JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

The Gaps by Leanne Hall

When sixteen-year-old Yin Mitchell is abducted, the news reverberates through the whole Year Ten class at Balmoral Ladies College. As the hours tick by, the girls know the chance of Yin being found alive is becoming smaller and smaller.

Everyone is affected by Yin’s disappearance—even scholarship student Chloe, who usually stays out of Balmoral dramas, is drawn into the maelstrom. And when she begins to form an uneasy alliance with Natalia, the queen of Year Ten, things get even more complicated.

Chilling and haunting, Leanne Hall’s latest YA novel The Gaps follows two high school students after one of their classmates is abducted. At first, the novel feels like a psychological thriller, like the crime is the central focus and we’ll find out what happened by the end of the novel. But, soon after 16-year-old Yin goes missing, the book unfolds into a nuanced tale about fear, vulnerability, and the frightening reality that Yin’s abduction could happen to any of the other girls in this book.

The novel feels very close to reality. Women being abducted, and often murdered, is a common occurrence in the news. Women don’t feel safe walking down the street, or even in their own homes, and Leanne takes that very real fear and embeds it into a really fantastic novel for teenagers. Young women reading The Gaps will relate to the sense of foreboding in the novel, the tension, and how scared the characters are.

“There had been a lot of gossip going around about various teachers, but the police profile seemed to have put an end to it. It said that the offender might travel with his job, and would definitely be away from home or work regularly. That couldn’t be any of our teachers.”

The Gaps navigates two different POVs. First, we meet scholarship student Chloe, who didn’t really know Yin but they shared classes together. Chloe is mature and compassionate, and possesses quite a calm yet fragile personality.

And then we meet fellow student Natalia, queen bee and resident popular girl in the school. She was best friends with Yin before high school, and holds great regret about the way their friendship fizzled. Natalia is traumatised by what’s happened; she’s snappy and spiky, with a short fuse. She’s angry, but she doesn’t quite know where to channel her energy.

Chloe and Natalia’s voices are unique and distinct, capturing very different teenagers. However, what they both have in common is a raw, emotional response to Yin’s disappearance. They can’t shake the feeling that they’ll never feel truly safe.

Leanne’s characters are expertly crafted and immensely relatable. Chloe and Natalia, among the secondary characters, are brave, bold and fierce.

“I want to ask her how that can be fair — what if there’s information that could keep more girls safe, if only they knew it? But I swallow the question, because the last thing I want to be, or look to be, is scared.”

Leanne’s writing is enchanting. She writes first person incredibly well, describing events around the characters with poise and visuality. Each chapter is a snapshot into Chloe and Natalia’s life, capturing moments of tension and wariness, but also great exhaustion. Women are sick of feeling so vulnerable, and scared of events that are outside of their control.

Chloe and Natalia are both insightful and observant, and incredibly likeable. Despite its harrowing subject matter, readers will love this book.

“I wonder if I can turn this burning feeling into anything good, anything meaningful. It seems impossible, I’m not even proper artist. Still, I open my sketchbook, find a blank page and start writing.”

The Gaps is a poignant, raw exploration of teenage friendship, grief, terror, and the fears that women develop from a young age. Highly recommended for readers of all ages.

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

The Gaps
Leanne Hall
March 2021
Text Publishing

My Daughter’s Wedding by Gretel Killeen

Nora Fawn’s daughter, Hope, disappeared four years ago. Nora has never known why. Refusing to answer her mother’s calls, emails or texts, Hope maintained contact only with her big sister, Joy. Having once considered her mothering to be the greatest achievement of her life, Nora’s spent these Hope-less years searching, aching, mother-guilting, working for a famous yet talentless artist and avoiding her own emotionally repressed mother, Daphne.

But … last night Hope rang out of the blue to say, ‘I’m coming home, I’m getting married, the wedding is in three weeks and it’s your job to organise it.’ Desperate to prove her worth as a mother and regain her daughter’s love, Nora commits to the task – assisted by her own increasingly dementia’d mother and her two best friends, Soula (an amateur bikini-line waxer) and Thilma (whom they found in a cab in the 1980s).

