Sister by Rosamund Lupton
23 January 2011
Filed under Book Reviews, Challenges for 2011
Tags: Rosamund Lupton, Sister
Sister is the story of Beatrice and, unsurprisingly, her younger sister Tess. Beatrice and Tess, although a little like chalk and cheese and in spite of living a great distance apart, have a very strong and caring relationship so when Tess takes a phone call from her mother to say her sister has gone missing she immediately returns to London.
I really liked this book, I thought the relationship between the two sisters was wonderfully portrayed and emotional. And, I liked Beatrice. It was really great watching her suddenly unfold. She started the story as the more sensible, high flying, corporately successful but emotionally stunted of the two. As the story progresses Beatrice loses her inhibition (and snobbery) and begins a bit of a voyage of discovery about herself and her relationships. What was really good about Beatrice was her dogged determination to keep on searching for answers about Tess – even though everybody else had given up – and her own conviction that she knows Tess and the way she would act.
In terms of the plot of the book and the way it was constructed I thought it was really well done and I liked the idea of Beatrice writing the story to her sister Tess in the form of a letter. I wouldn’t advise you to pick this book up if you’re thinking along the lines of a pacy crime/thriller because this isn’t that sort of novel. There is a lot of detail and emotion and really the ‘plot’ was for me personally almost like a secondary element. Don’t get me wrong – I REALLY wanted to know what was going on, and, a bit like Beatrice I suspected absolutely everyone and was jumping about all over the place. Plus I was also totally intrigued about what was wrong with Beatrice. The ending completely surprised me, I didn’t see it coming at all. I had to stop in my tracks and rethink it but once I did I thought it was amazing. And refreshing. It did put me in mind of a couple of things but I can’t put anything more because it will give too much away and I hate plot spoilers.
Criticisms – on reflection a lot of the male characters in the book are really flawed – in fact if you really think about it there is only one character who was consistently kind, thoughtful and decent all the way through – and the ending totally turns that on it’s head – I would love to be able to say more but just cant! I would also love to be able to ask for an opinion on one particular element of the book towards the end which I really don’t understand but, again, I can’t (stamps feet childishly).
Also, I wouldn’t particularly compare Rosamund to Daphne du Maurier. I love DdM and in making this comparison you’re already holding the book up in a critical light before you even start – that being said, to be totally honest that’s probably the reason why I bought the book – out of curiosity – I don’t feel disappointed though. This was a really good read and I would recommend it.
Rating A
Sister
Room by Emma Donoghue
Well, this is a tough one to write a review for. It’s difficult to write too much without giving anything away – although if you’re interested in reading this book you probably already have a pretty good idea of what it’s about. I think this book could turn out to be Marmite for some people who will either love it or hate it. Although I didn’t particularly love or hate it. The book is basically told in two halves and is told in the voice of Jack, a five year old boy. It tells the tale of Jack and his Ma who live in a room, 11 ft sq, with no windows except a skylight.
I didn’t think I was going to like the book when I first started. It begins with Jack giving a narrative of each day and how he and his ma spend their day together filling up time. But, eventually the story starts to unfold and the true reality of the situation becomes apparent. The story then builds up to a fairly gripping sequence of events which conclude the first half of the book. The second half of the book is really about a voyage of discovery for Jack and I enjoyed this in so far as there were so many things that had never occured to me – however it did start to drag a little bit during the last few chapters.
Personally, I think this book may have benefitted if the mother had also told some of the story – especially in the second half. I think the mother’s POV told during the first half of the book would probably have been too harrowing but during the second half I would have liked to hear about some of the experiences she was having. Telling the whole book in the voice of a five year old, even an articulate one, does lend it a bit of a childishness that I would have liked to have seen balanced out more by an adult perspective. Also, Jack telling the tale does exclude you from certain points of the story as he is protected from the reality of the situation. That being said it is a very clever book with genuine moments of humour usually when Jack misinterprets something.
What this book does manage to do is tell a tale of the powerful love between the mother and son and the lengths the mother goes to to protect him and give him as normal a childhood as she can given the constraints. It’s an emotional book and definitely makes you feel a bit uncomfortable in parts as the full horror of the situation unfolds.
Whilst I might not ‘love’ this book I think it’s definitely worth reading, it’s a compelling read (even though for me a few chapters ebbed a bit) and has certainly provoked a lot of debate so give it a go and join in the discussion!
