28 Mar 2017 Leave a comment
in Top Ten Tags: author meetings, top ten tuesday
Top Ten Tuesday is an original and weekly meme created by The Broke And The Bookish
Over the years I have been incredibly lucky to meet some of my all-time favourite authors. While I was compiling my list I realised just how many authors I’ve actually met, though this list is just my favourite authors I’ve had a chance to meet. But despite that growing list, there are still a few authors I am really hoping I get a chance to meet one day.
Have Met
Want to Meet
24 Mar 2017 Leave a comment
in 3 Stars, The Picture Book Corner Tags: children's picture book, sean ferrell, three stars
Published: 14th April 2015 
Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
Illustrator: Charles Santoso
Pages: 40
Format: Hardcover Picture Book
★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars
What’s not to love about a cute, cuddly…creepy toy koala? This is the story of a boy and the stuffed animal he just can’t seem to shake.
Adam does not like Koala. Koala is a little creepy.
Adam tries explaining this to his parents. He tries putting Koala away – far away. He tries taking Koala on a long, long walk. Nothing works. Will Adam ever be rid of Koala?
I had to really think about this review. My first reaction was confusion about this book and why anyone would write it. It wasn’t until I was writing down my thoughts and I got to think about it more that I altered my view.
Don’t get me wrong, I still think this is a creepy book about a demonic stuffed koala, but I can see in a very small way that it might be funny to some seeing this kid try to get rid of his koala to no avail.
I thought this was going to be a cute story about a kid not liking a toy and then learning to love it but this reads like something from a horror novel. Adam describes to us all the reasons why he doesn’t like his toy koala and from a little kid point of view the reasons are justified. Adam hides Koala around his house and then we assume his parents return him to Adam’s room. But it gets weird when Adam leaves Koala at the top of a hill and it still manages to return to Adam’s house.
Maybe it’s the way I interpreted it but it isn’t that cute. This kid doesn’t like his toy, Koala, and his parents keep bringing it back to him ignoring his protests. Then something happens and he suddenly loves it? Even if I can see the reasons I don’t know, it just seems odd.
Looking at it another way, if we embrace the possessed stuffed toy angle, Adam has secured himself a demonic toy that is actually a guardian of sorts against the other evil of the world while giving off the creepy vibe. Why not, I can work with that, even if it’s exceptionally peculiar.
From an illustration angle, Santoso does an amazing job. The illustrations of Koala are effectively creepy and Adam is adorable and Santos captures all the moods and tantrums and gives Adam excellent facial expressions. Even while we’re creeped out by the story itself, you can’t help but admire the fantastic illustrations that accompany it. I am upping the stars on this purely based on Santosa’s fabulous illustrations.
You can purchase I Don’t Like Koala via the following
22 Mar 2017 2 Comments
in 3 Stars, Young Adult Tags: julia lawrinson, three stars, young adult
Published: 30th January 2017
Publisher: Penguin Random House Australia
Pages: 235
Format: Paperback
Genre: Young Adult
★ ★ ★ – 3 Stars
Year Twelve is not off to a good start for Amelia. Art is her world, but her art teacher hates everything she does; her best friend has stopped talking to her; her mother and father may as well be living in separate houses; and her father is slowly forgetting everything. Even Amelia.
The best word I could describe this book with is sweet. It is a very sweet book, it has heart and there are some beautiful moments that hit all the right emotions and makes for a, well, sweet story.
This is a book that covers a range of mental health issues, highlighting how they affect those around them as much as it shows how it affects those that suffer from them. At its core it is also a story about love and about having a family member experience something that you will never understand completely but something that will affect you in so many ways.
Lawrinson expresses Amelia’s confusion regarding her father’s behaviour remarkably well. You understand her uncertainty and her fear about what is wrong with him, the uncertainty about what it means for the future of herself and her family.
Amelia is a character that intrigued me. Her obsession with September 11 videos is a fascinating aspect of her character and Lawrinson does a wonderful job helping the reader understand why she watches these over and over again.
One of the things I loved was how Amelia expressed herself through art. I’ve read a string of books lately with main characters who love art and it is a wonderful addition to their personality, letting their creativity show and working through any personal issues with their art is always great to read about.
