Amy and Matthew

Amy & Matthew by Cammie McGovern

Paperback, 322 Pages

Expected Publication 27th March 2014 by Pan Macmillan

Shelves: arc-or-review, better-than-expected, books-i-own, contemporary, cover-appeal, if-i-were-a-boy, medical-conditions, mental-health, read-in-2014, realistic-fiction, really-good, to-read, young-adult

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

Amy loves Matthew and he loves her back. This is their story.
Amy is unflinchingly honest about her limitations. Born with cerebral palsy, she can’t walk or talk without help. But trapped inside this uncooperative body lies a brilliant mind and a luminous spirit – a girl capable of truly loving and worthy of being loved in return.
Matthew has his own set of challenges – a mind consumed by unwanted repeated thoughts, obsessive rituals and a crippling fear that he can't explain. But underneath all of the anxiety lies a deep seed of hope for someone to come along who believes in him…
This is the story of Amy and Matthew. It may not be a fairy tale romance or set in an imagined world far from our own. But the love they share is real. And yes, there's magic in it.

Just when I thought I was maybe growing 'out' of young adult books, along came Cammie McGovern, and alongside her came Amy and Matthew, reminding me exactly why I fell in love with YA in the first place. 

Amy and Matthew seems like a book that was written for me - it contains everything I love and most importantly, two imperfect protagonists who were easy to admire from the very beginning. Both characters have diagnosable 'disabilities', Amy has Cerebral Palsy and Matthew has OCD. Though both conditions can be very disabling, the characters certainly don't just sit back and let their problems dominate them, which is probably the main reason why I admired them so much. Their lives are undoubtedly affected, as anybody who has (or who has had) an illness will know, and it that's certainly a largely covered issue in the book, but I absolutely loved, and was so relieved, that the personalities of the characters were at the forefront. I enjoyed seeing how the two characters leaned on each other and how their relationship helped improve their wellbeing. 

Amy and Matthew learn a lot about themselves through each other and this creates such a perfect chemistry between the two and it's something very special.   Amy and Matthew are, quite simply, perfect for each other. If I was Amy, I would love a guy like Matthew, and if I was Matthew, I'd love a girl like Amy. I don't think that anybody could deny that. The two characters are really quite different and that is patly why they work so well together. Though Amy is less physically able than Matthew, she's perhaps slightly stronger emotionally, where as Matthew is more physically able but has a harder time with his emotions. I was very interested to see what Amy was really like, what she really thought and felt, as she seemed like, and was, a very complex person. I can only imagine what it must be like to be in her situation, but I think that McGovern portrayed her amazingly well. I liked seeing how both characters changed throughout the book - I was particularly impressed with Matthew's improvements and recovery.

As someone who has both chronic physical pain and mental illnesses, from what I understand of Amy and Matthew's issues, they were described well and I am glad that their issues were portrayed in a very frank, but not hyperbolic way. I sympathised with them, but didn't pity them. It is good to finally be able read a book about real people with real issues, trying to lead a normal lifestyle.

I hope it's clear how much I loved this book! It's difficult to write in a review, as you really do have to 'meet' Amy and Matthew through reading. I can not thank McGovern enough for getting me back into this genre and reminding me of everything I love about contemporary YA. Amy and Matthew is definitely one of the top YA books out there at the moment. Move over, The Fault In Our Stars and make way for Amy and Matthew! 

From the Review Pile (84)

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 Fangirl!

Today is the expected release of Fangirl and although I've not yet reviewed it, I thought it would be good to feature such a popular book on it's public release date - I have seen many positive comments about this book and look forward to writing my own review soon!

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Paperback, 480 pages

Expected Publication: 30th January 2014 by Pan Macmillan

Cath and Wren are identical twins, and until recently they did absolutely everything together. Now they're off to university and Wren's decided she doesn't want to be one half of a pair any more - she wants to dance, meet boys, go to parties and let loose. It's not so easy for Cath. She's horribly shy and has always buried herself in the fan fiction she writes, where she always knows exactly what to say and can write a romance far more intense than anything she's experienced in real life. Without Wren Cath is completely on her own and totally outside her comfort zone. She's got a surly room-mate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words ...And she can't stop worrying about her dad, who's loving and fragile and has never really been alone. Now Cath has to decide whether she's ready to open her heart to new people and new experiences, and she's realizing that there's more to learn about love than she ever thought possible ...

