Chicklish

REVIEW: Envy by Gregg Olsen

Review by Liz of Planet Print.

"Crime lives - and dies - in the deceptively picture-perfect town of Port Gamble (aka “Empty Coffin”), Washington. Evil lurks and strange things happen - and 15-year-olds Hayley and Taylor Ryan secretly use their wits and their telepathic “twin-sense” to uncover the truth about the town's victims and culprits. 
  
Envy, the series debut, involves the mysterious death of the twins' old friend, Katelyn. Was it murder? Suicide? An accident? Hayley and Taylor are determined to find out - and as they investigate, they stumble upon a dark truth that is far more disturbing than they ever could have imagined." (from Goodreads)

After months of picking up this book, and putting it back down, I’ve finally finished it. Unfortunately, Envy wasn’t for me. The writing style made it very difficult for me to get into – too much description that I felt didn’t add much to the plot, too many sentences that were designed to leave you in suspense, but were so dramatic that it all felt unrealistic. Each chapter was meant to leave you hanging, but it was too obvious. I could tell that I was supposed to be left in suspense, if that makes sense. I knew I was meant to be wondering what was going to happen next, and because of that, I just felt completely removed from the book. I wasn’t left hanging, I wasn’t engrossed in the plot, and I felt there was more emphasis on trying to make the book really suspenseful and full of tension than there was on the story of the characters themselves. This in turn made the story feel a little jumbled – I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, or who the focus of the story was meant to be.

The main characters, twins Hayley and Taylor, weren’t bad, but I just couldn’t connect to them. They were supposed to be very different in personality, but I felt like I wouldn’t really have known this if the narration hadn’t stated it outright. A lot of their actions and thoughts were never really explored, and we only really got to know them on a superficial level. Their psychic connection was also barely explained. I didn’t understand it at all, and I felt like it was just a convenient ability they had that let them solve mysteries. On top of that, I’m not sure teens reading this book would appreciate the way they’re portrayed in it. I’m a teen myself, but some of the abbreviations used in texting and messaging each other even stumped me. It actually took some effort to decipher what they were trying to say to each other! This view that teens only talk in acronyms and slang is a bit outdated. Most of us text or message each other in full words, with a few abbreviations here and there.

The story itself had potential –  cyberbullying is a real issue in today’s world, and definitely needs to be addressed because it’s something that affects so many people’s lives. However, I found there were too many things going on. A lot seemed irrelevant to the plot and I was really confused at what I was supposed to be thinking. Random things were focused on with great detail, making it seem like they would be important later on in the book – then were never mentioned again! I found myself wondering why they were mentioned in the first place, and I was trying to work out which things were relevant to the story, and which things were just there for the sake of it. The overlong descriptions made the book drag and the impact of Kateyln’s (the girl who died) death was lessened because it was lost in all other the other stuff happening. I just wanted the story to pick one thing to centre on and go with it, without going off on tangents all over the place.

I have read other reviews for this book, and I realise that I may perhaps be in the minority, so I don’t want to completely deter people from reading this. I’ve always enjoyed mysteries and thrillers, but I’ve never really read true-crime, which is what the author is famous for writing, so maybe it’s my lack of experience with this genre and the author’s previous works that made the book unenjoyable. There were some good points – the way things were connected were quite clever and the main plot was quite intriguing (though some things were predictable), so if you enjoy very complicated books, crime novels or have read the author’s previous works, then perhaps give this one a go.

Overall, I was lured by Envy’s very creepy and intriguing cover, but was disappointed with the story inside. I’d recommend reading an extract of this book first before buying it to see whether you’d enjoy the writing style, as that was one of my main issues with it.

Review by Liz of Planet Print.

• Publisher: Splinter, June 2012
• ISBN-10: 1454901802
• ISBN-13: 978-1454901808

REVIEW: Pure by Julianna Baggott

Review by Kate.

"We know you are here, our brothers and sisters. We will, one day, emerge from the Dome to join you in peace. For now, we watch from afar."

Pressia Belze has lived outside of the Dome ever since the detonations. Struggling for survival she dreams of life inside the safety of the Dome with the 'Pure'.

