Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Have you ever fallen in love with a book? You can't eat, you can't sleep, you can't bear to tear yourself away from it for a second. It makes your heart beat faster and you can't concentrate on anything else.

Delirium is one of those books. Hot on the heels of last year's debut Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver's second novel imagines a future world where love is considered a disease - and, at the age of eighteen, all citizens are administered the cure. Seventeen year old heroine Lena Haloway awaits the day she'll be cured with anticipation: she's seen how love can destroy a person, and she craves the stability and contentment of life without it. Then she meets Alex.

Capturing perfectly the exhilarating highs and crashing lows of first love, Delirium follows Lena's journey as she slowly begins to question everything she thought she knew about happiness, passion and fulfilment. In a world where Romeo and Juliet is taught in schools as a warning rather than an example of great romantic writing, Lena learns that perhaps heartbreak isn't the worse thing that a person can experience.

While Delirium is set in a dystopian future, even those who aren't especially enamoured with science fiction should feel at ease with its relatively low-tech world-building. Aside the mechanics of the cure itself, Lauren Oliver focuses on the way everyday life has changed as a result of it. And it's not just romantic love that's been eradicated: parents are no longer expected to love their children, and siblings drift apart once cured. Family life is about duty, not affection. Most heartbreaking of all, nobody who has successfully undergone the procedure feels the accute sadness of their world. They're cured of that too. The head rules the heart unchallenged, and that's considered preferable to the alternative.

Comparisons with a certain other recent love-themed YA dystopia are inevitable, but for me Delirium is perhaps more reminiscent of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale or George Orwell's 1984. Though the basic premise may seem pretty far-fetched at first glance, there are clear parallels to be drawn between Lena's world and our own - and that's what gives the story its immense impact.

As in Before I Fall, Lauren Oliver's storytelling speaks right to the heart. At times raw, Lena's voice is honest and authentic and sublime. Aside from the occasional awkward explanation of the way things work in her world, the narrative is utterly immersive. It's a book with a powerful message about love and freedom and what makes us human. If it doesn't make you cry a little... I don't believe you.

Delirium is a book to fall in love with. It'll get under your skin and find its way to your heart, if you let it. And you really should.

Out: February 3rd 2010, UK

Many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for providing a review copy of this book.

Review: The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Donna Underwood hasn't been back to school since The Incident. She knows that in the eyes of her former classmates, she's a loser; a glove-wearing freak they'll never accept. Only her best friend Navin has stood by her, and even he doesn't know the truth about what's under those gloves. But when Navin's curiosity gets the better of him, he stumbles into the very territory that Donna has been so desperate to hide from him - and into the path of an  unthinkable danger. With the help of a new ally, Donna finds herself braving the dark magic of the Faerie world to save her friend - no matter what the price.

Set in a real world of alchemy, fairies and vicious wood elves, The Iron Witch is the much-anticipated debut novel from Brit author Karen Mahoney. It's the story of a girl whose life is indelibly marked by magic, and who wears the scars of her past in the form of swirling iron tattoos that cover her hands and arms. It's also beautifully written. Karen Mahoney has a rare gift for metaphor; she doesn't so much set a scene as set it blooming in the reader's imagination. The faerie world is cast in shadow for much of the novel, but our glimpses of the creatures that inhabit it are truly chilling. Even a simple bus journey is described with a visual flair that's effortlessly lyrical, and the story as a whole glistens with magic and danger and foreboding.

While The Iron Witch didn't really get me hooked until around the halfway mark, once I found myself gripped I couldn't put it down. The opening chapters are relatively slow burning, and the action only really picks up once Donna discovers that her best friend Navin has been abducted. However, even before that point Karen Mahoney laces the story with just enough intrigue to keep those pages turning. Who wouldn't want to find out exactly what The Incident entailed, or get to know who the mysterious Xan really is?

Though protagonist Donna has two boys in her life, thankfully The Iron Witch is a love-triangle free zone. Drawn to the otherworldly Xan, she also has a deep and lasting bond with her friend Navin. Though I wouldn't be surprised to see Navin and Donna's relationship encountering romantic complications in the next instalment of the saga, it's refreshing to see a YA heroine acting out of loyalty and love for a platonic friend. Even the romance between Xan and Donna is kept pretty light and develops at a believable pace, which also makes a welcome change from the full-on declarations of undying love you tend to find in YA paranormal titles.

Overall, The Iron Witch is an enchanting debut novel. Karen Mahoney's Faerie lore is richly drawn, her cast of characters is believably diverse and there are some seriously eerie moments. I'd probably recommend this one first and foremost to readers in the eleven to fourteen age group, as home-schooled heroine Donna is seventeen but perhaps a little young for her age, and the story itself follows a fairly straightforward course. However, anyone who likes their paranormal world-building dark and complex should also check this one out.

Out: January 21st 2010, UK

A huge thanks to Random House UK for providing a review copy of this book.

Review: Tyranny by Lesley Fairfield

Tyranny is the story of a teenage girl's struggle with an eating disorder, told in graphic novel form. Heroine Anna is under the control of her own person demon; a force within that drives a self-imposed regime of starvation and purging. Tyranny, who keeps her thin. But at what cost? Over the course of the novel's approximately one hundred and twenty pages, she recalls how she got to this point... and takes her first tentative steps towards taking her life back.

Illustrated with simple black-and-white drawings, Lesley Fairfield makes minimal use of dialogue and narration in this honest and brave exploration of eating disorders. No words are wasted, and there's much to be learnt about the way that anorexia and bulimia take hold of a person. Anna goes from being a healthy girl to a starving and dangerously ill young woman - and in pictures, the distinction is unmistakeable. The demon Tyranny is depicted powerfully as an eerie, skeletal creature with bulging eyes. Both human and monstrous, it's made very clear that Tyranny is the true villain of the story.

