Book Review – Candor by Pam Bachorz

Format: Paperback, 304 pages
Publisher: Egmont, 2010 (first published 2009)
Source: I purchased this book
My rating: 3 stars

This was an interesting concept – a kind of ‘Stepford Wives’ for YA readers, but instead of women being targeted, it’s everyone and the method of control is hidden messages in music that is broadcast constantly throughout the town of Candor. Oscar Banks has a way, however, to counteract these messages, but it doesn’t come cheap… and is it really the key to happiness?

If you can suspend disbelief for a while this is a great story. Luckily, I am easily able to do this – when I read I want to escape and so if it requires me to use my imagination then that’s even better. There are many unanswered questions but if you can get past this with the suspended belief then this makes for an entertaining, interesting read.

I liked the characterisation and I loved the ‘kick-ass’ attitude of Nia. I found Oscar, the protagonist, to be a bit weak to be honest, but that may just be me. It was interesting to read things from his point of view though as I tend to read books that are told from a female perspective – not for any reason, it just seems to end up that way. I found the supporting characters of Sherman and Mandi to just be an annoyance more than anything… if this was supposed to be the case then I guess the author achieved her aim!

The writing is simplistic and flows well and if I’d had more time I would easily have read this in a couple of sittings. It kept my interest and I wasn’t expecting the twist at the end.

I originally gave this 4 stars but when I compared it to other dystopian YA fiction, it just didn’t stand anywhere close to the Hunger Games trilogy, so it’s been demoted to a 3.

 

Life got in the way…

Unfortunately life got in the way of the readathon this weekend It’s a shame as I was really looking forward to it. Next time there’s a readathon I will be making sure that I set aside the whole day! I couldn’t even keep up to date with others taking part, but I’m hoping it was a big success!

I have a busy week this week… I’m going to two shows (Fascinating Aida and Legally Blonde: The Musical) and I have the preview evening for our next concert with SingLive. Then this weekend I have an audition… for BRITAIN’S GOT TALENT!!! I’ve decided I’m going to audition with Time To Say Goodbye. Classical singers seem to do well on BGT so I’m hoping I might get somewhere! Keep your fingers crossed for me!

 

Book Review – Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Format: Paperback, 321 pages
Publisher: Phoenix 2007, first published 2006
Source: I purchased this book
My rating: 5 stars

 

I guess this novel would fall into the mystery/thriller/crime category, but it’s so much more than that. Many books that fall into this category are mass market paperbacks that make good reading but don’t contain anything of substance. The same can definitely NOT be said about this book.

I went into this book knowing the basics from the blurb on the back of the book and with a warning that the book didn’t leave much to the imagination and didn’t leave anything hidden. Well that was true – this is definitely gritty and not for those easily disturbed. I’m glad that I’m not easily disturbed though, because I found this to be one of the best books I’ve read in recent years. I devoured it and read 4/5ths of it in one sitting.

Camille is a reporter for the 4th biggest newspaper in Chicago, estranged from her Mother, Stepfather and half-sister who still live in her hometown of Windy Gap, MO. When two girls are murdered in Windy Gap, her boss thinks she’s the perfect person to cover the story and she sets off to face her biggest story yet, along with her worst memories and unresolved issues…

I liked the mystery aspect of the story and thought I had it figured out about half way through the book. I was along the right lines but didn’t get it quite right… I liked that it kept me guessing.

The writing is superior to that which I would expect from a debut novelist. It’s dark, disturbing… and incredibly absorbing. Most of the characters are flawed, some more than others, and this makes for interesting reading as their ‘hidden skeletons’ are revealed. Camille is probably the most flawed character of all, but this just made me love her even more. I also liked how my feelings towards a few of the characters, Amma in particular, changed many times throughout the book. I really appreciate a book that can make me think and can make me question my thoughts and feelings. This book certainly made me do this.

I’m looking forward to picking up Dark Places

 

My holiday-winning performance!

I posted around a week ago to say I’d won the talent competiton at work and had won a luxury holiday. I finally received the DVD recording of the event so I’ve cropped it down and now have it uploaded! Here it is…

 

Book Review – The Luxe by Anna Godberson

Format: Paperback, 433 pages
Publisher: This edition – Penguin, 2008 (originally published 2007)
Source: I purchased this book
My rating: 5 stars

This is definitely one of those books that I class as a guilty pleasure, although I actually don’t feel guilty, because I figure everyone should read what they like to read. As long as they’re reading SOMETHING, it’s all good!

