Rules of Summer

Rules of Summer by Joanna Philbin

Paperback, 352 pages

Published 23rd May 2013 by Atom

Shelves:  arc-or-review, books-i-own, young-adult, series-or-companions, realistic-fiction, read-in-2013, contemporary, cover-appeal, better-than-expected 

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

There are two sides to every summer.

When seventeen-year-old Rory McShane steps off the bus in East Hampton, it's as if she's entered another universe, one populated by impossibly beautiful people wearing pressed khakis and driving expensive cars. She's signed on to be a summer errand girl for the Rules -- a wealthy family with an enormous beachfront mansion. Upon arrival, she's warned by other staff members to avoid socializing with the family, but Rory soon learns that may be easier said than done.

Stifled by her friends and her family's country club scene, seventeen-year-old Isabel Rule, the youngest of the family, embarks on a breathless romance with a guy whom her parents would never approve of. It's the summer for taking chances, and Isabel is bringing Rory along for the ride. But will Rory's own summer romance jeopardize her friendship with Isabel? And, after long-hidden family secrets surface, will the Rules' picture-perfect world ever be the same?

When I received this book through the post, I hadn't heard of it nor of the author, but I was immediately taken by the contemporary cover and the seasonal title. Admittedly, it's not been very summer-like here in North East England lately, but there's nothing like reading a book to completely sweep you away and, at least in your mind, change where you are! This book took me all the way to the sunny, extravagant Hamptons in the USA.

I wasn't sure if I liked the sound of this book from the blurb or not - a story of an 'average' teenage girl, Rory, leaving home for the summer to spend it in the Hamptons, working for a wealthy family. I don't think I'm the only one that would immediately worry that everything could be completely stereotyped when you read the premise. Nevertheless, I wanted an easy summer read so I gave it a go despite any worries I had, and I'm very glad that I did. I won't say that there are no stereotypes, of course there are some - there simply has to be - but thankfully the author manages to really reach inside the characters in this book, making them all independent and giving them each a real personality. 

The characters are of most importance in this book and it's interesting to see the differences between Rory's lifestyle and how the Rules live - though it's actually more interesting to see the similarities between them. Though the Rules may be of higher social status, this book really makes it clear that we're all human and a lot of things, especially emotions can't be changed or swayed thanks to money or popularity. Our two main characters are Rory and Isabel are initially two very separate girls with different lifestyles, but as the book progresses it is really interesting to see what they thought of each other and how they both helped each other in different ways. I didn't particularly like Isabel at the beginning of the book, but thanks to her friendship with Rory she did change and definitely became more likeable. Looking back, from the beginning, Isabel was really the best character  for her role, as she initially had her own way of thinking, an attitude, even before Rory came into her life - this made her later actions more realistic and natural. 

This book isn't just about Rory and the Rules - there are also romance story lines running throughout as both Rory and Isabel find themselves falling in love with two very different guys that others may find unacceptable for them to date. Again, the class system and social status issues are tested with both parties. I think that Philbin managed it really well, not making the story too cliche and though it was at points somewhat predictable, not making it completely obvious what was going to happen next. The book was very easy to read and so was certainly a page turner. I enjoyed reading about both the friendships and the romantic relationships in this book and how they effected each other.

I enjoyed this book a lot more than first expected when I read the premise and that is because Philbin executed her ideas well. The message came through very clearly - love and friendship can be a lot more valuable than money or popularity and sometimes you do just have to follow your heart, even if others think it's a bad decision. I'd definitely recommend Rules of Summer to any young adult (and perhaps new adult) readers for an easy, enjoyable read this summer.

From The Review Pile (53)

From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday.

The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review (or if you don't receive review books, any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

I know that a lot of you have a huge pile of books that you want to read/review, but it understandably takes a while to get around to reading them all - here you can give a book (or two!) some of the publicity that it deserves, even if you haven't read it yet!

-----------------------------------

This week, I'm going to showcase Rules Of Summer!

This is a book that I was sent quite a while ago but unfortunately never got around to reading - however, after revisiting the synopsis, I know that it's something that I could potentially find really, really good! I love the sound of this one, so I will have to remember to get to it sometime soon!

