Me Since You by Laura Wiess

Title: Me Since You
Author: Laura Wiess

Release Date: 18th February 2014

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:
Are there any answers when someone you love makes a tragic choice?

Before and After. That’s how Rowan Areno sees her life now. Before: she was a normal sixteen-year-old—a little too sheltered by her police officer father and her mother. After: everything she once believed has been destroyed in the wake of a shattering tragedy, and every day is there to be survived.

If she had known, on that Friday in March when she cut school, that a random stranger’s shocking crime would have traumatic consequences, she never would have left campus. If the crime video never went viral, maybe she could have saved her mother, grandmother — and herself — from the endless replay of heartache and grief.

Finding a soul mate in Eli, a witness to the crime who is haunted by losses of his own, Rowan begins to see there is no simple, straightforward path to healing wounded hearts. Can she learn to trust, hope, and believe in happiness again?

In A Nutshell:

Me Since You is a raw and honest portrayal of grief and depression. It is the story of a family’s struggle to hold it all together when their life has been ripped apart and the special people who stick around hoping to eventually see a smile or ray of sunshine shine through once again.

My Review:
When a book so perfectly reflects real life emotions, how can you fault it? Me Since You will take hold of your heart and squeeze it until you feel as though you can no longer breathe. Just like the characters, you will cry until you didn't think it was possible to cry anymore. And then you’ll cry some more.

Me Since You is one of the most emotionally draining books I have ever read yet it is so beautiful and real in how it portrays depression and grief and everything that comes with the territory. After a heartbreaking tragedy strikes Rowen’s small town, the events that follow directly change the course of her and her family’s life. There are snide comments and vicious opinions, a town reeling from the devastating effects of suicide, the spiralling depression that engulfs Rowen’s father, and the anger and resentment felt through not understanding mental health issues. There’s the wishing that everything can just go back to the way it was, the confusion, the hurt, the pain, and the hole that is left when someone is suddenly gone.

The novel carefully examines how families, immediate and extended, are effected and how everyone grieves differently. Friendships can crumble or grow stronger depending on how individuals react and understand the process when everything in life changes and there is no easy answer as to how or when to move on. There is also a strong element recognising the healing power of animals and the love and bond between humans and four-legged friends. While I do not have personal experience in the types of tragedy Rowen lives, I do know something about grief and while this book will demand that you have a box of tissues next to you, for at least half the book, it will leave you a better, more understanding person for reading it.

Me Since You is a raw and honest portrayal of grief and depression. It is the story of a family’s struggle to hold it all together when their life has been ripped apart and the special people who stick around hoping to eventually see a smile or ray of sunshine shine through once again.

Something Like Normal by Trish Doller

Title: Something Like Normal

Author: Trish Doller

Release Date: 19th June 2012

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:

When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.

In A Nutshell:
Trish Doller has crafted what I perceive to be a realistic portrayal of young returned servicemen who are struggling to cope with readjusting to the ‘real world’. I loved Something Like Normal and felt so much love for it while turning the pages and upon finishing it. Sometimes you just feel something for a book that words can’t properly describe. Something Like Normal is one of those books for me.

My Review:
Twenty-year-old Travis has returned home to Florida for a short break after 18 months in Afghanistan with the Marines. However, his trip homes doesn't end up being much of a 'break' with all the family drama he comes back to. His super-proud mum is grateful to have her son home and alive and is so desperate to help and be part of his life again that she is rather overbearing. It’s totally understandable, but a little too much for Travis to handle. But with her son home and with his support, Travis’s mum finally has the strength to do something about her husband’s infidelity. His brother, who is dating Travis’s ex-girlfriend, who broke up with him in a Dear John letter, is pretty indifferent to his return yet his ex, Paige, can’t stop sneaking back into his bed for night time visits. And Travis’s father, as an ex-football player, has never respected or supported Travis since he quit football, something he never liked and was mostly under the shadow of his father’s championship career. While Travis never intended to join the Marines until the day he signed up (mainly to escape his father), he has become his own person and excelled in his field. Upon his return, now more than ever, Travis and his father butt heads. The difference now is that Travis is big enough to stand up to him. 

