Looking Back : June 2011

These are the books I read this June:

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1. A Monster Calls By Patrick Ness

2. Wood Angel By Erin Bow

3. Divergent By Veronica Roth

4. Number 2: The Chaos By Rachel Ward

5. Fixing Delilah By Sarah Ockler

6. Other Words For Love By Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

7. Tangle Of Magicks By Stephanie Burgis

8. Trial By Fire By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

9. Full Dark, No Stars By Stephen King

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My favourite book this June was definitely A Monster Calls. It was amazing! I actually enjoyed all the books I read this month, especially Other Words For Love and Fixing Delilah. I'm finding that I am really starting to enjoy contemporary YA fiction a lot.

Fixing Delilah By Sarah Ockler

Things in Delilah Hannaford's life have a tendency to fall apart. She used to be a good student, but she can't seem to keep it together anymore. Her "boyfriend" isn't much of a boyfriend. And her mother refuses to discuss the fight that divided their family eight years ago. Falling apart, it seems, is a Hannaford tradition.

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Over a summer of new friendships, unexpected romance, and moments that test the complex bonds between mothers and daughters, Delilah must face her family's painful past. Can even her most shattered relationships be pieced together again? Rich with emotion, Sarah Ockler delivers a powerful story of family, love and self-discovery.

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I fell in love with Sarah Ockler's debut novel Twenty Boy Summer and her second book Fixing Delilah doesn't disappoint.

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Delilah Hannaford is usually a good student that keeps to the rules and doesn't even have a passing thought of rebellion. However, after a case of accidental shoplifting, using her 'boyfriend' as a form of distraction, and increasing tension with her mother, Delilah's life is starting to unravel. So when her mother informs her that her Grandmother has died, they move to the family home in Vermont for the summer to help her Aunt Rachel to clear out and refurbish it ready to put it up for sale. Secrets and mysteries of why Delilah and her mother haven't visited in eight years are uncovered.

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Delilah is a completely likable character and somebody you could see having as your friend. She has become a little lost within her own life and she cannot connect with her mother. When they move to Vermont she gets the feeling that her mother and aunt are hiding something from her and you could feel her frustration at been kept in the dark especially when these secrets were obviously the cause of a huge rift within the family eight years ago. She only wants the truth and doesn't feel she can trust her mother until she knows it.

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Whilst in Vermont, Delilah bumps into her childhood friend Patrick. I loved the gradual romance between these two. It was sweet, passionate and sizzling all at the same time. Ockler really knows how to write an amazing summer romance. There was also Patrick's friend Emily and I loved how she fitted right in and was never a wedge between Patrick and Delilah. All the characters are amazingly developed and feel like they could be real people and not just characters in a book. The family dynamics were great and I loved how Ockler made the story revolve around them.

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Summer is my favourite season and Ockler manages to capture the essence of it perfectly with its lazy long hot days where anything can seem possible. The imagery and other sensory details are fantastic. I also loved the ending and whilst I did guess a few of the mysteries, I didn't guess the big secret which really tugs on your heartstrings. There are many layers to this book and it really resonates with anyone that feel like they are searching for something more meaningful in their lives because a piece feels missing. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone looking for a great summer read and especially those that loved Twenty Boy Summer.

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Random Passage: I tug on his arm until he folds and crashes into me, kissing me soft and hard at the same time, both hands in my hair. Outside, the grand finale blazes on, booming and popping and whiz-banging in the sky: a temporary, explosive celebration of whatever temporary, explosive thing we have. Both beautiful and breathtaking and full of the white-hot, double-dare summer intensity that's meant not for a lifetime, but for a short and shimmering burst.

In My Mailbox (26)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren

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I got two books this week:

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1. Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ranson Riggs

2. The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
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I loved Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes so I can't wait to read the sequel and Miss Peregrine's looks fantastic :)

Trial By Fire By Jennifer Lynn Barnes

(May be spoilers for Raised by Wolves!)

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Bryn faces the dangers and joys of love and loyalty in this thrilling sequel to Raised by Wolves.

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Bryn is now alpha of the Cedar Ridge Pack - although it's not simple when you're a human leading a band of werewolves. Then she finds a teenage boy bleeding on her front porch. Before collapsing, he tells her his name is Lucas, he'd a Were, and Bryn;s protection is his only hope.