Rules of Summer by Joanna Philbin

352 Pages

Published 23rd May 2013 by Atom

THE RULES OF SUMMER is about two 17 year-old girls living in the same beachfront mansion in East Hampton for the summer, one “upstairs” (the daughter of a very blue-blooded family) and one “downstairs” (the niece of the family’s housekeeper.) Isabel is the privileged daughter who’s used to having guys fall at her feet. Rory is the no-nonsense girl from a small New Jersey town who’s always been the friend, never the girlfriend.  Besides becoming each other’s unlikely allies, both Rory and Isabel have a summer romance that will change her life.

Night School (Night School #1)

Night School by C.J. Daugherty

Paperback, 454 pages

Published 1st January 2012 by Atom

Shelves: books-i-own, young-adult, supernatural, series-or-companions, read-in-2013, magical-realism 

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

Allie's world is falling apart...

She hates her school. Her brother has run away. And she's just been arrested. 

Again. 

Now her parents are sending her away to a boarding school where she doesn't know a soul.

But instead of hating her new school, Allie finds she's happy there. She's making friends. And then there's Sylvain, a suave French student who openly flirts with her. And Carter, the brooding loner who seems to have her back.

Soon, though, Allie discovers Cimmeria Academy is no ordinary school. Nothing there is as it seems. And her new friends are hiding dangerous secrets.

Night School is a book that is hugely popular amongst a lot of young adults at the moment and I am sure that it'll continue to be a big hit. Night School has a very interesting idea behind it which could literally lead us anywhere - there is so much potential for this series and I truly think that it will just improve as it goes on.

I will start by saying that I didn't initially love this book. It took me quite a while to get into Night School, but towards the end I was definitely left wanting to know more! Though I've only given this book two stars, I'd say that it definitely deserves more towards the end. I always find it difficult to review first books in series, as they're sometimes just stepping stones for the following books, setting the scene and introducing us to people. I'd say that Night school was one of these books. As I've said, towards the end, it did definitely get more intriguing as we started to find out about Night School, a secret elite club. There is no doubt that Night School is an interesting group and I'd imagine that most people would be intrigued by it. 

The setting of Night School is a secluded boarding school in England, Cimmeria Academy. Boarding schools are a very popular setting for young adult books at the moment and it's obvious why -  the buildings can be full of history and so are the perfect place for creating a mysterious atmosphere. I am a person who loves reading about schools, so this was perfect for me. Daugherty definitely made the right choice by creating the Academy - she did a great job of creating a somewhat spooky feeling to the place and made very clear that there was a great amount of history to the school, which I hope she will expand on as the series progresses!

The history of the school is also embedded in the story's characters. The cast of primarily teenage characters will certainly appeal to the targeted reading group. In Night School we are introduced to Allie, a troubled girl who is having a hard time after her brother ran away from home. Allie is sent to Cimmeria Academy in the hopes that it will change her behaviour. She is pessimistic about the move at first, but after a while she realises that she's actually quite happy there with her new friends. There is a fair amount of different characters that we're introduced to - enough to allow good diversity but not too many to become confusing. I enjoyed seeing Allie interact with her new friends and I found it quite difficult to judge the characters - I wasn't quite sure who to trust and I didn't quite know where the story was going, which was good as it meant it wasn't predictable!

As you can see, I did enjoy some aspects of this book, but for me the thing as a whole didn't completely work. As aforementioned, I feel as though this is a book to pave a way for the rest of the series, rather than to be a fantastic standalone book. This book is reasonably thick, at 400+ pages and for me, the issue was that not much actually happened. C.J. did a good job of introducing us to characters and making us a little suspicious of them, which was probably what she was aiming for in this book, so she did well. Unfortunately I was a little unsure about where the book was going (I thought it was paranormal, which it doesn't seem to be) and this vagueness didn't allow me to get completely absorbed. I didn't need to know any specific information, so it was difficult to get hooked - I had no idea what I was waiting to find out.