While his family is falling apart around him, Travis struggles with PTSD and is haunted by the death of his best friend Charlie, a fellow marine, who keeps appearing and talking to him. With his mind playing tricks on him, Travis keeps this hidden from those around him, desperate to get back to base, and have things go back to ‘normal’. 

Adjusting back home into his old friendship group is harder than expected. His mates are all still hanging around their home town, lazing about and not moving forward with their lives. Travis on the other hand has grown up and experienced and witnessed things the others probably couldn’t even imagine. The usual hometown gossip is of no interest to him and he just wants to get back to base. Home doesn’t feel like home any more.

Thankfully, Travis has a visit from some of the others guys in his platoon. These guys show that everyone handles and processes thing differently and that there is no ‘normal’ way to feel.

And then there’s the girl. Harper was the first girl Travis can remember wanting but after embellishing the truth about supposed events during a ‘Seven Minutes in Heaven’ game with her back when they were 14, Travis blew any hope of Harper ever speaking to him again. The high school rumour mill exploded and Harper’s hatred towards Travis is still as strong as ever six years later. However, after a random meeting and a punch in the face from her, Travis’s luck with Harper begins to change. Harper opens the door for Travis to have a second chance, and perhaps give herself the only real chance she’s ever had. She’s a good person and always liked him until the ill-fated game. Harper and Travis slowly begin spending more time with each other including a night-time beach expedition to watch baby sea turtles hatch. It’s easier for Travis to hang out with Harper than any of his old friends because there are no expectations with her. When he is with her, he is sweet but broken. He doesn’t need to show the bravado that he does in front of his high school friends, ex-girlfriend, brother and father. He can be himself, let his guard down and in that, start to address the PTSD he is suffering.

Trish Doller has crafted what I perceive to be a realistic portrayal of young returned servicemen who are struggling to cope with readjusting to the ‘real world’. I loved Something Like Normal and felt so much love for it while turning the pages and upon finishing it. I adored Travis. I’d want him to have my back any day. And I loved Harper. She’s the kind of girl I would be best friends with. It has taken me weeks to try and find the right words to describe why I loved it so much but I just can’t find them. Sometimes you just feel something for a book that words can’t describe. Something Like Normal is one of those books for me.

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: The Impossible Knife of Memory

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Release Date: 2nd January 2014

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:

For the past five years Hayley Kincain and her father, Andy, have been on the road, never staying long in one place as he struggles to escape the demons that have tortured him since his return from Iraq.

Now they are back in town where he grew up so Hayley can go to a proper school. Perhaps, for the first time, Hayley can have a normal life, put aside her own painful memories, even have a relationship with Finn, the hot guy who obviously likes her but is hiding secrets of his own.

Will being back home help Andy's PTSD, or will his terrible memories drag him to the edge of hell, and drugs push him over?

In a Nutshell:

From the first page, The Impossible Knife of Memory took hold and wouldn't let go. It's a novel full of emotion, respect, pain and love. Beautifully articulated from Hayley's perspective but with snippets of Andy's memories dispersed throughout, it clenched my heart and left me at pains to think of what so many people are, and will continue, to go through. It's an exploration of a father and daughter attempting to piece themselves back together and the life events that lead them to realise that accepting or asking for help is not a measure of failure.

My Review:

The Impossible Knife of Memory reflects the often forgotten casualties of war; the servicemen and women who return from their tours with injuries invisible to the eye. Not only does Laurie Halse Anderson respectfully, carefully and thoughtfully explore the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) on a veteran, she also looks at the way in which their loved ones are effected and this is done through the point of view of seventeen-year-old Hayley.

Not to give too much of the story away, here's a little about Hayley's situation: Hayley's dad, Captain Andy Kincain, served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan for much of her childhood, leaving her to be raised by her Grandmother after her mother died when Hayley was only five months old. After her grandmother died, Hayley was brought up by Andy's 'Base Bunny', Trish, the closest thing to a mother Hayley had ever known. Due to suffering multiple injuries, her dad returned, injured in more ways than just physically. The relationship between Trish and her dad fell apart eventuating with Trish walking out on them both. Ever since, Hayley and her dad have moved from town to town with Andy home-schooling her. 