Contemporary women’s fiction about three generations of mother-daughter love, Gretel Killeen’s My Daughter’s Wedding is a fast-paced exploration into the complex family dynamics between women, and how broken relationships can always be mended.

I liked the structure of the novel, and the premise. My Daughter’s Wedding is formatted as a diary entry, which feels instantly accessible. You’re placed right in the centre of the action, and you’re involved in the journey the entire way. The concept of the estranged daughter allows Nora to reflect on her past mistakes, and we also witness a lot of similarities between Nora and her own mother.

The book is filled with a large cast of eccentric characters, all with interesting backstories and tiny quirks that make them memorable. This definitely feels similar to Gretel’s other fictional works — all quite out-of-this-world, wacky tales.

“Yes, it was after all that, when I was looking for Hope’s birth certificate in preparation for registering her wedding, that I found you, Dear Diary. And it was then that I decided to quietly start writing in you over the forthcoming wedding week as evidence of how perfectly I’ve behaved should anything untoward come to pass and anyone/everyone try to blame me.”

Unfortunately, this book didn’t live up to its potential. Yes, it’s a unique, funky story. No doubt about it. But I felt that the characterisation and the growth that’s required in a novel — even a comedic one — just wasn’t present in this. I think Gretel was going for a mad cap adventure, but the main character is in her 50s and the readership are adults and I’m just not sure that it works. No spoilers, but the entire storyline/premise about Aspen was too over-the-top to be enjoyable.

“I didn’t know what to say. Mum has always been great at winning arguments with me but appalling at confronting what we’re actually arguing about. I can’t blame her, I’m guilty of this too. I obfuscate and pussyfoot and hedge around the subject, for fear in fact of exactly what happened just now, an argument that leaves Mum feeling victorious and me feeling violated.”

Admittedly, I just didn’t find this book as humorous as the blurb suggested. There were a few chuckles, but mainly, I found the voice to be quite impenetrable. Nora is supposed to be in her 50s but she reads like an adolescent — stream of consciousness, scatty, unfocused, and just a little too silly to be believable as a character.

Additionally, the plot gets more absurd as the book goes on. There are commendable moments of depth, and character development, but the absurdity of the storyline seemingly dilutes these profound, notable aspects in the book. And the pacing is so quick, there isn’t really enough time to get to the know the characters, and so you don’t really find yourself warming to them.

“It’s been said that a mother is only as happy as her unhappiest child. I know this to be true. When a woman becomes a mother she loses all emotional independence. And this can never be changed. The umbilical cord is never cut. The scissors just make it invisible.”

A very light read. Recommended as a beach read, or an airport purchase.

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

My Daughter’s Wedding
Gretel Killeen
February 2021
Hachette Book Publishers

Waking Romeo by Kathryn Barker

What if Juliet Capulet met someone who made her doubt true love? What if Wuthering Heights was a message to a time traveller?

YEAR: 2083. LOCATION: LONDON. MISSION: WAKE ROMEO.

It’s the end of the world. Literally. Time travel is possible, but only forwards. And only a handful of families choose to remain in the ‘now’, living off the scraps that were left behind. Among these are eighteen-year-old Juliet and the love of her life, Romeo. But things are far from rosy for Jules. Romeo is in a coma and she’s estranged from her friends and family, dealing with the very real fallout of their wild romance. Then a handsome time traveller, Ellis, arrives with an important mission that makes Jules question everything she knows about life and love. Can Jules wake Romeo and rewrite her future?

A YA time-travelling saga that pays homage to two literary classics, Kathryn Barker’s latest novel Waking Romeo is an ambitious, sweeping science fiction saga spanning decades.

The beginning of the novel is the same as the well-known Shakespeare story. Jules and Romeo had a passionate love affair and in a moment of misguided communication, both tried to kill themselves. However, Jules survived, and Romeo’s been in a coma for two years.

Waking Romeo is set in a wasteland where most humans have travelled forward into the future. When Jules meets a group of tech-savvy people that have learnt how to travel forwards and backwards, they embark on a mission to wake Romeo.

“I know one thing definitively. Whatever Frogs is really up to, it all started before these past few hours. Lord, it has been taking place since the very beginning, when I was first recruited. My life has been manipulated for years to accomodate Jules and her love story.”

