J - Howard Jacobson

J by Howard Jacobson

Review by M

 

J has been shortlisted for the Man Booker 2014.

 

(Please note: The title of this novel is not J. It is a struck out J but I don’t know how to type that!)

 

I’ve never finished The Finkler Question, the only Jacobson I’ve ever started to read, and the curious thing about this was that there ‘was’ something that I liked about his writing just as there ‘was’ something I did not like. Precise, aren’t I?

When J came up for review (prior to its Booker listing), both this niggle about Jacobson’s writing and the premise for J grabbed my current attention. Going by the blurb, J is both a dystopian novel and a love story, so pretty much right up my street.

Set in the future, a not-spoken -about past frames the novel, and the narrator hovers it over the characters like a thick mist: What Happened, If It Happened. Most of the novel is spent providing clues and red herrings as to What happened, if It happened (my early hunch was that something almost apocalyptic had happened due to social media – but I was wrong and anyone who understands the significance of the struck out J will have a good idea from the offing What has happened).

The narrator expounds philosophically about the pre- and post- treatment of It (for me, this went on a bit too much and was not sufficiently convincing). Post-It, public mood is presided over by an agency known as Ofnow (hmm, Atwoodian handmaids anyone?). Unfortunately, this ‘new’ world that J creates, is not fully explored and just doesn’t feel quite right.

J turns, however (and ultimately,thankfully), around two central characters, Ailinn and Kevern, and their new love affair, the future of which hangs in the balance due to a pair of ugly feet and a murder mystery. Jacobson crafts a believably poignant relationship, and these two characters, for me, are what carry the novel.

As the novel unfolds, the significance of the struck out J and What Happened, If It Happened is deadly serious. It is unnerving and unsettling, and on one count is not something unfamiliar from real life and on another count is not unfamiliar from the worlds of big brother.  

Jacobson puts much detail but also not enough into the plotlines so that some elements seemed superfluous while others were lacking. I found the ending very unsatisfying, partly because some things felt as if they were left hanging, but also because some things just didn’t feel like they fit well. I struggled to identify the ‘tone’ of the novel – there was always a lighthearted humour mingling with something much, much darker. It just didn’t feel plausible enough (though perhaps this is ‘the point’). I think I'd recommend this as a library read to some people.

 

Publication details: 14 August 2014, Jonathan Cape, London, hardback

This copy: digital review copy from the publisher

 

 

 

 

MaddAddam - Margaret Atwood

MaddAddam by Margaret Atwood

Adult fiction rambles by M

(haha, there’s a short video of Atwood somewhere, cracking a smile about MaddAddam’s dark humour, “parental guidance and all that”!)

 

Thanks to Hatchards Bloomsbury Book Club, my copy of MaddAddam turned up early enough for me to be an advanced reader before any of the mainstream reviews surfaced. So I read it whole, then made some notes, then read some mixed reviews, and then met Margaret Atwood. A couple of other things happened too and now, these are my thoughts-at-this-juncture on MaddAddam. It's a bit uncharacteristically gushy. For a succint overview of the plot, look somewhere else.

Punning satire and parody, MaddAddam is earnestly comical cult fiction. Forget literary salons, guys, the next cosplay is MaddAddam CampGeek at my place via PulpFiction-cum-RockyHorrorPictureShow-cum-BoneyM (and if we can fix the world too, great). And then we can watch Aidan Quinn (sorry Offred) and maybe eat cake (morally disordered, of course). If ever there was an impetus for me doing fan-fiction, MaddAddam is it (wonder what the Toad’s copyright regime is...).

So yes, if you haven’t read any of it, the trilogy’s a Margaret Atwood blast: Oryx and Crake, The Year of the Flood and then MaddAddam. And then read The Blind Assassin: the parallels between her latest offering and her Booker winner are mad! There’s plenty of overlapping pulp fiction in that winner.

Trilogy- and plot-wise, all three overlap but fill gaps and provide alternative perspectives on the same events: the story behind the MaddAddam ARG and organisation, the apocalyptic time and the fallout. But in MaddAddam, Atwood brings storytelling to the forefront as the novel’s form is structured around Toby’s night-time storytelling. This could be be seen as the development of the chapters in a new Crakers’ gospel, much as the God’s Gardener’s from The Year of the Flood had their psalms/songs. Toby even creates the possibility for the addition of new testaments through Blackbeard. Indeed, each of the three novels are a new testament on the same central story.

Comic. Above anything else, for me, MaddAddam is funny; at times it is farcical. Known for her caustically detailed observations about our lived and culturally-enhanced humanities, Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam is nothing if not a moment of let’s-laugh-and-cry at ourselves. Much of the humour feels like it has developed straight from a creative stream-of-consciousness brainstorming session that delights in wordplay. God’s Gardeners, it’s cutting bloody dark fun.

Of wordplay there is plenty and the novel's central themes, for me, are about words and meaning particularly in the context of storytelling, both written and spoken, and with multiple narrators over periods of time. In some ways, this has threaded all through the whole trilogy and were present in The Blind Assassin.

