Review: Magic or Madness - Justine Larbalestier

We all have books we come back to, time after time. Favourites that we revisit, despite the fact that by now, we know where the story is going and exactly what happens to the characters. For me, Magic or Madness is one of those books.

Magic or Madness opens with fifteen year old Reason Cansino bound for the home of her estranged grandmother. It's one of the most perfect opening chapters you could wish for, telling the reader everything they need to know about who this girl is and what her life has been until now. Raised by her mother Sarafina, their life has been defined by running away: escaping one place and seeking out the next, leaving everything behind them. They've been running from her grandmother, Esmerelda. The witch. Only now Sarafina is gone, and Reason is being sent to live with her. She's already planning her escape, of course. As the story unfolds, we accompany Reason to the witch's house, unsure what lies in store for her - and us - there. And then Reason opens a door. On the other side, New York. And winter. And magic.

Set in both Sydney, Australia and New York City, Magic or Madness is a book with two distinct accents. Chapters set in Sydney use Aussie slang and spellings; the New York based ones, on the other hand, are all-American. Not only does this add a little extra authenticity to the narrative voice - which itself switches between Reason's candid first person and a third-person perspective when she's not around - but Larbalestier has also thought to include a pretty cute glossary of cultural terms that readers might not be familiar with. Neither variation is marginalised, and they flow into each other seamlessly. Together with the novel's multi-racial, stereotype-defying cast of main players, Magic or Madness gives us the sense that this story is an inclusive one: there's somebody for every reader to instantly relate to.

Probably the most remarkable thing about Magic or Madness is Justine Larbalestier's portrayal of magic itself. Central to the tale's impact, it's not something I would wish to spoil for you, but I will say that in this series Justine Larbalestier has made the very notion of magic her own. It has logic; it keeps to its own rules and it makes sense. And from our first wondrous encounter with it to the dark revelations of the story's final chapters, it's utterly fascinating. Through Reason and her two new friends, American Jay-Tee and Australian Tom, we witness the very different ways that this brand of magic can be channelled. For Reason, magic is about numbers and patterns, and there's a undeniable beauty in the way she relates to them. For dancer Jay-Tee, it's more rooted in physicality, and for Tom - refreshingly enough - it's all about fashion design. For all them, it holds the same joy and the same terrible danger. The stakes are high.

Magic or Madness is a hugely imaginative novel. It's the kind of book I want to take apart, piece by piece, to find out what it's made of. It's heartbreaking and beautiful and impossibly clever. Like the darker fairytales of childhood, it's bleak and strangely comforting all at the same time. While the two subsequent books in the trilogy never quite captured my heart in the way Magic or Madness has, they're both worth a look - and I should probably warn you that if you read this one you will want to know what happens next. It's a keeper.

Out: March 16th 2006, US

Review: Crescendo - Becca Fitzpatrick

For Nora Grey, having her very own guardian angel is a mixed blessing. On the plus side, she's in love with him - and he's utterly irresistible. On the other hand, she's pretty sure their relationship is doomed... particularly if her arch enemy Marcie has anything to say about it.

But Marcie's not the only thing set to rip Patch and Nora apart. When Nora begins to see visions of her dead father, her desire to find out the truth about his murder is reignited. Before she knows it, a sinister clue is leading her right into the path of danger.

For me, Becca Fitzpatrick's debut novel Hush, Hush was all about the chemistry between the romantic leads, nice girl Nora and fallen angel Patch. While Patch himself didn't impress me - he's arrogant, rude and infuriating, for starters - his banter with Nora did. It seemed wholly believable that she'd find herself drawn to this bad boy, and that he might even be good for her. In Crescendo, however, their romance takes an unexpected turn. Patch and Nora vs. the world is traded for Patch and Nora vs. each other as secrets of colossal proportions threaten to destroy their relationship forever. Fabulous side effect of this situation? Nora grows a backbone. After all, a girl can only take so much. We might have expected her to stay at home moping, but in fact she's putting herself out there and even getting up to a little mischief.

Best of all, she's getting up to this mischief with the help of her exuberant BFF Vee. Now, Vee is probably the kind of character that readers will either love or loathe, but as far as I'm concerned she's a complete and utter scene-stealer. She's fiercely loyal, she's no pushover, and she thinks about food about ninety percent of the time. Plus, she's absolutely hilarious and brightens up every page she appears on. At the other end of the girl power spectrum we have Marcie Millar, who readers will remember as Nora's enemy from Hush, Hush - and who has a greater role to play in Crescendo. While we do gradually get a sense that there's far more to Marcie than it might initially appear, she's most notable as the character you'll love to hate. Seriously, this girl is the trashiest female character I've ever encountered in a YA novel, and she's actually kind of shocking! Finally, we're introduced to shady new boy Scott, a childhood friend of Nora's who has mystery written all over him. The focus may be firmly on Nora and Patch, but this cast of vivid and fascinating secondary characters make a big impression in their own right.

What also makes a big impression in Crescendo is Becca Fitzpatrick's incredible ability to really build that atmosphere. From the urban setting to the constant sense of danger lurking in the shadows, this instalment is imbued with a noirish quality that lends it considerable style. Even though it's summer in Nora's world, Crescendo is the kind of book that would ideally be read whilst curled up on the sofa with a thunderstorm raging outside. And there's a good reason for all this atmosphere, because Crescendo is full to the brim with mystery. Despite the fact that this is only book two in the trilogy, we also get pay-off - in the form of revelations that had this reader's jaw literally dropping open. It's pretty exciting stuff, and promises a mindblowing conclusion in the third and final book when it arrives.

Crescendo is dark, full of intrigue, and a little edgier than the first book in the trilogy (courtesy of Marcie Millar). It's a little bit mean and moody, and full of surprises. Fans of Hush, Hush will not be disappointed.

Out: 14th October 2010, UK / 19th October 2010, US

A big thanks to Simon and Schuster UK for providing a review copy.

Guest post: author Tamsyn Murray on her favourite teen reads

Today, I'm thrilled to present a guest post from Tamsyn Murray, author of YA novels My So-Called Afterlife and most recently My So-Called Haunting. Take it away, Tamsyn!

Six of the Best: YA Books I Loved as a Teen

I’m often asked which authors I read as a child but I don’t often get to expand on my choices. These are some of the books I read as a teenager – YA books before the name had ever been thought of. They influenced the way I write now but that’s not why they’re listed here. More than anything else, every single one is a cracking read. Look them up if you don’t already know them.

A Traveller in Time – Alison Uttley

I was given this book, about a girl called Penelope who slips back to the sixteenth century world of Babbington House, when I was eleven years old and I immediately fell in love with it. I read it over and over again, savouring the rich language and sumptuous story telling. With each reading, I found something new to delight me and by the time I was fifteen, I could appreciate the delicate but doomed romance between Penelope and Francis Babbington and when I began an A Level in Sixteenth Century History, I realised just how tragic the story was. I still have that same copy of the book, it’s old and battered, with a name I no longer use scrawled in the front. And I still love it.

