JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter is lucky to reach the age of thirteen, since he has already survived the murderous attacks of the feared Dark Lord on more than one occasion. But his hopes for a quiet term concentrating on Quidditch are dashed when a maniacal mass-murderer escapes from Azkaban, pursued by the soul-sucking Dementors who guard the prison. It’s assumed that Hogwarts is the safest place for Harry to be. But is it a coincidence that he can feel eyes watching him in the dark, and should he be taking Professor Trelawney’s ghoulish predictions seriously?

It’s hard to review these books and find different things to say about each one – it’s too easy to talk about plot instead of writing style.

This story is definitely the most intriguing so far because – unlike the first two – Voldemort doesn’t feature in the book. Sure, Voldemort is mentioned in the book and the events directly RELATE to Voldemort, but he doesn’t actually appear in the book. And this novel is where we finally get some background information about Harry’s parents and their murder.

The twist at the end with Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew is a real shock for first-time readers, and it’s nice that Harry finds a family member in this novel (even if it’s only short-lived). The time turner is a nice plot device that J.K. Rowling used, and it really helped to tie in all of the questions/mysteries/confusions at the end of the book.

There were a few things about this third instalment that I disagreed with. Firstly, Harry seems to conveniently overhear all of these important conversations. He just HAPPENS to be in the right place at the right time, almost every time. And I know that sometimes he’s under his invisibility cloak, but these people seem to have these important conversations in easily accessible locations. For example, Harry, Hermione, and Ron go for Butterbeer at Hogsmeade and the teachers are at the next table talking about how Sirius Black is Harry’s Godfather. That seems a little too easy.

In the later novels, Harry gets visibly annoyed at Dumbledore because he knows SO MUCH but really doesn’t help Harry or share information with Harry as often as he could. Readers get the first inclination of that in this novel. At the end of the novel, Dumbledore hints to Hermione that she can use the Time Turner for good, but if they hadn’t of done it, or if Harry and Hermione were unconscious from the attack, would Dumbledore have done it himself? Or left it for the others still? Dumbledore seems all-knowing all the time, but doesn’t seem to actually help Harry that often.

My Score: 8/10
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The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma

The Walls Around Us is a ghostly story of suspense told in two voices—one still living and one long dead. On the outside, there’s Violet, an eighteen-year-old dancer days away from the life of her dreams when something threatens to expose the shocking truth of her achievement. On the inside, within the walls of a girls’ juvenile detention center, there’s Amber, locked up for so long she can’t imagine freedom. Tying these two worlds together is Orianna, who holds the key to unlocking all the girls’ darkest mysteries.

We hear Amber’s story and Violet’s, and through them Orianna’s, first from one angle, then from another, until gradually we begin to get the whole picture—which is not necessarily the one that either Amber or Violet wants us to see.

This novel is haunting and extremely well-written. For a young adult novel, it’s provoking and unique and engaging, and Nova has done an exceptional job at crafting this story. The cover art is amazing – the colours really invite the reader in. Although, that being said, the cover art doesn’t actually give any indication on what the book is about and may put off some readers. The storyline is different, and all of the different POVs weave together towards the end to give the reader an ‘Ahhh’ moment (or many moments). There are multiple twists that the reader is blindsided by, and when the reader thinks they know what’s happened or how the three characters are connected, something happens and they doubt their reading of the book.

The best part about this novel is definitely the writing style. Nova’s writing is fluid and believable. The premise is interesting, and I feel that a novel set in a female juvenile detention centre (especially for the young adult genre) hasn’t really been done before. Well done to Nova for finding the gap in the YA market and filling it. The chapters are a good length, and they end on such a suspenseful sentence each time. I kept wanting to take a break after reading a chapter, but found myself turning the page until I’d read the whole story.

Now I have to talk about the negatives. Sometimes the storylines seem a little scattered, and the opening few pages of the novel make it seem a little dystopian. It took a couple of pages before I fully comprehended what was happening. Also, let’s not mention how CONFUSING the ending is. Was anyone else confused? I had to reread it a few times to attempt to understand it. It’s one of those endings where you think you understand it, but deep down you know you’re probably wrong. Lastly, the twist involving the murder of the two girls behind the theatre is a little predictable, and I think Nova gave away too much information about that earlier in the novel.

I’d recommend this novel for any reader, even if you don’t usually read young adult. I received an ecopy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

My Score: 8/10

High, Low and Even – Snow, Snow, Snow by Dan Conway

Discover the world of Harry High, Larry Low and Even Steven. A fun series of picture books that engage children while teaching them through rhyme and repetition.

This book is beautifully illustrated and has a really cheerful tone to it. The colours complement each other really well and the pages have been designed so that nothing is too dominating, nor is anything missed. I like that the illustrations and words are on different pages, instead of usual children’s books where the words are over the top of the illustrations.

 

High Low and Even - Snow-6

The rhyme and repetition will definitely engage children and maintain their interest, and the colours will intrigue them and want them to re-read this book.

