JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

A Dog’s Way Home by W. Bruce Cameron

From W. Bruce Cameron, author of the beloved bestseller and major Hollywood movie A Dog’s Purpose, comes this beautifully told, charming tale that explores the unbreakable bond between us and our pets.

Lucas Ray is shocked when, while attempting to rescue stray cats from an abandoned building slated for demolition, an adorable puppy jumps out of a crawl space and into his arms. Even though the apartment he shares with his mother, a disabled veteran, doesn’t allow dogs, Lucas can’t resist taking Bella home.

Bella is inexplicably drawn to Lucas, even if she doesn’t understand the necessity of games like No Barks. As it becomes more difficult to hide her rapidly growing presence from neighbours, Lucas begins to sneak Bella into the veteran’s hospital where he works and his mother receives treatment. There, the happy-go-lucky dog naturally brings joy and comfort where it is needed most.

After Bella is picked up by Animal Control for being a pit bull, a breed banned in Denver, Lucas has no choice but to send her to a foster home until he can figure out what to do. But Bella, distraught at the separation, doesn’t plan to wait. With four hundred miles of dangerous Colorado wilderness between her and Lucas, Bella sets off on a seemingly impossible and completely unforgettable adventure home.

A classic story of unwavering loyalty and incredible devotion, A Dog’s Way Home is a fantastic and exhilarating journey of the heart.

A Dog’s Way Home by Bruce Cameron is a novel about a young pup’s journey home after he is separated from his owner in the United States.

The plot is not a unique one, and reminded me of many movies I watched as a child. A young dog is hundreds of miles away from its owner and sets out on foot to return to its family, meeting many interesting animals and humans along the way. This book reminded me of the Homeward Bound movies that I loved as a child, and also Napoleon.

“The little kitties were mewing in distress. Their appeals saddened me, because I was their big sister, but I could do nothing to help them. I expected that our mother would soon be joining them, and knew they would feel better then.”

I think this book has been incorrectly categorised as an adult fiction novel, when it actually reads like a children’s book. The young puppy’s voice is very similar to a child’s voice, so the book at times feels very juvenile and silly and just very ‘young’.

I can imagine any young child who adores dogs and puppies would devour this story, but adults may lose interest in the story and the writing style after some time. I imagine the major motion picture set to release in 2019 will appeal to adults more than the book that inspired it.

“The route I took roughly tracked the commingled scents of Big Kitten and the huge dead cat, retracing their steps. The going was not easy, but the trail when in a fairly straight line away from the angry men. I could smell them and the blood now, the breeze cooler under my tail than on my nose.”

Despite this, it’s a really sweet story. Bella and Lucas share a special bond that any dog owner will recognise. But they will also understand and recognise the struggles that Lucas faces as Bella’s owner. He’s not allowed dogs in his building, and Bella won’t stop barking. They try to sneak her in and out of the building, and they try to teach her not to bark, but she gets confused easily and sooner or later they’re found out.

Additionally, pit bulls are not allowed in Denver because the city council passed a ban on them after a young child was killed by a pit bull in the neighbourhood. As a result, animal control are allowed to seize and destroy pit bulls, and they have a personal gripe against Lucas and his pet Bella.

Lucas loves Bella, and does his best to train her. He also leaves Bella with a couple of friends while he finds a new place to live. But Bella doesn’t understand what’s happening, so she jumps the fence and over the course of two years, makes the trek home to Lucas.

“Bella’s up against the government. I’m afraid the law in Denver is irrational on this subject. Did you know there’s not even such a thing as a specific AKC breed called a pit bull? It’s a whole class of dog, like retriever.”

Recommended for younger readers who love dogs and puppies.

Thank you to the publisher for mailing me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

A Dog’s Way Home
W. Bruce Cameron
December 2018
Pan Macmillan Publishers

The Au Pair by Emma Rous

A tautly plotted mystery of dark family secrets, perfect for fans of Kate Morton.

Seraphine Mayes and her brother Danny are known as the summer-born Summerbournes: the first set of summer twins to be born at Summerbourne House. But on the day they were born their mother threw herself to her death, their au pair fled, and the village thrilled with whispers of dark-cloaked figures and a stolen baby.

