[Review + Giveaway] Happy Birthday To Me by Brian Rowe

Title: Happy Birthday To Me {goodreads}

Authors: Brian Rowe

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 25/10/11

Publisher: CreateSpace

Source: For review (thanks to the author!)
Age: 15+ Sexual references, mild swearing?

Pages: 315

My Rating:

Satisfying read

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Cameron Martin has a huge problem: he’s aging a whole year of his life with each passing day!

High school is hard enough; imagine rapidly aging from seventeen to seventy in a matter of weeks, with no logical explanation, and with prom, graduation, and the state championship basketball game on the horizon. That’s what happens to Cameron, a mischievous pretty boy who has never had to face a day looking anything but perfect.

All Cameron wants to do is go back to normal, but no one, not even the best doctors, can diagnose his condition. When he falls for a mysterious young woman, however, he realizes that the only hope for his survival might be with the one person who started his condition in the first place...

My thoughts: 

I was initially intrigued when it was pitched to me, but I'm always just that bit more cautious with indie/self-published novels. The idea that someone could start aging a year of their life with each passing day is a fun concept, and Brian Rowe executed it well enough. An entertaining read all around, not without its moments of pure laugh-out-loud hilarity.

In Happy Birthday To Me, seventeen-year-old Cameron is the popular guy everyone wants to be or be with. He and his friends, exhilerated after a great basketball game, visit their favourite cafe/restaurant, where Cameron has a running joke: wherein everyone pretends it's his birthday and they receive birthday cake. It's just a harmless prank. Until it actually happens -- Cameron begins to age at a rapid rate, and no doctor can diagnose this hideous nightmare.

He's got the state championship basketball game, graduation and the prom! Unsatisfied with the prospect of living out the rest of his days as a research project at some lab, he takes it upon himself to finish high school, no matter what. Even if he becomes an 80 year old man on the outside and can barely walk.

I liked the outline of the book - every chapter denounces a new age that Cameron has stepped into. They really helped keep structure; it was also great to find out that something new had changed with him as he aged. That was without a doubt one of my favourite aspects of this book - imagining, for instance, a 50 year old man, creaking joints and all, playing on the high school basketball team.

Cameron himself, is, well, a pretty boy. Which equates to mean that I did not like him. Ha! He's cocky and selfish and stubborn and ignorant to everything that does not revolve around him. Tell me how that's supposed to be attractive, in any world? As he does age, we see some character progression, which was a bit cliche, but I did end up liking him more by the end of it all. He grows as a person, and sees the truth to his once-perfect life, which comes to light when he starts to age and is no longer the golden boy everyone loved.


Even worse than Cameron himself, is Charisma. His girlfriend. But then, all things considered, they're a match made in heaven then. Since the popular crowd are obviously so shallow, she ends up sneaking off with Cameron's best friend, who just doesn't get it. Everyone at the school annoyed me, and it just magnified everything I don't miss about high school (not that my grade had anyone NEARLY so shallow). The one character who had the potential to at least stay on my good side, was Liesl.

Liesl is harmless enough, and she ends up coming off okay with me. I didn't like her either, granted, but I didn't despise her and that's something. She remains such a mystery for the majority of the book, and maybe that's why I didn't dislike her. What did irk me is what she did, which I won't spoil here. Let's just say she does something really immature, which felt so out of character for her, if I ever knew her at all. Overall I thought she was a sweet character, whose emotions were sincere, true intentions.

The real standout for me is the writing. It's nowhere near polished. But. It's in the humor of it all. I enjoyed myself so much, despite the fact that I couldn't stand most of the characters. I was somehow able to dismiss that, because they did not matter to me. In the end it's about Cameron and his journey of self-discovery, and him finding out that his perfect life wasn't all that perfect.

Happy Birthday To Me happily sits with other good, fun paranormal YA novels on the market - if you're not too picky with characters, or cliche school cliques, you'll find much to like in the humorous antics, as you follow Cameron's fall from grace, day by day. Recommended for 15+ boys and fans of basketball . . . and birthdays.

Buy:

* cheapest Australian e-store price

AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS

Fishpond * | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

INTERNATIONAL READERS

Amazon | The Book Depository

All links from Booko, because I'm too lazy to search each individual store anymore.

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: ---

~Giveaway~

Sorry guys. Aussie only!

1x winner to receive: Paranormal pack

• Happy Birthday To Me by Brian Rowe
• 1 other paranormal YA book on my "giveaway" list (I'll email you the options)
• Assorted paranormal YA swag, including Clockwork Angel notebook
• Signed by Cassandra Clare, Clockwork Angel mini-poster

So what do you have to do to be in the draw?

