UKYA Review: Mind Games by Teri Terry

Published by: Orchard Books/Hachette Childrens
Release date: 5th March 2015
Series:  n/a
I got it from: Netgalley
Goodreads summary: 
Luna is a no-hoper with a secret: in a world of illusion, she can see what is real. But can she see the truth before it is too late?

Luna has always been able to exist in virtual and real worlds at the same time, a secret she is warned to keep. She hides her ability by being a Refuser: excluded by choice from the virtual spheres others inhabit. But when she is singled out for testing, she can’t hide any longer.

The safest thing to do would be to fail, to go back to a dead-end life, no future. But Luna is starting to hope for something better, and hope is a dangerous thing...
 
My Review:
Where to start? This is an incredible book. As always, Terry has created a world so complete that it's hard to believe it's not real. In Mind Games, it's a world of the future, where virtual reality has become the norm. Kids are taught via virtual lessons, they meet and date in virtual rooms, they spend all their free time playing in virtual worlds. Adults work in virtual offices, their bodies held in a life support system. But Luna is a Refuser. Her mother died because of the virtual world, her Nan insists she should stay away from it, and every time she tries to enter it she feels sick and disorientated. When Luna is selected for intelligence and rationality testing, with a chance to go to university and get a good job, but also a chance at being marked as irrational and put under watch for the rest of her life, she discovers that all is not as it seems in the virtual world.

That's a pretty basic premise. I could write pages of it to be honest, because Terry's world is so complex and there is so much going on. Yet despite all this, she somehow still manages to make Mind Games an easy book to read. It's just a lot more interesting and fulfilling than a lot of the fluff out there. Be ready for scientific and political questioning, in fact pretty much everything will end up in question. At the same time, Luna is a girl coming of age, dealing with a difficult family life, being persecuted for her beliefs and trying to discover who she really is. Then introduce a doctor who seems good but might be evil, a boy with a whole ton of secrets and a flirty smile, and a whole secret world. Mind Games is a brilliant read that will make you think.

UKYA Review: Mary Hades by Sarah Dalton

Published by: Entangled Teen
Release date: 4th May 2014
Series:  Mary Hades #1
I got it from: Netgalley
Goodreads summary: 
Not many seventeen year old girls have a best friend who’s a ghost, but then Mary Hades isn’t your average teenager.

Scarred physically and mentally from a fire, her parents decide a holiday to an idyllic village in North Yorkshire will help her recover. Nestled in the middle of five moors, Mary expects to have a boring week stuck in a caravan with her parents. Little does she know, evil lurks in the campsite…

Seth Lockwood—a local fairground worker with a dark secret—might be the key to uncovering the murky history that has blighted Nettleby. But Mary is drawn to him in a way that has her questioning her judgement.

Helped by her dead best friend and a quirky gay Goth couple, Mary must stop the unusual deaths occurring in Nettleby. But can she prevent her heart from being broken?

The first in a series of dark YA novels, Mary Hades follows on from the bestselling Kindle Single 'My Daylight Monsters'. A spine-tingling tale with romance, readers will be shocked and entertained in equal measure.

My review:
It's a while since I've read a good ghost story, and I don't thing I've ever had the pleasure of reading a good YA Brit ghost story, so Mary Hades was a delight for me. Set on the windswept moors of North Yorkshire, it's full of atmosphere, spooky as you like and a real page turner. It's also refreshingly British - so good to have a really great addition to the UKYA family.

I don't like comparing books but I know some readers find it helpful, so I will say that this had a bit of a feel of Anna Dressed in Blood to it. Where there are ghosts there will always be comparisons to other books with ghosts, and I think Anna is a pretty good book to be compared to. Strong characters, whether they're corporeal or not; a twisty plot to keep those pages turning; and with healthy doses of both mystery and romance there's something to keep everyone happy. Mary Hades is deep, dark, eerie, mysterious and spine-tinglingly gorgeous - everything a great ghost story should be.

Mary is a wonderful heroine - she's been through a lot but has come out of the other side stronger for it. If you get a chance it's worth reading the novella My Daylight Monsters which is a prequel to Mary Hades, but it's not essential. Dalton does a fine job of explaining everything that's happened so far without any annoying info-dump. Mary is coming to terms with the fact that she can see not just ghosts, but freaky ghouls that seem to appear just before something terrible happens. They might be frightening and horrific but those monsters have saved Mary's life more than once, so she's learning to pay attention to them, despite the fact that they landed her in a mental ward not so long ago. So she's also learning to keep quiet about the things she sees. This includes her best friend Lacey, who happens to be a ghost. 

Mary might be the main character here, but for me it was Lacey who really made the book. She's a bit scary, a bit funny and very loyal - everything you should expect from a spectral best friend. She's not been dead long, and I really want to read the next book to see how she continues coping with her place in the afterlife. This looks to be the start of a very promising new series.  

Review: A Girl Called Malice by Aurelia B Rowl

Published by: Carina UK
Release date: 3rd October 2014
Series: Popping the Cherry #2
I got it from: ARC from author
Goodreads summary:   
It’s not easy being the Queen Bee. Alice Taylor should know.

You know that girl. The one that the whole school’s social life seems to revolve around. Alice used to be that girl until she decided to quit sixth form college. Suddenly her ‘friends’ aren’t so interested in following her around and her attention-grabbing behaviour is about to get her kicked out of home. With nowhere to go and no one to turn to, her world starts spiralling seriously out of control.

Only new friend Zac Newton seems to believe in her. Lifeguard and poolside hottie, Zac is quite literally her lifesaver. But then, he’s never met ‘Malice’, her mean-girl alter ego, and Alice wants to keep it that way. She knows this is her last chance for a fresh start until her sordid past catches up with her at the worst possible moment.

