She Is Not Invisible - Marcus Sedgwick

Blurb

TWO DRIED MICE. A FLUFFY RAVEN CALLED STAN. A SUICIDAL AUSTRALIAN BIOLOGIST . . .

Is it coincidence or something more sinister that draws them together? Many strange things collide in Laureth Peak's life one hot August weekend. Perhaps the strangest of all is the way her dad had been acting lately. And now he's disappeared. It looks as if his obsession with coincidence might have fatal consequences.

As Laureth sets off for New York with her strange younger brother, Benjamin, she has little faith in herself. But she has a burning determination to find her missing father. She has just one clue to follow; his notebook. Does it contain salvation, or madness?

My Review

Now I'm not fond of the blurb. In fact, I wasn't going to pick this book up at all because of it. The reason I did is down to my partner - who doesn't read. He said it sounded good and that intrigued me because I couldn't see it. So here I am with the book on my shelf. And let me tell you, I'm glad he made me reconsider.

'She Is Not Invisible' was a great, easy read. So easy in fact, I struggled to put it down. I read the whole thing - all 354 pages of it - in just one day. It might have been the mystery or the tone and rhythm of the narration, I don't know, but I just fell into it.

I loved Laureth's narration so I was on to a winner. The narrative jumped around in a natural chatty way that was surprisingly easy to follow. I also found Laureth realistic and relatable. By the end, I really wanted to be her friend - which happens to me a lot. However, Laureth's brother, Benjamin, took longer for me to warm up to. Perhaps that was because I felt he was too babyish for seven sometimes. But as the book went on and I got to know the character better, I realised why Sedgwick had written him that way and I took my snap judgement back.

Laureth's father is a writer and every time she mentioned him or his work or his process, I just ate it up. I love to hear about authors in books and that'll always be the case. It always has been."Maybe writers are just a bit bonkers anyway." How can you not love that?

What really blew me away though was how it all came together. The last few paragraphs particularly, made me insanely happy. I won't be able to explain it, but if you read the book, you'll know just what I'm talking about.

Let me leave you with this. 'She Is Not Invisible' is an incredibly clever book that gets cleverer and cleverer as you read it. I will most definitely remember this book for a long time.

Evaluation

Overall 9/10

Would I recommend it? Yes! It is too clever to miss and so easy to pick up.

Would I look up the author? Yes. I'd like to see what other 'diamonds and pearls' Sedgwick has written.

'She Is Not Invisible' is an insanely clever book I enjoyed every moment of.

Molly Looby

Author / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly.looby@hotmail.com

Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro

Blurb

Kathy, Ruth and Tommy grew up together at Hailsham, a seemingly idyllic school deep in the English countryside with a dreadful secret at its heart. Now thirty-one, Kathy attempts to come to terms with her childhood at Hailsham and with the fate that has always awaited her and her closest friends in the wider world.

My Review

All the excellent reviews of 'Never Let Me Go' along with the prizes it's won, made me wary. But I understand where all the prizes and reviews came from. It's a beautiful book.

However, I did have my problems with it. After reading the first chapter, I had to force myself to pick the book up again. This continued to happen until I was about 100 pages in and I'm going to be honest, I almost put it down. Though I can't criticise Ishiguro on why I wasn't gripped because I couldn't find much wrong with the entire book. I suppose maybe it just wasn't for me.

Perhaps one of the reasons I found it so hard to get into was because of Kath's narration. It jumped all over the place - though if you were telling the story out loud that's how you'd tell it. Saying that though, I liked how she was unreliable and it made me wonder how much our memories change and warp over time.

Once the strange mystery was set up and I began asking questions, I was much more interested and into it, reading more than I set out to each time I picked it up. I loved how everything was downplayed and no huge drama. It's just little bits of life here and there that have a way of really touching you. This is refreshing for someone who reads a lot of high drama in YA books set in another world.

Although I can't decide whether or not I enjoyed it, I have a feeling 'Never Let Me Go' will stay with me because it left me empty and sad and thoughtful.

Evaluation

Overall 8/10

Would I recommend it? No. Probably not.

Would I look up the author? No. I know all of Ishiguro's books are supposed to be good but I wasn't gripped enough.

'Never Let Me Go' was beautiful and thoughtful but a struggle to get into.

