Book review - Gone by Michael Grant

Gone releases in the UK on 6th April.
In a second, all the adults disappear. Not just adults, but everyone 15 or over. Communications are down, emergency services are down, all the people who would normally be taking charge and explaining this crisis have disappeared. Kids are running scared. Some take care of others, others only look out for themselves. Some see it as a disaster, others see it as an opportunity for power. Sam and Astrid are thrown together, trying to work out how to escape the huge wall now trapping them in the town. Everything is spiralling out of control in a feud between the two schools of Perdido Beach. Time is running out fast. But for some, the craziness started six months ago, when they realised they could do things no-one should be able to.

Nowadays, I notice when a book is mediocre. I notice and think ‘huh. That was only ok.’ And I’m surprised. Either the standard of teen literature is shooting up, or I’m getting better at only picking up the good books thanks to great recommendations from all the wonderful reviewers out there (I think both are true)

So Gone was noticeably better than the average. And if the average is now very good, then that makes Gone very, very good. I couldn’t put it down. The children were well-characterised and interesting, acting very maturely. Which brings me to one of only two problems I had with the book; the children should have been up to 16, not 14. I appreciate that people mature quickly in a crisis, but these kids seemed over 14.

The second problem is that there are a few big questions which are only partially answered – hello, book two – so if you can’t stand cliff-hangers, you should wait until the second book is out before reading this one. Overall, not exactly massive problems. Other than that, I loved it. Sam is known as ‘school-bus Sam’ for the day he saved the bus going off the edge of a cliff, but since then he’s blended into the background at school. Kids remember this and turn to him once disaster strikes, but he’s not sure that he’s up to the challenge. I like that he’s not overconfident, that he has to learn how to pretend he knows what he’s doing. This is also his big chance in a way, because he’s fancied Astrid for ages and now they’ve somehow been thrown together.

But my favourite character was Quin. Quin is not brave, he doesn’t have any special abilities, he doesn’t know what to do. Quin is a regular guy, so when he compares himself to Sam, he’s inevitably ashamed. Not everyone can be the hero and not everyone has the guts to do the right thing. Quin embodies this in what could otherwise turn into a story just about extraordinary people.

Gone was great. The pacing was good – the chapters count down in days and hours to Sam’s fifteenth birthday, which adds a sense of urgency. The idea was interesting. I want to know why the wall came up, how exactly it happened, how they can escape. While the story resolved and some questions answered, some were not. A thrilling story and one that had me hooked from the start.

Series spotlight - Hollow Kingdom series by Clare B. Dunkle

There are so many good books that have been out in the market for ages. Series Spotlight is to introduce readers to series they may not have heard of before and will be featured every Thursday. Today’s spotlight is the Hollow Kingdom series by Clare B. Dunkle. I haven’t read the third book, and wasn’t too impressed with the second, but the first is well worth your time and can stand alone perfectly.

The Hollow Kingdom
Kate and her sister Em go to stay with their Aunts after the death of their father. Hollow Hill is a place shrouded in mystery and legend. Goblins were said to have stolen girls from their homes, although their cousin assures them, ‘We live in the nineteenth century now. Not even Mrs Bigelow really believes her goblin tales.’ But someone his eye on the girls, and nothing will stop him. Not locked doors, nor the girls’ guardians, for goblins have strong magic. The only thing that seems to cause him trouble is Kate herself, for she is quite determined not to go and very resourceful when she needs to be.
This is a great adventure rich in folklore, history, and excitement. Kate is a strong heroine. I did find the second half of the book peculiar as it took unexpected jumps – chapters would begin ‘six months later,’ which confused me a bit, but in general, a great book.

Close Kin
Em is old enough to marry, but when her best friend Seylin tries to propose, she brushes him off absently. Seylin leaves, intent on searching out the elves and Em, realising, goes after him. Everyone is shocked to discover that a few elves still survive. They accept Seylin, but sooner or later the goblins and elves are going to collide, stirring up ancient grudges.
Not as great as the first book, Close Kin is still interesting. I think the main problem is that Em is not nearly as compelling a main character as Kate was. Sable the elf is much more interesting, but doesn’t get enough time. Close Kin is good, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as it’s predecessor.

