Chicklish

REVIEW: Drummer Girl by Bridget Taylor

Review by Harriett.

"It was supposed to be the summer of her life. Instead, 17-year-old Lucy finds her best friend Harper shot dead in an LA swimming pool. How did it come to this? Lucy Gosling is the drummer in Crush, a rock band formed by five London schoolgirls that has just won the UK semi-final of an international talent contest. But when the band lands in Hollywood for the big final, things are not quite as they seem."

This book is about five girls: Harper, Lucy, Toni, Robyn and Iza. Harper is the lead singer, spotlight-hungry and on a quest to win back her ex-boyfriend, Rafe. Lucy is the drummer, calm and level-headed, she is the band's 'rock'. Toni is the bassist, gorgeous and temperamental, she longs for the fame. Robyn is the guitarist and song-writer, slightly insecure but brilliant; she just wants friends. And Iza the pianist, shy and classically trained; she will either make or break it to the top.The girls go on a journey that will teach them to love life, but also respect it.

I think my favourite characters are probably Iza and Lucy. Iza because I can easily relate to her shyness and I love her journey from an insecure child to a brave and outspoken individual, and Lucy because she is the peacemaker of sorts - you may even say a motherly figure. She is there for each and every one of the girls and is completely selfless.

I really loved the way the scenes between Lucy and Alexander and Iza and Luke where written. Also, the few moments you get between Caesar and Skye were truly beautiful.

This book made me laugh until my ribs hurt, but it also had me sobbing like a 3-year-old. There was nothing at all that I disliked about the book - I thought it was utterly perfect. I would recommend this to absolutely anybody and everybody who likes to read. Drummer Girl is one of those books that anybody can read. Overall, I give Bridget Tyler's masterpiece that is Drummer Girl only my second ever 10/10!!!

Review by Harriett.

Drummer Girl by Bridget Taylor

Published
01/05/2013

Publisher
Templar Publishing

ISBN
9781848776920

REVIEW: Every Day by David Levithan

Review by Hazel Holmes.

This is a really hard book to review, mainly because it’s difficult to explain. I’ll try my best. The main premise is about a character named A who wakes up each morning in a different body. One day A may be a boy in a wheelchair, an illegal immigrant, a computer nerd or a suicidal girl. Everyday is different but A tries to keep the person’s life unaffected by his presence, he does not interfere or become attached to that life. The next day he’ll be gone. He will never have a family, never have friends, he can never plan a life. A accepts this until he meets Rhiannon, A’s rules no longer apply and A will do anything to try and spend everyday with her.

Levithan explores the complexities of love, relationships and identity. The latter is the part I found most interesting. Gender is irrelevant; it’s what is in the soul that counts, there are no boundaries. But, I’ve been thinking … if you enveloped a different body everyday and ‘became’ another person everyday, would you still be able to keep a firm hold of your own identity? A seems to be able to, but not without some difficulties.

Every Day is no doubt an interesting and original story. A concept that raises so many questions you just have to keep reading until you reach the end.

Review by Hazel Holmes.

Published
02/09/2013

Publisher
Egmont Books Ltd

ISBN
9781405264426

REVIEW: Peppermint Kiss by Kelly McKain (Rainbow Beauty book 1)

Review by Isabella.

This is a story about Abbie and her family - all girls - who have to move house because they don't have enough money. They move to a place in Devon where they're not very happy at first, but then things start to improve.

I thought this book was absolutely brilliant! After about Chapter 9, I couldn't stop reading and I just had to finish it as quickly as possible because the story was so intriguing.

It was easy to picture the scenes and the characters felt real and interesting. My favourite character was Grace, one of Abbie's sisters. I loved the idea of a business making beauty products and my favourite product they made was the perfume that Abbie gave to Summer. I also really enjoyed the quiz at the back of the book. (I'm a mixture of all three sisters!)

I give this book 10 out of 10 and I recommend it for girls aged 11+.

I'm so looking forward to the next book!

Review by Isabella, aged 9

Peppermint Kiss by Kelly McKain (Rainbow Beauty, book 1)

Published
01/02/2013

Publisher
Usborne Publishing Ltd

ISBN
9781409539605

REVIEW: Shrunk! by Fleur Hitchcock

Review by Isabella.

This book is about a boy who wishes on a falling meteorite and develops a power: he can shrink things. He lives in a model village in Bywater-by-Sea, a town in which strange things happen. One of the things Tom shrinks is the planet Jupiter, which causes all kinds of problems, especially when he loses it...

