JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Fallow by Daniel Shand

Two brothers elude a press witching by hiding out in the remote wilds of highland Scotland. As they travel, they move from one disturbing scenario to the next, eventually involving themselves with a bizarre religious cult. The power between the brothers begins to shift, and we realise there is more to their history.

One of them is a murderer. But it’s the other you have to watch out for…

Fallow is a darkly comic novel about the evolving relationship between two brothers — Paul and Mikey — and the terrible crime that both of them were involved in when they were young boys. This is a tense psychological thriller, deliberately making the reader feel uneasy and anxious about what is to come.

“My main concern that morning had been the tube of newspaper jammed into Sam’s armpit. I wasn’t able to make out the title but if it was a tabloid then Mikey was almost certainly somewhere inside.”

The cover of Fallow is incredibly striking, with orange and brown colours and a single image of a stag in an open field. It’s an inviting book, and I was intrigued. Fallow is under three hundred pages, so it doesn’t take too long to read the entire thing — in fact, I imagine some readers would be able to get through it in one sitting.

Fallow explores unreliable narration, manipulation and control. Paul lies and twists his explanation of events in order to control Mikey. In some parts of the novel, Micky commits horrific acts because he thinks he needs to, even though he doesn’t. Paul has lied to him and made Mikey fearful, to the point where Mikey has committed a crime for no reason.

And then, because of this, Paul has yet another thing that he can hold over Mikey. It’s a twisted relationship because Mikey feels guilty, but also confused. And over the course of the novel, he starts feeling indebted to Paul, even though he doesn’t need to.

“Mikey reached over and got him by the head and neck and I pulled his legs out from beneath him and we held his body and pushed and carried him out into the deeper water…we held the body until the water held it by itself.”

The strengths are Daniel’s writing. The prose flows so well and the imagery is beautiful. Just one sentence can say so much about the relationship between these two brothers; Daniel Shand has a real talent for using as few words as possible to convey the most meaning.

There are a few things about this novel that I know some readers won’t like. The pace is deliberately slow, to draw out the characterisation and to force the reader to anticipate what’s coming next. The plot is also a little stagnant, so there are a few times in the book where I was wondering where the story is going and why certain events were important to the overall plot.

But, the writing is beautiful and the two main characters are incredibly well-crafted and three-dimensional. Daniel Shand has done an excellent job of characterisation through actions, attitudes and dialogue.

I recommend Fallow to literary fiction lovers. Yes, there’s a fair bit of crime in the book. But it’s not your average crime or thriller novel. It’s a slow build, and it’s more character driven than plot driven. Some of you might be wondering what the point of it all is, but the ending to this novel is just extraordinary. It was surprising but also satisfying. This is a novel you have to stick with until the end.

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

Fallow
Daniel Shand
January 2018
Pan Macmillan Publishers

City of Bones (10th Anniversary Edition) by Cassandra Clare

Celebrate the tenth anniversary of Cassandra Clare’s City of Bones with this gorgeous new edition, complete with special content including a new piece from Cassie and exclusive colour illustrations.

The pride of any fan’s collection, City of Bones now has new cover art, over thirty interior illustrations, and six new full-page colour portraits of everyone’s favourite characters! This beautifully crafted collector’s item also includes four bonus stories that have previously only appeared in limited distribution, and – best of all – a new piece written by Cassandra Clare.

This is the book where Clary Fray first discovered the Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of warriors dedicated to driving demons out of our world and back to their own. The book where she first met Jace Wayland, the best Shadowhunter of his generation. The book that started it all.

I first read City of Bones by Cassandra Clare many years ago; I was completely absorbed in the story and the characters, and I devoured the book. Unfortunately, I never got around to reading the rest of the series and as time went by, I forgot everything that had happened in City of Bones.

Enter the 10th Anniversary edition. This was the perfect opportunity for me to reread City of Bones and also review it for Jess Just Reads.

City of Bones is the first book in The Mortal Instruments series. This anniversary edition is gorgeous — just perfect for a Cassandra Clare fan. It’s hardback, cloth-bound, with gorgeous colour illustrations inside of the characters.

Additionally, there are black and white illustrations scattered throughout the whole book. There are whole page illustrations and there are also illustrations underneath each chapter heading.

My favourite part of the book was and always will be the dialogue between the characters. Isabelle Lightwood is bold and witty, but also self-aware and at times caring. Jace is hilarious — snarky and sarcastic and a very fun character.