For other readers, eco-political themes will ring loudest. And of course, as with many of her novels, Atwood also grapples with sexual and romantic relationships. Sexual relationships and particularly monogamous versus polygamous relationships, romance versus biological reproduction and consensual acts versus abuse abound in the MaddAddamite trilogy. MaddAddam shows – clearly – how blurred lines really are. An example of this is an “energetic” pun on foreplay which in some ways is a reprehensible bang.

At the same time, despite her matter of fact and non-sentimental style, MaddAdam, like The Handmaid’s Tale, is also a smouldering love story. For the critics who suggest that MaddAddam sacrifices characterisation, in my mind, they’ve missed the point/s. Nowhere are Zeb and Toby more real than in this novel. Shucks, I even shed a tear (note the singularity). And look at the Crakers whom we first meet and the Crakers that we leave.

Singing: this seems to work as some sort of motif or extended metaphor. Zeb sings little ditties when he’s frightened or stressed. Gospel singers sing. The Crakers sing. Adam, Toby, Crake and eventually, Blackbeard, don’t like singing. But Toby also learns that the Crakers’ singing is something that might save them. I even asked Margaret Atwood about it.

In the latter part of the novel, there are strains of Animal Farm.

At first, I couldn’t get into MaddAddam. I wasn’t fond of the ‘storytelling’ form that it was taking, framed by a very thin plot. However, as it develops into a story about Zeb, it becomes much more interesting although there is no real crescendo – though there are some very high and significant ends of chapters towards the end.

I read both of the previous novels a few years ago, and although there is a very extensive ‘the story so far’ at the beginning, and although Atwood provides lots of catch-up details throughout MaddAddam, I couldn’t help wishing that I’d read the three novels in order quite quickly one after the other.

 

At the end, the MaddAddamite left me sorry to say goodbye to some of my favourite Gardeners. It also left me craving to go and read, and re-read more of Atwood’s fiction. So, I did.

 

Publication details: Bloomsbury, 2013, London, hardback

This copy: mine and signed!

 

The Elites - Natasha Ngan

The Elites by Natasha Ngan

Review by Little M

The Elites is a very good dystopian novel. I think it is well written and it is a standalone book whereas today most dystopian novels come as a trilogy which can be a pain.

This novel is about Silver. She is a teenager who was streamed into the Elite training program from a young age. Elites are people who have something special in their DNA. They are then put into the Elite training programme and then their job is to protect the city, Neo Babel. No-one is allowed to leave Neo Babel. But when the president is shot, Silver is suspected to have been involved. Because of this, she and her best friend Butterfly escape Neo Babel to save Silver from an awful fate and to also find her parents who have mysteriously disappeared.

The Elites portrays a world where the people who live in it think that they are the only civilisation left. But there is actually more than that but the people in power are hiding the truth about what is beyond the walls of Neo Babel.

Due to some of the confusing aspects of the plot, like the president’s shooting and the DNA streaming, I would recommend this novel for Year 7 and above. I would definitely recommend it to fans of the novel Divergent (Veronica Roth) and The Hunger Games (Suzanne Collins). It includes a tiny bit of romance, lots of action and adventure, and an awful lot of science fiction.

 

Publication details: 2013, Hot Key Books, London, paperback

This copy: Proof received for review from the publisher

Boonie - M's review

Boonie by Richard Masson

 

Reviewed by M

Boonies are outsiders. JD is a Boonie, he just doesn’t know it yet. Set in a dry almost waterless fantasy (and maybe futuristic) world, an eco-message runs like an undercurrent through the novel, which takes a typical children’s quest story: a young teenager loses both parents (one to death) and goes on a journey of search and survival. Along the way, he makes a couple of good friends and the search quickly turns into an adventurous quest to uncover dark secrets of a world JD didn't know existed, save himself and maybe even the world. The cover image featured here is for the paperback edition and it captures the setting for Boonie really well (note: the black O is not a vinyl record!).

Boonie by Richard Masson - paperback edition

Boonie begins as an edgy, gritty read for older teens. However, it quickly becomes something more likely to appeal to a younger readership and I had to reframe my reading expectations.

Although it isn’t a fully happy-ever-after novel and there are some harrowing scenes, the overall tone is warm and the characters of JD, speechless Godrum and feisty Aqua are very likeable. There is a lot of moving plot and action. Boonie manages to pack in a lot of thought-provoking elements too. The plot moves quickly from one adventurous and dangerous scene to another (sometimes I wanted it to linger a little longer to find out more about what was going on in each one).

Themes and issues raised in this novel include the earth’s resources (especially water), slavery, power and rebellion. The overall themes and ideas reminded me of SD Crockett’s After the Snow, though the two novels are quite different and Boonie may appeal more to a younger, middle grade readership than After the Snow. The warm tone reminded me in some ways of Lois Lowry’s The Giver (again, these novels are quite different and The Giver isn’t really a quest story and is more hard-hitting). 

