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

And The Ocean Was Our Sky by Patrick Ness

The whales of Bathsheba’s pod live for the hunt. Led by the formidable Captain Alexandra, they fight a never-ending war against men. Then the whales attack a man ship, and instead of easy prey they find the trail of a myth, a monster, perhaps the devil himself…

With their relentless Captain leading the chase, they embark on the final hunt, one that will forever change the worlds of whales and men. From Patrick Ness, the multi-award-winning author of A Monster Calls, and CBCA Crichton Award-winning Australian artist Rovina Cai comes a haunting tale of power and obsession that turns the story of Moby Dick upside down.

And the Ocean was Our Sky is a powerful, moving tale by bestselling author Patrick Ness. Accompanied by gorgeous illustrations from Rovina Cai, Patrick’s story is from the point of view of a whale — Bathsheba. This story is a unique twist on the classic novel, Moby Dick.

War between humans and whales has been going for generations, each hunting the other. This book illustrates the trauma and death associated with war, and the reader comes to sympathise for Bathsheba. She is the third apprentice in a hunting pod to Captain Alexandra; they spend their days searching and destroying ships and humans. Bathsheba feels conflicted about their task, and struggles to understand the necessity of this war against humans.

“Let me be clear, right from the start. I hate the hunt but I loved it then. Now, of course, after all the occurred, after all are dead, after I waited for a rescue that might never come, no one would blame me for hating it.”

The book tells the story of the hunt for Toby Wick — an enemy so evil that no whale has ever met them and survived. Captain Alexandra is desperate to find and kill Toby Wick.

The illustrations are gorgeous. They mostly follow a soft use of the colours black, grey, white and red and they capture the mood of the story perfectly. Rovina is so talented and has done an exceptional job bringing this story to life.

As the hunting pod closes in on Toby, Bathsheba wrestles with his doubts and concerns. How necessary is this war? Is it worth all this death? As the reader, we know that this hunt will likely kill almost every character because Bathsheba hints at it right at the beginning of the book.

“Call me Bathsheba. It is not my name, but the name I use for this story. A name, I hoped, that would be free of prophecy, free of the burden of a future placed upon it, free of any destiny that would tear it from my hands and destroy worlds.”

Set in the depths of the ocean, this is a stunning, brilliant work. The prose is effortless and each sentence beautiful. I did find the first person narration confusing at first, and it did take me a short while to understand the dynamic and structure of the story, but apart from that I was completely absorbed in this story and it’s artwork.

And the Ocean Was Our Sky explores themes of loyalty, friendship, family, war and revenge.

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

And the Ocean Was Our Sky
Patrick Ness, illustrated by Rovina Cai
September 2018
Walkers Books Australia

Man Out Of Time by Stephanie Bishop

When Stella’s father, Leon, disappears in September 2001, the police knock at her door. She baulks at their questions, not sure how to answer. ‘What if I just write it down for you.’

One summer, a long time ago, Stella sat watching her father cry while the sky clouded over. He had tried to make amends: for his failures, for forgetting to buy the doll she once hoped for, for the terrible things he had done.

The first time Stella sensed that something was wrong was on her ninth birthday. There was an accident, and when she opened her eyes there was the tang of blood in her mouth. Leon was beside her. But not quite there. In the winter, when her father finally came home from hospital, he looked different. Looked at her differently.

Now he was missing, and Stella held the key to his discovery. But did he want to be found? And after all that has passed, could Stella bring herself to help him?

Stella’s whole life has been stained by her father’s very struggle to exist. Would this be her inheritance too? Could she choose the steady minutes of an ordinary day? Or would she follow the path of a man out of time?

Man Out of Time is Stephanie Bishop’s third novel, a moving tale of inheritance and self-destruction.

The ‘man out of time’ is Stella’s father. He’s mentally unstable and his health deteriorates as Stella grows older. He is sectioned in a psychiatric hospital, and Stephanie uses flashbacks to show the reader how Leon’s battles with mental illness effect not only him but Stella and his wife Frances. In present-day, Frances and Stella work to locate Leon. He’s been missing for a fortnight.

This novel feels very literary — mature even. The themes of family, love, legacy and relationships are complex, and Stephanie tackles the story with a very topsy-turvy kind of storytelling structure. From reading the blurb, you think this will be a very linear type of book, but it’s rather scattered. And intentionally so.

“When Leon came home, Frances was waiting for him, the dress in a crumpled heap on the table. Where have you been? she asked. He tipped his hat in mockery of the question and replied: Why, I’ve been to London to visit the queen. Then he said, Busking. In the subway.”