Just comment and answer the question: 

WHY is Cameron aging a year with every passing day? 

Be as crazy as you want to be

You HAVE to include your email with your comment, or else your entry will not count.

Following is not required.
If you do follow, let me know under what GFC name you follow my blog for an extra entry.

Giveaway ends 31/12. Spread the word, if you want to! I won't mind. ;)

Finally read Tomorrow, When the War Began!

I just finished reading the book last night, and about 20 minutes afterward I re-watched the film adaptation. Just brilliance - a new kind of appreciation and love for the series and movie just spawned because of my having read the book. I was a bit too young (the first book came out the year I was born, so...) to read the books the first time around, back in its hey-day, but it's still so relevant and it doesn't feel dated at all.

This post will serve as a 'review' on the blog. I'm not sure how long it will be, but I'll just ramble on and add whatever I want to it. I'm sure you've heard of it already, so I don't feel the need to provide a review when either you've read it, want to read it, or you watched the movie or whatever.

TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN has got nearly everything - action, adventure, romance, comedy, drama. There's more added comedy in the movie - little things like when Homer shakes it like Beyonce, or when Chris is telling his story of events. Overall I preferred the book, but they both complement each other - fans of the books will love the movie! Not too many changes have been done, though the whole Hermit's Hut side-plot thing was completely removed, as well as the effects those revelations has on Ellie.

Ellie is a phenomenal main character - she's just such a teenager, they all are. She's just your average girl, and that's what readers will appeal to, the fact that she's not entirely special - she has flaws, she can be stubborn and a bit all over the place, especially when her emotions are involved. She's totally kickass though and just values her family and friends so much that it's admirable how far she goes at times.

The enemies are never described, because this is first-person narrated and Ellie doesn't know herself. I can't wait to read the next one and see how things progress. All I know (from the chapter preview at the end of the 1st book) is that the gang go into hiding and then decide to go and (spoilers) bust Corrie and Kevin out of the hospital. It's going to get good!!

I wish there was something this big right now, that is literary and thought-provoking and appealing to the YA age group. I mean, for what I know, this was HUGE. At least in Australia. Now, we've got paranormal creatures and such, but nothing that really speaks to you. Or at least, to me.

I don't know. I'm just procrastinating. I've got an assignment due today at midnight (in 10 hours). I can get it done in 2-3, so I should be good. I actually cleaned my room, my level of dedication for putting off my assignment. And then on Monday I have my second (and last for the year) week of clinical placement. I'm getting sick of the hospital, actually. After that, on Friday, I'll be free to study for my exams. My uni is the only one that has the clinical placement BEFORE exams and results, which is pretty annoying. It would be nice to go to the hospital and not have the impending exams at the back of mind all the time...

[Read my semi-review on Goodreads]

Fan-song ~ Beautifully written

Lyrics I cant stand, this silence my heart is beating like a drum I used to, know how it felt to be, pure and young I close my eyes to erase these bloody hands but nothing can truly take away this pain i feel God, save my soul from destruction, this nightmare we're living a war Hope, is in our hands so forgive all my sins but i can't stop now We may have the freedom, but they've taken our lives away All thats left we fight back, until our last day (pre chorus) (chorus) Hold this gun to my head (get it over) Cause these thoughts i will never forget but when the day breaks i pray that tomorrow will come (Chorus) When this war began our lives had changed, We will rise from hell and live again x2 Forgive all my sins but i cant stop now

So I want to ask all of you:

HAVE YOU READ THE BOOKS? 

Which is your favourite in the series?

HAVE YOU WATCHED THE MOVIE? 

