A Little London Scandal by Miranda Emmerson - Review

 

I picked this book up in The Bookish Type in Leeds and I really liked the sound of it so I bought it. I have been trying to read all new books that come into the house, so I started it. 

And then, good lord, it took me a week to read. Now that was partly because I was away for the weekend with friends so that didn't leave me a lot of time to read, but also because it just entirely bored me. I had such high hopes for it, too, but I would not rush to read anything else by Miranda Emmerson. Apparently this is the second in the series, featuring two of the same characters, but I wouldn't rush to read the other one of these, either. 

I am sorry because I really wanted to like this. I liked the setting in swinging London in the 1960s, before homosexuality was decriminalised. I'm not quite sure that the language for the time was exactly right, but I could give it a pass if I wasn't just so bored. 

Anyway, the plot. Anna Treadway is the dresser at a theatre. I was confused about exactly who worked in the theatre or was in the play, or both or neither, but there is a man called Bertie who is getting fatter and Anna feels bad about suggesting he needs to get his costumes altered. She has a boyfriend called Aloysius who is with his dying mother in the Caribbean so they're writing letters backward and forward. This is entirely not relevant so I'm not sure why it was included OR why some of the letters are included. Anna lives above a Turkish cafe and in there she sometimes meet Nik. 

Nik is from a Greek family and grew up near Blackpool. He was kicked out of the house when he was fifteen and made his way to London. He is now nineteen. He is a rent boy. He is gay. It isn't clear if he was kicked out of his house because he was gay or not, and I would have liked more clarity there. I did enjoy the parts about Nik growing up. 

He is working one Saturday evening and it is all a bit complicated. He goes hither and thither and it is just way too more involved than it needed to be. He is hired by the lead singer of a band and in trying to leave the recording studio he arouses the anger of the whole band and they set upon him, beating him up badly. I really do not know why this happened. Nik heads to close to Picadilly Circus, where there's a police raid on rent boys in the area. He ends up near the garden belonging to a swanky gentlemen's club. Later there, a rent boy called Charlie is found murdered. Nik is arrested for the murder and Anna is certain that he can't have done it, so she starts to do her own investigation. 

She is helped on her way by a police officer called Hayes, who she met in the first book. He used to work on murders but now he's in Vice. He starts asking questions too which puts a lot of people's noses out of joint. 

Additionally - which is ridiculous given that the book is only like 270 pages in total - there is an MP called Richard Wallis. He is married to Merrian and they have two children, but he hires rent boys and he has a bunch of secrets which threaten to come out at any given point. Merrian is a likeable character - if a little clueless - but she spends far too long fannying around over her husband. I thought there was going to be an actual pay off to this, but no. 

In all I'm giving this two out of five. I just can't, and don't recommend it. 

The L-Shaped Room by Lynne Reid-Banks - Review

 

I got this book for Christmas from a book swap I did based on Twitter. My partner and I sent each other some information about the type of book we like, and I mentioned that I'm a fan of kitchen sink drama. I think that's why Jon chose this book, and I have to say, he did brilliantly because that's exactly what this is. I hadn't heard of the book before, or even the author, so I am really glad to read her for the first time and have another author opened up to me.

The book was published in 1960 and first of all I have to say it is very reflective of its time in terms of attitudes and bigotry. That is my main caveat in this review, because I really enjoyed the book but clearly didn't like the discriminatory language used. I'll get to that...

So, Jane Graham is the heroine of this book. At the very beginning she moves into an L-shaped room at the top of a dingy boarding house in Fulham. I didn't fully understand the layout but she's got two arms to the room because another room has been carved out of the space. This room doesn't have a window, so Jane is surprised on nearly her first night when a face appears at the window on the partition between their rooms. The face belongs to John, a black jazz musician. Below Jane are Mavis, whose room is full of knickknacks, and Toby, a writer. There's also the owner, Doris, and her chap, Charlie. In the basement are two sex workers. 

Jane has had to move out of her nice family home because she is pregnant. Her own mother died giving birth to her so it's always just been her and her dad, with some family who visited at Christmas. Jane is twenty-seven and until the sexual encounter that got her pregnant, was a virgin. She had toured as an actor with a troupe in her early twenties, and there met the man she refers to only as The Actor. She had to leave and then got a job in a hotel in the west end. She has carved a niche for herself there and really respects her boss, James, but she knows that she will have to give up her job when the baby is born. When she told her father the news, he told her to leave his house, hence why she has ended up in the boarding house. 

