Book Review - Tyger Tyger

Teagan is sure she’s just your average girl… until a horrible twist of events convinces her that she is being hunted by goblins, for a reason she doesn’t understand, and her father is kidnapped by them. She and her quirky brother, Aiden, and her cousin-by-adoption Finn set off into the world she never knew existed to try and solve the mysteries of her past.

And it would be a whole lot easier if Finn wasn’t so darn distracting. Because it’s really hard to concentrate on hiding and finding food and running from hell hounds when you’re head over heels in love.

I tore through Tyger Tyger as fast as Finn swept Teagan off her feet (very fast).  The story is fast-paced, exciting, and irresistible, with a great combination of mystery, suspense, and romance.

Finn is the bad boy we all want… rough, tough, and willing to do anything from skipping a meal to breaking an arm for the girl he loves. His rough exterior and his cold demeanor only make his love for Teagan more special. He was certainly my favorite character, followed closely by Teagan’s little brother, Aiden. He’s a funny quirky sort of kid who seems to be able to cause problems and solve them at the same time.

The plot and the pacing were fantastic! There were so many secrets and questions, and the way they were revealed was perfect.

The things that weren’t perfect about the book were these: The writing was clear and descriptive, though a little hard to understand at times. The only thing that felt lacking was Teagan and Finn’s relationship. It felt like it just barely got started… and the book ended. But on the other hand, it was definitely real, and not any of that sappy love based solely on attraction stuff. Lastly, I don’t really think the title describes the book, and the cover—though breathtakingly artistic—doesn’t say much about the book either. But none of this really took away from the enjoyment and the satisfaction at the end—the end was really cute, by the way!

I adored Tyger Tyger and can’t wait for the next book in the series!

Genre: YA Fantasy
ISBN: 9780547330082
Publication date: November 15th 2010 by Clarion Books

http://haleymathiot.blogspot.com/2010/07/review-tyger-tyger.html

Book Review - Kidnapped By Maria Hammarblad

Patricia Risden is in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she almost collides with a man who appears from nowhere in the middle of the road. Her car slides off the road and flips on the roof, and she is rendered unconscious by the impact. When she wakes up again, she is on a spacship, taken aboard by the Alliance Commander Travis 152.

He soon realizes that he has made a mistake, and he has to figure out what to do with her. As he says later in the book, “Tricia has the technical abilities of a stuffed toy,” and since he deems her harmless, he lets her roam around the ship. Two people alone on a spaceship can only lead to one thing, and as Travis finds himself more and more intrigued with the young woman in his company, his lifelong allegiance to his employer, the faceless Alliance, is replaced with loyalty to her. Once they get together he is faced with a new problem; trying to find a way to get back to the relative safety on Earth.

Many science fiction writers tend to fill their books with long descriptions of complicated technical concepts. This author skims over the details of how the spaceship works, and focuses on the story instead. It makes for an easy read even for people normally not interested in this category of books. The story is easy to access, maybe a little slow in the beginning, but it picks up speed quickly. It’s cute and romantic, and at times quite dramatic.

As cute as parts of it are with heroine curled up in heroes lap and so on, romance isn’t what will make this author famous. It’s the bad guys and her willingness to write about things that make you flinch. I’m very fond of the Supreme Commander, Veronica, who takes an electric knife and saws someone’s arm off to set an example. Perfectly wicked little details like that pulls the book up and places it a notch above the rest.

Book Review - Out Of Shadows

In short, one of the best books I’ve ever come across.

A coming-of-age story of an English boy, Robert Jacklin, in a new Zimbabwe (1983), who makes some choices as he enters a hard boarding school with some even harder peers. But the decisions he makes – against a backdrop of changing politics and race in that country at the time – aren’t always the right ones, and he has to tackle the consequences of what he’s done towards the end of his school life.

It’s not a tranquil, comfortable read – in fact, at times it’s dark and chilling – but it’s engrossing and ultimately uplifting. And boy does it take off and keep you hooked.

This has it all: pace, characters, history, interest, plus it’s beautifully written…I’m very jealous! I literally didn’t want to put it down until I’d finished. Markus Zusak loved this book (he’s quoted on the cover), and I can see why.

Paul Harris, Grow Up! Irene Herz

Paul Harris founded the first Rotary Club in Chicago in 1905.  Just twenty years later, it had become an international service organization, dedicated to helping others through grassroots projects.  Today, Rotary International© has over one million members worldwide and is a leading player in the battle to eradicate polio worldwide.

Paul Harris’ story is particularly appropriate for youngsters because he had such an unpromising start in life.  His father never made enough money to support his family, and Paul himself was always getting into trouble.  Sent to live with his grandparents in Vermont, he was considered to be a fellow who would never amount to much by the neighbors.

The story of how Paul used his love of people, of having fun, and of doing the right thing to build an organization of lasting good in the world will inspire youngsters and help them to understand that even the most unpromising of youngsters can grow up to be important.