Younger readers who like adventure and would like to explore fantasy/science fiction may enjoy Boonie. The publishers’ Hot Key Ring indicates that Boonie's content includes Danger, Dark Future, Rebellion and Friendship. I would agree and maybe add a little of Eco/Environment.

Other eco/environmental novels for teens include After the Snow by SD Crockett (weather) and Breathe by Sarah Crossan (oxygen). There are also Carbon Diaries 2015 by Saci Lloyd and Julie Bertagna’s Exodus and Zenith (which I haven’t read yet).

 

Boonie's Hot Key Ring (by Hot Key Books)

 

Publication details: Hot Key Books, London, 2013, hardback (paperback out in August 2013)

This copy: uncorrected proof received for review from the publisher

Noble Conflict - Little M's review

Noble Conflict by Malorie Blackman

Review by Little M

Kaspar Wilding is the main character in Noble Conflict. He is a Guardian and his job is to protect the citizens from the Insurgents. The Insurgents are a group of terrorists who want to take over the city but the Guardians are there to stop them. When his best friend is killed in a car crash Kaspar meets a girl who saves his life. This girl keeps coming and going but he knows she is bad. She is a terrorist among the Insurgents. As Kaspar finds out who this mysterious girl really is he also finds out what actually happened to his mum and who the rebels are and what they want.

This was a good read and a brilliant dystopian. Every page made me want to read more. I loved the action and mysteries to it and I would love another one to come out. It is definitely one of Malorie Blackman’s best novels. It is completely different to Noughts and Crosses.

Dystopian fans will love it and I think secondary school kids would like it more than primary school kids because the main character is nineteen and the plot is about an older teen’s life.

Publication details: 6 June 2013, Doubleday, London, hardcover

This copy: uncorrected proof received for review from the publisher

Railsea - M's review

Railsea by China Mieville

 

Reviewed by M

Railsea is a swashbuckling adventure about a boy who is an apprentice doctor on a moletrain pummelling across the railsea in search of monster-sized, human-eating moles. You’ll meet captains in search of philosophies, marauding pirates in search of treasures, orphans in search of answers, monstrous underground creatures, and a boy in search of something. Plus, the novel is a playful metafiction.  Railsea is a cavorting frolic and I enjoyed it immensely.

Railsea by China Mieville

From page one (atually three), Mieville, or the narrator, or both, are playing with you, the reader. He makes it clear that this is metafiction: a story about a story. Throughout Railsea, the narrator pauses the story to talk to you. I love this but as the novel progresses, it becomes infuriating.

All along, I had the feeling that the narrator was smiling and chuckling – at me, at himself and at his characters. He likes his main character, Sham ap Saroop. He likes Captain Naphi with all her multiple flaws. Indeed, I think he likes many of his characters and there are some interesting relationships between Sham and a number of other characters: Daybe the daybat, Naphi and Caldera.

As with most fantasised fiction, Mieville’s world building is taxing on readers (especially those of us more accustomed to more realist fiction). Forget ships and water waves, here we have trains on tracks traversing a sea of rails. The names of the characters are a mouthful too. Sham ap Saroop is our lovely main character.

Of course, Mieville also plays with language and style. Mieville uses plenty of made-up words in a made-up world. He also throws in lots of not made-up words that were challenging enough for me to have a dictionary close at hand. He uses ampersands (&) in sentences instead of using ‘and’.  You might ask why the ampersands. I did. Of course, they’re not there just for fun. They signify a concept. I think there’s usually a reason behind everything in Railsea – even if it’s just to have a laugh  - or even just ‘why not’?

I loved the way Mieville personifies ideas. In Railsea, a major one for me was ‘chasing your philosophy’. Anyone who’s ever been searching for ‘the one’ or who devoutly follows a hobby, lifestyle or interest will recognise themselves in these pages.  Academics and fisherwo-men especially. And if you’re neither of these, you’re sure to recognise someone you know.

Thematically, the novel also carries many underlying thoughts about nation-states and governance in a time of capitalism, and possibly about the end of the world and the afterlife. In some ways, it is a bit of a steampunk dystopia. There is no gender stereotyping in Railsea (and I’ve marked it as one for the ‘feminist’ fiction list). Animal cruelty is a strong thread in the novel. Storywise, if you’ve read Moby Dick or Treasure Island (I haven’t read either), I've heard you may spot overlaps.

A few years ago I tried to read Kraken by China Mieville, one of his adult novels. I couldn’t get into it: it was a bit too horrific in its detail for me. Likewise, this YA cover for Railsea and its plot are everything that I avoid reading. Zero appeal. But, everything else about Mieville that appeals to me is in there and the story took me way beyond its cover and the surface of the plot.

Wonderful and highly recommended for fun-loving and curious readers of any age.

