In Sight of Stars: A Novel by Gae Polisner Review

I have many, many things to say about this book... First I'd like to begin by saying thank you to NetGally for providing me with a pre-publication copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This book will be published on the 13th of March 2018.

Lets begin with how beautiful the cover is before we get serious. I love the sunflowers in the cover and the first thing I thought of when I saw the cover was Van Gogh, and how right I was.

This novel is about a young boy Klee (pronounced Clay) who's father (who was an artist and greatly inspired by Van Gogh) kills himself, Klee's this fact hard to deal with and he spends a couple of weeks in a psychiatric hospital working through what has happened. I'd like to warn now that if you have ever had any experience with suicide this could be a very hard book to read, and I know this from experience. I'm admitting a lot here to the great wide world of the internet, but my dad died when I was younger and this book managed to bring up a lot of feelings that I really didn't want to experience. If I'd know just how "triggering" this book would be it is unlikely I would have picked it up but since I started it before I realised I finished it, and not just because I felt I had to but because I found it really interesting to read about how Polisner portrayed the grief that is felt after experiencing a death in a family.
I felt I should explain my situation before I began my review.

Let us begin with Klee, basically he was messed up in the head. In more detail, Klee had witnessed some terrible things and because of it he wasn't well. I really liked how Polisner portrayed someone who has recently lost someone, it was very accurate (I wonder whether Polisner was able to do that due to extensive research or because she has experienced it herself?). I felt very strongly for Klee due to that fact that I have been in a similar situation (not the same but similar) and know how it feels, blaming yourself and everyone. Not feeling like you are loved, and finding it hard to make connections with people. From my own experiences, I cried at times when Klee was particularly effected by what had happened to him and felt equally happy in the moments he did as well. And during the second part of chapter Day 13 into 14 - Overnight into Morning, my heart basically swam. I felt all the emotion that Klee was putting into what he was doing.
Dr Alvares and Sister Teresa were wonderfully written characters, full of love and only wanting the best for Klee's future, they treated Klee how you would expect carers to treat someone who was working through a death. They were the type of people every child who has lost a parent should have to help get them through it.
All the characters felt very real and I felt strong connects to Klee as well as Sabrina and Martin (also in the psychiatric hospital), they all gave me the impression that perhaps Polisner has in fact had similar experiences and not just done a lot of research, but either way this is fabulously written book in the emotions it was portraying!

The structure I found to be slightly confusing, but not in any major way. The book was present day in the psychiatric hospital with many flashbacks, however in the pre-pub copy I had it wasn't very clear sometimes when it changed from present to past until names were mentioned though this may be different for a fully published, physical copy. The whole book was written from Klee's perspective and besides not quite catching when the flashbacks happened I enjoyed this novel greatly.
This novel was written very well, and I felt everything! It is beautiful, and portrays grief really quite well. I also could barely put it down after the usually taking time to get into the flow of a book, I stayed up much to late last night in order to try and finish it.
Now although this is a Young Adult book, again I'd like to warn that if you react badly to death/suicide, please be wary reading this book. I'm not saying don't, just be wary.
I shall buy this book for my mum when it's released!
8.5/10
xo

Published 13th March 2018

The Right Thing to Do at The Time by Dov Zeller Review

Firstly I'd like to thank Netgalley for providing me a pre-publication copy of this book.

To begin with I'd like to talk about just how beautiful the cover of this novel is and although people (and myself) always say don't judge a book by its cover, how could you not? Personally I believe this portrays the whole story fairly well - New York, a violin and a whole lot of being pulled in different directions.
Ari is a trans male who has no clue what he wants from life, has sworn off love and is only just content with how things are. He works in a music library and plays the violin on the side. His best friend a cisgender male named Itche (pronounced Itchy) is a set designer and a romantic, both live in New York and both have trouble with love and life. Both of these characters are Jewish, and in their mid 20's. This book is written in third person but focuses on Ari for the most part. Oh and it's a romantic comedy.