I thought Shrunk! was a very exciting book because new and brilliant things were going on all the time. I never knew what would happen next. I liked the people Tom met in Bywater-by-Sea and the way his friendship with Eric and Jacob developed. Even though Jacob was nasty sometimes, the things that happened to him were very funny. Tom's grandmother was mysterious and she revealed some interesting things. Tom's parents were magicians and they were funny too. I loved the setting of the model village.

This book is funny and thrilling, and also contains fascinating facts about planets. I recommend it for all readers aged about 7+.

A sequel to this book has been written in a really exciting way at The Story Adventure. From 21st January until today, 13th May, readers have been giving the author ideas and posting up pictures, votes and their own stories. I completely and utterly loved everything to do with The Story Adventure and it was it was fantastic to be a part of it. I can't wait to read the finished book. I'm really going to miss The Story Adventure!

Review by Isabella, aged 9.

Find out more about Fleur Hitchcock's Story Adventure here.

Shrunk! by FR Hitchcock

Published
06/09/2012

Publisher
Hot Key Books

ISBN
9781471400070

 

 

REVIEW: Follow Me Down by Tanya Byrne

Review by Mel.

"When sixteen-year-old Adamma Okomma, a Nigerian diplomat's daughter, arrives at exclusive Crofton College in Wiltshire, she is immediately drawn to beautiful, tempestuous, unpredictable Scarlett Chiltern. Adamma and Scarlett become inseparable - until they fall for the same guy. Soon the battle lines are drawn and Adamma is shunned by Scarlett and her privileged peers. But then Scarlett goes missing and everything takes a darker turn. Adamma always knew that Scarlett had her secrets, but some secrets are too big to keep and this one will change all of their lives for ever."

Follow Me Down is a dark, dark book. Told from the perspective of Adamma Okomma, a Nigerian diplomat's daughter who's flown to England to enrol at a top boarding school, it explores the nature of friendship, passion and betrayal. The narrative flickers backwards and forwards between the present and the past, as the author slowly reveals  the fate of Scarlet, Adamma's on/off wild friend and the identity of Adamma's secret lover.

The plot worked well for me, although I confess that I worked out one of the mysteries early on. However, it didn't stop me from wanting to finish the story - I needed to know if I was right! The characters were well-drawn, especially the fickle Scarlett and I thought that Tanya Byrne completed nailed the sense of place throughout the book. Her descriptions are so evocative - I really felt as if I was there with Adamma.

This isn't a book for escapists or younger readers as it includes both rape and murder, but it's the perfect choice for those who enjoy beautifully-written psychological thrillers with adult themes.

Review by Mel.

Follow Me Down by Tanya Byrne

Published
09/05/2013

Publisher
Headline Book Publishing

ISBN
9780755393077

GUEST POST: Sophia Bennett, author of You Don't Know Me

We're delighted to welcome back Sophia Bennett, who's here to talk about her latest novel. Read on to find out more about You Don't Know Me...

"It was all so good. Sasha and Rose. Best friends in a band, singing together. Right up to the finals of Killer Act when the judges tell them one of them must go Suddenly their friendship is put to the ultimate test. On TV in front of millions. Two girls. One huge mistake. Can they ever forgive each other?"

Over to Sophia Bennett...

Where I Get My Ideas From
A guest post by Sophia Bennett

It was a Saturday night in, I think, late 2011. The five year-old was in bed, but my husband, the three older children and I were all in the sitting room, watching X Factor. Except, when I looked around I realised we were not all watching X Factor at all.

My son was on his computer, playing a game, and the girls were on their phones, talking to their friends. Not by talking to them, obviously. Nobody talks on phones any more. They were texting or messaging. Probably via Facebook. Possibly about when they were going to watch the download of the show, or maybe what they thought about the acts.

Actually, I was on my laptop too, tweeting about it. There was enough technology in that room to land on Mars. Anyway, I looked around some more, and that’s where I got my idea for You Don’t Know Me: girls, phones, tweeting, talent shows, sharing opinions – what if you’re suddenly famous but it all goes wrong?

I love it when people ask ‘where do you get your ideas from’? I know some authors can be a bit sniffy, and there’s one who leans over conspiratorially, and says “There’s a little shop on the Charing Cross Road ….” But I think it’s a perfectly sensible question. Where did Suzanne Collins get her idea for The Hunger Games from, for example? Well, she says it was from zapping between a war report about teens in conflict zones and a reality show on TV. Rather like me, in fact. Except, she went on to write The Hunger Games. Stephenie Meyer? A dream of the scene where Edward takes Bella to the shining clearing in the forest in Twilight. JK Rowling? That famous train journey, when Harry popped into her head.