 

China Mieville

 

Publication details: April 2013, Pan Books, London, paperback (first published in hardback, May 2012)

This copy: YA paperback edition received for review from the publisher

Fractured (Slated #2) - Little M's review

Fractured by Teri Terry

Fractured is the second book in a trilogy by Teri Terry. The first novel is Slated (careful, this review of Fractured has big spoilers for Slated. You can read M's review of Slated here.).

 

***********

 

Fractured carries on from Slated which is about Kyla who has been slated. Slated is where memories get wiped from your brain.  Fractured is about Kyla finding out about her past and experiencing memories she shouldn’t have. I think this book is incredibly hard to review because I keep thinking I’m going to give away spoilers or not say enough.

Fractured by Teri Terry

Nico wasn’t a main character in Slated but in Fractured he is. Ben, who was Kyla’s boyfriend in Slated is not so important in Fractured but he does play a big role. Kyla is still trying to find him. Some characters in Slated were nice and kind but in Fractured they’re not what I expected them to be. There are new important characters in this novel. I preferred Fractured to Slated because I think the characters progressed more in this book and you find out more about the past. There’s also more action, knives, blood, and guns than there was in Slated.

Fractured was one of those books that I couldn’t put down. I liked the way it was written with flashbacks/dreams which play a massive role in the novel. This was also the case with Slated.

I think this book has lots of good points and some bad points. The good points are that a) you just can’t put the book down, b) the characters keep you hooked and you can’t wait to see what they do next (they keep you in suspense). Some bad points are that a) Ben is not a big character and Kyla misses him so it’s quite sad and b) I don’t think there are any more bad points.

Slated fans will probably like it but there is a bit more action in Fractured than in Slated.  I loved that.

 

Publication details: April 2013, Orchard, London, paperback

This copy: received for review from the publisher

The Lost Girl - M's review

The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna

The Lost Girl is Sangu Mandanna’s debut novel. It is a story about Amarra’s echo who comes to be known as Eva. Echoes are created by the Weavers in London as replacements for a person if/when they die. They are created for families who cannot bear to lose a loved one. Echoes look like these people, their ‘other’.  They grow up learning and practicing to be them; ready to replace them at any moment.

The Lost Girl by Sangu Mandanna

Eva, Amarra’s echo, is fifteen and lives in England. Her life is surrounded by a few people who are all employed by the Weavers. When the time comes for Eva to replace Amarra, her other, she’ll have to say goodbye to everyone in her life including her foster mother and her teenaged guardian, Sean. Her own independent life doesn’t count.

It’s interesting that echoes are a copy but it is the ‘original’ that is referred to in the novel as the ‘other’. Often, it would be the echo that would be referred to in this way, particularly if they are treated as ‘others’. In The Lost Girl, echoes are treated as others. They do not have their own names, they do not have their own independent lives. They have been created with the sole purpose of filling a gap if and when it arises.

Are they even people? Some people don’t think so and see them as a travesty. There are hunters who track them down and kill them. There are sleep orders. The family, the ‘other’ and the Weavers can sign a sleep order that kills the echo. And in India, where Amarra lives, echoes are illegal.

The whole premise of this novel appealed to me before I started reading the book. It brought to mind novels like Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go so I expected it to be right up my street. On reading the first page, the character of Eva reminded me immediately of Sonmi-451 in David Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas. Sonmi-451 is a clone who serves in a diner and is one literary character who has made a lasting impression on me. I was quickly drawn to Eva in The Lost Girl.

Stylistically, this novel is nothing like Cloud Atlas, Never Let Me Go or even any other sci-fi novels that I’ve read. The tone of The Lost Girl is soft and gentle and the story has a comforting mothering feel even when the plot is harsh and life threatening. It brought to mind Sufiya Ahmed’s Secrets of the Henna Girl and Sita Brahmachari’s Artichoke Hearts series. Perhaps this also has something to do with the south Asian cultural influences and locations in these novels?

This is a lovely read for a teen audience. I would especially recommend it to young teens who want to start exploring speculative science fiction themes of ‘genetics’ or ‘reproduction’. As with many other novels that explore these issues, a lot of romantic love elements are central for this plot’s thematic exploration of identity and being.

Publication details: Definitions (Random House), 3 January 2013, paperback

This copy: received from the publisher

 

This novel counts towards M’s Debut Author Challenge 2013.

Knife Edge - M's Review

Knife Edge by Malorie Blackman

 

Knife Edge is the second novel in Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses sequence. If you haven’t read Noughts & Crosses, you can read my review here. Please note that there are spoilers for Noughts & Crosses from the third paragraph onwards in this review of Knife Edge.

Billed by some as a dystopian novel, Knife Edge doesn’t read like one for me. For me, it's much more like a gritty contemporary crime novel for teens. The only apparent aspect that is speculative in Knife Edge is that domination by race is reversed – so blacks (Crosses) over whites (noughts).  While this was interesting in the first book, Noughts & Crosses, it feels a bit repetitive in Knife Edge.

 

SPOILER ALERT!! SPOILER ALERT!!! DO NOT read on if you wish to avoid small spoilers for the first novel, Noughts & Crosses.