Now for my own completely personal opinions, to being with this book did something strange to my reading habit, if I enjoy a book I can't wait to pick it up and can't get my nose out of it without promise of food, other books I have to persuade myself to pick it up and am slow to finish it. Meanwhile with this book it took me time to pick it up but once I had I couldn't stop reading it. Basically I enjoyed it.
My favorite character in this book was Bubbie Pearl - Ari's grandmother, who was smart, witty and extremely funny. She seemed to be good at making Ari think about what he wanted in life, but managed to annoy him by calling him Arnold. All the characters felt very real to me, with real emotions, ambitions and in the case of Ari, real slumps in life. I have had moments in my life when I feel I'm only doing what I'm doing to get by, so Ari's state of mind for the majority of the book was highly relatable.
Throughout the story, I was constantly intrigued to know what was happening with Itche, Ari, Talia and Helen (Talia and Helen are best friends and became acquaintances then friends with Ari and Itche), who all seemed confused about who was interested in whom. And for a long time I assumed Ari and Itche were together (as did Talia). A question that was in the back of the book under the title Book Group Questions was "What, if anything, distinguishes friendship and romantic love in this novel?" - I found that to be rather an interesting question as I have always found it hard to tell the difference between friendship and romantic love in my own life and it is clear in this story that perhaps Zeller's intention was to have multiple friendships that could be perceived as either romantic or not, so that during a lot of the book you had to make your own decisions about the character. And by making your own assumptions about the characters, the story would most likely pan out in each persons head slightly differently, I like that idea.

Although for the majority of the book I felt rather indifferent to what was happening, the last few chapters had my heart racing as did the scenes where Ari's internal monologue seemed to take over for a chapter, Zeller had a beautiful way of writing the train of though for someone who second guesses everything and who is very religious. I haven't really said much about the presence of Judaism in this novel yet, because I have no knowledge of it, or any religion for that matter and I have chosen not to comment on that theme for that very reason. I did enjoy reading a book with the main character being highly religious but I have no idea how religiously accurate everything written was. I did feel a sense calm that Zeller managed to portray through Ari during the services he attended, but again I can't comment.
Due to my lack of knowledge on Judaism I think I missed out on a lot of what this book was about but even dismissing that theme, I understood what was happening and still greatly enjoyed the book. I have noticed in various places that this book has been tagged as a modern Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin - this is something again I can't comment on as I have never read anything by Jane Austin.
I really enjoyed the short and sweet chapters, and have completely fallen in love with Ari and Itche, so much in fact that when it finished I made an odd sort of squealing sound that basically said, oh please I want to know what happens now. I have high hopes for this book in my own opinion.

I wouldn't pass this book on to my mum like I have often said I would with books I review but I would definitely give it as a present to friends! A perfect YA Romance Comedy novel.

4/5 xo

Book to be Published 15th March 2018

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K Le Guin Review

Well I must admit the title of this post is quite a mouthful. In memory of Le Guin who died only a few days ago (22nd January 2018) I decided it was about time I read one of her books, starting with one I already had in the house. I remember watching the Studio Ghibli adaptation of Tales of Earthsea (the 5th book in the Earthsea Cycle series) and loving everything that it was, this book was just as beautiful.

Ged, the greatest sorcerer in all Earthsea, was called Sparrowhawk in his reckless youth. 

Hungry for power and knowledge, Sparrowhawk tampered with long-held secrets and loosed a terrible shadow upon the world. This is the tale of his testing, how he mastered the mighty words of power, tamed an ancient dragon, and crossed death's threshold to restore the balance.

I found the imagery in this book to be beautiful, I found that with every scene that Le Guin set each detail became clear in the picture in my head. I felt shivers when cold winds blew and a warmth when Vetch and Ged were together that felt almost as if they were brothers. Le Guin was also very good at describing the emotions of Ged as well as his desires and ambitions, giving the impression of someone who understands people and perhaps how they work in great detail.

