And the Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando - Review

First of all this is a book about a boy who has just lost his brother to suicide, so there is obviously a lot of chat about suicide. Danielle talks at the beginning of the book about how she was bullied at school and attempted suicide because of that, so obviously this book is very personal for her. 

I also have to say that I have the experience of surviving the suicide of a loved one. I lost my dad to suicide when I was 24, when he was 55. He had been ill for quite a while beforehand, but we obviously didn't know it would end in suicide. It's twelve years later and I still deal with the grief of it. Suicide is a grief like no other - not only is it a sudden death, but it's got a unique grief to it because there's understandably anger, abandonment, and an eternal questioning of why it happened and how you could have done something to help. After Caroline Flack's recent death, I wrote this piece for Global Comment about surviving a suicide, which I would encourage you all to read. What I'm saying is, this is a subject close to my heart and I really wanted the book to do it justice. 

Where did I get it? Netgalley, so many thanks to Simon & Schuster for granting me access to this book. 

What's it about? Nate is fifteen years old and lives in Wythenshawe in Manchester with his mum, two brothers Saul and Al, and sister Phoebe. At the very beginning of the book, it is just a couple of days since Al has taken his own life. Nate found him and is obviously very shocked and dealing with his grief. Nate also feels really guilty because Al phoned him just before he died, but Nate didn't pick up and now he thinks that if he had, he could have saved Al. 

He makes friends with Al's friend Megan. Half of the novel is told from her point of view. Al was an artist, and Megan starts to work with Al's artwork to find out what he was going through. There's also excerpts from Al's sketchbook, things he wanted to write down, at the beginning of each chapter. 

Nate is convinced there's some reason as to why Al died, and he tries to uncover why Al had stopped talking to her best friend Lewi. Lewi hangs around with these idiots Eli and Connor now, and Nate isn't sure what happened. However, Saul, Nate's eldest brother, wants him to leave things alone.

Meanwhile Megan, who liked Al but never really stood up for him, mostly because she feared teasing from her best friend Tara. Now that Al is dead, she feels awful about it. Tara keeps saying awful things to her and Megan starts to put some distance between them. There's more bullying going on, especially online. There's quite a few excerpts of online harassment and so on. 

This book is great because it's set in the north and features a working class family! It's something we badly need more of in YA fiction and I am so happy I got to read this book for that reason as well as many others. Go, buy it immediately. 

What age range is it for? 15+ as there's some violence and obviously talk about suicide. 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, and that's all I'll say. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, Nate and his family are mixed race. Their dad, who walked out a couple of years prior to the book, is black. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No, but there's obviously chat about bad mental health and so on. 

Is there any sex stuff? No 

Are drugs mentioned or used? I think there's a few mentions of weed, but nothing graphic or too strong. 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, obviously. Some of it is graphic as Nate comes to terms with his brother's death, so be careful. 

Are there swear words? Yes, judiciously used. I actually loved the way language was used in the book, and the way that especially Nate's personality came out through the slang he used. It felt really northern, too, for instance there was a lot of "I weren't" instead of "I wasn't". 

What criticisms do I have? Almost none, but there were a couple of times when I thought discussion of how Al killed himself was too graphic. This may have been changed before the final print, though.  

Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely, it's brilliant. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I just wanted to get to it quickly!

What do I think of the cover? I think it's really vibrant and eye catching, and it's a bit like some of Al's artwork, so it works really well. 

What other books is it like? It reminded me of Jackpot by Nic Stone, the family situations are written about similarly. 

How many stars? Five out of five, it's absolutely fantastic. I loved both Nate and Megan and thought their grief was brilliantly done. 

And the Stars Were Burning Brightly was published on 9th March 2020. I was given a free electronic copy of the novel but was not compensated in any other way for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Chinglish by Sue Cheung - Review

Where did I get it? Netgalley, many thanks to Penguin Random House Children's books for the opportunity to read this book. I was granted a free electronic copy of this book for review, but was not otherwise compensated for this post. All thoughts and opinions are my own. 

What's it about? It is a book told in diary format, based on the true experiences of author Sue Cheung as a teenager in the 1980s. In the book, Jo Kwan lives in Coventry with her parents and her younger sister Bonny. At the very beginning of the book, she is living in Hull, while her older brother Simon lives in Coventry with their grandparents. The Kwans own a butcher's shop, but when they move to Coventry they have bought a Chinese takeaway. Upstairs is really small - there's no living room and Jo and Bonny have to share a room. Jo is thirteen and is about to start a new school.