Knife Edge (Noughts & Crosses #2) by Malorie Blackman

 

Knife Edge is a story about loneliness, revenge, discrimination and motherhood. It continues Sephy’s story. In Noughts & Crosses, her story ran parallel to Callum’s story. In Knife Edge, her story runs parallel to Jude’s, Callum’s brother. Sephy is now a single teen mother estranged from her powerful Cross family, and she has to get on with her life.  Jude, is a terrorist in hiding, he wants revenge – and he’s desperately lonely.  

Like Noughts & Crosses, Knife Edge is written from the different characters' points of view. But in the last sections of the novel, the story is also told from Jasmine and Meggie’s perspective, Sephy and Callum’s mothers respectively. The novel is also divided up into sections which are titled by colours that make up a rainbow. Rainbows and mothers are interweaved themes that run through Knife Edge and these could make very interesting discussions for reading groups.

Malorie Blackman describes Noughts & Crosses as being her novel about love while Knife Edge is her novel about hate. I don’t see it this way. Yes, Noughts & Crosses might be about love but that is not what stood out for me most. And yes, there is definitely hate in Knife Edge. A lot of hate and some of the characters are truly hateful. But I would describe Knife Edge as being the book about mothers and how motherhood affects their lives and the choices they make: Jasmine, Meggie and now Sephy too (remember, she’s a teenage mum).

Aspects of Knife Edge's plot and particularly the storytelling from the mothers' perspectives reminded me of Sindiwe Magona's novel, Mother To Mother, which told the fictionalised account of a high-profile racial killing in Cape Town.

The ending to Noughts & Crosses shocked me, and if shock factor is what you’re after, Knife Edge will deliver. There are plenty of shockers in it. I didn’t like that but, of course, that might be the point of the Noughts & Crosses sequence – racial discrimination is not a happy life. Nor is any form of discrimination. More and more, I’ve started to notice that the treatment of women by men in the Noughts & Crosses sequence so far is vile. another dimension to explore in reading groups...

On a more positive note, the Noughts and Cross characters alike make some awful choices that impact badly on themselves and others around them. Blackman doesn’t impose her views on the story and it’s left up to the reader to deal with the moral issues that form the backbone of the sequence. But for me, Knife Edge is a bit too dark and gloomy.

Publication details:

Corgi, 2012 (new edition), London, paperback

 This copy: received for review from the publisher

Breathe - M's Review

Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Breathe is the company who sells expensive oxygen to those who live inside the Pod. Outside the Pod, there is no longer any oxygen or life. Growing plants inside the Pod is not allowed. Residents in the Pod are either tattoo-lobed Premiums with enough money to afford lots of oxygen so that they can exercise and so on. On the otherhand, Auxiliaries have little money and aren’t allowed to exercise because they’ll consume too much oxygen. So while there’s life inside the Pod, it’s stratified and therefore a limited life for many. But there’s a Resistance movement in the Pod. Outside, well who really knows? In Breathe, the main characters are about to find out. 

Breathe by Sarah Crossan

The dystopian-eco concept for Breathe's plot intrigued me. The promising storyline also has similarities with Malorie Blackman’s Noughts and Crosses, Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games and Lois Lowry’s The Giver.

In Breathe, the story is told from three characters' points of view: Bea the clever Auxiliary; Quinn the Premium who is her best friend (but she'd love him to be more); and green-eyed Resistance beauty, Alina. I’m a sucker for multiple narratives so this pleased me. Bea and Quinn were very likeable characters but ,for me, there was something missing with Alina.  Overall, I was disappointed because I felt the romance side of things overshadowed real depth in the plot. A lot of the plot just fits together too easily and there’s quite a bit that isn’t believable enough for me.

This is a novel that might appeal to readers who are romance fans  as there is a lot of unrequited teen love in this story.  Although there is violence in the novel, it is not graphic and there is less of it than in many other teen dystopian novels. The eco, consumerism and equalities messages in the novel might also appeal to some readers.  Just imagine having to pay for your oxygen.

This is also a quick read and there’s enough in the plot to keep many readers interested enough to keep turning the pages right through to the end. It might appeal to confident tween readers too.

Breathe is the first novel in a planned trilogy.

Publication details:

Bloomsbury, October 2012, London, paperback

This copy: uncorrected proof received for review from the publishers

M's review - Maggot Moon

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner

Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner

Compared to a lot of the recent teen dystopian that is out there, Maggot Moon is an invigorating read in much the same way as fizzing colas on your tongue. Maggot Moon is a what if story. What if things had happened differently? Sally Gardner poses this question by setting the story in an alternate past. At the beginning of the story, Standish Treadwell asks himself this question. What if?

Standish Treadwell is an imperfect fifteen year old. He has two differently coloured eyes and cannot read, write or spell. He has dyslexia and lives in Zone 7 with his Gramps. This is not a good zone to live in and you have to do everything you can to ensure you don’t become maggot meat for the Motherland, an oppressively brutal and stratified regime. This is difficult when you stand out as different, the way that Standish stands out. 

