4 Stars | Lost in a Good Book

Eve and Elly by Mike Dumbleton

10 Feb 2017 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: children's picture book, four stars, mike dumbleton

Published: 16th May 2016
Publisher: Random House Australia
Illustrator: Laura Wood
Pages: 32
Format: Paperback Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Elly is Eve’s toy elephant, but he’s also her best friend. When Elly goes missing, Eve is the one who is lost.

What drew me to this book were the illustrations. I loved the cover by Laura Wood, and as I kept turning pages I loved them and the story even more. Elly the elephant comes alive in Eve’s mind, he has expressions, he mimics Eve’s movements, and Wood makes the whole thing incredibly adorable. The pictures are relatively basic but reflect the words on the page, and depending what they’re depicting have varying degrees of detail.

The blurb tells us that when Elly goes missing, it is Eve who is lost. I loved that when Elly is gone Eve’s dad doesn’t try to make her feel better per se, he understands but offers up another one of her toys as “someone who [also] needs her” and tries to make her love her other toys for the time being until Elly comes back.

It’s a sweet story about how to cope when a child loses a favourite toy. Dad has a good solution and it is one that could be easily adopted if need be because lost toys are not always recovered. Dumbleton has been creative and clever in his writing, it suits what a parent might do and say to their child who is upset over the loss of a toy but it does also come with its own troubles as mum and dad discover.

There are moments for the parents to enjoy as they read and the kids will love seeing Eve’s love for her toy and get to think about what they would do if they lost one of their favourite toys.

You can purchase Eve and Elly via the following

Book Depository | Dymocks

Booktopia | Kobo

QBD | Bookworld

Fans of the Impossible Life by Kate Scelsa

09 Feb 2017 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Young Adult Tags: four stars, kate scelsa, young adult

Published: 8th September 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 360
Format: Paperback
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Mira is starting over at Saint Francis Prep. She promised her parents she would at least try to pretend that she could act like a functioning human this time, not a girl who can’t get out of bed for days on end, who only feels awake when she’s with Sebby.

Jeremy is the painfully shy art nerd at Saint Francis who’s been in self-imposed isolation after an incident that ruined his last year of school. When he sees Sebby for the first time across the school lawn, it’s as if he’s been expecting this blond, lanky boy with mischief glinting in his eye.

Sebby, Mira’s gay best friend, is a boy who seems to carry sunlight around with him. Even as life in his foster home starts to take its toll, Sebby and Mira together craft a world of magic rituals and impromptu road trips, designed to fix the broken parts of their lives.

As Jeremy finds himself drawn into Sebby and Mira’s world, he begins to understand the secrets that they hide in order to protect themselves, to keep each other safe from those who don’t understand their quest to live for the impossible.

Intense is the best word to describe this book. When I finished this it hung over me like a blanket and I looked for ages to find another book to read next that was the polar opposite to this because it was SO INTENSE.

But that isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy it.

It has you on the edge of your seat in a way, not because of the action or drama or adventure, but because you are adamant something bad is going to happen to these poor kids!

There are some strong themes and issues dealt with in this book. There’s depression, self harm, drug use, homophobia and bullying. Not to mention everything else. I loved this book but it was heavy. It was so much to handle, so much happens, so much doesn’t happen; it’s consuming.

Scelsa uses three different points of view, one per character. You can claim Jeremy is the main character because he gets the first person perspective and first introduction, and I found myself thinking the same thing, but Scelsa gives them equal weighting in her own way.

I think second person works so well for Sebby. I can’t imagine his story being told any other way. It’s just what the reader needs to understand and see his POV.

Mira’s life is explored in third person, it suits her too and without analysing it too much, I really think Scelsa’s choices suit them remarkably well

While there is a lot of intensity and dramatics in a way, the thing I found great about this was that there was hope. Always hope. And I think that that is the best thing to be left with after a book; imperfections, not getting the solutions to everything, but left with a little bit of hope to cling to.

Scelsa captures Jeremy’s loneliness so well. You understand wholly his fear that his new friends will leave, not to mention the fear of going back to school and his uncertainty about being thrust into the world without his consent.

The writing is so well done you get inside the head of characters, even with the differen points of view, you still get inside their mind and you understand them completely and that is in part why this book is intense, you really understand these characters thoughts and feelings and intricacies of their lives. You see their fears and hopes and lives before you and you want nothing but for them to be ok.

I’ve seen this be compared to Perks of being A Wallflower and I can kind of see where they’re coming from but at the same time I think this is different from that. Similar yes, but also different. I adored Wallflower and I loved this, but to compare them does neither of them justice.