Sweet Valley High: Double Love – Francine Pascal

I discovered Sweet Valley High when I was around fourteen, and had outgrown most of the books in the kids’ section of my local library. Along with the Sweet Dreams Teen Romance books, they formed the bulk of my reading for the best part of a year. The ups and downs of impossibly gorgeous twins Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield were the stuff my dreams were made of and I lived every sunny day through them. I’ve never gone back to them; I’d probably need to be fifteen again to appreciate them. But Francine Pascal’s California tales passed many an hour for me as I grew up in a grey UK town. They weren’t great literature but who cares? Elizabeth and Jessica had different lessons to teach me, like how to practice kissing on my pillow. Past boyfriends owe them a lot. :)

Wuthering Heights – Charlotte Bronte

When I was taking my GCSEs, my English teacher made the class read a sample of a number of classic novels. The Mayor of Casterbridge was one (ugh, pass), Pride & Prejudice was another (looked at it but couldn’t get on with the author’s style – two years later, I adored it) and Wuthering Heights was a third. The book was A5 size and red hard-backed. The type was tiny but something about it caught my attention and I took it home to read. I finished it in one sitting.

I don’t know whether it was Catherine and Heathcliff’s love-hate relationship or pity for the way Heathcliff was treated as he grew up which stirred me; all I knew was that I loved the entire gloriously moody journey and it showed me that classics were called that for a reason.

Locked in Time – Lois Duncan

Another much-read favourite, Locked in Time tells the story of Nore, whose father has remarried soon after his wife’s death. Nore isn’t crazy about her new step-family; Lisette seems far too youthful to have teenage children, Gabe and Josie, and they seem old for their years. I loved the dark edge to this supernatural thriller and enjoyed the on-off flirtation between Nore and Gabe. As Nore uncovers the family’s terrible secret, I found myself feeling sorriest for Josie, who will never blossom into the beautiful young woman she is on the edge of becoming. A perfect introduction to the darker side of YA fiction.

Mort – Terry Pratchett

Strictly speaking, this isn’t a teen book but I discovered Terry Pratchett when I was sixteen and that means I can include it here. Mort is set on Discworld, a fantasy land carried by four elephants on the back of a giant turtle, and if that doesn’t tell you everything you need to know about the slightly mental style of writing, nothing will. It’s the story of what might happen if the Grim Reaper decided the reaping of souls was getting a bit too much for him and took an apprentice. Mort was a delight from start to finish and started a life-long love affair with Terry Pratchett’s writing. Along with Neil Gaiman, he was a massive influence on the way I use humour in my own books. And he made the moody teenage me laugh until I cried, for which I’m very grateful.

Forever – Judy Blume

This book was shrouded in mystery when I was at school. It was whispered about behind the bike sheds, the ‘bad’ girls had all read it and hinted that us ‘good’ girls wouldn’t understand it. I couldn’t find it in the library, couldn’t afford to buy it and my curiosity nearly drove me mad. Finally, a friend loaned me her copy and I devoured it in one night, clicking off the bedside light and pretending to be asleep whenever anyone passed by my bedroom door. It felt like I’d grown up a bit the next morning. At last I could join in with the whispered conversations; Katherine (with a ‘K’ – how cool?) and Michael were in love in the true sense of the word. They met and acted on their love – they actually did ‘it’. And Michael called his trouser bits Ralph – who knew boys did that? The whole thing was a revelation and the fact that my family would have gone mad if they’d caught me reading it only made it sweeter. It’s still a bestseller now, which means right now, there’s probably a teen reading it and learning what love is. I really like that idea. :)

My So-Called Haunting is out now. You can find out about my books at http://www.tamsynmurray.co.uk/.

A huge thanks to Tamsyn for an awesome guest post! It's always great to see classic YA getting some blog love.

You can read my review of My So-Called Haunting here.

Review: Torment - Lauren Kate

In Fallen, Luce found Daniel - a cursed angel, and her true love. Luce knows that she and Daniel's destinies are intertwined; that he has loved her over and over again in her previous lives, but they've never managed to be together. 

Each and every time, she's died. It's the way it's always been. That's the nature of the curse.

This time, so far, things are different. Luce has survived their often-fatal first kiss, and knows that she has been repeatedly reincarnated and reunited with Daniel, only to be snatched away from him. But that doesn't mean she's safe. Not by a long shot.

In Torment, we trade the heady atmosphere of the Georgia heat for the beautiful California coast. The narrative picks us up where Fallen left off, whisks us away from the familiar and sets us down in a whole new setting. Where Fallen saw Luce resident at the oppressive Sword and Cross reform school, in Torment she's packed off to the luxurious Shoreline, where the 'gifted' - nephilim - students follow their own special curriculum, and breakfast orders are served on the terrace. Despite the initial sense of disorientation, this relocation gives Luce - and the reader - a whole new environment to explore. There are new teachers in the form of Francesca and Simon, fallen angels from opposing factions who are also an item. And there are also new classmates for Luce, most notably her spirited tough-cookie of a roommate, Shelby, and dependable Miles, who is sweet as hell. As one half of an almost mythological love story among nephilim, Luce is not only counted among the 'gifted' and enrolled in their classes - she's also something of a curiosity, and not entirely comfortable with it.

What she's also not entirely comfortable with is Daniel's absence. Because after delivering her to Shoreline, he makes himself scarce for reasons he can't quite explain to Luce - after all, if she hears about anything relating to their past from him, she'll spontaneously combust. She has to discover the truth for herself, and that's easier said that done. As in Fallen, Luce's progress in uncovering secrets is often slow - and for me, her attempts to find out about her past lives are both the most fascinating part of Torment, and the most frustrating. While Luce does discover her own ingenious way of looking into her history, it's also highly dangerous, and she's only ever able to uncover tiny morsels of tantalising buried past at a time. Not knowing that outside Shoreline, deadly Outcasts are gunning for her, she does seem to have developed an exasperating habit of straying into the path of trouble. But when nobody will tell her what the heck is going on, who can blame the girl?

With all this going on, it's not surprising that Luce begins to question her connection with Daniel. Unlike many YA paranormal romances, where the heroine seems ready to accept her beloved's flaws without question, Torment is a book that portrays the true complexity of relationships - despite the fact its central couple aren't exactly your regular girl and boy-next-door. Not only does she object to Daniel leaving her at Shoreline without him, but she's indignant at his assumption that he knows her better than she knows herself - especially when, as a teen in this lifetime, she's still finding out who she is herself. Can she even trust what Daniel has told her? And is her destiny really fixed with him? While the romantically-inclined reader will probably be shouting 'yes!' at the pages as they turn them, it's refreshing to see a YA paranormal heroine endeavouring to reach her own conclusions and trying to find a balance between being with her soulmate and holding onto her own identity.

As you read Torment, it's clear that this is but one chapter in what's shaping up to be an epic story. The grand scale; the sense that even the tiniest detail may later prove to be of the utmost importance; the fact that every time one of our questions is answered we find ourselves compelled to ask another. The secondary characters lend a little quirkiness and humour to proceedings, although with a cast this large it's sometimes a little difficult to keep track of which is which - and what side of the celestial war they're fighting for. I'd recommend this to all those dedicated fans of YA paranormal romance who appreciate a tantalising slow-burner of a storyline - this one has an explosive conclusion, and will leave readers desperate to find out what happens next.

Out: 30th September 2010, UK


Thanks to Random House for providing a review copy of this book.

On competition, community, and my In My Mailbox participation

When I started blogging, a little over a year ago, I had one aim. I wanted to talk about the books I loved. Pure and simple.

