YA REVIEW: 'This is Not a Love Story' - Keren David (Atom, 2015)

Kitty dreams of a beautiful life, but that's impossible in suburban London where her family is haunted by her father's unexpected death. So when her mum suggests moving to Amsterdam to try a new life, Kitty doesn't take much persuading. Will this be her opportunity to make her life picture perfect? In Amsterdam she meets moody, unpredictable Ethan, and clever, troubled Theo. Two enigmatic boys, who each harbour their own secrets. In a beautiful city and far from home, Kitty finds herself falling in love for the first time. But will love be everything she expected? And will anyone's heart survive? (Synopsis from Goodreads)

It's no secret that I love Keren David's books (see here and here) - I don't think there's any other author that nails the British teenage experience quite like she does. Although I've haven't reviewed it here, her previous book Salvage manages to balance realistic characters, engaging plot and heart-rending issues, something that I imagine is far trickier than it looks. I hate describing reads as 'issue' books, because it somehow feels like a disparaging comment rather than a compliment, with an automatic assumption that for a book to deal with tough or diverse issues, it has to sacrifice something in terms of plot or character. Ok, this has been true of some books but as This is Not a Love Story shows, just as Salvage did, it's more than possible to write about issues without sacrificing anything at all.

This where the similarities with Salvage end, however. Whereas that previous book put me through the emotional ringer by confronting some of the darker parts of society, This is Not a Love Story beams positivity and is one of the most refreshing books I've read in a long time. In fact, I can't think of anything it really falls into the same bracket as at all. Kitty's optimistic outlook on life is infectious and seeps through every page. I adored Kitty, but then I adored Theo and Ethan too - can't actually choose between them and wouldn't want to! This is the most realistic depiction of modern teens I've read in a long time - they're funny, emotional, they don't always have all the answers and they make mistakes, but then they move on. Their small expat community reminded me a lot of my gap year interactions many moons ago - you arrive in a new place, you fall in with a group and you get along with people no matter what your differences.

This is the first YA book I've read about Judaism and I loved the way it was presented as both a uniting force and common ground between Kitty and Theo, but also showed how religion isn't one dimensional - their upbringings had more differences than they did similarities and this connection wasn't the be all and end for them. Also, a shout out to the structure of the story - the added element of mystery ensured this a proper, bonefide page turner.

So whereas This is Not a Love Story isn't a love story (or is it?...), this review definitely is - a love story between woman and book (imagine a heart emoji right here - I don't how to do one on my desktop, sorry).

I Need to Get Out More #5 - Wood Green Literary Festival

I don't normally manage to get out to literary or author events too often, so I was especially pleased to make it to a couple of events taking place as part of the Wood Green Literary Festival a few weeks back. I'm usually pretty clueless when it comes to doing write-ups (I suppose it's a good thing that I don't get the chance to do too many then), so I thought I'd take a different approach with this one as look at a few of the points raised and see how I can relate them to my own writing...


The first talk was about Uncovering Ancient London and featured Lydia Syson and Catherine Johnson. Now, if you follow my blog, you'll know that I'm a big fan of Lydia's writing and you can find out her thoughts on political YA in this interview from a little while back. As you can imagine, it was very interesting to get a writer's perspective on how London history has made them tick. Catherine Johnson talked animatedly about how a trip to the Huntarian Museum inspired her to write Sawbones, a book that sounds delightfully gruesome and rich in the historical detail of the backstreets of this city. Lydia Syson talked about how she is a fifth generation Londoner, something that is quite rare this days, and how she has grown up to appreciate the rich history London has to offer, in particular, surprising facts about her family history.


This got me thinking about stories that my own family have told me. I've lived in west London on and off for the last ten years, but I was brought up in a commuter town after my parents moved away from their original west London haunt. My dad used to tell me stories about when he used to place Underground Hide and Seek on the tube with his friends as a teenager. You might be able to guess what it involved...basically, jump on a train, jump off at different stations and try to remain illusive to the person tasked to find you. I had completely forgotten about this story up until that moment, and now it's taking pride of place in my notes for something I'm planning about London set in the 1960s. It's nice to be reminded that I couldn't live anywhere better in the world when it comes to writing about the past, so thank you lovely authors!


The second talk I attended featured Keren David and Hilary Freeman discussing Edgy YA Fiction. This is of particular interest to me right as I'm currently working on a contemporary YA, although I don't know if I'd describe it as particularly 'edgy', but I suppose that was the whole point of the discussion - what does constitute edgy YA and how do you get the balance right? One of the issues that has been at the forefront of my mind recently (especially now I am at the editing stage) is swearing in YA. A while back, I read this interesting article by James Dawson which got me thinking about whether established authors are in a better position to have swearing feature in their books rather than debut novelists. However, both authors didn't think this was really the case and that all authors need to compromise to a certain extent on this depending on the market.


When I first started working my MS, I was given some advice that I've always found useful - when it comes to swearing, don't censor yourself in the early stages - it's more important to get the first draft done and you can always compromise on this at the editing stage. Needless to say, my first draft was as potty-mouthed as it gets and I remember reading it back and blushing. As I'm going through my chapters now, I can appreciate that a little goes a long way in this respect. I think it's important to get my dialogue as authentic as possible (and this includes using swear words), but perhaps using too many can have the same effect as using none - it might only succeed in distracting from the story.