After an 'incident', Andy decides it's time to put down proper roots and returns to his hometown so Hayley can complete her final year of high school, much to Hayley's disdain. Adjusting to a new school is hard enough, but when you've never been to a high school, things are somewhat harder, regardless of the situation at home. She is frustrated by the system and the 'zombies' around her and doesn't give much stock to her guidance counsellor's efforts to get her to think about college. Hayley has never really given her future a thought given her position with her dad and while her friends dream of ways to escape their town, Hayley has never felt she's had the luxury of planning her future.

"My earbuds were in, but I wasn't playing music. I needed to hear the world but didn't want the world to know I was listening"

Hayley has very few memories of her childhood, having blocked most of them in an effort to forget and protect herself from further hurt. You can't miss what you don't remember but even the memories she does have are unreliable. The abandonment she felt after Trish left has turned into anger and coupled with her dad's psychological state, she suffers from anxiety, scared of what condition she may find her father in and her constant concerns for his safety. She is often left playing the parent, cleaning up after him as he numbs his pain and escapes his memories with alcohol and drugs. Her loyalty to her father and her belief that the two of them can make it work keeps her from letting those around her into the complexity of her life. The sudden and unwanted return of Trish adds to the unpredictability of Hayley and Andy's lives.

Hayley's friendship with Gracie and the inklings of a possible romance with Finn keep her floating above water, although she isn't the only one with a somewhat complicated home-life. Her friends are suffering through financial strain, a sibling's addiction problem, a messy divorce, and self-medication. But regardless of their problems, they provide each other with glimmers of hope and happiness.

From the first page, The Impossible Knife of Memory took hold and wouldn't let go. It's a novel full of emotion, respect, pain and love. Beautifully articulated from Hayley's perspective but with snippets of Andy's memories dispersed throughout, it clenched my heart and left me at pains to think of what so many people are, and will continue, to go through. It's an exploration of a father and daughter attempting to piece themselves back together and the life events that lead them to realise that accepting or asking for help is not a measure of failure.

Thankyou to Text Publishing for this review copy.

The Dead I Know by Scot Gardner

Title: The Dead I Know
Author: Scot Gardner

Release Date: 1st May 2011

My Rating: 4/5

Blurb:

Aaron Rowe walks in his sleep. He has dreams he can't explain, and memories he can't recover. Death doesn't scare him - his new job may even be his salvation. But if he doesn't discover the truth about his hidden past soon, he may fall asleep one night and never wake up.

In A Nutshell:
I loved The Dead I Know. It was suspenseful, heart-breaking, touching and hopeful. It can get a bit dark at times so I would recommend it for ages 15+.

My Review:
The Dead I Know begins with a lot of mystery surrounding our main character Aaron. He has shown up for his first day working at a funeral parlour looking worse for wear and with an antisocial attitude. We don't know a lot about him except that he's a bit of a loner, lives in a caravan park with Mam, who we assume to be his mother, and that she has some kind of mental illness. Because of Mam's apparent illness, Aaron has to play the role of the parent the majority of the time and since it is just him and Mam, there is a lot sitting on his young shoulders. On top of this, he's having trouble with his violent and drug-addicted neighbour and he has recently started sleepwalking and having disturbing nightmares. It is evident he is troubled but the question is, what traumatic memories are hidden away in his subconscious?

"If Mam were an alcoholic, her mental state would be easy to explain. If she'd taken drugs or had an accident, her luck-of-the-draw world would make more sense. Sometimes she was lucid and practical; other times she was a stormy two-year-old. There was no rhyme or flow, just what she was served. Yet, for all her shifting states, she never woke with a stranger's broken hairbrush in her hand."

Aaron needs mindless, repetitive tasks to stay focused and keep himself calm, meaning being an assistant at a funeral home is perfect for him. He doesn't have a problem with death. That doesn't however make him a morbid, angry teenager wanting to kill everyone.... he just understands it. I know that the fact the book is set in a funeral home might deter some people from picking it up, but please don't let it stop you. There are a couple of moments when you might get a tad squeamish but it's really not the focus of the book. It's about Aaron and whether or not he can put his past behind him and find peace of mind.

"The police protected the living, ambulance officers protected the injured and we protected the dead. All as it should be."

