Oh My God What A Complete Aisling by Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen - Review

I bought this a few months back when I was searching for books on abortion in Ireland/about Irish people who travel for abortions, and although this is a really minor storyline in the book, I did like its inclusion.

So, Aisling. We all know an Aisling, we probably work with one. At the beginning of the book, Aisling is in a relationship with John, and she's getting a bit frustrated because everyone's getting engaged and married, and she and John are basically stagnant in one place. She still lives at home, in the close knit community she's from, so she spends half her time driving to her job in Dublin and spending the odd night at John's house.

After a disastrous romantic holiday where Aisling demands to know whether they will be getting engaged soon, she and John split up. She decides to take a place in a flat in Dublin with a work colleague, and begins to see that life doesn't have to be what she thought it had to be.

This book has it all, and it's quite a rollercoaster. I did feel like some parts got skipped over too quickly, which annoyed me, but by and large I liked it. Aisling is an adorable character, I really rooted for her and I related to her more than I really wanted to! I liked her family and friends, I thought John was a bit of a wet weekend and didn't see what she saw in him. I'm glad it ended how it did - she'd grown so much and I'm glad her life moved forward. I loved the Irish setting and the turns of phrase especially. I would definitely read something else by these authors.

My friend Sarah read Oh My God What A Complete Aisling at almost the same time I did, so I asked her to give me a mini review for my blog, which she did! Thanks love. Here's what she said:

I really enjoyed ‘Oh my god what a complete Aisling’, for several reasons, not which of least is the wonderful Irish turn of phrase that the writers use to convey the context of their character. It helps you immediately feel drawn into her world and included, a bit like an old friend sharing a West Coast Cooper with her. I think the best thing is that we all have a bit of Aisling in us- getting fed up of people not recycling, counting our Fitbit steps, worrying about going to a club where we won’t fit in. Even though at times it was a little predictable, I liked the fact that it didn’t have a traditional ‘happy ending’, and that the relationship with her and John was not nearly tied up, but left as an unknown, new and messy thing that they will have to navigate.  

The Haven by Simon Lelic - Review

Where did I get it? Netgalley, thank you to Hachette Children's Group for granting it to me!

What's it about? It's kind of a modern retelling of Oliver Twist. It's set in London in the present day. Ollie lives with his foster mother, Nancy, but she and he are snatched from their beds in the middle of the night and Nancy is killed. Ollie is rescued by Dodge and taken to the Haven, a neutral place for kids in the middle of the city. He and the rest of the kids have to race against time to stop Mad Maddy Sikes from ruining the city. 

I was intrigued by the blurb and read this book really quickly. I liked Ollie and Dodge, and lots of the other kids introduced. I think there'll be more in this series, it certainly lends itself to it. I liked the gang feel to it, I liked the technology they had and the home they had built. It's a decent middle grade book. I liked that there was a genuine sense of terror and tension, and a genuinely bad baddie!

What age range is it for? I'm saying it's middle grade because Ollie is twelve, so anything from around eleven onwards 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? Yes

Are any main characters people of colour? Yes 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Yes, one of the Haven's leaders uses a wheelchair, and I liked how this was incorporated. 

Is there any sex stuff? No 

Are drugs mentioned or used? Maybe? I think maybe 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, Ollie is quite traumatised by the deaths of his parents and then of Nancy 

Are there swear words? No 

What criticisms do I have? It is a little bit too middle grade in parts, but I forgave it. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I was away and as usual had my tablet with me instead of a paper book, and I wanted to read it. 

What other books is it like? It's like the Alex Rider books I think

How many stars? Eight out of ten!

The Loneliest Girl in the Universe by Lauren James - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it at the Northern YA Lit Festival in March, and had it signed by Lauren there. 

What's it about? Romy is on a spaceship heading towards a planet which is likely to sustain human life, and she is alone, with supplies to make a new civilisation when she gets to the other planet. The spaceship left earth years and years ago and Romy was born on board. She's alone after an accident killed her parents, but she gets regular emails from someone at NASA. She manages to keep the spaceship going with her own knowledge, but all the same it was terrifying to think of being alone like that. Especially because there's a delay of around eighteen months between emails being sent and being received, so it was like a newsletter rather than a conversation. 

