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!

Becoming Betty by Eleanor Wood - Review

I read Eleanor's first book, My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend, over Christmas, so as soon as I read that she had a new book I immediately ordered it. The cover is so beautiful that I'm swooning over it! Isn't it enticing?

Where did I get it? Wordery.com, which as a reminder, has prices very similar to Amazon, free shipping, fast service, and most importantly they pay their taxes (unlike Amazon).

What's it about? Lizzie Brown has just left school and is starting college. Her friends Daisy and Jake are staying at school, so she won't know anyone at college, but she had a bit of a bad time during her GCSEs so is looking forward to a clean start. She decides she reinvent herself and buys a vintage dress from a cool shop in Brighton. She starts college and on the first day meets Viv, who is so cool that Lizzie can barely stand up. Together, they skive off college and meet Viv's boyfriend Rex. Viv wants Lizzie to join her band as the bass player, and reinvents Lizzie as Betty Brown, ready for a local Battle of the Bands.

This novel is just lovely! I thoroughly lost myself in the story and was on Lizzie's side the whole time. She is a bit clueless but basically a gentle soul. There's also a cameo from Tuesday Cooper, protagonist in My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend, which was just lovely. I did think there were some things I'd have written differently, but that for me is part of the enjoyment of a good novel. Viv is the type of girl we've all known over the years. I liked to dislike her!

I also really like Eleanor's use of older music to signify moments for these kids. That's probably partly because I love music and also write about music and bands in my own work. I can't wait for Eleanor's next work - she's an auto buy for me now.

What age range is it for? 15+, nothing too salacious

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, but no spoilers

Are any main characters people of colour? No

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Lizzie has mental health problems which are really well portrayed. I loved the description of her panic attacks and they felt really true to life.

Is there any sex stuff? No not at all. 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No

Is there any talk of death? Not much, if any

Are there swear words? No hardly any

Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely. I loved it. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? Partly because I wanted to get ahead of the curve and read it on its launch! I never manage it but I did now!

What other books is it like? It's a lot like Eleanor's other book, and also Songs About A Girl by Chris Russell

How many stars? Nine out of ten. Practically perfect in every way.

Where is the book going now? I'll keep it, I hope to see Eleanor at another event in the future and get it signed!

My Secret Rockstar Boyfriend by Eleanor Wood - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it at YA Shot. Eleanor was one of the panellists in the music panel, and I liked her and the sound of her novel, so immediately went to buy it from the Waterstones stall and then went to get Eleanor to sign it for me. We talked about zines and music tattoos and honestly she is one of the nicest authors I've ever met!

What's it about? Tuesday Cooper (yes that's her real name) is 18 and about to do her A levels. She's got two good friends, Nishi and Anna (who are a couple), and a boyfriend in a band, Seymour. She's really into vintage clothes and older, alternative music, and she writes about music on her blog. She's into a modern band called Sour Apple and likes their lead singer, Jackson Griffith. She blogs about him at one point, and someone saying he is Jackson comments on the post. No one believes it's him, but eventually Tuesday starts up an email relationship with him, and then agrees to go to London to meet him. He's a typical rock star - a bit muddled, a bit of a mess, but with a lot of charisma and charm. 

I sort of want to review this book from three perspectives. They definitely all popped into my head as I was reading it, so here we go.

Firstly - as a writer I often look at books with a view to HOW they're written, and whether I would've written things in the same way or not. Each chapter of this book starts with some kind of electronic message - whether it's a blog post from Tuesday or an email between her and Jackson, or something else. I liked this, and thought it was cleverly done. It moved the action on from day to day very neatly. I felt like Tuesday's character and relationship with her mum were beautiful and so true to life, and I felt like their working class lives were talked about honestly, which I also really loved. 

Secondly, as an adult reader I was sort of cringing through some of the book. Tuesday tells just one person where she is going when she goes to meet Jackson, and never tells her mother what she's up to (even though the two of them are quite close). Be safe online, kids, please! Jackson is also 5 years older than Tuesday and he's quite relentless in his persuing of her, and in parts it come off as creepy. He doesn't get a free pass, not at all, but even so, at the beginning I wanted Tuesday to be more wary of him. Which, of course, would have made it a really different novel of course! 

Thirdly, though, thinking of myself as a teen reader, I fell very deeply for Tuesday and her story. I loved her, her hair dye, her vintage clothes, her amazing taste in music. If we were both 18 and Tuesday was real, I would definitely, absolutely be her friend. I would take her to Grin in Leeds and Morgana in Wakefield and the Byram Arcade in Huddersfield. I'd skive off college with her to get coffee with her and I'd buy blue coloured cocktails with her in Wetherspoons. I also loved Nishi and Anna, and Seymour was the exact kind of idiot boy who thinks he's a god just because he's in a band that I knew hundreds of. I liked Jackson too, when he was being a decent human. In all, this is a really good novel about love and music and friendship and growing up. 

What age range is it for? 15+, there's nothing too salacious in it 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes, Nishi and Anna. They're very sweet and I liked how their relationship was portrayed. 

Are any main characters people of colour? I think Nishi is, but it's not mentioned directly.

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No

Is there any sex stuff? Not really at all.

Are drugs mentioned or used? Yes, mentioned 

Is there any talk of death? Not really

Are there swear words? Not many, which I think I would have actually put as a negative because I think actual teens swear more!

Would I recommend the book? Yes, absolutely. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I was perusing the bookshelves just before Christmas and wanted something fairly light to read over Christmas. Not one regret!

How many stars? Eight out of ten, maybe even veering towards a nine. I really liked it, please don't think my criticisms mean it's a bad book. 

Where is the book going now? I'll keep it since it's signed to me, of course!