Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Title: Speechless

Author: Hannah Harrington

Release Date: 28th August 2012

My Rating: 5/5

Also by Hannah Harrington: Saving June

Blurb:

Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret… Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast — and nearly got someone killed.

Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence — to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting everyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.

But there's strength in silence, and in new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way. People she never noticed before. A boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself…

In A Nutshell: 

Words can't really describe how awesome this book is, no pun intended. It is a story about standing up and doing the right thing, even if the consequences may seem too much. Being yourself and finding true friends and happiness is always an option, if you let it be one. I have big love for this book.

My Review:

Wow. I am absolutely speechless, no pun intended. This book was amazing. I had very high expectations after the brilliance of Saving June, and Speechless totally lived up to them.

Speechless is a novel about bullying, homophobia, self-esteem, the meaning of friendship and forgiveness. It is about thinking before you speak and how your actions can affect others.

Chelsea is an incredibly strong character. She never used to think about what she did or said because it meant she got to be popular and she felt it was justified because being part of the "in crowd" at high school is the only way to survive. It’s no excuse for her behaviour but Speechless shows how you can change for the better and still find happiness even if everything you once thought was important is taken away from you. As she distances herself from toxic friendships, she discovers that not all friendships require so much work and that there are people out there that wont try and change you, but will like the real you and let you be you and wont make you feel guilty for the things you like in life.

There will always be people like Warren and Joey and Lowell and Derek. But there will always be people like Asha and Sam, Lou and Dex, Andy and Noah. Stand up to bullying. Find your voice. Don’t be Speechless. Words matter. There are always consequences. 

Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Title: Wonder
Author: R.J. Palacio

Release Date: 14th February 2012

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:
I won't describe what I look like. Whatever you're thinking, it's probably worse.

August (Auggie) Pullman was born with a facial deformity that prevented him from going to a mainstream school—until now. He's about to start 5th grade at Beecher Prep, and if you've ever been the new kid then you know how hard that can be. The thing is Auggie's just an ordinary kid, with an extraordinary face. But can he convince his new classmates that he's just like them, despite appearances?

R. J. Palacio has written a spare, warm, uplifting story that will have readers laughing one minute and wiping away tears the next. With wonderfully realistic family interactions (flawed, but loving), lively school scenes, and short chapters, Wonder is accessible to readers of all levels.

In A Nutshell: A heart-warming story that everyone should read!

My Review:
Nothing I could possibly say would do Wonder justice. It is such a beautifully written, heartbreaking, but heart-warming, story.

Wonder follows ten-year-old August Pullman as he experiences his first year at school, having been home-schooled until now. What makes his story worth reading is that Auggie has severe facial deformities, and for a world that continues to judge people on their appearance, this new experience will not be an easy one. Told from multiple perspectives including August’s sister Via, his new friends Jack and Summer, Via’s boyfriend Justin, and August himself, we are able to see how other people view August and how he has impacted and influenced their lives, and vice-versa.

Wonder is a story about bullying, acceptance, respect, friendship, sacrifices, self-esteem, love and family. It is a story of enormous courage, as one little boy grows up over the course of a year, and touches so many people’s lives in the process. From a social outcast to someone who brings his whole school together, over the course of a year, August Pullman is a boy who used to hide, but now stands front and centre.

This is a novel everyone should read; children (9+), teenager and adult, and you will particularly enjoy it if you liked North of Beautiful, Skin Deep, Five Flavours of Dumb and/or Beautiful Monster.

********

I know I’m not a normal ten-year-old kid. I mean, sure, I do ordinary things. And I feel ordinary, inside. But I know ordinary kids don’t make other ordinary kids run away screaming in playgrounds. I know ordinary kids don’t get stared at wherever they go.

If I found a magic lamp and I could have one wish, I would wish that I had a normal face that no one ever noticed at all. I would wish that I could walk down the street without people seeing me and then doing that look-away thing. Here’s what I think: the only reason I’m not ordinary is that no one else sees me that way.

But I’m kind of used to how I look now. I know how to pretend I don’t see the faces people make. -August, Ordinary

********

Does August see how other people see him, or has he gotten so good at pretending not to see that it doesn’t bother him? Or does it bother him? When he looks in the mirror, does he see the Auggie Mum and Dad see, or does he see the Auggie everyone else sees? Or is there another August he sees, someone in his dreams behind the misshapen head and face?

I wish I could ask him this stuff. I wish he would tell me how he feels.
-Via, August Through the Peephole

********

It’s like some people you see sometimes, and you can’t imagine what it would be like to be that person, whether it’s somebody in a wheelchair or somebody who can’t talk. Only I know that I am that person to other people, maybe to every single person in that whole auditorium.

