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Tag: June 2016

Book Review: Goldfish

September 22, 2016 / / 2 Comments

goldfish

Goldfish – Nat Luurtsema – Feiwel & Friends – Published 7 June 2016

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Girl Out of Water – Nat Luurtsema – Walker Books – Published 2 June 2016

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Synopsis

Lou Brown is one of the fastest swimmers in the county. She’s not boasting, she really is. So things are looking pretty rosy the day of the Olympic time-trials. With her best mate Hannah by her side, Lou lines up by the edge of the pool, snaps her goggles on and bends into her dive… 

Everything rests on this race. It’s Lou’s thing.

… or it was. She comes dead last and to top it all off Hannah sails through leaving a totally broken Lou behind.

Starting again is never easy, particularly when you’re the odd-one out in a family of insanely beautiful people and a school full of social groups way too intimidating to join. Where do you go from here? Finding a new thing turns out to be the biggest challenge Lou’s ever faced and opens up a whole new world of underwater somersaults, crazy talent shows, bitchy girls and a great big load of awkward boy chat.

My thoughts

There are some books that touch you deeply, other books intrigue and still others make you question life and starting looking at things from another angle. And then there are books, like Goldfish (AKA Girl Out of Water), that just make you happy. I couldn’t stop smiling and laughing while reading this book. There wasn’t a moment I didn’t love, it was such a pleasure to read. I’ve got to give Goldfish five stars for re-readability and genuine hilarity.

Lou just came last in the biggest swimming race of her life. Now, gone are the early morning, lunchtime and after school training sessions. Gone is the elitist swim camp. Gone are her Olympic dreams. Gone too is her best friend – off to the aforementioned swim camp. Lou has a lot of spare time on her hands now and a new-found lack of popularity. So when a group of popular and gorgeous boys ask her to help train them, she surprises herself by agreeing.

Now, note in my synopsis I don’t mention synchronised swimming like the book’s official summary does? That’s because the guys are a little less synchronised swim team and more group of boys who want to be on Britain’s Hidden Talent TV show and didn’t get through as dancers and so decide to take their dancing talent underwater. As I said, hilarity.

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Book Review: Whispers of Love – A Change of Heart

June 30, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Whispers of Love

Whispers of Love – A Change of Heart – Kimberly Rae Jordan – Georgia Press – Published 28 June 2016

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Synopsis

Only one thing stands between Ethan Collins and the job he desperately needs: office manager Makayla McFadden. She hates that he represents a major change in her family’s business, but finds herself intrigued by him, too. Will Makayla be able to see that change can be a good thing, professionally and personally? Or will Ethan be back to square one—in need of a job in a new city?

Whispers of Love also includes 11 other titles by various authors.

My thoughts

So far I have only read the first of the included titles in Whispers of Love, A Change of Heart by Kimberly Rae Jordan. That novel was the reason I purchased this book, and the other 11 stories were just nice bonuses, which hopefully I will get around to reading soon. For now though, my rating and review are of A Change of Heart.

I love Kimberly Rae Jordan’s books. And I loved returning to the Callaghan-McFadden family. We first met them and saw the joining of their families in A Handful of Flowers. It is so nice to return to this large, loud and loving family. The kids are grown and Makayla, the eldest girl, is our protagonist for A Change of Heart. She is working at her father’s construction firm when Ethan is hired on. She is unsure of the change and dreads more uncertainty in her life. But she could never dream of the changes and uncertainly Ethan himself is facing. As she works with Ethan and glimpses a little more into his life she can’t help being moved by this quiet man who has so much to carry on his shoulders.

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New Book Releases June 2016

June 1, 2016 / / 0 Comments

New Book Releases for June 2016

June is now upon us. And it may be time to update your to-read list. So, check out this list of new fiction releases. Click on the covers for reviews.

Young Adult Fiction

Loose Ends ListLoose Ends List – Carrie Firestone – Little, Brown Books – Published 7 June 2016

The Loose Ends List is unlike any other book I’ve ever read. It is hilarious, frank, crude, beautiful, honest and so emotional.  Maddie’s family is slightly crazy. They are passionate, fight lots, openly talk about sex and drugs, and swear like troopers. And Maddie’s grandmother is the craziest of the lot. She is Maddie’s favourite person, her confidant and idol. So the news that Grandma Astrid is dying and has booked the whole family on a death with dignity cruise hits them all, especially Maddie, really hard.

