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Review: Nowhere by Jon Robinson

Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title: Nowhere
Series: Nowhere #1
Author: Jon Robinson
Publisher: Puffin
Publication Date: 4 July 2013
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 2/5

Synopsis from Goodreads

‘No one’s coming for us.

Not our families, not the police.

No one.’

Alyn, Jes, Ryan and Elsa are Nowhere.

A concrete cube in the middle of a dense forest.

Imprisoned inside are one hundred teenagers from all over the country.

They’re all criminals. But none of them remember committing any crimes.

Who has put them there. What do their captors want?

And how will they ever break free . . . ?

REVIEW BY SHELLY

“Alyn, Jes, Ryan and Elsa are nowhere.  A concrete cube in the middle of a dense forest.  Imprisoned inside are one hundred teenagers from all over the country.  They’re all criminals – but none of them remember committing any crimes.”

The is Jon Robinson’s debut novel and for that I do give some credit but for this genre I have read much better.  I thought the premise was gripping but the actual story telling of it let this book down.  You don’t really get to know any of the characters in depth and you never really find out why they have been captured so you really can’t get too involved with any of the plot.  When I got to the end of the book I understood why this was the case.  This is obviously another series of books but I don’t understand why the book can’t be also a stand alone novel.  The ending is abrupt and I found myself wondering why the author couldn’t just write a longer book and finish it off properly.

It would be interesting to read more of the story if only to find out who and what are behind the Pledge and why they think children can make the difference in the future.  As I said it is an interesting premise but one that needs to be really developed further and with a lot more story telling.

Other Reviews:

The Mountains of Instead

Spotlight: Conjure by Jennifer Snyder

spotlight (2)

Image Received from GCR Book Tours

Image Received from GCR Book Tours

Available July 1, 2013

Sometimes to understand the present you have to conjure up the past…

The last thing Addison Harmon needed was to become tethered to the broody, often seemingly cold, Theo Van Rooyen, but that’s exactly what happened.

Forced to partner up with Theo to figure out a way to break the tether, Addison soon realizes she may have bitten off more than she can chew.

(New Adult/Mature Young Adult: Contains sexual situations, language, underage drinking, and drug usage.)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Image Received from GCR Book Tours

Image Received from GCR Book Tours

Jennifer Snyder lives in North Carolina were she spends most of her time writing new adult and young adult fiction, reading, and struggling to stay on top of housework. She is a tea lover with an obsession for Post-it notes and smooth writing pens. Jennifer lives with her husband and two children, who endure listening to songs that spur inspiration on repeat and tolerate her love for all paranormal, teenage-targeted TV shows.

Review: Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O’Porter

Image from Fantastic Fiction

Image from Fantastic Fiction

Title: Paper Aeroplanes
Author: Dawn O’Porter
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Publication Date: 2 May 2013
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 4/5

Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction

just can’t imagine me without you…

50% Friendship, 20% Humour, 20% Betrayal, 10% Sexual Content. 100% Honest.

It’s the mid-1990s, and fifteen year-old Guernsey schoolgirls, Renée and Flo, are not really meant to be friends. Thoughtful, introspective and studious Flo couldn’t be more different to ambitious, extroverted and sexually curious Renée. But Renée and Flo are united by loneliness and their dysfunctional families, and an intense bond is formed. Although there are obstacles to their friendship (namely Flo’s jealous ex-best friend and Renée’s growing infatuation with Flo’s brother), fifteen is an age where anything can happen, where life stretches out before you, and when every betrayal feels like the end of the world. For Renée and Flo it is the time of their lives.

With graphic content and some scenes of a sexual nature, PAPER AEROPLANES is a gritty, poignant, often laugh-out-loud funny and powerful novel. It is an unforgettable snapshot of small-town adolescence and the heart-stopping power of female friendship.

REVIEW BY BETH

This novel is one of those that screamed ‘YOU MUST READ ME’ as soon as Emma asked if I’d give it a shot. I’m so glad I did as I really enjoyed getting to know Flo and Renee. Before I go completely mad for my love of the characters and their stories I’ll say the only thing that jarred with me slightly is how the names all seemed a bit whimsical – where were all the Sarah, Lauren and Michelles? I don’t know that’s the only thing that didn’t quite click but that aside – BRILLIANCE.

I don’t think I’ve read a novel about teenage friendships which is more believable and more real. The novelist doesn’t skip over the embarrassing bits so there are periods, embarrassing sexual ventures and much more. I found myself nodding along so many times and wishing this was a novel I’d had when I was 14/15.

My favourite character by miles is Sally. I’ve said before that I absolutely adore a character who is completely detestable and they don’t come much worse than Sally. She reminds me of a couple of people who I grew up with and her relentless beating down of Flo for everything and anything she does or says is just so reminiscent of high school it’s unreal.