I really liked the development of Ged's character throughout the story, from an ambitious young boy to one who has learnt from mistakes and become wiser because of it. The way Ged treated others during the beginning of the book also developed as the story continued, this again gave me the impression that Le Guin understands people. That they can change, move on and learn.

(I have found this isn't always something writers understand.)

Now as well as finding the development of Ged to be accurate in how "people" develop, and although this is clearly fiction, I found Ged to be quite a realistic character, if you discard the whole sorcerer thing. And not just Ged, but the majority of characters (besides the "SHADOW") all felt to be realistic with very human qualities including unconditional love, jealousy and courage with different characters showing each different qualities. (Not one character showing them all.)

Le Guin seemed to have a knack at making me feel what the characters in the book felt like I had previously mentioned with the scenes and imagery. This made everything feel that little bit more realistic. I did however have one problem with Le Guin's writing and that was simply her style of writing, I found sentences dragged and sometimes in less dramatic scenes I'd read a whole page without taking in a single word. (If you are a reader you might know what I mean.) Not to say she was by any means a bad writer, just some aspects of her writing style in this book wasn't my cup of tea. (Stops typing to take a sip of said tea, shout out to Yogi Tea - Throat Comfort... I'm poorly.)

The storyline overall was fabulous, with magic, dragons and adorable creatures such as an Otak, with them how can it not be. I really enjoyed this book and I am definitely going to continue reading the Earthsea Cycle. I am curious to see what Le Guin will do with Ged and due to mentions in A Wizard of Earthsea about The Tombs of Atuan (the title of book 2) how can I resist.

8.5/10

xo

A post shared by El in wonderland (@book.monkey) on Jan 26, 2018 at 2:47am PST

Book Published 1968

Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero Review

Well for a first book of the year this was a great start.

1990. The teen detectives once known as the Blyton Summer Detective Club (of Blyton Hills, a small mining town in the Zoinx River Valley in Oregon) are all grown up and haven't seen each other since their fateful, final case in 1977. Andy, the tomboy, is twenty-five and on the run, wanted in at least two states. Kerri, one-time kid genius and budding biologist, is bartending in New York, working on a serious drinking problem. At least she's got Tim, an excitable Weimaraner descended from the original canine member of the team. Nate, the horror nerd, has spent the last thirteen years in and out of mental health institutions, and currently resides in an asylum in Arhkam, Massachusetts. The only friend he still sees is Peter, the handsome jock turned movie star. The problem is, Peter's been dead for years.

The time has come to uncover the source of their nightmares and return to where it all began in 1977. This time, it better not be a man in a mask. The real monsters are waiting.

Growing up I loved Scooby-Doo, The Famous Five (Enid Blyton 1897-1968) and such, so finding a book that incorporated the mystery and fun into a book that I can appreciate was fabulous. The genre of this book is apparently horror and mystery, personally I dislike horror but this did not scare me. Personally I love mystery and this book kept me guessing the whole time. I understand how this book could be described as horror but in my own opinion it doesn't really belong in that genre, I think I'd describe it more as supernatural that horror. The Blyton Summer Detective Club are used to unmasking the monster to find a scared human who's annoyed at being caught by a group of children, however in this book the monsters is real, and they haven't done detective work in 13 years. 

I found the characters to be slightly dull, Andy was standard girl who could do anything a boy could do and Kerri was smart but fell into waitressing, Nate however was a lot more interesting (maybe because I have a slight love for psychology). He often went in and out of mental health institutions and essentially had an imaginary friend, who was in fact the other boy who had been in the BSDC in 1977, Peter. I found they way he talked to Kerri (his cousin) and Andy to often be impatient unlike when he talked to the Peter who was a manifestation of his own consciousness. But even though I did find them to be slightly dull I did become very attached to all of them, and when they were running for their lives I felt I was there too. But interestingly, when they were scared because of the monsters that barely fazed me. 