She meets the other inhabitants of the house, and starts a relationship with Toby. She brightens up the room even though Doris isn't happy about this, with the help of John and Toby. The book encompasses nearly the whole of her pregnancy, but it has a lot of other stuff too, going backwards in Jane's life to give a complete picture of her life. I really liked Jane and I liked her aunt Addy. I liked Toby and John and the sex workers in the basement. I could imagine the house perfectly and thought it was really true to life. I would definitely give the book five out of five for its story and its perfect kitchen sink drama. 

However, the racism and homophobia really put me off. John is black and I think he suffers most from Jane's racism. She really 'others' him. It's not like she dislikes him, but she's fascinated by his blackness and his skin and the way he speaks. There is more outward racism towards him from other characters, including Jane's dad. Then Toby is Jewish, and the K slur is used towards him and other Jews many times in the book although, again, not from Jane's point of view. I don't think SHE minds Jewish people as much as she minds black people, but she doesn't really call other people out. She is however disdainful towards a queer ex colleague of hers. So just be aware of these attitudes and words in the book if you read it.

I do think this is really representative of its time, when people really did look down on people who were different to them. Jane's attitudes don't seem like anything out of the ordinary - for the time. But does that mean I have to like it? No. 

Bad Girls Never Say Die by Jennifer Mathieu - Review

Where did I get it? My mum and stepdad bought me it for Christmas after I asked for it. I follow Jen on Twitter so knew she had a new book it! 

What's it about? It's set in 1964, almost a year after the death of John F Kennedy. It's set in Houston, Texas. Evie lives with her mum and grandmother; her elder sister recently got married and is living on an army base some way away. Evie misses her desperately. Evie has got friendly with three "bad" girls recently - Connie, Sunny, and Juanita, who lives next door. The neighbourhood they live in is pretty poor, and everyone knows that the police will try to pin anything on them. The girls cut school a lot. 

One Friday evening they head over to the drive thru movie theatre. Connie has recently been in Gainesville in some kind of juvenile detention, so the girls are celebrating her freedom. Connie's brother Johnny is there and to begin with I thought Evie had a little crush on him, but if she does, it's not really explored. 

Evie heads to the washrooms and while there a boy from the rich side of town starts to talk to her. Then he attacks her and threatens to rape her. She blacks out, and when she comes to a 'tea sipper', one of the girls from the rich side of town, is standing over her. She is Diane, and she has recently moved to Evie's "bad" neighbourhood and moved to Evie's school. None of her old friends will talk to her anymore, which Evie witnessed earlier in the evening. And now she has stabbed Preston, and he is dead. 

Evie realises the danger they are in, so the two run off quickly, to Diane's house. The house is cluttered and filled with bottles; Diane lives with her aunt. Her bedroom though is very tidy. Evie realises there's something deeper going on with Diane, but she doesn't press for details.

Realising that Diane has saved her from rape and possibly from death, Evie quickly brings her into the group. The other girls aren't sure, though, but Evie stands up for herself, and for Diane. Everything quickly unravels, of course - but this is a gorgeous book about girl friendship, about forging your own path, and about doing what is right.

For what it's worth I think Jen Mathieu isw a really underrated YA writer and I would encourage you to go read her stuff right now!

What age range is it for? 15+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No - I did wonder if the book was going to go that way and I was here for it! 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, Juanita is Mexican and there's mention of how she's treated at school, and Evie and Diane also discuss the fact that segregated schools still exist in Texas. I thought both of these points were a good way of showing the racial inequality of the time. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Not really 

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, trigger warning for sexual assault - it isn't graphic but it is there

Are drugs mentioned or used? No I don't think so. The girls do smoke a lot which is very true for the time but may be jarring for a modern reader! 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, it's somewhat graphic, but age appropriate I felt

Are there swear words? A few. It really gave the girls a flavour!

 

What criticisms do I have? Almost none 

Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely. It's got that 60s nostalgia to it which I really liked; I wanted to run with the "bad" girls too 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? Trying to make my way through my Christmas books as is usual for January! 

 

What do I think of the cover? It's cute, it looks like a film (watch Moxie! It's really good!) 

 

What other books is it like? It reminded me of Pulp by Robin Talley which is set in a similar timeframe I think 

How many stars? Four out of five, a very good from me

 

Where is the book going now? I'll keep it! I've got a few of Jen's other books!