ChooseYA

My shelves are still slowly uploading but I think once they are done here I will attempt some some sort of overhaul to better organise them. 

 

Looking forward to playing around with this bookish tumblr vibe :) 

This is my life, just add my Mum complaining about taking over the house with books. Like that's a bad thing! ;)

Loved this. Full review coming closer to UK publication date. Think a YA Criminal Minds...

One of my favourite YA books of the year so far. Beautifully written.

All The Truth That’s In Me tells the story of Judith. Four years ago her and her best friend disappeared from their small town and only Judith made it back after two years. Judith returns mutilated dumb and is reviled and condemned by those around her. All the Truth That’s In Me is the silent outpour to the boy she is in love with as she begins to find her strength and face her past.One niggle I did have with the book was the period it was set in wasn’t completely clear and I started the book unsure if it was a straight historical, alternate historical, etc. I have to admit that this did distance me from the book at the beginning. That said, after a few chapters I was drawn into the book and world so this small detail did fade away for me.The world Judith lives in is very harsh and Judith is treated terribly considering she is a victim. I hated how one character in particular targeted her and how this developed through the novel. Judith begins the novel almost accepting that this is her place, however as it progresses she becomes a lot bolder.Often in YA parents are absent however Judith’s mother was a really striking presence in the novel. Her relationship with Judith is very frayed and at times I truly hated her and her treatment of her daughter. From a modern perspective, the victim blaming in this society was incredibly uncomfortable to read and it is sad that this is realistic of the period. The development of their relationship was something I loved to see though and I was glad to see there was more to Judith’s story than just her love for Lucas.Lucas, the romantic interest, was well developed as a character and I did believe the relationship between Judith and him. I also really loved how Maria and Judith’s friendship developed throughout the book too.The way All The Truth In Me is written is striking. It’s composed of numerous very short chapters, some even just a paragraph but this starkness worked really well with the plot. Judith’s voice was very clear and sympathetic throughout the novel. Some of the twists were slightly predictable for me, however once I got into the book I could not put it down.This is not a book about being a victim, but about courage and strength and it is highly emotional. It is about finding your voice and confronting and accepting your past. It’s not particularly fast-paced and more focused on character than action, but fans of this sort of character development will find a lot to love in this book. I definitely recommend it.All The Truth That’s In Me is published by Templar Publishing and available to buy now. I received a free proof copy for review. As ever, the content and tone of my review is not affected by the means in which I receive a book.This review was originally posted at ChooseYA on September 12th 2013: http://www.chooseya.com/2013/09/12/review-all-the-truth-thats-in-me-by-julie-berry/

Full review to come but am enjoyable end to the series full of twists and turns.

Review to come

Such good fun. Review hopefully coming soon.

Stray intrigued me the moment I read the pitch. The Matrix meets The Truman Show meets Never Let Me Go? Sign me up now! Sometimes when you have these high expectations and comparisons, a book can seem to pale from how you imagined it to be and I often end up putting off reading it in a sense of almost fear, but I was pleasantly surprised to see how much I enjoyed Stray.Stray is the story of Lona Sixteen Always, a Pather. Pathers are troubled children who the government have supposedly rescued. Until the age of eighteen, pathers live their lives through experiencing the life/path of Julian, an ordinary boy with only a couple of hours a day away from these machines to practise calisthenics. During this time Lona bonds with Fenn, an older boy. However after he moves on to the next stage of the path she is shocked to find him on her screen one day. Now Lona can find out what comes next and what life there is after the path.Stray is a highly unusual book and one that I don’t think will appeal to everyone. However it is thoroughly engaging and I found its exploration of the foster care system, and how those in it are treated, an important issue to discuss that wasn’t didactic. The idea of the Path felt worryingly plausible in its justification and filled me with dread as these Pathers’ characters were almost erased as a result.Hesse isn’t afraid to show how flawed her characters are; indeed it is this that really makes her characters feel real, something important to the novel when you consider the way they have lived on the Path. The flaws, the difficulties in expressing themselves become the way the reader can see how stunted their development in some respects has been and how this should have not been the case. I thought Lona was a fantastic heroine; brave and so real as she tried to grapple with life outside the Path, define her own path, work out her feelings for Fenn and discover and quash the emerging threats of life off-Path.Intelligent and thought-provoking, Hesse’s debut has a lot to offer readers and I would definitely recommend it.I received a free proof copy from Hot Key Books who very kindly sent it to me to review. As ever, how I receive a book does not affect the honesty or tone of my review. Stray is available to buy now.This review was originally posted at ChooseYA on September 5th 2013: http://www.chooseya.com/2013/09/05/review-stray-by-monica-hesse/

I actually really liked this one. A NA that held up to more of the potential of the genre and I liked there was less focus on romance in this one. Full review to come.

Darkly comic YA read. Fans of Hannibal in particular will be amused by this book, I think. Full review to come shortly.

This is like a paranormal crossover of The Outsiders and (I agree with Cuddlebuggery's review comparing it to) Four Brothers. So much fun!

Review to come. Well written, tense and compelling but aspects of the world building didn't quite make sense to me (though some of the world concepts were great) which prevented it from being a potentially great read for me personally. I think dystopian YA fans will love it though and some parts were truly chilling.