The Luxe is set in 1899 in New York City. It’s the story of society’s elite and their shenanigans – parties, romance, scandal; it’s all in here. Elizabeth Holland is the eldest daughter of one of the most influential families in New York. That is, until her father dies. Suddenly her family starts to experience money issues and, in order secure her family’s future, her mother arranges for her to marry Henry Schoonmaker. The problem lies in the fact that Elizabeth is not at all attracted to Henry and, in fact, has her sights set on Will – their stable boy. Throw into the mix her best friend Penelope and her sister Diana, both of whom have fallen for Henry, and you have yourself a pretty messed up love pentagon.

I read this book on holiday and it was the perfect beach read. I’d wanted to read it for a while as the cover caught my eye and I was intrigued by the promise of a historical fiction novel for teens. Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres and I hadn’t read any set in this period so I decided to give it a try.

The plot was fun and engaging and I loved the mystery aspect of it. We know from the first page that Elizabeth dies, but we don’t know how. This propels the plot as there is the promise that we will find out and I was interested to see how the author wove the story and built up to this. Plus there are a couple of twists, one of which I was definitely NOT expecting, and this kept it interesting.

I can’t say I cared too much about the characters. Normally this would mean that I didn’t enjoy the book, but for some reason it actually seemed to compliment the plot. The book is about high society and high-society is, a lot of the time, chock-full of bitches. The fact that none of the characters were particularly likeable, albeit for different reasons – Penelope was a bitch, Elizabeth was a wimp, Lina was spiteful and Diana was selfish, although I did like her more than the others – actually added to the atmosphere of the novel.

If you like period dramas, mysteries and chick-lit, and don’t mind them being thrown into the same pot, then you’ll love this. I did, and will definitely be reading the others in the series.

 

My very first readathon!

One of the things I’ve loved about blogging is the community and the various events, challenges and general fun that this community entails. I haven’t been as active within the community as I would like to be due to life getting in the way, but I have been watching from the sidelines with interest and I’ve been reading lots of blogs – even if I haven’t been commenting on them.

Anyways, when I read a post about Dewey’s 24 Hour Read-a-Thon I decided that it sounded like a lot of fun so, on Saturday October 22nd I will be taking part in my very first Read-a-Thon! Unfortunately I do have a couple of things already booked in for that day (including a wedding reception, which will take me out for a good few hours), so I can’t participate for the full 24 hours, however I plan to participate as much as I possibly can.

If you would like to participate, click on the button above to be taken to the Read-a-Thon site and sign up! It’ll be fun! There will be mini-challenges and prizes plus you can see what other participants are reading along the way. Go on – you know you want to!

 

Book Review – To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee

 

Format: Paperback, 309 pages
Publisher: This edition – Arrow Books 50th Anniversary Edition, 2010. Originally published 1960
Source: I purchased this book
My rating: 5 stars

I don’t know why I waited so long to read this. For some reason I thought that the fact that it’s a classic would make it a ‘difficult’ read, as this has been my experience in the past. I wish I hadn’t waited, because I adored this book.

I’m sure most people know the plot by now but for those that don’t, it tells the story of Scout Finch and her brother Jem, who are growing up in the Deep South in the 1930s, in a time when black people are second class citizens. They learn the hard way just how harsh many people’s attitudes are when their father, Atticus, is asked to defend a black man accused of raping a white girl.

I can see why this book has stood the test of time. It’s still as powerful today as it was the day it was first published. The messages still hold strong and, although we’ve come a long way since the book was written, there are still lessons that society can learn from this story. I find it difficult to read about race issues, or in fact any kind of abuse/prejudice – it makes me very emotional and I find it very hard to comprehend where people get their ideas and motivations from. Because of this, I found this book to be a pretty emotional read, but I still ultimately enjoyed it.

I loved the characters in this book. Scout was very cute and funny and I loved that in some ways she was very grown up for her age, but in others she still had that childish naiveté. I especially liked the relationship between her and Jem – it was how brother/sister relationships should be, they looked out for one-another and got into mischief together! I loved Atticus most of all. He was the perfect gentleman and, if I didn’t have such a great Dad, I’d want him to be mine. I really liked his parenting style and the way he treated his children with respect and treated them as adults, rather than belittling them and trying to hide everything from them just because they were young. I really cared about these three characters, but I also connected with the peripheral characters and this is rare in a novel.