One day Romy receives news that another ship has left earth to come and help her, with just one person on board. She starts to receive emails from J, and over the months that it takes for him to reach her, she starts to fall in love with him. 

This book is so well written, and extremely creepy. I hate the idea of space travel anyway, but especially by myself. I thought it was alternately fascinating and terrifying, and I really enjoyed it. 

What age range is it for? 14+, probably. 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No

Are any main characters people of colour? No

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? Romy has some kind of PTSD going on for sure, which is very understandable. 

Is there any sex stuff? No 

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

Is there any talk of death? Yes, some of it is quite gory and traumatic. 

Are there swear words? I don't think so. 

What criticisms do I have? Almost none, it was one of those books where I think "Well I wouldn't have written it like that", but that doesn't mean it was bad or wrong, just different. I liked that Lauren's own passion for science shone through, I am obviously pro encouraging girls into STEM subjects. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes absolutely, even if you don't normally read YA. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? I was actually looking for something else, and pulled it off the shelf. 

What other books is it like? When I was about seventeen I read a book called Calling B For Butterfly which is about teenagers and space travel. 

How many stars? Eight out of ten 

Where is the book going now? It's signed so I'll keep it of course! I also think it has the most gorgeous cover. 

Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle - Review

Where did I get it? I don't exactly remember, I know I've had it a few years and I know I thought last January "Gosh, I really must read that at Christmas this year", and I remembered this when I was looking at the bookshelves a couple of weeks ago, so pulled it out to read close to Christmas. I feel like someone may have sent me it in a swap, so if that was you thank you very much!

I have, by the way, still got loads of reviews to write for what I read in November and the beginning of December, but I decided to put this review here so that it's timely! 

What's it about? Each author has written a different story in the book, set in the same town which is enduring a huge snowstorm on Christmas Eve, and which are loosely connected and feature some of the same characters. When I started reading it, I didn't quite understand how this worked, but it soon became clear, and I thought it was really clever how it was done. I would love to write a book with someone in this fashion!

So the first story, by Maureen Johnson, concerns Jubilee. Her parents get arrested on Christmas Eve and they decide to send Jubilee to her grandparents' in Florida. She gets on a train and then it gets stuck in a snowstorm in a small town called Gracetown. She leaves the train to walk to the local Waffle House which she can see from the tracks, leaving her new friend Jeb in the company of a bunch of cheerleaders. When they all make it to Waffle House, Jubilee decides to leave with someone she met there, and romance ensues... 

I liked this story, I liked Jubilee a lot, for me this was the best story. 

In the second story, written by John Green, the manager of the Waffle House calls up his friends to come and join him and the cheerleaders, so Tobin and JP and the Duke set off in the storm. They're battling against two other groups, and chaotic events don't stop happening. 

You can tell this is John Green's story, it's got very much a feel of his writing. I liked Tobin and the Duke a lot, I thought this was a funny story and perfect in how it ended too. 

The third story, by Lauren Myracle, is the weakest of the three, and I struggled to warm to Addie. She's in the middle of a crisis because she's split up with her boyfriend Jeb (remember him from before?) after cheating on him. Her friends keep telling her she's very self-involved (which I'm not sure I agree with, but I don't think we got to see enough of her character, really), so she makes a promise to do something on Boxing Day for her friend. Can she manage it and get Jeb back at the same time? 

I do have to say there was some problematic language in this book which probably wouldn't pass an editor in 2018, but clearly did in 2008. I found that quite jarring, but I guess it does show the progress we've made in ten years. 

What age range is it for? 14+ 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No 

Are any main characters people of colour? Jeb is First Nation 

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? No 

Are there swear words? No - I think it's Tobin who keeps using other words instead. 

What criticisms do I have? Use of words like "sp*z" and "r*tard" just isn't acceptable - I don't think it was in 2008 so I'm sad to see them. I also didn't like Addie very much 

Would I recommend the book? Yes, despite my criticisms. It's cute, they're all cute romances, and the snowstorm adds both some danger and some magic. 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? Because it's CHRISTMAS!