At school she is subjected to bullying slurs but makes friends with a goth girl called Tina. She can't let Tina come home with her though and be subjected to her crazy life. She serves in the takeaway most days after school. Her mum doesn't speak much English, her grandparents don't either, and although her dad does, he prefers to stay quiet. Jo and Bonny doesn't speak Chinese very well, so all of the family has to cobble together bits of language in order to communicate. Add in some unlucky pets, and life is chaos.

The first half of the book I thought was very funny, I loved Jo trying to just cope with life and keep the two halves of her life separate, while also doing typical teenage things like dyeing her fringe and wishing she would grow. The second half, when Jo is a little bit older, is a little bit darker, showing her dad's abusive behaviour, and showing just how much Jo really wants to get out of the house, and out of Coventry. I found this half really moving, and felt like it was an important part of the book. 

There's a bit at the end where Sue Cheung talks about the bits that are real and the bits that aren't, and makes the point that this book is her truth, but not necessarily anyone else's. I liked it, I like that point too. 

What age range is it for? 14+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, and there's quite a lot of racial abuse 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No 

Is there any sex stuff? No 

Are drugs mentioned or used? I don't think so 

Is there any talk of death? No, but there is some graphic violence so be careful

Are there swear words? No, Jo actually uses "flipping" instead, haha 

What criticisms do I have? I just wish it had been longer! 

Would I recommend the book? Yes, absolutely. I really liked it. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I had seen positive reviews of it on Twitter. 

What do I think of the cover? I love it! It's so vibrant and has the traditional Chinese colours of yellow and red, and the image of the dragon, but that's juxtaposed against the image of the Dr Marten boot. I think it's a fab cover. 

What other books is it like? It reminded me of the Adrian Mole diaries, which I loved as a teenager. I think the 80s setting adds to it, but Jo is a funny diary keeper too like Adrian. 

How many stars? Four out of five! Read this now, it's excellent. 

All These Beautiful Strangers by Elizabeth Klehfoth - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it over the summer in a shop in Thirsk when I went with some friends. 

What's it about? I was confused for most of this book as to whether it was being marketed as a Young Adult book or not, but the internet seems to think it was. But while it's about young adults, it's an odd book that doesn't seem to fit in YA entirely. 

The main character is Charlie Galloway, aged seventeen. She is a pupil at an exclusive prep school in New England, the school her father Alistair attended. At the beginning of the book Charlie gets an invite to join the A's, a secret club which everyone wants to join. She has to pass several challenges as a hazing ritual, and when one of her fellow initiates fails the test, she sees exactly what the punishment can be for crossing the A's. 

Meanwhile, we learn about Charlie's family. Her dad is the president of a multi million dollar company; her family is definitely old money. Her mother, Grace, mysteriously disappeared ten years ago. Alistair was in the frame for having murdered her, but then bank tapes revealed Grace had withdrawn a lot of money in the weeks before her disappearance. Charlie has dealt with being abandoned by her mother, but she's still hurting from it and she doesn't talk to her mother's family anymore.

Then one night her mum's brother Hank comes to see her at school and hands her some photographs from before Grace disappeared. They make Charlie start examining the past and everything she thought happened between her parents.

Meanwhile, we also get chapters from Alistair's and Grace's points of view, and this confused me because they're obviously adults at the time and this is unusual in YA books. But it did allow the reader to see how Charlie's parents met as well as see what happened between them. I didn't mind these parts, and I liked Grace as a character, but the themes were often quite adult and for that I'll trigger warn for violence and sexual assault. 

What age range is it for? Due to aforementioned themes, I'm going to say 16+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No 

Are any main characters people of colour? No 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No 

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, plus the sexual assault. 

Are drugs mentioned or used? Maybe prescription ones

Is there any talk of death? Yes, obviously 

Are there swear words? Yes 

What criticisms do I have? Well, it is extremely white and privileged, obviously. That said, there was a real sinister feel to the school in its entirety, showing it's not all it's cracked up to be. I liked Charlie and the plot kept me reading, but I didn't feel like there was enough at stake in parts. Like at one point I thought she was going to be kidnapped, but it was just a boy grabbing her. I felt like the A's storyline didn't get a satisfactory ending, even though we could see the futility in the group's existence. The book's really long, I felt like some of it could have been edited out. But I did like it, don't let me give the impression that I didn't. 