The Barton's, who own the funeral parlour, are such lovely people and I thought that John Barton was the perfect person to help Aaron during this particularly difficult time. John takes him under his wing, subtly providing him with a support network without Aaron really realising it. Throughout the story, Aaron's past slowly comes to light, expertly drawn from him by John's precocious 12-year-old daughter Skye (who I started off really disliking but quickly found the value of her personality). What we come to realise is that Aaron is a broken boy struggling with not only the horror of his past (which is so tragically sad!), but also the pain, pressure and denial that comes with having a loved one suffering from dementia (something I am all too familiar with).

I honestly really loved The Dead I Know. It was suspenseful, heart-breaking, touching and hopeful. I read the whole thing in one sitting, I was just so desperate to know what had happened to Aaron and that he would be ok. I really came to care for him as a character and was able to identify with him in reference to his struggles with Mam. Recommended for ages 15+

And if that's not enough, it comes recommended by John Marsden, "I have never read a book more gripping, nor more triumphantly alive"

Thankyou to Allen and Unwin for providing me with this review copy.

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Title: Where She Went
Series: If I Stay Book 2
Author: Gayle Forman

Release Date: 1st April 2011

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:

It's been three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life. And there years he's spent wondering why.

When their paths cross again in New York City, Adam and Mia are brought back together for one life-changing night.

Adam finally has the opportunity to ask Mia the questions that have been haunting him. But will a few hours in this magical city be enough to lay their past to rest, for good - or can you really have a second chance at first love?

What I thought of If I Stay:
"This is a beautiful and heart-wrenching story that is not only about love, but also about what makes a family, the meaning of friendship and the magic of music."

My Review:
I'm warning you now, this is going to be a long review because I absolutely loved everything about Where She Went. It picks up three years after Mia awoke from her coma in If I Stay and, unlike If I Stay, Where She Went is entirely from Adam's perspective.

Adam is in pain. After his band became the biggest thing in the music biz, thanks to the songs he wrote about the hurt and confusion he suffered after Mia left, Adam is hounded day and night by reporters and the paparazzi. Everyone wants to know the story behind the music, but Adam and the band aren't talking. Adam just wants to be left in peace. His love of music has dwindled and he floats through life with the aid of prescription drugs and cigarettes to calm his nerves and anxiety. He's lost all connection to everyone around him, including the band and always feels alone, even when he is surrounded by people.

I can't help but think about how, when I was younger, I'd read about the legions of artists who imploded - Morrison, Joplin, Cobain, Hendrix. They disgusted me. They got what they wanted and then what did they do? Drugged themselves to oblivion. Or shot their heads off. What a bunch of assholes.

Well, take a look at yourself now. You're no junkie but you're not much better.

Adam is heartbroken and I found it really interesting to experience this from a male's point of view, as most YA's I read where someone is suffering, is from a female perspective. Throughout the book, we are given the opportunity to see back before Mia's accident and see some of Adam's memories, but also what has been happening with him, and how Mia's accident changed his life, up until the point where we meet up with him in New York. I was really pleased to see Forman explore the effect the accident had on Adam because while what happened to Mia was terrible, people often forget or don't even notice the effect an accident can have on those around the victim.

Where She Went is an emotional roller-coaster ride for Adam and I really wanted him to burst out with his feelings of pain and abandonment to Mia as soon as he saw her, but of course then we wouldn't have a story or the anticipation of waiting to find out what was going through Mia's mind when she left. When she does finally relinquish her reasons, everything comes crashing down around Adam and he has to face some truths he has tried to forget. Quite often I found I had a lump in my throat and towards the end I really had to stop myself from letting some tears leak out.

Mia's words rattle something loose in me and suddenly there are tears all over my damn face again. I haven't cried in three years and now this is like the second time in as many days.

"It's my turn to see you through," she whispers, coming back to me and wrapping me in her blanket as I lose my shit all over again. She holds me until I recover my Y chromosome.

I am totally and completely in love. Not only with this masterpiece of a sequel that Gayle Forman has written but also with Adam; oh how I fall for musicians! And yay for young adult novels with older protagonists (Adam and Mia are now twenty-one). Forman has also spoiled us by including lyrics from Adam's songs at the beginning of each chapter. Where She Went surpasses the brilliance of If I Stay, has a place on my all-time favourites list, and is my current favourite contemporary book of the year.

On a personal note, I love that now, having visited America, I get so much more out of a book as my own experiences help enrich the story. When Adam and Mia wander through New York and different places are mentioned, my own memories of those places come flowing back. I love reading books that are set in cities I have visited. I had the same gushy feelings when I read Anna and the French Kiss.