While the unusual marriage of subject matter and format gives Tyranny a certain novelty value, it also reads very much like a memoir. The author bio confirms that Lesley Fairfield has battled both anorexia and bulimia for thirty years, and there's a clear sense that she's using her own experiences with the aim of raising awareness among teenage readers. The format lends itself well to the educational aspects of the story, and it's wonderful to see a novel about eating disorders that has the potential to reach reluctant readers.

In opting to tell this story in graphic novel form, Lesley Fairfield has had to make sacrifices in terms of character development and plot complexity to achieve the greatest possible impact for her central message of hope. Anna is undoubtedly a sympathetic heroine, but she represents the common experiences of those who have struggled with eating disorders - we never seem to learn enough about her to make this her story. Still, readers will cheer her on in her emotional battle against the demon Tyranny, and the story has the potential to inspire and help those affected by anorexia or bulimia themselves.

Tyranny gets to the heart of a painful subject with sensitivity. The clear and direct style makes it ideal for younger teens, and I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a responsible and frank introduction to the theme of eating disorders.

Out: February 7th 2011, UK

Thank you to Walker Books for providing a review copy of this book.

No Comment?

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a blogger in possession of a shiny new post, must be in want of a comment.

Isn't it?

Sure, most of us blog because we like expressing ourselves. For me, it's all about writing reviews. I like distilling my thoughts about the books I've read and choosing exactly the right word to convey a thought or emotion.

But most of us don't blog in a vacuum. One of the best things about being a YA book blogger is the community. I'm talking about the debate, the exchange of ideas, and appreciation for each other's work that makes the YA blogosphere a buzzy place to be.

And yet, I consistently fail at commenting. I read way more blogs than I regularly comment on. And when I talk to other bloggers, they often say the same thing. If we're pushed for time, commenting is the first thing to go.

So, if you're someone who likes getting comments, you probably want to make it as easy as possible for readers to leave them. Which brings me to a quandry: the dreaded word verification.

Since I started blogging, I've wavered on this. First I had it. Then last year I got brave, and figured since so many people hate those pesky little captchas, I'd get rid of the thing. For a while it was fine, but then the spammers discovered a couple of my posts and I felt like I was constantly on patrol, trying to delete the stuff. So I switched the word verification on again, and it's back under control.

Personally, while I don't enjoy word verification, it won't put me off leaving a comment. I know that some people hate word verification with the burning intensity of a thousand suns. And I see their point. It's time consuming, especially when you get the word wrong and have to take a second (or third) shot at it. But if I've got something to say, I'll say it, even if it means squinting at the screen trying to work out if that's a capital I or a lower case l or a number 1 I'm meant to be typing into the box before the darn thing times out. However, if I'm honest, on blogs which have that two stage version where I write my comment and press enter and then the captcha comes up... it's not unheard of for me to click away without realising I have to verify. Duh.

Now, I'm not especially convinced that I got more comments when the word verification was switched off. I think I get the most comments when I review a book a lot of people are interested in, which stands to reason. I'm also pretty sure that the more comments I leave on other blogs, the more other bloggers leave me. Some people make a real effort to 'return' comments, and I appreciate that. Still, if there are people out there thinking of a response and then not leaving it because the word verification irritates, inconveniences or straight up enrages them... that's a pity.

I could turn word verification off, but change my settings so that I have to approve every comment before it's published. That would give me greater control over spam without putting potential commenters off. Super. But for discussion posts? Well, unless I'm going to be sat permanently in front of my laptop poised to approve any comments as they come in, it kind of defeats the object.

So tell me: what's your preference? Do you hate word verification? Do you personally approve all your comments? How's it working for you?

Review: Bedlam by Ally Kennen

In Bedlam, award-winning British author Ally Kennen borrows the unsettling imagery of the horror genre to tell the story of a very real ugliness lurking beneath the surface of everyday life. From the snapping jaws of a rabid dog to the abandoned old asylum in the middle of the woods; Bedlam unfolds against the kind of nightmare backdrop that's more usually found in tales of the paranormal. In actual fact, it's a gritty and thought-provoking thriller about the way our society treats those who ask for help.

Our narrator is Lexi, a sixteen year old girl from the kind of family you wouldn't want to live next door to. Her dad runs a shady business that takes him away from home on a regular basis, her brother has an ASBO, and her biggest concern is usually her appearance. Until, that is, she's packed off to stay with her estranged mother for a few weeks. When her mum's beloved dog is abducted while in Lexi's care, she finds herself drawn into the seemingly quiet neighbourhood's shadowy secrets... and a mysterious but borderline feral older boy she's strangely attracted to. Gradually, Lexi is forced to look beyond surface impressions and to confront the truths that lie beneath them.

Drawn almost entirely in shades of grey, the characters in Bedlam range from the mildly odd to the downright twisted. They're vivid and complex and not always easy to like. Even Lexi can be grating, in that real-life way that most people are at times. Yet there are moving moments too, most notably in the development of the initially hostile relationship between Lexi and her mother. There's also a genuine warmth in the way that Lexi relates to Kos - even if she's also motivated by the fact she thinks he's a bit of a hottie. The baddies, on the other hand, are repulsively bad. Lexi, who was never afraid of monsters as a child, points out that real human monsters are the scariest kind - and Bedlam makes a very strong case for her being right.

Bedlam is a strange read; menacing but also shot through with glimmers of humour and hope. Tense and tightly plotted, it's the kind of story that doesn't quite click into place until you've finished it, put it down, and thought about it some more. Luckily, it's also the kind of story that's hard to stop thinking about. Pick it up if you're looking for something a little bit left-field that'll keep you gripped from start to finish.

Out: February 2nd 2009, UK

Thank you to Scholastic for providing a review copy of this book.