Website: Paul Harris Children’s Book

Book Review - Love and Nausea, by David Wilson

Love and Nausea is, in many ways, the epitome of the expression “don’t judge a book by its cover”. The novel itself has a front cover that suggests a trashy romance novel, filled with details of sordid encounters and high-powered women stalking the streets, looking for that perfect pair of shoes with which to capture the heart of the businessman of their dreams. The kind of novel written by women who genuinely believe men are attracted to them on the basis of their shoes. However, what lies inside is practically the opposite in every way.

Funny, clever and wonderfully touching, Love and Nausea is – as The Times summarised perfectly – “An existentialist version of Adrian Mole, with flashes of acute satire”. It follows the life of Robert, from confused teenager, determined to experience Jean-Paul Sartre’s nausea for himself, through the emotional turmoil of being madly in love with a fiercely independent feminist, to a time of radical self-realisation and coming to terms with himself and the world around him. A fantastically accurate insight into the mind of a wannabe existentialist, Love and Nausea recounts Robert’s constant attempts to be a free agent, entirely in control of a life of adventure, whilst in reality being a slave to his overwhelming desire for middle class simplicity and security. His position is both heart breaking and hilarious, as he struggles to force together his liberal philosophies and conservative upbringing, resulting in a perpetual state of agony, as Sartre might say.

Robert is a fantastically constructed character, as is Eva – the love of his life. Both are fanatical existentialists in love with freedom, yet both are too English to ever fully embrace it. Robert finds himself constantly trying to be somebody he’s not to please other people, whilst all the time hating himself for doing so. Eva, by contrast, is so much herself that it’s overwhelming, yet doesn’t know how to handle it when Robert finally gains the courage to be the strong-minded and independent person she thinks she wants him to be.

Although the booked was intriguing enough that I could have read it from cover to cover in one sitting, I actually found myself putting it down for days, to muse on the events and mull them over in my own time. David Wilson has written a fantastic combination of a funny and clever novel and a critique on liberal philosophies and the middle class way of life. Excellent reading, especially if you are familar with works like The Outsider and Nausea.

Book Review - Vellum By Hal Duncan

In the name of reviewing books, I am often forced to read things I would have never otherwise picked up. Not being a huge science fiction fan, Hal Duncan’s Vellum was something I bought from a charity shop for £2 and never got around to reading, precisely because it looked about as sci-fi as any book I’ve ever purchased.

However, finding myself with a lack of decent material for review, I decided to take the hit and read Vellum for the good of the online community..to be honest, I’m still reeling. On the one hand, I found Vellum to be something of an aesthetic joy; stylistically stunning and packed to the brim with glorious descriptions and references to mythologies even I hadn’t heard of, it was a tour de force of alternative literature! However, after couple of hundred pages, I felt my mind wandering as I slowly lost any real concept of what was happening. Although I’ll admit the variety of interwoven plotlines wasn’t helping matters, it was less the complexity of the plot that was derailing me as how self-aware the book seemed. Vellum was literary form of the woman at the party you can’t stop staring at, not because she’s exceptionally attractive, but because she is going out of her way to act as if she is. By the final chapters, the book seemed more aware of itself and what it was trying to do than I was, which is never really how I like things to end.

I’m not somebody prone to criticising a book because it lacks the typical style of modern literature. In fact, I love quirky and unconventional books – anything that challenges me, or makes me read in a different way to usual is something I’m likely to enjoy. However, it wasn’t the complexity and obscurity that put me off Vellum– it was the pretentiousness that permeated every level of the book that made me want to stop reading. Somewhere amidst the chain-smoking, leather-clad characters, different fonts used for different storylines and perpetual references to just how much mythology Duncan had researched, I lost all sense of why any of this was actually interesting. The more I read, the less intrigued I found myself until, by the end, the only thing left in my mind’s eye was an image of Hal Duncan, hunched over a desk lit only by candlelight, desperately trying to create something cool. In fact, from this day forth, I declare the word ‘Vellumesque’ to be an appropriate way to describe trendy East Londoners.

To summarise Vellum for fans of popular literature, I would compare it the attention-seeking middle child of His Dark Materials and The Da Vinci Code; without Pullman’s mighty narrative or Brown’s ability to merge reality, mythology and fiction, Duncan’s creation simply screams “Look at me! See how different I am!” before denying that it even values your opinion. Without a doubt it’s an impressive read but, at the heart of it, it’s snobbery in book form.

– Reviewed by Ed

Book Review - White Wolf By David Gemmell

David Gemmell was, in my humble opinion, one of the masters of the fantasy genre. Although the last series he wrote before he died, Troy, is probably his most famous, the Drenai series is certainly his most acclaimed with true fans of the genre. It is a joy then that White Wolf was written as a return to the Drenai, featuring Gemmell’s most renowned character, Druss the Legend, along with a new addition – the mighty Olek Skilgannon.

As a general and master swordsman in the Queen’s army, Skilgannon was ordered to slay the entire population of a city – men, women and children all, earning him the moniker ‘The Damned’. Sickened by such duties under the Queen, he chooses to leave his violent past behind him and join the men of the cloth. However, when an angry mob attacks his monastery, Skilgannon finds himself unable to control his bloodlust and, as a result, is cast away from the monastery and back into the world he has shunned. In a final attempt to create a normal life for himself, Skilgannon decides to travel to the fabled Temple of the Resurrection, in a bid to bring his deceased wife back to life.