****SPOILER ALERT****
What I say next basically tells you what happens at the end of Where She Went so do not read any further if you don't want the ending spoiled!
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I would love to read another book in the life of Adam and Mia and have it called 'What We Did' but I have a feeling Gayle Forman has finished writing Adam and Mia's story. *sigh*

The Miles Between by Mary E. Pearson

Title: The Miles Between
Author: Mary E. Pearson

Release Date: 1st September 2009 (Not released in Australia)

My Rating: 3/5

Blurb:

Destiny Faraday makes a point of keeping her distance from her classmates at Hedgebrook Academy. Routine and predictability help her stick to her number-one rule: Don't get attached. But one day, with the crumpling of a calendar page and an odd encounter with a mysterious stranger, routine and predictability are turned on end.

Unexpectedly finding a car at their disposal, Destiny and three of her classmates embark on an unauthorised road trip, searching for one fair day - a day where the good guy wins and everything adds up to something just and right.

My Review:
I loved The Miles Between. It is such a quirky story with a fabulous assortment of characters. It is a story about hope, redemption, the hurdles of life, pain, heart-ache, fate and friendship. I laughed. I cried. I would read it again. I believe I have said before, I love road trip books, and this is no exception.

Destiny, our main character, pushes people away. Having been bounced around boarding schools by her uber-rich parents since she was seven, Destiny has her ways of coping. By making sure she doesn't get close to anyone, she avoids the inevitable hurt of leaving friends behind when she gets moved to the next school, something that always happens without fail. It is such a heart-breaking way of life and Destiny distracts herself by marvelling and constantly thinking about coincidence, probability, patterns and chance. Fate and unpredictability have no place in her life. Throughout the story we are given little hints and snippets as to why Destiny has always been in boarding school, but it isn't until the sad conclusion that we discover why Destiny is so screwed up.

With the arrival of a car and on an unexpected whim, Destiny takes off on a road trip with three of her equally odd and quirky classmates on an adventure based on fate. As unexpected events unfold, finding a lamb and later convincing a policeman it is actually a new breed of dog from France, meeting the president, getting attacked by a peacock and renting a boat, amongst other things, Destiny slowly lets some of the 'real her' leak out. She learns more about her classmates and that like herself, the way people choose to act around others, is not always how they are. As four unexpected friends come out of their shells, Destiny discovers that maybe she doesn't have to always be, and feel, so alone.

Check out The Adoration of Jenna Fox, also by Mary E. Pearson.

As a side note, after reading the book, that night I had a crazy dream which I suppose was inspired by their lambadoodle, the popular bread of dog from France. In my dream, I had a lambadoodle but it was a dog that could morph/shape-shift into a lamb (not a lamb pretending to be a dog, you'll understand once you read the book). For some bizarre reason, whenever we ended up in water (I think we were in a boat that capsized) the dog would morph into a lamb. Aside from, you know, a morphing animal, I thought it was really odd since you would think that lambs wouldn't like water and dogs do. But in my dream, even a splash of water was cause for it to shift to a lamb. I thought this was funny to have a dream like this after reading the book. Maybe I am just that bit strange...

Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James

Title: Beautiful Malice
Author: Rebecca James

Release Date: 1st May 2010

My Rating: 3/5

'Truth or dare?' she asks.
I hesitate. 'Truth,' I say finally. 'I can imagine one of your dares, and I don't fancy running down Oxford Street naked tonight.'
'Truth,' Alice says slowly, drawing out the vowel sound as if she's savouring the word. 'Are you sure? Are you sure you can be completely honest?'
'I think so. Try me.'
'Okay.' And then she looks at me curiously. 'So. Were you glad, deep down? Were you glad to be rid of her? Your perfect sister? Were you secretly glad when she was killed?'

Katherine has moved away from her shattered family to start afresh in Sydney. There she keeps her head down until she is befriended by the charismatic, party-loving Alice, who brings her out of her shell. But there is a dark side to Alice, something seductive yet threatening. And as Katherine learns the truth about Alice, their tangled destinies spiral to an explosive and devastating finale.