Review: Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles

In Perfect Chemistry, we saw bad boy Alex Fuentes and good girl Brittany Ellis fall in love despite the fact they came from different worlds. In Simone Elkeles's follow-up novel Rules of Attraction, it's a similar story, as Alex's headstrong younger brother Carlos finds himself thrown together with straightlaced Kiara Westford. But while at first glance it might look like we've been here before, in fact Rules of Attraction illustrates that there's plenty of life in the 'opposites attract' theme yet.

Unusually for YA romance, Kiara Westford is a genuinely a bit of a dork. She's a departure from the brand of supposedly unpopular everygirl YA heroines who nonetheless find themselves attracting super hot boys in their droves. She dresses badly, she's introverted, and she's also a little bit of a prude. At the same time, she has guts and determination. She's recently overcome a stutter, she's athletic, and she loves a challenge. Carlos Fuentes, on the other hand, is sexist and obnoxious and knows exactly how good-looking he is. In other words, he's a walking ego. Not selling him to you? Well, he also has an endearing way of relating to Kiara's little brother, he's intent on protecting his family, and in Rules of Attraction he finds himself transformed by the real emotional connection he feels for a shy tomboy the old Carlos wouldn't have looked twice at. And FYI: watching his heart gradually melt is a beautiful thing.

Fans of Perfect Chemistry will be pleased to hear that the romance in Rules of Attraction is every bit as sizzling. Simone Elkeles understands that the best romantic pairings are a blend of love and lust, and there's plenty of both here. The scenes between Carlos and Kiara are electrically charged, and things get majorly heated between them. Since there are some quite risque moments I wouldn't recommend this one to younger teens - it's definitely one for the higher end of the YA audience. The dual narrative works spectacularly well, with Carlos's chapters utterly convincing as the voice of a macho teenage boy who has no intention of ending up as soft on a girl as his older brother is.

Since this is a romance, what we all hope for is a happy ending. While we're never really in any doubt that we'll get just that, Simone Elkeles places obstacles between Kiara and Carlos that even Romeo and Juliet would falter at. There's a very real sense of just how difficult gangs make it for their members to leave, and yet Carlos does seem to wriggle out of things a little too easily at times. As in Perfect Chemistry, expect an epilogue you'll either love or hate; this one is just as corny and more than a little unnecessary, but ultimately it doesn't detract from the intoxicating romance that precedes it. Rules of Attraction is compelling, it's steamy, and it's fun. Fans of YA romance will devour it.

Out: January 6th 2011, UK

A big thanks to S&S UK for providing a review copy.

Review: Fall For Anything by Courtney Summers

Narrated by broken seventeen-year-old Eddie Reeves, Fall For Anything is the story of a daughter's desperate search for answers to the mystery of her father's recent suicide.

Unflinchingly honest and achingly sparse, Eddie's first-person narrative sees her revealing far more to the reader than she does to the people she's closest to. Her mother is so utterly devastated she's barely functioning, and her best friend Milo has his own reasons for finding it hard to talk about what happened the night that photographer Seth Reeves jumped to his death. Only her father's former student, Culler Evans, seems willing and able to help her - but with a growing attraction between them, Eddie seems to be headed in a dangerous direction.

Eddie is a character in the midst of an emotional retreat, consumed by her loss and her need to know why. We don't really get to know her much beyond her grief, but at this point in her life grief is the biggest part of her. With her memories of her father altered by his final act, Eddie herself isn't the person she was before. She's a question; she's confusion; she's the absence of what she previously knew to be true, and she won't get herself back until she knows what made her dad take his own life. A cast of vividly drawn and multifaceted secondary characters heighten our connection with Eddie; from sensitive and loyal Milo to blood-boilingly tactless friend of the family Beth.

While Courtney Summers takes readers to some dark places here, the focus on Eddie's hunt for clues prevents the story from ever becoming sentimental or self-indulgent. This isn't really a weepy novel; it's a compelling mystery, and as a reader you'll want to know why almost as much as Eddie does. In fact, it's impossible to read Fall For Anything without trying to piece the clues together and decipher the intention behind them, even when Eddie can't. It's a book that explores how much we really know the people we love, and the tangled relationship between art and truth.

Courtney Summers is a striking voice in contemporary Young Adult fiction, full of honesty and insight. Fall For Anything leaves you with the feeling that you have read something brave and lasting and true; and that you've lived through these chapters as well as read them. A must read.

Out: December 21st 2010, US


A huge thanks to the lovely Nomes from Inkcrush for running the fantastic giveaway in which I won my copy of this book.

Review: Manifest by Artist Arthur

After her parents' separation, Krystal Bentley left New York City to start a new life in her mother's hometown of Lincoln, Connecticut - minus her dad. Now she sits by herself at lunch everyday, she doesn't have any new friends to hang out with, and she despises her new stepfather. And she's dealing with a ghost named Ricky who seems to think she can help him - and won't leave her alone until she does. She has no intention of telling anyone else about her unwanted abilities, but then she meets Sasha and Jake, two fellow students with paranormal talents of their own.

Manifest is the first title in the Mystyx series, about a group of teens who share the same m-shaped birthmark - and the paranormal abilities that come with it. Told from the point of view of new girl in town Krystal, Manifest sees the trio helping a teenage boy who was shot dead the year before. Krystal is a city girl, and this really comes across in her first-person narration - there's a candid and witty directness to her turn of phrase and the pattern of her speech that's fairly unusual for heroines in this genre. While some may find her a little self-obsessed, Manifest sees her forced to confront the issues that have made her that way, and it's reasonable to suspect that the second instalment in the series will see her putting that behind her. As she tries to help Ricky move on, he's also trying to help her do the same.

There's something really refreshing about the multiculturalness of Manifest. In a school with its own peculiar class system, cliques are based on which Lincoln neighbourhood students come from - but Krystal's (relatively small) circle of friends is diverse in gender, ethnicity and economic background. The Mystyx form a bond which defies their school's tendency towards segregation while still holding onto their sense of identity as individuals, and that's got to be a good thing. At the same time, their respective abilities have their roots in Greek mythology, and subsequent instalments in the series will no doubt reveal more about that connection. The result is an intriguing blend of 21st century setting and mysterious ancient power.

