JESS JUST READS

A BOOK REVIEW BLOG

Trans Like Me by CN Lester

What does it mean to be transgender? How do we discuss the subject? In this eye-opening book, CN Lester, academic and activist, takes us on a journey through some of the most pressing issues concerning the trans debate: from pronouns to Caitlyn Jenner; from feminist and LGBTQ activists, to the rise in referrals for gender variant children – all by way of insightful and moving passages about the author’s own experience.

Trans Like Me shows us how to strive for authenticity in a world which often seeks to limit us by way of labels.

Trans Like Me breaks down the stereotypes and misconceptions about trans people. It sheds light on society’s incorrect terminology and treatment of trans, and it also highlights (and condemns) how the media can incorrectly position them.

“The question I am most often asked about being trans – on the internet, in the pub, on the bus, at work – is the one I most dread answering. Sometimes it’s delivered through euphemism, sometimes crudely, and worst of all by a groping uninvited hand. Have you…you know? or so you’re…post or pre-op?”

CN Lester is trans and works as an academic, and this book shows impeccable research. Almost every point CN makes is backed up with an example or a fact or a statistic. CN dedicates a chapter to Caitlyn Jenner and how Bruce Jenner’s transition changed how others view transgender people (both in a positive way and a negative way – CN has some concerns about Caitlyn that they mention in the book).

There are a lot of aspects of modern society that CN Lester delves into. They talks about popular TV shows and movies and how they misrepresent transgender people, mentioning CSI in particular because of how many episodes of the show have featured the transgender character as the victim:

“The inclusion of marginalised trans women as jokes or victims only is not a new trend.”

This book is extremely well-written, presenting a fool proof argument for almost every chapter but also making sure to focus each chapter on different things so the reader doesn’t find themselves bogged down with too much information. CN Lester also talks about labels and the correct terminology for certain identities:

“Crucially, when talking about young people, the term ‘gender non-conforming’ is used, rather than trans. A gender non-conforming child could be a child challenging traditional ideas of gender expression: a little boy who is adamant that he wants to wear dresses and be a princess.”

I found out so much about transgender representation in film and TV, and also how they’re presented in the media. I found out a lot about how they like to be seen or viewed or spoken to, and there was a lot in the book about well-known trans people throughout history who accomplished certain things or who became a pillar for those struggling to come to terms with who they were.

At times this book felt a bit too much like an academic essay, with so many sources sighted and so many examples noted. What I would’ve liked from this book was more of a sense of CN Lester’s own experiences. I got to the end of the book and felt like I didn’t know much about the author. I didn’t know much about their journey, but rather what they observed of others and how those others were perceived.

CN doesn’t mention much about their own experiences (only what is said in the beginning and then dropped in throughout the book) and CN doesn’t mention much about trans friends either. Most of the examples given are of famous trans people or well-known personalities from history. Some of them died long ago. And although this is an interesting read, it felt a little heavy at times. I would’ve liked for CN Lester to have put a bit more memoir into this book to dilute the academic nature of it all.

If you’re a trans person then you’ll love CN Lester’s determination to strive for authenticity in modern society. If you’re not trans, you’ll learn a lot from this book. It’s thick with study and statistics at times and it’s very heavy on the academia, but it’s still very informative.

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

Trans Like Me
CN Lester
June 2017
Hachette Book Publishers

We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan

Authors Brian Conaghan and Sarah Crossan have joined forces to tell the story of Nicu and Jess, two troubled teens whose paths cross in the unlikeliest of places.

Nicu has emigrated from Romania and is struggling to find his place in his new home. Meanwhile, Jess’s home life is overshadowed by violence. When Nicu and Jess meet, what starts out as friendship grows into romance as the two bond over their painful pasts and hopeful futures. But will they be able to save each other, let alone themselves?

We Come Apart is a YA novel written in verse form, telling the story of two teenagers whose lives may be very different but both teenagers are feeling lost and alone.