Molly Looby

Author / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly.looby@hotmail.com

Teardrop - Lauren Kate

A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book

I'm not sure I'm qualified enough to tell you about a book I read 40 pages of. (Plus my copy doesn't have a blurb so . . . )

My Review

I didn't like this book. That's being kind. But I'll start at the beginning.

I was already wary when I picked up Teardrop (which was given to me) because I wasn't a fan of Fallen, Kate's most famous book. I was afraid Teardrop was going to have all the problems Fallen had.

And I was right.

The only positive thing I have to say about Teardrop is that I liked the prologue which is bizarre for me because I usually hate prologues. Prologues are - the vast majority of the time - a waste of paper. The story should start and we can learn information later, at least, that's my take on them. This was still true of the Teardrop prologue but it had me hooked and turning pages. Until I met Eurkea.

Before I move on to that, I have a question about YAs and therapists. Why do the protagonists always hate their therapists? I get that some people do but some people also like them because they're good people and they're trying to help. Eureka might not be that person but surely someone writing YA can have a helpful therapist for once?

Anyway . . . chapter one seemed to drag on and on and it had nothing to interest me with. Also, I found certain bits of description and thoughts stupid. This can be said of Eureka who I hated almost instantly. Of course she's been through a lot (that's a trend in YA) but she could be less of a brat. I didn't like her attitude. I didn't like her self-destructiveness. I didn't like her name. She seemed like a walking stereotype to me.

In fact, I was so displeased with chapter one, I gave Kate one more chapter to redeem herself before I put Teardrop down forever. I'm not wasting my time with skimming books any more. I'm going to start putting them down.

Needless to say, I put it down. This is the end of me reading bad books all the way to the end because I feel like I 'have to'. Never again!

Teardrop lives in its very own list at the bottom right: DID NOT FINISH. 

Evaluation

Overall 1/10 - has to be

Would I recommend it? No. How can I when I could barely stomach 40 pages?

Would I look up the author? No. I've now picked up two Kate books I've disliked. I will not be picking up any more.

I couldn't even reach the end of Teardrop and I don't know how anyone could.

Molly Looby

Author / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly.looby@hotmail.com

Midnight Alley - Morganville Vampires #3 - Rachel Caine

Before you go any further please know that this is book three in a series so there may be book one (Glass Houses) and two (The Dead Girls' Dance) spoilers ahead.

A Bit of the Blurb

Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure her friends. All of a sudden people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from Claire's past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home.

My Review

I knew that overall I would enjoy reading this book because I enjoyed books one and two back in 2012 when I read them on the recommendation of my A'level English teacher - of all people. I was thrown into Midnight Alley a little rusty but it didn't take long to remember what was going on. The characters are so lively that I recognised them all and Caine was kind enough to only remind me of the most important plot points which I was glad for. I hate it when books give a detailed summary of the previous one, it gets on my nerves.

I went in knowing - as I always do with the Morganville books - that it wasn't going to be by any means a 'literary' piece. Caine isn't trying to make a point or wow you with ideas, she's just out to entertain you. And she's pretty damn good at that. One of the reasons I like these books so much is that they're so easy to read. At times I felt guilty for not picking up something that makes me look a little more intelligent but hey, you like what you like. Caine's taught me to enjoy whatever it is I like to read. It's not a big secret that vampire fiction is a guilty pleasure of mine and these books do a good job of quenching my thirst.

Another reason I love the Morganville books is that I've invested quite a lot into these characters at this point and I want to find out where they end up. Not to mention they're all different and relatable in bizarre ways. Their personality traits are louder in this universe than in real life so sometimes it felt a little caricature but that just made me smile. I'm sure Caine knew exactly what she was doing.

I've blabbed on enough about why I love these books but now I should take a moment to explain they're not perfect. Far from it. First of all, there was a lot of unnecessary description of people's clothes and actions for my liking. I don't care that so-and-so picked this up before sitting on this very specific part of the sofa. It felt as though Caine was trying to get as much out of her chapters as possible. I think I was correct in saying that because the weird unnecessary description disappeared as the plot fired up.

Adverbs! Yes, I know, I know, I won't go on. But seriously(!)? There were a lot more than I expected but I suppose I'm much better at spotting them now. These irritating words didn't annoy me back in 2012 and I'm sure books one and two are riddled with them also. 

