MY YA CONFESSIONS #3 - I really should be reading more UKYA...

My reading habits fluctuate, much like everyone's else's I should imagine. Although, recently, they've come to a bit of a standstill. You know the usual excuses, life, kids, work, blah blah blah, so I won't go on about it. BUT I really need something to give me a bit of kick start and this post gave me just that the other week. The lovely Flannery over at The Readventurer put together this rather astonishing wall of awesome UKYA titles. when she asked me to contribute my Top Ten, I was like 'yeah, sure, no probs...' but when I actually came to jot them down, something struck me. Some of my all time favourite titles have been written by UK authors, so I had no grappling around for ten titles (although I cheated a bit with Rosoff and Ness, but they live here, so there). But when I noticed that my choices we limited to so few UK authors, I realised I haven't actually read a huge amount of UKYA, in whole the scheme of bookish things..

And then I looked at my bookshelf and on the old kindle and noticed a few more things, namely the sheer amount UKYA waiting to be read, a lot of it also featuring on Flann's wall. So why do I choose to overlook it so much? The subject matter is intriguing, the covers are striking and original, so why aren't I chomping at the bit to devour them? I think one of the issues I've had in the past with some titles is that sometimes the writing style can feel a bit young and considered in comparison to some titles from Australia, say. Is this me being ridiculously unfair? Or maybe this is just my very narrow opinion as an older YA reader. But it is definitely wrong of me to generalise based on a few off experiences.

So here is my pledge. I will now be much more patriotic in my reading habits and will go on a UKYA binge for a bit. I have kicked off by continuing with His Dark Materials trilogy - something I started with Jo's Pullman Week a little while ago. Although I won't be reviewing them because, well, I wouldn't have the foggiest where to start. I've never read anything like them before and probably never will again. There you go, that was a mini review of sorts.

So here's a few title's I'm going to be picking up in the next few months...

There will be more, but I have temporarily misplaced my Kindle and I can't remember what else I have on there. Let's see how I get on...

YA REVIEW - 'The Year Nick McGowan Came to Stay' - Rebecca Sparrow (UQP, 2006)

Seventeen-year-old Rachel Hill is the girl most likely to succeed. And the girl most likely to have everything under control . . . that is, until her dad invites Nick McGowan, the cutest boy at school, to live with them. Rachel worries that this could only be a recipe for disaster, but her best friend Zoe thinks it’s the perfect opportunity for lurve. Sparks start to fly for all the wrong reasons. Nick finds Rachel spoiled and uptight and Rachel dismisses Nick as lazy and directionless. But a secret from Nick’s past draws them together and makes the year Nick McGowan came to stay one that Rachel will never forget. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

You may or may not have noticed me mention Rebecca Sparrow before. If you didn't notice, I will offer you the chance to take note again here, but in brief, I picked up her debut novel, The Girl Most Likely from my local library when I was in Brisbane last year, after reading a short piece in the local paper about local Brisbane authors. And I quite fancied doing my bit for the locality. AND I LOVED IT. It made me proper chortle. Lovely, slightly manic Rachel Hill, closer to 30 than to 20 and finding herself back at home after work and relationship disasters give her a bit of a knock. I remember seeing The Year Nick McGowan Came to Stay on a few bookshop shelves before we left Brissy, but as I was under pressure to decrease my own book collection at the time, my grabby, cover-caressing hands had to be restrained and I missed my chance to own a copy on Aussie shores.

This is why I had no clue that this book is actually a prequel to The Girl Most Likely. Do you have any idea how happy this made me? It's possible I may have fallen a little bit in love with this book before I'd even read the first sentence. And a big thank you to Maggie from Young Adult Anonymous for drawing my attention to this, gawd love her.

Well, I'm happy to say that my love-at-not-quite-first-sight did not diminish when I started this. In fact, it continued to turn me into a rather giddy, giggly excitable person, which happens to be one of my top 3 reactions to a book. 

It's 1989 and Rachel is 17, focused, ambitious and fond of shoulder pads and Huey Lewis. But also a bit spoilt and self-centred. Actually, quite a lot spoilt and self-centred. This is a good thing, by the way - Rachel leaps straight off the page with her pithy one-liners and stresshead behaviour. I love it when a writer offers up an unapologetic character on a plate so I can really dig my teeth into them. And the famous Nick McGowan manages to get away with being all fit and mysterious without falling into the usual YA boy-being-fit-and-mysterious traps. You don't want to slap him, for starters. He's a great foil for Rachel - dismissive, witty, ummm...fit, mysterious. Trust me, he's not that YA boy. He's lovely. And fit. And mysterious.