This Song Will Save Your Life

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales

Paperback, 288 pages

Expected Publication 10th October by Macmillan Books
Shelves: arc-or-review, better-than-expected, books-i-own, contemporary, favourites, lasting-impression, read-in-2013, realistic-fiction, really-good, suicide, title-appeal, to-read, young-adult

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

All her life, Elise Dembowski has been an outsider. Starting a new school, she dreams of fitting in at last – but when her best attempts at popularity fail, she almost gives up. Then she stumbles upon a secret warehouse party. There, at night, Elise can be a different person, making real friends, falling in love for the first time, and finding her true passion – DJ’ing. 
But when her real and secret lives collide, she has to make a decision once and for all: just who is the real Elise?

An irresistible novel about hope, heartbreak and the power of music to bring people together.

It seems like I haven't given five stars to a book for a very long time, because that honour only goes to books that have a profound effect on me, something that really pulls me in and more often than not, leaves me emotionally battered (though thankfully I escaped that this time). This Song Will Save Your Life is one of, if not the best contemporary book that I've read in years.

The book introduces us to Elise, a teenage schoolgirl who never seems to fit in with anyone else, no matter how hard she tries. Elise has gotten so tired of trying and failing at making friends that one night, she decides to attempt suicide, only being saved by a phone call. I knew from the first chapter that I was going to give this book a high rating because something about Elise triggered something within me. Though I won't go into detail in a review, when I was at school, I suffered severe clinical depression and so I could relate to a lot of things that Elise was saying and I could understand why she thought it was logical to kill herself - I had been in the same position, considering the same things. Elise's thoughts really, really struck a chord with me and I think it will with others who have had similar experiences. The writing and thoughts were just so matter of fact and raw and above all, realistic. It really felt like Sales was getting in my head and writing from the heart. I enjoyed sitting back and really absorbing the writing. There is no pretension, there is no elaborate sentences, Sales didn't need to do much more than to state the real, emotional truth to make her impact and leave us with a very quotable book.

On one of her nightly walks, Elise comes across a couple of girls who invite her into their secret club, a place where Elise soon begins to feel some form of acceptance and she seems to make friends with the girl, particularly Vicky, the bouncer of the club, Mel, and the DJ, known as Char or 'This Charming Man'. In the club, Elise realises that there are other people who share the same interests as her, music in particular, and through this, her character seems to open up a bit more and both this and her personality gain her the acceptance that she has wished for. Elise's relationships with Vicky and Char were certainly not straight forward, but the natural awkwardness that you'd expect was there, making them feel genuine. There is a sort of 'romance' between Char and Elise which I enjoyed reading about as I was curious about their chemistry. I loved Char's working attitude towards Elise as he taught her about DJing and all of the things that come with being a popular DJ and a young adult, too.

It was so fantastic to see Elise at her element in the club as she gained popularity by learning to DJ - there is a scene in the book where she looks at a photograph of herself in front of the crowd and it is a really striking moment and I felt a lot of pride for her. Music is obviously a big part of this book, so of course it's important to mention that aspect - this book is sprinkled with mentions of singers, bands and songs. I absolutely loved the playlist to this book - I'm a fan of 80's music, probably more so than modern music, so the mentions of songs from the likes of The Smiths, Depeche Mode and Erasure were exciting and even the slightly more modern stuff, such as Born Slippy NUXX livened up that Trainspotting fanatic inside me. The mentions of these artists brought me closer to the characters in the book in the same way that the music brought the characters closer to each other, and that is such an great feeling.

Another important aspect of this book that I don't want to leave out is Elise's relationship with her family. Her parents are divorced, and so she split her time between her parents. Due to the location of the club, Elise starts to spend less time with her father. I think that a lot of the emotion between Elise and both her parents and her young sister were actually left unsaid, but came across very well in just their behaviour and actions. One of the most humbling scenes in the book, for me, was between Elise and her sister towards the end of the book, which really hit me hard. 

In my opinion, This Song Will Save Your Life is the best coming-of-age, contemporary book since The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Leila Sales truly captivated me with her fantastic writing and definitely got me thinking about the importance of individualism, the effects of change and the importance of acceptance - accepting who you are and being you, whatever people think. 

This book has an absolutely AMAZING soundtrack to go alongside it - you can check it out on Spotify, if you use it. As both the characters in the book and I personally have a lot of love for The Smiths, I can't resist sharing what is perhaps my favourite song of theirs:

From the Review Pile (31)

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 After the Snow!