What did you think of it? Favourite scenes/moments?

~~~

When is the second film coming out? 

I implore you to go out, grab a copy of the movie somehow, or the books. See for yourself, support the film. It would be awesome if they could keep making them right up until the end.

 

[Review & Giveaway] Brimstone by Alan Skinner

Title: Brimstone {goodreads}

Authors: Alan Skinner

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 04/10/10

Publisher: Sibling Press

Source: For review (thanks Sibling Press!)
Age: 14+ Mild to moderate violence and gore

Pages: 300
Series: #1 (Earth, Air, Fire and Water)

My Rating:

Summary:

At the age of 14, Jenny Swift is torn from her home deep in the forest to become apprenticed to the master alchemist Richard Antrobus. Jenny's mother was a healer from the East who has taught her well and from whom she inherits her exotic looks. But this difference means that she faces suspicion and distrust as she is drawn into a plot to throw the world into chaos. Not only does Jenny have to fight to stay alive amid the treachery and intrigue that surrounds the court of the Duke, but she finds her friendships and loyalties tested to the full. Forced to seek the key to the greatest secrets of the alchemists, Jenny discovers the power that lies within her - skills which could make her the greatest alchemist of any age.

My thoughts: 

What Skinner has written in 'Brimstone' is a cleverly spun tale that draws upon a reader's imagination in ways that any good fantasy novel should. Full of drama, danger, intrigue, magic, astonishment, and Romance with a capital 'R', 'Brimstone' fires up to a good start - as a series starter and a debut novel.

My synopsis: We begin with Jenny Swift, who is taken away from her home in the most horrid conditions she thought possible - only a handful of days left of her mum's life and she will be spending them playing the role of alchemist's apprentice. To one of the most esteemed and acknowledged alchemists in the world, mind, which would serve as a huge honour for anyone. But Jenny just wants to be with her parents and live in their cosy home in the woodlands. As Jenny and Antrobus, the alchemist, reach the great city of Vale, Jenny is thrown into imminent danger. Murder, betrayal...

Cover: Like any book, 'Brimstone' comes with its good points, and its bad points. Cover-wise, I probably would not have taken a second glance at it, to be completely honest. It's nothing to jump over the moon about, and it has a dated look to it. It gets the job done though.

Writing: 3rd perspective. Yes, it did result in a bit of a detached feeling towards the characters. Overall, it was also quite wordy (at times), and I did need to skip passages I found unnecessary. At best, Skinner remembers to include all the senses when describing something that should be dramatic and elicit strong reactions from the reader.

Characters: I liked and appreciated them the same way I would appreciate a Shakespearean character - a good point by far. I think with more character development, that I'm hoping will be in the next books, these characters can go much further and become memorable ones. I don't have a favourite, though I did enjoy the scenes with Emily and Jenny together; they have such a great friendship.

Ending: Definitive, momentous, heartfelt and dramatic. The twists at the end really threw me off, but any twists usually do.

Recommended for any fan of the fantasy/historical genres.

Note: Thank you Sibling Press for the documents and notes on the book, AND the actual book itself! I actually didn't have a look through the notes until afterward, and if I had known there was a character list in there I would have looked further, since there are so many characters in this book!

Quote:

Check out the first chapter HERE.

Buy:

* cheapest Australian e-store price

AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS

Fishpond | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson * | Borders | The Nile

INTERNATIONAL READERS

Amazon | The Book Depository

All links from Booko, because I'm too lazy to search each individual store anymore.

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: ---

Links: 

Facebook

Giveaway Time!

Australia only, ends 18th of November.

All you have to do is COMMENT below and answer this question: Which is your favourite element - earth, air, fire or water? Include an email address so I can contact you if you win!

[Review] The Cardturner by Louis Sachar

Title: The Cardturner {goodreads}

Authors: Louis Sachar

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 01/08/11 (AU)

Publisher: Bloomsbury
RRP: $15.99

Source: Publisher for review
Age: 12+ Clean

Pages: 330

My Rating:

Summary:

The summer is looking bleak for Alton Richards. His girlfriend has dumped him to go out with his best friend, he has no money and no job. And then his parents insist that he drives Uncle Lester to his bridge tournaments four times a week.

Uncle Lester is old, blind, very sick . . . and very rich. Which is why his parents are desperate for Alton to worm his way into his good books. But they're in competition with other distant relatives.

Not expecting much from the outings, Alton soon finds himself getting to know a lot about his uncle, his family's history, and pretty Toni Castaneda, another contender for Uncle Lester's inheritance.

My thoughts: 

Let's clear the air a bit. I know NOTHING about Bridge, and it was only when I started reading The Cardturner did I realise what the title actually meant, and also what its hidden implications were. Because this book goes far beyond just this piddly card game for withering old men and women.

