbury, London, hardback

This copy: uncorrected proof received from the publisher for review

All About Mia - Lisa Williamson

All About Mia is all about Mia and her sibling rivalry. Mia is a sixth former, and is a middle sibling. Her older sister is a perfect, high achieving academic heading off to Cambridge and her younger sister is a quiet, tween swimmer with eyes on the Olympics. Mia, on the otherhand, is popular, curvaceously flirty, and her only talent appears to be consuming high volumes of alcohol.

The first page is brilliant. I loved it. Turn over and it’s about a teenager who wants to get drunk on a Friday night. Eye roll on my part but I stick with it. It makes me smile a lot and not too long later, I’ve finished the whole novel.

Often, I find it difficult to read – and so rarely finish - novels with main characters like Mia whether they be child, teen or adult. They have chips on their shoulders, gripes about everyone and everything and they think that the world owes them everything. Yes, it’s all about them. Many times, these novels end up with a whingey, whiney and bitter tone that I find grating. But All About Mia is different and manages to avoid this tone possibly because the narration doesn’t overly indulge Mia’s chips.  The novel is filled with wonderful, warmly flawed characters. Additionally, All About Mia portrays characters, school life and family drama in a way that I believe.

There is plenty of high drama too covering everything from sibling rivalry, alcohol abuse, cheating friends, teen pregnancy, being dealt consequences and how to get a grip and feel comfortable in your own skin (or t-shirt!).

I’d heartily recommend it to teenagers and young adults. I would feel very comfortable buying this for almost any teenager, whether I knew their personal reading habits or not.

Publication details: David Fickling Books, Oxford, 2 Feb 2017, hardback

This copy: received for potential review from the publisher

The Memory Book – Lara Avery

Two young adult novels out this month featuring Memory in the title. Having limited time, this is the one whose first page drew my attentions and held it the whole way through.

The Memory Book is exactly what it says. It’s a fiction about Samantha McCoy, 17, the smartest girl in school, a champion debater and she’s been diagnosed with a memory loss disease, a kind of dementia. She writes The Memory Book (or types it on her laptop) to her future herself, as a way to remind her who she is and what she did.

Sammie is a very determined girl, and her voice is snappy-smart but without the snark, a combination that I liked. I was a bit wary about the disease element (yeah, there are a few of those around and once you’ve read a few they can get tiresome: sorry, I’m feeling jaded) but I thought that it actually worked really well. A bit like many young adult novels featuring very ill teenagers, this is a novel about making the most of your life while you can and I felt that The Memory Book really pulled this off.

Interestingly, it made me think a bit quite a bit about dementia, not so much in young people, but in old people and how it might affect them in the little and big ways. Of course, it also made me think about giving life your best shot always.

There’s an interesting thread in the novel about first love and crushes (obviously!) although they left me wondering whether or not Sam ever really decided which was which. But does that matter anyway, whether it’s a crush or love (that’s me thinking through after reading as it’s not directly raised in the novel)?

I imagine this would appeal to readers who are competitively determined – or who like debates. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is on a debate team, or trying to get on a debate team. Samantha McCoy is exhausting!

Yep, I really enjoyed this novel: page-turning, thought-provoking and poignantly wistful.

Publication details: Quercus, 26 January 2017, London, paperback

This copy: uncorrected proof for possible review from the publisher

How to Write Your Best Story Ever! - Christopher Edge

I am a browser and sometimes I find something that takes me by surprise. And so I happened upon Oxford University Press's How To Write Your Best Story Ever, which was published earlier this month. When I was a child, there was never as much guidance on developing your talents like there is today, and so I'm quite unfamiliar with fiction writing guides for 7-13 year olds. So I took a close look.

How To Write Your Best Story ever is not an activity journal, which is what I was expecting. There is no place intended for you to start scribbling down ideas. No. In keeping with OUP's dictionaries, How To Write Your Best Story Ever is definitely a reference book to prompt you, inspire you and help you along the way in, well, writing your best story ever with whatever writing instruments you choose.

It's a busy book (perhaps a bit busy for my eye, but I was 7-13 a long time ago!) full of colour, illustrations and chunked tips and guidance. Succinctly, it uses double spreads to tell you about the intricacies of the elements that make up a good story - and how you can get there. One of the things I liked most (there were a few), was that it devotes a few pages to writing all the different genres including Scripts and Mash-ups. It offers vocabulary to inspire you - and to challenge you - in crafting these different types of stories.