All in all, this was a great, informative afternoon, and I've very much looking to venturing north again next year. My only criticism would be that the talks were too short! I could have listened to them all for hours...

YA REVIEW - 'Almost True', Keren David (Frances Lincoln, 2012)

On the road again, Ty’s in hiding with complete strangers . . . who seem to know a lot about him. Meanwhile he’s desperate to see his girlfriend Claire, and terrified that she may betray him. Ty can’t trust his own judgement and he’s making dangerous decisions that could deliver him straight to the gangsters. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

The very nature of the first novel in this trilogy, When I Was Joe, made it imperative that I started Almost True almost immediately after finishing it... and also the fact that the opening chapter of this book that was on the end acted like the teaser to end all teasers.


My reaction went something like this:

*stunned expression*

Oh, right. OK. So that's the complete opposite of a happy ending then 

*drops everything else immediately and starts sequel*


This is such a genius start to a follow up. Just complete trashes any preconceptions I might have had about Ty's new life and opens up so many new dramatic doors, I was practically dribbling with excitement. If you've read my review of When I Was Joe, then you might have picked up on the fact that I considered that book rather swift in the pace department. Well, compared to Almost True, the first book could well be the young adult fiction equivalent of a toddler dragging it's heels. Let's just say a lot happens. In the same way I may have eaten a lot of Matchmakers over the Christmas period. But again, it's brilliantly done and suited the nature of the story and Ty's character perfectly. Just like eating lots of Matchmakers suits my character perfectly.

And so many twists and turns that I didn't see coming (although I don't see many of these sorts of things coming as a general rule). I don't want to ruin anything, but let's just say if you had any niggles about unanswered questions in the first book, you shall be niggle-free (almost) by the end of this one.

We've still got the ongoing drama of Ty's witness protection troubles, but now there is the added element of his own family secrets that come to the fore. I have to admit, I was far more intrigued by the latter throughout most of this book and the tension over Ty's recent criminal shenanigans tended to be overshadowed a bit. But his family secrets more than made up for this, culminating in some desperately heart-breaking revelations and much shedding of tears by this reader.

But the best thing about this book, and this series so far, I think, is Ty himself. He's so brilliantly flawed and so engaging because of this. And even though the situation he finds himself in isn't one that is going to be experienced by most teenagers, he decisions and thought processes always feel genuine and I think he might just be one of the most realistic protagonists I've ever encountered in YA.

YA REVIEW: 'When I Was Joe', Keren David (Frances Lincoln 2011)

When East London teenager Ty becomes embroiled in a fatal stabbing, the nature of his evidence means Ty and his mum are forced to go into witness protection and assume new identities, leaving behind their close-knit family. But as 'Joe', Ty manages to turn around this bleak situation and become the teenager that he always wanted to be, but at what price?

"Its lucky that I'm not doing feelings at the moment, because if I was, I might be pretty scared."

This book was not in the least bit what I expected, yet everything I expected it to be. 

First off, apologies for that opening sentence, but I couldn't really come up with another way to describe it. I expected a rather raw coming of age tale and that's exactly what I got. I expected a few lessons learnt, a few heart strings pulled, a few scrapes along the way. And, again, that is what I got. If perhaps you multiplied this by a few thousand and then some...

One of the things I love about good YA is the messy factor. Not everything is black and white, not everyone is good or bad. Even the most well-intentioned folk make colossal mistakes. And it is for all these messy reasons that I loved When I Was Joe. The good guys aren't always necessarily good, they sometimes want the wrong people, and even the right people aren't always the most clued up or have their best interests at heart. 

I think super-charged coming-of-age tale might be the best way to describe this. Ty is going through all the changes that a lot of teenage boys experience, but he just happens to be pursued by violent criminals at the same time. Which makes everything just that little bit more complicated. And scary. Keren David handles the lightening pace magnificently, with intense events and emotions skirting across the page and tightening the tension. I don't think I've read a book recently that zipped through at such a pace. I have to admit, I was a bit wary at the start, especially when Ty was talent-spotted as a promising athlete in a few pages, but I quickly realised that this story had a lot more elements than I had originally suspected. Keeping Ty's voice consistent and strong is key in all of this and that proves another success. The delicate balance between the frightened Ty and his new persona of Joe, with his bravado and swagger is masterfully done.

"Ever since Mr Naylor made me apologise to Carl I've known I must say sorry to Claire for hurting her and scaring her. Only then will I be able to forgive Joe."

Not only is this character driven, but it has a tense plot with a few genuinely scary moments, complete with a carefully drawn out and intriguing mystery that Ty only reveals in bits and pieces. This is jammed packed full of different characters, with some faring better than others. Ty's relationship with his coach Ellie, started out as very intriguing, but seemed to get lost as the plot powered on. On the other hand, I loved the way the character of Claire was handled. It wasn't a cliched 'it's what's underneath that counts' love story and was all the better for it.

Which brings me onto what I enjoyed most about this book. I never forgot that these characters were teenagers. I know this sounds like rather an obvious statement for a YA book, but sometimes you get kids spouting rather pretentious nonsense that makes me want to throw things. But these teenagers make immature and impulsive decisions and don't always do sensible things. Like a lot of teenagers (and quite a few adults). Which is how it should be.

And an example of one of those mistakes that are made...

"It's safest to stay at home and watch Cash in the Attic."

Ty, Cash in the Attic is never the answer...