In dealing with the game of Bridge, the extent of wisdom and knowledge that Uncle Lester bestows upon his beloved ("HAH!") nephew Alton, the playing field extends far out and beyond just the game of Bridge. To learning, to life and death, to love, to knowing and perceiving and synchronicity.

The Australian cover for The Cardturner is a pretty good one. At first glance I just didn't know what to expect. Sure, cards were a given, so it made sense that there was a card displayed. But other than that I was lost. Though I did like the whale on the sign, and funnily enough it does have some relevance to the book itself.

Every chapter has its own title, a few words from that given chapter. For example, "1 My Favourite Uncle" and "2 A Turn for the Worse". It actually made it easier to keep track of what was going on with the story, say if I woke up the next day and forgot what I had read the night before all I had to do was read the last chapter's title and I'd be good to go.

The book is written in first person, from Alton's perspective. I liked his casual way of explaining concepts and replaying events.

The plot unfolds slowly but surely, and the chapters are so short that it was just really easy to give in and read "just one more chapter".

What really shone through though was (aside from the amount of intelligent insight that Sachar relayed to me through Lester/Trapp) the surprisingly complex characters. Especially the Castanedas. I truly did not think they would bear much significance to the book, but their story was so cleverly enmeshed with Alton's story that I kept on wanting to know more!

I really love how Sachar combined his love of Bridge with his love of writing a good story. His knowledge of the game is really something. I got lost in most of the bridge talk but even so the book has built an interest in me to play and learn more about bridge. I really do recommend reading this book, it was actually quite a pageturner!

Quote:

First line

Ever since I was a little kid, I've had it drilled into me that my Uncle Lester was my favourite uncle.

Favourites

"Toni hears voices," said Trapp. "But who is this Dr. Ellsworth to tell her she's a schizophrenic? Maybe she just perceives better than the rest of us. Maybe the voices she hears are uncommunicated ideas, floating free." (p. 124)

"I hope I remember everything," said Toni.
"You won't," said Trapp. "That's how you learn. But after you make the same mistake one, two, or five times, you'll eventually get it. And then you'll make new mistakes." (p. 70)

"The time you quit learning is the time to quit playing," said Lydia. (p.260)

"I always make the biggest fool of myself when I think I'm being the most clever." (p. 187, Alton)

Buy:

* cheapest Australian e-store price

AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS

Fishpond * | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

INTERNATIONAL READERS

Amazon | The Book Depository

All links from Booko, because I'm too lazy to search each individual store anymore.

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: ---

[Review] The Taste of Apple by James Laidler

Title: The Taste of Apple {goodreads}

Author: James Laidler 

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 01/09/10

Publisher: Interactive Publications

Source: Author for review
Age: 14+ Moderate language and dark themes

Pages: 330

My Rating:

Summary:

Pedro Jones is lost. Abandoned by his father and forced into commission housing with his Filipino immigrant mother, the future seems bleak.

But when Pedro meets the 'mad' street busker, Johnny Lazzaro, and gets involved with the East Timor freedom movement, life takes an unexpected detour through the uncharted backblocks of the human heart.

My thoughts: 

To say I'm surprised that I actually liked this is an understatement. My track record with verse novels, I admit, hasn't been very good - I normally have problems connecting with the characters. However, with THE TASTE OF APPLE, this isn't an issue. Possibly because there are just so many dimensions, that I felt I actually knew the characters.

Pedro Jones has a fairly ordinary difficult upbringing, and when his father abandons him and his mother and sister, he's forced into commission housing. Living on the 'poor' side of my city personally I understood all the problems with ethnicity. In a rich and diverse multicultural population, criticism and racism runs rampant regardless that we are a "united" country. And for that I appreciated the realistic outlook of the racial struggle.

What I really loved about this book was the audio tracks that are included. See, this publisher and author thought it really clever to add an extra component to the reading experience. The CD includes 13 tracks, an assortment of thoughtful and meaningful poems. They brought an extra PUNCH to the book that reading alone just cannot deliver. It would also make this book a great one for reluctant readers - verse novel + music. The songs are also really cleverly crafted, with instrumentals normally over a loop replay but it really works with the lyrics/poetry. For an example, watch the trailer.

Pedro himself is a pretty average teenage boy whose interests lie in writing poetry. His future is threatened by a financial and emotional disposition but after he meets Juan 'Johnny' Lazzaro everything changes. The two form a strangely close friendship, and Pedro finds something to really care about.

The poems themselves were amazing. The complexities in its structure and word choice are well thought-out - and it shows! There is a tonne of quote-worthy passages in this book. It's rather a shame that I didn't tab any; I was flying through it before I found it a good idea to do so.