Would I recommend the book? Yep, if the plot appeals 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I liked the cover, if I'm honest, and was seduced!

What other books is it like? I feel like I compare a lot of books to We Were Liars, but it definitely has that vibe to it. I think it's a bit like S.T.A.G.S by M A Bennett, too. 

How many stars? Four out of five

Where is the book going now? I think I'll keep it!

Floored: A Novel - Review

Where did I get it? Netgalley, so thank you very much to Pan Macmillan for allowing me it 

What's it about? There has been so much hype around this book which really made me want to read it! It is a collaborative novel written by seven of the best voices in UK Young Adult literature - Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson, and Eleanor Wood. I think I've read books by all these authors except for Lisa Williamson, so I knew I had excellent writing in store. 

What happens is that six teenagers happen to meet one day in Manchester. They are all, for some reason or another, at UKB (basically the BBC). Two are there for an internship, one is there to deliver a parcel. They all get into a lift at the same time, and at the last second a postman does too, pushing a trolley. And then, between floors, he dies, and the teens have to work out what to do next. 

We then see the six throughout the next few years as they meet up on the same day each year, and as their lives progress. It is such an interesting concept for a book!

The six teens are as follows: Dawson, who used to be on TV but who isn't "cute" anymore and isn't sure if he'll work again, Kaitlyn, who was a fan of Dawson's and who has just been diagnosed with Stargardt disease which means she will lose her sight, Velvet, who lives in a hotel in Bridlington and is trying her best to fit in, Sasha, who is working for her overbearing dad and also trying her best, Hugo, who is rich, whose dad is an MP, and who is full of himself, and finally Joe, who dreams of more than working in the local biscuit factory. Each author wrote one of the teens each, and then the 7th one wrote the narrator bits at the end of each year, which told us loads more of the action.

I loved each of the characters, I thought they were very distinct from each other and well drawn. I liked that at least three of them came from working class families; I felt like class was a big theme within the book actually. I liked the stuff around disability, both with Kaitlyn and with someone else's family member, which I won't spoiler. I liked the stuff around sexuality, which I also won't spoiler but which I felt was dealt with in a really good way.

I don't have a clue which author wrote each part. I hope we do get to find out! I thought the person writing the narrator parts had the most difficult job, but they were well written parts which sat nicely alongside the other more personal parts. I am talking about writing a collaborative novel myself with a friend, so I really liked to see how Person 1's point of view segued into Person 2's, and so on, and how that was done without a lot of repetition.

I also liked how we first saw everyone at 15/16, on work experience, and then saw them get older, saw them grow into adults. I thought the character progression was shown really well.

What age range is it for? 15+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, I am utterly not spoiling it though because I loved the way this unfolded. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Sasha is mixed race - I would have liked a bit more exposition here really, but I did like the descriptions of her relationship with her mother. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Yes, as I've described above 

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, a little. It is slightly graphic. 

Are drugs mentioned or used? I think so, I think there's some mention but not much 

Is there any talk of death? Yes. The death in the lift isn't very graphic but may be upsetting, and there is some other discussion. 

Are there swear words? Yeah. 

What criticisms do I have? Almost none. There were a couple of inconsistencies but honestly I'm putting them down to trying to co-ordinate seven people and their writing! (And they may be ironed out in the final version). Some reviews have said they thought the novel was too superficial. I don't agree. I think it is simple and simply told, but I don't think it's superficial. There was lots of stuff to dig into if you wanted. 

Would I recommend the book? Very much absolutely! It's a really fun book. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? As I said I'd seen a lot of the hype and I wanted to see if it lived up to it. It does - it most definitely does! 

What other books is it like? I honestly don't know. It is simply told like a lot of Non Pratt's book, but it has shades of all the other writers too. It reminded me a bit of Alice Oseman, too. 

How many stars? Five out of five. Read it, read it now!