In the Coils of the Snake
(from the cover)
Miranda has waited her whole life to come to the goblin kingdom. Now she’s finally underground where she has always wanted to be, but she never imagined she would feel so lost. Her beloved Marak, the center of her world since childhood, has reached the end of his reign. But Marak didn’t raise a coward. He taught Miranda to be brave, intelligent, and proud—the ideal woman to take her place beside Catspaw, the new goblin King.Then a mysterious and highly magical elf lord brings his people back to their homeland, reigniting the age-old battle between goblins and elves. Miranda finds herself a prisoner. Caught between the two hostile rulers, she becomes their greatest reason for war—and possibly their only hope for a future.
I haven’t read this, don’t think I will. Unless someone tells me it’s brilliant (please tell me if it is). I loved the first book, but the second just lacked that sparkle, so I already was unsure about this when I found out that it’s about the next generation. I liked Kate as a heroine so much that I don’t really want to move a whole generation away from her.

Retirement Rescue - Prove Yourself A Hero

Prove Yourself a Hero by K. M. Peyton

Published - 1978
Pages – 173
In print? – No. But see if you see a copy secondhand, snatch it up.

THEN - 4.5 stars out of five

NOW - 4.5 stars out of five

This was my favourite re-read book for years. It’s definitely my most-travelled because it’s so small and light.

Jacket description:
One can never prepare to be kidnapped: to anticipate the terror, exhaustion and violence: or to understand the disorientation and imbalance that accompanies the return to freedom – if one is lucky.
Jonathan Meredith’s disappearance, apart from anything else, was annoying. It cost half a million pounds and mucked up a lot of arrangements, particularly his parents’. And for Jonathan, things would never be the same again.

You can tell this book is old – look at the use of ‘one’ and the colons! But, the writing doesn’t feel dated. In fact, reading it now gives the impression that it’s a book written recently, but SET in the past. Everyone has their strange favourite book-themes, mine is kidnapping. This book is special in that doesn’t just deal with the kidnapping – that takes up about half of the book – it also deals with the aftermath. Jonathan, the son of a business tycoon, is extremely claustrophobic, but he faces his capture and the prospect of death very maturely. This is as good a book as I remember it being when I first read it.

'He didn’t see how he was going to even notice if he lost consciousness, because there was so little to show for being alive, except the spreading pain of cramps which he would have been all too happy to forego. There was, curiously, no sense of time: time was only as long as he could breathe, and time was running out.' - Page 22

'He could see one solitary star between the clouds, and it’s unwinking eye transfixed him with this extraordinary sense of his own being, because shortly he wouldn’t be.' - Page 65

Awards time

Yep, it's that time again!

Jo has given me the You Don't Say Award for top commenters. I'm not even going to try to nominate people for this one, because I know I'll miss someone out. So if you have ever commented on this blog, then you're great. And if you've ever commented on this blog MORE THAN ONCE, you definitely win this award. Because it means YOU CAME BACK!!! And for that, I give you this Panda. Cherish him.

Aaaaaaand

The Book Girl has announced that my blog is lovely! This award is for new blogs and new blogging friends. Isn't the button pretty? Because I'm lazy, I'm not going to follow the rules and award 15 new bloggers with this, but a couple of deserving newly-discovered bloggers are:

Jen from 50 for Jen

Jo of Ink and Paper fame

And just before posting this, Jo gave me yet another award, the Premio Dardos Award. Thanks Jo!

This is awarded for 'showing cultural values, ethics, great and fun writing skills, as well as individual values, through their creative writing.' I haven't written nearly as creatively as I could on About Books, but now I think maybe I could put more effort in. Like I could have fun subtitles for my reviews as Cecilia does. Or I could (try to) make my reviews as well-written and interesting as Adele's. I might at least go for coherance and try to give the impression that I think before I type (that would be Lenore, who makes relevance seem effortless.) Everything she posts is worth reading. So to you three, I pass on this award for being well-written and making your posts so much fun to read.

*I've just noticed that I never follow award rules. Maybe it's because I'm lazy and usually they demand me to pick (and link to) excessive amounts of blogs? Or maybe it's because I'm actually a rebel and like to shake things up? Take your pick.*

Operation Retirement Rescue

When Adele posted her wonderful idea of Operation Retirement Rescue last week, I loved it. It’s always good to appreciate old books, which is part of the reason why I started Series Spotlight.

Before May begins I would like you to post reviews for 1-2 YA titles that -
1) were published more than five years ago,
2) hold fond memories, and
3) post the icon somewhere in your review.


I'm extending this to mean books that I READ 5 years ago, not old ones that I've read recently. That means only books that I read when I was 13 or younger. I thought it might be interesting for people to see what I had back then. I've been through my bookshelves and written a list of everything still on there (ie - not in boxes or passed on to younger brothers) that I owned 5 years ago.