As it was snowing where I live earlier this week, I thought it'd be appropriate to feature a book with 'snow' in the title! I think this book looks great and now would be a great time to pick it up, don't you think?

After The Snow by SD Crockett

Hardback, 320 pages

Published February 2012 by Macmillan Children's Books

Dancing with someone is an act of trust. Elegant and intimate; you're close enough to kiss, close enough to feel your partner's heartbeat. But for Vanessa, dance is deadly – and she must be very careful who she trusts . . .

Vanessa Adler attends an elite ballet school – the same one her older sister, Margaret, attended before she disappeared. Vanessa feels she can never live up to her sister's shining reputation. But Vanessa, with her glorious red hair and fair skin, has a kind of power when she dances – she loses herself in the music, breathes different air, and the world around her turns to flames . . . 

Soon she attracts the attention of three men: gorgeous Zep, mysterious Josh, and the great, enigmatic choreographer Josef Zhalkovsky. When Josef asks Vanessa to dance the lead in the Firebird, she has little idea of the danger that lies ahead – and the burning forces about to be unleashed . . .

Rage Within Blog Tour Stop - An interview with the author

You may have seen my review of Rage Within yesterday, a book which I really enjoyed.

Now I'm happy to announce that the blog tour has stopped by this blog!

I was given the opportunity to have my first interview with an author, which I was both a little nervous but very excited about.  I hope that you enjoy reading the questions and the answers that Jeyn Roberts so kindly provided.

An Interview with Jeyn Roberts, author of Rage Within

There were so many questions I wanted to ask this wonderful author, so I started with a few general questions that I was desperate to find out....

What is the strangest question (and answer, please!) that anyone has asked you in regards to your writing?

I haven’t had a lot of really weird questions when it comes to writing. I did have someone ask me to list the books I really hated and why. I refused to do it. It didn’t seem like a good idea and would probably lead to death threats in the middle of the night. I had another person tell me he didn’t really care for my book and wondered if I was hot? I was like… um… yeah… I’m not going there. 

In your opinion, what are the best and worst things about writing a book?

I find the first thirty pages to be the worst. For some reason, it’s a magic number for me. The second I’m past it, the words just seem to flow. Before thirty pages, it’s like watching grass grow. The best part is a collection of a few things. It’s the moment when I get an idea and it begins to develop in my mind. The thrill of knowing I’m about to get to a particularly exciting scene and when I write the very last word. Of course finishing a book is always bittersweet. 

What did you read when you were a ‘young adult’ and what do you read now? 

I didn’t read a lot of teen books when I was a teen. I was going through a massive horror kick at the time. Stephen King was my favorite from thirteen on. I couldn’t get enough of him. Nowadays,  I still read Stephen King (haha). I read a lot of YA, mostly because it’s so good. Recent reads have been Anna Dressed in Blood and After the Snow. I’m also working my way through the largest collection of zombie short stories ever. I swear, this book is big enough to kill a zombie. 

Do you have any ideas as to what you’ll write after the Dark Inside series? Are you interested in branching out into other genres?

I’m working on a bunch of different things right now. I’ve got a middle reader book that’s set in the Great Depression that’s been taking up some of my time. I’ve also been working on three different ideas. One is horror, the other paranormal romance and the last is a ghost story. 

Then, of course, as this was the Rage Within blog tour, I just had to ask some questions about her latest book...

Who is your favourite character and who do you relate to most in Rage Within?

I have to admit that Mason is my favourite. He’s also the most frustrating character because he’s so darn emo all the time. I want him to be happy!!!!!  I also love my new character, Raj, who is introduced in Rage Within. He's fantastic and brings some much needed comedy. I’d say I relate most with Aries. I’d like to believe I share her desire to constantly be there for her friends, her reluctant leadership qualities and her optimism. 

How would you cope in the situation of your characters?

What would you do if you came face to face with a Bagger?

I’d probably pee my pants. Haha. In all honesty, I don’t know. I’ve thought about this a lot too. I’d like to believe I’d be strong enough and smart enough to survive the Bagger attacks but I’m not sure. I really think it’s one of those things that no one can predict. Would I be a Bagger? Would I survive? No idea. Your guess is as good as mine.

Then for some quick-fire questions to (sadly) end the interview..

What one word describes you best? 

Believer. 

Favourite book?

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. 

If a book was written about your life, what would it be called?

You Did What Now? 

Zombies, Vampires, Werewolves or other?