I was reading more YA than I ever had before, and regularly trawling the internet to find more titles in the genres I loved most at the time: paranormal and sci-fi. My local bookstores weren't cutting it, and my searches of online stores weren't much better. That's how I discovered YA book blogs. It was a magic moment. Whole sites dedicated to individuals' appreciation for young adult fiction, full of recommendations of irresistible-sounding brand-new-to-me books that I simply had to read. Such an array of voices: enthusiastic, snarky, intellectual... and they were all talking about YA. I wanted to join in. How could I not?

So I created I Was A Teenage Book Geek. I wrote a few reviews, and followed a few of the more interesting blogs I'd found. Then the first Sunday rolled around, and suddenly my reader was filled with a collection of posts all with the same title: In My Mailbox. I'd bought books that week too, so I joined right in and posted my link over at The Story Siren. I discovered new blogs that week, and other bloggers visited mine for the first time. I also drooled a little at the selections of books others had received, but I considered that a good thing. In My Mailbox seemed like something of a meeting place for this community I'd just discovered, and I'm pretty sure that's exactly what Kristi at The Story Siren intends it to be.

However, along the way, I've realised that not everyone feels the same. I've heard it suggested that IMM promotes jealousy and competition among book bloggers. That seeing people post huge lists of ARCs they've been sent that week smacks of boasting. That some take issue with bloggers who seem to receive tons of 'free' books for review while not buying many. And even that some people don't deserve the books they get.

Now, personally, I couldn't care less how many review copies other people receive. I follow some bloggers who seem to get an entire shelf full of books every week, and I read their IMM's with a mixture of awe and fascination. When I started blogging I didn't even consider the possibility that I'd ever be sent books for review - most of the people who received them in their IMM posts at the time seemed to be US bloggers, and I'm from the little ol' UK. I didn't think twice about it. But since by some happy turn of events I do now receive review books, I take my role as reviewer seriously. I try to be as conscientious as I can. But a whole shelf full of books in a week is a whole lot of conscientiousness. I admire people who review five or six books a week, but I don't have the time for that. I try not to accept more than I can read.

But what I do care about is the potential tackiness of my own IMM posts. Over recent months, I've begun to receive more review books. Since I don't like to let my TBR pile get too out of control I've tried to curb my own book buying to balance it out. (Because seriously, the TBR can get way out of control, and I think it's generally best to take action before it grows teeth and attacks the neighbour's labradoodle, y'know?) The problem with this is, my IMM posts begin to look like I don't buy many books any more. Which means, they're sometimes full of review books. So... yes, I can concede that it might look like I'm a show off.

Well, you know what? In some ways, sadly, I am a show-off. But not when it comes to blogging, and not on this issue. I like to be involved in IMM for all the reasons I originally did. I like sharing books people may not have heard of yet, and spotting some to add to my wishlist. I like the sense of community. And yet I can't rid myself of the nagging voice that asks: if IMM creates jealousy and competitiveness, is it really good for the community anyway?

I'm considering dropping my own IMM posts, but I'd like to get some second opinions before I make up my mind. What's your view? Do you like or loathe IMM? Is it the great weekly community-building event we think it is, or is it something that makes us bloggers look bad to the non-bloggers who read our posts? Am I stressing over nothing? All words of wisdom welcome here.

Review: My So-Called Haunting - Tamsyn Murray

Skye can see ghosts. Whether she's on the bus to school or trying to chill out at home, she's never far away from her next encounter with a spirit. Even as a little kid, her so-called imaginary friend wasn't so imaginary. That's just the way things are in her family. 

When Skye comes to stay with her aunt in London, things really get tricky. Not only is she falling fast for school hottie Nico, but she's also made friends with Dontay... who just so happens to have recently died. One boy needs her help, and the other seems to be interested in something more - but do both spell trouble?

My So-Called Haunting is the follow-up to Brit author Tamsyn Murray's fabulous first novel, My So-Called Afterlife. It's a companion novel rather than a direct sequel, which means that although we're hanging out with a different main character, there's a few familiar faces and a welcome return to ghost hangout The Church of the Dearly Departed.

Skye is your average teenager. She goes to school, she feels like a loser, and when she comes home she squabbles with the centuries-old ghost who haunts the place. Having seen ghosts her entire life, Skye is fairly easy-going about her 'gift', but there's a dark side to it too - such as being the only person on the bus each morning who sees the ghost of a woman repeatedly throwing herself off a bridge. Creepy, right? Though clairvoyance runs in her family, her mum doesn't possess it, and this puts a certain emotional distance between them. There's also some actual distance, since her mum is working overseas for a year and Skye's come down from Scotland to live in London with her equally clairvoyant aunt and her aunt's boyfriend Jeremy (if you've read MSCA, you'll recognise them). Although it's Skye's story, cantankerous spirit Mary Drover definitely steals the show - always on hand to accuse Skye of dressing like a strumpet or lament the unnaturalness of modern technology, she's like a really really old grandparent who just happens to be able to walk through walls.

While Skye narrates events with plenty of wry humour (the best kind) the tone is a perhaps a smidgen more serious than My So-Called Afterlife. Murray tackles the topical theme of gang culture as Skye befriends ghost boy Dontay, who was recently murdered and hasn't yet been able to move on. Dontay's story develops in a way that will undoubtedly convey a positive message to tweens and younger teens, although older readers might find the approach slightly simplistic. But where My So-Called Haunting really excels is in the romance between Skye and her (impossibly handsome, swoonworthy and mysterious) crush Nico. Although it starts out much as your regular paranormal YA romance, it soon heads off in a far more unexpected direction. It's twisty and entertaining and somehow far more real than all that 'instant soulmates' stuff you want to believe in but never quite can. When it comes to romance, this book has smarts, and that is a very good thing.

My So-Called Haunting is overflowing with wicked fun ghostly goodness. It's the kind of book you'll find yourself giggling out loud at, and quite possibly trying to pass off a few of Skye's witty asides as your own. If you like your ghost stories more snarky than scary, you'll like this.

Out: September 24th 2010, UK

Thanks to Piccadilly for providing a review copy of this book.

Review: So Much To Tell You - John Marsden

Months and months after the terrible incident that left her facially scarred, fourteen year old Marina is sent to boarding school. She hasn't spoken since the day it happened, and an extended stay in hospital has begun to heal her physically but not emotionally. It's hoped that living in a dorm with other girls her age will help her find her voice, but instead she slinks silently around the corridors trying to become invisible. Her attacker is in prison, and so is she - isolated seemingly beyond the point of return. Then she's given her diary, and the words begin to pour out.

First published in 1987, So Much To Tell You was the debut novel of Australian author John Marsden, probably best known for his epic Tomorrow series. Our narrator is Marina, a fourteen year old so traumatised by an event in her recent past that she can't bring herself to talk to anyone. Ever. But while the characters around her can't hear her voice, the reader does. At boarding school her class are all given diaries and told they must write in them, although the contents will be private. Reluctant at first, Marina gradually reveals more and more about herself and what happened to leave her so silent and scarred.

In her diary entries, Marina's voice is tentative and often evasive. As with people you know in real life, she'll often skirt around a subject or only give you half the story. There are times when you know something has upset her deeply, but not because she tells you what happened - you know because she'll simply say she doesn't feel like writing today, or she'll suddenly revert to describing only the most trivial dorm news. As a reader it's impossible not to bond with her: to feel frustration at her self-imposed isolation, to grow hopeful when she seems to make a breakthrough, and to find your eyes welling with tears as she recounts tiny kindnesses from the other girls around her. Because while the girls in her dorm are your average sometimes-self-obsessed, sometimes-brutal teenagers, they also demonstrate empathy and thoughtfulness and consideration that'll have the reader choking up as much as it would Marina, if she weren't so intent on keeping her feelings under control. Even though it sometimes seems to the outside world that she isn't making any progress, we can tell that she is. In her diary, she's finding her voice.