“You want me to hold your hand?”
Clary put both her hands behind her back like a small child. “Don’t talk down to me.”
“Well, I could hardly talk up to you. You’re too short.” Jace glanced past her, the torch showering sparks as he moved.

City of Bones has always felt a little long to me. I did find myself getting a little exhausted in the final few chapters, even though that’s when most of the action is happening.

Despite this, though, Cassandra Clare is really great at weaving dialogue and prose together so that one doesn’t dominate the other. The dialogue is relatable, funny, and easy to read, and the prose is detailed yet necessary when building a world like this.

“Hodge, gasping, stared after him, his fists clenching and unclenching at his sides. His left hand was gloved with the wet dark fluid that had seeped from his chest. The look on his face was a mixture of exultation and self-loathing.”

This edition is definitely a collector’s item, so I recommend this to people who have read and loved City of Bones. If you’re not sure whether this series is for you, I’d probably recommend buying the regular paperback.

But regardless of what edition you buy, this is a really fantastic series and this first book is fun and a fantastic launch to the series.

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

City of Bones 10th Anniversary Edition
Cassandra Clare
November 2017
Walker Books

A Review of Three Gorgeous Picture Books

The Fastest Tortoise on the Block
Michael Gray, illustrated by Naya & Kostya Lazarev
October 2017
Picture book for 5-8 year olds
Little Steps Publishing

And they’re off! A boy and a tortoise become fast friends as they prepare for the biggest event in town – the monthly tortoise race. It’s not winning that counts, but that won’t stop this tortoise from being the fastest tortoise on the block!

The Fastest Tortoise on the Block by Michael Gray is a sweet story about a determined tortoise and his caring owner. The text is written in first person from the tortoise’s point of view; the tortoise mentions that lizards have been making fun of him because he travels slowly.

This picture book is a cute story for little kids, showing them that practice pays off and also not to listen to what others say about you.

“Sleek lizards darting to and fro,
Made fun of me for going slow.
They shrieked and spat and laughed with glee,
They pointed sneering tails at me.”

The illustration style of the book is beautiful, with soft, light colours on the page to give the book a real warmth. I can see this being an instant classic in some families.

The rhyming of the text makes reading it really fun, and the words that are used are simple and would be easy for a young kid to understand. I do think that there are too many words on the page though. Picture books usually have 4 lines per page, and yet in this book, there are sometimes two stanzas on each spread and I think it would get a bit too much for some readers.

I recommend this to parents who are looking for a lovely animal-related story to read to their kids. The story teaches a lot about practice and determination, but also having fun and learning to forget your worries and live for the moment.

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Who’s Got A Normal Family?
Belinda Nowell, illustrated by Misa Alexander
May 2016
Picture book for 3-6 year olds
Little Steps Publishing

‘Are we normal?’ he asked. Mum gave Alex her brightest smile. ‘Absolutely NOT … but why don’t we find out who is?’   A celebration of unique, thriving and fun families.  

Who’s Got a Normal Family? by Belinda Nowell is a fantastic picture book about different types of families and learning to accept that ‘different’ isn’t a bad thing.

Alex is a foster child and after his parents bring home a new baby — also a foster child — there’s a kid in Alex’s class who makes fun of him. Alex starts to think his family isn’t normal, and so he gets very upset.

But, he and his mother sit down and look at all the families of the other kids in Alex’s class, and they realise that lots of people don’t have the traditional, ‘normal’ family. Sometimes kids only have one parent, or no parents but a grandparent, or perhaps their parents are both of the same gender.

Who’s Got a Normal Family? is great for parents who want to explain to kids that all families and all relationships are different. This is also a fantastic book that parents can use to teach their kids not to bully others or make fun of others. Alex gets really upset in the book after he is teased, and so this book shows us that harsh words can really affect someone and that you shouldn’t say something if it isn’t nice.

“Suddenly Alex wasn’t so excited anymore because, just like Baby Emma, Alex was a foster child too.
Alex was normally the sort of boy who laughed his way from breakfast to dinner, but that afternoon he did not laugh at all. He even cried behind his hands when he thought no one was watching.”

The illustrations are beautiful, with clear drawings and lots of vibrant colours used. The text is also really fantastic; it’s minimal but it’s impactful and I really enjoyed this book.

I recommend this book to parents who are looking for a way to teach their kids about bullying and perhaps if their kids have questions about the different types of families that exist in the world.