You can purchase Fans of the Impossible Life via the following

Booktopia | BookWorld

Dymocks | Wordery

QBD | Book Depository

Fishpond | Amazon

The Further Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat by Julia Donaldson

03 Feb 2017 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: children's picture book, julia donaldson

Published: 2013
Publisher: Puffin Books
Illustrator: Charlotte Voake
Pages: 32
Format: Hardcover Picture Book
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

The Owl and the Pussy-cat sailed away In a beautiful blue balloon . . . Gruffalo author, Julia Donaldson, revisits Edward Lear’s favourite rhyme in this wonderful new story set in a nonsensical land full of adventure. When their beautiful golden ring is stolen, the Owl and the Pussy-cat must travel far from the safety of the Bong-tree glade as their search for the thief leads them across the Sea, to the Chankly Bore and beyond…

I for one didn’t know there were further adventures of the owl and the pussycat but I am delighted to discover that there are. The book is written by Julia Donaldson and what she has done is carried on the poem by Edward Lear and shown us what the newlyweds are up to.

Donaldson’s rhyme reads as well as Lear’s original, so much so it’s possible to carry on from one to the other. The narrative is as quirky and nonsense as Lear’s was, but still with a solid base storyline to drive it. I loved that Donaldson uses the same repetition and big, obscure words, and there are cameos from previous friends and familiar moments from the first poem.

The premise of the story is that the ring that wed the pair has been stolen and the owl and the pussycat go off in search of it to bring it home. While I understand people may see it as unnecessary, I quite liked the story. Donaldson has stayed close to Lear’s work and retained the nonsensical nature and style so it doesn’t feel completely misguided or unconnected.

Charlotte Voake’s illustrations suit the story well, they are just enough detail and the right design for the nonsense nature of the words. They are slightly different to those in Lear’s poem, but that doesn’t impact the story at all considering Lear’s art isn’t the thing most memorable about it.

If you liked the first poem you may or may not enjoy this. You would need to know the first poem though to really understand this, but it is quirky and fun and the strangeness appeals to kids and isn’t too silly for it to be totally absurd.

Listen and watch Julia read and extract

You can purchase The Further Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat via the following

Book Depository | Amazon UK

Copper Veins (#3) by Jennifer Allis Provost

05 Aug 2016 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Fantasy, Romance Tags: copper legacy, ebook, fantasy, four stars, jennifer allis provost, romance

Published: 26th July 2016
Publisher: Spence City
Pages: 264
Format: ebook via Netgalley
Genre: Romance/Fantasy
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

Sara’s pretty sure her life is perfect.

Not only are she and Micah finally married, her father, who’d been missing since the Magic Wars, has been found. Actually, he just strode up to the manor’s front door, but whatever. Sara knows better than to look a gift horse in the mouth.

But Baudoin Corbeau isn’t content to return to family life. He’s decided that he will be the force of change in the Mundane world, and lead the Elemental resistance to victory with his children at his side. What’s worse, Baudoin doesn’t approve of Sara’s marriage, and makes every attempt to separate her from Micah.

After a visit to the Mundane realm leaves Sara, Max and Sadie imprisoned by the Peacekeepers, Sara’s doubts creep to the surface. Is her father right? Does she belong in the Mundane realm, not the Otherworld? Is Micah really the right man—make that elf—for her?
Was marrying him a mistake?

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book for review.

This is the third book in the Copper Legacy series and it’s still such a delight to read about Sara and Micah and this fascinating world with Elementals and Mundanes.

Though only a few months have passed since the first story, a lot has happened. Micah and Sara’s relationship have gotten more serious and there are consequences and aftermaths of the previous book to deal with. Provost draws on past events and brings together existing ones wonderfully and previous books aren’t treated as separate things entirely. Conversations, situations, and scenes of past novels are still referred to and are important; they are treated like living memories rather than events of a different book. Provost does a wonderful job of filling in the previous book events without making it clunky or tedious, and aside from the Prologue that brings you up to speed, there are still numerous references blended throughout to fill in additional details.

Not all the story is tied up with past books, with the return of Sara’s father there is a new direction taken and a whole new set of things to explore. There is a different kind of drama this time. Not that there isn’t excitement or suspense, but it has a family focus that ties in with bigger things. Provost threads these all together naturally and the seamless transition of events really feels like real life, interruptions and best laid plans falling to the wayside, family drama and serious problems colliding and tangled together.

I have to admit it was slightly predictable at times, but also with a few surprises. We learn even more about the Elementals and their abilities and seeing Sara and Micah settle into their new life was great. Their relationship isn’t overdone, nor is it bland. Provost balances their affection and love for one another without making it cheesy or unbelievable. Both Sara and Micah have responsibilities and the contrast and conflict between their love and their duty makes for great reading.