Although fairly short, Marina's story is one that will leave readers mulling over its themes for far longer than it takes to read it. Its treatment of Marina's disfigurement is sensitive and insightful: as someone who has lost her old face forever, she'll never be exactly the same person again. In some ways the ending is a problematic one: because while a new chapter begins for Marina, it's challenging to reconcile her perception of the situation with pre-existing ideas we may hold about perpetrators of serious assault. Her apportion of blame might not match ours, and we might be puzzled by her choice of who to forgive and who not to forgive, but in a way that lends an even greater impact to her story. It's a book that will mean different things to different readers: whether it be a reminder of the ways in which children can sometimes be the collateral damage of acrimonious divorce, or an inspiring example of love and forgiveness. It's about healing and compassion and hope, and in its own quiet way it's gripping. You can't begin to read it and not care what happens to this girl.

Powerful and fascinating, So Much To Tell You is an exploration of the way that trauma can change a person. Anyone who wants a book to make them really feel something should read it.

Out: 1987 and available worldwide. Hurrah.

Waiting On Wednesday (43)

This week I'm waiting on...

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Summary from Goodreads.com: Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant she trusts, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.

Now this is the kind of premise that makes me sit up and take notice. Because, well... wow. We have a dystopia, a virus that means everyone dies before they're twenty-five, and - and! -the protagonist sounds like the kind of girl who isn't about to let some bunch of guys who think women are their property push her around.

And hey, it's the future. The FUTURE, you guys! I love it there. Plus, is anyone not loving that cover? It's made of brilliance.

Wither is due to hit US bookstores on March 11th 2010. Or in other words, impossibly far into my own future. I can't find any details of a UK release, but I'm putting in a request on the cosmic ordering service as we speak.

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

Author interview: Sophie McKenzie on Blood Ties, Blood Ransom and writing in general

October 1st sees the publication of Blood Ransom, the sequel to 2008’s multi-awarding winning (and seriously gripping) Blood Ties. I recently got the chance to ask Sophie McKenzie some pressing questions about Blood Ransom, Blood Ties and writing itself.

In Blood Ransom, we get to find out what happens to Rachel and Theo some time after the events of Blood Ties. Was it always your intention to write a sequel?

I loved writing Blood Ties so much (it's my favourite of the teenage books I've written so far) and I always hoped I'd be able to go back and revisit the characters. However I wanted to wait until I had a proper story to tell - there's nothing worse than a sequel that falls flat - as I didn't want to let down any of the people who enjoyed Blood Ties.

Both Blood Ties and Girl, Missing combine thrilling, edge-of-your-seat action with complex and convincing characters. What comes first when you're writing, character or plot? How do you come up with your ideas?

Mmmn, that's very tricky to answer. Different books start in different ways. Blood Ties basically began because I was interested in human cloning and started wondering what it would like to be teenager discovering you were a clone. Rachel and Theo grew out of that - but the story of Blood Ties grew with them, so I guess the character and the plot emerged simultaneously!

Blood Ties addresses the issue of body image and self perception in a really positive way. Is it important to you that your books have a positive message for your readers?

I don't think about having any kind of 'message' when I write, though it’s probably inevitable that some of my own values and interests come out in my writing. I know how easy it is to feel bad about yourself for all sorts of reasons and in Blood Ties I loved showing how it’s possible to start feeling better by becoming more self-aware, by facing fears and by starting to connect with other people. I was drawn to Rachel, particularly, because she begins Blood Ties feeling so insecure and gains strength and confidence through the story.

In Blood Ties and Blood Ransom, we're drawn into the strange and fascinating world of illegal genetic engineering. How did you set about researching this subject?

I'm not a scientist, so my research into the technicalities of human cloning was fairly limited. I was more interested in researching the range of views on the morality and emotional impact of creating and being a human clone. Most of my work on that front was carried out online.

As clones, Rachel and Theo both encounter other versions of themselves along the way - characters they share blood ties with, but who are also incredibly different from them. What are the challenges in creating characters who are linked in this way?

Everything led on from my premise that a clone is like an identical twin - genetically the same, but able to be different in all other respects. The time and place and circumstances of any individual's early years is crucial to their development. In other words, nurture matters as well as nature. With Elijah and Theo, for instance, I was keen to show that Elijah had made certain choices that Theo didn't have to choose for himself.

Your novels often explore questions of identity, and situations where characters find their identities in doubt. What draws you to this subject?

I don't know why I'm so often drawn to characters facing challenges to their identity, but trying to work out who we are and why we're here seem to be big issues that affect us all one way or another!

What are you working on next? Can we expect to hear anything more from Rachel and Theo in the future?

I don't know if I'll write more about Rachel and Theo in the future. I don't have any plans to at present. Right now I'm focusing on The Medusa Project, my series of books about a group of teenagers with psychic abilities who are forced to work together as a crime-fighting unit. The Set-Up, The Hostage and The Rescue are the titles published so far and there should be at least three more books in the series.

Thanks so much for taking time out to answer my questions, Sophie!

Want to know more about Blood Ransom? Stop by So Many Books, So Little Time to check out an exclusive extract tomorrow.

You can find my review of Blood Ties here.

Review: Immortal Remains - Rook Hastings

Strange things happen in Woodsville. Known as Weirdsville by the locals, it's a town where malevolent supernatural forces not only lurk in the shadows, but sometimes come out to play.

Bethan, Kelly, Jay and Hashim know all too well that they share their hometown with a sizeable population of ghosts. They've even hung out with one of them. But when a girl from a local boarding school gets in contact, asking for their help, they find themselves caught up in something way beyond their experience. Something is killing the boarding school girls, one by one. Something that's cursed them... with death.

Scary stories: I love 'em. A few months back, I found myself impressively wigged out by Rook Hastings' Nearly Departed, the first novel set in supernatural hotspot Woodsville, UK. In Immortal Remains, the second book in the series, the main players have come a long way from the mismatched group of teens thrown together in Nearly Departed. In fact, they're on their way to forming a solid friendship - if they can put aside the various unrequited loves and romantic tensions between them, that is. All except Hashim, who as the series' resident ghost seer has his reasons for wanting to avoid tough girl Kelly, misfit Bethan and nerdy Jay. While the other three prepare to solve their second supernatural mystery with varying degrees of willingness and reluctance, Hashim is throwing himself into football, and trying his best to ignore the fact that Weirdsville's ghost population are determined to get in his face at any given opportunity.

Still, it's not like the other three are having an easy time either. Once again, they're tormented by both paranormal threats and the pressures of growing up on a rough housing estate in a town where the only career options are working in the local factory or unemployment. Even without the supernatural dangers that lurk in every corner, Weirdsville is a pretty miserable place: think gangs, drug culture and poverty for a start. It's this doubly dark quality that gives this series its ability to truly unsettle the reader - and that makes our ghosthunting quartet so uniquely compelling. If anyone is going to be brave enough to face off with evil spirits, you can bet it would be the kind of teens who look very real dangers in the face every day. If all this sounds a little depressing, it really isn't. In fact, in a town where people only stay because they've got no way out, Kelly and co are trying to change things. In its own roundabout way, this is a series that says you don't have to bow down and accept your fate.