The plot, and the subplot about the reclusive Boo Radley, was intriguing, well paced and full of drama. There weren’t any parts that I considered to be slow and I was torn between wanting to rush through to find out what happened and wanting to savour the writing. I kind of wish that it was required reading at school because although I enjoyed it plenty enough reading it on my own, I’d be interested to see what else I could gain from it by reading it with a teacher and discussing it as a class.

I can definitely see myself re-reading this again and again in the future. I need to go watch the movie now.

 

Boof’s 40 Day Book Challenge: Day 40

Well today is day 40 of Boof’s Book Challenge, and that means it’s Boof’s Birthday!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOOF!!!! Hope you have a wonderful day!

The final challenge topic is:

A favourite book about a celebration

There was only ever one book that I could think about posting for this topic, and that is the Daddy of all celebration books:

I don’t really need to say too much about this, because I don’t think there are many people who don’t know what this story is about. It’s a classic for a very good reason and it embodies everything that Christmas should be. Heartwarming and poignant, everyone should read this book.

Which is your favourite book about a celebration?

 

3 year old recites Litany by Billy Collins

I saw this blogged over at Bookrageous and had to share it… this 3 year old is pretty amazing!

 

Book Review – The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Format: Hardback, 387 pages
Publisher: Harvill Secker, 2011
Source: I purchased this book
My rating: 5 stars

 

“The circus arrives without warning.

No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not.”

I don’t know how many times I’ve read this paragraph recently. It’s fair to say that this book has had more than your average amount of buzz. Lots more. This amount of buzz would normally put me off reading a book because I worry that it won’t live up to my expectations. For some reason though, the buzz didn’t put me off this book at all; it just made me want to read it even more. So much so that I pre-ordered the hardback – which is something I never do!

The Night Circus tells the story of Celia and Marco, two magicians who are trained from a young age to ultimately take part in a challenge where there can only be one winner. The stage for this challenge is a mysterious travelling circus that only opens at night and disappears as quickly as it arrived. Alongside this story we meet Bailey who, whilst playing out with his sister and her friend, is dared to break into the Night Circus. While there though, he meets a girl with red hair, dressed all in white, who helps him to get out of the circus when he’s lost. She gives him her glove to take back with him – to prove to his sister that he did break in. 15 years later, he finds that the circus is back in town and Bailey can’t resist returning to see whether the girl is still there…

As I said, I’d heard a lot about this book before it was released and the plot intrigued me. I love anything magical and this is magical realism at its most creative. The circus is mysterious and intriguing and I was fascinated by all of the different aspects of it, especially by the way the performers were so magical that they had to attempt to hide this from the audience by trying to make their acts seem like manipulation and sleight of hand.

There are many characters and the plot jumps around between years – moving from 1873 to the years prior to 1902, to 1902 when we read Bailey’s story, to the present day when the story is written as though you are experiencing the circus yourself. The jumping around and trying to keep track of all of the characters did cause me some problems at first and I had to keep checking which year I was in, but as I got further into the book this became much easier and I settled into it. The characters each had their own stories, although none of them delve as deep as I would normally like, and I found them fascinating, especially the relationship between Celia and Marco, which develops slowly but is still interesting.

The plot itself isn’t the fastest and there are some slow parts. I didn’t mind this though, as this is more character driven than plot driven. It’s also very visual – the author uses a lot of description, especially in the present day chapters, but it works perfectly for this book as it really is something that you need to be able to imagine to truly appreciate it. I can see how this, coupled with the slow plot, could put some people off, but I loved it. The writing is beautiful, almost lyrical, and I wanted to savour it and so I was happy to take my time.

The plot does pick up pace towards the end and the last few chapters are brilliant. I can’t say anything really for fear of spoiling it, but I will say that there were things I wasn’t expecting and that I liked how the author brought all of the characters together, especially as many of the characters seem peripheral but are brought closer and closer together throughout the book as we understand how their relationships intertwine.

All in all, despite a couple of flaws, this was an awesome book and one I will definitely read again. I can understand why many won’t like it, however it definitely worked for me.