Chicklish

GIVEAWAY: signed copies of Viola in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani (Now Closed)

Viola in Reel Life is the first teen novel by bestselling American novelist Adriana Trigiani. It tells the story of fourteen-year-old Viola, who has to adjust to leaving her New York life behind and moving to a girls' boarding school in Indiana. Our review is here.

From our review: "I'd recommend this very sweet novel to anyone who enjoys gently-paced, lyrical coming-of-age stories."

**This giveaway is now closed and winners are being notified. Winners are I.A., D.W. and J.B.**

We had three copies of this book, signed by the author, to give away to Chicklish readers based in the UK.

**This giveaway is now closed and winners are being notified. Winners are I.A., D.W. and J.B.**

REVIEW: Viola in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani

Review by Luisa.

New Yorker Viola is unhappy about attending Prefect Academy, a girls' boarding school in Indiana. She misses her parents and her best friend Andrew, and she's not sure about the three girls she has to share a room with. At least she has her trusty video camera to hide behind. But gradually Viola starts to adjust to boarding school life, and her Indiana life turns out to be quite different from what she expected.

This book had a steady, calm rhythm and almost an old-fashioned feel to it, despite the instant messaging sections. It takes a fascinating stroll through Viola's first months at her new school and shows the way she starts to adjust to her surroundings and the people she meets, including a brush with first romance.

I loved the way Viola's film-making was central to the way she learned and grew, and I was interested in the way Viola slowly started to see herself from other people's point of view, including that of her parents. There was a magnificent sense of place in this novel, and I particularly enjoyed the parts where Viola viewed the unfamiliar Indiana scenery through her camera lens. The description was magnificent and mystical.

Viola seems to be a very 'young' fourteen, and at the end of the novel I was left with the impression that she has quite a lot of learning still to do. I was slightly surprised that there wasn't more conflict between Viola and her roomates, considering Viola's attitude at the start of her stay, but everyone was lovely at Prefect Academy.

I'd recommend this very sweet novel to anyone who enjoys gently-paced, lyrical coming-of-age stories.

Review by Luisa

REVIEW: Paper Towns by John Green

Review by Mya.

Quentin Jacobsen has spent his entire life infatuated with his beautiful and mysterious neighbour, Margo Roth Spiegelman, from his bedroom window. Then one day the window is opened and Margo summons him to join her on an ingenious campaign of revenge – and he follows.

After the night ends and a new day breaks, Quentin arrives at school only to find Margo does not. Always an enigma, Margo now becomes a mystery and Quentin soon learns that there are clues to be found in his search for Margo.

Paper Towns is nothing short of amazing. It is filled with razor-sharp wit and the characters weren’t always what they seemed at first. As the book progressed, the characters began to develop in ways which I didn’t think possible.

From pranks to hilarious road trips, this book teaches you everything you need to know about the road to self-discovery. I'd recommend it to readers aged 13+.

Review by Mya, aged 13

NEWS: Swapped by a Kiss is out today!

Today is the official release day of Swapped by a Kiss by Luisa Plaja (me!)

"This sparkling sequel to SPLIT BY A KISS is a body swap book in the funny tradition of Freaky Friday."

When Rachel's on/off boyfriend goes to a music festival in England, she jumps on a plane to surprise him. But when she gets there, she sees him kissing someone else - their friend Jo. Super-lovely, super-loved, all-round-perfect Jo. Rachel runs away, wishing she could leave her life behind - and she suddenly finds herself in Jo's body! Can she keep this swap a secret? Can she unravel what's really going on? Can she get to grips with Jo's out-of-control curly hair? And if she discovers that being in someone else's shoes isn't all it's cracked up to be, can she ever be herself again?

You can buy it now at Waterstone's, WHSmith, The Book Depository, Amazon and lots of other places. It's also available as an e-book in various formats.

Read Marjolein's Book Blog review of Swapped by a Kiss here.

Read more about me on my website.

Read an extract of Swapped by a Kiss in the widget below.

And, if you like, you can ask me questions in the comments and I'll be back soon to answer them!

NEWS: Queen of Teen - nominate now!

Nominations are now open for the Queen of Teen Award. From the Queen of Teen newsletter:

"Spill the beans!
You can now visit our website and nominate your fave female author! Make sure you tell us:

- why you think she's the best writer
- which of her books you love the most
- why she deserves to be crowned Queen of Teen 2010!

Oooooh, sparkly!
The writers of the best nominations will win the chance to walk the pink carpet at the uber-glam QoT coronation ceremony in September!

What are you waiting for? Get involved in the glitz and tell your mates to do the same!"

- Queen of Teen

You have until 14th June to nominate a female author of teen fiction. Anyone aged 10-18 can get involved, and you can nominate more than one author.