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But Lucas is part of another alpha's pack and Bryn has no right to claim him. As danger closes in, Bryn will have to accept that to be alpha, she will have to give into her animal instincts and become less human. And she's going to have to do it alone.

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Trial By Fire has officially made this my favourite werewolf series, it was just as good as Raised By Wolves. It was enjoyable, fast-paced and highly exciting.

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Bryn is now a human alpha of a werewolf pack. To make these dynamics work she has to be mentally strong and intelligent for them all and she does this with a perseverance that is admirable. She is always thinking of what is best for her pack and she handles this pressure with bravery and loyalty. What I loved most was how even though she is the leader she never applies any sort of dominance over them because she respects every single one of them because they are all her friends and family. She has really grown and developed since Raised By Wolves. She now has this huge responsibility and this has meant that she now acts before she thinks and is no longer as rash as she used to be and thinks through every possibility of her actions.

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I loved learning more about werewolf politics and how each pack works in their own groups, especially Shay's pack (Devon's brother). He is really devious and a lot smarter than he lets on. However, unlike Bryn he uses his intelligence to try and increase his power and numbers instead of taking care of the ones he already leads. The tension between the packs is palpable. One particular scene where Shay and Lake are competing in a pool game for extremely high stakes kept me on the edge of my seat.

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There was also a fantastic new element to this book with the introduction of a group of formidable humans with supernatural abilities called Psychics. There was particular girl that had the ability to hunt and never miss her target and at times she was fearsome to behold. There was also lots of twists that keep you guessing right up until the end which made for an exciting read. Just when you think you've finally got the measure of everyone the story takes an unexpected turn and people are not who they seem to be.

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Many of the characters were developed on. We get to learn a lot more about Ali and her background. Bryn's relationship with Chase is still sweet and endearing but not as dramatic as in Raised By Wolves. Here, their romance isn't a big part of the story but they are always there for each other when either of them need some support and they are entirely comfortable with each other. As always, I really loved Devon and Lake and really liked getting to learn more about Shirley, one of the newest members of the pack.

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The ending was amazing and Bryn gets to prove why she is such a great leader despite her vulnerabilities. Whilst it ended satisfyingly there is still room for many questions to be answered. I would like to learn more about Bryn's 'scrapiness' and how far it stretches and I also feel there is more to know about Callum and the psychics. This book was full of action, suspense and brilliant characters. I can't wait to read the next installment!

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Random Passage: I dreamed of wet grass and fallen leaves that crunched under my bare feet as I walked. I couldn't see my body, couldn't make out the outline of a single rock or tree, but I shrugged off the blindness as a mild inconvenience. My body knew what it was doing better than I did, and the scents I took in with each step were rich and familiar: damp soil and dew, cedar and cinnamon.

A sound. To my left.

My nose twitched and I whirled, my hair fanning out around me, my knees bent, ready to pounce.

In My Mailbox (25)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

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Just the one book for me this week:

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1. Numbers 2: The Chaos by Rachel Ward

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After getting Numbers 3 last week, I thought I better read Numbers 2 first and they finally had it in stock at my local bookshop so I picked it up. I loved the whole concept of the first Numbers so cam't wait to continue this series!

Other Words For Love By Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

Ari Mitchell feels invisible at her Brooklyn high School. Her hair is too flat, her style too preppy, and her personality is too quiet. And outside school, Ari feels out shined by her beautiful, confident best friend, Summer. Their friendship is as complex and confusing as Ari's relationship with her troubled older sister, Evelyn, a former teenage mom whose handsome firefighter husband fills Ari's head with guilty fantasies.

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When an unexpected inheritance enables Ari to transfer to an elite Manhattan prep school, she makes a wealthy new friend, Leigh. Leigh introduces Ari to the glamorous side of New York - and to her gorgeous cousin, Blake. Ari doesn't think she sands a chance. but amazingly, Blake asks her out. As their romance heats up, they find themselves involved in an intense, consuming relationship. Ari's family worries that she is losing touch with the important things in life, like family, hard work, and planning for the future. Meanwhile, Summer warns her that what she feels for Blake is just an infatuation. Not real love. But Ari's world is awash with new colours, filled with a freshness and an excitement she hasn't felt for years.

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When misfortune befalls Blake's family, he pulls away, and Ari's world drains of colour. As she struggles to get over the breakup, Ari must finally ask herself: were their feelings true love...or something else?

