JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

The Taste of Blue Light by Lydia Ruffles

These are the things Lux knows:
She is an Artist.
She is lucky.
She is broken.

These are the things she doesn’t know:
What happened over the summer.
Why she ended up in hospital.
Why her memories are etched in red.

Desperate to uncover the truth, Lux’s time is running out. If she cannot piece together the events of the summer and regain control of her fractured mind, she will be taken away from everything and everyone she holds dear.

If her dreams don’t swallow her first.

The Taste of Blue Light by Lydia Ruffles is a young adult novel about a young woman’s search for the truth. Lux has to search deep into her mind to remember what happened last Summer, and find out why her mind is so fractured.

This book is incandescent and at times, heartbreaking. The reader is kept in the dark — just like Lux — so with every new development and memory, we’re desperately trying to piece it all together to find out what happened to her over the summertime.

“Since I blacked out, the slightest thing seems to aggravate my brain and fill it with fire.”

Lux is not in control, and her friends struggle to help her. This book is as much about trauma and memory loss, as it is about self-discovery.

Following a traumatic event in the summer that Lux can’t remember, she suffers from terrible migraines and short bursts of rage throughout the day. Sometimes she’s verbally aggressive, and sometimes she’s physically aggressive. And she has no way of stopping it or controlling it.

She also doesn’t sleep too well, and when she does, she has nightmares and wakes up screaming. The Taste of Blue Light examines the relationship between Lux and those around her — her family and friends and also a new boy that enters her life. This book explores what it’s like for someone who is suffering mentally, and how that can have a ripple affect on the people around them.

“My stomach is chewing on itself when I wake up, as if I’ve had a fight with someone but can’t remember who.”

I found the novel to be a little slow, my concentration waning. For a long time, I wondered where this book was going, and despite the fact that Lux is intended to be an unreliable narrator with cloudy memories, I found myself lost in the plot a fair bit. Additionally, I found it unrealistic that Lux wouldn’t have found out what happened to her (no spoilers) considering the rest of the country would’ve known. I find it hard to believe that she wouldn’t have accidentally found out.

In saying that, the opening couple of chapters are really strong and draw the reader in. We come to understand Lux’s ‘voice’ and her characterisation, and the characters and their interactions with each other are definitely the strongest part of this book.

I recommend this book to fans of young adult literature, and perhaps mystery novels. This is not a thriller but it does feel a bit like a guessing game because the reader is trying to piece together all the information to find out what happened to Lux.

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

The Taste of Blue Light
Lydia Ruffles
September 2017
Hachette Book Publishers

Renegades by Marissa Meyer

Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies—humans with extraordinary abilities—who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone…except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice—and in Nova. But Nova’s allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.

Renegades by Marissa Meyer is a young adult fantasy novel with a large cast of characters and a long array of special abilities.

Nova’s parents and infant sister are murdered when she is six years old. She is unharmed, but she blames the Renegades — superheroes who protect their city — because they were supposed to protect her family and they failed to save them in time.

Fast forward ten years later, and Nova is planning to infiltrate the Renegades and enact revenge on them for failing her family all those years ago.

“One cannot be brave who has no fear.”

Nova’s power is that she can induce sleep merely by touching someone. She’s also an insomniac, and is incredible at combat and defence. She’s confident, fit and self-assured, and she’s a fantastic protagonist who really drives the story forward and keeps the reader engaged.

“The Renegades cared about finding the best prodigies to make their organisation stronger, smarter, better. If she got in, all she would have to do was persuade them that she was worth keeping, and no one would care about her past or her connections. They wouldn’t think to dig any deeper until it was too late.”

The world building is really detailed and believable, and the combat scenes are described well enough to be easily followed, but not too much so that the reader feels like they’re reading a movie script. This book would definitely translate really well on the big screen, but it’s also a really fun book and Marissa Meyer has done a really great job of alternating the intimate third person point of view between Nova and Adrian (a Renegade).

Nova and Adrian are both hiding something from their teammates, and after a while the reader wonders how those kids are so foolish that they haven’t picked up on it yet. It’s so obvious that Nova isn’t on their side, and it’s so incredibly apparent that Adrian is actually Sentinel (his alter ego). At times, I actually cringed with how awkward their cover ups were.