As everything Alice has worked towards comes crashing down around her, she realises that the hardest thing of all is being yourself…

My review:
I was looking forward to this book for ages, having read and loved Popping the Cherry, and let's just say I was not disappointed. While Popping the Cherry was brilliant Young Adult fodder, A Girl Called Malice takes us more into the realms of New Adult. Alice, 17 when the book starts, is a little young for your typical NA heroine, but in many ways she's older than her years - definitely when it comes to sexual experience. Rowl is not afraid to let her characters get down and dirty, so Malice isn't a book for the younger YA generation. As an older reader though, I'm more than happy with that. I found Alice and Rowl's approach to sex refreshingly honest. But it's not all about lust...

When I first found out Rowl was writing Malice's story, I wasn't sure about it - if you've read PtC and you know about Malice, you'll understand my reticence. But it's true that people act in certain ways for reasons of their own, and Malice certainly has her reasons. It is testament to Rowl's writing that I loved this book even though I didn't identify with Alice at all. I have nothing in common with this girl, and a lesser writer could have had me running for the hills with references to Michael Buble and Hannah Montana, but Rowl told Alice's story so well that I was completely enthralled and had to keep reading. One thing that I think Rowl must have had a hard time with was the timeline - the book covers over a year, which is a long time, and it skips between taking it a day at a time, and weeks at a time. Rowl manages to make it work, but there were just a couple of bits that made me question how long things were taking. That's life though - everything doesn't happen all at once for the convenience of the plot.

The romance that was so sweet in Popping the Cherry is definitely present in Malice too, although it takes a while to make itself known. Just like with PtC, there are a few sappy moments, but what girl doesn't love a bit of stomach-clenching, heart-felt romance now and then? I've just realised that my review is a bit vague, which I apologise for. Once you read the book you'll understand - there's a lot of stuff going on that I don't want to give away. Just know that Rowl's writing is brilliant, her characters are very well-developed, there are moments that will make you sigh wistfully, lots of bits that will make you laugh, and twists to keep you on your toes. If you haven't read Popping the Cherry, go away and do it now. If you have, and you liked it, then order A Girl Called Malice immediately!

Review: Goddess by Laura Powell

Published by: Bloomsbury Children's
Release date: 10th April 2014
Series: n/a
I got it from: NetGalley
Goodreads summary:
Strikes. Starvation. Riots. Britain is at breaking-point and Aura is blind to it all. The Cult of Artemis is the only home she’s ever known. Enclosed in its luxury lifestyle, the unrest gripping the country seems to belong to a distant world. Her dream is to serve the Goddess and taking a vow of chastity and obedience seems a small price to pay. But days before Aura is due to be initiated as a Priestess, she meets Aiden, the rebellious son of a cult insider, whose radical ideas and unsettling charm force Aura to question everything – and everyone – she knows.

My review:
I have to admit, it took me a couple of chapters to get into this book. The world-building wasn't that great at first, but it was interesting enough for me to keep reading, and it got better as the book went on. When I read the author's note at the end explaining things, it all made a lot more sense, though I'm sure that note is at the end instead of the beginning for a reason, so I probably wouldn't advise reading it first.

The political vs religious intrigue makes for a satisfyingly meaty story. Powell's London is a very different place to our own in some ways, yet very recognisable in others. It's a scarily realistic picture of what could have been. This part dystopia, part alternate reality is probably the hardest aspect of the book to swallow, but if you treat it as a recognisable fantasy world rather than an unrecognisable reality you should get on okay.

Aura is a very well-developed MC. She's vulnerable in her naivety, yet strong in her convictions. Her extremely sheltered upbringing makes her into a girl to be protected and easy to love, but her unshakeable belief in what's right, is what really makes her likeable.

The mythology takes a bit of getting used to, and I suspect a rough knowledge of ancient Greek myth is helpful when reading - I certainly found it so, and I'm not sure what I would have made of it without that knowledge. But Powell brings it together well, meshing ancient myth and religion with modern life to create a truly interesting world.

Romance - I have to mention the romance. It's minimal in a physical sense, but very real on a spiritual level. Artemis is a jealous goddess and requires her priestesses to be pure in thought as well as deed. She does not take kindly to any who even think of defying her. I shan't give away any more than that, except to say that Powell approaches this aspect of the story exceptionally well.

Review: The Worst Girlfriend in the World by Sarra Manning

Published by: Atom
Release date: 1st May 2014
Series: n/a
I got it from: NetGalley
Goodreads summary:
Alice Jenkins is the worst girlfriend in the world according to the many, many boys who've shimmied up lampposts and shoplifted from New Look to impress her, only to be dumped when she gets bored of them. Alice has a very low boredom threshold.

But she never gets bored with Franny, her best friend since they met at nursery school. Friends are for ever. Ain't nothing going to come between them. Girls rule, boys drool is their motto. Well, it's Alice's motto, Franny doesn't have much time for boys; they're all totes immature and only interested in one thing.

But then there's Louis Allen, lead singer of The Desperadoes, the best band in Merrycliffe-on-sea (though that could be because they're the only band in Merrycliffe-on-sea). He's a tousle-haired, skinny-jeaned, sultry-eyed manchild, the closest thing that Franny's ever seen to the hipsters that she's read about on the internet and she's been crushing on him HARD for the last three years.

She's never worked up the courage to actually speak to him but she's sure on some deeper level that goes beyond mere words, Louis absolutely knows that she's his soulmate. He just doesn't know that he knows it yet. It's why he cops off with so many other girls.

So, when Alice, bored with callow youths, sets her sights on Louis it threatens to tear the girls' friendship apart, even though they're better than fighting over a boy.

They strike a devil's deal - may the best girl win. Best friends become bitter rivals and everything comes to an explosive conclusion on their first trip to London.

Can true friendship conquer all?
 
My review:
I was so excited when I got the approval to read this arc. I lot of the stuff I read via Netgalley is by either debut authors or authors I've never read before, so when I get a chance to read something by an author I know and love, it's like coming home to a big, warm hug.