Now twenty-five, and mourning the recent death of her father, Seraphine uncovers a family photograph taken on the day the twins were born featuring both parents posing with just one baby. Seraphine soon becomes fixated with the notion that she and Danny might not be twins after all, that she wasn’t the baby born that day and that there was more to her mother’s death than she has ever been told…

Why did their beloved au pair flee that day?
Where is she now?
Does she hold the key to what really happened?

The Au Pair by Emma Rous is a mystery thriller spanning decades. The book explores love, relationships, truth, family secrets, selfishness and honesty.

The protagonist, 25-year-old Seraphine Mayes, has never looked like her brothers and her father, and wants to know why their mother committed suicide at their family home in Summerbourne. An unfamiliar photo sparks an investigation into their family history, uncovering many dangerous, long-hidden secrets.

Seraphine’s father has recently died in a sudden accident, and she’s going through his belongings. She finds this photo from July 1992, of her mother, father, brother, standing and smiling with a newborn baby. But Seraphine and Danny are twins. Why is there only one baby in the photo? And why, mere hours later, did their mother commit suicide at their family’s remote estate on the Norfolk coast? Questions arise, and Seraphine is determined to uncover answers.

‘Danny and I were always told this was the first picture taken of us after all those months lost to grief when we were born…I have a sudden memory of Dad telling me this was the brief stage when Danny and I were the same size; when he’d just caught up with me, before he surged ahead and left me forever the smaller one.’

The writing is really accessible for all readers; the prose flows rather well and the characters are interesting enough to entice the reader. The premise of the novel is an intriguing one, and will draw readers in and keep them guessing until the final chapters.

This debut novel is a little convoluted at times, and as the secrets start to reveal themselves, the reader will find themselves a little confused with how everything connects. At times, the book is a mind boggle.

Sometimes, the dialogue feels a little forced, particularly in conversation between the siblings where there’s tension or revelation or betrayal. The ‘outrage’ felt by some of the family members is not quite captured realistically.

“Why did he say I was impossible? Who Am I?”

This book has a gorgeous cover, which initially drove me into this book and got me interested in reading it. And despite its flaws, I enjoyed reading the novel and struggled to predict the ending of the book. There were many twists and turns, all adding suspense and tension to the plot. This book will have readers desperate for answers.

The Au Pair utilises dual narrative timelines, switching back and forth between Seraphine in 2017 and Laura, the au pair working at Summerbourne from 1991-1992. Slowly, Laura’s timeline fills in the gaps of the story and we learn what really happened the day of Seraphine’s birth.

There is a strong sense of place in this book; the Summerbourne estate almost felt like another character. I could really sense the atmosphere and the isolation and the mystery and intrigue that followed all who had lived there before. The cliffs that surround Summerbourne are dangerous and have been the cause of a few accidents and deaths in the past. It’s a very ominous setting for the book.

There was one twist in the book — surrounding Laura — that I found very unbelievable and unrealistic. And I felt like it made the ending a little too easy? It’s hard to explain without spoiling the book, but if you do decide to read The Au Pair, you’ll know what I’m referring to once you reach the end of the book.

Recommended reading for people who love mysteries and family sagas. This is a modern gothic thriller.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Au Pair
Emma Rous
December 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

Queer Eye: Love Yourself Love Your Life

The official tie-in to the hit Netflix show QUEER EYE.

From the Fab Five – the beloved hosts of Netflix’s viral hit QUEER EYE- comes a book, and an official guide, that is at once a behind-the-scenes exclusive, a practical guide to living and celebrating your best life, and a symbol of hope.

Feeling your best is about far more than deciding what colour to paint your accent wall or how to apply nightly moisturiser. It’s also about creating a life that’s well-rounded, filled with humour and understanding and most importantly, that suits you. At a cultural moment when we are all craving people to admire, QUEER EYE offers hope and acceptance. After you get to know the Fab Five, together they will guide you through five practical chapters that go beyond their designated areas of expertise (food & wine, fashion, grooming, home decor, and culture), touching on topics like wellness, entertaining, and defining your personal brand, and complete with bite-sized Hip Tips for your everyday quandaries. Above all else, QUEER EYE aims to help you create a happy and healthy life, rooted in self-love and authenticity.

Queer Eye is a comprehensive, informative guide to improving your life and your mindset. Each of the fab five have written a chapter that focuses on their speciality – grooming, clothing, attitude, food and decorating.