Jess’ step dad abuses her mother and her brother skips out on them to live with his girlfriend. Nicu is a Romanian immigrant who is new to London and his family are lining up a wife for him. It’s his culture, he explains to Jess. But Nicu doesn’t want to marry a stranger and he doesn’t know what to do about that.

I am fifteen
and man now,
so my working in lorry van
make much sense.

Real reason we come to
England
is because I am
older,
and cannot be without
working
wealth,
or
wife.
-NICU

When the two of them meet doing community service, they become friends. They seem to bond over their broken homes and their troubled consciences, and Jess starts to separate from her friends at school. She’s popular, but they all treat Nicu terribly and she doesn’t want to stand around and watch. The boys make threats to Nicu, and they scare him in the change rooms.

I’ve been stealing stuff for ages,
Can’t remember the first time any more,
but it was way before
I started secondary school.

Small stuff back then —
other kids’ rulers,
fags from Mum’s bag.
-JESS

The style of writing in the book makes this a really quick read. You can flick through the book in one sitting. Because this is poetry and not prose, there is a lot more left unsaid than said, but I’m sure that this was the intention. The placement of each word is almost as important as the words themselves, conveying meaning in their positioning and drawing focus to emphasis.

Nicu’s story seems timely, no matter where in the world you live. In most schools, there are always going to be children who have arrived from another part of the world. Perhaps their English isn’t that great, or their religious or cultural practices are a little different from the other kids. We Come Apart highlights the bullying and racism that can go on in high school when an international student arrives.

At school I am
The boy worse than death.
Me,
the boy people won’t waste breath on.
-NICU

Both the characters are wonderful. Jess is snappy, bossy and withdrawn, and Nicu is approachable, friendly, and overly trusting. They seem like unlikely friends, but the hardships in their lives allows them to bond and forge a friendship and then a relationship.

Their relationship is not the main focus of the story, but pivots around many other elements of the book.

Shadows moving behind the front door.
A leg.
A head.
and I hear it too.
A thud.
A Scream.
And when I go in
Mum’s lying in the hallway,
blood seeping into the rug,
Terry standing over her,
his phone on the hall table.
-JESS

Don’t let the verse format of the book scare you off reading it. I’d recommend this to young adult readers, but also to people who are readers of poetry.

We Come Apart
Sarah Crossan and Brian Conaghan
February 2017
Bloomsbury Publishers Australia

Six Tudor Queens: Anne Boleyn by Alison Weir

ANNE BOLEYN: A KING’S OBSESSION is the second captivating novel in the Six Tudor Queens series. An unforgettable portrait of the ambitious woman whose fate we know all too well, but whose true motivations may surprise you.

The young woman who changed the course of history. Fresh from the palaces of Burgundy and France, Anne draws attention at the English court, embracing the play of courtly love. But when the King commands, nothing is ever a game.

Anne has a spirit worthy of a crown – and the crown is what she seeks. At any price. History tells us why she died. This novel shows her as she lived.

This book was such a refreshing read. It almost feels like fiction, with well-constructed characters and quick pacing and plenty of surprises and unexpected events.

For those of you who are familiar with Anne Boleyn’s story, you’ll know the major moments in her life and will therefore be aware of what’s coming. But what you don’t know is that Alison has added in so many extra details. This book doesn’t just feel like some historical document about someone’s life, it feels like we actually have the opportunity to know Anne Boleyn. To find out things about her that are hard to find in other books.

I don’t know about other readers, but every time I’ve read something on Anne Boleyn it really just talked about the events that took place — her relationship with Henry, her marriage, her daughter, her relationship with her sister, and her unfortunate death. But what I always feel like I’m missing is any sense of who she is. But in this book, the reader comes to understand Anne’s doubts and her fears, her reservations and her triumphs.