Of course, things aren’t even that simple. Skilgannon was the love of Queen Jianna’s life and, when he deserted her and her empire, she swore to have him killed! So begins an epic journey in which Skilgannon and Druss’ paths cross on their own paths to their own concepts of justice and happiness.

Book Review - The Outsider By Albert Camus

“In our society any man who does no cry at his mother’s funeral is liable to be condemned to death.”

Certainly not a book for people who need action and thrills in their literature, The Outsider is more of a statement about human nature and society than it is a story about the admittedly very interesting character of Meursault. Indeed, taken on plot-value alone, there isn’t much of a tale to be told; after Meursault’s mother dies and he attends the funeral, he falls in with less than savoury company and ends up killing a man. When tried for murder, what really enrages the court is Meursault’s lack of emotion, which lands him with the death sentence. Even for 116 small pages (Penguin Modern Classics version), that’s not a lot of plot. What the book is filled to the brim with, however, is depth.

Ironically, Meursault’s problem is his honesty; when he feels no sadness at his mother’s death, he refuses to lie just to satisfy everybody’s expectations. In fact, this lack of emotion is just the tip of the iceberg; Meursault is devoid of feeling, motivation or even judgement as we know it. He lives his life in a series of rational steps, never engaging with society or its conventions because he refuses to lie about who he is or what he feels. When it comes to his trial for murder, Meursault discovers the court is less concerned with the fact he has killed a man than it is with the fact he refuses to pretend to feel remorse!

Although not long, The Outsider is even more gripping than you might expect from a short book. Although the subject matter is classic of the archetypal French existentialist, Camus’ writing style makes the experience of reading The Outsider riverting from start to end – even managing to maintain a sense of pace when Meursault does nothing more than look out the window all day. As a summary, allow me to share one of my favourite excerpts with you:

“[Marie] wanted to know if I loved her. I replied as I had done once already, that it didn’t mean anything but that I probably didn’t. “Why marry me then?” she said. I explained to her that it really didn’t matter and that if she wanted to, we could get married.”

Book Review - Sapphire By Katie Price

I can honestly say this book is incredible…insofar as it kept me incredulous from the beginning to the end. Not only was the plot unrealistic from the word go, I also found myself struggling to believe this rubbish was ever published!

The protagonist, Sapphire Rose, loses faith in relationships after catching her husband in bed with another woman. As simple a start as this is, the possibilities it allows for the creative mind are limitless; Sliding Doors, for example, is a story (albeit a film) that takes this simple concept and uses it to explore the massive impact that a single change can cause – amongst many other things. Sapphire on the other hand, doesn’t have the benefit of being written by Peter Howitt – it was written by Katie Price…and it shows. Filled with mistakes and brainless, pointless attention to details like hair, the book is the tale of Sapphire’s new life; filled by an attractive young lover and her new business, a lingerie and hen weekend company, naturally.

In short, all seems to be going well until one day Sapphire meets another gorgeous man, this time a very successful businessman! Could it be that she’s actually capable of love after all and her young-lover fling was the rebound we all knew it was? Yes, this is exactly the case. Hmm. Yet that’s not all the plot; when one of her hen parties goes badly wrong, Sapphire finds herself facing the wrath and scrutiny of the media, as well as suffering from continued A.H.M.S (another-hot-man syndrome).

What could have been an emotional journey through depths of despair and insecurity turns out to be a predictable waddle through the shallow puddle of Katie Price’s feeble mind.

Book Review - Long After Midnight

Moved her father’s terminal illness, scientist Kate Denby is young, but has already dedicated years of her life to the development of anti-rejection formulas. Knowing she is on the verge of a breakthrough, Noah Smith – CEO of a pharmaceutical firm – implores Kate to help him make his new drug ‘RU2’ rejection-proof, so it can be brought to market. Not wanting to leave home and uproot her young son Joshua, Kate refuses Noah’s pleas time and time again…until her ex-husband is blown up in front of her eyes.

Kate is in terrible danger; the attack that killed her ex-husband was intended for her! It transpires that RU2 could cure a great many people of the illnesses that keep rival pharmaceutical company, Ogden, in business. Hence, Ogden are trying to destroy RU2 and anybody who could aid the project, including Kate, Joshua and Kate’s mother-in-law Phyliss. The pharmaceutical giant have a variety of tactics up their sleeve to get the job done, including blowing up Noah’s facilities, arranging protests against genetic research and, most terrifyingly, the use of Ishmaru; a Native American motivated to kill Kate in order to achieve the ‘coup’ of taking the life of a worthy victim.

To protect Kate and her family while they work on RU2, Noah calls on his friend Seth Drakin; a mercenary who will go to extraordinary lengths to protect his charges. So the story unfolds; the race to bring RU2 to market creating an almost tangible feeling of suspense that makes an intriguing backdrop for the developing relationships between Kate, Noah and Seth, as well as the emotional turmoil of young Joshua, who saw his father killed and now knows his mother is in danger as well.