As this is YA paranormal, heroine Krystal soon finds herself in the middle of the obligatory love triangle. However, Manifest lets us off pretty easy on this score, as the romance is really more of a subplot than the cover blurb might lead you to believe. On one hand we have Ricky, the cute and sensitive ghost boy who needs Krystal's help to resolve his unfinished business in this world. On the other is the somewhat full-on Franklin, a fellow student at Lincoln High who is very much alive. While Krystal is hesitant about Franklin, she's soon mulling over her attraction to Ricky. Those looking for a sweeping paranormal romance will be disappointed, as there's no melodramatic love story here. Krystal's supposed feelings for Ricky aren't especially evident in their interactions, so her occasional references to them read as the words of a girl trying to make sense of an unusual friendship rather than a girl falling in love. In contrast, her scenes with Franklin are less paranormal romance and more paranormal dating. Krystal's fifteen, she's got other things going on in her life, and you get the sense that boys aren't her biggest concern right now.

Manifest is an interesting start to the Mystyx series. The mystery behind Ricky's death is geuninely sinister and shocking, and though a few story threads are left open for the next book, there's enough closure in this instalment to satisfy those who don't want to commit to reading an entire series. If you're looking for a paranormal story minus the romantic melodramas, take a look at this one.

Out: July 27th 2010, US


Thanks to Becky The Bookette for kindly passing on her copy of Manifest.

Time Travel Tuesday: Caitlin (A Love Trilogy)

Regular visitors to I Was A Teenage Book Geek may recall that, back in the day, I was obsessed with Sweet Valley High. My hero was Jessica Wakefield, a.k.a. Hurricaine Jessica, a.k.a. your average self-obsessed eighties cheerleader whose only saving grace was that she wasn't Elizabeth Wakefield. Never heard of her? Picture the anti-christ with pompoms and frosted lipgloss, and you're about there.

So when my BFF and first spotted boxed sets of Caitlin: A Love Trilogy in a local bookstore, we were psyched. Just from the cover blurb, we could tell that these books had everything we were looking for. Created by Francine Pascal? Check. Written by someone other than Francine Pascal? Check. Bitchy boy-magnet main character to idolize? And then some.

Of course, there was one thing standing in the way of my Love Trilogy dreams. Ironically, that one thing was the word 'love'. Because while my mother was gradually resigning herself to my SVH obsession, she still had her standards. And any book with the word 'love' in the title was, in her opinion, 'too old' for me and therefore a book she would not pay for. Luckily, in a rare display of generosity, my BFF bought me the box set for Christmas, and so I spent a merry two days over the festive season that year immersed in what I thought was the best trilogy EVER.

Here's the deal, as my pre-teen self saw it: fifteen year old Caitlin Ryan is beautiful and rich and always gets what she wants. She rocks. She's like Jessica Wakefield from Sweet Valley High, except that she doesn't have a goody-two-shoes identical twin cramping her style. And it's all sooooo romantic.

Here's the deal, as I see it now: fifteen year old Caitlin Ryan is beautiful and rich and always gets what she wants. Especially boys. In fact, she has the male population of her exclusive boarding school basically drooling over her. But is she happy? Uh, no. Because she's lonely. She's at boarding school because her parents are dead (kinda) and her wealthy grandmother doesn't want her around. And, according to the cover blurb, she's also haunted by a secret need... for love. A need that only handsome new student Jed Michaels can fulfil. And... ewww.

Frankly, I don't know how I ever read this book without wanting to barf. Even the cover blurb should have had alarm bells ringing, with all that darn neediness everywhere. Because while the cover promises a book about an unforgettable, headstrong heroine just like Jessica Wakefield, Loving is all about Caitlin discovering that what handsome eighties cowboy types like Jed really want... is a girl with no discernible personality. I think I speak for us all when I say: facepalm.

Admittedly, Caitlin does Something Bad in Loving. We know it's bad, because it warrants no less than six exclamation marks in three paragraphs of text. And admittedly, she lets her rival for Jed's affections take the blame for the Bad Thing, and that's a little bit naughty of her. Well, very naughty. And despite the fact that she feels so guilty she can hardly function, she doesn't own up, so the girl she blamed has a nervous breakdown.

But you know what's worse? The way Handsome Jed likes guilt-ridden, fragile Caitlin way more than he ever liked the confident, headstrong version, and the way Caitlin is so darn grateful to him for it. So while I'm pretty sure we're meant to judge BadCaitlin and think her personality overhaul is a Good Thing, I just can't be a part of that.

Verdict: Loving is a book of its time. The time was the eighties.

Review: Long Reach by Peter Cocks

When his big brother Steve turns up dead on the muddy banks of the Thames, seventeen year old Eddie doesn't buy the theory that he killed himself. Steve was his hero, but only now does he realise there was a lot about his brother he didn't know. So when a friend of the family reveals that Steve was working as an undercover agent before he died, Eddie jumps at the chance to sign himself up for a piece of the action. He's issued with a new name, a new past, and the keys to a safe house where he'll be living from now on. His first assignment? To earn the trust of crime lord Tommy Kelly's beautiful daughter.

Protagonist Eddie is seventeen when Long Reach begins, but the world he finds himself drawn into is a dangerously adult one. If he blows his cover, he's dead. Literally. This is serious stuff, and author Peter Cocks certainly doesn't shy away from the harsh reality of the criminal underworld he's portraying. The language is way more colourful than you'd find in the majority of YA fiction, and the violence is occasionally so brutal I found myself flinching as I read. Nothing about Long Reach feels as though it's been cleaned up for its target audience, and that's exactly what makes it feel so authentic and convincing. It's what makes your heart start hammering like crazy every time Eddie puts himself at risk, because you truly believe that this isn't a world that will go easy on him just because he's a teenager. Far from it.