Their story develops at a cracking pace, with the aforementioned Nick-centric mystery bubbling away nicely, along with the changing dynamic in their relationship. My only wee criticism on this front deals with what kicks off their whole interaction - I wasn't completely convinced by some of Rachel's actions - ok, she doesn't want him there, but she does care that he thinks she's dripping with cool. But I couldn't quite tally this up with her taking a sudden interest in his career choice. Whatever, I don't care, it kicked off the rest of the story which was flawless. 

I have two favourite things about this book. And I can't decide between the two, so I shall gush about both in equal measure - 

1) THE DIALOGUE. Bloody hell it was brilliant. If I could write dialogue this good, well, I'd be a good  dialogue writer *fails miserably on the writing front there* It was incredibly funny, sharp, convincing, clever...and if you haven't gotten the idea yet, let me show you...

When Rachel tells her best bud, Zoe Budd about Nick's imminent arrival...

'"This is great. You get to have sex with him."

So I hit her with my three-hundred page Web of Life Biology textbook.

"I can't believe you just hit me. I mean, think about it. You can lose your virginity in the comfort of your own home. Think about Lisa Staples, who did it with Gavin Piper out by Trudy Garrison's pool. On twigs and shit. No, this is much better."

2) This isn't a bog standard YA romance. Without giving the ending away, it's about something that is so much more heart-warming and resonant with a teenage audience, in my opinion, anyway. Sometimes I get so sick of all these 16 and 17 year olds declaring their undying love for each other and that this is the happy ending done and dusted, forever and ever, when in reality, this doesn't tend to happen too often. I love it when contemporary stories are about more than romance, about other types of connections and relationships that are formed in teenage years. 

Ok, so I've thought of a third favourite thing about this book - even though it's set in the 80s, the whole nostalgia thing is never rammed down your throat with constant cheesy references. The period isn't central to the story (although I did appreciate the occasional Phil Collins reference) and the interaction between the characters never felt dated or forced. 

So you might have guessed that I enjoyed this one quite a lot. It's been ages since I've finished a book in a day and it's such a great feeling when I do. Ok, it's a short read, maybe a bit too short. Although that might just be me being  a greedy guts, as I tend to be in so many facets of life, but I can't emphasise enough how much this book made me smile, right down to the last page. But that might have also had something to do with the mention of the pub in Brisbane where my now husband took me on our second date.

Ahh, memories... 

(of drunken attempts at playing pool and singing along to Crowded House) 

YA REVIEW -'Quintana of Charyn' - Melina Marchetta (Viking, 2012)

Separated from the girl he loves and has sworn to protect, Froi must travel through Charyn to search for Quintana, the mother of Charyn's unborn king, and protect her against those who will do anything to gain power. But what happens when loyalty to family and country conflict? When the forces marshalled in Charyn's war gather and threaten to involve the whole of the land, including Lumatere, only Froi can set things right, with the help of those he loves. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

It goes without saying (although I shall, say it anyway) that this review will contain spoilers-a-plenty for the first two books in the Lumatere Chronicles series. So before you read any further, go to the library, Fishpond site, or wherever, and absorb the Lumatere story up until this point. And the you can come back and read this review. You promise you will come back and read this review? Good, that's settled then...Or you could just go ahead and read this review...

So, the final instalment in the Lumatere Chronicles, and my review is just a touch speedier to appear than my one of Froi of the Exiles. If you're read that review, you may have gathered that I had a few issues with the second book of this series. Not in terms of the quality of writing, but mainly due to the fact that I didn't engage with one of the main characters (see review for more details). Now, I'm fully aware that I'm in the definite minority on this one, but it didn't stop me from wanting more from this vast set of characters and locations so I'm was itching to get my mitts on the last in this intriguing series. 

Whereas I felt Finnikin of the Rock was a rollickingly-addictive page turner and would work as a stand alone novel, the latter two books are so deeply entwined that sometimes it becomes a bit tricky to separate them in my head. Or maybe that's because I read them so close together whereas there was a criminally large gap between my reading of Finnikin and Froi. I had hopes for some full-on Quintana bonding with this one, but my detachment from her continued right through to the end. BUT, in some ways this was a good thing. Let me explain...

