I have no idea why this has been compared to The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet or The 100. For reference, it's nothing like either so if that's whaI have no idea why this has been compared to The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet or The 100. For reference, it's nothing like either so if that's what grabs your attention when reading the blurb, you will probably be disappointed. Honestly, this was far more like Andy Weir's The Martian but without the wry, fatalistic humour. The author has a lyrical, literary style which perfectly fits the uncaring emptiness of space and the complicated forms of emptiness inside the crew. This is not YA. Honestly, who described it as YA? The protagonists are 13 - 20 through the book but that really doesn't make it YA. Marketing really screwed the pooch on this book - it's literary sci-fi.
The premise is that a habitable planet - Terra-two - has been discovered within reach of our solar system. We're looking at a space faring society not far removed from ours - imagine we tried a bit harder with the space race instead of applying the breaks. (All the problems encountered by astronauts today, are those encountered by the characters in this novel.) With the Earth becoming increasingly crowded, many countries accelerated their space programs in an effort to be the first to land a colonising party on Terra-two, despite it being agreed that the planet belonged to all mankind. In the UK, Dalton academy sent out a request for the brightest twelve and thirteen year olds to attend and spend the next six years training as astronauts. The journey to Terra-two will take 22 yrs - hence the need to start young. From there the pov shifts between the young protagonists chosen for the beta program. The intention is that they are the advance party to set up shelters and food production ahead of colonists and women intended to become mothers. The book is a character exploration. This is not action packed space opera or sci-fi adventure. This is about a system that is willing to effectively send children in to something as uncertain and traumatic as war. It's about the sacrifice inherent in exploration and making history. And most of all it's about how even the best of the best are only human with all the flaws, hang ups and traumas that entails.
Slight spoiler, but don't expect this journey to have a conclusive end either. The journey is the point!
Personally I really enjoyed this. It was brilliantly characterised, intelligently written and utterly enthralling. I have no desire to go to space, which seems to be a phase most people go through as children, but this made that desire accessible to me. The science and interpersonal reactions were on point too. Do not expect something in the tradition of a grand Romance - this is bleak and beautiful. And honestly, it incorporated everything I wanted from similarly themed (actually YA) books with it's stronger character detail, world building and scientific understanding....more
I can see why many people seem not to have warmed to this one. It pulls no punches in its portrayal of a teenage girl's perspective, includ#Prideathon
I can see why many people seem not to have warmed to this one. It pulls no punches in its portrayal of a teenage girl's perspective, including all the stupid, thoughtless and hurtful stuff you say while you're trying to work out what you really think. This book includes a hefty dose of misogyny and sexism, as well as minor homophobia and racism, in order to show those things being countered. I don't necessarily have a problem with that if it's done in such a way as to show those inherited and internalised prejudices being challenged and counteracted, rather than spreading further harm. I do get that a lot of people are uncomfortable with the fact that in the past they did not question so readily nor choose their words so carefully and possibly uttered a few choice slurs themselves. (I include myself in that statement.) I also get that it's tempting to just quietly forget that you did so but I feel in order to keep questioning, you need to remember the times you were less open minded. Teenage girls (and boys) often do say cruel and thoughtless things. They repeat what they've heard - how could any of us help saying something sexist at least once? It's the water we swim in and the air we breathe. In this case, Rose is deeply unhappy and worse, confused and uncertain. In not especial admirable but relatable fashion, she mouths off about a another character's problems because she cannot effect her own. She gets called on her attitude by her best friend and she clearly doesn't have any real hate behind what she says. She does not hold the same attitude at the end as she seemed to adopt in the middle. It is uncomfortable. It's supposed to be uncomfortable.
To summarise the plot, every year, Rose and her family take a cottage on the coast for the summer. Her friend Windy's family does the same. This year Rose is all too aware of the strain between her parents, who are fighting, her mother's depression (she's grieving but Rose doesn't yet understand this) and of the dynamics between men and women as her own body begins to change. The captures perfectly that moment when you first start looking into the adult world not as a child but as an adult in waiting, and how baffling it is. How many shades of grey you're forced to adopt because suddenly nothing fits with your former simplistic child viewpoint.
This is a very intelligently done graphic novel. The artwork is lovely - and shows a range of different body types and faces. The dialogue is very 'teenage' but sometimes a little annoying because of this. It's a good coming of age story, with layers of issues to explore. I didn't love it because I am just not a massive fan of contemporary YA but I did like it. Definitely worth a look....more
Utter brilliance. Witty and meta with the overall message that choosing yourself, no matter how messed up you think you are, is an act of heroism in iUtter brilliance. Witty and meta with the overall message that choosing yourself, no matter how messed up you think you are, is an act of heroism in itself. You don't have to be teen protagonist TM with all the traits of the exceptional, you yourself as you are - however flawed - are enough.
