Book reviews – Page 7 – The Queens of Geekdom

Out of the Blue by Sophie Cameron #bookreview #hanreview @MacmillanKidsUK

Out of the Blue by Sophie Cameron #bookreview #hanreview @MacmillanKidsUK Release date: 22.03.18

From Goodreads: Sometimes, I imagine alternate endings to the story: last-minute miracles, touches of magic. I picture how things might have gone, if I wasn’t there. If I’d left just a few minutes later. If I hadn’t been alone. It doesn’t make any difference. One way or another, the crash always comes.

Ten days after Jaya Mackenzie’s mum dies, angels start falling from the sky. Smashing down to earth at extraordinary speeds, wings bent, faces contorted, not a single one has survived.

Hysteria mounting with every Being that drops, Jaya’s father uproots the family to Edinburgh intent on catching one alive. But Jaya can’t stand this obsession and, struggling to make sense of her mother’s sudden death and her own role on that fateful day, she’s determined to stay out of it.

When her best friend disappears and her father’s mania spirals, things hit rock bottom and it’s at that moment something extraordinary happens: An angel lands right at Jaya’s feet, and it’s alive. Finally she is forced to acknowledge just how significant these celestial beings are.

Set against the backdrop of the frenzied Edinburgh festival, OUT OF THE BLUE tackles questions of grief and guilt and fear over who we really are. But it’s also about love and acceptance and finding your place in this world as angels drop out of another.

Buy it here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Semi-Definitive-List-Worst-Nightmares/dp/147140661X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513773899&sr=8-1&keywords=Krystal+Sutherland
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36222995-a-semi-definitive-list-of-worst-nightmares

My first thoughts

It’s ET meets I am Traitor in this wonderfully thrilling story. I couldn’t put it down.

The Characters

I love Jaya. She is headstrong, wonderfully moral and self assured. This is quite possibly the first LGBTQ+ main character who knows what and who she is and therefore doesn’t divert some of the plot with that exploration. Plus, it’s wonderful to just have a character who happens to be gay and her sexuality have no direct impact upon the plot.

The angel that falls is wonderful and while unable to vocalise her pain, confusion she is able to communicate. I’ll leave the name for you to discover, but it’s a delight and reflective of her innocent charm.

The Plot

The plot is perfectly woven out of a teen thriller nursing an injured angel back to health and a commentary upon religious belief and how we respond to the end of the world.

The sub plot looks at cults that can arise in such situations and the people who join them. It comments upon the challenges people face when drawn in without considering a way out.

It’s a well developed plot that has a balance between humour and tense drama. Something that will keep you up at night; if you start it, you won’t stop till its finished.

The Writing

It’s clear storytelling and third person narrative gives the story a film-like quality. It’s demonstrated best as the action heats up in the later section of the book. It’s a perfect read and I’d gladly welcome a sequel.

Alex and Eliza by Melissa de la Cruz @MacmillanKidsUK @MelissadelaCruz

Characters

For fictional characters based upon historical figures, these are all wonderfully crafted and instantly authentic to me. From their social behaviours to their relationships with other characters, it’s how I would expect people of that time to act.

Alex and Eliza are wonderful and I’m drawn to both of them. While there’s initial conflict between them, it’s never dismissed and often referred back to.

I find myself drawn more to Eliza than Alex. I engage with her a little more. However, seeing elements of the story from Alex’s point of view adds tension you would not perhaps get otherwise.

Plot

I don’t think I can gush enough about this book. I want to fall into its pages, Potter-style. I love that this book expands upon what is essentially one song within the award-winning play.

It doesn’t skirt around the hardship faced during the time, nor does it romanticise it. However, it adds to the characters, their motivations and the development of the plot.

I love how it ends and where the characters end up. However, It’s left me begging for more.

Writing

The writing is truly stunning. It incorporates the past without being too bogged down with heavy language; something, I’m not going to lie, i was worried thats what i was getting myself into.

I loved the two voices presented through an omniscient third person narrative. It gave the book a feeling that it was making a commentary of the letters that were written between the pair.

I cannot wait for the second book, which is due for release on 17th April 2018.

The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed #bookreview #hanreview Atom Press

The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed #bookreview #hanreview Atom Press
Release date: 10.10.17

From Goodreads: Three misfits come together to avenge the rape of a fellow classmate and in the process trigger a change in the misogynist culture at their high school transforming the lives of everyone around them in this searing and timely story.

