JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

I Am Out With Lanterns by Emily Gale

One of us is in the dark.
One of us is a bully.
One of us wants to be understood.
One of us loves a girl who loves another.
One of us remembers the past as if it just happened.
One of us believes they’ve drawn the future.
But we’re all on the same map, looking for the same thing.

Year Ten begins with a jolt for best friends and neighbours Wren and Milo. Along with Hari, Juliet, Ben and Adie, they tell a story of friendship, family, wild crushes, bitter feuds, and the power of a portrait.

As their lives intertwine, images could bring them together, and tear them apart.

I Am Out with Lanterns is the latest contemporary novel by Australian young adult author Emily Gale. It explores friendship, family, relationships and identity.

There are many characters to this novel, and many switching POV chapters. However, central characters include Wren, an artist who is stuck drawing portrait after portrait of her brother Floyd, who died a few years earlier. Milo is Wren’s next door neighbour. He’s sweet, kind-hearted and has a beautiful soul. But he’s often misunderstood and at school, he’s bullied really horribly.

Adie’s father is an artist, and she’s been his muse since she was little. But he’s a harmful character, and their relationship is not a healthy one. Juliet is really loved and supported at home, but she’s lonely and feels a little lost.

“This is it: my first party as a teenager. You could call that impressive, considering I’ve been a teenager for more than three years, or you might prefer to call it what it actually is.”

I Am Out with Lanterns is very much about self-discovery and self-awareness and that crucial time in a teenager’s life when they grow into themselves and must make choices that others may disapprove of. The title of the book was actually inspired by an Emily Dickinson quote, ‘I am out with lanterns, looking for myself’ and this does well to capture the feel and atmosphere of the novel.

The book explores themes of sexuality, friendship and identity, through the lens of six teenagers.

Emily brings all of these characters together, allowing us to witness their lives alter and change as their paths intersect. Some of these characters are incredibly flawed, but all their voices are incredibly unique and we come to understand each character in a different way.

“I hold the Nintendo high and watch him jump for it. Noah is smaller and skinnier than I was at his age. He’s always in his own little world or having secret chats with Mum, or climbing the tree down the back of our garden by himself and sitting there like some loner.”

Ben’s character is quite different from the others. He’s a bully, and he’s powerful and assertive. He seems to be following in the footsteps of his incredibly manipulative father, and even though he can see this, he doesn’t appear to want to change.

I appreciated his presence as one of the six characters. I think it’s important for authors to show readers a full range of people, and not just good-natured or nice people.

“Today after we’d sat in the chair on the street, as close as I’ve ever been to anyone, I said something funny. She looked at me and for a second we were locked in. Then she hit my arm and it was over. But that’s what I want to draw. Her face in that split second, a shot to the heart. The next time she looks at me like that, I think I’m going to kiss her.”

My only criticism is that I really struggled to keep track of the different characters and their relations to each other, because of how many POVs there are and how quickly they switch. Many of the characters weave in and out of other POVs, so sometimes I had to take a moment to remember their backstory before continuing.

I Am Out With Lanterns is an energetic, emotional story with a dynamic and diverse cast — it is both heartwarming and heartfelt.

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

I am Out With Lanterns
Emily Gale
August 2018
Penguin Random House

Heaven Sent by S.J Morgan

At almost sixteen, Evie’s life isn’t all she’d hoped it would be. She lives in the dodgy end of town with her mum and her mum’s deadbeat boyfriend, Seb; and adolescent scoliosis means Evie’s forced to wear a back brace until she’s stopped growing.

Then one night, she meets Gabe. Breathtakingly handsome, he crashes, spectacularly, into Evie’s life. He says their meeting was no accident and convinces Evie he’s been sent to turn her fortunes around. Evie’s best friend, Paige, dismisses him as a pot-head, but Paige has issues of her own and has started spending all her time chasing older men instead of higher grades.