Laidler suggests this would be a good book to study for HSC/VCE English (Module: Belonging), to which I wholeheartedly agree. The book delves into belonging in an obvious way, AND it is simple but complex enough for students to dissect and interpret the book.

Overall, just a really worthwhile, thought-provoking read. The book is actually reminiscent of many contemporary YA books I've read, because of the themes and issues that were explored. It's really just an extraordinary VERSE NOVEL that will stick for weeks upon weeks.

Buy:

Live in Australia?

Fishpond | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

Live elsewhere?

Amazon | The Book Depository *

Links:

Author Site



I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: Aussie YA Challenge

[Review] Unlocked by Ryan G. Van Cleave

Title: Unlocked {goodreads}

Author: Ryan G. Van Cleave

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 01/06/11

Publisher: Bloomsbury (Walker Books)

Source: Review from publisher
Age: 14+

Pages: 160

My Rating:

Summary:

Fourteen-year old Andy is the janitor's son, and an outcast. It's rumored that formerly popular Blake, who has become a loner since his dad's death, has a gun hidden in his locker, and beautiful, unattainable Becky Ann wants to see it. In order to impress her, Andy steals the keys from his dad and opens up Blake's locker, but the gun isn't there. A friendship develops between the two loners, and Blake shares most of his secrets with Andy, including the gun. But there's one secret that worries Andy more than anything-the date circled on Blake's calendar. Does Blake have something planned? Something that Andy can prevent?

My thoughts: 

As most verse novels are, Unlocked read really quickly. While perhaps a lot of potential emotional impact could have been extended had it been written in prose, Cleave made the right choice telling this story in verse, mainly because of the issues it presents.

High school brings much of the crap that junior high did: the cliques, the bullies, the rumours. Especially for losers, like the janitor's son, like Andy. Then, a rumour provides a rare opportunity towards popularity: apparently, fellow outcast Blake has a gun in his locker. A friendship never properly defined is cast between the two of them, and what scares him most is this: what if Blake's got something planned with the gun?

I found Unlocked a great portrayal of the effects that bullying can have on those who are inflicted. The small length of the book is also a very appealing quality, but not only that. The little poems were nicely written. I enjoyed delving into the mind of this fourteen-year-old kid who doesn't know exactly where he fits in this world. The kids at school have even made up songs about his dad!

Cleave attempted to pack an enormous weight into such a small book, and while I didn't feel a strong emotional connection to the characters (a great limitation of the verse format) I did come away from it with a renewed understanding of how far bullying and rumours - NO MATTER HOW HARMLESS THE INTENTION MAY SEEM TO BE - can go. I recommend this book for young [male] teens and up.

Quotes:

First part of first poem

"August arrived
with 90^o
and high school
began at last,
meaning five hundred
were funneled
in from four
different junior highs,
meaning
no one really arrived
having anything
except a sweaty
eagerness
to belong,
meaning we all
felt equally displaced."

Buy:

Live in Australia?

Fishpond* | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

Live elsewhere?

Amazon | The Book Depository

Links:

Official Site


I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: 

[Re-Review] Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Title: Thirteen Reasons Why

Author: Jay Asher

Publication: 2009

Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin)

Source: Won, thanks Jay Asher!
Age: 14+ (some sexual content and language, but the issue explored needs to be heard by younger teens)

Pages: 280

My Rating:

Summary:

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker--his classmate and crush--who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list. Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers.

My thoughts: 

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher spun me around and around--so much so that I felt just as lost and confused and hurt that Clay felt as he was listening to the suicide tapes of a girl he could've loved. Asher does not shy away from exploring the painful but gripping issue that comes attached with growing up and feeling as though reality is slipping away from you. Hannah Baker earned herself a reputation that she by no means deserved. A reputation that she earned through a rumour based on just a kiss. Clay Jenson is a protagonist and narrator both reliable and realistic in his portrayal, and Asher made a great decision to choose such a character to drive this narrative.





Clay Jenson comes home from school to find a mysterious box, full of audiotapes, each marked numerically by nail polish. Once he finds a way to listen to said tapes, he makes a remarkable discovery: these tapes outline the thirteen reasons why Hannah Baker, the girl who killed herself two weeks earlier, came to her life-ending decision, "and if you're listening to these tapes, you're one of the reasons why".