Who are the Nowhere Girls? They’re everygirl. But they start with just three:

Grace Salter is the new girl in town, whose family was run out of their former community after her southern Baptist preacher mom turned into a radical liberal after falling off a horse and bumping her head.
Rosina Suarez is the queer punk girl in a conservative Mexican immigrant family, who dreams of a life playing music instead of babysitting her gaggle of cousins and waitressing at her uncle’s restaurant.
Erin Delillo is obsessed with two things: marine biology and Star Trek: The Next Generation, but they aren’t enough to distract her from her suspicion that she may in fact be an android.
When Grace learns that Lucy Moynihan, the former occupant of her new home, was run out of town for having accused the popular guys at school of gang rape, she’s incensed that Lucy never had justice. For their own personal reasons, Rosina and Erin feel equally deeply about Lucy’s tragedy, so they form an anonymous group of girls at Prescott High to resist the sexist culture at their school, which includes boycotting sex of any kind with the male students.
Told in alternating perspectives, this groundbreaking novel is an indictment of rape culture and explores with bold honesty the deepest questions about teen girls and sexuality.

Buy it here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nowhere-Girls-Amy-Reed/dp/0349003076/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1513777716&sr=8-1&keywords=the+nowhere+girls
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28096541-the-nowhere-girls?from_search=true

My first thoughts

Its not a book that people want to read, but it’s a book that everyone needs to read. While there are books that have tread this ground before, they have not brought together the complicity of rape culture in order to educate and inform a reader while delivering an immersive story.
This is a book that I will forever suggest alongside

The Characters

Erin, Grace and Rosina are the trio of girls that are developing their friendships under pressure. Grace feels more like our protagonist, she’s relatable in the fact that we arrive to the story when she does.

Each girl has her own story to tell, her own motivation to make the town listen to them in their mission to reveal the truth about Lucy’s rape. It hits home with each one individually and its different times.

Each of the trio have their time to shine, but it is Erin who I love most. Struggling against her autism diagnosis and her own past, Erin is an insight into the complexity of a condition close to my heart.

The Plot

Its not a comfortable read, but if you’re comfortable you’re missing the point. Much of the action takes place before the novel starts and deals with the fallout within the town.

It’s so shocking how the town responds to the accusation of rape. However, what is most shocking, is the fact that this will happen in many societies. Only a few years ago was a female monk thrown out of her community for being gang raped at the back of a bus while the driver looked on.

There’s an ending that should satisfy all and, most importantly, it will leave you with questions on how you perceive gender equality and rape culture.

The Writing

Amy Reed’s challenging and ground-breaking novel is such a well written jigsaw of a story. It’s engaging and heartbreaking, told with such heart. The story will haunt me for a long time and recalls the spirit of Moxie and the rawness of Asking For It.

The Semi Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland #bookreview #hanreview @HotKeyBooks

The Semi Definitive List of Worst Nightmares by Krystal Sutherland #bookreview #hanreview @HotKeyBooks
Release date: 5.9.17

From Goodreads: A funny, moving love story about facing fears hand in hand – one snake/spider/potentially unstable fourth-floor balcony at a time. From acclaimed author of OUR CHEMICAL HEARTS, Krystal Sutherland.

Esther Solar’s family is . . . unusual. Her father hasn’t left the basement in six years. Her brother is terrified of darkness.

Esther isn’t afraid of anything – because she avoids pretty much everything. Elevators are off limits, as are open spaces, crowds, family pets, birds, needles, haircuts, dolls and mirrors.

But when Esther is pickpocketed by her cocky old classmate Jonah Walker, Esther and Jonah become surprising friends. Jonah sets a challenge: every week they must work their way through the world’s fifty most common phobias. Skydiving, horse riding, beekeeping, public speaking, reptile houses – they plan to do it all.

Soon their weekly foray into fear becomes the only thing that keeps them tethered to reality, and to each other. But each is keeping a secret from the other, a secret that threatens to rip them apart.

My first thoughts

I loved this book. It struck such a chord with me it ways I never expected it to. I hated that I started it while I was still working, which meant it became my commuter read, instead of devouring read that it should have been.

The Characters

Esther Solar is a unique and beautiful character who belongs in the wonderful world of Tim Burton. She is charming and delight to have on this journey. As a reader, I feel her pain and her triumphs.

Jonah is a mysterious addition to the narrative. He brings Esther out of her shell and helps her to come to terms with her life. He has his own personal challenge to face too. While it appears to be journeyed without the reader, the bulk of it is felt regardless.