I don't really know what to say about the storyline, there were many detective bits that reminded me of the old Scooby-Doo cartoons and I truly loved them. The way the characters put together different clues to understand the "bad guys" plot was brilliant. However some bits of this story I found tedious like the detail in which Cantero explained the fighting scenes, and I'm sorry but in my opinion you can only have scenes like that in films otherwise you just have a long paragraph of people hitting each other. (But once again that is a personal opinion)

In terms of the structure of this book, I liked how it was split into five sections that each had its own little theme to make up the whole story, but something I really didn't like about the structure was when the dialogue turned into what was basically text talk and with the actions added as well I felt like Cantero had decided to change the book into a play and then back again. Example:

Kerri: hello

Andy: hey kerri

Nate: (hesitates) we need to talk

A few things I couldn't help but notice Blyton Summer Detective Club as in Enid Blyton and Zoinx River as in Zoinks that Shaggy says on Scooby-Doo. Just in case you somehow didn't notice those...

However besides odd bits and bobs I enjoyed the overall story with all the twists and chemisrty between the characters.

I realise this has been a very mixed review but I'm planning on buying this for my sister on her birthday or maybe Christmas so I can't have thought it to be all bad.

7/10 xo

A post shared by |wonderland| (@book.monkey) on Jan 7, 2018 at 7:22am PST

Book Published 2017

Peter Darling by Austin Chant Review

I want to begin by saying I found this book completely by chance. I typed "Peter Pan" in the search engine when feeling the need to read a retelling and came up with this beautiful spin on the classic tale by J.M.Barrie. I must say I am impressed.

Ten years ago, Peter Pan left Neverland to grow up, leaving behind his adolescent dreams of boyhood and resigning himself to life as Wendy Darling. Growing up, however, has only made him realize how inescapable his identity as a man is.

But when he returns to Neverland, everything has changed: the Lost Boys have become men, and the war games they once played are now real and deadly. Even more shocking is the attraction Peter never knew he could feel for his old rival, Captain Hook—and the realization that he no longer knows which of them is the real villain.

Peter returning to Neverland has always been an idea that I've loved, after he runs away to grow up, whether it be with Wendy or in the case of the film "Hook" Moira, the idea of Peter returning with a new outlook on life which is gained after growing up has been one that has intrigued me. Like Alice where she can't seem to stay out of Wonderland. None the less that idea is a brilliant basis for a story and for Peter to return in Chant's book after 10 years is essentially like running away from all of lives problems, something that I know I have thought about and perhaps others too.

Peter's character was as playful as it was during Barrie's writing giving us the impression of the character that had been left behind after he wrote Peter Pan, but Peter's character had also developed after living 10 years and being Wendy Darling. I enjoyed the way Chant wrote Peter to interact with the characters such as Earnest, Hook and The Lost Boys, and the twists that came with their back stories (I promise no spoilers).

I've believe that Chant has quite successfully managed to write a children's classic story to appeal to an older group, he has managed to keep the general themes of the story but also added some quite "riskeyyy" scenes. I especially enjoyed when the book switched to Hook's POV, giving us a look into the mind of a character that we all laughed at at a younger age and developing the characters thoughts about Peter throughout the book. I found there to be a real passion in the way the different characters interacted and I was completely full of glee during the whole of Chapter 13(?) after they left the tunnels. 

Passion in the way it is written here is quite hard to come by as it can often come of as inexperienced or even written by someone who is straight and doesn't know the first thing about a homosexual relationship in any form. I also found the Peter/Wendy idea to be very thought provoking, I don't have much knowledge about being transgender but I do understand the basic constructs. I think this book introduced the Trans theme into this book incredibly well as well as the homosexual themes and general lust that seemed to effect every principle character in this book, some LGBT+ literature gets over sexualised because that's what some people believe the community to be but Chant has added every flush of the cheeks and gaze that has romanticized the whole thing. I think the fact that Chant is a trans, queer writer has a helped to make this book quite relatable (or as relatable as fantasy can be to the real world) to the LGBT+ community and has helped in the development of the characters personalities from Barrie's works.