As the weeks go by, Evie’s luck seems to be on a constant upswing and she begins to wonder if she and Gabe really were ‘meant’ to meet; even if she’s noticed that so many aspects of Gabe’s story don’t add up…

But there’s someone else waiting in the wings and, for Evie as well as for Gabe, life is about to get a whole lot more complicated.

Heaven Sent is a YA novel by debut author S.J Morgan. The story follows teenage protagonist Evie, and the novel explores themes of friendship, family and relationship.

The premise of the novel is quite different — Gabe crashes his car into Evie’s bedroom one night, and then feels unexplainably drawn to her. It’s almost as if he’s a guardian angel for her, even though he’s noticeably absent for a lot of the novel and his disappearances are rarely explained.

“I was so busy thinking about his bizarre quotation and the overall odd reaction that it took me utterly by surprise when he leaned forward and kissed me on the forehead. ‘You trusted me, Evie,’ he whispered. ‘Thank you.’ He then placed a hand where his lips had landed, as if he wanted to seal the kiss in place.”

Gabe is a really unlikable character. He’s mysterious but confusing, distant and withdrawn. He quotes scripture at her, and his dialogue often doesn’t make much sense. He’s cryptic in a creepy way, and I didn’t find myself sympathising for him in any way. At one point, he ‘gifts’ Evie some furniture and then you find out that the furniture was actually stolen!

I found it incredibly bizarre that Evie wanted to find out more about him, let alone actually spend any time with him.

I like the complex relationship between Evie and her father, and also Evie and her best friend. I think it’s important for YA novels to show fractured female friendships because that is very representative of high school and teenage life.

“There was nothing else for it. If Paige was going to cut off communication with me, then I’d just have to go ‘round there and demand she tell me why. It wasn’t as if we’d fallen out.”

There are noticeable flaws within the novel. The premise is unrealistic and the ending predictable. The dialogue is quite forced in some scenes and not at all how teenagers speak. Additionally, the relationship between Evie and Gabe is just strange, not enticing or exciting. And the conclusion of the novel is so fast-paced and Gabe’s behaviour doesn’t really make sense.

“I was just Evie. So, after the car crash, why hadn’t Gabe wished me well and moved on? What had kept him coming back? What kept him still coming back? What kept him still coming back? Did he feel sorry for me? Guilty? Was I the stone in his shoe, or did he think I was some sort of tortured soul who needed to be rescued?”

This may be a young adult novel but I’d actually recommend this for much younger readers, around 10-14 years of age.

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

Heaven Sent
S.J Morgan
October 2018
Midnight Sun Publishing

Floored: A Collaborative Novel

When they got in the lift, they were strangers (though didn’t that guy used to be on TV?): Sasha, who is desperately trying to deliver a parcel; Hugo, who knows he’s the best-looking guy in the lift and is eyeing up Velvet, who knows what that look means when you hear her name and it doesn’t match the way she looks, or the way she talks; Dawson, who was on TV, but isn’t as good-looking as he was a few years ago and is desperately hoping no one recognizes him; Kaitlyn, who’s losing her sight but won’t admit it, and who used to have a poster of Dawson on her bedroom wall, and Joe, who shouldn’t be here at all, but who wants to be here the most.

And one more person, who will bring them together again on the same day every year.

Described as The Breakfast Club meets One Day, Floored is a collaborative young adult novel by seven bestselling and award-winning authors: Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson and Eleanor Wood.

Six teenagers coincidentally end up in the same lift together at a TV broadcasting building. They’re joined by an older gentleman who seems unwell when he enters into the lift. The man suffers a medical episode and dies in the lift. And so begins their connection. The seven characters bond over the sudden death of this man, and these six strangers soon become friends.

“Ivy and I have always had this policy: brutal honesty. And, until recently, I’ve never been tempted to break it. It’s just that if I tell her I’m going to the bloke from the lift’s funeral, she’s bound to want to come with me. And for whatever reason, I feel like this is something I need to do alone. More than tat, it’s something that I want to do alone.”

If these teenagers had met under different circumstances, they probably wouldn’t have been friends. For example, Hugo is a self-entitled, womanising asshole who only cares about himself. Sasha is from a working class family who is trying to help out her father. These six characters are all incredibly different, but their lives become bound together when they witness this man’s death.