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Other Words For Love was romantic, realistic and raw. Before I read it I thought it would be your usual sweet story of boy meets girl and falls in love but it was so much more than that. It not only explores the dynamics of first love, but also the fragility of friendships and the strength of family.

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Ari is a remarkable character with an immensely strong voice that is honest and very real which makes her instantly likable. What I loved was that she has her insecurities like everybody else but she is also able to see that she has good qualities too. At the start of the book you can see that she is kind of at a crossroads in her life and she isn't sure which way to go. She wants to be a career woman and become a fantastic artist but she also wants a more homely life with marriage and children. She ponders on her future a lot and worries what she do about it. She doesn't want to disappoint her slightly pushy mother who has her heart set on Ari becoming an incredible artist but when she meets Blake her worries about the future seem to disappear as she gets caught up in her intense feelings for him.

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I liked the fact that their romance felt very realistic. Blake is Ari's first love and after years of wishing she had her best friend Summer's courage and flirtatiousness around boys or the love and care her sisters gets from her husband, Patrick, she finally gets to experience first hand both of these worlds with Blake. I liked that they didn't immediately fall head over heels in love and Ari was still a little bit timid around him to begin with.

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Other Words For Love is set in 1980's New York which worked perfectly with the story. It was a time where being a stay at home housewife was no longer a sought after lifestyle and women were beginning to want careers instead of families. Which explains why Ari felt pressure to follow the path towards a career and not be dependent on a male unlike her sister Evelyn, who got married and had her first child whilst still a teenager. It's a case where society can start to mould your thoughts on what you feel you should do with your life instead of what you truly want. It was also the time when AIDs became a prevalent worry and changed many perceptions on casual sex. For all of that, the setting of the 1980's was never in your face. It was more of a subtle backdrop to Ari's story that never felt like it got in the way.

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Every single character in this book is three dimensional. There are no black and white, clear cut characters. They all have their bad and good points, pretty much like a normal human being and they all grow and develop throughout. Ari's parents and family play huge parts in this story. Her mother keeps a close eye on Ari because she wants her to make the most of her future and doesn't want her choosing the same life as Evelyn. Her father is a busy inspector/detective and appears to ignore Ari which makes her feel lonely. However you get the feeling that he cares more than he lets on. I especially loved learning about Evelyn and her jealousy towards her sister even though she loves her husband and children.

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This book has so many qualities to it. It is a powerful and hopeful read but in a subtle way that explores all the different forms of love within families, friendships and relationships. It's about all the people that can come in and out of your life and leave lasting impressions on you and that are never regrettable because they make you who you are. More importantly its about Ari realising that she she should take life as it comes and not get so caught up in what she is or isn't supposed to do according to 'societies rules'. An amazing book that is heartfelt, complex and honest.

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Random Passage: Summer stood up and extended her hand. I remembered all the times that she'd done that before. She'd done it at her sweet sixteen, when I'd hidden in her bathroom because I didn't have the guts to mingle with the crowd of Hollister students in the living room. Summer coaxed me out and stuck with me the whole night, telling everybody, This is my best friend, Ari. That had made me think I might not be so unremarkable.

A Monster Calls By Patrick Ness (& Siobhan Dowd)

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting. He's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming...

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This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor. It wants the truth.

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Patrick Ness spins a tale from the final idea of Siobhan Dowd, whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself. Darkly mischievous and painfully funny, A Monster Calls is an extraordinarily moving novel of coming to terms with loss from two of our finest writers for young adults.

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This book is simply amazing. Books always stir my emotions but it's rare that they actually make me cry and that is exactly what this story did! It's heartbreaking, surreal and completely engrossing. It's about a thirteen-year-old boy that is trying to come to terms with his mother having cancer. His fears of losing her are manifested into a terrifying monster that haunts him in his nightmares. One night, at seven minutes past midnight to be precise, a different monster in the form of a yew tree visits him and tells him that he will tell him three tales in return for one from Conor. However, this tale has to be nothing but a truth, a truth that Conor does not want to share as it embodies the fear that he wants so desperately to keep hidden, even from himself.