I had read quite a few reviews of this before picking it up. Some were good, some were bad so I decided to give it a go, and I am so glad I did. While I wouldn't say it is one of my favourite reads, it is something that stayed with me well after finishing, going over the storyline and the characters in my head. This is Australian author Rebecca James' debut novel and I can see why it caused such a frenzied bidding war. Beautiful Malice is a rather disturbing psychological thriller written for young adults, although I would place it as a 15+ novel. It is so well written and is so suspenseful that you just keep sitting there reading, even when you know you should be going to bed for fear of sleeping through your alarm the next morning!

The story is told from three different stages in Katherine's life. Each chapter is told from one of these time periods, weaving between the three until we have a complete picture of Katherine's life and the shocking and horrifying conclusion. Interestingly enough, the part of the story that I think of as the 'present day' actually isn't. Stage one describes the night Katherine's sister Rachel is killed. Stage two is set two years later when Katherine has moved to Sydney to try and have a fresh start and to complete her HSC. This is the stage where most of the story takes place and where Katherine meets the diabolical character of Alice. Stage three is set four years after stage two, and this shows us how Katherine is dealing after the events occurring in stage two. This may sound confusing, but don't worry, it's not, the story flows extremely well.

Rebecca James has created such a fantastic cast of characters. They are unique, well described, free of clichés, and with the exception of one or two, the kind of people you would want to be friends with. I must say that to me, and probably most other readers, the most disturbing part of the book isn't Rachels' death, although it is truly horrible, but the character of Alice. When Katherine finally realises just how toxic Alice is in her life, it's far too late. Alice is someone who has no conscience, or if she does, she pays no heed to it. Just when you think Alice can't get any worse, she does something else that just pushes those around her to their limits. I found that I was getting so angry with Alice and the way she was treating the characters that I love, that I just wanted to protect them, I felt as if they had become my friends. To me, this is an amazing ability of an author to evoke such strong feelings in a reader.

This is a fantastic psychological thriller about love, death, pain, friendship, betrayal, loss and strength.

Beautiful Monster by Kate McCaffrey

Title: Beautiful Monster
Author: Kate McCaffrey

Release Date: 1st May 2010

My Rating: 4/5

It only takes a few blood-stained seconds for Tessa's life to change forever. She wants her old life back. She wants her mum and dad the way they were. She wants her brother.

If it wasn't for Ned, she'd be all alone. He's her greatest support and staunchest ally. He's privy to her deepest secrets, comforts her at night when she cries, holds her and makes her feel loved - when it feels like everyone else has gone. And he knows how to make things okay again. If Tessa can only be perfect, things will get better. The perfect daughter, the perfect marks, the perfect body. But there is a fine line between being in control and being controlled.

Wow where do I start?

Always tackling the important topics for young adults such as cyber-bullying (Destroying Avalon) and drugs use (In Ecstasy), Kate McCaffrey has done it again with Beautiful Monster, focusing on a young girl struggling through her teenage years who has developed an eating disorder following the devastating death of her younger brother.

Beautiful Monster not only deals with the primary issue of body image and eating disorders but also the grief of losing a loved one. As her parents suffer with their own pain, Tessa manages to slip through the cracks, hiding her own pain as she strives to reach her goal weight.

Told in three parts, two years separating each, we accompany Tess as she loses her brother, endeavours to be perfect and keep control over all aspects of her life, copes with her parents, hides her illness, suffers denial and isolates herself from her friends. Then, as her her secret is discovered, we see the aftermath of her treatment and the possibility of a relapse as old foes once again come to light.

Just like her previous books, Beautiful Monster is something every teenage girl should read.

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).

Fury by Shirley Marr

Title: Fury
Author: Shirley Marr

Release Date: 1st May 2010

My Rating: 4/5

Let me tell you my story.
Not just the facts I know you want to hear.
If I’m going to tell you my story,
I’m telling it my way.

Strap yourself in...


Eliza Boans has everything.
A big house.
A great education.
A bright future.

So why is she sitting in a police station confessing to murder?

I've never had so much trouble trying to find the right words to review something before! I will do my best not to spoil anything.

I really enjoyed Fury. I sat down to read it one night and ended up finishing it that same night. Shirley Marr has created fantastic suspense with Eliza telling her story and leading up to the expolsive conclusion as to why she is covered in blood. It is a story about violence, friendship, the cruelty of teenagers, pain and vengeance.

