Our House by Louise Candlish - Review

I was in the mood to read a thriller kind of novel, with a bunch of twists and turns, so when I saw this advertised for 99p I bought it on Kindle. I was hooked by the premise - a woman turns into her street one day and finds another family moving into her house. They say that she, Mrs Lawson, has signed all the contracts, along with her husband, Bram. But Fi has done no such thing and is in a state of shock.

We get four strands of narrative: Fi, on the day that house is sold, Friday the 13th of January, Fi, a couple of months later, telling her version of events on a real crime podcast, Bram, on Friday the 13th after he's absconded, and Bram's suicide note, that he starts writing on that day too. We learn that Bram had sex with someone else the previous summer, so he and Fri split up but decided to do "bird's nest" custody, meaning they both stayed in the house with their children at times, but lived elsewhere at other times. This gave Bram access to the house, and we see how he came to sell it without Fi's involvement.

I had seen that there was a twist in the last part, which kept me guessing all the way through. I picked up some red herrings and some bits, but didn't quite see what was going to happen. I liked Fi and Bram too, although I thought they both acted like terrible humans in parts. I thought Fi was a bit too obsessed with the house - it's just bricks and mortar after all, although my house isn't worth two point two million dollars so what do I know. I thought the constant 'oh and here's something else terrible that happened' was a bit frustrating, but over all I did like the book and it kept me hooked, which is exactly what I was looking for. I am giving it eight out of ten and will look for something else by the same author.

Pulp by Robin Talley - Review

Where did I get it? I was poking around Netgalley and it was appearing as a "read now". I don't know enough about Netgalley to say whether that was just for me or generally or what, but I'd been wanting to read this book so I immediately downloaded it. Then, because I'm trying to read books I'm excited about straight away rather than put them off for months (I don't know why I do that) I started it just after the Maggie Stiefvater book. Thank you Negalley gods, anyway!

What's it about? It's about the lesbian pulp fiction books of the 1950s, which I'd heard of but don't know much about. There's a dual narrative. In 1955 we meet Janet, who's just graduated from high school and who is in love with her best friend Marie. The times mean that they can't be together; Marie's government job means that they have to be even more careful. Janet buys a pulp fiction book and falls in love with the genre and feels validated because she didn't know there were so many girls like her. She writes to the author and receives a reply, so begins to write her own book about two girls falling in love. 

In the other narrative we meet Abby, who is seventeen in 2017 and in her senior year of high school, about to apply to colleges. She and her girlfriend Linh broke up a few months ago and Abby's struggling with the feelings she still has for Linh. She loves lesbian pulp fiction books and wants to know what happened to an author called Marian Love. She also starts to write her own book in the genre, although she's trying to subvert the tropes. Her parents are falling apart but Abby buries herself in the mystery of what happened to Marian Love.

Interspersed are extracts from the novels mentioned, which I really liked reading. I would definitely read one of them in full! 

I liked the book, it's fun and moving all at the same time. I liked the stuff about how the 1950s and in particular McCarthyism meant that Janet couldn't be out about who she was. I liked that she got some good lesbian experiences, though - she has sex and she meets other lesbians in a bar. I liked that you could see the difference that sixty years of civil rights movements have made and that although things aren't perfect for Abby in 2017, she's able to be out to her family and has a ton of queer friends around her. I like how politically engaged both girls were, that's very relevant to today's teens. I liked the ending, it felt very real and was a happyish ending even if not perfect. 

I felt like some of the stuff about writing and getting published was quite meta, I felt like there was a lot of Robin's own experiences in there, which didn't detract at all from the book but which made me - an aspiring author - laugh a bit. I'm glad Robin put these bits in, it feels like she probably had fun with them. 

What age range is it for? 14+

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Obviously! There's a non binary person too which was nice to see although they were a secondary character. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Linh is Vietnamese American and Abby is Jewish, although these aren't central themes to the book but are mentioned. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? No 

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, it's really lovely 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No I don't think so 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, somewhat violent but not explicit 

Are there swear words? Not that I recall 

What criticisms do I have? Almost none, I got a bit frustrated with Abby towards the end of the book, but I did feel sympathetic towards her 

Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? It's ages since I read anything by Robin and I've heard really amazing things about this book so I wanted to see for myself. 

What other books is it like? It is like Robin's other books and like Becky Albertalli's. The stuff with Abby really reminded me of Leah on the Offbeat. 

How many stars? Eight out of ten! Lovely book, I'm glad I read it

All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater - Review

Where did I get it? The library! I hadn't even heard of it, it just caught my eye because it was by Maggie. 

What's it about? It's set in the Colorado desert in 1962. There, one night, we meet three cousins, and their pirate radio station. The cousins are all in the Soria family; the Sorias left Mexico and set up a small settlement, Bicho Raro, in Colorado. There, the Saint of Bicho Raro performs miracles for the pilgrims who arrive to the village. But, the miracles never quite work out how the pilgrims think they will, making a motley crew living in the village. The Sorias can't talk to the pilgrims for fear of 'interfering' with their miracles, something which they've done in the past and which has had terrible consequences. 