I loved Kathryn’s last book and so was really excited to delve into this one. Waking Romeo is a fresh take on the literary classics that many people have grown to love.It’s certainly a unique read, and very innovative. It’s quite the twisty read, not one for the distracted. Each chapter switches POV between Jules and time traveller Ellis, and focus must be maintained to follow the plot.

Jules’ character development is one of the strengths in the book. She starts out hurt, bitter, and perhaps a little naive to what’s around her. Over time, she becomes smart and resourceful, and sure of herself. She comes to realise her time with Romeo wasn’t what it seemed. She matures into a conscious young woman.

“After the Fall, you couldn’t keep food in a supermarket — that was the first place hungry Travellers checked in, they tell me. So our ancestors stashed books there instead. Chaucer under pet food, Greek myths in the dairy aisle, fairytales in the frozen food section.”

Whilst the book is incredibly well plotted and the scope is impressive, I found the storyline very convoluted and hard to follow. Between the two main characters travelling divergent storylines — with seperate POV chapters — and the constant jumping between future and past, I think I lost my understanding of the plot at around the halfway mark and just kept reading to find out when they’d wake Romeo.

Additionally, there are quite a few sections of the book where Ellis and Jules’ journey seems unclear, and they’re traipsing through a wasteland without clear direction. And whilst Jules and Ellis’ character developments are strong, the book features such a large cast of characters and the other main players felt a little thinly developed. I feel there could’ve been room for more character exploration.

“If there was a pod that could send me back in time, instead of just forwards? It’d take it. It’d rewind the clock. Back, back, back — all the way to the moment that Romeo and I tried to kill ourselves.”

Waking Romeo tackles themes of love, expectation, friendship and family. And expectations placed upon us by others.

Whilst recommended for teenage readers, I’d be hesitant to recommend this book to a reluctant reader. Seasoned young readers only, who you know are going to persevere with the high concept, complex plotting.

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

Waking Romeo
Kathryn Barker
March 2021
Allen & Unwin Book Publishers

Game Changer by Neal Shusterman

Ash is used to taking hits on the field for his high school football team – until he takes one that doesn’t just impact his body, but his whole reality. It starts with one small shift, but with every game, every hit, Ash finds himself pushed through a succession of universes almost-but-not-really like his own, until the small shifts in reality become significant shifts in Ash’s own identity.

As Ash experiences life from other perspectives, he starts to question the world he thought he knew, as well as the ones he finds himself catapulted into. For better or worse, the one thing Ash knows is that he’s got to find a way to put things back. A searing exploration of race, gender, sexuality and the nature of privilege.

Science fiction for young readers, Neal Shusterman’s latest novel Game Changer tackles plenty of social criticism and follows a teenage American footballer who unknowingly becomes the centre of the universe and is forced to live through parallel lives. In each alternate life, he’s faced with a flawed universe.

Initially, Ash is a privileged white boy who doesn’t think too hard about the struggles of those around him. But when a football tackle starts shifting his reality, he soon gains an insight into the world that he hadn’t grasped before.

“You rarely stop to think about how life hinges on the smallest events. Things so small you can’t even really call them events. Looking right instead of left, and missing the person who could have been the love of your life.”

Featuring elements of science fiction and the paranormal, Neal’s writing is always strong. The premise and entire concept of this book is quite fascinating, and Neal does offer a satisfying explanation of Ash’s prediction. Additionally, Ash offers insightful, observant and mature narration, and the first person voice is emotive and evocative. We get a strong sense of who Ash is as a person, even if that personality is a forgettable and narrow-minded (at first).

Each chapter and scene does feel neat and compact, driving the reader to continue with the story. Characters are diverse and marginalisation is explored, and Neal is skilled at capturing realistic, engaging dialogue.

“Either something was very wrong with me, or something was very wrong with the world. Believe it or not, I could deal with something being wrong with me far better than the alternative — and if there was an explanation for this…I would have gleefully jumped on it.”

Unfortunately, Game Changer doesn’t quite live up to its potential. There’s a white saviour complex to it and the book tries a little too hard at its attempt at being earnest. The marginalised characters in the book are there at the expense of Ash’s character development, which just feels a little too icky for the reader. And to be honest, Ash doesn’t really fight for what’s right. He witnesses marginalisation, and is horrified by it, but he just kind of keeps going? Hoping the next parallel universe will be different? I would’ve liked Ash’s character to possess more agency and drive.