But while Eddie is doing a man's job, in some ways he's still a boy. And his first assignment sees him given the task of getting close to a girl who just happens to be a total catch - apart from her incredibly scary crime lord dad, that is. Before long, things are hotting up between them... and it's not so easy for Eddie to remember that he's meant to be pretending to date her. Even for the reader, the very real chemistry between Eddie and college girl Sophie soon starts to blur the boundaries between cover story and love story, giving this otherwise gritty thriller an added dimension of depth and emotion.

Tightly-plotted, edgy and smart, Long Reach starts out promising and only gets better from there. While I suspect that it will appeal chiefly to male readers, I'd actually recommend it to both male and females at the top end of the YA age range who enjoy fast-paced, filmic thrillers. I couldn't put it down.

Out: January 3rd 2011, UK


A major thanks to Walker Books for providing a review copy of Long Reach.

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Long Reach is the first novel in Walker Books' Undercover range, which they describe as the best of YA fiction. Walker are so excited about these particular titles that they're devoting a new blog entirely to Undercover - you can check it out here to see what else they've got coming up this year.

Review: Half Brother by Kenneth Oppel

Half Brother begins in 1973, in the Canadian state of Victoria, just as protagonist Ben Tomlin is turning thirteen. Having moved with his family to a new house in a new town, he's also facing the imminent arrival of a brand new family member. His scientist father is convinced that, given the right conditions, he can teach a chimpanzee to communicate. So the family adopt a baby chimp, planning to raise him as human and teach him American Sign Language along the way. And while Ben is reluctant at first, he soon finds himself bonding with his new baby brother. They name him Zan, and the effect he has upon their lives is a profound one.

Interestingly for such an off-the-wall premise, Half Brother reads almost like a memoir. The sense of place and time is authentic in an understated way, lending a certain nostalgia to Ben's coming-of-age story and giving a wider context to the entire Zan experiment. Teenager Ben finds himself faced with ethical and moral question about his father's methods at a time when public awareness about animal rights was nowhere near as widespread as it is now, and eventually is forced to re-evaluate his own relationship with the chimp he thinks of as a little brother. While all this might sound a little bit heavy, in fact Kenneth Oppel explores the issues at hand with a welcome lightness of touch.

The experiment at the centre of Half Brother may be all about human influence on a chimpanzee test subject, but the novel is also about Zan's effect on a human boy. Because just as Zan is beginning to learn to interact with his hosts, Ben's own development from boy to man is being subtly influenced by his bond with the chimp. Ben's story sees him determined to transform himself from nerdy onlooker to alpha male, but he actually has more to learn from Zan than he at first anticipates. Navigating the social pecking order, the uncertainty of first love and his changing relationship with his father, Ben gradually finds himself identifying more and more with his non-human brother. It's a slightly more mature story than I originally anticipated, as Ben struggles with all the same issues that other teenage boys do, but this is part of what makes it so powerful. It's a book that asks huge questions about the world, but more importantly it's a book that will make you feel.

Half Brother is a unique and poignant story about love, friendship, and growing up. The premise naturally makes for some light-hearted moments, and the blend of humour and pathos is perfectly balanced. Emotional and thoughtful, it's the kind of story that will make you laugh and cry while you're reading it, and then linger in your mind for days afterward. It's wonderfully different.

Out: January 6th 2011, UK

Thank you to David Fickling Books for providing a review copy of this book.

Blog tour: Rules of Attraction giveaway

Today, I Was A Teenage Book Geek is hosting the fifth stop on the official UK blog tour for the fantastic Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles.

Thanks to those awesome folks at Simon and Schuster UK, I have 2 copies of Rules of Attraction to give away to 2 lucky winners.

Summary from publisher's website: Carlos Fuentes isn't happy about leaving Mexico to start the "new" life his older brother, Alex, has planned for him. Carlos liked his freedom; living life on the edge - just like Alex did.

Kiara Westford doesn't talk much; instead preferring to shut out the world. And when Carlos bounds into her life she struggles to understand him. Carlos is sure that Kiara thinks she's too good for him, which is just fine because he's not interested anyway, right? But when they finally open up to each other, the connection they feel shocks them both. Can they overcome their fears and realise that sometimes opposites really do attract?
 
To be in with a chance of winning a copy, simply fill out the form below. But please read my privacy policy and also make sure you are sticking to the rules first!
•Open to UK residents only.
•Entrants must be aged sixteen or over.
•One entry per person.
•Contest closes on January 28th 2011 and winners will be contacted by email. Winners will be announced here on the 30th January 2011.
•There will be 2 winners, chosen at random using an online randomizer.
•Prizes will be sent out by Simon and Schuster, so all entrants must give their consent for me to pass on their name and address if they win.
•Details provided will not be used for any other purpose, and I will delete all entry information once winners have been picked and the prizes sent out.

Update: This giveaway has now closed. The winners are Karen and Lyndsey, and they have now been notified. Congratulations guys!

Review: The Clearing by Heather Davis

I adore time travel stories, so the premise of Heather Davies' second YA novel The Clearing is one that appealed to me from the moment I first heard about it. City girl Amy has packed herself off to her Aunt Mae's house in the countryside for a fresh start, free from the ex-boyfriend she finally found the courage to break away from.There she stumbles through the ever-present mist behind her aunt's farm to find a curiously old-fashioned boy in the clearing beyond: eighteen year old Henry, who is living with his family in the summer of 1944.

Since this is YA, Amy and Henry's meeting inevitably leads to romance. The narrative alternates between Amy's first-person point of view, and a third person point of view in Henry's chapters. It's an arrangement that works well, anchoring the story firmly in Amy's time but lending an authentic nineteen forties flavour to those chapters that take place on Henry's side of the mist. My lasting impression of The Clearing is a dreamy, otherworldly quality much like the sort of time travel stories I read as a child. The truth behind Henry's situation is actually more complex and original than it first appears, and it captured my imagination completely.