You have to go into this book knowing that Alison has had to join some dots along the way (particularly with the dialogue). As she says in her author’s notes, Anne Boleyn is “unknowable”. Yes, Alison had access to letters, documents and testimonials from the time, but how do you use that to capture someone’s personality? Well, on some level, you have to come up with that yourself based on Anne’s circumstances.

Alison has managed to bring Anne Boleyn to life in a plausible and enjoyable way. I loved reading about her life and although there are some things about Anne that might not have been true (she is really quite flawed in Alison’s book) the factual timeline of Anne’s life is true. And her death, of course, is true. But that’s something most people know already. What we don’t know is about her life and her time as King Henry’s wife.

We meet Anne when she’s a young teenager and Alison documents her life until her execution at age 36. She’s determined, courageous but at times also naive and ignorant. She challenges the King when she probably shouldn’t, and she no doubt lets her fears get the best of her. She’s so worried about producing a male heir that she acts horribly towards Katherine of Aragon and her daughter Mary.

At times, I grew frustrated with Anne and my sympathy for her lacked. Whilst it is admirable that she was bold enough to speak up for herself and use her intelligence and confidence to try and manipulate the court, sometimes she was not clever about it. She was brazen and quick, when perhaps she should’ve deliberated for a while before enacting any plans. The politics of the court were dense and at times hard to follow, but Alison shows the reader how involved Anne was and how often she swayed Henry’s thoughts and actions. At times, Anne really was quite cunning.

There were a few aspects of the novel where I felt that Alison was clutching at straws. For example, she writes George Boleyn (Anne’s brother) as a rapist even though there is no real historical evidence to suggest that he was. She also writes that for the six years when Henry was trying to divorce Katherine to marry Anne, he not only didn’t sleep with Anne, he didn’t sleep with anyone. I find this hard to believe, given all the historical evidence that Henry was a womaniser who would not have been able to remain celibate for six whole years.

What is accurate in the book as it happened in real life was the gossip and unfavourable attitude from the population. There is no doubt that Anne Boleyn was not a popular Queen. In fact, all of the slanders and libels in the book came from contemporary authentic records — the people hated Anne and many believed that Katherine was still the True Queen.

“Within the city walls, the crowds had turned out in their thousands, but as before they were largely silent and their welcome was cold…Remembering what happened at Durham House, Anne prayed fervently that the citizens would confine their hatred to verbal abuse. She felt horribly exposed in her open litter, a sitting target for anyone who might make an attempt on her life.”

As someone who loves historical fiction and has always been fascinated by Henry VIII and his wives, I really loved reading this book and am looking forward to the rest of the series (Alison Weir is writing a book on each of King Henry’s wives).

This is a three dimensional portrait of a woman that none of us will every really know. At times, the book felt a little long and particularly in the middle I think things could’ve been sped up for the sake of the reader’s attention, but otherwise it’s a fascinating read.

I’m going to leave you with something that Alison wrote in her Author’s Note at the end of the book. This is something I NEVER KNEW and am both astounded and horrified to learn:

“There is discussion about the survival of consciousness after decapitation. In 1983, a medical study found that no matter how efficient the method of execution, at least two to three seconds of intense pain cannot be avoided…Anne Boleyn did possibly experience a few dreadful moments in which she was aware of what was happening.”

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

Six Tudor Queens: Anne Boleyn – A King’s Obsession
Alison Weir
May 2017
Hachette Book Publishers

I’ll Eat When I’m Dead by Barbara Bourland

When stylish Hillary Whitney dies alone in a locked, windowless conference room at the offices of high-concept magazine RAGE Fashion Book, her death is initially ruled an unfortunate side effect of the unrelenting pressure to be thin.

But two months later, a cryptic note in her handwriting ends up in the office of the NYPD and the case is reopened, leading Det. Mark Hutton straight into the glamorous life of hardworking RAGE editor Catherine Ono, who insists on joining the investigation.

Surrounded by a supporting cast of party girls, Type A narcissists and half-dead socialites, Cat and her colleague Bess Bonner are determined to solve the case and achieve sartorial perfection. But their amateur detective work has disastrous results, and the two ingenues are caught in a web of drugs, sex, lies and moisturiser that changes their lives forever.