“Nova turned her wrist from side to side, feeling the start of a grin. New tech, a new gadget. Finally, they were speaking her language. But then, a thought occurred to her that smothered that first twinge of excitement. Technology like that had to include a tracking device. Which meant, so long as she wore it, the Renegades would know just where to find her.”

When I think about this book, I realise that not a lot actually happened in it. There was only one ‘mission’ and it was for the characters to surveillance a library. Sure, things go wrong, but at the end of the day, this book is certainly more character driven and more ‘world building’ than it is actual plot. And considering that the book is almost 600 pages, I am really surprised by that.

Additionally, it was super difficult to keep up with all the different characters mentioned and their abilities. It took me a good 50 pages to grasp the world and who was good and who was bad, and how their stories correlated.

In saying that, I loved this book. I kept reading because I wanted to find out what happened, and despite the fact that there wasn’t much plot, I still really enjoyed the novel. My hypothesis is that book 2 is going to be much more action-packed than Renegades is, and and that’s okay. I’m happy to stick around if it means I’m set up for book 2.

I recommend this to comic book fans and people who love superhero movies. This has a very ‘superhero movie’ feel to it, with unique abilities and fun characters and a really great world.

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

Renegades
Marissa Meyer
November 2017
Pan Macmillan Publishers

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.

The Christmas Secret by Karen Swan

They say that behind every great man, there’s a great woman, and behind London’s most powerful leaders, there stands only one—Alex Hyde, business coach par excellence. She’s the woman they turn to for advice and strategy when the pressure gets too much. So when Alex gets a call offering an unbelievable sum to discreetly manage a family member on the board of an esteemed Scottish whisky company, it’s business as usual. She can do this in her sleep. Only, she’s never met anyone like Lochlan Farqhuar before.

CEO of Kentallen Distilleries, he’s also the son and heir of the company’s founder, and a man for whom there is no “no.” He’s a maverick, and Alex needs to get inside his head before he brings the company to its knees. But as she tasks herself with finding a way in, she finds that for once, she’s not the one in control. And when she stumbles across a chance discovery that changes everything, she’s suddenly not so sure she should be.

The Christmas Secret by Karen Swan is contemporary fiction set on the beautiful island of Islay. There’s plenty of tension, romance, and whiskey for the reader to enjoy, and lots of great characters to discover.

The budding romance between Alex and Lochlan is definitely the best part of this book. Karen does a really great job of describing their actions and using relatable dialogue to really illustrate their growing feelings for each other. I could feel the chemistry on the page, and I kept reading the book just so that I could find out what was going to happen between them.

He held out a hand to help steady her as she walked deeper into the water, her fear ratcheting up another level. His grip tightened around her fingers as she gave a small gasp, her foot slipping on a loose rock. His hands were warm compared to hers and significantly bigger.
‘It’s okay,’ he murmured. ‘I’ve got you.

For all the whiskey lovers out there, you’ll love this book. It’s got a lot of detailed information about the alcohol and the production of it, and you certainly feel immersed in the distillery throughout the entire novel.

In saying that, unless the reader has some sort of interest or knowledge about whisky, there are definitely going to be parts of the book that they will skim read or glaze over. I quite like whiskey, and yet, all the description about the business and the different whiskeys and all the complicated dealings with the production just went way over my head. I actually found myself really disinterested in the actual plot of the book, and just kept reading to find out what was going to happen between Alex and Lochlan.

‘A hidden malt, huh?’ Alex asked, going over to Skye and walking alongside her. ‘It even sounds exciting. I imagine this is a blender’s dream come true, isn’t it?’
‘God yes, as Dad said, it’s the holy grail for any distillery. I’ve heard of hidden malts before, of course, but usually they’ve been deliberately hidden when a master blender hasn’t wanted them to be used in a blend, when he considered a malt to be too good for that.’

The book is really dialogue-heavy, but I think that’s a great way to emphasise characterisation. Karen has done a great job of crafting all of the scenes and even in certain chapters of the book where there are multiple characters present and speaking, I was never confused about what was happening.

I think Karen wove the past and present together really well – there are sections of the book that take place over one hundred years ago, and Karen brings the two storylines together really nicely towards the end.

I do have to admit that this book didn’t feel very Christmassy. Yes it may be set at Christmas time, and it may be snowing, but with a book that has ‘Christmas’ in the title, and a cover as gorgeous as this one, I was certainly expecting a very different atmosphere when reading it. You could’ve set this novel in a completely different season and I think it still would’ve worked.