Amy herself is a likeable heroine. We learn early on that she's come to live with her aunt Mae following a nightmare relationship with an ex-boyfriend who treated her badly, and the story sensitively explores the way this affects Amy's relationships with her new classmates. There's a positive message at the heart of this one, and the contrast between abusive ex Matt and gallant Henry is both poignant and insightful. At the same time, certain aspects of Amy's relationships are a little bit adult for younger readers.

There's something a little bit magical about The Clearing. It weaves a gentle spell all of its own, I found myself charmed by the genuine warmth that Heather Davis has put into her characters and the love story they share. It's sweet and old-fashioned, and I'd recommend it to readers looking for a timeslip story with heart.

Out: 12th April 2010, US

Reviewed via NetGalley.

Blog Tour: Extract from The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Today, I Was A Teenage Book Geek is hosting the seventh stop on the official UK blog tour for Brenna Yovanoff's eerie debut novel The Replacement. I'm thrilled to present an exclusive extract that illustrates exactly why this one will get under your skin...

Behind me, there was the rough idle of a car and then a voice said, “Hey, Mackie.”

Tate had pulled up next to the curb in this absolute monstrosity of a Buick and was leaning across the front seat. Apparently, she’d decided she was done with school for the day. Or, more likely, done being a public spectacle. She put her hand on the edge of the passenger window.

“The rain isn’t going to stop. Do you want a ride somewhere?”

The car sat idling against the curb, its wipers flicking back and forth. Long primer-gray body, poisonous fenders. It made me think of a wicked metal shark. “That’s okay. Thanks, though.”

“Are you sure? It’s not a problem.”

I shook my head, watching the rain drip in a wavering curtain off the front bumper so I wouldn’t have to look at her.

Her face was softer and younger looking than normal. I stood under the dripping oak and debated complimenting the way she’d faced down Mrs. Brummel, just to have something to say—tell her I was impressed by the way she could be sad and stared at and still tell everyone to go straight to hell.

After a minute, she killed the engine and got out of the car. “Listen. I need to talk to you.”

When she came across the grass to me, she had this look on her face, like out in the parking lot, in the open, she wasn’t so sure of herself after all. Like maybe I scared her. Her mouth had a bruised look. Her eyes were blue underneath, like you get from not sleeping.

When she came up next to me, she turned so we were standing side by side, staring out at the parking lot. The point of her elbow was inches from my sleeve.

“Do you have a minute?”

I didn’t answer.

“Jesus, why don’t you ever say anything?” She turned and stared up at me with her teeth working on her bottom lip. It looked raw, like she’d been chewing it a lot. Even reeking like iron from the Buick, she still smelled crisp and kind of sweet. It made me think of flowering trees or something you want to put in your mouth. The kind of smell you shouldn’t notice about girls who are covered in tragedy and Detroit steel.

“You weren’t at the funeral yesterday,” she said.

Between us, the current seemed to hum louder. I nodded.

“Why? I mean, your dad seems like he’d be all about ‘pulling together as a community,’ and considering he pretty much organized the whole thing . . . And, I mean, Roswell was there.”

“Religion is my dad’s business,” I said, and my voice had a flat, mechanical sound that showed me for what I was— a bad liar reciting someone else’s lie. “Anyway, a funeral isn’t really an ideal social event. I mean, it’s not like I would attend one for fun or anything.”

Tate just watched me. Then she folded her arms tight across her chest, looking small and wet. Her hair was plastered against her forehead. “Whatever. It’s not like it matters.”

“You’re taking it really well.”

Tate took a deep breath and stared up at me. “It wasn’t her.”

For a second, I didn’t say anything. Neither of us did. But we didn’t look away from each other. I could see flecks of green and gold in her eyes and tiny spots so deep and cool they looked purple. I realized that I hadn’t really looked at her in years.

She closed her eyes and moved her lips before she spoke, like she was practicing the words. “It wasn’t my sister in that box, it was something else. I know my sister, and whatever died in that crib, it wasn’t her.”

© Brenna Yovanoff 2010

Tomorrow, the blog tour goes out with a bang over at the brilliant Wondrous Reads, so make sure to swing by there to check out the final stop.

You can check out my review of The Replacement right here.

A special thanks goes to Simon and Schuster UK for inviting me to take part in this blog tour.

Review: Crusade by Linda Press Wulf

13th century France is an unusual setting for a YA novel, and in some ways readers would be correct in assuming that the characters in Linda Press Wulf's historical novel Crusade have very little in common with those of 21st century teenagers. From the age of nine, Georgette has worked as a housekeeper for the village priest; orphan boy Robert was raised in a monastery and educated by an esteemed Abbot. They don't go to school, they don't socialise, and they both have responsiblities way beyond those you'd expect of young people their age today. More than anything, it's their religion that shapes their lives and the way they interpret the world. But as their individual stories collide, Crusade approaches the issue of religious fanaticism and intolerance in a way that is hugely relevant to modern society.

The novel sees Georgette and Robert leaving all they've ever known to join the crusade of a boy who calls himself a prophet; a charismatic young leader whose rousing words inspire them, alongside thousands of other children, to embark on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Drawing upon various historical accounts of a Children's Crusade, Linda Press Wulf's original tale reveals its subtle parallels with the kind of indoctrination that still contributes to religious extremism today. It's the story of two characters navigating the strict teachings of the church and the prejudiced beliefs of their peers, and discovering what they themselves believe to be right and true.

Chiefly, Crusade is Georgette's journey. Part coming-of-age story, part adventure, it's packed with danger and conflict and inner turmoil for our heroine. Though Georgette's innocence is perhaps her most striking characteristic, she also possesses a deceptive inner strength and determination. At a time when most regular people were illiterate and scholars were always male, her natural desire to learn also sets her apart. There's a surprisingly passionate love story here too, as Georgette's journey is mirrored by that of Robert, a scarred outsider with a remarkable intellect who has much to learn about the heart. The narrative voice, while third person, is so intimate that it's easy to get inside both characters' heads and see events as they do.