After the eerie start to the series in book one, Immortal Remains takes the scare-factor up a notch. As the group try to solve a ghostly mystery at a local boarding school for wayward girls, they're faced with a series of gruesome deaths that all point to a supernatural curse. And when I say gruesome, that's exactly what I mean: I challenge any reader not to shudder at the description of the unfortunate girl who wakes up inside a refuse truck and tries desperately to claw her way out. Even spookier is the doppelganger who appears with a terrifying message of foreboding for Jay. Seances, curses and ghostly warnings: all this is served up with extra helpings of Weirdsville's uniquely British recipe of dark urban atmosphere. Will you have nightmares? Maybe. But if you like ghost stories, that's probably exactly what you're hoping for.

Immortal Remains is a fantastically creepy return to Weirdsville. It's the kind of book that'll have you checking under your bed before you get into it. Perfect for those foggy Autumn evenings in the run up to Halloween, this is one for readers who enjoy scaring themselves.

Out: September 2nd 2010, UK

Thanks to HarperCollins for providing a review copy of this book.

In My Mailbox (58)

This week, I've made a discovery: when I put myself on a book-buying ban, there's a side-effect. And that side-effect is rapid pre-ordering syndrome. It goes kinda like this....

A bookstore. My lunch hour. Enter Me, 'just browsing'. Also enter brand new shiny books just inviting me to snap them up.
Imaginary Angel On My Left Shoulder: But Lauren, you made yourself a promise. A sacred oath. No more books while there are so many waiting for you at home.
Me: Hmmm, you're right. Buying any more would be book gluttony. And conspicuous consumption. I can exercise some willpower here. Bye bye for now, new books.

Evening. My desk. Enter Me, 'just browsing' an online store for brand new shiny books to add to my wishlist.
Imaginary Devil On My Right Shoulder: Y'know, 'pre-ordering' isn't exactly 'buying'.
Me: Um, I'm not sure about that. It feels like cheating.
Imaginary Angel: It IS cheating. Be strong, Lauren. You can do this.
Imaginary Devil: Cheating, schmeating. These books are not out until NEXT YEAR, goody-two-wings. Her TBR pile will be long-read by then.
Me: Hell yeah! I'll have this one, and this one, and this one -
Imaginary Angel: But -
Me: Shut it, feather-brain. I'm a pre-order machine. Ain't no stopping me now.

The moral of this? I didn't technically buy any new books this week, but I'm not exactly guilt-free. The forces of darkness win again. But I do have lots of yummy new books for review.... (All links go to Goodreads.com)

For review:

Boys Don't Cry - Malorie Blackman

This has been on my most wanted list ever since I first heard about it a couple of months back, so I was psyched to be offered the chance to review it. I've read surprisingly few books about teenage parenthood, and none at all about male teen protagonists who are left literally holding the baby, so this has must-read written all over it. Thanks Random House for this one!

You Against Me - Jenny Downham

I'm sure most enthusiasts of YA fiction have heard of, if not read for themselves, Jenny Downham's last YA novel Before I Die. It's beautiful and honest and so moving I just about cried my eyes out reading it. This one sounds a little edgier, and I'm crazy excited to read it. Thanks again Random House.

Behemoth - Scott Westerfeld

If I had author crushes, Scott Westerfeld would be a likely candidate. Why? Because the man has such an amazing imagination. This follow-up to steampunk masterpiece Leviathan is another one I've been eagerly anticipating. Thanks S&S UK for this.

Raised By Wolves - Jennifer Lynn Barnes

These days, YA paranormal romances have to be truly outstanding to uh, stand out among the huge number of new titles in this genre. Every review I've read of Raised By Wolves suggests that this one really does. Also, JLB's website reminds me that I quite enjoyed her upbeat, light-hearted contemporary fantasy Tattoo, so I've got high hopes for this one. Thanks to Quercus!

The Weirdstone of Brisingamen - Alan Garner

The cover blurb on this children's fantasy tells me it was first published fifty years ago, so I'm not at all sure how I've never read it before. At first glance it looks old school in an awesome way - there's even a map of the book's world at the front, which I always appreciate. ThanksHarperCollins for this.

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Review: Blood Ties - Sophie McKenzie

Theo has always believed his father died when he was a baby. Raised by his mum, he travels to and from school each day accompanied by a bodyguard - hired to protect him from unnamed dangers that nobody will explain to him.

But when he discovers his father isn't dead, Theo is desperate to find him. Hot on the trail of his father's whereabouts, the clues lead him to shy outcast Rachel - the daughter of one of his dad's former colleagues at the controversial genetic research centre where he worked. As he draws closer to the truth, little does Theo realise that dangerous enemies lurk in the shadows, and that he and Rachel will soon be staring death in the face.

Blood Ties is a title I've often skimmed over on bookstore shelves, overlooking it in the mistaken belief that YA thrillers don't really appeal to me. But after initially opening it to check out the first few chapters and finding myself glued to the story in every spare moment I had over the next two days, I'm enlightened. With vivid and believable characters, breathtaking action and themes that sci-fi fans are sure to appreciate, Blood Ties is pure brilliance.

Uncomfortable in her own skin, unlikely heroine Rachel is overweight, unpopular, and - according to her school's queen bee and her own self perception - not particularly attractive. Having always felt that her parents compared her unfavourably to her sister Rebecca, who died before she was born, she seems to believe all the negative things that other people say about her. She shares the narrative with Theo, an outgoing and confident boy who at first seems out of her league. Unlike many YA novels, Blood Ties doesn't expect us to believe that this good looking guy takes one look at the awkward social outcast and somehow instantly sees what everyone else can't. While Rachel's starting to develop romantic feelings for him, he's only interested in tracking down the father he's never known. Just as it's starting to look as though Rachel's feelings are going to get majorly hurt, the plot takes off running - and Rachel has to forget her self-doubt and step up to become the person she always had the potential to be.

Because when Theo makes contact with Rachel, he unwittingly propels them both into the dangerous and shadowy world of illegal genetic engineering. It's a world where they find them pursued by not one but two dangerous enemies - RAGE, an organisation that opposes genetic engineering and will use any methods necessary to stop it, and self-serving scientist Elijah, whose experiments hold the key to the novel's central mystery. Theo and Rachel find themselves battling for their lives in a breathless tale of loyalty and adventure that sees them sharing a bond they never could have expected.

But while genetic engineering is something that most people won't have personal experience of, Blood Ties is nonetheless a book that will truly speak to readers. It's about identity: about what makes us who we are and how much control we have over who we'll become. Are we shaped by our parents' influence? Are we who others tell us we are? Or are we just a bunch of cells destined to fulfil the legacy of our genes? These are coming-of-age questions, and ones that most readers will have struggled with themselves at some point. Don't get me wrong, this book is first and foremost a wicked fast thriller - but it's also that rare gem, a YA thriller with substance and satisfying character development.

Blood Ties is a rollercoaster ride of a book. It's got the balance between characterisation and story just right, and literally gripped me from start to finish with its twisty plot and fascinating subject matter. Perfectly paced, it explores themes of identity and self-perception from the thick of the action. It's clever and thoughtful and thrilling and once you pick it up, you won't want to put it down again.

Out: July 7th 2008, UK

A big thanks to Simon and Schuster UK for providing a review copy of this book.

Waiting On Wednesday (42): Across the Universe by Beth Revis

This week, I'm waiting on...