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The Tuggies
Jose Saracho
Picture book for 3-6 year olds
Little Steps Publishing

Lucy is not a morning person. Not only because she loves her bed, but because she always wakes up with hair full of knots and tangles. Have you ever wondered why your hair gets knotty while you sleep? Lucy is on a mission to find out why!

The Tuggies by Jose Saracho is the perfect book for readers with long hair that knots really easily (like me!).

Lucy wakes up every morning with knotted, unkempt hair and she hates it! So, she stays awake to discover who is making her hair so knotty. Lucy discovers that while she is sleeping, the Tuggies (beautiful, colourful little creatures) have been visiting her and playing around in her hair.

The illustration style of this book is the strongest part of the package. The colours are gorgeous and the layout of the pages is eye-catching and I imagine it’d be really engaging for a child.

The text is also short and fun, and the text is sometimes situated all around the spread, and sometimes it’s bunched up together in a paragraph. This makes each page feel really different for the reader.

“On the top of her headboard she noticed some curious tiny creatures.
At first they were a little shy…
…until one of them decided to dive into Lucy’s hair.”

This book has a really surprising and hilarious ending, that I’m sure kids will love. This is a large hardback book and a really fun read. I recommend this especially to parents who have daughters with long hair. They’ll find the book funny. The illustrations are so beautiful that I can imagine girls will love flicking through the pages,

Thank you to the publisher for sending me these review copies in exchange for honest reviews.

Unearthed by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner

When Earth intercepts a message from a long-extinct alien race, it seems like the solution the planet has been waiting for. The Undying’s advanced technology has the potential to undo environmental damage and turn lives around, and Gaia, their former home planet, is a treasure trove waiting to be uncovered.

For Jules Addison and his fellow scholars, the discovery of an alien culture offers unprecedented opportunity for study… as long as scavengers like Amelia Radcliffe don’t loot everything first. Mia and Jules’ different reasons for smuggling themselves onto Gaia put them immediately at odds, but after escaping a dangerous confrontation with other scavvers, they form a fragile alliance.

In order to penetrate the Undying temple and reach the tech and information hidden within, the two must decode the ancient race’s secrets and survive their traps. But the more they learn about the Undying, the more their presence in the temple seems to be part of a grand design that could spell the end of the human race…

Unearthed is the first book in a brand new duology by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, described best as ‘Lara Craft and Indiana Jones teaming up in space’.

I love the setting of this novel, and how fun it was to read. This is an adventure novel set in space, but there’s also a touch of romance in there. Jules and Amelia have great chemistry, growing close over the course of the novel and working together to solve the mystery.

Both Amelia and Jules have troubled history that’s driving them to better understand this ancient alien culture. They meet in the abandoned temples of Planet Gaia — Amelia has illegally gained passage to this planet as a scavenger and she is looking for anything she can sell in order to save her sister. Jules, a young, black English archaeologist, is desperate to find and solve some of the many mysteries that Gaia holds. His father always hypothesised that there were many clues inside Gaia — clues left by the coded messages of the Undying.

“My father’s always told me that my integrity matters more than any other part of me, and he’s shown his over and over, in the face of unbearable pressure, to protect even those who don’t want his protection.”
JULES

This book is filled with plenty of riddles and puzzles, and any reader who loves solving mysteries will devour this book. Anyone who has read Amie & Meagan’s previous series will also love Unearthed. The dialogue and banter between the characters is really fun and hilarious, and the two characters compliment each other really well.

The ending of this book will have you desperate for the sequel— Amie and Meagan have done a stellar job of setting up the characters and their relationship, and drawing the reader in. We become heavily invested in their stories, and the ending of the book (no spoilers!) is such a cliffhanger that the reader will be so excited for Book 2 next year.

“I’m double-checking the bands of my climbing harness and listening with half an ear while Jules talks to himself. Every chance he gets he starts scribbling in his little journal, working through ideas aloud and staring at pictures of glyphs from his wrist unit.”

I loved that Jules and Mia were knowledgable in some really untraditional things for this genre. Physically, they’re not really strong, but they’re both really intelligent and they use things like maths, linguistics and music to solve the puzzles in the temple. It’s quite refreshing to read in this kind of setting and I really enjoyed following along as they solved the mysteries and progressed to the next stage of the puzzle.

“I lead the way for a while. Not every room in this place is a puzzle requiring Jules’ expertise, and while I can’t read the glyphs, I am starting to know what their patterns indicate. Like Jules said, the glyphs are based on math, and once I started to recognise the equation for their language, their simpler instructions – step here, don’t walk there – aren’t hard to translate.”