That’s the first idea: the one that makes you think, Story! The trouble is, you don’t need just one idea for a book – you need about a thousand. And in the end I think we all end up trawling the same places for them: our childhoods, the things that really mattered to us when we were teenagers, our dreams and nightmares, our weird, twisted imaginations (actually, is that just Derek Landy and Darren Shan?), plus things we heard on the radio this morning, saw on the bus or read in a magazine. I’ve said it before – there’s an advert for watches that drives me insane with fury. It’s actually inspired a family of (nasty) characters in the book I’m writing at the moment. I will thoroughly enjoy doing bad things to them.

My extra ideas for ‘You Don’t Know Me’ included the preciousness of teenage friendships, dancing to Abba, learning guitar, being in a band, songwriting, body image, first love and heartbreak. And cosmology – based on a girl in The Future of Us, which I was reading at the time, who was getting into science, and my five year-old – now six – who’s fascinated by the stars.

Ideas for books are like snowballs. You start with one or two, then they roll along and more and more stick to them, until you’ve got a whole avalanche of characters, scenes and situations, and you’re ready to sit down and write. If you’re a writer, the problem is generally not getting them, it’s fending them off. Putting them down on paper can be quite a relief.

But if you find you’re having trouble with that first spark of inspiration, I’m told there’s a little shop on the Charing Cross Road...

Thank you very much, Sophia Bennett!

You Don't Know Me is published by Chicken House on 2nd May 2013.

REVIEW: After Eden by Helen Douglas

Review by Harriett of Little Paris Library.

"If love is in the stars, maybe it will find you one dark night, when you least expect it.... When mysterious new boy Ryan Westland shows up at her school Eden Anfield is intrigued. On the face of it, he's a typical American teenager. So how come he doesn't recognise pizza and hasn't heard of Hitler? What puzzles Eden most, however, is the interest he's taking in her. As Eden falls in love with Ryan, she stumbles across a book in Ryan's bedroom - a biography of her best friend - written fifty years in the future. Unravelling Ryan's secret, she discovers he has one unbelievably important purpose... and she might just have destroyed his only chance of success."

This book is about Eden and Ryan. Eden is a girl who lost her parents in a tragic accident when she was little, and she now lives with her Aunt Miranda. Eden has been best friends with Connor since she can remember. They are both in their final year at school, and along with the rest of their friends are ready to have the best year ever! Ryan is a mysterious and gorgeous boy who has appeared from thin air. He takes great interest in Eden, much to Eden's confusion, and as they grow closer Eden discovers something that could kill her, something that should have been kept hidden... something that could kill planet Earth.

I really liked this book. I thought the characters where easy to like and at the start of the book, I thought Eden was really easy to relate to. I loved the plot and the setting was brilliant.

I think my favourite character is Eden, because she is so confused as to why Ryan has taken interest in little old her, and also because she she is adamant that she will protect Ryan at all costs. I did like Ryan's character but I found it easier to relate to Eden. The only thing I disliked about the book was how Helen Douglas showed Cassie's horrid side, and only revealed the nicer side and the reason she is rather tense at the end of the book.

I think this book is romance/sci-fi and would suit fans of Josephine Angelini and 'The Time-Traveller's Wife'. I would recommend this to 12+ readers. Overall I give 'After Eden' 8/10.

Review by Harriett of Little Paris Library.

After Eden by Helen Douglas

Published
04/07/2013

Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

ISBN
9781408828694

REVIEW: Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

Review by Luisa.

Mallory’s distraught when she finds out that her boyfriend has been emotionally cheating on her online. Then she finds a list written by her grandmother, back in pre-internet days – a time when life seemed happier and easier. Mallory decides to ‘go vintage’, abandoning 21^st century technology and re-living aspects of her grandmother’s teen life.

If you enjoyed Sean Griswold’s Head (reviewed here), you’ll definitely love this book too. It has Lindsey Leavitt’s trademark wit, with some wonderful banter between Mallory and the boy she starts to see in a new light. I absolutely loved Mallory’s realisations about Jeremy in relation to his lack of understanding of her sense of humour. There’s also a very interesting focus on Mallory’s family relationships, including her grandmother’s new life circumstances, and great sister-to-sister chats.