Anyway, the cousins. There's Daniel, who is the current Saint of Bicho Raro because he has a lot of magic, I think? He seems pretty sick of pilgrims and performing miracles, to be honest. There's Joaquin, who seems quite desperate to get out of Bicho Raro and out of Colorado completely; he looks east for his fashion inspiration. He is the host of the radio show the cousins are putting it, under his alter ego name Diablo Diablo. Lastly there's Beatriz, second choice for Saint, but who is said to have no feelings, and who is quite worried about her parents, who are falling apart. 

Into the village arrive Tony and Pete. Tony is a DJ who needs a miracle, and Pete is a high school graduate who has been promised a truck in Bicho Raro and who is hitchhiking there. Tony gets his miracle, which backfires, and Pete is set to work. 

It took me a week to read this book, and it isn't that I didn't like it, but I found it quite dense. It skipped about a bit in point of view, which I find odd and somewhat confusing. I liked Daniel and Beatriz and some of the pilgrims, but not everyone. It's filled with Maggie's usual mix of realism and magic, which I liked. I wish we'd seen more of Beatriz's personality, and less history, but that's possibly just personal preference. It's a good book. 

What age range is it for? 14+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, they're all Mexican Americans, except maybe Pete and some of the pilgrims? I think Maggie did a good job of incorporating this folklore, but I appreciate she is white and so am I. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Yes 

Is there any sex stuff? No 

Are drugs mentioned or used? No 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, it's not graphic

Are there swear words? No 

What criticisms do I have? I just.... I didn't love it. I don't think it went deep enough. I'd have liked one storyline to follow instead of lots. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? Library deadlines

What other books is it like? Maggie's other books!

How many stars? Seven out of ten 

Where is the book going now? Back to the library... I've already had to renew it once as I didn't get to it over Christmas!

Jack of Hearts (And Other Parts) by L C Rosen - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it on Kindle for 99p! A bargain. I'd read about it somewhere and was intrigued by the premise.

What's it about? Jack is seventeen and lives in New York with his mother. He is gay, he's been out for years and everyone knows about it. He has a healthy sex life, he spends weekends at parties and hooking up with boys. 

He has two best friends, Ben, and Jenna. Ben is also gay, and black, and really into costuming. He's also desperate for a big love story of his own. Jenna runs a political website about school funding and stuff like that, and she asks Jack to contribute a column about sex and relationships. He agrees.

He is gossiped about a lot because of his sex life, although reality is never as wild as the gossip makes out. He begins to write the column, and then begins to receive creepy notes. Dropped into his locker, written on pink paper and folded into origami, it becomes obvious that the note writer wants Jack for themselves and is also watching him closely. At first Jack ignores the notes, carries on with his life, but then the anonymous person threatens his friends and his mother. Jenna wants to go to the police (which would have been very sensible, says adult me), but Jack doesn't want to worry his mother. 

The book is sexually explicit - Jack has a lot of sex and enjoys it. It's always safe sex, and through his columns we see him give really sensible advice about all aspects of sex and relationships; I thought this was an excellent aspect of the book. Jack is entirely unrepentant about who he is, his sexuality, his clothes, his make up, even though under the threats you would understand if he didn't feel this way. I loved this so much, I thought Jack himself was an excellent character and I was happy that sex was portrayed so positively (and when it wasn't, it was made clear it wasn't the victim's fault). 

I liked Jenna and Ben, although I would have liked to see more about them. I liked Jack's mum and the fact that he was conceived through donor sperm - you never see stuff like this in books and it is a fact of modern life! I was happy to see that. I did think Jack made some stupid decisions, but I get that teenagers often don't and that it was in keeping with the book as a whole. I liked the ending. I think this is a great book and I can't recommend it enough!

What age range is it for? Sixteen plus, I guess, due to sexual content 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Obviously. Also one of the boys Jack slept with was bisexual! Yes for bisexual representation! This was dealt with really nicely, too. 

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes, Jack mentions at one point that he has more privilege than Ben because he's white and Ben isn't. In fact Jack acknowledges his privilege quite a lot of times, which I liked. He lives in New York and repeatedly says that he has it easier than someone in the middle of nowhere. I feel like the author thought a lot about this and made it clear. 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Jack does suffer from anxiety when he starts getting threats, I liked how this was portrayed. 

Is there any sex stuff? Yes, lots. It is frank without being gratuitously explicit, but if this isn't for you, well, don't read the book 

Are drugs mentioned or used? Yes, the three of them smoke pot a couple of times, but

nothing else. 

Is there any talk of death? No I don't think so. 