The novel takes place on 19^th July 1956. More than anything, Standish wants to get on a rocket to the planet Juniper which he has discovered. What if he did? But the Motherland is much more interested in launching the first rocket to the moon- and nothing is going to stop them. But what if something did?

Other important parts in this what if story are a wall, a red football, Hector and Gramps.

Maggot Moon is stark both in its story and in Standish’s narrative. There’s no messing about with softening blows but there is a lot of messing with words and realities. There is also love. Not romantic love or lust. Just real plain love, loyalty and sacrifice.

Sally Gardner plays wonderfully with words, associations and meanings. I think she might have had a lot of fun with this novel and she (or was it the publishers?) describe it as a "bookful of Sallyisms". Don’t get me wrong. Maggot Moon is not a funny novel by any stretch of the imagination. And it might stretch your imagination. If you let it.

Maggot Moon. It really will mean something to you by the time you finish the book. And it won’t take you long because Maggot Moon is a fast read. It’s a real pageturner with perhaps the shortest chapters I’ve ever seen. This makes it difficult to put down (and it might make it difficult to quickly pick up from where you left off if you do put it down). 

If you liked Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games, you should try this. If you liked Lois Lowry’s The Giver, you should try this. If you liked SD Crockett’s After the Snow, you should try this. If you like a good story that makes you think, you should try this.

This story DOES NOT contain girls. What if it did? Would it have been a different story…..?

This story DOES contain swearing and violence. It may upset some younger readers.

Publication details:

Hot Key Books, 30 August 2012, London, hardback, pp.288

This copy: uncorrected proof received for review from the publisher

Review - Noughts & Crosses

 Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Noughts & Crosses - Malorie Blackman

Noughts & Crosses is a critically acclaimed alternate history that tackles racism, oppression and rebellion. But it tastes like Marmite. You’ll either love it or hate it.

Noughts & Crosses tells the story of Callum and Sephy who live in a society that is cruelly ruled by the dark-skinned Crosses at the expense of the almost-enslaved light-skinned noughts. Callum is a nought and Sephy is a Cross. Once childhood friends, an event happens that tears their families apart. From all parts of the community, brakes are harshly applied to their continued and blossoming relationship. Noughts & Crosses is Callum and Sephy’s tale.

The dual narration by Callum and Sephy works really well and, for me, is flawed only by the similarity of the two voices.  I didn't think they were distinct enough and I had to keep flipping back to the header to see whose tale was being told.

There is a lot of plot movement.  Too much for me but perhaps this is what many Young Adult audiences relish. And more importantly, a busy plot signifies the multiple difficulties that many people deal with on a daily basis - especially in societies that set out to destroy the very fabric of your souls.

It’s certainly not an enjoyable read but I don’t think it was meant to be. What I usually love about alternate realities is the hope they provide for the future.  Sadly, Noughts & Crosses lacked this for me and by the end it really felt like a punch in the stomach. On Malorie Blackman’s own website, she admits that there is mixed feeling over the ending. As a result, some readers may find it unsatisfactory.  I know I’m one of them. But there are plenty of readers who don't feel this way.

Perhaps the thing that stands out for me most in the novel is the issue of choices, consequences and individual action. So many characters make really bad choices and the unexpected (and sometimes unintended) consequences are very painful – and far reaching. After the punch that this novel delivered, which left me feeling cold inside (as Callum felt too), I’m starting to find peace with the novel. I see it now as an indictment against forms of violent action – and a call for people to think their choices through.

Noughts & Crosses is the first in a series of books (all of which are published so available to buy or borrow from libraries).

The copy I read has a warning printed on the back cover: Not suitable for younger readers.  I think anyone recommending this to a young teen should do so believing that the child has the mental maturity to evaluate the actions characters take in this novel.

Publication details:

Corgi (Random House), 2006, London, paperback (special edition including An Eye For an Eye)

This copy: our own

                      

Review - After the Snow

After the Snow by S D Crockett

After the Snow - SD Crockett

Suddenly, Willo’s family are gone.  He doesn't know why but he realises that he is all alone on the snowy rural mountains of Snowdonia to fend for himself. He’s alone – except for dog, the companion he keeps in his head. Willo heads off on a treacherous journey and quickly discovers that there are dangers all around him: the snowy harsh mountain terrain, the wolves, good dog, mad dog, stealers, stragglers, Mary, and a whole lot of children. And that is just a start!  Not to mention a whole lot of secrets too.

Willo is a wonderful teen narrator.  So, so brutally honest, imperfect and ordinary in his own way.  I think he surprises himself more than the reader by how much he discovers throughout the novel!