To me, though, I’m just me. An ordinary kid.
-August, Floating

Second Opinions
So Much to Tell You

Wish You Were Dead by Todd Strasser

Title: Wish You Were Dead
Author: Todd Strasser

Release Date: 1st December 2011 (Aust), First Published 2009 (US)

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:
Someone is blogging about the local high-school kids. The comments aren't kind, but are they cruel taunts or vicious threats? No one is sure until the popular but bitchy Lucy Cunningham goes missing... then the hunt is on to a catch a murderer.

A blogger is listing the kids that should die.
A killer is picking them off one by one.

In A Nutshell:
A gripping thriller that keeps you guessing until the end.

My Review:
Wish You Were Dead is a mystery/psychological thriller that is completely gripping right from the first page. The story has three parts. First there are blog entries throughout the book from a student who is bullied at school every day. This person has decided to vent their frustration and anger on their new blog. Secondly, the story is told from the perspective of Madison Archer, one of the extremely wealthy and popular students at Soundview High, whose close friends are going missing. Thirdly, we get snippets of conversation from the kidnapper, taunting the kidnapped teenagers.

Right from the beginning the reader is kept on edge. There are five blog entries where the bullied student says they wish Lucy Cunningham was dead. Then in the first chapter, Lucy is kidnapped. Madison, who was the last person to see Lucy before she disappeared, and turns out to be the last person to speak to the kidnappers’ second victim, is worried she could be next. Not only does she get the feeling someone is watching her, but she has an online stalker who she knows nothing about except that they go to her school, and someone keeps leaving her notes saying she and her friends are in danger.

Who is writing the blog posts? Who is the mysterious online stalker ‘PBleecker’? Who is leaving Madison notes? And most importantly, who is kidnapping the popular kids of Soundview High?!

Madison is a very likeable character. She may be one of the rich, popular kids but she does have a conscience and cares and listens to others, not just those in her clique. She’s not like the other girls who just want to be on the arm of the best-looking guy in school. In fact she has her sights set on the loner new guy who wanders around in a trench coat and drives a beat-up old car. Now if she could just figure out what to say to him (I get the same good-person feelings from her as I did from Veronica from TV’S Veronica Mars, or Annabel from Sarah Dessen’s Just Listen)!

Todd Strasser highlights bullying in a way that shows just how horrible some kids can feel. You should always watch what you put out into the world, whether it be the way you treat someone or what you say to their face, behind their back or on social media.

Wish You Were Dead sucks you in and demands you sit there and read the whole book until you find out which people are behind everything. It’s very suspenseful as you never know who will be taken next, whether it be Madison or one of her friends, and that fear of being kidnapped and tormented stays with the reader until the end. And just so you know, it has a satisfying ending. I wasn’t disappointed like other mystery stories that can be a bit anti-climactic.

Thankyou to Margaret at Walker Books for this review copy :)

Have You Seen Ally Queen? by Deb Fitzpatrick

Title: Have You Seen Ally Queen?
Author: Deb Fitzpatrick

Release Date: 1st September 2011

My Rating: 3/5

Blurb:

Ally Queen is fifteen, flat-chested and totally trapped in a tiny coastal town where the Killer Pythons are stale and there are only three types of people: bogans, surfies and spinach-munching hippies. How could her parents ever have thought moving to Melros was a good idea?

With her best friend miles away, and deep-and-meaningfuls only as long as a text message, it's a bad time for Ally to be having a personality crisis. She's torn between who she is and who she wants to be. No wonder she doesn't have a boyfriend - unless you count the irritating guy on the school bus who seems to be keen on her.

But first impressions can be deceptive...

In A Nutshell:
A realistic and relevant book for girls aged 13+ set in a fictional West Australian coastal town.

My Review:
Poor Ally Queen. At fifteen, she is struggling with the feelings of how unfair being a teenager can be when you don’t have control over your life. Her parents have uprooted her, and her little brother Jerry, to live in a small coastal town an hour south of Perth, Western Australia. Not only does she have to change schools, but she has to adjust to a whole new way of living.

For Ally, all she sees is that she has been pulled away from everything she is used to and separated from her friends. She doesn’t care about why they have moved or what the so-called benefits of living in Melros are, she just concentrates on the fact that she hates it.

Fifteen is a difficult, awkward and confusing time for a girl and Ally really struggles with feeling so out of place, especially since her family appears to be fitting in so well. She’s emotional and lashes out at those around her, even when she tries not to.