The book is filled with plenty of advice for everyone, whether you’re fashionably challenged or a terrible cook or worried about your hair or your complexion. This book also details a lot of personal information from each of the guys. Bobby’s parents didn’t accept him as a teenager, Jonathan went through a tough time when his father passed away, and Karamo realised in his 30s that he wasn’t following his dream job.

“A first date and a job interview are a lot alike. Basically, you’re meeting someone to see if you connect in a way that could lead to a long-term emotionally lucrative relationship…Talk about your strengths in terms of how they apply to a relationship or job position.”

This book is useful for all readers, and inclusive of all genders and ethnicities. In the grooming section of the book, I loved that there was a little column of advice for any transgender readers who are having trouble hiding stubble or beard.

“There’s an art to looking stylishly undone but still like you made an effort. The French tuck is my answer to achieving that style. All you need to do is tuck in your shirt ever so slightly only in the front and leave the back shirttails loose. This move lengthens your legs, reveals just enough of your waist, and makes any outfit look smarter.”

This is a beautiful coffee table book, filled with wonderful photographs and inside information into the fab five. If you’re a fan of the TV show, then you’ll love this book. Queer Eye is also visually pleasing, with bright colours and graphics, and wonderful black-and-white photographs.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Queer Eye: Love Yourself, Love Your Life
Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness, Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown
November 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Screenplay by J.K Rowling

J.K. Rowling’s five-film Fantastic Beasts adventure series continues with the original screenplay for Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald

The Wizarding World journey continues . . .

The powerful Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald was captured in New York with the help of Newt Scamander. But, making good on his threat, Grindelwald escapes custody and sets about gathering followers, most of whom are unsuspecting of his true agenda: to raise pure-blood wizards up to rule over all non-magical beings.

In an effort to thwart Grindelwald’s plans, Albus Dumbledore enlists Newt, his former Hogwarts student, who agrees to help once again, unaware of the dangers that lie ahead. Lines are drawn as love and loyalty are tested, even among the truest friends and family, in an increasingly divided wizarding world.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the second screenplay in a five-film series to be written by J.K. Rowling, author of the internationally bestselling Harry Potter books. Set in 1927, a few months after the events of Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, and moving from New York to London, Paris and even back to Hogwarts, this story of mystery and magic reveals an extraordinary new chapter in the wizarding world. Illustrated with stunning line art from MinaLima with some surprising nods to the Harry Potter stories that will delight fans of both the books and films.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is the second in the Fantastic Beasts series, this time focusing heavily on Credence and Grindelwald and the havoc that Grindelwald wreaks across New York, London and Paris.

To be completely honest, I could barely remember what happened in the first Fantastic Beasts story and it was fine. Don’t stress too much if it’s been too long between stories. After 50 pages or so, your memory will jog and you’ll be able to follow along easily.

Dumbledore: Do you know why I admire you, Newt? More, perhaps, than any man I know? You don’t seek power or popularity. You simply ask, is the thing right in itself? If it is, then I must do it, no matter the cost.

I was mostly interested in Credence Barebone and Grindelwald, and how their storylines connected. Grindelwald is cunning, strategic and smart, escaping capture and rallying followers.

One of the biggest surprises for Harry Potter fans is that Nagini, Voldemort’s snake, is actually an adult woman. She’s a Maledictus,meaning she is able to transform into a snake but because of a blood curse passed down in her family, one day she won’t be able to turn back. So, all those times we see Nagini in the Harry Potter series, she is a woman trapped in a snake’s body. But in the Fantastic Beasts series, she can transform as she wishes. I found this fascinating — a surprise I didn’t see coming.

I couldn’t help but feel a little let down by the pacing of the story, and the lack of tension or climax. It doesn’t feel like enough happens in the story, and there’s a fair bit of unnecessary conversations and subplots.

Leta: Oh Newt. You never met a monster you couldn’t love.

There were a few inconsistencies in the plot and the world building. For example, we briefly visit Hogwarts and McGonagall is there teaching. But, if you look at the year in which the book is set, I don’t think she’s even been born then?

Also, the ending of the book, and the biggest twist of all, was a little unbelievable. I don’t want to give anything away, but the sudden acknowledgement of a long lost family member that we didn’t even know existed? It seemed like they wanted to stretch out this series for five books, when really I’m not sure there’s enough material.

This is a must-read for fans of the Harry Potter franchise. It’s a beautiful hardback book with gorgeous green and gold packaging, perfect for fans who want it as a collectors item.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Screenplay
J.K Rowling
November 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

End of Year Wrap Up: My Favourite Books in 2018

To celebrate the end of 2018, I’ve decided to compile a list of all the books that I gave 10/10 to this year. These are the books that I loved the most, out of anything I read.