Skylarks by Karen Gregory - Review

Where did I get it? The library! I joined a Needles and Pins craft group a few weeks ago which meets every Monday morning for a couple of hours. It's mostly retired women, but there's a nice mix of knitters, crocheters, and people sewing, so I've been enjoying it. To get to it I walk through the children's section of the library, and on my way out last week I noticed this on the "New books" stand. I was the first person to check it out but I really hope I'm not the last. 

What's it about? Joni Cooper is seventeen and at college. She works at the local library. Her family is pretty poor - they struggle for money, especially because her dad can't work, and juggle which bills they're going to pay each month. Her older brother Jamie works at a local pub, where he's friends with someone who says that the estate they live on is going to be sold and everyone will lose their homes. 

Meanwhile, a girl called Annabel starts to work at the library. Her dad is a big funder of the library, and she's extremely well off. She goes to a private school and lives in a big house. Joni is convinced that they have absolutely nothing in common and that Annabel will just mess up everything at work, but there is a spark between them. Joni is already out as gay, but she doesn't know how Annabel feels, and the two start getting closer.

I did see a few of the twists coming in this book, although like I always say, that's because I'm 34 and have read lots of books before. A teenager may not read things the same way I did. I liked the political stuff, I thought it was very well done and easy to understand. I liked the ending, because it wasn't completely happy, and that is how life is - good things happen and bad things happen and you have to cope with that. 

I LOVED Joni's family. I loved that she was both queer and working class - intersectionality exists! I liked Joni - she did daft things at times but they were often easy to understand. I liked how the family tried their best but weren't always right in what they did - but they loved each other enough to get through stuff. 

I liked Annabel, although I would have liked to know more about her. I thought the story skimmed over some stuff that I would have liked to see. It's a simple story and I would have liked a tiny bit more depth, but I appreciate that there's only so much space in one book. 

I liked all the stuff set on the South Downs and I liked the stuff about birds and about freedom. This is something that's quite often used in US YA literature but almost never in UK books, so I really liked that. 

What age range is it for? Anything from 14+ I would think

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yep, Joni is gay. And Annabel is some kind of something. I actually wish this had been done differently - Joni just seemed to assume Annabel was also gay, and, well, bisexuality exists?! I would have liked more discussion of this and more nuance, but it didn't detract from the book that much for me. 

Are any main characters people of colour? No 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Yes, Joni's dad is suffering from a bad back and there's a lot of stuff about his pain, and also about people's misconceptions about disability and about benefit "scroungers". I liked this aspect a lot. 

Is there any sex stuff? There is a little, it's not explicit 

Are drugs mentioned or used? There's some mention of prescription painkillers but that's all. 

Is there any talk of death? No 

Are there swear words? No, I don't think so? Certainly not many if there are. 

What criticisms do I have? I did think it was too simple in parts, and I would have liked some kind of outspoken statement about Annabel's sexuality. 

Would I recommend the book? Absolutely yes. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? Because it needs to go back to the library so I don't incur fines! 

What other books is it like? It has a feel of Sara Barnard's books to it to me. I have Countless also by Karen Gregory and I'd be interested to see if it's similar to this. 

How many stars? Four out of five. 

Where is the book going now? Back to the library on Monday!

Cowgirl by G R Gemin - Review

Where did I get it? I borrowed it from Lucinda, if you remember she lent me a load of books last year before she jetted off to Canada. I haven't read one in a couple of months but I picked this up recently :) 

What's it about? Gemma Matthews lives on the Bryn Mawr estate with her mum and brother. Her dad is in prison. She starts talking to Cowgirl, aka Kate, who lives on a farm and whose dad is trying to get rid of their twelve dairy cows so that he can repay a debt. Gemma and Kate work together to move the cows down on to the estate.

I didn't know what to expect from this book when I started it. Gemma is thirteen and entirely likeable. I also really really love the working class setting of the estate. We don't see enough working class protagonists in literature for children and young people. 

I also really liked Gemma's relationships with the people who matter to her - even though they're not always perfect, they are always real. 

What age range is it for? 11+

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No

Are any main characters people of colour? They're not main characters but the Banerjees are quite important to the story, and I liked them.

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No

Is there any sex stuff? No

Are drugs mentioned or used? No

Is there any talk of death? Not really

Are there swear words? No

Would I recommend the book? Yes, it's a very sweet middle grade book.

How many stars? Eight out of ten

Where is the book going now? Back to Lucinda when she's back in the country!