The Plot

Its story is simple in terms of its outset, but is complex in its completion. Esther must complete each one of her fears in order to get her notebook back off Jonah. Having 50 items to be checked off could have become a little tiresome had Krystal chosen to depict every single conquest. Happily, we skip through them in order to progress to the deeper meaning of fears.

By the time the reader gets to the final act, we’re giving some heart wrenching twists that will tear up even the driest of eyes.

The Writing

The book is written in a fresh quirky style that pulls you in from the first sentence and doesn’t let you go, long after you finish reading.

If There’s No Tomorrow by Jennifer L Armentrout

Release date: 14^th December 2017
Buy it here https://www.amazon.co.uk/If-Theres-Tomorrow-Jennifer-Armentrout/dp/1848456875/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1512218609&sr=8-1&keywords=if+there%27s+no+tomorrow+by+jennifer+l.+armentrout
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34225450-if-there-s-no-tomorrow

Description: Lena Wise is always looking forward to tomorrow, especially at the start of her senior year. She’s ready to pack in as much friend time as possible, to finish college applications and to maybe let her childhood best friend Sebastian know how she really feels about him. For Lena, the upcoming year is going to be epic—one of opportunities and chances.

Until one choice, one moment, destroys everything.

Now Lena isn’t looking forward to tomorrow. Not when friend time may never be the same. Not when college applications feel all but impossible. Not when Sebastian might never forgive her for what happened.

For what she let happen.

With the guilt growing each day, Lena knows that her only hope is to move on. But how can she move on when her and her friends’ entire existences have been redefined? How can she move on when tomorrow isn’t even guaranteed?

Characters
I don’t trust Lena as much as perhaps I should. I know she’s an unreliable narrator owing to her memory loss; however, even when she regains her memory, she isn’t just pulling away from her friends, she pulls away from the reader too.
Sebastian is a little too perfect for my liking. He’s not an undeveloped character and I doubt for a second he is that perfect. However the things we know about him are from Lena, and I’m afraid she has him on a pedestal.

Plot
The first half of the book jumps around the timeline, allowing the reader to feel the same confusion that Lena does. It’s a weird feeling, but it adds to the atmosphere of the narrative.
The plot follows in the manner as we might expect grief to; nonlinear, progressive with unpredictable pitfalls. It’s wonderful and painful.

Writing
It’s a solid, professionally written novel. So Clear and well written that could handle the time jumps; something other writers would make feel clunky and convoluted.

All the Wrong Chords by Christine Hurley Deriso #bookreview #hanreview @NetGalley

Flux Publishing
Release date: 12.12.2017

From Goodreads:
Scarlett Stiles is desperate for a change of scenery after her older brother, Liam, dies of a drug overdose. But spending the summer with her grandfather wasn’t exactly what she had in mind. Luckily, Scarlett finds something to keep her busy—a local rock band looking for a guitarist. Even though playing guitar has been hard since Liam died, Scarlett can’t pass on an opportunity like this, and she can’t take her eyes off the band’s hot lead singer either. Is real happiness just around the corner? Or will she always be haunted by her brother’s death?

Preorder it here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wrong-Chords-Christine-Hurley-Deriso/dp/1635830109/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1511710707&sr=8-1 Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34773854-all-the-wrong-chords?from_search=true

The Characters
Scarlett is a relatable teen for anyone who has suffered loss, crushed on the bad boy or used music as an escape. Her relationship with a number of other characters impacts upon her grief in such an understated and real way.

Declan, being the resident player of the novel, is drawn up to be someone rather sketchy and shallow. Others bring layers to the lead singer of the band; beautiful but vain.

Scarlett’s grandfather is much more than a plot device; he’s the exploration of how different generations grieve. While you might not agree with how he goes about things, you will understand completely.

The Plot
The plot is tightly woven over a summer, not too long after the death of Scarlett’s brother. While she grieves, she generates a crush for the lead singer of the local band.

Along the way, she discovers things about herself that helps her revaluate her view of society and the world. There are a number of twists and reveals that keep the plot moving forward until it reaches a satisfying end.

The Writing
Scarlett is given a strong voice throughout the book. It’s clear and engaging, despite a number of repeated phases that can occasionally jolt the free-flowing narrative.