Light-hearted, fun and romantic, with a fascinating premise. Recommended!

Review by Luisa

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt

Published
04/04/2013

Publisher
Scholastic

ISBN
9781407134857

NEWS: Red House Young Writers' competition 2013

Red House is looking for talented young writers for their 2013 Yearbook. Read on to find out more...

"We want aspiring young writers from around the country to enter the 2013 Red House Young Writers’ Yearbook competition and win the chance to see their stories or poems published in a stunningly produced and designed book.

To enter the competition, children should be aged between 7 and 17. They can submit a story, poem or article and it’s up to the individual what subject they choose to write about. This year the competition entries will be divided into four age categories: 7+, 9+, 11+ and 13+. The deadline is 31st July 2013.

As well as becoming a published author, the winners will also earn the opportunity to attend a Red House Young Writers’ Workshop, with a  high-profile children’s author, held – for the first time ever- as part of the celebrated Imagine Children’s Festival at London’s Southbank Centre. The workshop will provide participants with a unique, fun and stimulating opportunity to help them hone their skills and provide lots of feedback to encourage and inspire!"

For more information about the competition and entry instructions, check out the Red House site.

INTERVIEW: Steph Campbell, author of Delicate

As part of Simon & Schuster UK's Month of Men blog tour, we had the chance to interview Steph Campbell, author of Delicate (among other books). Here's more about Delicate:

"With a thriving gymnastics career, Trevor her loving boyfriend and a stellar academic record, anyone would assume that Sydney Pierce has it all. But beneath the pretence of perfection, Sydney's life is crumbling around her and she's terrified that everyone will find out that she's living a lie... Can Sydney learn to let go of everything she is clinging to in order to gain everything she has ever wanted or will she realize her breaking point too late?"

We asked Steph Campbell a few questions...

Hi, Steph, and welcome to Chicklish!

Hi, gals! Thanks so much for having me. I’m thrilled to be here!

Please could you tell our readers a few details about yourself?

I was born and raised in the dry-heat of Southern California, but my husband and four children and I now live in the wet-sticky-humid-heat of Louisiana. We have a bayou behind our house. Talk about culture shock.

I, like so many authors, have been writing for as long as I can remember, and started and scrapped many novels along the way. I’ve been writing “seriously” since 2006.

Can you tell us anything about the inspiration for writing Delicate? How did you come up with the character of Sydney?

The first inspiration for DELICATE came from a Damien Rice song by the same name. Its lyrics are the ultimate tale (at least in my opinion) of unrequited love.  I wanted to write a book about a love that was made of secrets, and I think that Sydney has that with both men in this book.

The character Sydney came from knowing immediately that the main character had to be outwardly strong, but internally so fragile. She’s a different type of character than I typically write, but I hope I did her justice.

You’ve collaborated with some equally great writers. What do you like most about working with other authors?

There are so many great things about co-writing! Writing can be incredibly lonely, and it’s so nice to have someone that is as equally vested in your story as you are. It’s also a huge learning exercise. I’ve collaborated with both Liz Reinhardt (on multiple projects) and Jolene Perry (on My Heart for Yours) and I take away something different from each of them.

Co-writing is like the old Choose Your Own Adventure stories in the most pure and fun way imaginable. I never know when I go to bed and close the document what I’ll wake up to, and it’s always so happy to pull the file up and see where the story has gone.

Do you like reading as much as you like writing? Were you a book-lover when you were a teenager?

Absolutely. If I’m not working on a project, I’m plowing through my TBR list (which is out of control, by the way.)

I remember reading super-serious murder mysteries off of my parents’ bookshelves, and whatever was on my high school reading list. I loved the books we read in school, The Grapes of Wrath, The Catcher in the Rye, The Crucible were favorites. But, I do wish we had books like Speak, The Fault in Our Stars and The Sky is Everywhere around when I was a teenager!

What are you working on now?

I have a few projects in the works right now!

First, Liz Reinhardt and I are releasing a companion book to last years, LENGTHS called DEPTHS in a couple of weeks.

Solo wise, I’m also working on a fourth companion book in the Delicate/Quinn series called FRIEND IS A FOUR LETTER WORD, and a couple of secret projects I can’t wait to share more about!

Thank you very much for visiting Chicklish, Steph Campbell, and wishing you all the very best with your novels!
 
Thanks so much for having me! It was a blast!

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