Across The Universe by Beth Revis

Summary from Amazon.com: A love out of time. A spaceship built of secrets and murder.

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

Wait, did someone say space travel? They did? Then I am saying hell yeah!

Quite honestly, I don't know where to begin with this one. There are so many, many reasons for my excitement about it that it has all just merged into a giant ball of bookish anticipation. I would pretty much read any YA book set three hundred years in the future / set on a spaceship / involving cryonic suspension (my very favourite kind of suspension! woot!) and this book will have ALL of those things. It's almost too thrilling to contemplate.

And yet... I am contemplating it. Daily. To the extent that I frequently find myself humming the song 'Across the Universe' (in the style of the Fiona Apple cover version, naturally). This is going to be big, right?

Across the Universe launches on January 11th 2011 in the US, and March 3rd 2011 in the UK.

Waiting On Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

Review: The Enemy - Charlie Higson

Mothers and fathers are meant to protect you. They're meant to tell you that your nightmares aren't real, and that there's no such thing as monsters. They're meant to keep you safe.

At least, that's how it was before the virus. But now most of the adults in London are dead, and the rest have turned into flesh-eating zombies. For those left behind, it's a new world. A world where monsters are real, and nobody can protect you.

While I usually prefer a first-person narrative, Charlie Higson's zombie horror The Enemy is very much an ensemble piece - and that's part of what makes it so frightening. This isn't the story of one character's nightmare future: it's a story that both male and female teens can find a version of themselves reflected in. There are characters here from all walks of life - from the kids who have found shelter at a downmarket grocery store because it's the one their parents shopped at, to those who have already spent years having leadership qualities instilled in them at expensive boarding schools. Their lives before adults started turning into zombies were worlds apart, but now they're all facing the same horror... and it's pretty obvious none of them can survive alone. So when a small group of survivors are visited by a strangely-dressed boy who tells them there is a safe place left in the city, they figure they've got nothing to lose in setting off through the zombie-infested streets in the hope that it's true - and that some of them will make it there alive.

Without a single protagonist we can count on to triumph against the odds, there's a real sense that any of these characters can die at any time - and many of them do. The world Charlie Higson has created is a dangerous one, and he doesn't let the reader forget it for a second. Because unlike the majority of undead creatures you'll find in recent young adult fiction, Higson's zombies are hardcore. They're decomposing, they eat human flesh and they're scary as hell. I'm not especially squeamish, but even I found myself fighting nausea at several of The Enemy's more stomach-churning episodes. The best / worst part? These zombies are all that the survivors have left of their parents' generation. Our young characters even refer to the undead as Mothers and Fathers - they're running scared of the very people who should be protecting them from danger, and that's both dark and poignant in itself.

If all this is sounding pretty terrifying, that's because it is. But strangely, there's an element of wish fulfilment in this terrible scenario that somehow also makes The Enemy... fun. With all sense of authority gone, those aged fourteen and under now have free run of London. Hiding out in a supermarket, shopping for free in one of the city's most famous department stores, and even getting to explore Buckingham Palace - the possibilities are endless, as long as they can avoid becoming a zombie's lunch. For those determined to restore some sense of order to society, there's also the possiblity of creating a brave new world - but they'll have to convince the less law-abiding peers first, and that's a whole other battle in itself.

The Enemy is a gripping new take on a horror staple. It's a book that reimagines the familiar theme of zombie apocaplyse for a YA audience - and ends up being all the scarier for it. While action tends to take a front seat, there's enough character development to satisfy those who can't survive on plot alone... as long as they like it with a side order of oozing gore. Chilling.

Out: now, UK

Thanks to Puffin for providing a review copy of this book.

Life Story meme

I've been seeing variations of this meme around the blogosphere, most notably at Reading in Color and Fluttering Butterflies. Basically you complete each sentence using the title of a book you've read this year.

I've tried my hardest to choose book titles that really represent me in some way, but also to select the titles of books I enjoyed. It's trickier than it looks!

In high school I was: Almost True (Keren David)
I say 'almost'. I was also a little bit of a try-hard wannabe. Oh well.

People might be surprised I'm: Wildthorn (Jane Eagland)

I will never be: Accomplice (Eireann Corrigan)
I'm nobody's sidekick.

My fantasy job is: Empress of the World (Sara Ryan)

At the end of a long day I need: Restoring Harmony (Joelle Anthony)

I hate it when: Of All The Stupid Things (Alexandra Diaz)
Wilful stupidity annoys me more than almost anything else in the world. Why would anyone go around acting like an airhead / using their fists to solve conflict / perpetuating ignorance when they could aspire to be witty, intelligent and articulate? I don't get it.

Wish I had: A Most Improper Magick (Stephanie Burgis)

My family reunions are: Posse (Kate Welshman)
I've had three family reunions this year: two funerals, and one wedding. They've all made me realise just how much my family love each other, and how accepting we are. I love that the generation below me are growing up in a diverse family where they have such a range of role models to choose from. That is win.

At a party you'd find me: Sisters Red (Jackson Pearce)

I've never been to: The Line (Teri Hall)

A happy day includes: Pink (Lili Wilkinson)

Motto I live by: The Sky Always Hears Me, And The Hills Don't Mind (Kirstin Cronn-Mills)

On my bucket list: Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson)

In my next life I want to be: The Ordinary Princess (M.M. Kaye)
A little wish-fulfilment never hurt anybody. :P

I'm tagging everyone who wants to join in, so if you're going to make your own attempt at this, feel free to link to it in the comments.

In My Mailbox (57)

I'm on a bit of a book diet right now. Since my TBR pile is way bigger than I'm comfortable with, I'm trying to cut back a bit until I've reduced it a little. This is NOT easy.

(Also, with our bookshelves overflowing, I'm going under some serious pressure to give some of the ones I've already read to the charity shop before I go stocking up on new ones. Boo!)

Still, I got some lovely mail this week... (All links go to Goodreads.com)

For review:

Entangled - Cat Clarke

This surprise arrival absolutely made my week. I've been looking forward to reading Entangled ever since I heard about it, and I wasn't expecting to get my hands on a copy until its publication in January 2011. So when I realised I had an beautiful pink ARC of my very own to read, there was considerable squealing. A big thanks to Quercus for this one.

Burning Secrets - Clare Chambers

I hadn't heard anything at all about this one till it arrived, but I have to say that I'm intrigued. Clare Chambers is the author of 2009's Bright Girls, set in my favourite city in the world, Brighton. Burning Secrets sounds like a real edge-of-your-seat thriller. Thanks to HarperCollins for this one.

Assorted Swag

This week, I also got these bookish goodies from my blogger pal Jenny at Wondrous Reads. Woot! Those pins you can just about make out are for Hunger (which I'm dying to read!) and Shadow Hills. Coolness, right? Thanks Jenny.

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Review: Pink - Lili Wilkinson

Pink is the story of Ava Simpson, who is going through something of an identity crisis. She has a striking long-term girlfriend, dresses only in black, and hangs out with an edgy crowd - and when she first told her parents she was gay, they threw her a coming out party. But under the surface, Ava isn't as sorted as she appears. In fact, she suspects she might not even be gay after all. So she changes schools, dyes her hair back to its natural colour, and arrives on the first day wearing a pink sweater. She's on a secret mission to find out who she really is, and where she belongs.