Whilst I didn't love the whole of Night School, I did manage to find enough potential and intrigue inside it in order to want to read the second book in the school, Legacy. After reading a few reviews of Legacy, I think I am right in thinking that this story can only get stronger. I know that a lot of you will love Night School itself, and I am really looking forward to seeing where the story goes.

Night School Event

C.J. Daugherty at Westfield School

CJ Daugherty and me!

Some of you may know that a few weeks ago, I had the fantastic opportunity of returning to my old school (Westfield Independent Day School for Girls, Gosforth) to meet the author of the popular Night School series, C.J. Daugherty. As soon as I heard that C.J. would be visiting Westfield, I jumped at the chance to meet her - not just for my own enjoyment, but for my lovely blog readers too! C.J. was a delight to meet and I hope that this short write-up of her talk will be of interest to you, it's always interesting to learn a little about the author behind the books that we read.

C.J. started by telling us a little about herself, starting from where her whole writing career (sort of!) started- when she was 19 year old and wrote a letter to a newspaper. C.J. has always loved reading and writing which is why she got a job in journalism. Understandably, C.J. was very interested in crime journalism, something quick, intense and fast-changing which she described as a 'lesson in focus'. C.J. told us about her many different but all equally interesting jobs related to writing, which provided huge entertainment for everyone listening - hearing stories of her job where she got to meet spies was particularly interesting and everyone was completely absorbed. Whilst we were all captivated by her journeys in journalism, C.J. became a little bored and decided to use her very creative mind to write a book, a political thriller. When writing and researching, she discovered the story of the Bullingdon Club - an exclusive society at Oxford University, and the inspiration behind the Night School series....

Upon hearing of the Bullingdon club, Daugherty became deeply interested by the idea of secret groups of rich and famous - elite - children around the world. Did laws apply to the elite? Do they have limited morality? If you were elite, if your parents could bail you out at any time, would you be a good person? You can understand why C.J. was interested by this whole idea - I know that as soon as I heard about the Bullingdon club, I wanted to know more. C.J. went one step further and created her own elite group - the Night School.

C.J. then went on to read an extract of her latest book, Legacy. The girls were absolutely hooked! It was a lovely experience to listen to an author read her own work. The talk then finished with a rather extensive Q & A session! The girls had a whole load of questions to ask, and here's a few things that we learned:

• It usually takes around 7 months for the whole writing process of a book to be completed - 4 months  for the first draft, 6 weeks spent editing and then the book is sent to an editor for any more changes.
• C.J. has 5 books ultimately planned for the Night School Series.
• Some of C.J.'s favourite books that she didn't write include The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare and This is Not a Real Test by Courtney Summers. She also loves J.D. Salinger.
• If she hadn't become an author, C.J. thinks that she'd have probably become a lawyer.
• The most important thing for her in books are the characters.
• She would like to write a  book set in the 1920's about a US based Night School
• If she was one of her characters, she certainly wouldn't want to be Allie but she would like to be the very clever Rachel.
• She would have loved to have gone to boarding school!

C.J. then went on to sign books for the girls and had some photographs taken. The whole experience was relaxed and interesting - I thought it was really interesting to hear the idea behind Night School and it has made me really, really interested in following this series. I hope that this small summary of her talk has made you interested too. I will be posting more Night School and Legacy related posts through the week, so keep checking back for more!

For more information about the Night School series, visit her website here:

www.cjdaugherty.com

For more information about Westfield School, visit the website here:

http://www.westfield.newcastle.sch.uk

Many thanks to C.J. for holding such a fantastic talk and many thanks to all at Westfield School for welcoming me.

Struck By Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal

Struck By Lightning: The Carson Philips Journal by Chris Colfer

Paperback,272 pages

Expected Publication: 20th November 2012 by Atom

My shelves: arc-or-review, books-i-own, contemporary, lgbt-characters, movies-or-tv, read-in-2012, realistic-fiction, to-be-reviewed, young-adult
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

A hilariously cynical look at high school from Chris Colfer, star of TV's Glee, and based on the feature film of the same name.