The Chicklish team were at the last Queen of Teen ceremony and you can read all about our adventures here and here, and view some of our pics.

Sign up for the Queen of Teen newsletter here.

REVIEW: The Fool's Girl by Celia Rees

Review by Georgia K.

“Have you seen a city under sack? Have you seen what happens there? Have you seen the blood, heard the screaming, smelt the smoke on the wind?”

It is the turn of the seventeenth century, and Illyria is burning. Meanwhile, in the grey streets of London on the other side of the world, Will Shakespeare, a budding playwright, is flourishing. His plays are growing ever more popular with keen audiences, and he is looking forward to returning to his family in Stratford with high hopes and news of prosperity. That is until his eye is caught by Feste, a mysterious clown, performing on the streets for petty change while Violetta, once the future countess of Illyria, is reduced to the position of ‘The Fool’s Girl’. Will, unable to resist, is soon engulfed in their world of intrigue and betrayal, and vows to aid the two friends in their unrelenting quest to reclaim their cities oldest and most venerated relic; stolen from the temple by the evil Malvolio. It is not long however, before events take an unexpected turn and Will discovers that Violetta, a passionate and determined young woman, is a girl all of her own.

I really enjoyed this book and I found it hard to put down! The way that Rees constructs and describes the relationships between the characters made me really care about what happened to them, and had me on the edge of my seat throughout. Her knowledge and accuracy in every detail makes the setting; seventeenth century London, completely believable and it is a fascinating read for people who are interested in Shakespeare’s life or works.
 
The Fool’s Girl is definitely a book I would recommend to readers above the age of twelve, and it can certainly be enjoyed by older teenagers. With a fast-paced, intricately woven plot that is heart-breaking, heart-warming, often shocking, and always utterly captivating, this book will take you on a voyage that ‘stretches from the shores of Illyria to the Forest of Arden’ and will stay with you long after you have turned the final page.

Review by Georgia K

With huge thanks, and welcome to the reviewing team!

Read the first chapter of The Fool's Girl here

Facebook page for Celia Rees

REVIEW: Miss Understanding - My Summer on the Shelf by Lara Fox

Review by Luisa.

I loved the first "Miss Understanding" book, My Year In Agony (reviewed here), which follows Anya's snarky blog as she becomes the unofficial school agony aunt. So I was dying to read more about her life, and thrilled when I got my hands on this sequel.

In My Summer on the Shelf, Anya moves to Docklands to start her summer job at a London publishing house, but she soon finds that it's not exactly glitz and glamour. Her colleague Katie gets on her nerves, and Casper, the teenage author she's looking after, is five years late with his next novel and keeps coming up with ridiculous story ideas. Meanwhile, her boyfriend is away in South America and he's gone quiet. It's just as well Anya has the sophisticated Seth, who should be out of her league but does seem interested in her. The Boy is still vaguely in the background, too, being his charming commitment-phobe self, and Casper is pretty intriguing... Anya's 'summer on the shelf' is shaping up to be anything but dull, and she shares most of it with readers of her blog.

The way this book is written makes it immediately engaging. Just like in the first book, Anya's story is told in the form of blog posts and emails. We also get to see messages to Anya from a few of the other characters - most notably Casper, whose emails are wonderfully eccentric. The comments on Anya's blog aren't shown at the end of her posts, but she often brings them up later, so fans of the first book can hear more about the antics of Guy duLauncey, Fat Gareth, Kayleigh and the gang. These contributions are especially funny when replying to one of Anya's challenges, such as listing "Stupid Things I Did Because I Was Bored", or making inspired suggestions for Casper's second novel. Anya's sarcastic responses to her readers' comments are fun to read.

My absolute favourite thing about this book was Anya's take on office life. Anyone who has ever worked in an office will identify with Anya's frustrations, and this is especially the case for anyone who has ever done work experience or been the youngest, most junior member of staff. Combined with its London setting and references to places I've lived and worked near, I related to these sections so much that I found them almost painfully funny. You don't have to be me to enjoy this, though - Anya's observations about everything are generally hilarious, and the situations she gets into with her family and friends are always entertaining, too. I quickly got to know and like all the characters, and even Katie was lovable, deep down. I also don't think it's necessary to read the first book before this one, as this story is complete in itself. There are small references to events from the previous book, but they're always fully explained. Reading this book will probably make you want to go back and read all about Anya's 'year in agony', though, and I definitely recommend it.

Witty, original and perfect for anyone who enjoys being shown the funny side of everyday life.

Review by Luisa

REVIEW: Carbon Diaries 2017 by Saci Lloyd

Review by Alexandra.