The plot did unfold in a rather predictable way, at some points. There were some moments where I saw what was coming next, or was unsurprised when particular moments of betrayal happened. I did feel like there could’ve been stronger world building in the book, particularly at the beginning when we first learn that Amelia and Jules are on this alien planet. At times, I felt a bit confused about the connection between this alien planet and Earth. After a while, I just pushed my confusion aside so that I could keep reading.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I’m really keen to see how the story ends in book two. I recommend this to fans of Amie & Meagan’s, but also YA fans and young readers who love to read thrillers and adventure novels.

Unearthed
Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner
December 2017
Allen & Unwin Publishers

Green Valentine by Lili Wilkinson

Astrid Katy Smythe is beautiful, smart and popular. She’s a straight-A student and a committed environmental activist. She’s basically perfect. Hiro is the opposite of perfect. He’s slouchy, rude and resentful. Despite his brains, he doesn’t see the point of school.

But when Astrid meets Hiro at the shopping centre where he’s wrangling shopping trolleys, he doesn’t recognise her because she’s in disguise – as a lobster. And she doesn’t set him straight.

Astrid wants to change the world, Hiro wants to survive it. But ultimately both believe that the world needs to be saved from itself. Can they find enough in common to right all the wrongs between them?

Green Valentine by Lili Wilkinson is a romantic comedy about trying to make the planet a better place. The novel also explores love, friendship, family and the importance of re-assessing your expectations and assumptions about others.

The protagonist of the book, Astrid, is smart, brave, and determined. She’s also incredibly passionate about the environment and she wishes that everyone else who lived in Valentine took better care of it. Hiro, who is the complete opposite to Astrid, provides quite a bit of hilarity in the book. He’s witty, sarcastic and observant, and underneath a cold, withdrawn exterior, he’s actually a really lovely guy.

“We hadn’t talked much about our relationship outside the Victory Garden. We didn’t talk to each other at school, except for in the garden during Hiro’s detentions. I hadn’t told anyone I was seeing Hiro, and I assumed he hadn’t told his friends about me.”

The premise of Green Valentine felt very unique, and very fun. At first, a book about an environmentalist girl and a boy who is really good at gardening sounds a bit boring. But it’s so much more than that. It’s about learning to drop your assumptions about people, and the importance of understanding that some people are different to you and that’s probably not going to change. You can’t force your values and opinions onto someone and expect them to adopt those views.

“We carried full plates into the dining room. I couldn’t believe it had all come together so quickly and easily. There was pickled zucchini and eggplant next to a bowl of plump purple olives. Maria had cooked the pasta we’d made and mixed it with a simple tomato, garlic and basil sauce.”

This book also promotes diversity. Whilst Astrid is a white girl from a middle-class family, Hiro is half-Japanese and half-Italian. His sister is gay. Astrid’s best friend Dev is also gay, and is Indian. I definitely felt like a lot of readers would be able to see themselves when reading his book, and I think that’s a really great thing to see in a YA novel.

I liked that there were some really strong relationships featured in the book. Hiro is really close with his grandmother Maria, which was pleasing to read about. Astrid is quite close with her mum and the two grow even closer after her mum splits with Astrid’s dad because of an affair.

“I had no idea how I was supposed to act around Dad anymore. I’d tried being angry at him, but he was so sad and pathetic it was hard to stay mad.”

Although Astrid starts to ignore her friends throughout the novel, the friendship between Paige and Dev is really lovely to read. They’re really close and they know each other so well. An example of this is when Astrid finally works up the courage to tell her friends that her parents are splitting up, and it turns out they already knew. But they were waiting until she felt like she was ready to tell them herself.

Additionally, I loved that the environmentalism in the book didn’t feel too much like Lili was preaching to the reader. It was subtle and enjoyable, and Lili did a good job of describing all the gardening really clearly so that the reader could really imagine what they were doing.

Towards the end, I did feel like the plot was getting a bit absurd. The final chapters are something that would happen in a movie, but are a bit unrealistic in a YA novel.

I’d highly recommend this to readers who love young adult. The dialogue is relatable and snappy, the scattered footnotes provide a lot of enjoyment for the reader. Overall, this book is fun, charming and enjoyable, but it’s also got a lot of heart and hilarity.

Green Valentine
Lili Wilkinson
August 2015
Allen & Unwin Publishers

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