My Best Friends and Other Enemies
Catherine Wilkins
London, Nosy Crow, 2012, 202p
I found myself pleasantly surprised by this novel. I haven't picked up a book about everyday teenage girls in a while, mainly because I read so many when I was young and assumed they were all the same. I also thought it would probably completely bore me now I have grown up a little bit.
In My Best Friend and Other Enemies, Jessica is trying to deal with the fact that her oldest friend Natalie is hanging out with someone new. Amelia is the new girl at school, but she is mean to Jessica, making snide comments on her appearance and excluding her from meet ups.
Luckily for the reader, Jessica is not a bitter depressive, nor a vengeful aggressive, but somewhere in between. When Amelia and Natalie start a a gang, Jessica creates her own, but has little success in getting all the members to ever get together. She toys with various plots to get her own back, but is smart and conscientious enough to know that she needs to be the bigger person - though this doesn't completely prevent her from occasionally conflicting with Amelia.
I found the most endearing thing about this story was Jessica's family. They are on "economy drive", striving to save pennies and consume all that is stored in their freezer. This family are funny and sweet, with Jessica's little brother, Ryan, gallivanting around the house pretending to be a spaceman for most of the book. And unlike so many other teenage novels, Jessica does not moan about her strange relatives, but is able to laugh and love.
Jessica is not a perfect protagonist, nor is she the typical teenage girl you get in so many of these sorts of books, and that is why I actually enjoyed this particular one. She is flawed, human, and her actions leave somewhere between good and bad. But her heart is in the right place and her hurt is understandable. I think I just appreciated that this isn't book that was overwhelmed with drama!
Ghouls in School
(Spook Squad)
Roger Hurn
Winchester, Ransom, 2013, 46p
I have had a large box of short reads sat on my desk for almost three months now, as they are waiting to be covered in protective plastic. As they are just within reach, I am working my way through them, grabbing for one any time I need a quick read during a quiet break.
The Spook Squad is a brilliant series, all of which are on Accelerated Reader. They are targeted at young female readers who like scary stories, claiming to be "adventures too scary for boys". The protagonists are a group of intelligent, fun girls - all with slightly different personalities, perfect for girls to find one to relate to.
You can probably guess what Ghouls in School is about. Roxy, Emma, Leena and Nita arrive at their lockers to find them glued together. It looks like a practical joke, but soon they find themselves getting the blame. Throughout the school, strange things are happening, and no one is sure of who is responsible.
I am constantly impressed by the ability of some writers to get a whole story into less than 50 pages, with illustrations taking up a lot of the space. Such books are a hugely supportive of the more challenged reader, with the words in large fonts spaced out across the page, and images to help with the visual side of reading.
This series also has little biographies of the characters at the beginning, detailing elements of their personalities. The word counts are so limited that this really helps with character development, and the female readership of this series will benefit from having a character to relate to. There is also a pages of spooky jokes and a map of Otherworld, where some of the stories are set.
Now, I really should get on with actually preparing these books so the students can read them, too!
After Tomorrow
Gillian Cross
Oxford, OUP, 2013, 296p
England is in recession. The banks have collapsed and money is tight. Some families are managing, with careful planning and vigilant forethought; but some are suffering, driven to drastic measures by desperation.
Does this sound familiar?
How about late-night attacks from the poor, venting their anger through theft - trying to level the playing field by stealing from those who have more? How about being forced to emigrate to France as England becomes increasingly dangerous and impossible to live in?
This is After Tomorrow - a "what if" story. What if the recession got worse? Matt and his brother, Taco, have to leave the home they know and love in a final rush before the border into France closes. They have already lost their father and their grandfather, victims to the violence that has erupted as a result of the poverty that has swept through England. But things are not much better over the channel: holed up in a tent, they live off food rations, shivering through the cold nights. Plus, neither of them speak French.
I breezed through this book - it felt effortless and confident, brilliantly composed. Although it is not an action packed novel, the pace was controlled perfectly, which meant I never got bored (even in the early pages as the character and plot was developed).
And the concept is simply genius, especially considering the target audience. Gillian Cross
does not preach about class divide or make suggestions about the world
economy, but presents a world that no child would want to experience. Without wanting
to spoil the ending, I will just say that there is no conclusion to such
a situation; but Cross does not patronise her reader or her characters: simply, After Tomorrow is thought provoking, intelligent and relevant, subtly guiding young readers to think about the world in which they live.
The Outsiders
Michelle Paver
London, Penguin, 2012, 291p
Stuck on a train, this might not be the first book I would have chosen to have with me. But as fate would have it, The Outsiders was the only novel I remembered to pack. Fortunately, it did not disappoint.
Michelle Paver's novel is set in Greece in the Bronze Age. It's pages seep with mythology and legend. Gods watch over the land and the people, superstition and magic are everywhere, and society is structured by ancient rules and traditions.
Hylas and his sister are separated when they are attacked by the Crows - a deadly group of warriors seemingly pent on killing Outsiders, or those who are not part of the villages. Searching for his sister, Hylas finds himself in ever growing danger, always stalked by the Crows. But he is intelligent, brave and patient, better equipped than anyone to survive in the wilderness.