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Conor is such a brave boy. At home he is actively taking care of himself and doing the housework and at school he is trying to avoid some cruel and sly bullies. I felt his frustration at the situation he was in but also the denial and emptiness that he'd enforced on himself so he could cope with the huge emotions he was feeling.

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Reading this book now brings back many emotions and memories for me because this time last year was when my Dad had started to become unwell and later on in October we found out that his symptoms were due to cancer. After the removal of a kidney, almost 3 months in hospital, and now 12 hours of dialysis a week he is back to almost normal. He is also 47 (well 48 next week); the age Siobhan Dowd lost her life to cancer. So what I'm trying to say is that this book now holds a special place in my heart and all the emotions that Conor felt in this story are emotions that resonated with me making this an amazing book for anybody that is dealing with or has dealt with family illness or loss.

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This book is both sad and comforting at the same time. It is filled with dark but beautiful illustrations throughout that makes the book that much more special. It strips back all the layers of life to show the scariest and bare truths of humanity and gives you fresh perspective on what really matters. A completely absorbing book that I urge everybody to read.

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Random Passage: A cloud moved in front of the moon, covering the whole landscape in darkness, and a whoosh of wind rushed down the hill and into his room, billowing the curtains. He heard the creaking and cracking of wood again, groaning like a living thing, like the hungry stomach of the world growling for a meal.

Then the cloud passed, and the moon shine again.

On the yew tree.

In My Mailbox (24)

In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.

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I had an exciting book week this week:

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1. Die For Me by Amy Plum

2. What Happened To Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
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3. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

4. Numbers 3 Infinity by Rachel Ward
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5. The Thirteenth by G. L. Twynham

6. The Turncoats by G. L. Twynham
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I went to my local Waterstones this Saturday to meet the lovely G. L. Twynham who was really nice. I can't wait to read her two books which she happily signed for me!

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Full Dark, No Stars By Stephen King

'I believe there is another man inside every man, a stranger...' writes Wilfred Leland James in the early pages of the riveting murder confession that makes up '1922', the first in this pitch black quartet of mesmerizing tales from Stephen King, linked by the theme of retribution. For country-loving James, that stranger is awakened when his wife proposes selling off the family farm in isolated rural Nebraska and moving to the city of Omaha...

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In 'Big Driver', a cozy-mystery writer named Tess encounters a stranger along a back road in Massachusetts when she takes a shortcut home after a book-club engagement. Violated and left for dead, Tess draws on her skills as a crime writer to plot a revenge that will bring her face to face with another stranger: the one inside herself.

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In the darkly amusing 'Fair Extension', cancer-ridden Harry Streeter makes a deal with a man selling all sorts of extensions - mortgage extensions, loan extensions and in his case, a life extension. But for every extension there's a price.

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In the final story, 'A Good Marriage', Stephen King poses the question: is it possible to fully know anyone, even those we love the most? When her husband of more than twenty years is away on one of his business trips, Darcy Anderson looks for batteries in the garage. Her toe knocks up against a box under a worktable and she discovers an object containing her husband's dark and terrifying secrets. What would you do if the man who keeps his nails short and clean isn't the man you think he is? And now he's heading home.

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With a fascinating afterword in which Stephen King describes the inspiration behind each story, Full Dark, No Stars contains close-up portraits which bristle with intensity. Like Different Seasons and Four Past Midnight - which generated such enduring hit films as The Shawshank Redemption and Stand by Me - Full Dark, No Stars proves Stephen King a master of the long story form.
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Now these are the kind of horror stories that get right under your skin and linger. What makes them so terrifying is that they really explore the disturbing and dark side of human nature by stripping away that security blanket and letting lose the horrors of what people can be capable of. They definitely sent a shiver down my spine!

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'Good Marriage' is the one that left me the most uneasy and yet I could not stop reading it. It was fascinating and I think the reason was because it could truly happen to anybody in real life. I'm not sure that everybody would react in the same way as the wife does but we wouldn't really know unless we were actually put in that situation and that's the scary part.

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'1922' was the most gruesome and very creepy. It is set on an isolated farm with the surrounding corn fields with gives it that instant chilling atmosphere with the creaking farmhouse and the rustle of the corn leaves as the wind sweeps through it. Also, after reading this I would be very happy if I never saw a rat in my life.