But the most painful thing about Midnight Alley was one huge mistake I found. Caine wrote 'Michael' when she meant 'Shane' in a super important scene and confused the hell out of me! I love these books but that's pretty unforgivable. How many people did that mistake go through before confusing me? I just couldn't believe it hadn't been spotted.

Overall though, Midnight Alley was a delight to read. I laughed out loud more than I usually do because the tone and narration are just spot on. The Morganville Vampire books will remain a guilty pleasure for a long time yet.

Evaluation

Overall 7/10

Would I recommend it? Yes. I thoroughly enjoy the Morganville Vampire books when I pick them up.

Would I look up the author? No. This one series is enough for me.

Midnight Alley was just as I expected. A familiar, entertaining read.

Molly Looby

Author / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly.looby@hotmail.com

My Definitive List of Disney Classics

It irritates me that so many of the Disney Classics are undervalued by people. Of course there's no arguing that The Lion King is a masterpiece, Snow White's pretty dated and there are a whole host no one's ever heard of. But I'm here to educate you on what Disney films you might have missed but must buy and see.

So as far as I'm aware, here are the 53 Disney Classics that have been released as of May 2015 (UPDATE May 2017) when I write this:

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

2. Pinocchio 

4. Dumbo

5. Bambi

6. Saludos Amigos

7. The Three Caballeros

8. Make Mine Music

9. Fun and Fancy Free

10. Melody Time

11. Ichabod and Mr Toad

12. Cinderella

13. Alice in Wonderland

14. Peter Pan

15. Lady and the Tramp

16. Sleeping Beauty

17. 101 Dalmatians

18. The Sword in the Stone

19. The Jungle Book

20. The Aristocats

21. Robin Hood

22. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh

23. The Rescuers

24. The Fox and the Hound

25. The Black Cauldron 

26. Basil the Great Mouse Detective

27. Oliver and Company

28. The Little Mermaid

29. The Rescuers Down Under

30. Beauty and the Beast

31. Aladdin

32. The Lion King

33. Pocahontas

34. The Hunchback of Notre Dame

35. Hercules

36. Mulan

37. Tarzan

38. Fantasia 2000

39. The Emperor's New Groove

40. Atlantis

41. Lilo and Stich

42. Treasure Planet

43. Brother Bear

44. Home on the Range

45. Chicken Little

46. The Wild

47. Meet the Robinsons

48. Bolt

49. The Princess and the Frog

50. Tangled

51. Wreck-it Ralph

52. Frozen

53. Big Hero 6
54. Zootropolis/Zootopia
55. Moana

Now I can't claim to have seen all 55, but I have seen my fair share (80%) to know that Disney doesn't always get it right. But more astoundingly, us, the audience, don't always get it right either.

Let me help you. Here are, in my opinion, ten Disney films that are under appreciated:

1. Oliver and Company

2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame

3. Hercules

4. The Emperor's New Groove

5. Lilo and Stich

6. Treasure Planet

7. Brother Bear

8. Meet the Robinsons

9. Bolt

10. Wreck-it Ralph

I know Lilo and Stich is pretty popular, but ask yourselves this; would it be as popular if Stich wasn't so merchandised? Thinking about it, that might be where these films made mistakes. They're not as easy to merchandise. Princess films create princess dresses every little girl (and sometimes boy and there's nothing wrong with that) - and adult - wants to wear. Growing up, I wanted an Ariel dress but alas, my wish didn't come true. I didn't include The Princess and the Frog here because there's some good merchandise for it. You might not have seen it but you know who Tiana is right? I bet you don't know who Lewis is. No, not the crocodile in The Princess and the Frog, that's Louis. Any other guesses? No? I didn't think so.

Cute side-kicks turned into cuddly toys are a goldmine for Disney. Think of Olaf - he didn't add much to Frozen if you ask me. He's my least favourite character in the whole film, but they kept him in for a reason. That reason? Merchandising!

All ten of those films I love and could watch again and again but if I had to pick one to force you to watch it would be The Emperor's New Groove. That film gets funnier with every watch. It's aimed just as much at adults as it is for kids. I'm astounded people don't rate this in their top funniest films ever.