At under two hundred and fifty pages, this is a fairly brief read but also a rare and poignant one. Whilst the ending perhaps attempts to pack a little too much into a few short chapters, this doesn't detract significantly from the from the overall experience. Rich in period detail and indredibly authentic in voice, it's a book that takes distant legends of a Children's Crusade and transforms them into something vital and powerful. Fans of historical fiction will no doubt be drawn to Crusade, but I'd also recommend it to anyone looking to immerse themselves in a beautifully drawn imagining of a world not often explored in YA fiction.

Out: January 3rd 2011, UK

Many thanks to Bloomsbury for providing a review copy of this book.

Review: Hunted (The Medusa Project) by Sophie McKenzie

I have a bad habit of picking up books part way through a series, with varying degrees of success. Hunted is the fourth book in a series about a group of teens with psychic powers who are recruited to join a top secret government-funded crime-fighting unit. It's also the first book in the series that I've read. Luckily, author Sophie McKenzie has a real gift for getting backstory across without slowing down her trademark edge-of-your-seat action.

Dylan, Ketty, Ed and Nico are the teenagers who make up The Medusa Project, each owing their special abilities to a scientist who discovered the genetic code that makes them what they are. For American born Dylan, that scientist was also the father she never had a chance to know. And when she begins to delve into the circumstances surrounding his death, all four find themselves drawn into her search for his killer. But the question is, will the killer find them first?

The fourth instalment in The Medusa Project is narrated by Dylan, a headstrong and prickly character who doesn't seem to fit in with the other three members of the crime-fighting crew. Her Medusa superpower is the ability to generate a protective shield around herself that can withstand pretty much anything, and in Hunted we see just how apt this really is. Because while Dylan may act like she doesn't need anyone, her tendency to put up barriers between herself and the rest of the team is another form of shield - and this book, coming from her point of view, gives the reader an insight into the real Dylan behind the devil-may-care bravado. Having not read any of the previous books in the series, I felt that Dylan was the most interesting of the main characters - but, being a big fan of other Sophie McKenzie novels, I wouldn't be surprised if the other three seem just as interesting when they're narrating their own instalment.

At around two hundred and fifty pages long, Hunted packs a whole lot of plot into its twenty-eight relatively short chapters. Part thriller, part mystery, there's never a dull moment. We're talking undercover break-and-enter attempts, daring escapes and even the occasional explosion - and all at a fabulously breathtaking pace. Still, there's time in between all that for the occasional hint of romance, which somehow manages to be cute without any slushiness whatsoever. There's also some surprisingly moving character development for Dylan. Though it reads younger than Blood Ties or Girl, Missing, the mystery behind the murder of Dylan's father is twisty enough to keep the YA crowd guessing right up until the end.

While it's easy to pick up and enjoy Hunted without having read the previous three books, I suspect that this series is really best read in chronological order. By itself, Hunted is gripping and enjoyable but not quite as satisfying as Sophie McKenzie's standalone novels, so Medusa Project newbies like me might want to check the earlier three instalments out first to get the full impact. However, if you've already read and enjoyed the first three books, this one is a thrill a minute.

Out: 6th January 2011, UK

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

Review: My Soul To Take by Rachel Vincent

Just when I was beginning to think that urban fantasy authors had to be running out of paranormal species to write about by now, along comes Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers. With four novels in the series already published in the USA, the first - My Soul To Take - finally hits UK shores this month, introducing us to the bizarrely gifted Kaylee Cavanaugh and the world of the bean sidhe. Or, to use their more familiar name, banshees.

Sixteen year old Kaylee has a secret. When she's near to someone who is about to die, she knows it - and she can barely contain the earsplitting scream that instinctively rises up in her throat. And once she starts screaming... she can't stop. The first time it happened, she was labelled crazy and prescribed drugs to eradicate her so-called panic attacks. But this time is different. In a crowded club, she spots a girl that has that darkness about her. By the next morning, the girl is dead. And only schoolmate Nash seems to be able to help her work out what exactly is going on.

Faster paced than your average YA paranormal, My Soul To Take is served up with an extra large helping of mystery. Kaylee's macabre gift makes it impossible for her ignore the similarities between the recent deaths of several local girls, and the swoonworthy Nash just so happens to have Reaper connections that might help them get the answers they're looking for. Because of course, there's romance here too. The spark between everygirl Kaylee and girl-magnet Nash tends towards the type of intense chemistry you'll find between the leads in adult paranormal romance novels, and while it's a familiar enough dynamic the context of bean sidhe lore breathes just enough new life into proceedings to keep things very interesting.

Since YA novels about banshees are few and far between, Rachel Vincent is exploring some new ground here in putting an urban spin on this eerie old legend. Where some paranormal novels seem to be struggling to reinvent the wheel, this one introduces us to a relatively unknown species with worldbuilding that's satisfyingly complex without ever seeming overworked. While the book never gets quite as dark as its subject matter might suggest it could, the intricacies of bean sidhe life are instead portrayed with a touch of welcome wry humour. And though the notion of an entire species whose females are inherently hysterical could make for some dubious gender stereotyping, in fact there's a lot more to Rachel Vincent's banshees than screaming. As a human teenager Kaylee is a fairly ordinary character, but her not-so-human characteristics cast her apparent tendency to freak out in a whole new light that makes for fascinating reading.

My Soul To Take is a promising first instalment in the Soul Screamers series. Rachel Vincent has taken some of the best loved elements of the YA paranormal genre and given them a quirky and unusual twist. The result? Compulsively readable.

Out: 1st January 2011, UK


Thanks to Mira Ink for providing a review copy of this book.