The novel takes place over approximately six years, and we follow these six characters as their lives intertwine and they stay in touch. For the first couple of years, they meet up on the anniversary of the lift incident. And then as they bond, some of them become close and spend much more time together.

There’s not a huge amount of plot to this novel; it is more of a character-driven story. The novel jumps forward in time a lot, mostly following these characters on the anniversary of the man’s death. Even though we find out little things about their lives and the authors tackle issues such as Alzheimer’s, friendship, family, love and sexuality, the book moves pretty slowly. There’s drama and tension and evidence of these teenagers navigating their lives, but I wouldn’t recommend this for readers who are looking for a lot of plot.

“I want to laugh and tell him he looks worse than I do, like he’s just seen a ghost. I want to tell him not to worry about me. But none of that comes out. He looks at me, and I burst into tears. The tears I’ve been trying so hard to hold in for so long.”

Unfortunately, I found it hard to really connect with all of the characters because we don’t spend much time with them. When there are seven main characters, the focus is divided and so I got to the end of the novel and felt like I wasn’t as invested in their storylines as I could’ve been.

Floored is a surprisingly smooth read, considering there are seven novelists in there. All the characters feel so different, but when they come together I didn’t feel jolted by different voices or writing styles. The plot flows really well.

Young adult readers will love this collaboration.

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

Floored
A Collaborative novel by Sara Barnard, Holly Bourne, Tanya Byrne, Non Pratt, Melinda Salisbury, Lisa Williamson and Eleanor Wood
July 2018
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Clean by Juno Dawson

When socialite Lexi Volkov almost overdoses, she thinks she’s hit rock bottom. She’s wrong. Because rock bottom is when she’s forced into an exclusive rehab facility.

From there, the only way is up for Lexi and her fellow inmates, including the mysterious Brady. As she faces her demons, Lexi realises love is the most powerful drug of all …

It’s a dirty business getting clean.

Clean by Juno Dawson is a young adult novel set inside an expensive rehab facility on a secluded island.

Clean is a really honest representation of recovering from addiction. There are setbacks. There are complications. There are relapses. Recovery is not a linear process.

I think it’s really important for teenagers to read about addiction and how it can affect your life, but I also think it’s really important for them to see what recovery looks like. It isn’t pretty.

“I check the other messages. Mummy asks how I am and is then sniffy when I haven’t replied. I do so now and tell her my phone was stolen by Muslim immigrants outside Clapham Junction. This plays gloriously into about nine of her prejudices.”

Lexi Volkov is a pretty horrible person — self-centred, cynical, judgemental, rude and incredibly privileged. She does grow over the course of the novel, but she is still incredibly flawed by the conclusion of the book.

She’s from a wealthy family and is adored and can get away with pretty much anything. Her brother Nikolai is the only person who wants her to take responsibility for her actions. She enters the exclusive rehab centre Clarity with a heroin addiction and meets other addicts who are all filthy rich and in need of recovery.

“I grab a rock and hurl it at the sliding doors. It pings off without even making a scratch. I try again, pelting stone after stone at the window. How sodding thick is the glass? By the time the nurses come running in, I’ve crumpled to the floor, my energy sapped. As they try to restrain me, I start to lash out with the now empty bowl.”

Juno Dawson tackles addiction with brutal honesty. There are many unpleasant moments in the novel. Each character in rehab is struggling with some sort of addiction, and their road to recovery is not going to be easy.

But at the same time, the book has heart. There are moments of humour and self-realisation. This book is as addictive as the drugs in the story, and I devoured the novel. I found myself really invested in the storylines and the character journeys. I wanted to know how each character was going to progress through the novel.

“I bristle at the quasi-religious flavour of that word. You don’t face temptation, you face life. Life is full of nice things that are bad for us. Temptation is just a fancy word for wanting them. It’s the same as ‘demons’. The first time someone says I have ‘demons’ I’m out of here. I don’t need an exorcist. I need a drink.”