So, in roughly chronological order (earliest to latest) I give you

What Was on my Shelf 5 Years Ago That Still is Now:

Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah
Prove Yourself a Hero by K. M. Peyton
Promise Song by Linda Holeman
Set of Sharon Creech books
Coram Boy by Jamila Gavin
The Wind Singer by William Nicholson
Wings over Delft by Aubrey Flegg
Feeling Sorry for Celia by Jaclyn Moriarty
The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
The Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown
Beauty by Robin McKinley
Spindle’s End by Robin McKinley
Finding Cassie Crazy Jaclyn Moriarty

I'll be writing mini-reviews for as many as possible before May, except for ones I've already spotlighted. I'll also rate them because you know, probably not all of these books are as good now as they were to 5-years-younger-me. What was everyone else reading five years ago?

Interview with Luisa Plaja and GIVEAWAY!!!

*Update - the giveaway is now closed*

Extreme Kissing was inspired in part by the sport Extreme Ironing. What would be your ideal Extreme Ironing location if you could go anywhere?
I love this question! The truth is that I never iron anything, so ironing in my front room would be pretty extreme for me! But let's see... hmm, I think extreme ironing at Piccadilly Circus in London would be a challenge. It might not sound as exciting as ironing up a mountain or underwater, but there would be a lot of jostling going on, and some distracting people-watching. Or maybe I could iron while sitting on a lion in Trafalgar Square.

If you could pick anyone (fictional, dead, or real) to go Extreme Travelling with, who would it be?
Oh, another fun question! I'm going to give two answers to this one too. The real answer is my family - some of our holiday adventures would definitely count as Extreme Travel, even if it hasn't been deliberate. But if I had to Extreme Travel with a fictional character, I think it would be have to be Peter Petrelli from Heroes. I'm sure his Swiss Army Knife of special powers would come in useful on any extreme journey.

Would you say you’re more like Carlota or Bethany?
That's a hard one! I'm probably outwardly more of a Bethany, with an inner Carlota streak. I can be a huge worrier like Bets, but I can definitely be more impulsive like Lots at times. Of course, the truth is that I'm like both of them, but I'm ultimately like neither. And I could say the same for Jo and Josie from Split by a Kiss, even though Jo and I have definitely shared quite a few experiences.

The girls have several secrets that are revealed throughout the book. Are you good at keeping secrets?
I think I’m usually good at keeping other people's secrets. I'm often a bit rubbish with my own.

What’s your writing process like? What is a typical day for you, how many hours do you spend writing?
I don't really have a typical day because with young children every day is an extreme adventure! I mostly write at night, though, for as long as humanly possible, bearing in mind that I usually get woken up way too early in the morning.

Where is your favourite place to write?
I've tried different places - the library, cafes, the train - but really I write best sitting at my desk with music plugged into my ears.

How do you deal with writers block?
I'd like to say I haven't really had time for writer's block, because it's the truth. Every writing second is precious. Unfortunately, despite this, I have had moments when I've got completely stuck. The only way out for me is free-writing, otherwise known as 'taking the pressure off'. I let myself write anything at all for as long as I want to. Once I'm unstuck, I'll occasionally find that this process has produced things I can use in my work-in-progress. There are definitely a couple of paragraphs in Extreme Kissing that have been plucked from bouts of free-writing: the moment when Carlota first meets Bethany, for example. Oh, and I nearly forgot this one - the entire first draft of Extreme Kissing was written when I was stuck three-quarters of the way through Split by a Kiss. Writing 'the end' on Extreme Kissing gave me the confidence to go back and finish Split by a Kiss.

What book has had the biggest impact on you?
It's probably Masha by Mara Kay. It's a historical novel set in nineteenth century Russia and following a girl's life from the ages of 9 to 18, including so many ingredients I love: a fish-out-of-water main character, a coming-of-age storyline, a focus on female friendship. I first took it out of my local library when I was about 9 myself, and then I borrowed it repeatedly until I finally managed to buy my own copy when I was about 12. (It was already out of print by then, unfortunately, but I bought a battered copy from a library that was closing down.) I've since visited places featured in the book, which involved a fantastic trip to St Petersburg. And in my teens I wrote to the author several times, telling her I wanted to be a writer. She always replied and she was amazingly encouraging.

As well as writing, you’re very active on the Young Adult blogosphere, running the wonderful teen site Chicklish. Do you have time for any other hobbies?
Does reading count? Or sleeping? Or childcare? Or Facebook and writing forums? I'm not sure what else I do, but there must be something. It's definitely not ironing, anyway (extreme or otherwise!)