@TheMagicMisfits by @ActuallyNPH #bookreview #hanreview

Egmont Publishing
Release date: 30.11.2017
From Goodreads:
This book contains a BIG SECRET. Read on if you dare . . .
Do you believe in magic?
Carter doesn’t. He knows magic tricks are just that – tricks. And as a street magician he’s also pretty good at them. But then Carter runs away from his conman uncle and he finds himself alone and in danger from dastardly carnival ringleader, B.B. Bosso. He could really use some magic now . . .
A chance encounter with the mysterious Mr Dante Vernon leads Carter to a magic shop, where he teams up with five other like-minded kids and the MAGIC MISFITS are born! Can the gang use their magical talents to save the day and stop B.B. stealing a priceless diamond?
And now for the BIG SECRET . . .
Inside this book you will find a treasure trove of tips, codes and stage tricks that will help YOU join the Magic Misfits and make some magic of your own. (BUT DON’T TELL ANYONE.)

Preorder it here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Magic-Misfits-Neil-Patrick-Harris/dp/1405290331/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1511714070&sr=1-1
Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28107444-the-magic-misfits?ac=1&from_search=true

The Characters

Carter is a moral and kind young man who even the coldest of hearts will warm to. He’s our eyes and ears into the world of magic, and he will keep you engaged from the very start to the last word. As an older reader, I take the perspective of wanting to protect him and keep him safe, to the point where I want to reach in and take him out of harm’s way. There’s little to fear though, as once the story gets going, there are enough characters that have his back.
Mr Vernon is very much my favourite adult within the book; part Dumbledore, part Neil Patrick Harris himself and just a splash of Mr Miyagi. I love that the characters allows the children to get themselves out of trouble, giving help in many different forms and taking almost no credit for it. I look forward to seeing more of him as the books progress.

The Plot

It’s a perfect origins story that has laid the foundation for any, and every, sequel Neil Patrick Harris will grace us with. In this novel, the protagonist is Carter; runaway orphan, looking for a place to call home when he gets wrapped up in the mystery of the Pock-Picketers and Frown Clowns.
The Magic Misfits, by the end of the book, have formed into a wonderful band of magicians and friends. While its ending is positive and delivers an uplifting success, it is more about the characters, and the magic.
If you’re anything like me, that uplifting feeling will not leave you; but pull you into the Mistfit’s charm and claim you as one of their own.

The Writing

Neil Patrick Harris, writing with Alex Azam has a wonderful way of breaking the fourth wall. I couldn’t help but read this in one sitting, even when I was reminded that it’s important to pee, I passed.
There’s a passion and deep-rooted love of magic and family woven into this narrative that not many people would be able to achieve without is feeling too overworked.
It’s undoubtedly an easy read for anyone reading alone and of a reading age beyond 12 years old, however I could imagine any parent taking joy in taking time reading this as a bedtime story; voices and all.

Illustrations

The pictures within this Middle-grade book are so beautiful, I really want to have some of them up as art work. They add to the richness of the story and with some aspects, help engage the imagination.

Goodbye Perfect by Sara Barnard #bookreview #hanreview @NetGalley

Release date: 8.2.18
Preorder here
From Goodreads:

Eden McKinley knows she can’t count on much in this world, but she can depend on Bonnie, her solid, steady, straight-A best friend. So it’s a bit of a surprise when Bonnie runs away with the boyfriend Eden knows nothing about five days before the start of their GCSEs. Especially when the police arrive on her doorstep and Eden finds out that the boyfriend is actually their music teacher, Mr Cohn.
Sworn to secrecy and bound by loyalty, only Eden knows Bonnie’s location, and that’s the way it has to stay. There’s no way she’s betraying her best friend. Not even when she’s faced with police questioning, suspicious parents and her own growing doubts.
As the days pass and things begin to unravel, Eden is forced to question everything she thought she knew about the world, her best friend and herself.

The Characters

I’ve never spent time with a character like Eden. She’s far from perfect, temperamental and loyal to a fault. It’s wonderful to see her develop throughout the book and becomes self-aware.
The pain and confusion Eden feels when her best friend leaves and the truth begins to unravel is very raw and real. Her relationships (adoptive parents, boyfriend and sisters) add to her complexity and gives her a vulnerability and equal inner strength that makes her a relatable character.
Valerie is Eden’s sister and a surprisingly good addition to the plot. Initially, I disliked her; I trust Eden’s voice. However, as the plot progresses I warm to her and I’m able to distinguish between Eden’s perception and the truth of the character.