So now you might be wondering what in my opinion are ten Disney films that have been hyped to death:

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

2. Bambi

3. Peter Pan

4. The Jungle Book

5. The Little Mermaid

6. Beauty and the Beast

7. Aladdin

8. The Lion King

9. Tangled

10. Frozen

Now before you go screaming at me, I'm not saying these are bad films. These films will always be known by everyone and that's just the way it is. They're over hyped for a reason. These are Disney's true successes. Tell me you haven't seen more of this list than the previous one?

I rest my case.

All I'm trying to say is that instead of watching Aladdin for the 30th time, why not go for Treasure Planet? It's masterpiece, I assure you. Instead of singing Let it Go for the 185,389th time, why not listen to the songs from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Again, outstanding). 

Disney is more magical if you broaden your horizons. Plus if you haven't seen Hercules we can't be friends.

P.S. Big Hero 6 is incredible.

P.P.S. In case you were wondering, I'm one of those 'Pixar can do no wrong' type of people. (Except Cars 2) #sorrynotsorry

Molly Looby

Disney Obsessed / Author / Blogger
molly.looby@hotmail.com

Books Nobody's Reading That Everyone Should Be Reading for #IreadYA

It's #IreadYA week over at This is Teen and what a perfect opportunity to promote some of my favourite books!

They need some serious love!

Being popular and incredible is something rare to me. There are so many popular books that don't deserve even a portion of the fame they have achieved. But incredible books that are underrated - now that's my thing. Here's a list of some of my favourite books. All of these are worth your time. And also worth way more hype than they got.

Before you bite my head off, I know some of these are best sellers but that doesn't mean I've ever heard people talk about them. Like I said, these books are worth way more hype then they got.

This time I tried to be ruthless and put them in order of how much I think these books need to be read but they all need to be read. So read them!

The Dustlands Trilogy - Moira Young

(Blood Red Road, Rebel Heart, Raging Star)

The Forest of Hands and Teeth Trilogy - Carrie Ryan 

(The Forest of Hands & Teeth, The Dead-Tossed Waves, The Dark & Hollow Places)

The Rephiam Series - Paula Weston 

(Shadows, Haze, Shimmer - plus more to come)

Anna Dressed in Blood - Kendare Blake

The Reapers are the Angels - Alden Bell

The Unearthly Trilogy - Cynthia Hand 

(Unearthly, Hallowed, Boundless)

The Other Life - Susanne Winnacker 

The Lorien Legacies - Pittacus Lore 

(I am Number Four, The Power of Six - am yet to read the rest)

Maybe One Day - Melissa Kantor

Starters - Lissa Price

So pick one of these fantastic books up, grab a glass or mug of something and settle into a wonderful summer of book discoveries.

Molly Looby

Author, Reader, YA lover

molly.looby@hotmail.com

Bluff Your Way In Publishing - Dorothy Stewart

A Spoiler Free Bit About The Book

The title speaks for itself.

My Review

First, of course, this book is dated and I can't believe the publishing industry conducts itself in the exact same way it did back when this was written. Not to mention the popularity of the eBook has changed a lot for publishers and they've had to adapt, even if it is in a small way. So a lot of it I found out-of-date and irrelevant.

I'm going to be brutally honest. I did not like this book. Is that because I have an idealised vision of what publishing's like? I don't know. But what was written in this book must have been, at least some of it, an exaggeration. 

Being told that if you have a certain name you are more likely to get into publishing made me sceptical of the seriousness of this book from the off and I spent all 60 pages of it wondering how serious I was supposed to take it. I was glad it was so short because with each page I became more miserable Everyone in publishing seems to hate everybody else in publishing according to Stewart. Plus, do publishers really not give a damn about authors? What about J.K. Rowling? I bet publishers give a damn about her. I just can't believe that authors mean nothing in the publishing industry. I worked in an editing department for two weeks, the people there cared more than the book suggested.

It's safe to say I was left with an even more depressing view of the publishing industry than I already had. Stewart painted a view of a stuffy, half asleep industry you wouldn't touch with a bargepole. Again, I just can't believe this to be true

Evaluation

Overall 5/10

Would I recommend it? No. Unless you're a publisher with this specific brand of humour I suppose.

Would I look up the author? No. I'm not sure what I was supposed to take from this book.

Bluff Your Way In Publishing was depressing and out-of-date. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to have learnt from its pages.

Molly Looby

Author / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly.looby@hotmail.com