The novel is an exciting but also dark and very cold adventure. Set in the future after the temperatures had warmed to melt the snowcaps, the world has returned to a cold and barren ice age. It’s a time where everyone is battling to survive. Set in the Rhinog mountains and nearby surroundings in Wales, the novel was inspired by S D Crockett’s experiences in Russia right after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

While the different visions that people and governments have in dealing with the fallout from climate change is a central thread of the story, the main plot is Willo’s adventure. And really, it is Willo (and perhaps Mary) who makes this story come very much alive.  While the state of the world is important, what I really cared about most in this book was Willo.

After the Snow starts off slowly – if this is an issue for you, please bear with it – you will be rewarded. Also, Willo’s unusual use of tense was difficult to read for a good few pages but then I became accustomed to it.  There are some harsh and graphic scenes of violence and cruelty that might not be suitable for younger or sensitive readers.  I certainly skipped over the details in more than a couple of paragraphs.  But, this violence fits within the harsh reality and story that this book tells.

I was hoping to enjoy After the Snow but was surprised by how good I thought it was. It is a very haunting but beautiful read. And to top it off, I loved the ending.  A well-deserved and proper ending.

Publication details:

Macmillan, 2012, London, hardback

This copy: received for review from Macmillan Children’s Books

Review - Insurgent

Review – Insurgent by Veronica Roth



Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent, the highly anticipated sequel to Veronica’s Roth successful Divergent dystopian YA novel, was released last week to a very excited audience.  We were part of that audience and even luckier, we had an advance review copy as part of Harper Collins’ promotion for the novel. Thank you, Rosi! I was placed in team Candor….so, from that perspective here is my review.

First off, if you haven’t read Divergent, do that now.  Don’t bother reading the rest of this review.  Not because there are spoilers but because Insurgent doesn’t work very well as a standalone novel. It’s part of a trilogy and really needs to be read that way to get full enjoyment from it. It starts off exactly where Divergent left off – and no doubt it ends where the third book will start. Also, I really, really liked Divergent.

So, if you’re still reading this review it’s probably because you’ve read Divergent so introductions to it aren’t really necessary. If you do need a reminder, go here for my review of it.

Insurgent is a battlefield.  A battlefield of guns and serum weaponry, of wills and political power, of factions and ways of life, of conscience and of hearts.

For me, the focus in Divergent was on choice, and this continues in Insurgent but is enveloped far more in questions of trust. Far more so than in Divergent, the characters find that they cannot reliably trust anyone – or even anything – anymore.  Life is no longer how they knew it and they’re all uncertain as to what it will become – and they’re frightened (yes, even some of the Dauntless) about what the consequences of their battle action will bring. It really moves the action into the world of Divergent rather than focussing on Dauntless HQ and training. I enjoyed this aspect of the novel a lot – the more philosophical elements that for me are an essential characteristic of dystopian fiction for any audience. I also enjoyed exploring who and what the Divergent and Factionless are. But, for me, the focus in this book is on action. What you take away most from this book will depend on who you are as a reader.

I did find the middle of the book a bit messy.  I found that many of the secondary (or even tertiary) characters were blurred for me and I often got confused as to who they were. For me, Tobias and Four don’t fit together very well as a single character and that disappointed me.  I missed the Four from Divergent. And I still have that niggle over Tris as a strong female character.  Yes, she is strong and her strength and character does grow – but again, as in Divergent, if it wasn’t for Tobias/Four, where would she be?

Insurgent is high-octane action from beginning to end – with a frequent dose of snogging (and tears from the characters) too. If you enjoyed Divergent, you’ll most likely enjoy Insurgent.  If you’re anything like me, you’ll enjoy it a bit less though.  But, of course, all credit to Roth, I want to know how the trilogy ends!!! Convergent? Emergent?
 

For me as a reader, the baton has been handed back to Veronica Roth and Harper Collins – you guys really need to smash it next time.

Publication details:

Harper Collins, 2012, London, paperback

This copy: received as a review copy from Harper Collins

Little M's Review - Insurgent

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent is a follow on from Divergent and it starts only about an hour after Divergent finished (in Divergent time). This book is about a girl called Tris who had made her choice about which faction she would live in for the rest of her life. Now she has to try and get the truth from an Erudite file before it’s destroyed. Tris needs to overcome a fear of holding a gun again. Is she going to be able to do it?

This book is also about the whole of Tris’ world trying to keep the factions in place and not letting the factionless take over (I’ve actually no idea what her world is called). Not everyone wants this to be so will the factionless try to take over the faction system and create a world with no factions? One of Tris’ close friends is going to betray her.

I think I enjoyed it more than Divergent because more things happen and it has more suspense.  I enjoyed this book a lot but I think there were bits that didn’t need to be included like visiting Amity.

Tris, Tobias, Christina and Lynn are all my favourite characters.  I couldn’t decide whether I had one or not because I loved them all. They all had unique personalities like Lynn who was determined and stronger than a lot of people. Tris’ amazing mind control in simulations was incredible.  She made it look easy but it isn’t (well, I don’t think it is).

I would say this book is an action, adventure and romance story. It isn’t really a romance but there was a little bit of kissing. There is a bit of gore in it but then it’s not as bad as I thought.