I’ll Eat When I’m Dead is The Devil Wears Prada meets Sex and the City meets an episode of Criminal Minds. With a murderous twist and mysterious clues abundant throughout the book, it’s hard not to get sucked into this story and these characters.

The book is really interesting for anyone who doesn’t work in the fashion industry (like me!). I’m sure there are lots of things about this book that are factually inaccurate but at the same time, we read it feeling like we’re gaining an insight into the glamorous world of elite fashion magazines. I imagine Calista Flockhart in the role of Catherine Ono — strong, determined, intelligent, but also gorgeous.

At 11:00am the editors of RAGE Fashion Book filed in and took their places around Margot’s office, each unfolding one of the custom camp stools that were stacked next to the door.
“We are losing our edge.”

I really love love loved this book — the murder mystery was intriguing enough to pull me in, but I stayed for the world that Barbara built. The glamour and the clothes and the characters were amazing and I absolutely devoured this book. Additionally, some parts of the novel are a rampant satire of the fashion industry. Detective Mark Hutton, an outsider, makes generalised comments about the RAGE work environment because of what he thinks it would be like, and he assumes Hillary Whitney died from anorexia when really there are clues to suggest that anorexia was not the cause of death.

“Every weekday morning, as the sun rose above Sixth Avenue, a peerless crop of women —frames poised, behaviour polished, networks connected, and bodies generally buffed to a high sheen — were herded by the cattle prod of their now ambition to on particular building.”

On some level, I think you have to have a particularly keen interest in fashion in order to enjoy this book as much as I did. I don’t work in the fashion industry, nor would I want to. I am also not a model. But there’s something about luxurious fashion magazines that I just love — the editorial layout, the women, the clothes and the feel of the whole thing. I become completely absorbed in that whole world. So for me, I loved reading I’ll Eat When I’m Dead because of my keen interest in where the book is set and all the glamorous women that drive the plot.

Cat is incredibly flawed but also incredibly beautiful (inside and out). She’s bold and brave but also intelligent and driven and passionate and as a reader I admired her.

“Cat’s makeup was indeed literally flawless, her face a perfect mask shellacked to require no photoshop. It was flawless every day now; Cooper sent hair and makeup artists any time she would be expected int eh office or at an event.”

Amongst other things, this book also highlights the reach of social media and how it is affecting print publications. RAGE isn’t doing as well because of their competitors, who happen to be run on an online platform by much younger people.

The murder of Hillary Whitney is the focal point of the novel, and we see this through the POV of Detective Mark Hutton. He’s cute and single, and instantly takes a liking to Catherine Ono. At the beginning, it’s clear that he’s out of his depth. He doesn’t understand the fashion world and he doesn’t understand the cryptic clues that seem to suggest that Hillary Whitney was murdered and didn’t die of her own accord.

“After helping Cat into her building, Hutton caught the train back to Manhattan…Her big brown eyes, both kind and sharp. He’d never met someone so…studied, who was also smart.”

Slowly, he learns to trust Catherine and let her help him solve the case because after all, she’s the one who is already inside that environment. She knows the comings and goings of RAGE and would be able to discover something ‘unusual’ far sooner than Mark could.

I’ll Eat When I’m Dead is about a murder, but it’s also about the fashion industry. It’s entertaining, fun, smart and sexy. I highly highly recommend it.

As Kirkus Reviews put it, death by beauty was never so much fun.

Thank you to the publisher for sending me this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll Eat When I’m Dead
Barbara Bourland
May 2017
Hachette Book Publishers

Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

She’s a soldier.

Noemi Vidal is seventeen years old and sworn to protect her planet, Genesis. She’s willing to risk anything—including her own life. To their enemies on Earth, she’s a rebel.

He’s a machine.