Partridge, himself a Pure, knows that life inside the Dome, under the strict control of the leaders' regime, isn't as perfect as others think.

Bound by a history that neither can clearly remember, Pressia and Partridge are destined to forge a new world."

Pure introduces us to a world that is divided between the "haves" and the "have nots".  Society has been split by "The Detonations", a nuclear disaster that has left the "wretches" fused to the objects, animals or people that they were nearest to at the time of the explosion. While Pressia may seem unlucky to now have a doll's head instead of a hand, she is lucky in comparison as others struggled to survive fused to car engines and wild animals. For the "pures", the detonations were of little effect. Safely cooped up in the Dome that has saved the pures from the devastation of the detonations, Partridge has recieved an education that Pressia could only dream of. But Partidge wants to look beyond the Dome and find out the truth about what happened to his mother, who he believes to have been killed.

Baggott has done well to bring alive the world of the wretches, where the ground can come alive and attack at a moment's notice and the air is no longer clean. I also enjoyed reading about the imaginative fusings, such as El Capitan and his brother Helmud, who is permanently recieving a piggyback from his older brother. El Capitan often experienced conflicted emotions, feeling frustrated at his brother's lack of intelligence but knowing that if anything were to happen to his brother that he would die too. Pressia finds herself in a similar dilemma, complying with the emeny so that her elderly grandfather can recieve the care he needs. This story was as much about the characters and the environments as it was about the escape from various enemies.

Overall I really really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to read further into the series. It reminded me of "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld however I find it hard to describe why because the worlds created in the respective stories draw few comparisons. I would recommend this series to anyone who likes a book a little out of the ordinary and is prepared to get swept head over heels into an entirely different world. I'm eagerly awaiting the sequel!

5/5

Review by Kate.

• Publisher: Headline (2 Feb 2012)
• ISBN-10: 0755385489
• ISBN-13: 978-0755385485

INTERVIEW: Liz Reinhardt, author of Double Clutch

Chicklish interviews Liz Reinhardt, author of the Brenna Blixen series (Double Clutch, Junk Miles) and Forgiving Trinity.

Hello! At the start of Double Clutch, Brenna has just returned to the States after a year in Denmark, and in Junk Miles, she visits Paris. Are any of these European experiences based on travelling you've done yourself, at Brenna's age or at another time?

Hello and thank you so much for having me! My father was born in Denmark, so my family had very strong ties to Europe when I was young. I spent my first summer there with close family friends when I was just 14, and the family I stayed with took me on this great mini-trip to Paris. I fell in love! After that I got the travel bug. I lived in Germany for a few months, backpacked Ireland and England, and did an eight week study-abroad in Italy. I slowed down a little when I got married and had my little girl, but my husband and I plan on travelling again as soon as we can!

Do you have a favourite scene from the Brenna Blixen books - one that you can tell us about without spoilers? (I should add that I think your books contain some amazingly swoonworthy kissing scenes!)

Why thank you! That is a seriously awesome compliment! One of the things I try to do in the books is tap into that kind of obsessive detailing about life most teens (and many adults!) get into. I can remember my best friend getting a note from a guy in high school that said, "You are beautiful." We spent HOURS talking about that 'note'! So I try to make the scenes come alive with a good amount of romantic detailing.

Also, I really love kissing! I'm naturally affectionate, and one of my favorite things in the world is kissing my husband (every day, many times!). You know, I need to practice for the books!

Forgiving Trinity is a slightly different kind of book, with a fascinating background. Could you share the story of how this book developed?

Thank you! This book was kind of a crazy write. I had gone through an experience in my personal life where someone I cared about faced a long addiction that had recently gotten a lot stronger. The person wound up going to rehab and really turning things around. No one thought a change like that would happen, but this person was beyond determined to get life back on track. And I got to see the struggles first hand, so I had them on my mind.

I had finished three Brenna books and was sending them out to agents. While I was waiting, I decided to start a blog, but I had no clue what to blog about. It was also NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), and I thought, "Hey, I know! I'll blog one chapter of a book each day, and have my blog followers vote on what they want to see happen next!" So, I wrote the book, blog post by blog post, in one month. It was really amazing to get that instant feedback and have people really respond immediately. And it helped me deal with some of the things that I had been trying to make sense out of with addiction. It helped give me some sense of what it may have been like to go through the aftermath of an addiction.