Entangled Blog Tour: Cat Clarke on her favourite teenage reads

Today I'm thrilled to be hosting the ninth stop of the official Entangled book tour. As regular visitors to I Was A Teenage Book Geek may have surmised, Cat Clarke's debut novel is already a bit of a favourite of mine (review here). So of course, I jumped at the chance to ask Cat a few questions about her own favourite teenage reads...

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Welcome Cat! I read somewhere that the idea for Entangled came to you in the midst of an A Level English exam. Are there any particular books or authors from that time that have influenced you as a writer?

I was influenced by Christopher Pike when I was about 12 or 13, but I’m not sure whether any of the writers I read in my late teens have influenced my writing. I read a lot of Richard Laymon, Patricia Cornwell and Stephen King. I guess the thing all the books I read back then had in common was that they were proper page-turners. So perhaps they’ve influenced me in that way – I don’t write pages and pages of description, because that’s not what I like to read.

I would definitely say that Entangled is a total page turner. I couldn't put it down! Which YA character would you compare your teenage self to?

Katniss from The Hunger Games – except I was WAY tougher. Um... maybe Cassandra Mortmain from I Capture the Castle? Actually, I think my teenage self was far too dull to be a half-decent YA character. How depressing is that?!

Book blogging has only really taken off in the last few years. As a teen, where did you get your book recommendations from?

Man, I wish there had been book blogs when I was a teenager! I got book recommendations from my mum. And I randomly picked books from the library shelves – the random approach actually served me pretty well.

Some books are a rite of passage for teens. (example: mine was 'Are You There God, It's Me Margaret' by Judy Blume.) What was your rite of passage book?

I don’t think I had one. (I feel all left out now!) Although I did read Judy Blume... you couldn’t not read Judy Blume!

When I was in high school, teen fiction was all about the big US series books like Sweet Valley High, Point Horror and The Babysitter's Club. Have you ever had a series obsession?

Not when I was a teenager. I read a couple of Point Horror books, but I definitely preferred Christopher Pike. Ooh, I did go through a bit of a Gossip Girl phase about four years ago. I practically inhaled those books.

These days, a lot of people in their twenties and thirties are reading YA. Have you always been a big YA reader, or is it something you've left for a while and gone back to?

I’m ashamed to admit that I left the fold for a few years – but I still read things like Harry Potter and His Dark Materials. It’s only in the past six years or so that I’ve really become immersed in YA again. It’s good to be back.

If you could travel back in time and give 3 recently published YA books to your teenage self, which would you choose and why?

If I could travel back in time I’d do a lot more than give my teenage self some books! I think I’d go for...

Before I Fall – Lauren Oliver
The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins
Some Girls Are – Courtney Summers

I’d hand them over to teenage Cat and say, ‘Read these ASAP. They will get under your skin and inspire you and make you want to write. Then maybe you could write a book now, instead of waiting years and years to get started. Oh, and get yourself some hair straighteners. And don’t wear those white jeans – ever.’
Thanks for having me on your blog, Lauren! Happy New Year to you.

Thanks for stopping by, Cat. And just for the record, I'm entirely with you on the white jeans thing.

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You can check out the full tour schedule in the banner there below, and I'd also highly recommend stopping by Cat Clarke's blog, website and twitter.

Review: 0.4 by Mike Lancaster

Reminiscent of such genre classics as John Christopher's Empty World and John Wyndham's The Midwich Cuckoos, Brit author Mike Lancaster's debut novel 0.4 is the kind of book you pick up with a feeling of mild intrigue and eventually put down hours later having completely forgotten to eat, sleep or possibly even blink for the entire duration.

0.4 comes to us from a future where humankind no longer reads. An editor's note tells us that what follows is the transcript of a series of cassette tapes recorded by a boy named Kyle Straker during the early part of the 21st century. There's a reason these tapes have been reproduced in book form, and that reason - the editor hopes - will become clear as we read. Kyle Straker had a story to tell, and it began on the day his entire community gathered for their village's annual talent show. One minute Kyle is volunteering to take part in a friend's amateur hypnotist act, and the next he's waking to find that things are... not as they were. Not at all. Along with three other volunteers, he emerges from hypnosis to find all the other villagers frozen as still as statues and all phone lines dead. The world is still - except for the four who were hypnotised. And they have no idea what has happened.

At once eerie and rivteing, 0.4 is the story of this mysterious and inexplicable event as seen through the eyes of teenager Kyle. As far beyond our comprehension as it is Kyle's, it's a situation that leaves reader and protagonist alike struggling to come up with a theory to explain what has happened and why. Seasoned fans of the genre will no doubt be able to come up with a hypothesis or two, but the beauty of 0.4 is that it offers a genuinely 'now' take on some familiar sci-fi territory. There's no way I'm going to risk spoiling this one's secrets, but what I will say is that when it comes, the big reveal is well worth waiting for.

Fast-paced and engrossing, 0.4 combines a heavily plot-driven story with substantial food for thought. While Kyle perhaps isn't the most memorable protagonist you'll encounter, he's exactly the kind of everyboy that this novel calls for. He's easy to identify with, and his instinctive urge to puzzle his way out of his plight will resonate with readers gripped by the unfolding mystery. The occasional footnote brings a lighter note to Kyle's narrative as the editor attempts to illuminate the intended audience's interpretation of the tapes - and, in doing so, gradually reveals to us just how much the world has changed since our time. And as a whole, this novel has a haunting power that might just leave you with an uncanny sense that your world might not be quite as it seems, either.

0.4 is pure sci-fi genius, created around a mindblowing central concept. It's fascinating and thought-provoking and, like all of the best sci-fi, curiously convincing. In fact, I can most definitely see future generations of readers citing 0.4 as the book that got them hooked on the genre. With a sequel already planned for 2012, Mike Lancaster's version of humankind's future is one I can hardly wait to revisit. Brilliant.

Out: 3rd January 2011, UK / March 8th 2011, US (as 'Human.4')

A huge thanks to Egmont for providing a review copy of this book.