Struck by Lightning: The Carson Phillips Journal follows the story of outcast high school senior Carson Phillips who blackmails the most popular students into contributing to his literary journal to bolster his college application; his goal in life is to get into Northwestern and eventually become the editor of The New Yorker.At once laugh-out-loud funny, deliciously dark, and remarkably smart, Struck by Lightning unearths the dirt that lies just below the surface of high school.

My thanks go to Atom for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Okay, I'll openly admit it, I was very wary of reading this book, simply because it was written by someone from Glee and I really don't like Glee. However, I wanted a quick read so I picked this one up and gave it a go. I'll be honest and say that I'm glad I gave this book a chance - though it was pretty much what I expected, I wasn't disappointed.

Struck By Lightning is the journal of Carson Phillips, a high school senior who is determined to get into Northwestern and become a top editor. Carson is also a bit of an outcast at his school, meaning it's difficult for him to get any support in writing a literary magazine which is essential for his university application. As no one will willingly help him, Carson turns to blackmail in order to get other members of the school to write for his magazine.

Carson is a character who feels very real. Though he wasn't particularly nice at the start, I did understand where he was coming from a lot of the time and I think that a lot of people will be able to connect with him in some way - he did tend to say things that a lot of us probably secretly think to ourselves at some point. I don't know whether I liked or loathed Carson, my opinion upon him changed a lot throughout, though I am very glad that he did seem to grow as a person as he realised some of his naiveté in regards to other people. Initially, Carson was pretty self absorbed, intolerant and not very understanding of others - he just saw what people were like on the surface. The whole story is about Carson discovering more about himself and the others around him and it succeeds in doing that.

The rest of the characters in the story were complete clichés, but it actually didn't matter one bit - in fact, it just added more to the whole feeling of the book. Though  the book is generally quite humorous and easy to read, it does touch on some serious issues, such as alcohol abuse and dementia. I think that Colfer did a good job of interweaving these storylines in, not allowing them to completely bog down the book, but to add a some integrity to the book. I was quite impressed with how Colfer made the story seem realistic, inserting all sorts of elements from teenage life.

Overall, this was a fun enough book and for anyone who wants a fun, quick read, this is for you - it's amusing, authentic and easy to read. If you're a fan of Chris Colfer, I'm pretty sure this would make the book even better! 

From the Review Pile (28)

From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday.

The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review (or if you don't receive review books, any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

I know that a lot of you have a huge pile of books that you want to read/review, but it understandably takes a while to get around to reading them all - here you can give a book (or two!) some of the publicity that it deserves, even if you haven't read it yet!

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This week, I'm going to showcase Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices - Manga edition)!

I only received this book a week ago but I'm a little confused about when to read it! Though I do own a copy of the regular text version of Clockwork Angel, I haven't read it yet - so I'm not sure whether I should read that before I try the manga or simply just dive straight into the manga version. I've never read a graphic novel before so it's going to be a new experience for me when I get around to it! 

Clockwork Angel (Manga) by Cassandra Clare and HyeKyung Baek

Paperback, 240 pages

Published 1st November  2012 by Orbit

 A manga-adaption to the prequel of Cassandra Clare's Mortal Instruments series, The Infernal Devices is the story of Tessa Gray, a sixteen-year-old American girl traveling alone to Victorian London who runs afoul of the city's sordid supernatural underworld. Rescued by the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, Tessa quickly finds herself caught up in an intrigue that may very well destroy her new friends - including the two enigmatic young men, Jem and Will, who have taken her under their wing...

The Diviners (The Diviners #1)

The Diviners by Libba Bray

Hardback, 592 pages

Published 18th September 2012 by Atom

My shelves: arc-or-review, better-than-expected, books-i-own, ghosts, historical, horror, read, read-in-2012, really-good, series-or-companions, supernatural, young-adult
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

It's 1920s New York City. It's flappers and Follies, jazz and gin. It's after the war but before the depression. And for certain group of bright young things it's the opportunity to party like never before.