Zombies!

Thank you so much for your time Jeyn!

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I really hope you all enjoyed finding out more about Jeyn and that, if you haven't already, you now want to pick up either Dark Inside or Rage Within - trust me, you won't be disappointed!

Don't forget to stop by the other hosts of this blog tour for even more exclusive content!

Rage Within (Dark Inside #2)

Rage Within by Jeyn Roberts

Paperback, 368 pages

Expected publication: 30th August 2012 by Macmillan Children's Books

My shelves: apocalyptic, arc-or-review, blog-tour, books-i-own, dystopian, horror, read-in-2012, sci-fi, read, young-adult, zombies

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

After the earthquakes came the infectious rage, turning friends into deadly enemies. For survivors Michael, Aries, Mason and Clementine the battle to stay alive is about to get even tougher. The new world is organising itself, with camps that promise protection for the uninfected. But the reality of the sites is far more sinister. Besides, nobody is safe from the rage within their own soul...

For fans of Gone, or 28 Days Later not to be missed!

Buy this book:

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

My thanks go to Macmillan's Children Books for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

Last year, I picked up a copy of Rage Inside from my local library, not knowing much about it and having not read a zombie-type book before (okay, they're technically not zombies, but some characters are in a zombie-like state). I was very glad that I did pick it up as I really, really enjoyed it. The only problem was, I had to wait for the second book to be released! When I finally held a copy of Rage Within, I was so excited to delve into it.

I'll be honest and say that I can't remember Dark Inside very clearly, despite how much I liked it - I could only recollect snippets of events, though I had a good memory of the characters. This wasn't a problem for me though, by around only 50 pages in, I was absolutely absorbed into the story, reacquainted with the characters and didn't want to put the book down. I was surprised that I enjoyed Dark Inside so much and even more surprised that I enjoyed this instalment even more. In this book, we follow a group of teenagers as they unite to try and survive a world that has completely changed after a catastrophic earthquake. They are up against a load of people who have turned into what are known as 'Baggers' - the bad guys of the books. Baggers are still human and it's very hard to know who is a bagger and who is not, which makes things a whole lot scarier and unnerving.

Again, this book is narrated by Mason, Michael, Clementine and Aries. Each character was strong and for me, it felt very equal - I didn't warm particularly to one character as I was interested in them all. Whilst all characters are well formed, I personally thought it was quite easy to get them mixed up, however this didn't cause any difficulty whilst reading. Though I won't mention who they are incase of spoilers, we also got to meet some new characters in this book who were very intriguing. There was a huge twist with one character in particular in this book and although it did sadden me as I'd come to like and know the character, the twist was indeed very effective! I loved all of the twists and turns in the book. There were some things that were slightly predictable but a lot of twists did shock me and make me gasp, which was fantastic. I was totally hooked, desperate to know what was going to happen next.

The one aspect of the first book that troubled me was the point of view of a character known as 'Nothing' - someone/thing that we don't know anything about. despite it being effective, I didn't like it in the first book as it was too vague for me. However, in this book we get to learn a lot more about 'Nothing' and begin to really discover who/what Nothing is. 

As you should be able to tell, I really liked this book and now begins the torturous wait for book three! Absolutely addictive, edge of your seat reading with fantastically developed, fun and loveable characters, this series is definitely one that I'd recommend.

Debutantes Blog Tour Stop - Guest Post

I'm pleased to tell you that the Debutantes blog tour has stopped by my blog and the wonderful author, Cora Harrison, has provided a 'bookshelf' post in which she has taken some photographs of her very own bookshelves - including a shelf dedicated to books relating to Debutantes!

I hope that you enjoy this post.

Me & Books by Cora Harrison

I live in a small, old, stone-built Irish cottage and I do love it, but I so wish that I had more room as I cannot resist buying books and they do pile up – on top of wardrobes, in boxes up in the loft and in the six bookcases that I have (not counting the bookcases belonging to my husband and son).

Well, this one  is mostly full of books that we bought at Hay-on-Wye, a wonderful town with over 30 second-hand bookshops in it. We go there every couple of years and load up our estate car.  I have a nice set of Victorian novels in the top shelf – mainly Dickens who is my favourite and I see a biography of him on the second shelf.