Franny B is a spectacular character. Not least because she reminds me a bit of myself at that age. I wasn't any kind of cool, style icon, and luckily I didn't have to deal with a mother like Franny's. But I did leave school to go to college and study art, and I was a shy, naive, barely-been-kissed type. So I found myself identifying with Franny on a number of levels. It always instills a lot more book love in me when I really get the characters.

One thing I didn't have at that age was a best friend, and I envy Franny that. Her relationship with Alice is brilliant in so many ways. She might be the Worst Girlfriend in the World, but I still kind of love her. Us quiet, shy types need a loud, outgoing sidekick to drag us out of ourselves.

Then there's the boys. Oh my, those boys. I love Manning's boy characters so much. Louis is all kinds of wonderful, but not for the reasons you expect. And he's not the only piece of boy brilliance in this book, but I'm keeping shtum on the other boy talent, you'll just have to read for yourself.

Manning writes teenagers SO well. She brings back all the insanely intense stuff I felt at that age. Because when you're growing up and feeling all these things for the first time, it is intense. And you might have mental screaming matches and you might feel incredibly small and immature afterwards, but I'm pretty sure it's something all girls go through, and the way Manning writes it makes it just so real. Also, pretty funny when you're on the outside looking in, with many years of experience to fall back on.

I have to give a nod to the joy of reading good Brit fiction. I mention it a lot when I'm reading British books, but our market is so swamped by US stuff that I have stand up and give Brit brilliance a shout-out when I can.

I'm now left with that bittersweet feeling I get when I've just finished a book I loved. I'm happy because I've found this amazing collection of words, but I'm sad because I've finished reading it for the first time, and no matter that I will love it for years and read it over and over, no subsequent reading quite captures the euphoria of reading and getting to know these characters for the first time.

Review: Because of Her by KE Payne

Published by: Bold Strokes
Release date: 18th March 2014
Series: n/a
I got it from: NetGalley
Goodreads summary: For seventeen-year-old Tabitha "Tabby" Morton, life sucks. Big time. Forced to move to London thanks to her father’s new job, she has to leave her friends, school, and, most importantly, her girlfriend Amy, far behind. To make matters worse, Tabby’s parents enroll her in the exclusive Queen Victoria Independent School for Girls, hoping that it will finally make a lady of her.

But Tabby has other ideas.

Loathing her new school, Tabby fights against everything and everyone, causing relations with her parents to hit rock bottom. But when the beautiful and beguiling Eden Palmer walks into her classroom one day and catches her eye, Tabby begins to wonder if life there might not be so bad after all.

When Amy drops a bombshell about their relationship following a disastrous visit, Tabby starts to see the need for new direction in her life. Fighting her own personal battles, Eden brings the possibility of change for them both. Gradually, Tabby starts to turn her life around—and it’s all because of her.

My review:
For some reason, there aren't many gay girls in YA fiction. There are a lot of gay boy best friends, which annoys me a little, but gay girls are rare. So it was a real delight to find Because of Her. It's such a typical contemporary YA romance, but with girls - it's exactly what the genre needs. There must be a lot of girls out there who are either questioning their sexuality, unsure of how to deal with it, or just want to find someone else who feels the same. This book is perfect for all of them, and I think confident straight girls would enjoy it too. It's the perfect book to show straight girls that gay girls have all the same feelings as them, just for different people.

Payne creates a host of well-developed, realistic characters to play with. I thought they were all brilliant, from the parents to the best friends to the bitchy girls, and of course Tabby herself.

The book deals with a lot of different issues - the trauma of moving away from everyone and everything you know, starting again at a new school in a new city, long distance relationships, a guilty crush, and then there's the whole homophobia and coming out to friends and family thing. It's a lot to pack into one book, but Payne does it well. It doesn't feel rushed or over-done at any point. The pacing is good, and everything is given due consideration.

I found Because of Her a very sweet story. The way Tabby describes how she feels about Eden, first as a crush and then something more, is very well written and gave me that squiggly feeling inside. I felt Tabby's hurt when things were going against her, and I felt her anguish over how things went with her girlfriend Amy. Reading Tabby's story really took me back to that time in my life, not because I went through the same things, but just because Payne really captures the way a girl that age feels and processes things.

Immensely enjoyable read, I will definitely be looking up Payne's other books.

UKYA review: Popping the Cherry by Aurelia B Rowl

Published by: Carina
Release date: 19th September 2013
Series: n/a
I got it from: NetGalley
Goodreads summary:
You only get one first time . . .

From driving tests to relationships, Valentina Bell thinks she’s a failure, with a big fat capital F. At this rate, she’s certain she’ll be a virgin for ever. So Lena’s friends plan Operation: Popping the Cherry to help her find the perfect man first time.

Yet somehow disastrous dates with bad-boy musicians and fabulous evenings with secretly in-the-closet guys aren’t quite working out how Lena planned.

Soon Lena’s avoiding Operation: Popping the Cherry to spend time with comforting, aloof Jake, her best friend’s older brother, who doesn’t make her feel self-conscious about still clinging to her V card. But could Jake show Lena that sometimes what you’re looking for most is right by your side?

A FOREVER for the twenty-first century

My review:
Ahh, this book was exactly what I needed. After trawling through a bunch of difficult fantasy novels, I was more than ready for this easy-to-read, light-hearted bit of contemporary romance. It was so nice reading a Brit book too - the voice is so different to a US one, but I often forget just how much difference it makes, what with the market being flooded with US fiction. As I'm taking part in the British Books Challenge this year though, I'm doing my best to read and plug as many good UKYA books as I can. Thankfully, books like Popping the Cherry make my job easy - as soon as I read it, I wanted to tell you all about it.