A couple of the other things that I really liked: quotes from a variety of different novels and authors (as well as Christopher Edge, who authored this book and some jolly good novels) are included as real examples of how to apply the suggestions so that you can see what the language looks like in a real live (and published) setting; and, all the way through it gives friendly reminders about the basic elements of the English language and how to identify and use them to improve your writing.

Really nice.


Publication details: January 2017, Oxford University Press, Oxford, paperback
This copy: received from the publisher for possible review

Wing Jones - Katherine Webber

Wing Jones - Katherine Webber

Katherine Webber's debut novel, Wing Jones, is a delicious mix of ingredients. Based in 1990s Atlanta, the main teen characters are all mixed race or black, there's an inter-racial relationship, there's binge drinking and suspenseful moments of gun-toting. But, there's also - and primarily - a naive and painfully vilified fifteen year old girl who is relentlessly bullied, is mocked by her loving Ghanaian and Chinese grandmothers, has a girlhood crush on her popular brother's best friend, and she calls on her dragon and lioness to help her through the most tragic events of her life.  Wrap all of this up in Jessica Ennis 'this girl can' attitudes to sport and sprinkle with happy bliss. Then you've met Wing Jones.

Wing Jones is a pleasure to read. Katherine Webber's writing flows, and she creates immediately likeable characters. Prejudiced attitudes to race and what constitutes criminal activity form central parts of the story without being tackled as 'issues'. The tragic event*, which provides a plot turning point, covers an issue I don't think I've seen in YA before (I'm sure it is out there though) and is tragically very real. Curiously, and despite these elements of the plot (which were my favourite), the overall tone in Wing Jones is cosily warm and those who love cute couples will no doubt be charmed.

*See below for small plot spoiler about the tragic event......


Publication details: 5 January 2017, Walker Books, London, paperback
This copy: uncorrected proof from the publisher for review

Caution: Plot spoiler follows.


Plot spoiler


Plot spoiler.


Tragic event: drinking and driving

A Boy Called Christmas - Matt Haig & Chris Mould

A Boy Called Christmas

When I first read the blurb: "You are about to read the true story of Father Christmas" and I saw that it was authored by Matt Haig, I knew I wanted to read this. From the very first page, I was smitten.

A Boy Called Christmas is rollicking good fun, full of laughs for child and adult alike on every page, (and Haig has taken the opportunity to poke fingers at the state of the international nation). It's also an adventure quest story, perfect for shared bedtime reading - or cosying up under the Christmas tree. And Chris Mould provides plenty of illustrated pages.

For anyone who's been wondering how to chat about the way we treat outsiders to young children - without getting all politicised - this could be a fun place to start.

If you believe in Father Christmas - the old man dressed in white and red, whose reindeers like Donner and Cupid and Blitzen (okay, Cupid might not be mentioned in this book!) fly him through the night delivering gifts to children who've been good; if you believe in the potential of humanity to be a generous and giving species; if you believe in the possibilities for little boys and girls to go out and become who they want to be; and if you really like a bit of mischievous fun about how things came to be, chances are you'll love this little book.

There is an elf swear word in the novel: impossible.


A Boy Called Christmas has been nominated for the 2017 Carnegie medal.


Publication details: 2016, Canongate, Edinburgh, paperback
This copy: received for review from the publisher

Dreaming the Bear – Mimi Thebo

Dreaming the Bear - Mimi Thebo

Dreaming the Bear is a quick read about a teenage girl, Darcy, who’s recovering from pneumonia after begrudgingly moving to Yellowstone National Park in its deep winter snow. She stumbles across an injured bear and things get a little more complicated.

Darcy seemingly moves in and out of bodily consciousness and this is interestingly written and quite atmospheric too. Her narration of the overwhelming and consuming tiredness that can accompany debilitating illness is conveyed very convincingly. Her relationship with the bear is an interesting one. It provides a storyline with heartstring-pull moments (oh yes, I did cry) and explores worthy questions about wildlife habituation but I didn't feel this was as richly conveyed as Darcy's consciousness was, perhaps because the novel is quite short. 

Characterwise, Darcy, perhaps justifiably, is a whinger. Yes, she is ill but she’s very spoilt too: it’s in her tone, in her thoughts and in her shopping behaviour so I struggled to warm to her. Sometimes that matters when I read a book. In terms of character development, she does change and she does become more aware of the different ways of life around her. 

The cover and the size of the book made me think this was a middle grade novel but I think the interest level is perhaps for readers older than 9 or 10 years, and definitely for teens too.

Dreaming the Bear has been nominated for the 2017 Carnegie Medal.

Publication details: Oxford University Press, 2016, Oxford, paperback

This copy: received for review from the publisher