The only negative thing to say about this book is that I think there should be some colour or illustrations on the pages with the text. There are beautiful colours and illustrations on every second page, but on the page with the words, there’s just a white background. If you’re reading this to a child and they’re not old enough to read the words, you won’t be able to maintain their interest when you fall on the pages with words.

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I suggest having some small background illustrations on those pages so that it doesn’t distract the child from the words/rhymes, but gives the little ones something to look at to keep them engaged.

I would recommend this book to anyone with a young child, or any adult who loves a fun read and loves great illustrations for their bookshelf!

My Score: 8/10
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Wild Things by Brigid Delaney

St Anton’s university college is a cradle for privileged young men and women. With its Elysian lush green lawns and buildings of golden sandstone, it seems like a place where nothing bad could ever happen. One weekend, members of the college cricket team go to the mountains for a wild weekend away. Things spiral rapidly out of control, and a young Malaysian student they dragged along with them as part of a cruel prank goes missing. When the boy is found by some bushwalkers on a rock ledge, barely clinging to life, most people think it’s because of a fall, but the St Anton’s men know better. The stress of keeping their collective secret however becomes harder and harder to bear, and even the heavy wrought-iron fences of the college can’t keep out reality… Dark, dangerous, bloody and visceral, this is a story of power, prestige and the pack mentality that forms the underbelly of campus life at a prestigious university. With overtones of The Secret History meets Brett Easton Ellis, this is the debut of a thrilling new Australian writer.

There’s something about a campus novel that just sucks me right in (I should note that I don’t actually know if ‘campus novel’ is the right name for a novel set within a university, but I’m just going to roll with it). I love that the setting of campus novels are reduced and confined. The students all live on university grounds and the story rarely strays from that. It makes the book seem intimate. If you, like me, have a slight obsession with campus novels, you should really pick up The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Actually, if you love campus novels, that should’ve been the first novel you picked up!

Wild Things builds suspense and tension really well. When the cricket team go to the mountains for a weekend away, it doesn’t go well, and the way that each of these characters try and deal with that really shows their character. One character turns to religion, and another turns to alcohol and girls. Brigid has done well to capture the personality of these boys and project them onto the page with authenticity and believability. This book is set in a university where problems are covered up and money can buy you out of those problems. Bullying occurs almost every second, and everyone turns a blind eye. Brigid’s writing is detailed and emotive, and allows the reader to really understand the characters – all of them.

Earlier in the year, I went to a public lecture where Brigid discussed her difficulties when writing this book, and it really helped me better understand the story. Originally, the young Malaysian student who goes missing was of a different nationality, but it didn’t come across as believable and Brigid had to change it. Brigid also talked about how she had to make all of the boys unique from each other because there were a lot of characters in all of the scenes and she needed them to stand out. And I think she did this really well.

Okay, so I must note a negative. Brigid keeps some things a secret for most of the novel. For the most part, we don’t know what happened to the missing student in the mountains. But throughout the novel, little details are revealed about what happened. I think Brigid revealed too much, because at the end of the novel, when it’s described what happened, it’s pretty much what we’ve already been told, so there’s nothing to shock the reader.

My Score: 8/10
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‘The New Easy’ by Donna Hay

Donna’s latest book is all about new ways to make cooking easier. It features new flavour combinations and new shortcuts, designed to simplify life in the kitchen. It captures how most of us, including Donna, like to cook – with quick solutions for busy weeknights, and special dishes for weekends when you have more time up your sleeve. Each chapter contains clever and versatile ideas to put a spin on some of your favourites. So once you’ve mastered a dish, you can refer to a new section called ‘re-style’, showing you how to transform it into a chic starter for a dinner party, say, or a handy addition to a picnic.

It’s hard for me to review a cookbook – I feel I can’t give an honest opinion until I’ve had a go at making all the recipes. But then it’ll be four years before I can write a review, so I’m going to write it now, after only completing a few recipes.

Donna’s latest cookbook is designed to make cooking easy, for people like myself who don’t want to waste a lot of time cooking. I don’t want to slave away in the kitchen, since I live with roommates and I’m the only one who eats what I cook anyway. Just quietly, I’m a serial cereal-for-dinner offender.

I definitely think this cookbook is targeted at families or people who are cooking for more than just themselves. The recipes are detailed, plentiful, and take a bit of time to do. Even the chapter for ‘weekends’ seems a little over-catered for. The instructions are easy to follow; however, sometimes they aren’t detailed enough.

The first recipe I made was the Easy Banana Bread, and Donna’s instructions on mashing the bananas was a little vague. I assume you’re supposed to mash them as much as possible? But I mashed for what felt like hours and there were still lumps? Also, I personally feel that four bananas is too much for a banana bread recipe. It was too flavour heavy, not to mention the random bits of lumpy banana throughout. But at least I know now for when I decide to make it again.

‘The New Easy’ is beautifully laid out with stunning pictures and clear photographs of the meals (let’s just clarify that my banana bread DID NOT look like the picture, but when does a recipe ever look as good as in the book?).

My Score: 8/10

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