For Evie O'Neill, it's escape. She's never fit in in small town Ohio and when she causes yet another scandal, she's shipped off to stay with an uncle in the big city. But far from being exile, this is exactly what she's always wanted: the chance to show how thoroughly modern and incredibly daring she can be.

But New York City isn't about just jazz babies and follies girls. It has a darker side. Young women are being murdered across the city. And these aren't crimes of passion. They're gruesome. They're planned. They bear a strange resemblance to an obscure group of tarot cards. And the New York City police can't solve them alone.

Evie wasn't just escaping the stifling life of Ohio, she was running from the knowledge of what she could do. She has a secret. A mysterious power that could help catch the killer - if he doesn't catch her first.

Buy this book:

The Book Depository / Amazon (US/INT) / Amazon UK

My thanks go to Atom for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was really excited when I heard about the Diviners, even though I haven't read any of Libba Bray's previous work. I have read several rave reviews for Bray's books, but just haven't gotten around to reading them. I knew that with the release of The Diviners, I would finally pick up some of her writing. I  decided to set this book as my Halloween read, and picked it up on the 31st of October. This was one of the best decisions I've made (bookwise, anyway!) - it was such a fantastic read for this time of year.

There were a couple of things about The Diviners that worried me - the historical setting, which is often hit or miss for me, and the sheer length of it! I never start a book without finishing it, so starting a 500+ page book is quite a big decision for me! I have to admit that I am now a fan of the 1920's setting and I no longer find thicker books so daunting! This book was just such a pleasure to read and I find it very difficult to fault it. The setting was fantastic - Bray did a sterling job of describing 1920's New York, the fashion, the phrases, the entertainment and the attitude - it all seemed very authentic and I became truly immersed in the culture - It's clear that Bray swotted up on the trends of the 20's and it really paid off. 

The story itself was really interesting. The story follows our protagonist, Evie O'Neill, as she moves to New York to stay with her uncle Will, who lives in a museum dedicated to the supernatural. Evie thinks she's going to have the time of her life in New York and she does, though perhaps not in the way she expects! Evie ends up helping her Uncle and his assistant investigate a series of gruesome murders. It sounds like a strange word to use alongside 'gruesome murders' but it was a refreshing plot to read - it felt original and this is certainly one of the more complex, well written young adult books that I've read. It did take a little while to get into the main 'element' of the book, no words were wasted, all building up an intrigue, an atmosphere and a sense of mystery. Though this is a lengthy book, I appreciated each page and I can honestly say that I was never even slightly bored - just sometimes a little creeped out!

I thought that Bray did an amazing job of making me feel uneasy whilst reading this book - I was never really scared whilst reading this, but an extremely eerie feeling definitely lingered whilst I read the whole thing. The murderer in this book, Naughty John, is powerful and ghastly. Though there are no overly detailed macabre scenes, Bray still manages to create this spine-tingling fear. I really appreciated her writing and ability to conjure up such feelings. I thought that the in-depth explorations of the murders and the discovery of the links between them was all very intriguing. 

Of course, the book would just flop if it wasn't for it's great characters too. There were a host of exciting characters in The Diviners and I loved learning more about all of them as the story unfolded. I can't say that I favoured a particular character as they were all so well formed and had such great, diverse personalities. I enjoyed the sub-plots that the other characters provided and will look forward to seeing these expanded even more in the next book(s).

Overall, this book impressed me a lot and I am now waiting quite impatiently for the next book in the series! I am so glad that I decided to give this one a go and I will be sure to pick up more of Libba Bray's writing in the future. Highly recommended!

From the Review Pile (26)

From the Review Pile is a meme hosted by Stepping Out of the Page every Thursday.

The aim of this meme is to showcase books that you've received for review (or if you don't receive review books, any book that you own and really want to read/review) but haven't yet got around to reading, in order to give the book some extra publicity.

I know that a lot of you have a huge pile of books that you want to read/review, but it understandably takes a while to get around to reading them all - here you can give a book (or two!) some of the publicity that it deserves, even if you haven't read it yet!

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I'm sorry for the late post this week - I've been quite busy, so I apologise!

This week, I'm going to showcase The Witch of Turlingham Academy!