Ally is actually pretty unlikeable initially. She is selfish and whines all the time about how much she hates her life and how it’s all her parent’s fault. That said, I would be just as annoyed if my parents forced me to leave my home town and move somewhere where I didn’t know anyone. As a teenager, it’s often difficult to look beyond yourself and consider others, especially when the reasons for the change are not fully explained to you, as in Ally’s case.

The novel looks at how people deal with change and has Ally trying to cope with being bullied at her new school. It looks at how a family is affected and tries to manage with a loved one who is suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The setting was beautifully written and it was nice to read a book set in areas I know (I live in Perth, the city were Ally has moved from) and many of the locations that are talked about I am quite familiar with. One of the only things that annoyed me was that I thought some of the language Ally used was a little bit too stereotypically Australian which I don’t necessarily think a city girl would use.

Overall, a realistic and relevant book for girls aged 13+


Also by Deb Fitzpatrick: 90 Packets of Instant Noodles

A Season of Transformation by Jayne Fordham

Title: A Season of Transformation
Author: Jayne Fordham

Release Date: 30th March 2011

My Rating: 3/5

Blurb:

A Season of Transformation is a young adult fantasy/ romance novel set in the contemporary world. It is the story of five young people drawn together to complete a Quest, to protect their town from destruction. In order to defeat the story’s villain, Maxvale, the five virtual strangers must come together and not only forge a bond of trust but become proficient with the ‘abilities’ temporarily bestowed upon them.

In the midst of the lead up to the battle each of the young people has their own personal struggles they are trying to deal with. Lucas, an adopted and bitter teenager struggles to become the person he wants to be whilst developing feelings for Makenna, a rich kid who doesn’t like his attitude. Bonnie is a ‘gothic’ that is dealing with an alcoholic father, Ben the school nerd and Adam the class clown are trying to break free from their high school stereotypes. Can these five teens put their differences aside to defeat Maxvale and save their town?

In A Nutshell:
A Season of Transformation is a middle grade/young adult fantasy novel set in a small community outside of Sydney. It's a story about looking beyond stereotypes, having confidence, courage, and somewhere to belong.

My Review:
When five unlikely high school students are mysteriously granted magical abilities so they can save their town, they must work together, despite their differences, to avoid a centuries old act of revenge from ruining their community. From the perspective of Makenna, we see how the characters are challenged to look beyond stereotypes, as they become more efficient with their new abilities, their confidence builds as they face their insecurities, new friendships and feeling emerge and each person individually shines.

As a title, A Season of Transformation refers to all five main characters. Over the course of three months, they not only experience having some pretty cool new abilities but each of their lives transform in their own way. Each of our heroes all fit a particular stereotype - the jerk (Lucas), the nerd (Ben), the class clown (Adam), the goth (Bonnie) and the rich girl (Makenna). It looks at how each of them are treated in a high school, their feelings because if this, and why they have allowed a stereotype to represent them. The story brings these five together, who would normally never be friends, let alone even talk to each other.

To me, the fantasy element only played a small part of the story. Their new found powers (telekineasis, super speed, photographic memory, invisibility and the ability to walk through walls) are what brought them together and what they will ultimately use when the time comes, but it wasn't a main genre of the story. The powers overall aren't too ridiculous and they simmer away to a degree that I forgot it was a fantasy and not a general teen fiction. I really liked this since I have trouble with some fantasy novels. I got very caught up in the lives of each of the characters and really hoped they would find their place in the group. There was also a delicious new romance with all those early feelings of excitement that I got totally caught up in.

My only tiny issue with the story was that I sometimes got the feeling that it was being told to someone who hadn't experienced high school before. There was a lot of detail explaining each stereotype, especially the goths, but also the general school day. I personally don't think some of it was needed.

There are many issues discussed throughout A Season Of Transformation, some in depth, some only lightly touched upon. Bullying and confidence are the main ones but so is adoption, the death of a parent, friendships, relationships, and having an alcoholic parent. I believe it would be a good text for ages 12 to 15 to study, or in the very least, read. While I know the author is a psychologist, I wonder if she has been a school psychologist. The content suggests so.

You can purchase A Season Of Transformation via Amazon (Kindle) or Lulu (Kindle or Paperback).

Jayne Fordham's website.
A Season of Transformation on Goodreads

Little Sister by Aimee Said

Title: Little Sister
Author: Aimee Said

Release Date: 1st May 2011

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:

I logged on to Facebook and mentally added the status update I would've posted if I didn't think most of Whitlam High would see it: Al Miller wishes she was an only child.