The writing is incredibly compelling, enticing the reader with flawless dialogue, prose and pacing. The chapters are short and the cast intriguing. I wanted to know more about all of these characters, and they have been brought to life so vividly.

Juno has captured their voices so well — they’re all incredibly unique, and therefore you sympathise and empathise with them and you keep reading because you want to find out what happens.

I appreciate that Juno doesn’t romanticise illness or addiction. It’s important for these characters to recover, and not just mask their problems with a relationship. It’s rare to see that in young adult fiction, and it’s one of the things I loved about this novel.

Clean is described as Gossip Girl meets Girl, Interrupted and will appeal to fiction lovers and readers of contemporary young adult fiction. It’s hard-hitting, unapologetic, bold, ugly and compulsive.

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

Clean
Juno Dawson
April 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father is not a very good one. Free to lend and reluctant to collect, he has left his family on the edge of poverty – until Miryem intercedes. Hardening her heart, she sets out to retrieve what is owed, and soon gains a reputation for being able to turn silver into gold.

But when an ill-advised boast brings her to the attention of the cold creatures who haunt the wood, nothing will be the same again. For words have power, and the fate of a kingdom will be forever altered by the challenge she is issued.

Channeling the heart of the original fairy tale, Naomi Novik deftly interweaves six distinct narrative voices – each learning valuable lessons about sacrifice, power and love – into a rich, multi-layered fantasy.

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik is an epic fantasy novel with a new take on the classic fairytale Rumpelstiltskin. At almost 500 pages, Spinning Silver follows over six different characters and their intertwined stories. It’s a grand story, slow-paced and meant to be savoured by the reader.

The world is enchanting and the setting so vivid. This may be loosely based on Rumpelstiltskin, but it reads more like an original fantasy story. With a girl who can turn silver into gold and a King who can stretch Winter for years, the premise is incredibly intriguing to any reader. There are also many underlying themes to the novel that readers will be able to recognise.

The first half of the novel is stronger than the second half, where the pacing slows dramatically and the events in the book seem a little absurd. However, Naomi’s writing is poetic and magical. The prose flows, and the description is detailed and really evokes a strong image for the reader. I could feel the cold and the Winter, and my stomach ached just reading about how impoverished, poor and hungry these characters were.

“I didn’t try to sew. I had a book from off my father’s shelf in my lap, a rare pleasure I couldn’t enjoy. I stared down at the painting of the storyteller and the sultan, a thready shadow-creature taking shape out of the smoke of the brazier between her weaving hands, and I couldn’t even reach the end of a sentence.”

I have mixed feelings about this title. On the one hand, I love retellings. And I adore the story of Rumpelstitzkin and how creative Naomi was in her retelling. However, the pacing is slow and there are too many characters to try and keep track of, and I actually felt really exhausted by the end of the book.

I read an ARC of the book, so perhaps this is different in the final edition, but each section of the book doesn’t say whose POV it is. There are little illustrations used for each character POV, but with so many characters, I couldn’t remember which image belonged to whom, and so whenever the POV shifted it took me a good couple of paragraphs before I knew for sure which character we were now following along with.

It really confused me, and I hope the final edition at least has headings with the character’s name so the reader can follow along easily.

Additionally, I still don’t think I fully understand how the world works? I understand the prolonged Winter and the relationship between all of the characters, and the plot is easy to follow. But I felt like some events in the story weren’t realistic, but were in fact there because Naomi was trying to keep remnants of the original Rumpelstiltskin story in place.

“There was a lot of snow in the yard. I shovelled some of it into big heaps so the goats and chickens could get to the grass. The ground was frozen, but I took out the nut from the white tree and looked at it and wondered if maybe I should plant it here.”

This story is for fans of epic fantasy tales — for readers who will stick with a long story, even if the pacing is quite slow and the world-building a little hard to grasp. It’s not my favourite retelling, but I did keep reading because I was invested in the characters and their individual stories.

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

Spinning Silver
Naomi Novik
July 2018
Pan Macmillan Australia

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