The Plot

Finally! A YA novel that doesn’t glamorise or romanticise the student/teacher relationship that is often prominent in teen fiction. Not only that, Goodbye Perfect delves into the consequences of engaging in this sort of relationship.
The key here is that the story focuses on those left behind, but leaves room to show how the core couple feel about each other. The book explores the complexity of love, the consequences and dangers of grooming.

The Writing

Barnard gives Eden a strong voice that makes Goodbye Perfect an easy read; it’s clear and modern with a message all should hear.

Almost Midnight by Rainbow Rowell Illustrations by Simini Blocker

Buy it here

Midnights

Is a wonderfully charming story that will fit within a tube ride if you time it right. You can see where it’s going before the characters do, and this one does leave you wanting more.

I could see this being an individual story, showing a development over time. However, the snapshot of this one evening every year works well and will leave a smile on your face.

Kindred Spirits

This is my favourite of the two; it is relatable, nostalgic and totally sweet. Taking place in the run up to 2015’s release of Force Awakens the main character explores Geekdom and managing expectations.

I was a romance like the one that appears in this second short story. It’s not a sweeping gesture, but a warmth and comfort that comes with trusting a person.

This book will make a perfect Christmas gift for any fan of Rowell’s previous work.

Bonfire by @Krytenritter #bookreview #hanreview @NetGalley @Arrowpublishing @WindmillBooks

Release date: 9.11.17
Buy it here
Signed edition here

From Goodreads: It has been ten years since Abby Williams left home and scrubbed away all visible evidence of her small town roots. Now working as an environmental lawyer in Chicago, she has a thriving career, a modern apartment, and her pick of meaningless one-night stands.

But when a new case takes her back home to Barrens, Indiana, the life Abby painstakingly created begins to crack. Tasked with investigating Optimal Plastics, the town’s most high-profile company and economic heart, Abby begins to find strange connections to Barrens’ biggest scandal from more than a decade ago involving the popular Kaycee Mitchell and her closest friends—just before Kaycee disappeared for good.

Abby knows the key to solving any case lies in the weak spots, the unanswered questions. But as Abby tries to find out what really happened to Kaycee, she unearths an even more disturbing secret—a ritual called “The Game,” which will threaten the reputations, and lives, of the community and risk exposing a darkness that may consume her.

With tantalizing twists, slow-burning suspense, and a remote, rural town of just five claustrophobic miles, Bonfire is a dark exploration of the question: can you ever outrun your past?

My first thoughts

I’ve been itching to get a hold of a copy for months. I somehow knew it was going to be something I’d love, and I wasn’t wrong. I’d already pre-ordered a signed copy, but Net Galley UK approved my request and sent me a Kindle copy at the beginning of the week. Full of cold, I set myself on the sofa with a cuppa and a blanket, and past a whole autumnal day within Ritter’s world.

The Characters

Abby is so relatable, its rather scary. She’s a little bit of a loner, fuck up and passionate about her job. However, that’s not where the comparisons end for me. It’s Abby’s relationship with father that will haunt and sooth me for many days; the difficulty, the pain and guilt are all things I understand and help me to be drawn into the plot. It wouldn’t matter what the plot was; I’d have followed her into the depths of hell because I had her back, and many other readers will feel the same.
The supporting characters are all explored through Abby’s thoughts and memories and, as a result, you trust them as much as she does. Condor is one of my favourite characters, and I wish we’d been given more time with him. However, as Abby goes, so goes my nation.
There’s enough mystery behind a lot of the characters and it’s organic; allowing you to suspect and dismiss as the novel progresses.

The Plot

It’s a perfect slow burn plot that is set in motion way before the book begins. Being a book within the crime thriller genre, it would be easy to fall into the stereotypical pit falls or become so convoluted that it loses its readers. Bonfire escapes both of these, by giving a clever plot that will keep you guessing right up until the final reveal.

Underlying the law suit that the environmental lawyers are trying to uncover, Abby is returning home and opening up old wounds she never expected to face. It brings about a heart to the book that some crime novels of this ilk often lack.

The Writing

There’s a wonderful voice presented in this first-person narrative, one that I trust; Abby fast becomes a person I would love to get to know. The development of the plot and the sleep deprivation is well presented in the narration; without losing clarity of written structure.

This is a solid debut novel by Ritter, and I for one will be looking forward to any and all future offerings.