Dawn O’Porter has a talent for capturing the essence of female adolescence like nobody I have read before. I found myself interested in both Flo and Renee’s lives and wanting to know more. Hoping for more from the author.

Review: Close My Eyes by Sophie McKenzie

Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title: Close My Eyes
Author: Sophie McKenzie
Publisher: Simon & Schuster UK
Publication Date: 9 May 2013
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 4/5

Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction

It’s been eight years since Gen Loxley lost her daughter, Beth: eight years of grief in which nothing’s really moved forward, for all that her husband, Art, wills it to. Gen, once a writer of novels, has settled in to a life of half-hearted teaching, while Art makes his name and their fortune – and pressures her into trying IVF once again. For Gen, it seems a cruel act of replacement; life without Beth is unthinkable, unbearable – but still it goes on. And then a woman arrives on Gen’s doorstep, saying the very thing she longs to hear: that her daughter was not stillborn, but was spirited away as a healthy child, and is out there, waiting to be found…. So why is Art reluctant to get involved? To save his wife from further hurt? Or something much more sinister? What is the truth about Beth Loxley?

REVIEW BY BETH

I haven’t read anything by Sophie McKenzie before but with Close My Eyes she seems to have jumped on the current trend for psychological thrillers with a huge, shocking twist. Close My Eyes is similar to both Before I Go to Sleep by SJ Watson and Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. Personally I’d say it sits somewhere in the middle of the two when it comes to my enjoyment as I definitely preferred it to Gone Girl whilst Before I Go to Sleep was one of my favorite from last year.

The plot is great and the twist, although I guessed it almost down to the letter, was also fantastic and probably even better if I hadn’t worked it out. The only small pitfall is that the synopsis gives the impression that Geniver’s belief in the most insane possibility that her daughter is still alive is hard to believe. For me, it wasn’t. I don’t think Geniver was the most enamoring of characters but I believed her from the start which kind of removed an element of the ‘is she, isn’t she?’ fun from the novel for me.

I loved watching the plot unfold and by the end, when everything fully transpired I felt completely satisfied, in a way, although the final chapter leaves the reader hanging as you would expect from a decent psychological thriller. Definitely left me feeling unnerved.

Book Love – June 2013 – YA Edition

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Here are the books I am longing to read published this month. Please let me know if I have missed any you would think I would like.

Image from Fantastic Ficiton

Image from Fantastic Ficiton

Title: The Corner of Bitter and Sweet
Author: Robin Palmer
Publisher: Speak
Publication Date: 27 June 2013

Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction

Sixteen-year-old Annabelle Jacobs never asked to be famous, but as the daughter of Janie Jacobs, one of the biggest TV stars in the world, she is. Growing up is hard enough. Having to do it in public because your mother is a famous actress? Even harder. When your mom crashes and burns after her DUI mug shot is splashed across the internet? Definitely not fun. Then your mom falls for a guy so much younger than she that it would be more appropriate for you to be dating him? That’s just a train wreck waiting to happen.
Image from Fantastic Fiction

Image from Fantastic Fiction

Title: The Dance of the Red Death
Series: Masque of the Red death #2
Author: Bethany Griffin
Publisher: Indigo
Publication Date: 6 June 2013

Synopsis from Fantastic Ficiton

In Dance of the Red Death, Araby’s world is in shambles – betrayal, death, disease, and evil forces surround her. She has no one to trust. But she finds herself and discovers that she will fight for the people she loves, and for her city.

Her revenge will take place at the menacing masked ball, though it could destroy her and everyone she loves…or it could turn her into a hero.

With a nod to Edgar Allan Poe, Bethany Griffin concludes her tragic and mysterious Red Death series with a heroine that young adult readers will never forget.

Review HERE
Image from Fantastic Fiction

Image from Fantastic Fiction

Title: Spirit and Dust
Series: Texas Gothic #2
Author: Rosemary Clement-Moore
Publisher: Corgi Children’s
Publication Date: 6 June 2013

Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction

Speaking to the dead is nothing for Daisy Goodnight. The living, on the other hand, can occasionally be a problem. Especially when they knock you out, kidnap you, and force you to be their magical police dog.

Donald Maguire–mob boss extraordinaire–has a missing daughter, and Daisy is his first choice to track her down. But he didn’t actually ask her for help. When she woke up in his guest bedroom, she was told. But why her? And who–or what–in the world is the Black Jackal?
Image from Fantastic Fiction

Image from Fantastic Fiction

Title: The Moon and More
Author: Sarah Dessen
Publisher: Penguin
Publication Date: 4 June 2013

Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough.

Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo’s sophisticated, exciting, and, best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.

Emaline’s mostly-absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he’s convinced that an Ivy League education is the only route to realizing her potential. Emaline is attracted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby?

Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she’s going?

Can you hear my TBR pile re-shuffling ;)