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'Fair Extension' was the shortest of the four but was still brutal in its unrelenting quest to discover the shadows that lurk in every bodies mind. It was quite a straightforward story and yet the ending was unexpected because you usually think that evil will get its comeuppance in the end but here we find that isn't the case when you make a deal with the devil.

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'Big Driver' was the most graphic of the four. It deals with the afterthoughts and actions of a woman that has been attacked and left for dead and takes a compelling twist when she decides to seek revenge. I was amazed at how well King can write from a female perspective in this one.

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King takes the things that people really fear deep down and uses them to weave four chilling and creepy stories. He takes safe, secure and light lives and sends a bulldozer crashing though the middle of them to uncover the furthest darkest corners and invites that darkness into the open. These four stories will leave you wondering on the concepts of justice, safety and rationality and what really lurks in the depths of the human mind. This is a book I would absolutely recommend to any King fans.

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Random Passage: Here is something I learned in 1922: there are always worse things waiting. You think you have seen the most terrible thing, the one that coalesces all your nightmares into a freakish horror that actually exists, and the only conclusion is that there can be nothing worse. Even if there is, your mind will snap at the sight of it, and you will know no more. But there is worse, your mind does not snap, and somehow you carry on. You might understand that all the joy has gone out of the world for you, that what you did has put all you hoped to gain out of your reach, you might wish you were the one who was dead - but you go on. You realize that you are in a hell of your own making, but you go on nevertheless. Because there is nothing else to do.

Wood Angel By Erin Bow

Kate lives in a time afraid of magic. Alone in the world with only her cat Taggle for company, she makes 'lucky' charms to sell, although her unusual gift marks her out in a place where witches are still burned.

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When Kate's village falls on bad times, she's accused of practising dark magic. Scared for life, she turns to a stranger. But he has a plan more dangerous than she could ever have dreamed. It's up to Kate to carve good out of evil.

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The world Plain Kate lives in is tough. Not only does she have to put up with the constant threat of being chased by the locals for the crime of being a witch and deal with being tricked into giving up her shadow by a stranger which makes her look even more suspect she has to do it all on her own. Until her father died from the 'witch's fever' she had a relatively safe life following in her fathers footsteps by carving wood, a skill Kate is highly gifted at. So gifted that some people don't believe it's natural. So when her father is no longer there to protect her she has to try and make it on her own by selling her wooden charms at the market.

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Kate is definitely a survivor, she is faced with so many hardships but never gives up. She has her vulnerabilities, her main one being loneliness, but you get the impression that she will cope anyway. I did feel sorry for her through most of the story because it felt like she would never get a break and was destined to live out such a hard life. I was so glad when she finally got a friend in the form of her cat, Taggle. I absolutely loved Taggle and wish I had a cat as brave and funny as him. He likes to put up this nonchalant exterior but you can tell that he really cares deeply for Kate.

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I also really like the world of the Roamers that Kate ends up joining for a spell. The Roamers are like gypsies that move from one market to another selling and bartering their horses and other trinkets. One roamer Kate befriends is Drina, a fun and kooky girl that is determined to help Kate find her shadow who I really liked. There was also the baddie,Linay, the stranger that had stolen Kate's shadow. In the end I think we were supposed to understand why he did some of the horrible things he thought he had to do, but for me I never did. I suppose I could understand why his anger marred his judgement but I never felt pity for him like I think I was supposed to.

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I really did enjoy following Kate on her journey and exploring the world she lives in. At times it felt like it was a constant battle for Kate to get people to realise that she is not a witch and I did feel myself getting exasperated at some of the characters ignorance and cowardice sometimes. In parts it was quite a dark read especially when it came to the menace of certain characters and their resulting actions but this is what gave the story depth and made you feel the threat that so much as a pointed finger and the slightest whisper of witch can bring about. This story definitely has the feel of some of the darker original fairy tales mixed with Russian folklore. Whilst it does feel like it is predominately written for older children I believe it will still hold the interest of adults and be able to capture their imagination just as much.

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Random Passage: Plain Kate was thinking of witches. How in bad times people were more eager to buy her objarka, but more inclined to take a step back, to crook their fingers at her when they thought she wasn't looking, or when they were sure she was. How they wanted the witchcraft to protect them, but how they looked too for a witch to blame. It didn't matter that there was no magic in her blade, people saw it in there. They saw witchcraft in her skill, witch marks in her mismatched eyes, her bad luck, her long shadow.