Will there be more books about Trinity and/or Brenna in the future?

REVIEW: Junk Miles by Liz Reinhardt

Review by Luisa.

This is the e-book sequel to Double Clutch (read our review) and a very welcome continuation of Brenna Blixen's story. It further explores all the romantic liaisons introduced in the first book, with added complications. The book also features a trip to Paris and lots of development in Brenna's family relationships and friendships.

At the start of the novel, Brenna's mother is concerned that Brenna is getting too serious about her boyfriend. As anyone who has read Double Clutch will know, Brenna's mother doesn't really know the half of it. Brenna might be very much in love, but she still has unresolved love-triangle issues. And, no matter how much I found myself shouting "Noooo!" from the sidelines, Brenna is about to make some big mistakes - or she's about to live a little, depending on how you view it. Either way, this book is filled with yet more delicious romantic drama, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I found the parents in this book to be quite frustrating, but then I was seeing things very much from Brenna's point of view. Saxon's mother was awful! This book shows another side to Saxon. It also reveals more about Jake, and deepens the connections between all the characters while adding to Brenna's confusion.

The final part of Junk Miles left me with a lot of questions, and I'm happy to hear that there's a third book planned. In fact, there's an extract of Slow Twitch at the end of this e-book, and all I can say is that I have my finger poised over the Kindle 'buy' button.

I'd like to thank Readaraptor again for introducing me to this series!

Review by Luisa.

• Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
• ASIN: B0069993HC

 

NEWS: Live author event online - Celebrating Burns with Liz Lochhead

We have great news of a special Burns Night live author event: Celebrating Burns with Liz Lochhead. Here's more information...

Scotland’s National Poet Liz Lochhead is to give a live broadcast to children across Scotland during a special Robert Burns celebration on Thursday 26 January at 11am. The Scottish Friendly Meet Our Authors Special Event, run by Scottish Book Trust, will be streamed live from BBC Scotland in Glasgow and available after to watch again for free from the Scottish Book Trust website. The broadcast will be most suited to 9-16 year olds and any fan of Scottish poetry.

To join over 10,000 pupils across the UK watching the event live on 26th January click here. Or download and stream the event from the same link after the event, from 2nd February 2012.

The Scottish Book Trust say, "Liz will be celebrating the poetry of Burn’s as well as reading her own work. We’re sure this event is going to be really inspirational as no-one can make Burns come to life like Liz can."

REVIEW: Heist Society by Ally Carter

Review by Alexandra.

Katarina Bishop. New student at the very exclusive Colgan School. Not available for former pursuits…

..as a burglar.

 Or so Katarina hopes to advertise herself.

The problem is that belonging to a family of famous thieves has its trappings. Soon enough Kat’s friend Hale sets up an event that leads to her being expelled and the ‘fun’ begins!

Arturo Taccone claims Kat’s dad has stolen some of his paintings and sets a deadline for their return. Kat assembles a team to help her break into one of the biggest museums to do the job. The problem is, they also find out that the paintings don’t really belong to Taccone but have a tragic history. 

A nice twist in the end of this novel. Along the way plenty of vibrant characters help Kat with her mission. 

Review by Alexandra.

Heist Society website

• Publisher: Orchard (1 Sep 2011)
• ISBN-10: 1408309556
• ISBN-13: 978-1408309551

 

NEWS: Launch of The Spark, a creative Facebook community for readers

News from Faber:

Welcome to The Spark - the place for you to showcase your creative skills.

Calling all young aspiring actors, writers, musicians and film makers...

Take part in an exciting new online community where books provide the inspiration for your talent.

Launching with our first project for 13 -18 year olds, we’re looking to find a young actor to play one of the characters in Claire Merle’s debut YA novel, The Glimpse, in a series of web films. Entrants are invited to film themselves performing one of two audition scripts available at www.facebook.com/theglimpse and all entries will be showcased on The Glimpse You Tube Channel.