The scenes and 'reasons why' are told with great care, and I think it's only after I've re-read it that I was able to piece things together a lot better than I did the first time around. Many people have criticised Thirteen Reasons Why, as supposedly the reasons listed should not, would not, have been enough for someone to end their life, but while I was reading it, I could feel it. How trapped and devoid she was of anything secure or safe in her life, that she so needed, especially then. People were continuously letting her down, and she continued to believe that maybe someone could've helped her to not give up on herself. The reasons, every action, in itself are for the most part seemingly harmless. But when you look at the full picture, the links add up and it's astounding to think that this does happen in real life. That one small action could start a "snowball effect". If there's anything that I'll be taking away from this book, it's that "everything . . . affects everything" (which is what Asher signed my book with)



Hannah Baker was unlucky, in that she was targeted for unfair ridicule and judgement, just so that kids at school could have a good laugh every now and then. And at its core, that is what many, many high school kids would actually do, without really thinking about how that could affect someone's mental state. Clay Jenson is the average all-around good guy at school. His interactions and stories seemed true to life, and in the back of my copy, Asher does say that some of these events are based on his own experiences, which I always appreciate. The thing I love about these types of books, is that there is such an obvious space for character development, and that is what Clay does. He develops into a wiser, stronger, narrator--even in his strife and fury.


Last time I gave this book a 4.5/5 (and yes, I am embarrassed by my earliest reviews, as all bloggers would be), but this time I cannot give it anything lower than a 5. It's one of those life-altering novels, but it was a real page-turner despite how hard it could be to read at times. It made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me disgusted and angry and hurt and annoyed and feel as though I were right in Hannah's, and Clay's, shoes, feeling her pain and stifled cries for help. 

It's a book I would urge everyone to read. Please, put this book on your bucket list.

Quotes:

First Lines

""Sir?"she repeats. "How soon do you want it to get there?"
I rub two fingers, hard, over my left eyebrow. The throbbing has become intense. "It doesn't matter," I say."


Favourite Quotes

"I guess that's the point of it all. No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people. Oftentimes, we have no clue. Yet we push it just the same."

(pg. 156, Hannah)

"You can't go back to how things were. How you thought they were.

All you really have . . . is now."

(pg. 206, Hannah)

Buy:

Live in Australia?

Fishpond | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

Live elsewhere?

Amazon | The Book Depository

Links:

Official Site
Goodreads Page


I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: --

[Review] Girl Parts by John M. Cusick

Title: Girl Parts

Author: John M. Cusick [debut novel!]

Publication: August 2010 -- out now!

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Review Copy: ARC

Pages: 218

My Rating:

Blurb from Goodreads:  

"Hello, David. My name is Rose. It’s a pleasure to meet you. We are now entering minute two of our friendship. According to my Intimacy Clock, a handshake is now appropriate…"

David and Charlie are opposites. David has a million friends, online and off. Charlie is a soulful outsider, off the grid completely. But neither feels close to anybody. When David’s parents present him with a hot Companion bot to encourage healthy bonds and treat "dissociative disorder," he can’t get enough of luscious red-headed Rose — and he can’t get it soon. Companions come with strict intimacy protocols, and whenever he tries anything, David gets an electric shock. Severed from the boy she was built to love, Rose turns to Charlie, who finds he can open up, knowing Rose isn’t real. With Charlie’s help, the ideal "companion" is about to become her own best friend.
In a stunning and hilarious debut, John Cusick takes rollicking aim at internet culture and our craving for meaningful connection in an uber-connected world.

 My thoughts: Girl Parts is definitely guy YA lit; I enjoyed it, but it was flawed. The writing style was so different to what I'd become accustomed to, so it took a while to get used to it. Which is fine, and probably expected, since this book is for a different audience, and written by a male author.

It took until halfway through the novel to realise what the title Girl Parts was referring to. :P And I guess the sexual passages, while spread apart and slightly (very slightly) graphic, were necessary... since that's kind of a major part/point of this book. I think this is for 15+; I wouldn't be giving this one to a 12 year old, because of what I've briefly discussed.

Keeping in mind that this is a debut novel, there are obviously going to be issues with it, that will be ironed out (hopefully) with each coming release by Cusick. However, since I enjoyed this one, and it is guy lit, I'm rating it 4 stars with all of that in mind. This is completely new territory to me: guy YA lit, sci-fi-esque, with a guy MC and POV . . .


Another short review. School. All in all, I think this is worth a read. It will not win over some people, but I think there is promise-- Cusick drew upon an interesting concept and wrote an entertaining story about it. Plus, it's pretty short. I read it within the span of a day. :) Plus, the cover is gorgeous! I want to see a finished copy of this one-- I'd buy a copy.

Amazon | The Book Depository | Borders

Learn more about Girl Parts and read more reviews at Goodreads!
Girl Parts is John M. Cusick's debut novel.


Book Trailer:

Note: For the handful of people who stumbled across my giveaway post a few hours ago, just letting you know that it wasn't meant to be up until tomorrow. Hope you check back later!