Whether this is your first read of the Legacy series or you’ve been in it from the start, this is still a good read. From the beginning I was engaged and knowing the stories already I was instantly back in the world of Elementals and Mundanes with the magic, politics, and war. If I didn’t know the story I think Provost does an excellent job of introducing it while still moving the story forward. You could easily pick up this book and start reading without having read the previous two. The writing is descriptive and draws you in, and though the story isn’t action filled or intense all the time, you still find yourself eager to see what happens. Provost brings drama without making it seem dramatic.

With another book yet to come, Provost directs us towards the next one well, without making it too obvious in the lead up. The story is allowed to conclude naturally while still feeling like there is somewhere to go. I think book four is going to bring even more excitement and surprises and I can’t wait to read it. I’ve enjoyed this series and loved these characters from the start and I’m eager to see where it goes.

You can purchase Copper Veins via the following

Amazon | Amazon Aust

Angus and Robertson | Booktopia

The Exclusion Wars by Sheila Agnew

28 Jul 2016 Leave a comment

by Amy in 4 Stars, Thriller, Young Adult Tags: dystopia, four stars, sheila agnew, thriller, young adult

Published: 21st December 2015
Publisher: Oxiana Road Publishing
Pages: 204
Format: ebook
Genre: Young Adult/ Thriller
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars

A thriller set in 2025, in which teenager, Mateo Rivera, is in hiding as “Matt” in New York City where he must avoid capture by Mr. Rienham, the new chief of the Deportation of Latinos Agency, hand-picked for the job by President Trent himself.

But Matt isn’t alone; he’s got the Underground, an organisation which advocates peaceful resistance. He’s been trained by the mysterious Underground leader, Polaris; harboured by reluctant shepherd and drop-out lawyer, Steve; and he has the not always helpful but well-intentioned support of his best friend, fifteen year-old, wannabe Navy Seal, Danni Singh.

Rienham, the DLA and its roving pack of DepoDogs aren’t Matt’s only problems. There’s a new enemy on the horizon, and it calls itself The Latino Alliance.

Note: I was provided with a copy of this book by the author for review.

I really liked this book; it is every bit the thriller it claims to be while still balancing the storyline, drama, emotion, and all the other wonderful elements as well. With the Latinos being sent into exile or worse, those who haven’t fled are in hiding, and those who can pass are constantly worrying about being found out.

It’s a fascinating story with a wonderful insight into what fear and hatred can do to a country if the right voice is convincing enough. It also shows how laws and views of the few can shape the opinions of the many, influencing them in how they see others. What’s great about Agnew’s writing is that this can all be read into it, it doesn’t come across on the page as a blatant message about acceptance and about prejudice, Agnew uses the writing to subtly say things through the story rather than shoving it down our throats.

Agnew has created a story that is slightly prophetic in a way, because Agnew based Trent on a Trump like figure but wrote it years before Trump decided to run which makes it even eerier. It depicts a future that, honestly, is on the closer side to believable than not, the explanations are there about how this came about, gradually, and with the right set of circumstances, snowballing before it could be stopped, all really quite plausible. The dictator style of Trent and the control he and his lackeys have created bring this future to life with detail and well roundedness that makes it real.

The characters are fantastic and definitely a highlight of the story. They are all so unique, fully fledged, each with a passion of their own and not just there to play a role around Matt’s story. Matt is a great kid and an excellent narrator. He tells his story well and Agnew uses his voice and conversations to inform the reader without needing to include large amounts of back story. Matt never forgets where he’s come from or who he is, but he is smart enough to keep the thoughts to himself, and always remember his training. He is adult in some ways, having to keep secrets about his heritage, knowing delicate information and constantly having to check his behaviour and actions so as not to get caught, but at the same time he is also very much the 14-year-old as well. He has an attitude, he has crushes on girls, he has friends to hang out with and get in trouble with, and he misses his mum immensely.

There is a continual sense of thrill and suspense, but all for different reasons. It’s the suspense of Matt thinking he’s about to be found out at school, the anticipation about whether someone knows his secret, tension when he is trapped and unable to send for help, the constant feeling you’ve developed that something is about to go wrong at any given moment. Agnew definitely makes you become involved with the varying levels of thrill and suspense she’s created and when there’s actual drama and action is brings it to a whole other level entirely.

You can’t ignore the similarities to the current situation in America when reading this story, but it is a fascinating read and doesn’t read like a response to current events, it remains in the futuristic realm, even if it is barely ten years in the future. Agnew begins and concludes this story wonderfully and it’s the right balances of everything in the middle. I would definitely love to read a second book so I can keep reading about these characters and this strange yet familiar world they live in.

You can purchase The Exclusion Wars via the following

Amazon

Amazon Aust