What other books is it like? Other John Green ones, for sure. I really liked Tobin, I would like a whole novel about him. 

How many stars? Four out of five, more like seven out of ten but even so 

Where is the book going now? I'll definitely keep it and might read it again 

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gaily Honeyman - Review

This was the book for my December book club meeting, and I wasn't sure if I was going to like it, so I decided to get to it in November. I borrowed a copy off a friend, which was good. I've heard quite a lot about this book and heard there was a twist, which one friend had guessed and one friend hadn't, so I was intrigued to read it and see if I guessed.

At the beginning of the book we meet Eleanor. She's worked in the same office for years. She doesn't get on with her colleagues, who tease her because they think she's dull. She lives in a flat by herself with only a plant for company. She does the same thing every day. She drinks two bottles of vodka at the weekend. She is extremely controlled in all aspects of her life.

Little by little, we see Eleanor's life unravel. We meet her social worker, we hear from her mother, we see her getting drunker and drunker at weekends. Then she is present when an old man collapses and ends up visiting him with her co-worker Raymond who was also there. She also develops a crush on the lead singer of a local band and starts to scheme as to how she can meet him and get him to fall in love with her. She undertakes a number of things to make this happen, like getting a haircut and a Brazilian wax. Her life starts expanding outwards, and we get to see why she is the way she is and what happened to her when she was younger.

I did guess the twist, but it was really well done and I second guessed myself all the way through. I'm glad the book didn't have a completely happy ending, but I thought it was a nice ending, and I really liked the way Eleanor had overcome a lot of adversity in order to expand her world a bit. She is a strange character, but I really liked her and really fell for her.

I think in general my book club will have liked it, but we'll see!

The Way Past Winter by Kiran Millwood Hargrave - Review

Where did I get it? I bought it in October, I'd seen some people talk about it on Twitter so I pre-ordered it and it arrived on the day of publication. 

What's it about? It's a middle grade book set in Scandinavia, in a place where winter has come and due to a curse, has never left. Mila lives with her sisters and her brother, Oskar, after their mother has died and their father has disappeared. It's a hard life, as they live miles out of town and have to rely on each other for everything. 

One night some strange men arrive on horseback and Oskar is transfixed. In the morning, he is gone. Mila and her sisters must set off to town to look for him, on their sleigh with their faithful huskies. On the way they have to fight for survival to free their brother. 

I liked Mila a lot, I thought she was a really kickass character and perfect for children to read about. I liked her siblings too, but I liked Mila the best. 

What age range is it for? 9+, probably 

Are any main characters LGBTQ+? No

Are any main characters people of colour? No 

Are any main characters disabled either mentally or physically? I don't think so? 

Is there any talk of death? Yes, some of it is quite intense. 

Are there swear words? No 

What criticisms do I have? Almost none! I liked this, a cute story about family set in a really snowy, beautiful, but harsh environment. 

Would I recommend the book? Yes, it would be a lovely gift too 

Why did I choose to read it at this point in life? Because it had just arrived and it looked so lovely! 

What other books is it like? It has a real fairy tale feel to it which makes it feel like a much older story than it is. 

How many stars? Eight out of ten 

Where is the book going now? I'll keep it, I love the cover so much. I love Kiran's books, I will definitely keep my eyes out for what she publishes in the future.

The Mistletoe Murder and Other Stories by P D James - Review

I was feeling kind of festive in the middle of November so picked up this book of short stories. My friend Laura bought it for me, last Christmas I think. She and I often buy each other books and often share books, so it's always a pleasure to get a book from her. I've not read any P D James books I don't think, although my dad loved them. I like crime fiction although I read a lot less of it than I used to and I'm probably more discerning in what I do read. But P D James is one of the best, so I'm glad I got round to reading something by her.

The first story, The Mistletoe Murder, is supposedly a true story about James' own family, involving her grandmother and a cousin. I thought this was the best of the stories, but they were all good and I liked this short book and the way James wrote.