Lena is a great MC for starters. She's so blessedly normal. She's at college studying for her A-levels, but she doesn't really know what she wants to do. She has friends, but she's not uber-popular. She's not geeky, she's not beautiful, she doesn't have that much self-confidence but she's not a complete wall-flower. She's a virgin, which is kind of the point of the book, but she's not a prude. She has a great voice, and I loved reading her story.

Lucky Lena is also surrounded by a bevy of brilliant characters. Her group of friends are spot-on - I can just imagine those girls at college together, Rowl brings them all to life so well. Even the peripheral characters - the parents and other students - are excellently done. Some authors don't seem to realise the importance of secondary characters, but Rowl clearly does, and she does her job with aplomb. And then there's Jake. Ah, Jake. He's a builder by trade, he's 21, he's Lena's best friend Gemma's brother. There are so many reasons why he shouldn't work for Lena, somehow he does. He's not just a builder, he's a director of his father's company, and he's got vision. At that age, a few years difference is definitely a good thing in my mind - girls mature so much quicker than boys, that at 17, college boys are best avoided. The thorny issue of Gemma is more problematic. But is all this relevant anyway? Can Jake really be a contender for Lena's affections? He's definitely not on her cherry-popping list, so he's off-limits, right?

Rowl does breathless romance very well. There were so many moments in this book that had my stomach clenching, butterflies tripping around my insides. It really brought to life those heart-stoppingly awkward but beautiful moments when two people start to realise that there is something more between them than friendship. It's not plain-sailing by any means. Lena runs into more than her fair share of trouble, but luckily there's a certain someone there ready to act as knight-in-shining-armour. By the time I got to the end I was fairly screaming at the book to make it happen already, but that's all part of the fun. The ending itself was a little soppy, but in a nice way.

A perfect blend of teen issues and fun romance, Popping the Cherry is exactly my kind of book, and I hope it is yours too.

UKYA Review: Skulk by Rosie Best

Published by: Strange Chemistry
Release date: 1st October 2013
Series: n/a
I got it from: NetGalley
 
Goodreads summary:
When Meg witnesses the dying moments of a shapeshifting fox and is given a beautiful and powerful stone, her life changes forever. She is plunged into the dark world of the Skulk, a group of shapeshifting foxes.

As she learns about the other groups of shapeshifters that lurk around London – the Rabble, the Horde, the Cluster and the Conspiracy – she becomes aware of a deadly threat against all the shapeshifters. They must put aside all their enmity and hostility and fight together to defeat it.

My review:
I've had a run of mediocre books from NetGalley recently, but as soon as I started reading Skulk, I knew I'd stumbled across something special. For one thing, it's British, which immediately brings it up in my estimation. I can't help it, there's something kind of amazing about reading a great Brit book after trawling through mountains of US stuff. But that's not all Skulk has going for it - not by a long shot...

It's shapeshifters, but not as we know them. Somehow, Best has come up with a really original way of using shifters. I didn't think there were any left, but Best's groups of shifters are new and appealing. The history and origins of these shifters are interesting, and the way that Meg becomes one is very different. No infected bites here! The description of Meg's first shift, and all that comes with it, is brilliantly-written. In fact, the whole book is. Best brings her characters to life wonderfully - not just Meg, though her voice is very real, honest and likeable - but the rest of the skulk group who Meg meets, and other shifters that she comes across later, are all well-formed, interesting characters. Meg's parents, while lacking in parental skills, are beautifully evil as characters! Meg herself is a multi-faceted girl, on one level a rich, priveladged girl with a crappy home life, on another she's a talented grafitti artist with a mission. Then the skulk comes along and everything changes, and she becomes a reluctant heroine.

There's a lot of action, and it's well-paced. Best isn't afraid to let bad things happen, to show us a bit of blood and gore, and there's none of the 'talking down' effect that you come across in some YA books. Best treats her readers as intelligent people, and she hits exactly the right point between giving enough description to bring her world to life, while leaving just enough to the imagination of the reader. There's a hint of romance towards the end that I think will be built on in subsequent books, but it's not the be-all and end-all of the story, there's no inappropriate swooning at crucial moments and everybody isn't gorgeous! There are a lot of levels to this book if you start pulling it apart - a lot of different issues are brought up, but it's done in a subtle way so that taken as a whole it's just a really good read.

Review: Soulmates by Holly Bourne

Published by: Usbourne
Release date: 1st September 2013
Series: n/a
I got it from: ARC from publisher via GR giveaway
Goodreads summary:
Every so often, two people are born who are the perfect matches for each other. Soulmates. But while the odds of this happening are about as likely as being struck by lightning, when these people do meet and fall in love…thunderstorms, lightning strikes and lashings of rain are only the beginning of their problems.

Enter Poppy, the 17-year-old cynic with a serious addiction to banana milk, and Noah, the heart-throb guitarist; residents of mediocre Middletown, sometime students, and…soulmates.

After a chance meeting at a local band night, Poppy and Noah find themselves swept up in a whirlwind romance unlike anything they’ve ever experienced before. But with a secret international agency preparing to separate them, a trail of destruction rumbling in their wake, (and a looming psychology coursework deadline), they are left with an impossible choice between the end of the world, or a life without love…

My review:
I don't do spoilers. But I've never wanted to so much! I feel like this book should come with some kind of warning. At some point, you will cry. That's all I'll say.  

Bourne is the writer I've been waiting for. Finally I get to read an amazing YA story and it's British! I read so much US YA that I forget how nice it is to have Brit references that I actually recognise and relate to. Please publish more stuff like this! Poppy and Noah are the perfect couple. Reading about their love blossoming was so sweet, but not in a sickly saccharine way. They're both wonderful characters, and you want them to have everything. 

The paranormal element turns a sappy love story into something else entirely. Anita and Rain are like baddies trying to save the world, and they're brilliant. Poppy is so strong, so much her own person, even when falling in love, she makes a perfect female protagonist. Noah is so flipping gorgeous and wonderful. Best boyfriend ever.