Are there swear words? Yes. Again, I thought it was just very realistic, but your mileage may vary 

What criticisms do I have? Almost none. I loved this 

Would I recommend the book? Yes. Buy it now. What a fantastic example of YA literature. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I'd just bought it and I couldn't sleep so I ended up reading 40% of it without even really realising. 

What other books is it like? It's a lot like Simon vs, only... better. It's apparent how far YA lit has come since Simon vs was published, and I'm glad about it (and that's not to say I don't love Simon vs!). Talking about sex explicitly and safe sex specifically, and privilege, and other things like that is just fabulous. 

How many stars? Ten out of ten. Read it now!

Year in Review - 2018

Here's my round up of books read in 2018. It was a good year for reading, but I don't feel I read anything that completely wowed me like I have in previous years. I did read some great stuff, though!

How many books read in 2018?
80. Goodreads has me at 81, but I think there's a mistake there with something I didn't finish.

How many were on paper and how many electronic?
I read 47 paperbacks, twelve hardbacks, and the rest were ebooks. 

Fiction/Non-Fiction ratio?
79:1, apparently. The only non fiction book I read was Clampdown by my friend Rhian. 

Male/Female authors?
I read 8 books by men and two that were co-authored by men. Most of the men I read were queer men. I'm happy with this ratio, I like to support women writers. 

Most books by a single author?
Robin Stevens, I think. I read two Wells and Wong books this year. Oh, I read three Elly Griffiths books! And two Catherine Johnson books. 

Favourite book(s) read?
I loved The Summer of Jordi Perez by Amy Spalding and The Last by Hanna Jameson. 

Least favourite?
There were a couple of books I didn't finish, but I don't review those unless I have a huge problem with them. I also read a book set in Ireland that I found really tough, but I don't think I reviewed that either. 

Oldest book read?
I think it was probably Little Boy Lost by Marghanita Laski, which I also really liked even though it's not my usual kind of thing. It was published in 1949. 

Newest?
There are some books I read through Netgalley that aren't yet out. I do try to say when something will be published if it isn't yet out. I don't always remember, but I do try!

Longest book title?
It's got to be The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the Best Burgers in Los Angeles). Although Oh My God What A Complete Aisling is a close second, and Dress Codes for Small Towns is probably up there too. 

Shortest title?
The Baby by Lisa Drakeford, or The Last by Hanna Jameson, or The Lido by Libby Page. 

How many re-reads?
Just one - The Future Homemakers of America, which was exactly as good as I remembered it being. 

Any in translation?
No

How many of this year's books were from the library?
As far as I can remember, seven of them, and all of those were after I started going to my craft club in May. I am keeping a better track of these for 2019! 

Moose Baby by Meg Rosoff - Review

And finally here's my last book of 2018. Not reviewing any books in November 2018 really put me behind, and I'm sorry. Happy New Year, anyway. I hope you read some brilliant books in 2019.

I needed a small book to read on the 30th, because I wanted to get to a nice round 80 and I knew I wouldn't have any time to read on the 31st. I usually read in bed and after you've been out on New Year's Eve who's got time for reading? Not me, for sure. I plugged my phone in to charge at 2am and went to sleep.

Lee pulled out a few short books for me, and I picked this one up. It's yet another of those short Barrington Stoke books which are easy to read and good for dyslexic people, I must own at least ten of these novellas and I think they're great little stories.

This book is about Jess, who is seventeen years old and who, at the beginning of the book, has just had a baby with her boyfriend, Nick. Only this is no ordinary baby... Their baby is a moose.

A bit unusual, sure, but Jess and Nick soon get used to it. They have to navigate social workers, nurseries, and puberty, all before they're twenty-one years old. This is a really funny book, I liked it quite a lot. I'm giving it four out of five.

Grave Matter by Juno Dawson - Review

I'd picked this up at the library on my last visit there before Christmas, it's one of those easy to read Barrington Stoke books but I liked the premise of the book so I picked it up.

Samuel has just lost his girlfriend, Eliza, in a car crash that was his fault. He's finding it really hard to move on without her - he can't sleep, he doesn't want to go back to school, and he just feels depressed. His parents - his dad is a vicar and his mum is a doctor - are no help either. But then Samuel remembers his dad's sister, who is estranged from the family, and goes to ask her for help in raising Eliza from the dead.

His aunt can't help, but her assistant tells Samuel to visit a man called the Milkman. There, Samuel gets a recipe to, indeed, raise Eliza from the dead, so he sets about getting everything on the list and digging up Eliza's body to put the potion in her mouth.

I really did like the premise of this book, I liked Samuel and I liked the spell he had to do, and I liked what happened after he did (no spoilers!). However, I thought that parts of it were quite hackneyed and a bit stereotyped, which I didn't like at all.

I'm giving this 3.5 out of five, sorry to be a bit of a downer but the stereotypical bits ruined it for me a bit.