I have found in the past that some fantasy novels have a problem with writing too much detail about the fantabulous scenery then missing out the rest of the story but I didn't find that with this story, there was the rights amount of detail and a gripping story.

I'm not 100% sure how to review a book without a murder in it, however this book was fantastic. I was kept hooked, the storyline had many lovely twists and turns, the characters were surprising in many ways and overall I couldn't help but fall in love with it all. I cannot wait for the second one, which I've heard will be written from Hook's point of view for at least the majority of the book.

8/10 would recommend

xo

Knots & Crosses by Ian Rankin Review

The amount of times I've been told by my mother to read these books is really quite unbelievable. But of course she was right, this was pretty amazing.

Detective John Rebus: His city is being terrorized by a baffling series of murders...and he's tied to a maniac by an invisible knot of blood. Once John Rebus served in Britain's elite SAS. Now he's an Edinburgh cop who hides from his memories, misses promotions and ignores a series of crank letters. But as the ghoulish killings mount and the tabloid headlines scream, Rebus cannot stop the feverish shrieks from within his own mind. Because he isn't just one cop trying to catch a killer, he's the man who's got all the pieces to the puzzle... 

Based in Edinburgh I found that I could visualize a great detail a lot of the scenes mentioned throughout the book including The Meadows and the ever busy Princes Street. 

The majority of the book was not about the crime but about the characters and who they were, particularly about Rebus's character development. Being an ex-army man I have heard of many who find it hard to adjust into normal life after leaving for what ever reason and Rankin managed to capture that very well. Rankin has a way of making his characters feel very real, however this is done in a very different way to Christie's methods as I mentioned in my previous post. Unlike Christie, Rankin's characters have a sense of pain and realism that can't be presented in Christie's "Cozy Mysteries", you feel their pain and fear, their confusion and delight at every point in the book. Whether it be Rebus's resentment of Rhona or his love for Samantha you can feel it and it feels raw. Although every moment was vital to the story their really wasn't too much about the actual crimes committed, just paragraphs and mentions and yet the murders I believe have an impact on the reader, maybe because in the midst of all the character development throughout the book, there is death and lose and that can be a shock to the system.

The clues presented by the killer were smart, as well as mind boggling. Although I must admit I did guess who did it before Gill or Micky or even Rebus knew however it was thrilling to see them get to it and pursue the killer. 

My favourite part of this book would have to be Part 4 - The Cross, chapter 22. 

Side Note: I enjoyed the book being split up into 5 separate parts, each with a theme in itself. The understanding of the characters, the development of the crime, more clues, the last piece the suddenly makes everything fit together and the PURSUIT.

Back to my favourite part, this gave the characters as much a the reader a much deeper understanding of the reasons for the crimes being committed, as well as showing us a side of Rebus that we hadn't previously seen. Altogether this was a very impactful chapter and although it certainly didn't bring me to tears it was heart wrenching in a very emotional way. 

For the first 100 pages I could not put this book down, and only did when I felt my eyes drooping (I had started to read it quite late.)

I was recommended this by someone and will recommend it to anyone who will listen.

9/10 xo

Book First Published 1987

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie Review

The first Miss Marple mystery, one which tests all her powers of observation and deduction. “Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe,” declared the parson, brandishing a carving knife above a joint of roast beef, “would be doing the world at large a favor!” It was a careless remark for a man of the cloth. And one which was to come back and haunt the clergyman just a few hours later—when the Colonel is found shot dead in the clergyman’s study. But as Miss Marple soon discovers, the whole village seems to have had a motive to kill Colonel Protheroe.

I find Agatha Christie to be a genius in her writings, and loved almost every Poirot book I read so far. This is the first Miss Marple I've read and I must admit it was fantastic. And although this is the first of a series the Miss Marple's, like the Poirot books for that matter can be read individually, in any order or in the right order, it's entirely up to you.