This has to be the world's vaguest review - there's so much I want to say, but can't! Bourne's writing is so good. You feel everything Poppy feels. Her friends are brilliant supporting characters. It's all so real, so true and then there's an injection of the paranormal that takes your breath away. This can't be happening, but it is... 

If you've read my reviews before, you'll know I have a thing about endings. Very few live up to my requirements. I can't decide if I love the end of Soulmates, or hate it. I think it has to be a bit of both. It's very very brave. 

I've just re-read what I've written and it's oh-so disjointed. That's how I feel after reading the book though. If I'd started writing this half-way through reading it, you would have had a paragraph (at least) about the power of true love and stuff like that, but I don't think I can do that now. Poppy and Noah's romance is incredible, wonderful and beautiful to read. But. There is a But. I just can't say what it is. Sorry. Read it if you're feeling brave, and love it for its beauty. I'll definitely read whatever Bourne has to offer next, but if it's too much like Soulmates I will probably want to pour a banana milkshake over her head. Also, banana? bleugh.

Dorky Reviews: Life in Outer Space and Adorkable

The universe likes synchonicity. You wake up with a song in your head, and it's the first thing you hear on the radio. Something bothersome happens to you one day, and that night the same thing happens to a character in your favourite TV show. You request a random book on Netgalley, and the next day a book you forgot you ordered from the library arrives, and it turns out they're both about the same thing. And neither of them are American. And it's not even a vague thing, like romance or vampires - it's way more niche than that, because really, how many books about dorks are there out there? So it happens that I have both Adorkable by Sarra Manning, and Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil in my possession. So I figured I should do some kind of comparison review, or possibly just two reviews in one post. I'll start writing and see what occurs...

Adorkable by Sarra Manning

Goodreads says:
Jeane Smith's a blogger, a dreamer, a jumble sale queen, CEO of her own lifestyle brand, and has half a million followers on Twitter. Michael Lee's a star of school, stage, and playing field. A golden boy in a Jack Wills hoodie. They have nothing in common but a pair of cheating exes. So why can't they stop making out? This novel is about an unlikely relationship, but it's also about roller derby, dogs on skateboards, dogs on surfboards, dogs doing any form of extreme sport, old skool hip hop, riding your bike downhill really fast, riot grrrl, those boys you want to kiss but punch in the face at the same time, dyeing your hair ridiculous colors just because you can, stitch 'n' bitch, the songs that make you dance, the songs that make you cry, being a bad ass, cake, love, death, and everything in between.

My review:
I read Adorkable first because I'm in the midst of a love affair with Sarra Manning (see my review of Let's Get Lost), and I couldn't wait. I advise reading Guitar Girl before Adorkable, not because it's necessary, but because you get to see a character or two further along the road and it's nice to catch up with them again. 

I loved Adorkable. I loved Jeane, and I especially loved Michael. I think I might be a bit of a dork myself. 

Most young dorks keep quiet about it. They feel different, separated from the 'in' crowd and often alone. Jeane is a different breed of dork though - dork and proud! She stands up for dorks the world over. Her blog and twitter feed offers friendship and hope to lonely dorks everywhere. She is wise beyond her years, speaking out about politics, the environment, fashion and cute puppies, tracking and announcing trends before anyone else has noticed them. She lives like an emancipated minor, alone since her sister got a residency in America, so she spends the time when she's not doing her A-levels working on her brand, watching videos of cute dogs and training her boyfriend to be who she wants him to be. She is still a 17 year-old girl though, so her flat is a pigsty and she lives on Haribos and coffee. 

Michael has a good home life. His parents love one another and him, they encourage him in everything he does, and he is perfectly happy. He is also perfectly perfect in just about every way. He is popular, clever, sporty and hot, and going out with the lovely Scarlett. But all is not well in that relationship - Scarlett is more interested in Jeane's boyfriend Barney than she is in her own boyfriend. So, we are left with a pretty conundrum. Michael is aware of Scarlett's straying eyes, but when he tries to do the decent thing and let Jeane know he ends up with a face full of verbal abuse. This sets the tone for the not-relationship between these two. Every time they try to talk, they end up in a shouting match. Jeane is the first person not to accept Michael's perfection, and he is the first person to try and get beyond her prickly exterior. All that negative energy has to go somewhere though, and somehow they end up kissing. 

There are so many things to love about Adorkable. There's the teenagers who, for the most part, actually act and talk like teenagers. There's the fact that Jeane is not pretty, or even secretly attractive in any way, yet Michael is still drawn to her. There are the brilliant arguments and undeniable chemistry between Michael and Jeane, which is, quite frankly, making both their lives an awkward sort of hell.  There is the fact that Michael is mixed-race gorgeous, because there are not enough mixed-race characters out there. There are the little pockets of sadness and honesty which make this story rise above the usual cute contemporary teen life. There are all manner of references to life as a teen in the UK, which I can actually get and identify with because I'm a Brit reading a brilliant Brit book, and that doesn't happen often! 

It's funny and sweet and all of those cutesy, awkward things, and it's heart-rending and big and real. J'adork!

Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil

Goodreads says:
Sam Kinnison is a geek, and he’s totally fine with that. He has his horror movies, his nerdy friends, World of Warcraft – and until Princess Leia turns up in his bedroom, he doesn’t have to worry about girls.

Then Sam meets Camilla. She’s beautiful, friendly and completely irrelevant to his life. Sam is determined to ignore her, except that Camilla has a life of her own – and she’s decided that he’s going to be part of it.

Sam believes that everything he needs to know he can learn from the movies ... but now it looks like he’s been watching the wrong ones.