Rating B
Room
The Pi**ed-Off Parents Club by Mink Elliott
18 January 2011
Filed under Book Reviews, Challenges for 2011
Tags: Mink Elliott, The Pi**ed Off Parents' Club
This book centres around Roxy, a new mother who has recently moved from London to the countryside to live in the village of Riverside with her Partner Jack. Jack and Roxy are finding parenthood a struggle, money is tight, their house is in the process of being renovated, but money has run out, Jack works long hours and has a tiring commute on top and the move to the countryside has left Roxy with none of her friends or family to turn to for help.
This is really a very nice light hearted read which I don’t think you could find much wrong with – providing this is the sort of read you’re after. It’s not a particularly new theme but it’s nicely written and does have some genuinley funny moments although I would say that personally I found the first half of the book much more enjoyable than the latter half. I think that a lot of the anecdotes will feel familiar to anyone with children – either young or not and there are a few messages in here about the ‘joys of parenthood’ and the fact that it’s not all fun and games.
I did really like Roxy and Jack – they seemed a bit more like real people. I liked the fact that Roxy hadn’t lost all her pregnancy fat yet and wasn’t a perfect mum and Jack could come across as a bit selfish sometimes. Basically I think you got a little bit of both sides of the story.
In terms of criticisms I would say that in spite of the fact that Roxy and Jack always seemed to be falling out their arguments didn’t really carry any substance in fact they were ususally over and forgotten after a couple of sentences. The only other thing I would say is that everything does seem to fall in place very easily for all concerned – but I won’t go into any more on that.
I don’t think this book will appeal to everybody but I do think that new mums will find a lot to identify with and would probably find it amusing and possibly reassuring in that not everyone finds first time parenthood a doddle.
Rating C+
The Pissed-off Parents Club
Matched by Ally Condie
16 January 2011
Filed under Book Reviews, Challenges for 2011
Tags: Ally Condie, matched
Matched is a book set in the future. A perfect society where everything is arranged for the citizens and nothing is left to chance. It starts with Cassia attending her matching ceremony on her seventeenth birthday where she will find out who her future partner for life is. At the ceremony Cassia is matched with a childhood friend Xander. Xander is almost everything you could hope for, he’s good looking, reliable and thoughtful and is also Cassia’s best friend. However, the following day when Cassia looks at her microchip card that contains all the information about her match a different name and picture are revealed and Ky Markham is shown as her perfect match. This error is of course quickly rectified by the Officials but the first seeds of doubt have already been sewn and Cassia starts to become more intrigued by Ky and more desperate to find out his story.
In this novel AC reveals to us what is, on the face of it, a perfect world. Everything is regulated, there is no longer disease or crime, or want. Everybody is seemingly equal and will eventually be allocated his or her place in society and everybody accepts this. But is it really a perfect world? Of course not. Everybody is controlled, there is no real emotion and if anybody becomes emotional they permanently carry around green, blue and red pills which control their feelings of anxiety and eliminate stress. The society is completely stilted, they are dissuaded from any real thought and to that end all material is controlled. There are only 100 poems, 100 pictures, 100 books -omg – imagine only 100 books (give me a green pill right now)!! On top of this people live to the age of 80 when they spend their final day with their family and then pass away quietly. All very suspicious! Food is regulated, free time is controlled, even leisure activities are restricted and a strict curfew is in place. Basically, in this new world, people have become almost like little robots just programmed to go about their every day business to a very strict schedule. Nobody ever questions anything – their own knowledge is too restricted and they are all dependent on each other. For example, you may be able to grow food but you don’t know how to prepare it. Also, even though the Officials don’t come across as particularly threatening they are constantly around, monitoring people and controlling the environment. Basically, peoples’ own fear of losing their status is what ultimately keeps them in check.
I think Cassia started to question the society even before the mistake with her matched partner. I felt that when Cassia was matched with her childhood friend this, in some way, took away her anticipation for something new and unexpected and although she knew she should be happy really she was experiencing doubt and even jealousy of her friend Em who had been matched with someone unknown.
I really enjoyed this book – it isn’t an action packed book but more a slow burner and definitely the sort of book that makes you think when you put it down. I know that comparisons have been made to other novels such as the Hunger Games but to be honest I wouldn’t suggest you read this book with any such expectations. There isn’t really any action although the final chapters are quite gripping. I think this book has very nicely set the stage for the next two books – in Matched we have been shown this sterile world with bland people, living bland lives. But we see that everything isn’t as it first seems, people do whisper behind closed doors and not everybody is as happy as they first seem. The suspense gradually builds as Cassia steers from her chosen path and becomes more and more interested in Ky – and the Officials become more interested in her!