Abandoned in space for years, utterly alone, Abel has advanced programming that’s begun to evolve. He wants only to protect his creator, and to be free. To the people of Genesis, he’s an abomination.

Noemi and Abel are enemies in an interstellar war, forced by chance to work together as they embark on a daring journey through the stars. Their efforts would end the fighting for good, but they’re not without sacrifice. The stakes are even higher than either of them first realized, and the more time they spend together, the more they’re forced to question everything they’d been taught was true.

Defy the Stars is the first novel in a new fantasy/science fiction duology by Claudia Gray. It’s an action-packed, galaxy-hopping story about a teenage girl Noemi and a robot/machine boy Abel travelling from planet to planet so that Noemi can save her home planet of Genesis.

“In three weeks, Noemi Vidal will die — here, in this very place…Every single one of them volunteered, but none of them is truly ready to die…And the Masada Run will be their greatest sacrifice. It’s a suicide mission — though no one uses the word suicide. Seventy-five ships will strike at once, all running at the same target. Seventy-five ships will blow themselves up. Noemi will be flying one of them.”

At first, the world and setting is a little hard to wrap your head around. Noemi is a fighter pilot on planet Genesis and has been trained to killed even the most skilled of mechs (robots). During Noemi’s practice for the Masada Run, she discovers an Earth spaceship that was abandoned during the last war. Aboard that abandoned ship is Abel, an advanced mech who has been trapped for 30 years alone.

She raises one dark eyebrow, trying to joke despite her obvious tension. “Shouldn’t you watch your feet instead of mine?”
“The grid’s pattern is static and stored in my memory. I could walk through the store blindfolded.”
“Of course you can.”

The book alternates point of view between Abel and Noemi, and Abel is my favourite character of the book. He’s witty, hilarious, quick, and provides great comic relief from the plot. He is programmed to recognise Noemi as his superior, so he’s forced to help her travel through the universe in an effort to save her planet from destruction.

He does so, then rises from his station. “Before we receive final landing clearance, I should change clothes.”
“Why? You look, um, nice.”
“I dressed to suit what I assumed would be our cover story, that of wealthy travellers arriving at a Kismet resort. Our new cover is that we are baldly in need of work. Therefore, we should look impoverished, or at least unfashionable.” Abel pauses at the door to study Noemi again. “What you’re wearing is fine.”

There are some religious underpinnings in the book that at times seem unnecessary and confusing, but they don’t do too much to detract from the overall plot.

The highlights of the book are the pacing and the characters. Defy the Stars moves really quickly, with the characters moving between planets and working quickly to save Genesis. Granted, there were a few times in the book where I’d lost track of why they were where they were. It felt like a James Bond movie – how did he know where to go and what was he doing there again? But I think this is the kind of story where you just kind of have to roll with it.

Whilst Abel outshines Noemi for most of the novel (she’s a bit bland at times), they compliment each other really well. They’re likeable, relatable and they’re incredibly independent characters that readers will really enjoy reading about.

“It’s a good story, one that holds up to repetition. This is fortunate for Abel, who has now been trapped in the Daedalus for almost thirty years…Burton Mansfield is a genius, the creator of all twenty-six models of mech that currently serve humankind.”

If you get confused at all whilst reading the book, go back and reread chapter one. You may not know it at the time, but Claudia Gray explains pretty much everything you need to know in those nine pages. I found it super helpful to re-educate myself about the Masada Run and the relations between Earth and Genesis and the role that Noemi plays in the history of the galaxy.

“If my suggestion earlier gave offence, I apologise.”
She shrugs. “You’re programmed to say that, aren’t you?”
“Yes.”
Figures.

Claudia Gray brings the story together really well, using action to propel the story forward and bring it to a satisfying yet intriguing end. She sets up the sequel really well, and I’m looking forward to finding out what happens next. I recommend this to younger readers who are looking for something fun and exciting.

Defy the Stars (Constellation #1)
Claudia Gray
May 2017
Allen & Unwin Publishers