Friday Reads: Revolution and Dear Life

A new feature on the blog so you can see what I'm reading as I'm reading it and hear some random thoughts I have that can't wait for the full review. 

Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly 
Another one that's been sat on my shelf for way too long, this is one for my Lucky 14 Challenge. Originally bought for my dissertation then not chosen, this tells of both modern life and old diary entries from the French Revolution. Andi is grieving the loss of her brother and finds comfort in the words of a century-old French girl. I am loving the blend of old and new, the past meeting the present and all that. The history of Paris is amazing and fascinating to read, at least to me! I'm not very far through because am reading it quite slowly but I am falling for Andi and all her troubles.

Dear Life by Alice Munro
A borrowed book from my grandmother, it's been sat on my shelf for months and I finally have my TBR under some semblance of control that I can read it. It's a collection of short stories, I think 14 in total, that show life as it truly is: messy and wonderful. They all involve a journey and show how everything leads to home, which for Munro is Toronto. I've only the first few so far, but I am enjoying them; they are realistic and have no happy ending waiting for them other than the normalcy of everyday life.

That's what I'm reading this weekend - tell me what you're hoping to read or are reading this Friday!

We Were Liars by E Lockhart

A beautiful and distinguished family.
A private island.
A brilliant, damaged girl; a passionate, political boy.
A group of four friends—the Liars—whose friendship turns destructive.
A revolution. An accident. A secret.
Lies upon lies.
True love.
The truth.

This is going to be a short review because I don't want to give anything away. There is a lot of hype around this, especially the twist ending. I enjoyed it, and until the very end I couldn't guess what the shocking twist was, which is always exciting. 

Cadence has had an accident and has lost her memories of summer fifteen; two years later she returns to the island and tries to remember what happened before and after her accident, which might not have even been one. As she speculates her memories and the cause of her migraines, she begins to piece together what happened that summer. 

It had this classy, old-fashioned feel to it, with the elite and famous family reputation and the whole family spending summers on a private island. But it was also full of lies and public faces; we learn that the kids carefree childhoods were undermined by slightly dysfunctional family ties. The three daughters fight for their father's attention, coming to a painful point after the death of their mother and the question of inheritance. The parents using the children to sway grandfather's opinion and the teens having enough to being played and used in petty, superficial squabbles.

I read this holding my breath, never quite sure what was going to happen when Cadence finally remembered the truth. Although I had heard varying opinions, all the hype did not ruin it for me and I really quite enjoyed it, weird as it was.

Published 15th May 2014 by Hot Key Books. 

The Whispering Skull by Jonathan Stroud

In the six months since Anthony, Lucy, and George survived a night in the most haunted house in England, Lockwood & Co. hasn't made much progress. Quill Kipps and his team of Fittes agents keep swooping in on Lockwood's investigations. Finally, in a fit of anger, Anthony challenges his rival to a contest: the next time the two agencies compete on a job, the losing side will have to admit defeat in the Times newspaper. Things look up when a new client, Mr. Saunders, hires Lockwood & Co. to be present at the excavation of Edmund Bickerstaff, a Victorian doctor who reportedly tried to communicate with the dead. Saunders needs the coffin sealed with silver to prevent any supernatural trouble. All goes well—until George's curiosity attracts a horrible phantom. Back home at Portland Row, Lockwood accuses George of making too many careless mistakes. Lucy is distracted by urgent whispers coming from the skull in the ghost jar. Then the team is summoned to DEPRAC headquarters. Kipps is there too, much to Lockwood's annoyance. Bickerstaff's coffin was raided and a strange glass object buried with the corpse has vanished. Inspector Barnes believes the relic to be highly dangerous, and he wants it found.

The sequel to The Screaming Staircase, it continues with the main story of Lockwood, Lucy and George as they tackle the Problem and six months later they are still living off the successful reputation they gained from that case. However, it can't last long because, well, because they're them. So when they run into Kipps' team while making a fool of themselves, let's say they were embarrassed. 

It included everything I remember and loved about the first one, a great and slightly terrifying plot, weird and wonderful characters and of course the creepiness of a talking floating skull in a jar. So, the group is hired to find out what the heck is going on with an old Victorian grave. Problem is, they have no idea why the coffin was lined with iron, or why there is no proper documentation of his death, or what on earth that weird mirror thing is that was buried with him. Oh and of course they are working against the clock before Kipps and his team find it first and win the bet. So a lot to get done in only a few days! 

It was all very funny and full of awkward little moments bundled in with some serious ghost fighting skills. Oh and I finally realised who Lockwood reminds me of: the Doctor! The manic energy, the almost-rude remarks, the odd moments of collective calm and of course the secrets.With everything going on, between Lockwood's weirdness, the Fittes's crew and George maybe being ghost-touched, things are looking bleak. But they wouldn't be the heroes if they failed and although it was close at the end, my heart was literally in my throat, they made it through and saved the day. 