I recommend this to fiction lovers, but also people who love whisky or the production of alcohol. You’ll find the context of the story and also the setting really gripping, as well as interesting. It’s an easy, fun read and certainly something light to read over the Christmas break.

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

The Christmas Secret
Karen Swan
November 2017
Pan Macmillan Publishers

Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years by Nelson Mandela and Mandla Langa

The long-awaited second volume of Nelson Mandela’s memoirs, left unfinished at his death and never before available, are here completed and expanded with notes and speeches written by Mandela during his historic presidency, making for a moving sequel to his worldwide bestseller Long Walk to Freedom.

In 1994, Nelson Mandela became the first president of a democratic South Africa. From the outset, he was committed to serving only a single five-year term. During his presidency, he and his government ensured that all of South Africa’s citizens became equal before the law, and he laid the foundation for turning a country riven by centuries of colonialism and apartheid into a fully functioning democracy.

Dare Not Linger is the story of Mandela’s presidential years, drawing heavily on the memoir he began to write as he prepared to leave office, but was unable to finish. Now the acclaimed South African writer Mandla Langa has completed the task, using Mandela’s unfinished draft, detailed notes that Mandela made as events were unfolding, and a wealth of unseen archival material. With a prologue by Mandela’s widow, Graca Machel, the result is a vivid and often inspirational account of Mandela’s presidency and the creation of a new democracy. It tells the story of a country in transition and the challenges Mandela faced as he strove to make his vision for a liberated South Africa a reality.

Dare Not Linger began as Nelson Mandela’s unfinished handwritten memoir and was completed by South African novelist Mandla Langa. Because of Mandela’s age and ill health, he was unable to finish his manuscript and he died in 2013. But now in 2017, the sequel to Long Walk to Freedom has finally been finished and published.

This memoir details Mandela’s five years as South Africa’s president after the collapse of apartheid — it begins just as he is leaving prison after spending 27 years incarcerated for fighting white minority rule. In 1994, he became South Africa’s first democratically elected President. He pledged that he would only serve for five years.

“Mandela’s personal warmth towards people from all walks of life, from gardeners, cleaners, clerks and typists to those in the most senior roles, did not go unnoticed. Those who came across him in the course of their work describe him as generous, self-effacing and easy-going: a man who knew how to be an ordinary person.”

Mandela wrote 10 chapters of his memoir, and Mandla was brought in to write the remaining chapters. Mandla used a lot of research, interviews and notes to complete the book, managing to bring the rest of Mandela’s story to the page.

Dare Not Linger allows for Mandela’s thoughts on certain political matters – which weren’t previously known – to come to the forefront. He had a strained relationship with former president FW de Klerk, and reading the book allows us to see just how frustrated Mandela was. We also learn about Mandela’s marriage breakdown with Winnie Mandela, and the strain that this put on Mandela’s role as the President.

I did feel like this book was rather dense, and at times I found it a struggle to read. The reader does have to have some sort of understanding about South African politics in order to understand the references in the book, and sometimes I felt like parts of the book were just going over my head.

“Mandela’s tendency to canvass for views outside conventional circles was perhaps controversial. He didn’t hesitate to call to a meeting anyone he deemed suitable to throw light onto a subject…this gravitational pull towards people was mutual; people from all corners of society wished to interact with him and vice versa.”

Mandela was a fantastic communicator, and at times, friend. He was grateful for what he had — he insisted on making his own hotel bed, and he always cleaned his own shoes on a plane. Whilst his personality doesn’t really come through in his memoirs, it is external observations of him that allow us to get a sense of who Mandela really was. He was comfortable with forgiveness, and generous in his teachings.

“I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb. I have taken a moment here to rest, to steal a view of the glorious vista that surrounds me, to look back on the distance I have come. But I can rest only for a moment, for with freedom comes responsibilities, and I dare not linger, for my long walk is not ended.”

This book is dense and requires a fair bit of effort to read. I only recommend this to readers who are genuinely interested in his presidential years (because that’s really all this book covers – it rarely talks about anything else but politics). Overall, it’s really inspiring to read this because Nelson Mandela was a truly unique leader.

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

Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years
Nelson Mandela and Mandla Langa
November 2017
Pan Macmillan Publishers