Far from having large sections from Quintana's point of view, with are fed tiny little nuggets showing the way her mind works, but for the most part, Quintana is seen through the eyes of others, most interestingly Pheadra, the wife of Lucien the Mont, caught between hiding out and protecting her queen from certain death and her burning desire for her estranged husband. The Pheadra and Lucien story was my favourite part of Froi and the character of Phaedra is developed here. I adore Pheadra. I personally found her the easiest character to engage with. Or maybe that's just because I could so easily picture myself being married to Lucien.....ANYWAY, the friendship between Phaedra and Quintana was my favourite element of THIS book. In some ways, Pheadra provided a sort of world view - as her initial opinion of Quintana transforms from a degree of derision to acceptance to respect and friendship, I grew to understand Quintana more through her eyes, just as Pheadra did.

Let's just talked about Lucien for a bit...LUCIEN. I think my feelings can be summed up in this set of tweets I exchanged with Jo and Rey - 



Me: Just got to the bit in Quintana I have been waiting for. About bloody time :)

Jo: Lucian taking off his fleece/pants?

Me: BINGO

Jo: "May I be reminded of how the gods made you?" *LOSES SHIZZ* I know Rey likes that bit too.

Rey: *FANS SELF*

Me: *jumps in cold shower*

Jo: *grabs a fleece-clad Mont* WHAT? Fine, we can share. #grumbly

Rey: *cue caterwauling* *lascivious grin*

Jo: I love the word caterwauling. As much as I love his bum. ANNA YOU HAVE TO FINISH SO WE CAN SHOUT AT EACH IN JOY!


Yeah, you get the idea. Now, what were we talking about again...?

Oh, yes important literary type discussion that DOES NOT involve fleece and pants. The removal of. More's the pity...

This being the conclusion and all, the story strands gradually come together in an genius, mind-blowing, jaw-dropping fashion, especially one particular scene involving Isaboe (who I had become to get a bit hacked off with since the end of Finnikin, I have to admit) where she does something so astonishing and heart-wrenching that I might have stopped breathing for just a little while.

I still remained a bit detached from this book. I think my opportunity to get hooked by the heart strings came and went with my reading of the Froi. But, much like the previous novel, this is writing of the highest order and it is a complex and intelligent tale that will get your brain juices flowing. With added fleece and sexy Mont. (insert smutty comment about other juices flowing here) (Whoops. I already did).

Help Required! Pretty Please...

So I have a favour to ask. I'm doing a bit of research into a few interesting topics for a few interesting reasons (secrets, secrets) and I need some help. I've been trying to get hold of some recommendations  for YA that deals with political issues, be it directly, such as elections or actual proper mentionS of political type things, or indirectly, with broader political themes.

THIS IS A POLITICAL BOOK...BUT NOT THE ONE I AM LOOKING FOR

Also, any YA set in the 1960s, either written back then, or set back then. Or both. Anything. I'm desperate.

And do you know what would be abso-blimmin-lutely amazing? If anyone has any tips for political YA set in the 1960s. Does such a thing exist?

I will love you forever and ever and a day if you are able to help...

YA REVIEW - 'Froi of the Exiles', Melina Marchetta (Penguin Viking, 2011)

Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home... Or so he believes...
Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been trained roughly and lovingly by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds. Here he encounters a damaged people who are not who they seem, and must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad Princess.And in this barren and mysterious place, he will discover that there is a song sleeping in his blood, and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

And now, keeping up the tradition of always being at least one book behind everyone else, I will now post a review of Froi of the Exiles when everyone else will be posting a review of Quintana...

I just thought I'd let you know that this is my second attempt at writing this. It's just that kind of book. This is the first review I've ever had to do that required essay-type prep work - making notes of my arguments, drafting out a summary etc etc. Under normal circumstances, I just, well, starting typing and hope I produce something coherent and witty and amusing. *clears throat*

Yeah, well, that didn't quite work with this book. So in honour of all my prep work, I've set myself an essay type question -

FROI OF THE EXILES DIDN'T QUITE GET UNDER MY SKIN LIKE I THOUGHT IT WOULD. DISCUSS.

I'm in a conundrum. A literary conundrum involving a certain set of broad shoulders (thanks Jo). And here is my dilemma -

Froi of the Exiles is an excellent read. It's complex, it's tightly structured, it's a romance, a mystery, a coming-of-age tale and it manages to juggle all these elements ...