How do you pack a whole year into a book, add in the fact that the world isn't as we know it now, that the human race is in a battle against the elements, and that governments can no longer provide their citizens' basic needs without pretty much resorting to oppression?

The answer is Carbon Diaries 2017.  

It’s the sequel to the fantastic Carbon Diaries 2015 (reviewed by us here). This time, Laura Brown is on a rollercoaster of struggling through student life in London and fighting to understand the new world she’s in. The punk band she’s in takes to the road in France when university becomes more of a threat than a safe haven. Nowhere is safe anymore; governments are trying to clamp down on rebels, protesters and groups that are looking to bring them down. 

But being on tour isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be, either.  There’s just as much danger in Europe as in the UK.

This sequel has hit me more since finishing it than while reading it. There’s a lot to absorb, and the sheer volume of events and plot turns in it didn’t really give me space to take it in. It’s taken me some time since finishing it to stand back and see the book as being clever and fulfilling. 

This is a great series to make us think about the effects humans have on the environment. It creates a picture of what we don’t dare to imagine about what could happen.

Review by Alexandra.

REVIEW: Betrayals by Lili St.Crow

Review by Tamika.

Betrayals, the sequel to Strange Angels, describes Dru's adventures once she has been taken to The Schola. Christophe, her 'protector' sent her (and Graves) there, where she will hopefully be safe from Sergej. But The Schola is a school for wulfen and djamphir, which means she is the only girl in the school. Frustratingly enough, the teachers give Dru special treatment - she is not allowed to learn things the others do, and there are mysteries surrounding the place. The person she desperately wants to see is her dad, but because he is no longer alive, she just wants Christophe to visit her. But lies and rumours about him emerge, and Dru now doesn't know who she can trust.

Betrayals is a challenging book to read. Whenever there is a main action scene, it gets really exciting, but then, suddenly, the author goes into deep detail, and the thoughts of Dru. I then found it hard to concentrate, and forgot what was actually happening. The things I did like, though, were the developing relationship of Dru and Graves, and the experiences Dru goes through, while she is 'blooming'. The creatures - vampires - were the usual, as were the werewolves.

I think the main plots of the story were good, as were the ideas, but the story dragged on a little for me. If you liked Strange Angels, you would still like Betrayals.
 
Review by Tamika, aged 13

GUEST REVIEW: I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You by Ally Carter

We're really happy to have Jean from Magic Bean Review here as a guest. Visit Magic Bean Review to read more of her great posts!

Guest review by Jean:

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You is the first book I have read by Ally Carter, and so far, she has really impressed me! The book is mainly set in an American private school, Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women. All of the people who live in the town of Roseville (the town the Academy is in) automatically believe the girls who go there are posh snobs who don't really know anything and are just there because they CAN. But, oh how wrong are they. What they don't know is that the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women is actually a school to train upcoming SPIES! The Gallagher Girls (as they are known) are known in history (well, secretly - it's a secret that one Gallagher Girl invented duct tape) as they have been around for 100 years - learning at school a variety of things such as martial arts, advanced encryption, 14 different languages and, in Sophomore year, they start Covert Operations (field work, etc.).

Sounds hard? Well Cammie, her good friends Bex and Liz and their new roommate Macey have to learn spy stuff every day in school. Whilst being pretty secluded inside their ivy-covered walls.

On their first Covert Operations Mission, Cammie, who is called The Chameleon at school (which is actually a compliment if you go to spy school - perhaps not so much at a normal high school), is spotted by a normal boy, Josh, who goes to Roseville High School. However, Cammie isn't experienced with boys, and what with her being a spy in training, how is she going to be able to balance her relationship with him whilst doing well at spy school?

As the blurb says: Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through a mall without him ever being the wiser, but can she have a normal relationship with a boy who can never know the truth about her?

I thought this book was very well written! I really liked the fact that it was based around teenage (they are 15 or 16 year olds, I think) spies, as books and films about spies usually entertain me a lot if they are well done! And the fact that they are teenagers means I can easily relate to them and it makes it more realistic (if you can be realistic in a book about spies). The relationship between Josh and Cammie is pretty realistic too, as most YA books have relationships which aren't true to real life, except whilst reading this I felt it was a pretty normal relationship you could have (apart from the fact that she is a spy, but yeah xD) if you are a teenager.

Overall, I think this book was really interesting and it also had some action in it too. It was well-written and it kept me wanting to find out what happened next. The characters were easy to relate to and I could easily imagine the places the character(s) was/were in with the descriptions.

I really want to find out what happens to Cammie and her friends in the next two novels, Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, and Don't Judge a Girl by her Cover, the next books in the series.

Guest Review by Jean

Go to Magic Bean Review to read more!