Al Miller is counting down the days until her over-achieving older sister Larrie finishes Year Twelve and leaves Whitlam High School for ever. Then, Al is certain, people will finally see her as more than just “Larrie’s little sister”. But when a rumour about Larrie spreads around school, Al finds herself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Who’s behind the rumour? And will it kill Al’s chances with school hunk, Josh Turner?

My Review:
Little Sister is for anyone who has ever felt out-shined by a sibling, felt under appreciated by family members or felt like the black sheep of the family. Even though I am the older sister and my sister is the over-achieving one, I was still able to relate to many aspects of the book and the sibling rivalry is something that many sisters (and those with brothers) will recognise. There are plenty of teen issues addressed in this book, especially bullying, cyber bullying and homophobia in schools. Friendship, personal identity, self acceptance, understanding and the labels people give others are all highlighted in an effective way.

I felt I could relate to Al and feel sympathy for her because I too thought the way she was treated was horribly unfair. But, when Al learnt of Larrie's secret, Al was horrified and extremely angry. She acted like a selfish, spoilt brat and really over-dramatised her situation. While I understand why she acted in this way, I didn't feel much sympathy towards her again until she had the realisation as to why she was behaving this way. Her reaction and annoyance could be misunderstood by the reader (as was the case with me), but I think that having that reaction, mirrors how Al is confused and it takes a couple of supporting characters to really help Al get to the issue at hand.

Al's behaviour all comes down to the fact that she is sick of being associated with and compared to her over-achieving older sister, scandal or not. It's not the secret that upsets Al, it's that she is never seen as anyone other than "Larrie's little sister". Thankfully Al does learn a lesson from all the events that take place.

"There is little to be gained by trying to compare ourselves with others. We all have our own talents and abilities, and we shouldn't let other people's expectations of us stop expressing who we really are. Our genes may shape us, but it is up to us to define ourselves."

And what say I concerning Josh Turner, Al's love interest? Predictable, but fitting, in true teen fashion.

Fans of Aimee Said's debut, Finding Freia Lockhart, will enjoy Little Sister just as much, if not more.

Everything Beautiful by Simmone Howell

Title: Everything Beautiful
Author: Simmone Howell

Release Date: 1st November 2008

My Rating: 2/5

Blurb:
I believe in Chloe and chocolate.
I believe the best part is always before.
I believe that most girls are shifty and most guys are dumb.
I believe the more you spill, the less you are.
I don't believe in life after death or diuretics or happy endings.
I don't believe anything good can come from this.

Riley Rose doesn't want to be at Spirit Ranch Holiday Camp. Riley wants to be partying with her best friend Chloe at the beautiful Ben Sebatini's house. She has a plan to get away from the jumpsuit-wearing counsellors, the feel-good mantras, do-gooder campers and the monotonous schedule of team-building exercises and outdoor activities.

But is everything at the Spirit Ranch as it appears? What secrets are waiting for discovery in the abandoned Fraser house? And why doesn't anyone want to talk about the accident that landed the mysterious Dylan in a wheelchair last year?

My Review:
I had been wanting to read this for such a long time and I had heard so many wonderful things about it but I was kind of disappointed, it just didn't grab me like I thought it would. I can't quite put my finger on why though.

Riley is a pretty miserable girl who hides behind false bravado and seeks 'companionship' wherever she can find it. Due to the death of her mother and her father's new way of living - and girlfriend- Riley finds herself best buds with Chloe, a total wild child and Riley is her new protégé. Finding comfort in food, boys, bitterness, bitchiness and an I-don't-give-a-shit attitude, Riley is on her way to self destruction.

Forced into attending Spirit Ranch for a week (cliché filled and enough to drive me crazy) Riley decides to stir up as much trouble as she can. But, despite all her own pain, there is a good person hiding inside and she still manages to help others around her, the camp outcasts Olive and Bird, self-pitying Dylan and sheltered Sarita. The question is, as Riley's days at camp slowly come to a close, has she learnt anything? And have those around her managed to help her find what she has been searching for?

This is a relatively good read with a message of self-esteem and kindness between the pages but overall, for me, it just didn't live up to the hype.

The Truth About Leo by David Yelland

Title: The Truth About Leo
Author: David Yelland

Release Date: 10th May 2010

My Rating: 5/5

'It had happened again. Dad had shouted and yelled, thrown things and smashed things up. And then he had quietly cleaned everything away'.Leo's dad has changed. Since Mum died, his drinking is worse and now he's a different person, someone Leo doesn't recognise. The truth is that Leo is covering up for him and when things get bad Leo escapes into his own head, pretending every thing's OK. Things need to change, but what can Leo do? No one understands, except maybe his friend Flora. Leo wants his old dad back so they can be happy again - because Dad is all he has left.