This is a book that has had fantastic reviews and looks like a promising quick read. I've been a little hesitant of reading it as it's aimed towards a younger audience, but I definitely want to give it a try!

The Witch of Turlingham Academy by Ellie

Paperback, 212 pages

Published March 2012 by Atom

It's not easy being the only day girl at Turlingham Academy: Sophie misses out on all the midnight feasts and late night gossip. And when new girl Katy turns up it feels like she's bewitching all of Sophie's friends! Katy's no witch, but there is a witch at Turlingham. Katy comes from a long line of witch hunters whose job is to stop evil magic. Sophie is going to help her - anything to get Katy out of her life and get things back to normal. But what she discovers means nothing will ever be normal again!

Defiance (Defiance #1)

Defiance by C.J. Redwine

Paperback, 403 pages

Expected publication: 6th September 2012 by Atom

My shelves: arc-or-review, better-than-expected, books-i-own, cover-appeal, dragons, fantasy, magic, read-in-2012, really-good, read

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

Rachel’s world is confined to the protective walls around her city. Beyond them are violent wanderers, extreme terrain, and a danger straight out of legend: a beast called the Cursed One that devastates everything in its path.

When Rachel’s father goes missing, she is desperate to search for him. But her attempts to flee the city bring her to the attention of its overbearing ruler. His efforts to control her make the world within the walls seem as dangerous as that outside.

Her only chance at escape is Logan. Once her father’s apprentice, and now her only protector, he feels that helping her might mean losing her completely. But if he can put his feelings aside, they might be able to save more than Rachel’s father. They might be able to break down the walls, and set their people free.

Buy this book:

The Book Depository / Amazon (US/INT) / Amazon UK

My thanks go to Atom for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Picking up this book, I wasn't all that sure what to expect. I tried to avoid all of the hype around Defiance as 1. I wasn't sure if I it would be for me and 2. I didn't want to be disappointed if I did decide to pick it up. Well, I did pick it up and I imagine that could've read all the rave reviews for it and still loved it. I really, really enjoyed this book from start to finish. It can be difficult to find a new, interesting concept these days, but C.J. Redwine has thought of a great concept and executed it well.

Defiance has a strange setting. Though it's set in a somewhat dystopian future, to me it felt more like a medieval, historical setting, with a bit of a twist. This book is written in two points of view, of Rachel and of Logan. Our protagonists live in Baalboden, a walled city to supposedly protect them from 'The Cursed One' - a dragon-like, murderous creature. Rachel's father, Jared, is a tracker and so has left Baalboden, but unfortunately he hasn't returned. Each woman must have a protector until she is 18 and 'Chosen', and when Jared goes missing, not only is Rachel left without a father, but she is left without a protector too. Unexpectedly, Jared's apprentice, Logan, is appointed to look after her. At first, this isn't good news for Rachel and she decides that she must go and find her father. All of the fun starts there...

The plot of Defiance unfolds at a good pace. I got a good feel of the setting and atmosphere quite easily - I never thought that such a setting could captivate me, but it did.  Whilst this is quite an eventful book, it wasn't too much and things didn't go too fast. The plot was surprisingly complex, with twists and turns that really pulled me into the story, making me want to keep reading on and to discover more. I never got bored whilst reading this book - it was captivating, a true page-turner.

The characters felt solid to me right from the start, yet still had a sort of hidden mystery behind them. Rachel, our main character is a likeable heroine - she is very, very determined and strong, yet still has a realistic vulnerability. She isn't the perfect heroine, but she tries to be the best person that she can be. I loved Logan as soon as we met him (probably due to the fact he's named Logan) and grew to like him even more as the book progressed. He's moody, he's clever, he's protective but not in a restrictive way. I also really liked meeting the other more minor characters and seeing what they brought to the story, which was a surprising amount. I particularly liked the whimsical nature of the tree people, Willow and Quinn.

As you can tell by now, I really, really enjoyed this book. The ending of this one really excited me - I think the setting in the next book will be even more effective. I really can't I can't wait to get reacquainted with Rachel and Logan and see what happens next!