Are you working on another book right now?

Yes, I'm working on a sequel for Split by a Kiss.

Thankyou so much for stopping by Luisa! I never even considered Peter Petrelli as an Extreme Travelling companion, but now that you've put it in my head I think he's ideal!

Links:

My review of Extreme Kissing

My Split by a Kiss review

Chicklish review of Extreme Kissing

And now, the giveaway!

Between them the wonderful publisher and author have given me five copies of Extreme Kissing to give away! Three of these are for UK residents, and two are for international readers. This means that wherever you live, you can enter!

All you have to do is tell me who you would like to go Extreme Travelling with. You MUST also tell me if you’re UK or INTERNATIONAL and leave me an email address or way to contact you if you win.

You can tell me in the comments (even if you’ve never commented on any blog before, mine will accept anonymous users, so don’t be shy!) OR if you’re uncomfortable with that, you can email me the information at bookshelfbabble(at)yahoo(dot)co(dot)uk

Extra Entries, you ask?
+1 entry if you tell me how you found out about this giveaway
+1 entry for every person who tells me that they heard about this contest from you (this means the more you spread the word, the more entries you get)

The deadline for this contest is Wednesday 6th May

Series spotlight - Blart series by Dominic Barker

There are so many good books that have been out in the market for ages. Series Spotlight is to introduce readers to series they may not have heard of before and will be featured every Thursday. (Except for last Thursday, when I completely blanked. Woops!) Today’s spotlight is the Blart series by Dominic Barker.

Once again these are technically children’s books, and definitely more suited to younger readers.

These books are parodies on the fantasy-epic-quest genre. I honestly don’t know how I feel about the series. You might think that I must like it because I’m featuring it, but I’m trying to feature a wide range of series in this feature. Parts of the books are good (I wouldn’t feature a series I thought wasn’t well written) but parts are annoying.

Blart – The Boy Who Didn’t Want to Save The World
When the wise wizard comes to collect Blart for adventure, he’s surprised to find that Blart doesn’t want to go. Capablanca had studied for many years to find the first son of a first son of a first son (and so on) who is destined to be a hero. Unfortunately, Blart is ignorant, lazy, cowardly, and more interested in his pigs than anything else. But the quest awaits so he has no choice but to go and stop the evil Lord Zoltab from being released by his minions. They’re joined on the quest by bloodthirsty Beowulf, who is desperate to become a knight, Princess Lois, a sulky, rude Princess of the happiest Kingdom in the world, and Tungsten the dwarf, who is rather sensitive about his limited height.
This is clearly a parody of Lord of the Rings, but also other fantasy quest stories. Parts of the book are very amusing, but by making his antiheroes unpleasant and whiny, Dominic Barker has made them irritating to the audience too.

Blart II – The Boy Who Was Wanted Dead Or Alive – Or Both
The wizard Capablanca has made an embarrassing mistake. After capturing Lord Zoltab, he imprisoned him somewhere, then used a spell to erase his memory so that no-one can find him again. Unfortunately, they are suspected of having freed Lord Zoltab. The only way to disprove this is to produce him – which means they have to find him all over again. Joined once again by Beowulf and princess Lois and a new companion, Uther the enterprising merchant, they must rescue Pig the flying horse and find Lord Zoltab.
In some ways, this is better than the first book. Uther is a sleazy, money-grabbing character who isn’t above ripping off his fellow companions. There is also an amusing resulting in Blart wearing a dress and being serenaded.

Blart III – The Boy Who Set Sail on a Questionable Quest
(From Amazon)
Princess Lois has been kidnapped by Anatoly the Handsome, who wants to marry her. Cue 'damsel in distress' to be rescued by none other than our own heroic Blart. He sets out on the good ship The Golden Pig with Olaf the innocent - who believes what everyone says all the time - and Kupverstich the Strange - an explorer-come-scientist whose ingenious explanations for the natural world have one thing in common: they're all wrong. They must battle cut-throat pirates, a sixteen-tentacled octopus, escape the suffocating bureaucracy of Triplicat, where they are briefly marooned, not to mention evade the Guild of Assassins, who have a contract to kill Blart, in their selfless (well, almost) bid to rescue poor Lois. But will they make it in time?
I haven’t read this one and I’m not sure that I’m going to. I suspect that this book will be very like the others and there’s only so much fantasy satire I can take. On the other hand, it’s only £3.59 from Amazon at the moment, so I might. I’d like to find out what happens to Blart and Princess Lois next.