From Romeo and Juliet, Tristan and Isolde and Nathan and Haley (yes, that’s a One Tree Hill reference, I have no shame at all in admitting this) the course of true love rarely runs smoothly. It is this notion that Bourne critically looks at in her electrifying YA debut.Poppy is seventeen, cynical and occasionally gets panic attacks. Noah is a teenage musician trying to deal with his own problems. When the two meet at a local band night, Noah’s amp literally explodes and despite strong chemistry, the two don’t initially see eye to eye.However as the two fall in love, things outside of their bubble seem to be going wrong. A mysterious agency is watching them and intending to pull them apart, plus the weather is erratic and borders on natural disasters at times. Soon they are faced with a terrible choice when they learn their love may actually doom the world. While this may sound like a typical YA clichéd book, Bourne manages to avoid this through the strength of her characterisation. Poppy’s cynical nature in particular was brilliant and completely balanced the tone from seeing tired by adding a different spin. While certain elements of the plot like the star-crossed lovers, or rich absent parents in Noah’s case, has been done before, it really doesn’t feel like Bourne is just rejigging old material. The characters are compelling, the plot fast-moving and addictive and it’s a read that is difficult to put down. Poppy’s a really strong narrator and this is important because it helps us really get behind her falling so quickly for Noah, and vice versa, despite her own misgivings and experiencing something so utterly new. Noah was the perfect mix of swoony, broody and also his own person. I thought it was interesting that he had clear issues about the fact his parents basically abandoned him when he really needed him and to me this showed in his attitude to spending their money. It was also brilliant that Poppy had friends outside of Noah and was aware that just because she’s in a relationship doesn’t mean she should dump her friends- all of whom were brilliant individuals. The science behind Soulmates was well done. It wasn’t too much of a stretch to believe and it wasn’t so detailed that it took away from other parts of the book. The idea that soulmates’ charge can create such disasters was intriguing and Bourne really creates pathos for these characters for the impossibility of their situation and the fact that ordinarily they would just be acting like normal teenagers. I also loved how Bourne bought the fictional town of Middletown to life, in fact in many ways some descriptions reminded me of places I’ve lived, and I really liked that this was a YA set in the UK, but not just automatically London. Exciting, smouldering and energetic, Soulmates is a great YA read that I think will sweep many readers away. Fans of love stories in their YA should really get behind Poppy and Noah. With its winning humour, strong characters and considered plot, this is a book that really does reinvigorate the star-crossed lovers of YA. Soulmates will be released on September 1st by Usborne Publishing, who kindly sent me an advanced reading copy for my honest reviewing purposes.

Loved it! Really interesting concept and handled very realistically and well. Full review coming soon!

Be warned this review will contain some spoilers for Clockwork Angel and Prince so please proceed with caution if you have not read this series and intend to. Tessa and Jem are engaged, in a battle against time and Jem's illness, while Will still loves Tessa from afar. There are signs that a new dark presence is rising, one that has ties to Mortmain and intends to wreak havoc and destory the Shadowhunters. This man needs Tessa to do this though and Tessa will need the help of not just Will and Jem, but the whole of the London Institute to help her stop this.I was pleased to see the return of the automatons, as it may be me but I can't remember them being especially present in Clockwork Prince. Clare effectively tied the main plot strings together in the trilogy and the stakes are significantly higher in the Clockwork Princess.I also really loved the letters to and from Consul Josiah Wayland and development of the Shadowhunters and Enclave themselves. This was particularly interesting when we saw how Charlotte had to stand up for herself as a woman and how ahead of her time she really was. These moments not only set the period very well, but provided a compelling subplot as Charlotte fights for her respect and place with the Shadowhunters.While dark and thrilling, the infamous Cassandra Clare sharp dialogue and witticisms are present in Clockwork Princess. I love how Clare thinks of all of her quips, but doesn't overuse them as it wouldn't fit some characters. However, Will, as expected, has some brilliant lines throughout the book.The love triangle is a important point in this book, as after all Clare needed to draw it together and reach a realistic resolution for her characters. I read a review of Clockwork Princess by one of my favourite US bloggers, Wendy Darling, and she mentioned how she felt this was how a love triangle was supposed to be treated - I've linked her goodreads review so you can see her review for yourself and see if you agree. I agree with Wendy though, none of the characters acted in a way which made you doubt them and the love triangle was very well-written and handled. All three characters are in such a difficult position; Jem is dying, Will loves Tessa but cannot betray his parabati and Tessa is realising she loves both people at the same time.While I'm not sure the epilogue personally worked for me one hundred percent, I think I'm one of a small minority who didn't cry (which is weird as I generally can cry at anything, but oddly it seems I can hold it back with most books) but I can understand why Clare ended it the way she did. I also love that the epilogue touched on the problems faced with being immortal, and it's something she's hinted at a little in the Mortal Instruments series with Magnus. Obviously, I don't want to say too much as I would not want to spoil this book at all for you.Cassandra Clare fans will undoubtedly love this final book in her Victorian trilogy. It is filled with everything that Clare fans love: the plotting, dialogue, characters and humour. It is also a more epic book than perhaps the first two in the series because it is the final book and believe me, it is one that from the first chapter holds no fire.Clockwork Princess is available to buy now. I received a free review copy for my honest review from the very lovely Hannah at Walker who made my day when it arrived!This review was originally posted at www.chooseya.com on 12/4/13: Review