When Vicar Clements comes home to the Vicarage he finds a Colonel with a bullet through his head, him and the rest of the village set out to find out who murdered him.
As someone who has never read a Miss Marple before I truly loved her character, she saw everything, and knew everything in the village but I don't think she was actually nosy. She has a hobby and that's something that in a small village you need to have or you will go slowly crazy (and I'd know). I also loved the character who's POV it was, Vicar Clements, with a wife of 25 years of age. I am not religous and although I do recpect them, I don't have any kind of particular love for vicars, I think however that has changed to a certain extent. Clements was smart and constantly in the center of attention, which he didn't particularly seem to like very much. But I suppose when someone dies in your study, what can you do but investigate. Another character who I found to be very interesting throughout the book was a Lawrence Redding, an artist. I guessed almost at once his relationship to the Protheroe, and who he "admired", it was really quite obvious. Unlike the murder which I mention later, had me looking every which way.
Christie has a way of giving each of her characters their own unique personality, I believe it comes from being someone who has really lived life. Something that I found frustrating in this book was that all the women mentioned in this book seemed to blur together at times, making it hard for me to know who had said what at any given time. The three women that I often confused were Miss Wetherby, Miss Hartnell and Mrs Price Ridley as they were basically the three gossipers of the village along with Miss Marple but I knew precisely who she was as she was the detective of the book. Not knowing Miss Marple or confusing her with the other women in the book would be like confusing Sherlock Holmes with DI Lestrade, it just isn't to be done. If you have ever read a Christie book, you'll know that the aim of the book is not to solve the crime but make it so utterly impossible to understand and yet so simple that when you know the conclusion you are both impressed and left with the need to kick yourself for not realizing it all the moment all the facts were presented to you. I couldn't stop guessing and I am sure at one point or another I suspected every character in the book, including Colonel Protheroe...
Quite frankly I've missed reading Agatha Christie books with there smart and unexpected endings and this one was definitely in the top ones I've read along with The Murder of Rodger Ackroyd and And Then There Were None. I am really very glad that I have six more on my shelf, however no more Miss Marple's for the time being. (But Christmas is coming!!)
I would recommend this to everyone and give with a 9/10, because despite how fantastic it was I don't get confused by characters very easily but I did in this.

A post shared by |wonderland| (@book.monkey) on Nov 13, 2017 at 10:35am PST

Book First Published 1930

Memories - short story

Standing on the road, smoking a menthol cigarette the building looked tired. Like it had seen better days. Callum was looking at me not the motel with an expression on his face I couldn't read. He has been looking at me like that since I met him, everyday the same expression, not all the day but there is never a day that that face didn't appear suddenly. As I finished smoking the cigarette Callum put his arm over my shoulders and I snuggled close to him. There was a chilling breeze and I hadn't thought to bring a coat. We had been walking for hours, since the car had broken down about five miles back. No cars had driven past in two hours, not another soul had we seen. I was just thankful that we were having a good day. And by that I mean we weren't an inch from ripping each others throats out. We had met at a shitty motel like the one we were standing in front of. He had been staring at me the whole time I had been unpacking my car, it was the same expression I still couldn't read. Just an expression and depending on my own mood it could make me feel hated by the whole world or loved more than anything by this one person. Today it was the latter. I smiled into his neck as he pulled me round in front of him wrapping both arms tight around me. Then as he slowly moved his face in front of mine he touched his lips against mine so lightly I almost didn't feel it pulling back he looked into me then his lips came crashing against mine. We stood in our own little bubble of passion until a car horn sounded, I spun around suddenly and he looked over me. There in the road was a tow truck with the car hitched on the back. After explaining that the car was ours we got into the truck with the driver. That car was our prize possession, the vintage light blue always caught the light perfectly. We had bought it together about a year before it broke down. Callum's arm rested on my shoulder, leaning into him and taking one last look in the rear view mirror at the motel that had no memories at all.

(http://www.creativewritingink.co.uk/resources/writing-prompts/)