Outside of this, the book just isn’t as pacy as Neal’s other works. The changing realities start to feel incredibly repetitive after the first couple, and the pacing slows right down. I got a little bored about three quarters of the way through, and if this book were any longer than it is, I would’ve given up on it.

“We are so limited. As a species. As individuals. Not only can’t we see the future, we can’t even see the present for what it is. We’re too clouded by the things we want and the things we fear. But worse than any other blindness is that we can’t see the consequences of our actions.

Game Changer is a well-intentioned novel that isn’t quite what it promises.

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

Game Changer
Neal Shusterman
February 2021
Walker Books Australia

The Electric Kingdom by David Arnold

A genre-smashing story of survival, hope and love amid a ravaged earth.

A deadly flu has swept the globe, leaving a shell of the world that once was. Among the survivors are eighteen-year-old Nico and her dog, who are on a journey devised by Nico’s father to find a mythical portal; a young artist named Kit, who knows almost nothing of the world outside the old abandoned cinema he was raised in; and the enigmatic Deliverer, who lives Life after Life in an attempt to put the world back together.

David Arnold’s post-apocalyptic YA novel The Electric Kingdom is an ambitious saga, a unique twist on the frequently-tackled scenario that is the near eradication of humanity. After a swarm of flies, as yet unbeatable, descend on Earth and wipe out most of the population, few remain alive. We meet a cast of characters determined to survive in a barren wasteland, a ravaged world full of danger.

Not your stereotypical fantasy novel about the end-of-the-world, although perhaps a little familiar during current times, The Electric Kingdom is written in third person and switches between three characters — eighteen-year-old Nico, twelve-year-old Kit and the mysterious and unnamed Deliverer, whose role in this story doesn’t become clear until the end.

Readers will find themselves enthralled in the journey until the final pages.

“The room was quiet, the brush of a hand in his hair. Kit debated whether to tell her what he really thought: that when he stood at the open window of his art classroom, held a breeze in his face, he had long ago resigned himself to the reality that he would never know where that breeze came from, or where it was going.”

David’s writing style is quite stripped and minimalistic, which is ironic considering this book is over 400 pages. Dialogue is taut and clipped, and it works. Prose is seamless, with short sentences. David only reveals information that is absolutely necessary, and readers will appreciate it.

There’s a strange sort of atmosphere to this book, like there’s something larger at play and you know you won’t understand it until the end. Characters mention deja vu, like they’ve been through these events before. There are moments of fear and tension, but there are also some really tender, sweet moments between characters. Moments where you get an insight into how their lives might’ve been if the flu never happened.

Above all else, The Electric Kingdom is about taking chances, pursuing risks, the endurance humanity and survival — it’s about how determined some people are to outlast any threats to their safety. The Electric Kingdom is not about how the world ended, it’s about the people left behind as they navigate through this new world.

“When the entirety of one’s universe is an old boarded-up farmhouse, there is no greater treasure than a dusty shoebox full of photographs. All smiles and kisses and travels and meticulously positioned foods on butcher blocks. Nico’s favourites were the ones from her parents’ honeymoon in Italy.”

Admittedly, the secondary cast of characters do blend together in the book. When Kit and Nico’s journeys become embroiled with others, and we meet multiple other characters of a similar age, it was hard to tell them apart. Their voices didn’t feel overly unique, and their experiences were quite similar. When some of them died, I didn’t feel much of an emotional response.

And some of the most heightened moments in the book – particularly the father and son with violent intentions – come incredibly late in the novel. I would’ve preferred if David brought forward some of the bigger moments in the novel so they didn’t all hit right at the end.

“Dead towns galore. Kit was amazed at just how many, small and tucked away. These days, he felt more breeze than human, floating in and through all these little towns, on the lookout for dreamers, Knowers of Things in open windows, observing their little worlds, wondering What (if anything) Lay Beyond.”

Recommended for teenage readers and young adults.

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

The Electric Kingdom
David Arnold
February 2021
Text Publishing