So why didn't it make me go all wobbly?

I read Finnikin of the Rock last year and it was one of those day-and-a-half-constant-devouring-of-book-can't-actually-remove-it-from-my-hands-so-will-try-to-chop-this-onion-whilst-reading-and-oh-whoops-I-appear-to-have-nearly-taken-the-tip-of-my-thumb-off-not-to-worry-I'll-just-sit-and-read-until-the-bleeding-stops.

Yes, THAT sort of book.

Evanjelin completely got under my skin. So much so that I fear I may have neglected my family for a few days in the process. So, boy, did I have high hopes for Froi and his shoulders. Obviously not in the way of neglecting my nearest and dearest again, or maiming myself, but I did fear I may end up in hospital as a result of trying to read a 600 page book whilst carrying the weekly food shop up the stairs, or something.

This book is raw and unapologetic. The first third could have been a much more uncomfortable read if the writing wasn't so bloody brilliant. The character of Quintana, Princess of Charyn is one of the most challenging I have ever encountered. A girl who, since the age of thirteen has been used as a vessel to, not only continue the royal line but to break a curse of infertility that has been placed on the kingdom since her birth. So, in other words, she has been raped and abused for all of her teenage years. It is not only this fact in itself that makes her so confronting, but it is her treatment by all of these characters , including Froi in the early stages of their relationship, that is the most shocking.

In her review of of Jasper Jones, Jo brought up the interesting question of how the way we are emotionally affected by a book may be influenced by a current event we're exposed to. In recent news and for the last couple of months in fact, that has been so much astonishing talk about what constitutes rape and ridiculous questioning about the victim status of abused teenage girls. Rage inducing stuff that, in short, gets under your skin and stays there for a very long time. As it should do.

So how do I relate this back to my question? Well, whereas the first part of the book got my emotions in a bit of a tizz, for some reason, the longer her story progressed, the more detached I felt from Quintana. Her nature and her condition helps her put up her own barriers and maybe this was part of it.
I think the main reason was that her story was so raw and so shocking and because of this, I may have stopped myself getting too drawn in, made a concerted effort to remain detached from her as a character with realising, that maybe her defence mechanisms worked on me as a reader. I don't know. Maybe I'm just talking a load of old piffle.

You know the amazing thing about this book? Even over a week after I've finished, I'm still thinking, still pondering. Let's talk about Froi for a bit. FROI...

When we first met him in Finnikin, I think he could summed up as a right little so-and-so that showed promise. Agree? Well, with a bit of time, a smattering of discipline, and a bucketful of love, some tough, some not so tough, we see a slightly more mature Froi, but still with his macho bravado and teenage boy traits intact. And the genius behind the character of Froi is that I thought I knew him. I thought I had him sussed, but of course, did I heck. By putting Froi next to a character like Quintana, it was like revealing all those dark secrets, all those horrors in his past that we knew were there already, but it still whacks you around the noggin when you are reminded of them all the same. His bravado did such a good job of pulling the wool over the eyes of this reader, and it came as quite a shock to remember what he had gone through to get to this point. (Notice how I talk about him as if he was a real person.) (Because he is)

There's so much going on here. I can't even talk about Lucien and Phaedra. Well, maybe just a little bit. I think I might have just adored their story even more than Froi and Quintana's. Which is why I was just a little bit miffed that there were some sizeable gaps before we came back to their little dance of luuuurve. I know it sounds ridiculous asking for MORE from 600+ pages but I also would have loved a bit more of Beatrice's heartbreaking journey..

Maybe the reason I didn't let myself get too involved was because of all these things going on. Or maybe it was because of the prickly nature of the two central characters. These two are difficult to love but as compelling as they come. I had certain pre-conceptions about such a long tale - surely there would be sections that would drag, lulls in the action? But just I was approaching a section that I thought might not completely hold my attention - BOOM! - dramarama central.

It has taken me bloody ages to write this review. And I'm still tweaking it and pondering over this book. It my not have burrowed it's way into my heart in quite the way I expected it or wanted it too, but it hasn't half set up camp in my brain. And will remain their like a worthy renegade voice speaking up for intelligent, unapologetic stories for, hopefully, a very long time).