Published 25th September 2014 by Doubleday. Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

Weekly Highlights: the 'so very tired' edition

Weekly Highlights is a feature borrowed from Faye of A Daydreamer's Thoughts, where I get to highlight my posts of the week, show you my new books and talk about bookish things! 

So I've been at the new job for a week now and although I've only worked about 4 days, I am really tired! I love working there but it involves a lot of standing and walking around and my feet aren't used to it yet. In other news, I had an unsuccessful interview that has knocked me down a little but I'm trying to move on; I do have a great part time job and that's enough for the moment.

On The Blog

Review of The Duff by Kody Keplinger (5 stars)
Review of Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger (5 stars)
Review of The 100 Society by Carla Spradbery (4 stars)

Currently Reading

Vivian Versus America - ah, I am so excited to be reading the next book and discovering more despicable things that the Church of America has been up to! Details below.

On The Bookshelf

Vivian Versus America by Katie Coyle

Seventeen-year-old Vivian Apple has just travelled across the country, fended off roving bands of indoctrinated teenagers, re-evaluated everything she ever thought was true, and uncovered the dark secrets about the recent so-called 'Rapture' and the Church of America. And now, she must rescue her maybe-boyfriend Peter from the Church before the world is (supposedly) due to end, which is in less than three months. It's been a busy apocalypse so far.

Stranded in a city on the verge of complete panic, and faced with a society in an ever-increasing state of breakdown, Vivian and her friend Harp don't even know where to begin looking for Pete. But then a tip leads them to Los Angeles, and the somewhat unlikely location of the Chateau Marmont Hotel. Vivian must save the day - or she'll lose everything worth living for a second time...

The Memory Keepers by Natasha Ngan
"No one can take your memories from you... can they?"

Seven is a thief with a difference - he steals downloadable memories from banks and memoriums to sell onto London's black market, trading secrets and hidden pasts for a chance at a future of his own. He makes sure he keeps some special stuff back to 'surf' himself though - it's the only real form of entertainment he can afford. But one night, as Seven is breaking into a private memorium in a wealthy part of London, he is caught in the act by one of its residents; Alba, the teenage daughter of London's most famous criminal prosecutor. Instead of giving him away, Alba promises to keep Seven's secret - as long as he allows her to go memory-surfing herself. In doing so, they discover a hidden memory about Seven's past, revealing a shocking secret about Seven's childhood, the government and a mysterious experiment known as The Memory Keepers...

Now Seven and Alba will have to race against time to unlock the maze of The Memory Keepers - but can they keep themselves out of harm's way before the London Guard - and Alba's father - catches up with them?

These two are late review copies from Hot Key - I am really excited to read them, especially to find out what happens next to Vivian! Thank you so much Hot Key, they are next on my TBR so reviews will follow soon! 

The Maze Runner by James Dashner
When the doors of the lift crank open, the only thing Thomas remembers is his first name. But he's not alone. He's surrounded by boys who welcome him to the Glade - a walled encampment at the centre of a bizarre and terrible stone maze. Like Thomas, the Gladers don't know why or how they came to be there - or what's happened to the world outside.

Oh I do love being a bookseller! This came through yesterday as Children's Book of the Month and as everyone else had it already, it was mine! I wanted to read it before the movie anyway, so good timing all around.

The 100 Society by Carla Spradbery

For sixth-form student Grace Becker, The 100 Society is more than just a game; it's an obsession. Having convinced her five friends at Clifton Academy to see it through to the end, Grace will stop at nothing to carry out the rules of the game: tagging 100 locations around the city. With each step closer to the 100-mark they get, the higher the stakes become. But when the group catches the attention of a menacing stalker - the Reaper - he seems intent on exposing their illegal game, tormenting Grace with anonymous threats and branding their dormitory doors with his ominous tag.

As the once tight-knit group slowly unravels, torn apart by doubt and the death of a student, they no longer know who to trust.

With time running out, Grace must unmask the Reaper before he destroys everything she cares about for ever...

I've been looking forward to this since I first heard of it back in January! And while I have a few criticisms, mainly because it was pretty creepy, but it was a great story and I flew through it needing to know what happened! So, Grace and her friends have nearly completed the challenge to tag 100 locations around the city when they are suddenly followed and attacked. This starts a string of weird occurrences, like their blog getting hacked and photos of a reaper replacing their tags being published instead. They don't know who to trust, especially as they could get expelled if found out. All this secrecy had a sort of conspiracy feel and made everything that much more dangerous.