The winner will be announced in March 2012 and the web films will be broadcast online around publication of The Glimpse in June 2012.

Find out more at The Spark on Facebook. Follow The Spark on Twitter @thesparkfeed

NEWS: Write Dreams charity auction

There's an online auction going on at Write Dreams in aid of a charity called Donna's Dream House. Donna’s Dream House is a holiday home for children and teenagers with life-threatening or terminal illnesses. Read more about it at Write Dreams.

The items are all book-related and/or writing-related and there are some fabulous items including newly released books, signed books and novel critiques. Some items still have no bids at the time of writing this. So if you're a writer or a reader, please check it out!

Find the auction here.

REVIEW: Double Clutch by Liz Reinhardt

Review by Luisa.

Brenna Blixen returns from a year in Denmark to start the second year of high school in the States. On her first day she rediscovers old friends and classmates. She also meets some new ones, including two very different but equally interesting (and hot) boys: Saxon Maclean and Jake Kelly. Saxon and Jake are sworn enemies, and it's soon clear that having a relationship with one of them would break the other's heart. So what will Brenna do when she feels like she's falling in love... with both of them?

Double Clutch is an independently published e-book that I added to my wishlist after seeing a review at Readaraptor and thinking that it looked like my kind of book. I'm very glad I bought it for my Kindle because I've now added a new must-read author to my list; I really enjoy Liz Reinhardt's writing and I'm looking forward to more of it. Watch out for reviews of her other e-books, Junk Miles and Forgiving Trinity, plus an author interview, coming soon.

This book is delicious. I felt like I really got to know everything about Brenna: her home, her family, her background... her loves. Oh, her loves! Jake and Saxon are both intriguing love interests, and the love triangle is passionate and compelling. It's also fairly explicit - this is probably a book for older teens (and adults) - and it's completely swoonworthy.

I found the story addictive, and I was waiting with bated breath to find out what Brenna's next move would be. The writing was very detailed about every aspect of Brenna's life, including her new-found competitive running skills, which is where the novel gets its name: the 'double clutch' is a type of breathing recommended by Brenna's running coach. I enjoyed reading about this side of Brenna's life, and also about her close relationship with her mother and her best friend, who was lovely. The main focus of the novel, though, is Brenna's romantic life. Brenna is a great character - boy-obsessed, but also sensible, strong-willed and caring. I was willing her to make the right choice, while not being completely sure what that was...

Recommended to people who love reading about passionate romance and real-life relationships.

Review by Luisa.

• Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
• ASIN: B005LQ9EW8

REVIEW: Stuck on Me by Hilary Freeman (Camden Town Tales book 2)

Review by Luisa.

Fourteen-year-old Sky is convinced that her nose is growing faster than the rest of her face. What's more, the other members of her family - apart from the dad she's never met - have noses that she considers perfect. Soon Sky's increasing obssession with her nose combines with her desire to find out the truth about her father, and this leads her on a journey of self-discovery...

I wish I could send this book in a time machine back to my teenage self. I completely relate to the way Sky obsessed about her appearance and I remember how all-consuming this can feel. The way this book tackles body image issues is fantastic. There are humourous and light moments in the story - most notably Sky's hilariously disastrous visit to her family doctor, who also happens to be her friend's mother. But Sky's problem is always taken seriously and dealt with sensitively.

The strength and importance of the friendship between Sky, Vix and Rosie comes across clearly. As a trio they are completely believable and realistic and they're so good for each other. I loved the way Vix and Rosie stand by Sky - even letting themselves get dragged around plastic surgery clinics - and they dream up subtle and kind ways to support her. The book also shows a realistic, sensible approach to romance, and Sky's relationship with her boyfriend played out in a satisfying way.

This is the second in the Camden Town Tales series, though it would definitely work as a standalone. Once again, I adored the Camden setting and the anything-goes atmosphere of the girls' neighbourhood. As I read, I felt like I was in London with Sky, walking through Regent's Park and taking the 27 bus...

An absorbing read that has the perfect mix of escapism and reality.

Review by Luisa.

• Publisher: Piccadilly Press (1 Jan 2012)
• ISBN-10: 1848121318
• ISBN-13: 978-1848121317