UKYABA 2016 Nomination!

Literally cannot believed that this blog has been nominated for Champion Teen Blogger of the Year award at the UKYABAs! Shocked and honoured 😊

Flowers in the attic - Virginia Andrews

This being a book published in 1979 I was worried it would be dated... To my surprise I was hooked by page two! 

The story begins with a perfect family but all too soon disaster strikes. After this pace-setter the tale whirls like a dervish and doesn't let you catch your breath until you have finished the last page.

The author is careful not to date the tale in any way, with every possibility that it could be set in the present - one reason why the story is as good today as ever.

I foolishly bought all 5 books in the series on a whim, before I had even started book one. Thankfully my optimism paid off and I am moving swiftly on to book two.

The Delirium Trilogy - Lauren Oliver

Another week, another dystopian trilogy...

I can't help feeling that this trilogy, much like Hunger Games, should have been a quadrilogy. The third book seemed a little rushed and didn't leave me with any sense of completion!

However, don't be put off! This trilogy was devoured in a little over a week, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. In a similar vein to Condie's Matched, Lena lives in a world where love is banned. It is seen as a disease and those in control do all they can to eradicate it. The trilogy contains the usual revolution and violent waves of anarchy, however Lena left me wishing she would step into Katniss' shoes and bit a little less follower and a little more leader.

The first book is set in Then and Now chapters, allowing you to see the past and it's influences on Lena's present day choices. This worked well with this book, in allowing us to get to know Lena better, without the awkward flashback italics that authors seem to be fond of.

There is of course a love interest ( 2 infact!) and, looking at fangirl reviews, there is a lot of love out there for Alex. I found myself rooting for the villain-turned-hero in Julian, and felt cheated at the close of the 3rd book that he didn't get to keep the girl he had fought so hard for.

So long as you don't expect a fairy tale ending, then give these three books a go. Fans of Matched will love them, and Hunger Games fans will enjoy the vivid dystopian world created by Oliver.

Doctor Sleep - Stephen King

The great man hits another home run.

Where to start? Stephen King is a literary writer on a pedestal, and his latest novel further cements his place there.

I found his writing style in Doctor Sleep sounded more like Dean Koontz. He knows how to make you feel fully submerged in his characters' journey through Maine. 

I liked the fact that King decided not to go with the scare tactics he employed in The Shining. This story is more about the characters and their journeys - and their growth as people. You can't help but root for Dan, and even the precocious Abra softens your heart by the end.

I would recommend this for readers new to Kings work. It is an easy read, but with plenty of activity to keep you enthralled.

Good work Mister King!

13 Bullets - David Wellington

Yet another book so good it reads like a movie. Forget the romantic smushy Edward Cullen type vampires, this book re-paints them as the violent monsters they are.

Some of the scenes in this book are just creepy... Cue the abandoned lunatic asylum and the midnight high-speed getaway chased by rampaging undead. Wellington throws these little terrifying moments into scenes that at first appear ordinary, thus managing to catch the reader off guard and perhaps to remind us of the monsters they are?

I found one of the main characters increasingly frustrating. I had read reviews that said Caxton, the lesbian state trooper roped into vampire hunting, was 2D and unlikeable - but it wasn't her I couldn't get on with. It was Arkeley the seasoned vampire killer. His character is never really fleshed out enough in this book, and perhaps this is intentional and mirrors Caxton's frustrations with his aloof personality, but for me it was the one flaw to this book.

If you're looking a for fast-paced, action-packed zombie/vampire tale then you will probably devour this as quickly as I did. The characters may be a little lacking, but to be honest with so many undead appearing from the shadows you hardly have time to notice.

The Hunt - Andrew Fukuda

I picked this book up for a £1 so I really wasn't expecting much. Plus I had checked out some reviews on Good Reads and most people had scored it 1 - 2 stars at most.

The story is basically Hunger Games with vampires: but there is a whole lot more besides. Gene is a human living alongside vampires by pretending to be one. It sounds daft I know, but it really adds to the story. I found my self on tenterhooks each time Gene is nearly found out! 

One of the great things about this book is that there is no mushy love story ruining the plot. Of course there's a girl, there always is in YA fiction now, but she is very much a sideline in this book - and glad I am about that!

The final chapters of the book in which 'The Hunt' takes place are described perfectly. Although, as with all trilogy books, it leaves you on a massive cliffhanger.... So naturally I have ordered the next two books :)

A Gathering Light - Jennifer Donnelly

When I was little I had a copy of The Little House on the Prairie which I read until the cover started to fall off. It now has pride of place on my bookshelf and reminds me of why I love to read; losing yourself in another world where the simplest things are those you treasure. This book reminds me of Little House.

Firstly the writing is beautiful. Donnelly has hints of Margaret Atwood in her writing style, and uses this to cleverly lead us on a tale of a young woman breaking the rules that back in 1905 her gender and age were bound to obey.

The murder in the book is by-the-by and it wasn't until I finished the book that I was told the murder is a true story. Donnelly used the mlocal murder of a young girl to put Mattie's actions into perspective; life can be so suddenly cut short, so chase your dreams.

I picked this book up at a charity shop on a whim, but have found a true treasure of a book that I'll sit perfectly alongside Little House on my bookshelf.