This bookcase stands in my study. The top three shelves have non-fiction books mainly to do with books that I am currently writing, or intend to write. The top shelf is full of books about Ireland, its history and its landscape and these books I use for my series of Medieval Irish Mysteries. The second shelf is mainly books that are about subjects relating to my books ‘The Debutantes’ and the third shelf is about Tudors and Elizabethans – research for my books for adults, and also books about Victorian London, which I use for my London Murder Mysteries.

 And the last two shelves are filled with an overflow of copies of my own books.

This is the second bookcase in my study and is the tidiest and least-read bookcase in the house. It is filled with books which I wrote.

This is a bookcase in my bedroom and it’s filled with books that I read in bed – all of my Brother Cadfael books – gardening books –I have a few acres of a ‘garden’ which never comes up to my expectation, except in my dreams. The book on chess openings is at the front because I mean to teach myself some new ones as my nine-year-old grandson is a great chessplayer.

These are the books in our guest ‘cabin’ – they are a funny mixture of light bed-time reading, my ‘Jane Austen’ books – by her and about her and her times, and the bottom two shelves are an overflow of engineering books from my son’s bedroom.

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Many thanks to Cora for giving us some insight into her bookish life and to Pan Macmillan for allowing me to be part of this tour.

Debutantes is out NOW!

Check out my review [here].

Buy the book:

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

Debutantes (Debutantes #1)

Debutantes (Debutantes #1) by Cora
Harrison

Paperback, 532 pages

Published 2nd August 2012 by Pan Macmillan Childrens 

My shelves: arc-or-review, blog-tour, books-i-own, cover-appeal, currently-reading, historical, read-in-2012, realistic-fiction, young-adult

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Description via Goodreads:

It’s 1923 and London is a whirl of jazz, dancing and parties. Violet, Daisy, Poppy and Rose Derrington are desperate to be part of it, but stuck in an enormous crumbling house in the country, with no money and no fashionable dresses, the excitement seems a lifetime away.

Luckily the girls each have a plan for escaping their humdrum country life: Rose wants to be a novelist, Poppy a jazz musician and Daisy a famous film director. Violet, however, has only one ambition: to become the perfect Debutante, so that she can go to London and catch the eye of Prince George, the most eligible bachelor in the country.

But a house as big and old as Beech Grove Manor hides many secrets, and Daisy is about to uncover one so huge it could ruin all their plans—ruin everything—forever.

Buy this book:

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

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

Debutantes is going to be quite a challenging book for me to review. This is another book where I was quite honestly blinded by the beauty of the cover - just look at it, isn't it gorgeous? I did of course read the blurb and whilst I don't read all that much historical fiction, what I have read I have enjoyed, so I was excited to give this one a go.

I will admit that I wasn't immediately taken with this book when I started with it. It's a bit of a slow burner and rather than having much action or twists and turns at the beginning, we're introduced to the Derrington sisters (Violet, Daisy, Poppy and Rose), their family and friends. I really liked getting to know the sisters, they were all different and equally intriguing. I thought that it was great that each sister was following their own, independent path. I especially loved reading about Daisy and her passion for movie making! I enjoyed watching the sister's interactions together and I am curious to see how their relationships will develop during this series. I took a real fondness to each of the girls and appreciated their differences.

 I also enjoyed learning about the housemaids, though at some points the amount of characters did feel a little overwhelming. It wasn't confusing as such, but because of the amount of characters, it was difficult for them all to be given real depth. Whilst I did enjoy the relationships that were developing in the book - both the familial love as well as the romance, I found some of the relationships to be a little too quickly progressed. The romance certainly wasn't instant love and it did seem 'right' and natural, but I would've liked to see some more depth. Of course, there is lots of room for exploration of this in the upcoming books.

This isn't a particularly deep book, though it does have some family issues interwoven into it to satisfy those who do like some real issues incorporated into their books. The story wasn't very unpredictable, though there was a little mystery, but I thought it was good to have a slightly grittier subplot against the actual debutante ball. This book isn't one that I was shocked at, there were no huge twists and turns, but rather it was consistently enjoyable throughout. It was relaxed and moved at a nice pace. Personally, I do like my twists and turns in novels, but I wasn't disappointed when I found that this one wasn't very eventful. This is definitely a book to simply get immersed in and to relax with.

Although this wasn't a perfect book for me, it was a pleasant enough read and I think that it will appeal to most people who are fans of historical fiction and fans of Downton Abbey as well as young adults who simply want an easy read. I am certainly still intrigued enough and found the 1920's atmosphere and setting absorbing enough to want to read more. It will be exciting to see what happens next!