One thing I did want more of is better character development of Poppy. Lawrinson makes a point of telling us that Amelia and Poppy become close friends, but we learn little to nothing about Poppy herself. She is merely a side character, one that barely gets any depth. I feel like we learn more about her mother than we do Poppy which is a shame. It felt like she was meant to be a more in-depth character, she is mentioned a lot but any real relationship didn’t come across the page.
Overall I did like this book. It has heart and it has a compelling story about change and an uncertain future. One thing I wish had been included was a picture of Amelia’s art. I did the best I could to picture it in in my mind, Lawrinson provides a lot of detail, but as I turned the final page I was silently hoping there would be the artwork for us to see. Sadly, this was not the case.
You can purchase Before You Forget via the following
21 Mar 2017 Leave a comment
in Top Ten Tags: Top Ten, top ten tuesday
Top Ten Tuesday is an original and weekly meme created by The Broke And The Bookish
The following ten books (in no particular order) are books that I finished in one sitting, either because they were impossible to put down, or so captivating and intriguing that I just had to finish the story and find out what happens. I’ve included my reviews so you can read them and realise why they were so captivating.
The Guy, The Girl, The Artist and His Ex by Gabrielle Williams
Holding Up The Universe by Jennifer Niven
This Raging Light by Estelle Laure
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
The Golden Child by Wendy James – Review
Before I Go To Sleep by S. J. Watson – Review
The Weight of a Human Heart by Ryan O’Neill – Review
The Sidekicks by Will Kostakis – Review
20 Mar 2017 Leave a comment
in 5 Stars, Thriller Tags: five stars, s. j. watson, thriller
Published: 14th June 2011
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 359
Format: Hardcover
Genre: Thriller
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ – 5 Stars
As I sleep, my mind will erase everything I did today. I will wake up tomorrow as I did this morning. Thinking I’m still a child, thinking I have a whole lifetime of choice ahead of me…
Memories define us. So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep? Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love–all forgotten overnight. And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.
Welcome to Christine’s life.
I have wanted to read this for years and I’m so glad I finally picked it up. THIS BOOK IS AMAZING! Again, I have seen it compared to 50 First Dates (like all memory books are these days it seems), but it is much better than that and totally not even the same thing.
Christine’s memory resets every morning and she reverts back to thinking she is in her twenties. It’s a phenomenal read seeing how she adjusts and copes with this realisation every morning. Her husband’s patience, their coping mechanisms are all wonderful.
The routine Christine and her husband had is changed when she starts to see a doctor without her husband knowing. Christine starts keeping a diary which she reads each day, but she still only knows what she is told every morning and what she’s learnt from herself the day before. The emotions you experience are similar to Christine’s – can you trust the doctor? Is the husband keeping secrets? Who is telling the truth? It’s an intense and incredible reading experience.
There were so many little things I loved about this book. I loved that Christine was middle aged and not younger. I loved that she is able to do what she does even when she has no idea about what she has done in the past. I love that Watson lulls me into a false security and then shatters my expectations. I love that when you think you know what is happening you could not be more wrong. I also love the structure of the novel. The before, the after, the fact we get to see her daily diary and it becomes part of the story.
Having a character who needs to be reintroduced to herself each morning has to possibility of being repetitive, but Watson never makes the repetition annoying or ironically, too repetitive. The exploration of Christine’s day to day life, her discoveries, and her conversations with her husband are approached slightly differently each day. And as Christine knows more, is shapes her conversations. And her mind focuses on different things each day.
The underlying mystery of Christine’s memory loss is always there and as it grows and takes hold your own suspense and tension and excitement builds. But without ruining anything, Watson plays with you remarkably well with this. There are twists upon surprises with secrets and things unsaid. It’s a roller coaster ride and when you think you know what is about the happen, something even better happens instead.
I implore that if you love thrillers, and love to be surprised and enthralled, that you should read this book. And, I will say, that there is a film adaptation of this and it is actually very close to the book so if you were uncertain about checking it out, you totally should. But of course, the book is a more fulfilling experience on all fronts and you should read it first.
You can purchase Before I Go to Sleep via the following
Booktopia | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson Bookworld
Book Depository | Fishpond | QBD | Wordery