It was set in a boarding school, which was really fun and with added secret society's and street art, it made for a great background for a story full of layered characters and traitors in our midst. I really liked main character Grace; I didn't always connect with her but could understand her frustration and will to prove herself, especially with her already impressive father and older brother. 

The secondary characters came in and out of the story but were still reasonably well-rounded. I especially liked Cassie who proved that her appearance wasn't all that mattered to her. And finally possible love interest Trick, the boy from the wrong side of the tracks with everything to prove. He was very funny and caring and tried to show that nothing got to him but no one can be that heartless. 

As for the bad guy, Spradbery had me guessing until the very end and it completely shocked me. But that's the thing about psychopaths, they hide in plain sight and you never suspect. The things he did were just terrible and honestly made me a little sick, the way his twisted mind thought things were going to play out. So all in all, an amazing story with twisted characters and a spectacular ending. I'm not sure I always liked Grace, the way she made everything about her, but hey, nobody's perfect and she saved the day in the end. 

Published 4th September 2014 by Hodder. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

Whitley Johnson's dream summer of shopping, partying and tanning on the beach has just turned into a nightmare. Because Dad didn't tell her he doesn't live by the beach anymore, or that he's no longer a bachelor. He's picked up and moved to a tiny, lame town called Hamilton and gotten himself a fiance. A fiance whose son just happens to be what's-his-name from last week's drunken graduation party one night stand. Just freakin' great.

As if the summer couldn't get worse, Dad seems to forget Whitley's even there. She doesn't fit in with his perfect new country club family, and Whitley does what any kid lucky enough to go all summer unsupervised does: she parties. Hard.

So hard that she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a younger future step-sister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't 'do friends') and a smoking hot, sweet guy who isn't her step brother (yet) and who actually seems to care for her. It will take all three of them to convince her that they're not phoneys, and to get Whitley to get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.

I don't think I need to say much about how much I adore Keplinger's books that you haven't already heard. So I'm going to keep it short and sweet.

• the same bluntness when it comes to the truth of teenage activities, but more to do with raw sexuality, teen drinking and the whole party-girl image than The Duff. 
• Whitley was a very complex character - a semi-typical party girl, she was pretty annoying and flirty and had minimal boundaries but once we go under her skin, we saw what made her the way she is. I really liked her, especially once we understood her back story with her parents.
• revisited a couple of characters from The Duff, which was really fun. I especially liked getting to know Harrison, whom we only saw through a girl's fantasy crush before. He and Nathan were both really cool male leads; both were very funny and sweet and obviously cared for Whitley, it was nice to see her blossom under new friendships.
• the relationship between Whitley and her father and new girl was really interesting - it is all too easy to make the new step-parent a nightmare but Keplinger didn't, which was refreshing and also more realistic.

Published 6th February 2014 by Hodder. 

The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "the Duff," she throws her Coke in his face. 
But things aren't so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him. 
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone. And eventually, through this realization, Bianca begins to see how harmful her unhealthy way of dealing with her problems has been, and finds a way to confront them head on.

Why it took me so long to read this, I have no idea because I loved everything about it! I fell in love with Keplinger's writing with Shut Out and knew I had to read her back catalogue as well. The Duff is a funny and cynical story about teenage relationships and what they can lead to. Bianca was absolutely perfect; she was not a romantic by any means and was very tough-skinned. So when Wesley calls her the Duff of her friend group, she throws coke at him. 

Bianca's home life was quite pitiful; her mum was always travelling and her dad always working, so Bianca pretty much looked after herself. Which is how she liked it, but when her world came crumbling down with divorce papers, she does the first thing she thinks of to distract herself: kiss Wesley. Not what I would call a healthy coping mechanism but Bianca uses Wesley to keep the bad thoughts at bay. And through this ever-increasing means of distraction, she learns a couple of things. The main one being that Wesley isn't all that bad. He was left to his own devices too and it sucked to be all along in a big house, plus his sister was pulling away from him encouraged by the poisonous words of their grandmother. 

Despite being a pretty weird relationship, I liked Bianca and Wesley together. They sort of balanced each other out and neither took any bullshit from the other! But Bianca had to go an ruin it as she realised she was falling for him and she just couldn't do that to herself again. I think Keplinger did an amazing job keeping this down to earth and completely honest; Bianca's voice was brash and harsh yet hiding vulnerability and that made her so damn relatable. Keplinger also dealt with tougher issues than teen sexuality, from divorce to alcoholism which many kids go through and I think Keplinger handled brilliantly. Nothing is perfect and Bianca and Wesley were definitely affected by all this but came out stronger together for it. 

Hilarious and touching, covering everything from parents to self-esteem, Keplinger has written an amazing debut and an absolutely adorable and realistic love story.

Published 5th April 2012 by Hodder.