My review:
When I started reading this, I thought Sam and his little band of misfits were the dorks. And they are, but then I realised that they're not the only ones - Camilla is another dork queen. Sam is actually a geek, but I think he's a dork too. I need to sort out my terminology - dork, geek, nerd - who can give me proper definitions? Anyway, so there's Sam and his friends. They spend most of their time avoiding Justin Zigoni and the A-list kids, who have a habit of using Sam & pals for fun when they're bored. Then Camilla turns up. She's not like anyone else Sam has ever known. She has the power to reverse the universe and make things different. 

Camilla is uber-cool. Her dad is huge in the music business, she's lived all over the place, she's met tons of famous people, been to awards ceremonies and she has an English accent. Camilla wears whatever she feel like wearing, regardless of fashion. She doesn't get ridiculed for it, she gets revered. She's the kind of girl who can join the chess club, the volleyball team and the spring dance committee. Somehow she crosses the divide between the geeks, the dorks and the masses. She is guaranteed a position at the top of the school, being fawned over by a posse of acolytes. So why is she insisting on hanging out with Sam? Because she plays WoW, and while she's gotten used to starting over at new places and hanging out with whoever will have her, Sam and his friends are the ones she actually wants to talk to.

Life in Outer Space is funny. Sam's observances are hilarious as well as sweet and awkward. It's unusual to read a book solely told from the boy's point of view, but Sam is a great boy to read. He's at that oh-so-awkward stage in life - sweet 16 and never been kissed, but he's such a shy dork that he doesn't see his own potential. Just the fact that Camilla appears to want to be friends with him is astounding enough - the thought of anything more than friends is so far beyond his frame of reference that he doesn't even consider it. 

Littered with film references, LIOS is such an entertaining read. It's not particularly original as stories go, but it's done really well and is so enjoyable. It's a chunk of a normal boy's life. His best friend is being weird and secretive, his parents may well be splitting up, his screenplay isn't working, and this amazing girl is somehow insinuating herself into his life. It's fun, kooky, sweet, endearing and adorable. Oh, and it's Australian, which is another example of that synchronicity, because I rarely get Aussie books to read, and I just finished, loved and reviewed Saving Wishes by G J Walker-Smith.

UKYA Review: Let's Get Lost by Sarra Manning

Published by: Hodder Children's
Release date: 2nd February 2006
Series: n/a
I got it from: Library
Goodreads summary:
Isabel is the girl who rules the school with an iron fist and a gang of minions who do her bidding. Her friends are scared of her, her teachers can't get through to her, and that's just the way she likes it. With her razor-sharp edges and tall walls, nothing gets to Isabel and no one, but no one, is ever going to discover her dark, sad secrets. Then she meets Smith. And Isabel learns that sometimes when all the expectations and pressures are too much, you just need someone to help you get lost.

My review:
I can't believe I haven't come across Sarra Manning before. I'm having one of those epiphical moments you get when you discover a new author and want to scream 'where have you been all my life?' and immediately obtain their whole back-catalogue. And even better, it's a Brit author! I love reading about the American kids and their kooky lives, but I'm all for supporting home-grown talent and sometimes it's nice to come home, to be able to imagine the place I'm reading about and understand the lingo. My first thought when reading Let's Get Lost was, hang on, I've found a British Sarah Dessen! Which is most definitely a good thing - I love Dessen's books, and to have found a British version is just my idea of heaven. Manning's writing is convincingly teenish, yet peppered with insights and wisdom to make you think and smile.

Isabel is the girl you love to hate. She's the best kind of character - flawed but redeemable. I can see elements of myself in her, which is not necessarily a good thing for me, but is a good thing when it comes to reading about her. There's something soothingly familiar about reading about her time at school - I'm so used to reading about the US school system, which is confusing and strange to me, than when I actually get to read about Brit school life I'm transported back to my own time as a poor, misguided teen right away. Isabel plays at being a bitch because it means she doesn't have to let anyone see inside her. No talking about feelings, no heart-to-hearts, absolutely no little chats about her mother.

The thing about being a bitch though, is that once you start it's hard to stop. It spills over and before you know it you're being hateful to everyone around you, letting no-one get within 10 feet without a caustic remark being thrown their way. But then there's Smith. He's not like anyone else she knows - he doesn't let her get away with being a bitch, and so maybe, just maybe, with him she can be someone else, if only she can figure out how to stop her mouth spouting out vile remarks. The only problem is that there is a mountain of lies stopping her from being true to him, and she doesn't know how to start climbing it.

If Isabel is the girl you love to hate, then Smith is the guilty crush, the foxy geek, the rather adorable if slightly emo student who you can't help but love a little bit. Again, Manning has him exactly right - the slightly older student, but most definitely still a student. You have to feel sorry for him at times, getting involved with Isabel, but then he says something perfect and you're soon cheering him on again.

I'm off to find more Sarra Manning...

Review: Savannah Grey by Cliff McNish

Published by: Orion Children's
Release date: 4th February 2010
Series: n/a
I got it from: Library

Goodreads summary:

15-year-old Savannah Grey has never felt she's belonged. She keeps her distance, so she's surprised by her attraction to the new boy Reece. Then strange things begin to happen: nature, it seems, is exerting an overpowering force on the world. Birds behave strangely; gusts of wind blow leaves so fiercely they seem to lure people away. And Savannah learns she has supernatural powers. Nature has a purpose for Savannah and her friends. They are on course to meet the vile and evil Orcrassa, who wants to destroy the world by corrupting nature and it wants Savannah Grey to help realize its savage intent.

 
My review:
This is a strange tale. I've noticed when reading British fiction that it tends to be a lot less formulaic than its US counterparts. A lot more... different. Savannah Grey is more different than most. Part sci-fi, part supernatural, part nightmare.

Savannah is a normal(ish) 15 year old girl, but she is changing. Strange things are happening to her body, specifically her throat, and she doesn't know if she has some hideous disease or she's turning into a monster.