I really liked this book. It pokes fun at the 'chosen one' trope and while it doesn't pull punches - highlighting some of the more ridiculous teen fiction staples - it's also done with love. There's snark but no spite. Meanwhile, MC Mikey is dealing with some very teen problems - graduating, getting ready for college, a long unrequited crush and life in general changing and being outside his control. And that's before you factor in his anxiety and OCD, his sistr's anorexia, his father's non abusive alcoholism and his ambitious, neglectful mother who doesn't seem to have noticed her family is crashing and burning around her. And then there's the weird shit that's going on. It goes on everywhere of course but no one ralks about it and the adults seem to forget. Only a select group of kids get involved - and Mikey and his friends are NOT that group.
I especially loved the sibling dynamics - really Mike, Meredith and Melinda were just adorable together but still believable. The friendships which are a huge focus are excellent too. Jared is just brilliant. And this book proves one of my long held YA bugbears correct - a rich and deep friendship is as good as any first love story.
I was in the mood for some Stephen King and this had been sat on my shelf for ages. I did really enjoy it, though I'm not sure it ticked the same boxeI was in the mood for some Stephen King and this had been sat on my shelf for ages. I did really enjoy it, though I'm not sure it ticked the same boxes for me as some of my favourite King books - the ones that get read and reread over and over again.
The story starts with Lisey, widow of famous writer Scott Langdon, finally feeling it was time to clear out his study. She hasn't been able to face it since his sudden death two years previously. Wading through his papers and boxes of unpublished manuscripts (which many people would like to get their hands on by fair means or foul), Lisey finds herself questioning her own memories. Could it be possible that she has deliberately excised things about her marriage that defied logic and were too frightening to face? Caught in a race against time to recover her memories, Lisey finds herself on a treasure hunt (a Bool Hunt) set by her late husband. His last words and his final gift to her, to help her recover her memories in time to save herself.
Lisey's Story is both a tale of love and horror, and a dissection of a successful marriage. Beyond that, it looks at the complicated relationship between sisters, between parents and children, and between an abusive guardian and a child. These are all very nuanced portrayals, as you'd expect from King - what makes his books stand out is his insight into human nature and characterisation, not the horror. If you want a story with black and white morality and easy answers, this won't be for you. A child and his abusive father can nevertheless still love each other; sisters can completely fail to understand each other and even act against each others interests and still be bound by unbreakable ties; husband and wife can be completely committed to each other and still secretly afraid of each other's darknesses.
I can see the language used in this book annoying a lot of people. There are lots of made up words used childishly in place of the real thing. This is obviously deliberate and a stylistic choice. There are some stories that we cannot tell as adults - only the children we were can do them justice. And there are some problems we can only solve by allowing those children to grow up and act as adults. The language is often that of the private nonsense language between siblings or later, between a couple who have known each other a very long time. It worked for me but I can understand it putting other people off.
Overall this was a clever book that blended the joy of creation with the terror that comes with it - the limitless, boundaryless spaces where we all subconsciously go for inspiration. It looked at the adult-child divide and the space between people who are family and closer. And there was even a cheeky stab or two in there about who art really belongs to when it's finished. Not quite like King's other work but very enjoyable. ...more
Copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
This was a solid, enjoyable YA read for the lower end of the spectrum. I found myself drawnCopy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
This was a solid, enjoyable YA read for the lower end of the spectrum. I found myself drawn in despite not really liking Piper as a character - or the way she excludes the reader from a lot of her inner narrative. Gris was an okay foil for her and the mystery was nicely paced. I haven't seen Gargoyles used as supernatural beasties in this way before so that made a nice change (although because I own to a certain amount of pedantry when it comes to words I winced when he called himself a gargoyle. Gargoyles are the stone carvings on buildings through which water from the gutters falls to the ground, often through carved mouths. If the author was talking about the large bewinged carved stone creatures that guard/ decorate old roof tops then she meant 'grotesques'. I know, I know this is my problem but saying Gris was a gargoyle just kept reminding me that we get the word 'gargle' from the same root word.) Anyway I can see this being a big hit with a lot of YA. Personally it was just ok for me. Mostly this is because I didn't warm to the author's style. But also since this book contained OCD and DSH (deliberate self-harm) I kinda wanted it to be grittier and it just wasn't. I felt divorced from the emotional side of those actions. Not a bad book but not for me....more
I was in the mood for some poetry and I remembered seeing a rec for this book on another book of poetry. (I had not liked that book and the author of I was in the mood for some poetry and I remembered seeing a rec for this book on another book of poetry. (I had not liked that book and the author of the review had said that they felt this was a better bet.) So I picked it up and read it in a single sitting. I love the way the author has used fairytale imagery to tell difficult truths. I agree, there’s a strength in the shared experience of the fairytale that allows us to confront some of the hardest aspects of life without being swallowed by them. I also found the poems relatively engaging, despite the fact that my teen years are well and truly behind me. This is definitely a far superior form of the sort of poetry currently aimed at YA girls – it doesn’t consist of hitting the return key after every other word for a start! I suspect the reason I didn’t love this was because a) I am no longer a YA and b) as a teen, my experiences did encompass some of these issues but were also much broader. It felt as if there was a lot of repetition which didn’t necessarily attack issues such as anorexia and valuing your own body from different angles. I would have liked more variety and poems of hope as well as poems full of anger and dark humour. However that’s personal preference and I still really liked this collection.
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