My criticisms for the book would be that in spite of the fact that Xander is Cassia’s best friend he plays quite a small part in the book – in fact I was surprised at how very little time they actually did spend together – but I suppose I’m basing this on ‘best friend relationships’ and how they work in my world and not this one. Again, we had a bit of a love triangle going on which I’m not overly fond of as they seem to have become a prerequisite but that being said I think there is never any real doubt who Cassia wants to be with.
I would recommend reading Matched as I really enjoyed it – but I didn’t have any expectations of it being the next ‘Twilight’ or ‘Hunger Games’. I don’t think these comparisons are necessarily helpful – they give you an idea of what to expect that isn’t always accurate and then instead of reading the story as a new novel you are constantly holding it up for examination with something else. Read this book for what it is – one girl’s story about the life she is leading and her slow realisation that everything she believes in may not be quite as perfect as it seems – with a little romance thrown in for good measure!
Rating A
Matched
Desert Spear by Peter V Brett
14 January 2011
Filed under Book Reviews, Challenges for 2011
Tags: Peter V Brett, The Desert Spear, The Painted Man
Just finished reading Desert Spear, Peter Brett’s sequel to the Painted Man and second book in the Demon Trilogy. I really enjoyed the Painted Man, it is a very original story in the fantasy genre and I was eagerly anticipating book number two. In the Painted Man we are introduced to Arlen from Tibbets Brook. In PB’s world the night belongs to the demons who rise from the ground and terrorise humans once the sun sets. The only protection that the humans have from the demons are some old magic wards that, painted and etched onto door posts and fences, prevent the demons from entering peoples’ homes and killing them all – but if the wards are damaged or anybody is caught outside of them after sunset the demons swiftly move in for the kill. Arlen, after watching his mother die on the claws of a demon whilst his father stood and watched helplessly chooses a different route. He chooses to learn to fight the demons and by the end of the first novel has become the Painted Man and the people’s reluctant saviour – a role that he does not desire and constantly denies. Arlen is a lonely figure, he travels from place to place trying to discover the wards of old and at the end of the Painted Man discovers in some ancient ruins a warded spear and other warded weapons the like of which he has never seen before. However, he is at this point betrayed by somebody who he believes to be a friend – a man called Jardir who rides forth from the desert carrying this spear and calling himself the Deliverer, a man with an army of warriors at his command and is intent on a holy war against the demons.
The second book sees Jardir at the start of his holy war, the tale then takes you back to Jardir as a young boy and tells you his story. I liked the way this book was written and thought it was logical. The Painted Man gave you the back story of Arlen and then left you on the verge of a new story and the Desert Spear tells you the back story of Jardir and leaves you on the verge of the war with demons. To be honest I found it a little bit hard going to begin with but once I got to grips with it I started to really enjoy Jardir’s history and some of the twists and turns it took along the route – particularly with his scheming first wife!
The story then returns to Arlen, Roger and Leesha and the paths that they are now following. I enjoyed the storyline with Jardir and Leesha – although I couldn’t see how it would be resolved and I also enjoyed Reena’s story and her eventual coming together with Arlen.
I think the third book is really well set up now and it will be interesting to see how it is resolved. Personally, in spite of the huge differences in culture between the Northerners and Southerners I think they must overcome their differences and unite against their common enemy.
I really like Arlen and Reena and look forward to seeing whether anything more will come of their friendship.
I don’t really have any criticisms although will admit that this is quite a long book and the first few chapters I did find difficult to get into. However, that being said I genuinley never reached a point where I was skim reading or lacking interest. There is such a lot to hold your attention and the story telling is very well done. I don’t suppose I really liked Jardir although at the end of the book I found myself becoming more sympathetic towards him, he was at least trying to gain more of an understanding of the northerners’ ways (although granted he had ulterior motives). I suppose the fact that quite a large chunk at the start of the book is devoted to Jardir may put some readers off – he isn’t as likable a character as Arlen after all – but I think this history of Jardir at least helps you to understand him a little better, it also shows that he is not totally comfortable himself with some of his actions and also shows that in spite of his status he is manipulated a good deal himself!
I look forward to book number three and hope that PB can provide us with a gripping finale.
Rating -A
The Desert Spear (Demon Trilogy 2)
Books and travelling with Lynn 