Meanwhile, Pirra is trying to escape her mother and the fate that awaits her when they reach land: marriage. She is stubborn and ruthless, determined to run but unsure where to go. Stranded together on a desolate island, Pirra and Hylas must work together to avoid capture and find their way to safety.
This novel is the first in a new series by Michelle Paver. What I find so frustrating about such a series is that you feel incomplete when you reach the end of the first part - I prefer stories to begin and end within the confines of one book. Of course the cliffhanger is designed to keep you wanting more, but this novel in particular left me feeling like the story was barely started. So much happened, but you know there is so much more to come.
Within this novel, I went on an incredible journey - back to ancient Greece, down to the depth of the ocean, into the darkest caves. The land is a character, beautifully vast and powerfully enticing. For me, I think feeling like I was there with Hylas and Pirra is what made this novel something special.
Candle Lights, Snow Fights and Star Lights
An Anthology from the First Story / Arvon Week at The Hurst
Ed. Peter Hobbs
London, First Story, 2013, 55p
Wow.
That is really all I need to say. But I don't think I'm going to get away with that.
If you are reading this blog and you haven't heard of First Story, where have you been?!? Last February, I was lucky enough to be put on a train and sent to Shropshire for an Arvon creative writing course. Stranded in the middle of a forest in a foot of snowfall with no signal and no escape, fifteen talented young writers shared laughter, experiences and poetry.
We were blessed with Salena Godden and Peter Hobbs as our guides, who braved cold winter nights and long fraught workshops to produce the most inspired and inspirational writing I have ever witnessed.
This was one of my earliest encounters with First Story. I had nothing to hide behind, forced to write and read out, even though my rough scribbles paled in comparison to what came out of the pens of the teenagers present. These young people lit up the rooms with their imaginations, bringing to life unicorns, Buddhist monks and Marilyn Monroe.
This anthology is a culmination of that week's work. With contributions from all the students from the three schools, it is just a taste of what myself and the other adults present got to enjoy. Those hesitant early drafts have turned into masterpieces of poetry and prose, some merry, some melancholy, some macabre, all marvellous.
Dear Scarlett
Fleur Hitchcock
London, Nosy Crow, 2013, 268p
The reason I include an image of the cover of each book I read on this blog is partly so you know what you are looking for when you are shopping or browsing the library shelves, but also because some covers are artistic masterpieces.
Scarlett's story begins when a stranger delivers a package to her front door, just a week after her eleventh birthday. It is from her father, now deceased, once a thief. Enclosed are some tools of his trade, and Scarlett is not sure what she is meant to do. She toys with the idea of being a criminal like her father, but finds herself wracked with guilt. When she finds out her father may not have been as bad as she thought, she tries to use the tools for good, but still seems to end up in a penguin orientated pickle.
Dear Scarlett is a heart-warming, funny, uplifting story, and has made me re-think my order of favourites on the Bookbuzz list. Scarlett is a likeable, honest character who takes the reader on a fascinating adventure involving nasty school teachers, code breaking and comic baddies.
It is written in a simple yet inviting manner, hooking you from the first page with intrigue about this peculiar package, enticing you with clues and red herrings, and inviting you on a journey. The narrative is friendly, with short, bite-size chapters, which is always a form I appreciate. You have the option to take regular breaks, but you hardly want to since the story is so brilliant!
And on top of all that, it looks great. Having read the story, I am still a little confused about how the cover relates (mainly the cat), but I love that images run throughout the text and there is attention to detail on every page.
You can tell Dear Scarlett has been put together with care, from the initial concept of the captivating protagonist through to the formation of the book in physical form. And that care is what I love.
Closer
Patrick Marber
London, Methuen, 2004, 123p
I needed a short break from reading teenage fiction - I think it was making my brain go a little mushy. Somehow, I ended up right at the other end of the scale, reading a play about love and adult relationships.
I have been meaning to read the play of Closer since I first saw the film (and I would love to see the stage production!). I remember being completely enticed by the character, although such a small cast, and the language, which seemed simultaneously so simple and yet so complex.
The play opens with Dan and Alice waiting in a hospital. Alice, a young, seemingly-confident drifter has been knocked down by a car, and Dan - stifled by etiquette but enchanted by Alice - has come to get her checked out. Over the course of the play, these two are joined by Anna, a negative woman who seems unable to work out what she wants, and Larry, a dermatologist full of anger and desire. Their interwoven love lives and losses are plotted over months and years. It is a story about human existence and relationships - about the need to be loved and the inability to find fulfillment.
Central are the four characters, each rather unlikeable but fascinating. In their lives, there is a marvelously thin line between love and betrayal - they seem incapable of not hurting each other, mainly because they are so self-centred (with arguably the exception of Alice). But they are all carnal, desperate for affection and later for revenge. Most importantly, they are human, fallible, and increasingly aware of their own mortality.
Closer is an powerfully sensual play, as indicated by the title. Each of the characters professional lives revolved around the body, from the photographer to the stripper, the dermatologist to the obiturist. But part of that sensuality also comes from the dialogue, which is fast and sharp, angry and honest.
In the commentary that accompanies this particular version, Patrick Marber is quoted saying many people feel like this is their story. I think that is how I felt at first, before realising it is everyone's story. The feelings they experience and heartache they suffer has been experienced by everyone at sometime. I think that universality is why I love Closer.