This was one of the most heart-wrenching and powerful books I have ever read. I felt so much pain for this little boy whose life was completely miserable, I just wanted to reach out and hug him. It is an important story about friendship and love, and that no matter how bad things get, there will always be someone out there who cares, and that you are not alone with your suffering. Life can get better.

Ten-year-old Leo lives everyday with the pain of having lost his Mum to cancer. He also lives with a secret; he's lost his Dad as well. Leo's father is an alcoholic, and everyday Leo works to keep this a secret from those around him, because if someone were to find out, he would be taken away; from his Dad, their house and the memories of his mother. He never knows what mood his father will be in, and his school life is no better. Due to all the problems at home, his school work and attendance has suffered and he is constantly bullied by his horrible teacher and the other kids. As a coping mechanism, Leo has created his own world, Planet Leo, one he can escape to when things get bad, remembering the time he spent with his Mum and dreaming about an alternative life for himself. But Leo can't escape from everything, and one devastating afternoon, his secret is discovered.

'Inside the house, Leo and Dad were actors in a play that played every day and every night. But they were the only audience too.'

Leo has a highly unstable home life, one where he is the parent, taking care of his father like a child. While this is a story told from the perspective of a 10 year old, it does deal with adult issues, and should only be read by mature ten-year-olds and upwards. It would also be the kind of book that a parent and child could read together with the benefit being the issues could be further explained.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Title: Before I Fall
Author: Lauren Oliver

Release Date: 1st April 2010 (Australia)

My Rating: 5/5

'They say that when you die, your whole life flashes before your eyes, but that's not how it happened for me'

Sam Kingston is dead. Except she isn't.

On a rainy February night, eighteen-year-old Sam is killed in a horrific car crash. But then the impossible happens: she wakes up in her own bed, on the morning of the day that she died. Forced to live over and over the last day of her life - the drive to school, skipping classes, the fateful party - she desperately struggles to alter the outcome, but every morning she wakes up on the day of the crash.

This is a story of a girl who dies young, but in the process learns how to live. And who falls in love...a little too late.

I truly loved ‘Before I Fall’ and read it in one sitting. For a debut novel it is amazing! I laughed, I cried, it completely blew me away.

Each day, Samantha learns something new about the type of person she is/has been, as well as discovering new things about those around her. She has seven days to try and fix her own fate and those of the people around her and as she learns along the way that maybe the purpose of her do-overs are not to save her own life, but the lives of her peers.

I have seen in some other reviews that some people feel the book is too long, especially as Sam repeats her days, but I disagree. I find that each day gets told differently as Sam discovers new things and decides to play the day differently, especially day four.

This is a great YA book as it deals with issues that teens are constantly surrounded by; friends, bullies, awkwardness, high school, the highs and the lows, relationships, drinking, sex, drunk driving, drama, pain, love and hate, secrets and lies. It may also help readers dealing with their own insecurities, pain, or identity. It is a story that reminds us what really matters in life and that everyone has their own problems, even if they are not visible on the surface.

Sometimes the smallest action against someone can truly affect them and change their life forever.

**Major Spoiler Alert**
I would have loved a final chapter or epilogue to find out how the characters Sam helped along the way deal with her death. This is probably because when you find a story and/or characters that you really enjoy reading, you never want it to end, but I also recognise the fact that the aftermath is not what the story is about. Still, I would love a follow up book that comes from the perspective of Juliet, starting as she heads to the party (on Sam’s seventh day).

When I Was Joe by Keren David

Title: When I Was Joe
Author: Keren David

Release Date: 1st March 2010

My Rating: 4/5

It's one thing watching someone get killed. It's quite another talking about it.

But Ty does talk about it. He names some ruthless people and a petrol-bomb attack forces him and his mum into hiding under police protection.

Shy loser Ty gets a new name, a new look and a cool new image. Life as Joe is good. But the gangsters will stop at nothing to silence him. And then he meets a girl with a dangerous secret of her own.

When I Was Joe is a very well written book about 14-year-old Ty, who witnesses a murder and then has to go into the Witness Protection Program. Ty becomes Joe. But things are never that easy.

This book deals with plenty of teenage issues from peer pressure, depression, self harm and bullying to friendship, relationships, fear, change, truth, lies and manipulation. And one hell of an emotional roller-coaster.

I am really, really looking forward to the sequel 'Almost True'.