The Orcrassa is the monster to end all monsters. It has been on Earth for millenia, evolving and upgrading. It wants to devour everything. To help it on its way, it has created two lesser monsters - the Nyktomorph and its child The Horror. All of the monsters are wonderfully realised, crafted in such a way that they are at once faintly ridiculous and incredibly scary. Like a child's picture of an imaginary monster come to life. The Orcrassa has a terrifying intelligence and the complete psychopathic detachment of a super-villain. These are the most monstrous monsters I've ever come across.

It's hard to know what to write about this book - it's so unique. There's action, but it's not an action story; there's superpowers, but it's not a superhero story; there's horror, but it's not a horror story; there's romance, but it's not a romance story. What it is, is something brand new, and that's rare. The weird thing is, I'm not sure if I liked it or not. I can see the quality of it, the talent of the author and the genius of his work, but I can't identify with the characters. Savannah is at once brilliant and remote. She's moved from foster home to foster home, of her own accord. She's not a messed-up care system child though, she's independent and brave, surprisingly well-adjusted and level-headed. Even when she's turning into a monster, panicking and not knowing what to do, she's also somehow aloof and confident. 

I think readers on the younger end of the young adult scale would enjoy this more than older readers - the pacing, the weird nightmarish monsters, the elusive romance are all what you would expect from an older children's book. This is most definitely the type of book I can see being included in a GCSE English Lit syllabus, to be read and discussed and have essays written about. This a compliment, in case you're wondering! 

Read Savannah Grey if you're in the mood for something different, something genre-defying that will make you think and inspire your nightmares!

UKYA Review: Slated by Teri Terry

Published by: Orchard Books
Release date: 3rd May 2012
Series: Slated #1
I got it from: Library
Quote:“It is one thing to ask questions; what do you do with the answers?” 
 
Goodreads summary:
Kyla’s memory has been erased,
her personality wiped blank,
her memories lost for ever.

She’s been Slated.

The government claims she was a terrorist, and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla’s mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?

My review: 
I resisted reading Slated for quite a while - I'm not a massive fan of dystopia - it has to be just right to grab me. But I'm taking part in the British books challenge, and Slated finally found its way onto my reading list. I'm glad it did.

Set just far enough in the future, in and England that is recognisable but altered, Slated is a very interesting book. This England is a closed state, cut off from Europe and controlled by a powerful coalition government and its Lorders (Law & Order Operatives). The Lorders watch everything, and if something, or someone, threatens the system, they deal with it.

 
Kyla has been slated - her memory has been wiped, making her a brand new person. She has learned to walk and talk again, surprising everyone with the speed at which she picks things up, and now she is ready to be part of a family again. Act normal, don't question anything, allow yourself to be re-integrated into society, and above all keep your emotion level up. This is the Slated way. Get too sad, angry or upset, and the Levo on your wrist will react - first buzzing a warning. Eat some chocolate, stroke a cat, go to your happy place - get your level up. Because if it continues to drop, the Levo will take over - knock you out to prevent further damage. Lower than 2, and it will be permanent. The Levo is a tool of compromise - for those who care about slateds to make sure they are happy enough, and for those who worry that they will return to their old ways to make sure they don't do anything bad.

Slated kids don't have an easy time. Recognisable by the Levo band on their wrist, they are a target for bullying. You can see why in a way - they were slated in the first place because they'd done something wrong. Would you like to share classes with a possible murderer? Just because they can't remember what they did, does that make them incapable of doing it again? Just one example of the many interesting questions this book raises. Slated would be an ideal book to study in school - the writing is interesting and powerful, and Terry's world is eerily close enough to our own that it raises lots of good discussion points.

There has to be an element of romance of course, and this time it comes in the shape of Ben - another Slated at Kyla's school. The romance is more a nice little side story though - it's not the main focus by far. Much more important is what's going on - people are disappearing, either taken by Lorders or suffering from 'accidents', and Kyla's new parents are not all they seem. Even her doctor and teachers are full of surprises - warning her to stay under the radar yet full of leading questions. Who can she trust?

Slated kept me gripped from start to finish, and had me frustrated at the end, which leaves us with more unanswered questions than a particularly tricky edition of university challenge!

UKYA Review: Demonic Dora by Claire Chilton

Published by: Ragz Books
Release date: 30th June 2013
Series: The Demon Diaries #1
I got it from: NetGalley

Goodreads summary:
SHE'S FINALLY MANAGED TO SUMMON HER FIRST DEMON...

Dora Carridine is trying to summon a demon, but she's not very good at Latin and nothing ever works out the way she plans.

Her life is fraught with weekly exorcisms and having to watch her father’s fire and brimstone TV show every Sunday. So, when Dora finally succeeds in summoning an incompetent demon lord, she’s absolutely delighted when all hell breaks loose.

She thought summoning a sexy demon lord would be the answer to all of her problems, but her problems are only just beginning when her zealot parents try to burn her at the stake, and Dora is left with only one option—to escape and follow her demon straight into Hell.

My review:
I wasn't quite sure what to make of Demonic Dora at first. I haven't read anything by Claire Chilton before, and I can safely say I've never read anything quite like Demonic Dora. Most YA involves a certain level of angst. It's all a bit emo usually - brooding boys, forbidden love, drama and doom. Demonic Dora kind of has those aspects, but it also has an all-important hit of comedy. I wasn't expecting it, and it took me aback at first, but when I got into it, I realised I loved it!

Light-hearted, irreverent, full of swearing and down-right funny at times, Demonic Dora is a perfect candidate for the Best of British Challenge I'm taking part in this year. You just don't get this kind of humour from any other nationality. Dora is brilliantly teenagerish - full of attitude, sarcasm and misplaced confidence. Her dad is a TV minister, and in a typically teen act of rebellion, Dora is teaching herself witchcraft and trying to summon a demon. To everyone's surprise, she succeeds. Unfortunately, her father is not too impressed and reacts by trying to burn her at the stake. It's surprising how stupid an angry mob can be. There's only one way to get out of it - Dora lets her demon (the rather sexy and distinctly human-looking Kieron) escort her into hell.