Leon and Stella share a complex relationship — she loves him and he loves her, but his mental health threatens his ability to make wise choices and as Stella grows older, she witnesses Leon’s deteriorated mind and she grows very self-aware.

Stephanie Bishop has captured mental illness sympathetically and realistically. She illustrates all the complexities of mental illness, and the ripple effect it has on surrounding loved ones.

The strength of this novel lies within the writing — the poetic sentences and flowing prose and the brilliant use of vocabulary and subsequent sentence structure. Stephanie has a real way with words.

“Once there, she swung a leg over and spread out along the branch, her belly and face pressed to the smooth bark, her legs hanging down on either side, kicking the late summery air that smelled of decaying fruit — the dark and soggy worm-eaten plums lying on the grass below, a haze of fruit flies hovering over the rot.”

I wanted to like this novel more than I did. I wanted to read it and be inspired by Stephanie’s manipulation of time and story-telling, but more often than not, I was left confused and I felt like I’d missed something in the preceding pages. Whilst I admire the grand story within the pages, I couldn’t help but feel disappointed with its execution.

This is an emotional novel about the bond between a father and son, and the plot is in constant motion, flicking back and forth between different periods and time. This novel isn’t my favourite, but readers who love a complex family story will find comfort in Man Out Of Time.

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

Man Out of Time
Stephanie Bishop
September 2018
Hachette Book Publishers

Greenlight by Benjamin Stevenson

Four years ago, in the small town of Birravale, Eliza Daley was murdered. Within hours, her killer was caught. Wasn’t he?

So reads the opening titles of Jack Quick’s new true-crime documentary. A skilled producer, Jack knows that the bigger the conspiracy, the higher the ratings – and he claims Curtis Wade was convicted on flimsy evidence and shoddy police work. Millions of viewers agree.

Just before the final episode, Jack uncovers a minor detail that may prove Curtis guilty after all. Convinced it will ruin his show, Jack disposes of the evidence and delivers the finale unedited, leading to Curtis’s eventual release.

Then a new victim is found bearing horrifying similarities to the original murder. Has Jack just helped a killer walk free?

Determined to set things right, Jack returns to Birravale looking for answers. But with his own secrets lurking just beneath the surface, Jack knows more than anyone what a fine line it is between fact and fiction. Between life and death.

Now there’s only one option left. The truth.

Greenlight by Benjamin Stevenson is a rural crime thriller about the long-solved murder of backpacker Eliza Daley.

It’s an interesting premise — a well-known television producer and presenter helps cast enough doubt on a convicted killer that he is released from prison. But perhaps this man was indeed the killer after all?

Benjamin’s writing is polished. The dialogue realistic, the characters are three dimensional and well-developed, and the mysteries of this rural town are enticing enough to keep the reader turning the page. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story, and churned through the pages of this book.

“The shoe grew heavier in his mind every day. Jack knew what it was like to make a decision that you can’t take back, even if you want to. Some small, inconsequential choice that grows and grows into something monstrous when everyone is watching. Why had he been fine with hiding the shoe?”

Jack Quick is flawed, but he’s also determined and compassionate and desperate to find out the truth. He puts himself in dangerous situations and is able to see things that others probably wouldn’t be able to see.

He starts to piece together what happened to Eliza Daley, and also the second victim who is murdered after Curtis Wade is released from prison.

Greenlight does follow a bit of a stereotypical trope found in rural fiction — someone arrives in a small town and they are neither a policeman or a detective, and yet they’re able to solve a crime that the cops couldn’t? I’ve read quite a few crimes novel lately that feature a protagonist like this.

“Jack scanned the paper. The front page had a close-up picture of Curtis, red letters splashed diagonally across him. Of course, the sub-editor had added the question mark — The Nailbiter Killer? — to protect from defamation.”

The prologue of this book is completely unnecessary. It’s from the point of view of Eliza, shortly before being murdered and it gives away too much. It makes it very clear that she’s being kept underground, which allowed me to guess one of the twists in the novel long before it was revealed.

Despite that, this is one of my favourite crime novels from this year. There are many different mysteries to solve, not just the murder of Eliza Daley, and tension builds slowly until the reader grows very anxious about what’s going to happen.

Greenlight is utterly compelling and engrossing — an absorbing mystery with more surprises than I thought possible.

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

Green Light
Benjamin Stevenson
September 2018
Penguin Random House

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