In the end, it leaves you in suspense which is very exciting because I can’t wait until the next book.

Publication details:

Harper Collins, London, May 2012, paperback

This copy: received from Harper Collins

Review - Slated

Slated by Teri Terry

 “Can you know the truth if your mind has been wiped?”

Slated by Teri Terry

The whole concept of Slated piqued my curiosity immediately. It’s a thrilling dystopia, set in mid-21^st century London. The UK has withdrawn from the EU and has been ruled by a Central Coalition for a while. After youths were blamed for mob riots in London, anyone under 21 is banned from using a mobile phone and Lorders from the Central Coalition hunt down gangs and terrorists (set so far into the future, I admit I was surprised that netbooks and mobile phones were still around!). So, anyone who is caught and under-16 gets......slated (they undergo brain surgery that wipes their memory completely).

Sixteen year old Kyla tells us her story. She has been slated and has just been released back into society from a secure hospital – but only after she signs a contract. But her narration is interspersed with her dreams. Are these flashbacks of memory? Or just dreams? 

Either way, because of a Levo that is strapped around her wrist to keep her emotion levels on ‘happy’, these dreams could kill her.  If her happy levels get too low or too high, she’ll be zapped! Now just imagine being a teenager in a new school where everyone thinks you’re an ex-con and security police are watching your every move. Imagine keeping your emotions level when you don't know who or what anyone is! Then you'll have put yourself in Kyla's shoes.

I really felt for Kyla.  She often didn’t know which way to turn and being slated and having a Levo presented all sorts of possibilities for plot and character development.  And her character certainly develops very quickly. Kyla is strong but it takes her a while to realise this. I go on and on about strong female characters, and yes, I have found one in Kyla! Ben, Kyla’s mum and Dr Lysander are also interesting secondary characters.  Ben is lovely....so is Sebastian.

The story is good and strong. You’ll want to read it in a single sitting. 

But...

...this book has been written as part of a trilogy. So there's a cliffhanger with many dangling threads. That is perhaps my only complaint – but it is quite a big one. And it really grieves me! Some endings are unsatisfying but this one is annoying as too many threads are left untied. Aarggh. It didn’t need to do that. 

Despite my big grumble, I would highly recommend this novel. It's action-packed and thought provoking too. Slower-paced and with less graphic violence than Veronica Roth's Divergent trilogy, it’s nevertheless a real page-turner – and I preferred it! I was hoping Slated would be good, but I thought it was very, very good. We'll be keeping our copy for our bookshelves!

I think it will appeal to - and is suitable for - all teen readers (and older!). There is only minimal violence and only an itsy bit of the obligatory teen romance.

Slated will be published tomorrow, 3 May 2012.

Publication details:

Orchard, 3 May 2012, London, paperback

Copy: Review copy sent by Orchard.

Candor Hosts the Divergent Teddy Bears Picnic

"If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise,

If you go down to the woods today, you'd better go in disguise..."

And that's how newly pink haired Veronica Giroffe came to be at the Divergent Teddy Bears Picnic.

Hosted by Candor dog (who honestly just wanted some fun), all five factions turned up bringing their own dress codes, food preferences and entertainment with them. Veronica wasn't so sure how this would turn out - all five of them together under the apple tree! So she stayed in the background, taking cover in the leafy shade of the Amity tree....


Divergent teddy bears' picnic L to R: Candor dog, Amity duck, Abnegation bear, Erudite collie, Dauntless lion

So Candor dog dressed smartly in black and white, brought a glass and Champagne - hoping to tease out some lively debate. But Dauntless lion the brave wanted to show some might. After drinking a can of beer, she refused to hand over the butter knife and challenged Candor dog to a game of truth or dare.

Erudite collie was having none of this silly business and buried his head in a copy of Divergent and brought Insurgent along too - just for good measure. Abnegation bear dressed in a dull grey dress, was on top form  and brought all the food, saving only dry brown bread for herself. There was everyone's favourite dish including roast chicken, banana walnut cake, apples and cheese and beef burgers cooked on glowing coals.  Amity duck, bright and cheerful in her yellow and red, sang sweetly but stayed neutral. Perhaps she'd had too much wine....qwack.

Just outside the camera shot, a group of factionless lurked (Abnegation bear had dropped half of their picnic there - she knew the other factions were likely to squabble if she took too much food anyway).

Veronica Giroffe sighed....'Is this what it's come to?" she thought, and sauntered off to write another story.

This fan fiction takes direct inspiration from Veronica Roth's novel, Divergent published by Harper Collins.  It is posted as part of the #CandorUK bid to win a bag of books and swag from Harper Collins UK as part of the UK launch of Roth's sequel, Insurgent, which is released today. It's also really good fun!

Of course, the rest of faction #CandorUK have a host of surprises in the next week too. And, if you're the picnicky type (like us) head on over to Big Book Little Book to see what delicious Divergent delights they're bringing to the party.