Nightmares by @jasonsegel and Kirsten Miller (@bankstirregular) Illustrated by Karl Kwashy

Nightmares by Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller
Illustrated by Karl Kwashy

Buy it here
Goodreads
Otherworld Review

Description:
Charlie Laird has several problems:

His dad married a woman he is sure moonlights as a witch.
He had to move into her purple mansion, which is not a place you want to find yourself after dark.
He can’t remember the last time sleeping wasn’t a nightmarish prospect. Like even a nap.

What Charlie doesn’t know is that his problems are about to get a whole lot more real. Nightmares can ruin a good night’s sleep, but when they start slipping out of your dreams and into the waking world—that’s a line that should never be crossed. And when your worst nightmares start to come true . . . well, that’s something only Charlie can face. And he’s going to need all the help he can get, or it might just be lights-out for Charlie Laird. For good.
[This is the first book in a trilogy.]

Characters
The protagonist, Charlie is all of us who have lost someone; the frustration and anger that bubbles out of him from the very start is relatable and identifiable. It pulls you in from the very start and takes you by the heart while you take Charlie by the hand.

His development as a character is epic; you are with him as he learns fights and grieves. There is so much emotion involved that it’s not hard to like Charlie, despite his anger.

There are plenty of other amazing, well rounded characters that Charlie meets and works with while on his journey, but I won’t spoil them here. All I will say is that not everything is as it seems when it comes to characters within the nightmare world.

Plot
It is a quest driven novel. Charlie is wrapped up in his own grief and anger and it puts his loved ones in danger. It leads Charlie on a journey to save someone he loves, saving himself along the way.

It’s a brilliant plot, very clean, very clever. It’s one that is worthy of being put alongside classics such as Wizard of Oz and Labyrinth and contemporary works like Percy Jackson.

Writing and Illustrations
The third person narrative is well written and includes amazing action sequences that draw you in and captivate you almost as is you’re watching it unfold on a cinema screen.

I also love that the focus remains on Charlie despite the use of third person. It actually helps me feel closer to him in some respects.

Being a Middle Grade book, there is the addition of some wonderful illustrations. They truly are beautiful and also in some wonderful conceit, gruesome. They give you the building blocks for building a world you will look forward to returning to. I know I cannot wait to start the next one.

Hope by Rhian Ivory

Han’s Review

I deliberately didn’t read anything about this book before reading it, simply because I knew I was going to the launch at Waterstones Birmingham and that I wanted to go into it completely fresh.
The absolutely ace @ChelleyToy hosted the event, and from the outset I was completely captivated. Chelley had clearly read and LOVED #HopeBook and the questions she asked Rhian made me want to read it asap.
The book itself covers a huge range of topics and each one is described with care, attention and Rhian”s astounding ability to take anything and make it interesting and relatable.
Who would’ve thought a YA book could talk
about organ donation, a rarely heard of/discussed medical disorder (PMDD), tackling the fact you need to change your whole outlook on life, and couple it with a touch of romance – thankfully not the clichéd instalove of *perfect* characters.
At the beginning of the launch party Rhian’s editor, Janet, spoke about the book and introduced the singing choir from Birmingham’s hospital. Before this I had never heard of Singing Medicine, and yet as soon as I heard the ladies sing I was taken aback and amazed by the emotion they portrayed in their songs, and I could imagine how much that little bit of attention and uplifting spirit would benefit not only a patient but their family and other visitors. It made me wish I had experienced that whilst I was in hospital as my nan was poorly, as although it couldn’t change the diagnosis I would’ve loved it on a personal level.
I started reading #HopeBook on the bus to work, and I was so annoyed when I had to get off and go to work… as soon as I finished my shift I started reading again and I didn’t put the book down until I’d finished.
I felt like I’d experienced every single emotion possible:
Love for Hope and her finally coming to terms with what was happening to her and realising she was not alone (I have experienced something very similar with my endometriosis and could relate so well to her!)
Sadness at the patients that were in the hospital, and *sobbing* at the Singing Medicine choir who are SO TALENTED IT’S INSANE!
Anger at Hope’s mum for not confronting Hope and actually asking her what was wrong, and anger at Callie for being a typical teenager (this is anger yet knowing this is exactly how people act so it’s totally believable!)
Pretty much just swooning over Riley as I am a huuuuuuuge sucker for the Irish accent. I’m a westlife girl all the way 🙂 I really enjoyed the way the relationship developed and it made me very happy that they didn’t suddenly declare their love for eachother or fall in to bed.I cannot accurately describe how much I adored this book, I think I need to re-read it and write notes as I’m going!

READ IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!