Anyone who reads a lot of YA fiction with LGBT themes will be accustomed to reading about characters who are in the process of coming out. In contrast, Pink's heroine Ava Simpson is someone who is out... but wondering whether maybe she's not so gay after all. Why? Because secretly, her favourite colour is pink. Because her relationship with her girlfriend isn't going so great. And because she might perhaps even like boys after all. Most of us have been through that stage of wanting desperately to fit in, and Ava Simpson has the added pressure of not being sure whether she's gay or straight - but really wanting to find out. As a protagonist, she's almost too easy to relate to: her preoccupation with trying to belong leads to blunder after blunder, making it impossible not to flush with embarrassment on her behalf on several particularly awkward occasions. With humour and honesty in equal measure, Pink takes us through the ups and downs of Ava's quest to find out where she belongs.

While the depiction of the social divisions at Ava's new school is occasionally familiar (think mean girls nicknamed 'the pastels' by the resident misfits, and some serious Regina George / Janis Ian dynamics), Wilkinson brings every one of her huge cast of characters vividly to life. From Ava's infuriatingly obnoxious girlfriend Chloe, to her new friend Alexis, whose pastel exterior conceals a few geeky secrets of her own, these are characters you can't dismiss as all bad or hail as all good. From the stage crew freaks to the in crowd, each individual has their own special blend of personal qualities, quirks and motivation - and that's what makes the lessons Ava learns so very convincing. They're as complex and multi-layered as the real people all around us. Pink is a book that says sorting and labelling people - even yourself - into narrow restrictive categories is entirely bogus, and definitely not the key to happiness.

I don't usually tend to discuss cover art in my reviews, but I really can't review Pink without commenting on the oh-so-pretty pastel pink cover - complete with raised pastel pink images of objects that relate to Ava's journey. I'm a fan of pink covers in general - it's my favourite colour, and the fact that some readers will instantly dismiss pink books as frivolous or shallow or 'girly' (like that's a bad thing) makes me feel a little bit defensive for them. Judging a book by its cover is one of the themes Lili Wilkinson addresses in Pink, so it's interesting to consider that some people who would really benefit from reading it might never pick it up because they've done just that. It's also good to be reminded that picking a book up because it's pink is every bit as judgemental, in a different way. While Pink does explore themes of femininity and feminism and sexuality and gender identity, it's a book that I think everyone should read, regardless of what gender or sexuality they identify as.

In Pink, Lili Wilkinson has created a narrative of deceptively thoughtful brilliance: a story that thoroughly entertains the reader while exploring key questions of identity in terms that are both intelligent and accessible. With its smart, witty and intimate voice, Pink is a shining example of everything that's good about the best contemporary YA fiction. It's a book that asks big questions but thankfully doesn't offer trite answers. I adore it, and I'll be telling everyone who'll listen to get themselves a copy. Stat.

Out: this edition, 1st August 2010, UK

Announcement: 'thank you' contest winners

As you may recall, I recently celebrated my one year blogoversary with a (belated) dystopian themed contest. The contest closed this weekend, and the two winners have now been chosen at random... with the help of randomizer.org.

Congratulations to Tina and Kelly, who were numbers 51 and 7 respectively out of a total of 127 entrants. Your chosen books will be on the way to you both later this week.

Thanks to everyone who entered, and an extra big thanks to those who tweeted about the contest and added it to their sidebars. Y'all are AWESOME.

Review: The Hunt (Dark Touch) - Amy Meredith

Hot on the heels of her first major demon slaying, Hamptons girl Eve Evergold finds her exclusive small town rocked to the core again in The Hunt, book two in Amy Meredith's Dark Touch series. Having come to terms with the fact that she's inherited the title - and powers - of Deepdene Witch from her great-great-great-great-grandmother, the Eve we catch up with this time around is taking a more pro-active approach to her calling in the supernatural world. She's still popular, rich and confident, but now she's also committed to learning how to control her ability to shoot lightening bolts from the palms of her hands. The kind of character who'd usually be cast as a bitch or an airhead, Eve Evergold is really starting to cut it as a symbol of girl power. She's no stereotype, and that - along with her tongue-in-cheek sense of humour - is what's so cool about her.

In the previous book, Shadows, Eve found herself torn between the two hot new guys in town -minister's son and player Luke, and the seemingly more sensitive Mal. In The Hunt, Mal's out of the picture and Luke has become a (somewhat flirtatious) good friend, hanging out with Eve and her cheerleader BFF Jess like a third musketeer. Because while Luke seems to attract an endless stream of female admirers, he's not a player in the negative sense of the word. He isn't on an ego trip and he doesn't treat anyone badly - as Eve points out, he just genuinely likes a LOT of girls. Our focus is firmly on the supernatural mystery that the trio are busy uncovering, but it's plain to see that the electricity between Eve and Luke is definitely still there. The result is a light-hearted, will-they-won't-they vibe that'll keep readers interested without bogging the action down with any emotional melodramas.

The story in this instalment is pretty standard fare, as a spate of attacks on residents of Eve's exclusive town in the Hamptons soon has her suspecting supernatural origins. It's exactly the kind of plot you'd find in an classic episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Charmed, but as with those shows what stands out is the spin that the Dark Touch characters put on it. They're full of snappy, sassy dialogue and self-referential humour to ensure that the reader keeps smiling while they're turning those pages. While there's not a huge amount of character development, we do begin to get a stronger idea of the different qualities that Eve, Jess and Luke each bring to proceedings - and it's becoming clear that although Eve's the one with the magic powers, the real strength of these three lies in their friendship. The plot is twisty enough to keep us guessing... although the smarter cookies out there will probably still solve the mystery a split second before Eve does.

The Hunt is another feisty and super fun instalment in what's shaping up to be an excellent supernatural series. It's witty, energetic and upbeat - and definitely one for Buffy fans. In my opinion, Dark Touch deserves way more buzz than it's getting. Demontastic.

Out: August 5th 2010, UK

Thanks to Random House UK for the review copy.

In My Mailbox (56)

After the excitement of Mockingjay release day, this week was quieter for new mailbox arrivals. However, for new titles hitting the bookstores, it was another pretty huge week, so I've been really busy reading and writing up reviews. (Is there is a reason so many titles launch at the beginning of September? I have no idea why, but there are a LOT.)


All links go to Goodreads.com

For review:
Mistress of the Storm - M.L. Welsh
First, I have to say that this cover is utterly beautiful in real life, and the way it appears onscreen really doesn't do it justice. The jacket copy describes it as 'A wind-swept, salt-sprayed novel that will whisk you away...' and as someone who would rather be at the beach than any other place on earth, I'm already beguiled. Thanks to the author for this one.

My So-Called Haunting - Tamsyn Murray
Yay! I'm super excited to read this one, because Tamsyn Murray's first book - My So-Called Afterlife - was cute and funny and basically awesome. (Review here). Thanks to Piccadilly for this one.

Bought:
The Haunted - Jessica Verday
This is the sequel to 2009's The Hollow, which I really loved (review here). I adore Verday's beautifully descriptive style, and the way that she draws on Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow in the telling of this series. It feels like I've been looking forward to this one a *long* time.

Whisper My Name - Jane Eagland
I read Jane Eagland's first novel Wildthorn a few weeks ago, and thought it was pretty amazing. True, I haven't gotten around to reviewing it yet, but I will definitely do so at some point. In the meantime, I couldn't resist this one.

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren.