Thank you to the publishers for continuing to send me review copies in 2018, and thanks to my readers for continuing to visit my blog.

FICTION

The Three Secret Cities by Matthew Reilly

HELL HATH NO FURY LIKE FOUR KINGDOMS SCORNED.
THE HUNT FOR JACK WEST JR HAS BEGUN.
A SHADOW WORLD BEHIND THE REAL WORLD

When Jack West Jr won the Great Games, he threw the four legendary kingdoms into turmoil. Now these dark forces are coming after Jack … in ruthless fashion.

With the end of all things rapidly approaching, Jack must find the Three Secret Cities, three incredible lost cities of legend.
It’s an impossible task by any reckoning, but Jack must do it while he is being hunted …

You can read my review HERE

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The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin

If you were told the date of your death, how would it shape your present?

It’s 1969 in New York City’s Lower East Side, and word has spread of the arrival of a mystical woman, a traveling psychic who claims to be able to tell anyone the day they will die. The Gold children—four adolescents on the cusp of self-awareness—sneak out to hear their fortunes.

Their prophecies inform their next five decades. Golden-boy Simon escapes to the West Coast, searching for love in ’80s San Francisco; dreamy Klara becomes a Las Vegas magician, obsessed with blurring reality and fantasy; eldest son Daniel seeks security as an army doctor post-9/11, hoping to control fate; and bookish Varya throws herself into longevity research, where she tests the boundary between science and immortality.

You can read my review HERE

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NON-FICTION

Rebel Voices by Louise Kay Stewart and Eve Lloyd Knight

A beautifully illustrated celebration of the brave campaigners who fought for women’s right to vote.

Discover that it was never illegal for women to vote in Ecuador, or how 40,000 Russian women marched through St Petersburg demanding their rights. Find out how one Canadian woman changed opinions with a play, and Kuwaiti women protested via text message. And learn that women climbed mountains, walked a lion through the streets of Paris, and starved themselves, all in the name of having a voice.

Tracing its history from New Zealand at the end of the 19th century, follow this empowering movement as it spread from Oceania to Europe and the Americas, then Africa and Asia up to the present day. Meet the women who rioted, rallied and refused to give up. Stunningly illustrated by Eve Lloyd Knight, this book celebrates the women who refused to behave, rebelling against convention to give women everywhere a voice.

You can read my review HERE

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FANTASY

Muse of Nightmares by Laini Taylor

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.

Lazlo faces an unthinkable choice – save the woman he loves, or everyone else? – while Sarai feels more helpless than ever. But is she? Sometimes, only the direst need can teach us our own depths, and Sarai, the muse of nightmares, has not yet discovered what she’s capable of.

As humans and godspawn reel in the aftermath of the citadel’s near fall, a new foe shatters their fragile hopes, and the mysteries of the Mesarthim are resurrected: Where did the gods come from, and why? What was done with the thousands of children born in the citadel nursery? And most important of all, as forgotten doors are opened and new worlds revealed: must heroes always slay monsters, or is it possible to save them instead?

You can read my review HERE

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BOOKS FOR YOUNGER READERS

Cicada by Shaun Tan

The story of a cicada who works in an office, and all the people who don’t appreciate him. The new picture book from multi-award-winner Shaun Tan, author of The Arrival, The Lost Thing and Rules of Summer.

A story for anyone who has ever felt unappreciated, overlooked or overworked, from Australia’s most acclaimed picture book creator.

You can read my review HERE

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The Carrie Diaries by Candace Bushnell

Before Carrie Bradshaw hit the big time in the City, she was a regular girl growing up in the suburbs of Connecticut. How did she turn into one of the most-read social observers of our generation?
The Carrie Diaries opens up in Carrie’s senior year of high school. She and her best friends — Walt, Lali, Maggie, and the Mouse — are inseparable, amid the sea of Jens, Jocks and Jets.

And then Sebastian Kydd comes into the picture. Sebastian is a bad boy-older, intriguing, and unpredictable. Carrie falls into the relationship that she was always supposed to have in high school-until a friend’s betrayal makes her question everything. With her high school days coming to a close, Carrie will realize it’s finally time to go after everything she ever wanted.

You can read my review HERE

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