Eliza is a spoilt little rich girl who is strong, opinionated and stubborn. And she can be an absolute bitch. But when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, she loves her friends (although in real life I can't see why someone would be friends with her in the first place, the way she treats them sometimes). At the beginning of the story I found it very difficult to like her and I just wanted to slap her, but throughout the book you get to understand the reason she is how she is and understand her actions. By the end I wanted nothing bad to happen to her and for her and her friends to get on with their spoilt lives.

I like that Marr got the inspiration for her book from The Furies, the personification of vengeance in Greek mythology and it sums up the story perfectly. It is probably my favourite thing about the book. I also really enjoyed that it was from Eliza's perspective and that it went back and forth from present time back to the events leading up to Eliza sitting in the police station. It gave it depth and suspense.

The only thing that bugged me about Fury, and while this may seem insignificant to everyone else but bugs me in anything I read, is that al ot of the characters names were either taken from famous people (Paula Yates, Ronnie Wood, the english teacher was named Mr Trollop - as in famous author Anthony Trollop, history teacher Mr Tolstoy and Brian Fadden, - as in singer Brian McFadden?) or they were rather cliché (Jane Mutton and The Dashwoods, you will understand these when you read the book). If it had just been one character it wouldn't have bothered me but it was significant enough through the whole book for me to notice.

Fury is Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar crossed with Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson crossed with the attitude of Rose from Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead.

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Linger
Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls (Shiver) Book 2
Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Release Date: July 2010

My Rating: 4/5

Now that Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing a future that is less and less certain.

Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of anger and hurt. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of being human.

For Grace, Sam and Cole, life is a constant struggle between two forces, wolf and human, with love baring its two sides as well. It is harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?

I was extremely lucky to get an advanced copy of Linger and I was so excited as Shiver was one of my favourite books of 2009. Just as good as Shiver, I feel it paves the way for what is sure to be an amazing book 3 which I believe will be called Forever.

Just like in Shiver, we get to hear the story from the perspectives of Sam and Grace and I can't think of any fictional characters or couple that I like more than sensitive Sam with a love of reading and indie music, and strong, independent Grace. What I like about Linger is that we also get to read the story from the point of view of two other characters as well, new wolf Cole and troubled Isabel, which I feel gives the story more depth.

While I don't want to spoil what happens in Linger, I will say that I was not surprised by the path the book took, nor was I surprised by the ending. That said, it did not take away my love for the book or my excitement as I went from chapter to chapter. I have quite simply fallen for the characters in this world Maggie Stiefvater has created. And my favourite line from the book?

'I never knew there were so many different ways to say goodbye'

Fans of Shiver will not be disappointed! My only criticism is that it was too short and I now have a very long wait for book 3!

The Pain Merchants by Janice Hardy

Title: The Pain Merchants
Series: The Healing Wars Book 1
Author: Janice Hardy

Release Date: 1st February 2010 (Australia)

My Rating: 3/5

Fifteen-year-old Nya is one of Gevegs many orphans; she survives on odd jobs and optimism, finding both in short supply in a city crippled by a failed war for independence. Then a bungled egg theft, a stupid act of compassion, and two eyewitnesses unable to keep their mouths shut exposes her secret to the two most powerful groups in the city: the Pain Merchants and the Healers League. They discover Nya is a Taker, a healer who can pull pain and injury from others. Trouble is, unlike her sister Tali and the other normal Takers who become league apprentices, she cant dump that pain into pynvium, the enchanted metal used to store it. All she can do is shift it from person to person, a useless skill that's kept her out of the league and has never once paid for her breakfast. When a ferry accident floods the city with injured, the already overwhelmed Takers start disappearing from the Healers League and Nya's talent is suddenly in demand. But her principles and endurance are tested to the limit when her talent turns out to be the only thing that can save her sisters life.

This was a really cool read. At first I thought it would be one of those fantasy books with names I can't pronounce and worlds that confuse me, but that was not the case. I found it was easy to read and understand. It was suspenseful, exciting and unique! I'm really looking forward to the sequel.

I would probably compare it most to when I read 'The Hunger Games'; a different and unique type of life where teenagers are forced into hardship and have to be strong for their families. The characters are likable and their actions believable. Ages 12+