Review: Elliot Allagash - Simon Rich

Seymour Herson is the most unpopular boy in his class. There are three twenty-seater tables in his lunchroom, and forty-one students. Seymour has the third table all to himself. Until, that is, the fearsomely rich Elliot Allagash arrives and makes Seymour an offer he can't refuse: popularity.

Part coming-of-age story, part high school satire, Elliot Allagash is one of the cleverest books I've read in a long time. Absurd, exhilirating and sometimes just plain odd, this tale of one boy's pact with the devil has had some mixed reviews - but I have no idea why. It's genius.

We see events through the eyes of resigned loser, Seymour, but it's Elliot Allagash himself who really steals the show. The only son of an impossibly rich widower, Elliot is keenly aware that his money makes him hugely powerful. As a human being, he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. He's ruthless, manipulative and utterly without empathy for his peers. But as a character, he's fascinating. For Elliot, life is all about cheating. From fixing the results of a school election to enacting overblown revenge on anyone who dares to slight him, it's like sport to him. He disects the world around him with a cold detachment, exploiting his opponents' weaknesses and revelling in his own cleverness.

Which is why, from the moment that Elliot tells Seymour - the most unpopular boy at Glendale Prep - that he can make him king of the school, we know it's not out of the goodness of his heart. And yet, there's something so clever about Elliot's methods that it's impossible not to feel at least a little impressed by them. Besides, there's an element of wish-fulfilment here for the reader too: who doesn't want the likeable loser to seize power from the hands of those who ignore and torment him? Simon Rich weaves a tale as enticing as it is entertaining, spiked with potent dark humour and just a dash of poignancy. Occasionally we have to suspend our disbelief a little further than is comfortable, but it's worth it - and easy when you're having fun. While drawing lightly on familiar tales of genies and Faustian Bargains, Rich tells his story with a fresh voice and with his own brand of endearingly quirky symbolism.

Elliot Allagash is unusual, hilarious, and deceptively smart. I'm not in the least bit surprised that there's a movie adaptation in the pipeline, but I would recommend checking it out now in novel form for something deliciously different.

Out: August 5th 2010, UK / May 25th 2010, US

Thanks to Serpent's Tail for providing a review copy of this book.

Review and Giveaway: Buffy the Vampire Slayer 1

The Prophecy of the Slayer tells us that in every generation, there is a Chosen One. A girl with the unique power to defeat bloodsucking vampires, rampagey demons, and apocalypses of the plural variety.

In my generation, there are lots of Buffy The Vampire Slayer fans. I don't think this is prophesied anywhere, but it's a basic fact. I am one of them. Thanks to the phenomenally successful tv series, the books, the merchandise and the original movie (well, maybe less so the movie), it's indisputable: Buffy rules.

But while I've seen every episode, played the card game and even bought some of the scripts in book form, I'd never actually read a Buffy novel. So when I heard about this bind up of the first three titles, I knew I had to check them out. And I'm so glad I did, because these novels have everything we fans loved about the tv series - and with the added bonus that they're completely different stories.

Of the three novels here, my favourite is easily Coyote Moon. Set in the summertime when the Carnival is in town, it's the kind of story that gives you the creeps. Between the humor, the air of subtle danger that the Carnival brings to proceedings, and the new twist on a familiar legend, it has all the ingredients of a classic Buffy episode. Night of the Living Rerun is probably my least favourite - a tale of past lives that lost my attention in places and was occasionally hard to follow. The final novel, Portal Through Time, is the most epic of the three. Buffy - along with Xander, Willow and her watcher Giles - travel back in time to defeat a vampire plot to kill previous Slayers. It's fascinating and fun, and we even get a couple of cameos from other favourite characters. It's a story that would have had to run over a few episodes of the tv show, or be simplified a LOT - but in novel form, it's a satisfying helping of Buffy awesomeness.

The most impressive thing about this bind up is that all of the three authors - John Vornholt, Arthur Byron Cover and Alice Henderson - have faithfully recreated the essence of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but also given us three very different stories. They're fresh and intriguing in their own right. I'm not sure how they'll read to someone who has never seen the tv series at all, but I suspect that anyone who has caught even one or two episodes will find themselves easily able to imagine the actors speaking the smart and witty dialogue their characters are given in these novels. My only minor issue is that hardcore Buffy fans will probably want to work out where exactly these stories 'fit' in terms of the chronology of the tv episodes. Each novel does seem to link to what was happening in the tv series at a particular point, but rather than following directly on from each other they jump around a little along the timeline. However, this doesn't make them any less enjoyable.

Buffy The Vampire Slayer 1 pretty much rocks. It's full of 'Grrr' and 'Argghh' and more wiggins than you can shake a pointy stick at. Buffy fans will love it. Those who aren't yet Buffy fans should follow my sage advice: go watch season one, marvel in the greatness, then read this.

Out: September 2nd 2010, UK

Thanks to Simon and Schuster UK for providing a review copy of this book.

GIVEAWAY! I have FIVE copies of Buffy The Vampire Slayer 1 to give away, thanks to the fantastic Simon and Schuster UK.

To enter, just fill in the form below. But first please read my privacy policy and check out the contest rules:

• Contest is open to UK entrants only, and prizes will be sent out direct from the S&S UK.
• There will be five winners, of one book each, chosen at random using an online randomizer.
• Entrants must be aged 13 or over.
• Entrants aged under 16 must have permission from their parent or guardian, and must provide an email address for their parent or guardian - not their own!
• Contest closes at midnight GMT on the 9th September 2010.
• Winners will be chosen, announced and contacted by email on the 10th September 2010. If no response is received after 48 hours an alternative winner will be chosen.

Crescendo special announcement

Announcing… the Crescendo UK blog tour!
To celebrate the upcoming release of Crescendo, the stunning sequel to international bestseller Hush, Hush, UK publishers Simon & Schuster are unveiling an exclusive blog tour! The tour will take place from the 29th September – 15th October, and stop at the following venues:

29th September - Book Chick City
An exclusive Q&A with Becca Fitzpatrick

4th October - The Bookette
A never-before-seen flashback extract from Crescendo

5th October - Once Upon A Bookcase
A never-before-seen flashback extract from Crescendo featuring Patch & Nora!

6th October – I Was A Teenage Book Geek
SPECIAL FEATURE: “You know you’re obsessed with Hush, Hush when…”

7th October – Book Geeks
Competition to win copies of Crescendo!

8th October - So Many Books So Little Time
Exclusive audio extract from the Hush, Hush audiobook

9th October - Daisy Chain Books
Discussion post: Crescendo playlist

The second leg of the tour will commence at Wondrous Reads, who will celebrate the release of Crescendo with a week dedicated to all-things-Patch, including US vs. UK, an interview with designer James Porto, review, signed goodies to be won, and many more super secret Hush, Hush related material!

Each stop on the tour will reveal an exclusive question and answer with Becca Fitzpatrick, so make sure to follow us every step of the way for your chance to snap up all the sneak peeks and potential prizes! Each blog will also be reviewing Crescendo in the run up to the tour, so keep your eyes peeled to hear what your favourite bloggers thought of this amazing book.

Simon & Schuster will also be celebrating on their Twitter page (@simonkids_UK), giving away exclusive early copies (!!!!) of Crescendo and updating you on all the tour action, tweeting reviews and posts as they come in. We’ll also be following Becca Fitzpatrick through her entire UK tour (more details on that to come later).

If you're as excited about all that as I am (which is VERY!), please help spread the word about the CRESCENDO UK BLOG TOUR using the tour banner on your blogs and websites! See you there!