(So it turns out prepping for a review doesn't produce much in the way of coherent ramblings. Sorry about that)

YA REVIEW - 'Un Lun Dun', China Mieville (Macmillan, 2007)

Stumbling through a secret entrance, Zanna and Deeba emerge in the strange wonderland of UnLondon. Here all the lost and broken things of London end up, and some of its people, too – including Brokkenbroll, boss of the broken umbrellas and Hemi the half-ghost boy. UnLondon is a place where Routemaster buses have legs, where Librarians are ‘bookaneers’, intrepid adventurers dedicated to hunting down lost books, and postmen spend years tracking the mobile addresses of the ever changing Puzzleborough. But the girls have arrived at a dangerous time – UnLondon is under siege by the sinister Smog; it’s a city awaiting its hero. (Synopsis from Goodreads)

I was very excited about this one. Very excited indeed. and parts of this book satisfied my excitement immensely. But, blimey, there are a lot of parts to this book.

When I was introduced to Zanna and Deeba and at the start of this journey, I was grinning at the prospect of these two young heroines, surly school girls plucked from a rather grotty part of north west London, to take on the seemingly impossible challenge of saving the abcity of UnLondon from the all-consuming Smog. What better heroine than a slightly chavvy ass-kicking one? No better in my opinion.

Which was the problem really - all these expectations are bound to leave me a little disappointed as expectations tend to on occasion. For the most part, I found Zanna and Deeba a little bit bland. It's all very very well having surly and uncommunicative typical teenagers as protagonists but that also means they tend to be a bit, well, surly and uncommunicative. I was at least halfway through the book before I really started to warm to Deeba and up until that point, it took a bit of effort to plough my way through the story. But after Deeba gets a bit of gumption and really seems to take to her mission, I began to take to the story a bit more too.

Every time there was a bit of a lull in the action (and there were many times), the author threw in some of the most fantastic imagery I've ever come across in a book. The whole concept of 'moil' - abandoned junk left on the side of the pavement that seeps through to the abcity, the world's most adventurous abseiling librarians, and my personal favourite, the properly terrifying, holy-shizzle-can-I-sleep-with-the-night-light-on-please? Black Windows. I won't go into details, but if you have a phobia of spiders AND double glazing, then you might want to grab your comfort blanket and a vat full of chocolate when you get to that particular bit... And alcohol. I have to admit, I kept drifting away from the plot, but then every time a November Tree or a rabid giraffe cropped up, I wanted to kiss the pages and fall in love with it all over again.

HOWEVER, a constant stream of gorgeous, original ideas is all very well, but I needed something to hang them on and on the whole, this story just didn't match up. When there was talk of a set of god-knows-how many challenges to overcome, my heart sank into my feet, and the constant influx of characters, good and bad, had mixed results. The most fully rounded, Hemi the half-ghost, was a bit of a god send, adding a much needed bit of ironic life to proceedings, but confusing baddies on top of more confusing baddies, cropping up at random times had the result of them being not in the slightest bit scary or interesting. And, unfortunately, the same can be said about the Smog. A great idea, but not a particularly petrifying one and the battle to finish it off for good just felt a bit easy and inevitable.

So, a mixed bag indeed, but this is just my opinion and I know there are many readers who will adore this and justifiably so. With ideas this strong and a central character who comes good in the end (in battle as well as in personality stakes), this is clever, clever, clever with an added high-kicking dustbin's worth of originality. If I was was to use a boy metaphor, which I shall, you can appreciate and recognise all his flaws, but he has enough charming, persuasive words to keep you hooked and lingering in your memory when it all goes tits up.

Can boy metaphors be used for all books from now on?

Summer is Over, Time to Get Back to Business...

I told you I would make it to Brighton one day

So, all my grands plans for the summer didn't quite some to fruition. I did kind of fall in love with the idea of a Short Story Summer but I'm going to use the excuse of a double onslaught of mother AND mother-in-law visits that put paid to my blogging plans over the last couple of months.
And the little matter of a minor reading slump over the last few weeks. I'm not quite sure what happening but my ability to concentrate of pretty much anything has gone out of the window recently. Hopefully this is very much a short term thing and I will be back in the land of the bookish quick sharpish.

And, of course, I had some well-earned family time to be getting on with an enjoying. Which I did. With bells on.

BUT, from this week and going onwards I am going to do my darndest to do pretty much everything I've been putting off recently. So that's picking up books and reading more than a few sentences at a time, sitting in front of my laptop without having a monumental faff and generally being a bit less crap at stuff.

This is the plan...

So, enough about me, how was your summer?