Chilton's Hell is just brilliant. Full of all manner of winged, horned, furry and smelly demons, a Disneyland level and an office-worker's corporate nightmare, this is an interesting place to visit. Kieron's dad isn't too impressed that he's brought home a girl with a shiny white soul at first, but he agrees to let her stay for a while and once Kieron rescues Dora from the dungeon (where his schizo mother decided she belonged), everything is hunky-dory. Well, for a while at least...

Kieron is different from your average paranormal hero. To start with, he's not exactly the brightest spark. He's much too nice for Hell's standards, which means that he's a bit of a rubbish demon. When he's in his human form he's all blonde-haired, blue-eyed, good-boy-sexy, and when he's in his demon form... well, he's pretty much the same but with little horns and red eyes. Not quite the scary monster his parents want him to be. He's enough of a demon to be pretty low on morals, which makes him a fun, sexy character who's always trying to get into Dora's pants. He's got a good heart though, which may not be a great trait in a demon but it makes for a good story and means that he comes through when Dora really needs him.

Full of entertaining adventures and torture devices, Demonic Dora is a charming read - a super bit of witty escapism and a welcome break from the usual YA distressed souls.

UKYA Review: Night School by C J Daugherty

Published by: Atom
Release date: 1st January 2012
Series: Night School #1
I got it from: Library

Summary (from cjdaugherty.com): 
Allie Sheridan’s world is falling apart. Her brother’s run away from home. Her parents ignore her. And she’s just been arrested.
Again.
This time her parents have had enough. They cut her off from her friends and send her away to boarding school, far from her London friends.
But at Cimmeria Academy, Allie is soon caught up in the strange activities of a secret group of elite students.
When she’s attacked late one night the incident sets off a chain of increasingly violent events. As the school begins to seem like a very dangerous place, she finds out that nothing at Cimmeria is what it seems to be.
And that she is not who she thought she was.

My review:
Night School was a real breath of fresh air. Just to read a book that's based in a school, that's British! The wonderful familiarity of the language and terminology, and just the way the kids act - I've gotten so used to reading US-based books that I didn't realise how different they are until I read a Brit book again. There's an entirely different feel to it, made up of all the little ways in which life, customs, language and sense of humour differ between the two countries.

Allie is an interesting character. She's suffered tragedy in her life and she's gone off the rails a bit because of it. When she arrives at Cimmeria, she's resentful and wayward, but she's not a bad girl at heart - she just needs the right kind of treatment. Cimmeria is a strange place - an elite boarding school full of the children of rich and powerful families. Allie doesn't fit in, and some of the students make sure she knows it. We're given all the expected aspects of boarding school life, but Cimmeria has its secrets too. The rules are not just rules, they're Rules. As Allie gets settled in we start to see that things are not quite normal at this school. There's no contact with the outside world, for starters - no technology at all in fact. No mobile phones, no internet, no TV. Instead students study and play chess by the light of a candelabra.

At least Cimmeria is a co-ed school, and the boys make up for some of the weirdness. There's the sexy French Silvain, whose interest in Allie seems unbelievable at first and causes even more trouble for her with the popular girls. But then there's Carter West, who seems to do everything he can to alienate and infuriate Allie, while at the same time trying to warn her that Silvain is not all he seems. Is he jealous or does he just not want her to be happy? Or is there something else going on?

It's all very mysterious, and that's really what's at the heart of the book - a good mystery. It really is a good one too - Daugherty keeps us guessing right up until the end. I really didn't know what to expect. There are hints at possible paranormal elements and secret society-style connections, but as long as Allie is in the dark, we are too, and it isn't until everything goes down at the end that things start to be revealed.

Daugherty's settings and characters are well-written. The few friends that Allie makes help to keep the story ticking along well, and the enemies she makes add more intrigue. The fact that some characters are more like frenemies, not always easy to work out, makes it more realistic. Cimmeria itself, with its spooky gothic mansion setting makes for a slightly cliched but interesting location. There's a good balance between description and action, romance and friendship. It's a really enjoyable read and I can't wait to get the next installment!

UKYA Review: The Lady in the Tower by Marie-Louise Jensen

Published by: Oxford University Press
Release date: 1st January 2009
Series: n/a
I got it from: Library

Goodreads summary: 
Spring 1540: "I am afraid. You are in grave danger. Mother, will you run away with me if I can free you?"

The servants call it the Lady Tower: the isolated part of the castle where Eleanor's mother is imprisoned after a terrible accusation. For four years Eleanor's only comfort has been their secret notes to one another.

A chance discovery reveals a plot to murder her mother. Now Eleanor must free her before it is too late. But with danger and betrayal at every turn, she can trust no one. Especially not her father. Eleanor must use all her cunning to survive. For she soon realises that it is not just her mother she needs to save ...but also herself.

My review:
I couldn't decide whether I liked Eleanor or not. In the end I decided she was a very good portrayal of a 15 year-old girl at that time. Her life was not easy, and she did not know whom she could trust. Fifteen was old enough to marry then, and I believe that the way children were brought up meant that a girl of 15 was probably equal to a girl of about 17 now - practically an adult, expected to know her own mind and act her part. But who really knows their own mind at that age? What comes across well in this book is that there is no getting away from the fact that Eleanor is just 15. She has had a very sheltered upbringing and really can't be expected to act as an adult. So when she thinks like a whiny teenager, makes foolish decisions and seems like a child, we have to remember that is what she is.

This is one of those books that really is YA - I don't think it makes the crossover to YA-enjoyed-by-adults. I'm quite sure that if I had read this book when I was 15, I would have absolutely loved it. The combination of history, adventure and a hint of romance hits just the right tone. The historical side of the story is very interesting, and the excitement of murder plots, escape plans, secrets and betrayals make for a book that is hard to put down.