Young adult fiction: Contemporary.

How It Feels To FlyHow It Feels To Fly – Kathryn Holmes – HarperTeen – Published 14 June 2016

Sam has always known she’d be a professional dancer—but that was before her body betrayed her, developing unmanageable curves in all the wrong places. Lately, the girl staring back at Sam in the mirror is unrecognizable. Dieting doesn’t work, ignoring the whispers is pointless, and her overbearing mother just makes it worse.

Following a series of crippling anxiety attacks, Sam is sent to a treatment camp for teens struggling with mental and emotional obstacles.

Young adult fiction: Contemporary.

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Book Review: How It Feels To Fly

May 11, 2016 / / 2 Comments

How It Feels To Fly

How It Feels To Fly – Kathryn Holmes – HarperTeen – Published 14 June 2016

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Synopsis

A struggle with body dysmorphia forces one girl to decide if letting go of her insecurity also means turning her back on her dreams.

Sam has always known she’d be a professional dancer—but that was before her body betrayed her, developing unmanageable curves in all the wrong places. Lately, the girl staring back at Sam in the mirror is unrecognizable. Dieting doesn’t work, ignoring the whispers is pointless, and her overbearing mother just makes it worse.

Following a series of crippling anxiety attacks, Sam is sent to a treatment camp for teens struggling with mental and emotional obstacles. Forced to open up to complete strangers, Sam must get through the program if she wants to attend a crucial ballet intensive later in the summer. It seems hopeless until she starts confiding in a camp counselor who sparks a confidence she was sure she’d never feel again. But when she’s faced with disappointing setbacks, will Sam succumb to the insecurity that imprisons her?

My thoughts

I’m not sure how to review this book. Not because I’m in any doubt about how powerful and all-round fantastic it is, but because hits hard on some big issues.  Reading it was challenging and confronting. It deals with serious topics, from body image, anxiety and therapy, to bullying, self perception and relationships, both good and bad.

I was immediately drawn into Sam’s world. She narrates the story and it gives readers the perfect insight into her head and thoughts. She struggles with a nasty, little voice constantly telling her that she’s no good, too fat and will never achieve her dream of becoming a professional ballerina. The majority of this book takes place at a summer camp for teens who are elite performers and athletes with anxiety issues. None of them want to be there and certainly don’t want to identify with the others. It takes some rocky starts and shouting matches for this loveable group to learn to work together.     Continue reading

Book Review: Cure for the Common Universe

May 5, 2016 / / 0 Comments

Cure for the Common Universe

Cure for the Common Universe – Christian McKay Heidicker – Simon and Schuster – Published 14 June 2016

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Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Jaxon is being committed to video game rehab . . . ten minutes after he met a girl. A living, breathing girl named Serena, who not only laughed at his jokes but actually kinda sorta seemed excited when she agreed to go out with him.     Jaxon’s first date. Ever.

In rehab, he can’t blast his way through galaxies to reach her. He can’t slash through armies to kiss her sweet lips. Instead, he has just four days to earn one million points by learning real-life skills. And he’ll do whatever it takes—lie, cheat, steal, even learn how to cross-stitch—in order to make it to his date.

If all else fails, Jaxon will have to bare his soul to the other teens in treatment, confront his mother’s absence, and maybe admit that it’s more than video games that stand in the way of a real connection.

Prepare to be cured.

My thoughts

Cure for the Common Universe takes common YA tropes and turns them on their heads with humour, a million gaming references and an anti-hero who is truly awful (but only too identifiable).

Jaxon is being sent to video game rehab. Just moments after almost winning the latest game with his guild and asking a girl out on a date – for the first time ever. He is determined to get out of v-hab as quickly as possible. He has just four days to accumulate one million points by attending group therapy, winning competitions, eating healthy and (really?) running. But don’t worry, he’s got this and nobody’s going to stand in his way.

Jaxon isn’t your typical, loveable nerd. He’s lazy, rude, oblivious to the people around him and yet totally realistic. Surrounding Jaxon at v-hab are an assortment of characters from the bullying jocks to his own weirdly wonderful guild members – girls who are strong and stand up for themselves and what they believe in, a heroin addict, a group leader who is a master gamer himself and a young boy who hangs off Jaxon’s every word (or command). They are at once stereotypical and yet push outside of what we expect from YA characters.     Continue reading

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