Tuesday 27 August 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Most Memorable Secondary Characters

Top Ten Tuesday is a bookish meme run by The Broke and The Bookish. Each week they give us a title for a list and we give them some answers!


Check out this week's Top Ten after the jump!

Wednesday 21 August 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff

'Waiting on Wednesday' is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we pick the book we just can't wait to get our hands on next.


Check our this week's pick after the jump!

Tuesday 20 August 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Things That Make Your Life As A Reader/Book Blogger Easier

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they suggest a title for a list and we attempt to answer it! 



Check out our list after the jump!

Monday 19 August 2013

Seven Deadlies: A Cautionary Tale by Gigi Levangie Grazer (review)



Rating: 2, deeply flawed. 
Source: eARC from Netgalley (thank you Blue Rider Press!)
Publication Date: October 17th 2013 

Synopsis from Goodreads: New York Times bestselling author Gigi Levangie Grazer returns with Seven Deadlies, a witty and wildly different novel set amid the sinful reaches of Beverly Hills, narrated by a captivating, gimlet-eyed Mexican-American heroine.

NB: Spoilers ahoy!

When I was in Primary School, we used to do a lot of story writing. I hated it, I’ve always been a reader not a writer, but I do remember the 2 golden rules that were made clear every time we sat down with our exercise books and a shiny new pencil. They were: 
   1. Never start a story with Once Upon A Time
   2. Never finish a story with “And he/she woke up and it had all been a dream”
Number 2 is where the problem lies with Seven Deadlies. I didn’t understand why I couldn’t use it when I was 11. To me, it just seemed like my teachers were trying to make my job harder. Endings are hard, why couldn’t I just throw that sentence in and be done? Now I see that the easiness of “The Dream Ending”, as it shall henceforth be known, is exactly why you shouldn’t use it. It’s lazy. Also, it’s demeaning. It undermines the characters, setting and plot that you’ve just spent however-many pages building up. It takes all the satisfaction out of the story. Not to mention, it also takes away the point of stories, that is to learn about ourselves, about humanity, about our actions having consequences. If it was all a dream then we have learnt nothing, heard nothing, seen nothing. 

NB: In this case, the final reveal isn't actually that it has all been a dream, but it's close enough to make no difference. 

If I sound angry, it’s because I kind of am. Seven Deadlies has a lot of promise. An interesting structure, based around the 7 Deadly Sins. An intriguing narrator, Perry, the poor daughter of a Mayan woman who has just started at a very posh private school. As an extremely clever girl who needs a bit of extra cash, she ends up tutoring some of the less able students at the Mark Frost Academy. It also has a tongue-in-cheek style that made me smile. Unfortunately, all that promise is squandered by “The Dream Ending”. 

I mean, it’s not like there weren’t other problems with the novel. Perry has a unique voice that starts out well - I especially appreciated hearing about the sniping about her background from her richer-than-you-can-imagine classmates - but it often slips into stereotypes, from the geek to the latino chica who snaps her fingers and says “grrrrrl” whilst dancing salsa. The whole setting is very fantastical, and if you aren’t prepared to forget reality and go along for the ride then you'll quickly get left by the wayside. I could have forgiven both of those problems though, if it weren’t for that ending!  


I really wish I could recommend Seven Deadlies wholeheartedly, as it is, I’m going to have to recommend that you give it a try, but only if you stop before the last 10 pages! You have been warned. 

How do you feel about "the Dream Ending"? Have you got an example of it being used well? Let me know in the comments!

- Caroline

Wednesday 14 August 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill

'Waiting on Wednesday' is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we pick the book we just can't wait to get our hands on next.



Check out our pick after the jump!

Tuesday 13 August 2013

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Favourite Books Set In Australia

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week they suggest a title for a list and we attempt to answer it! 



This week we got to choose 10 books we loved that used a particular setting. We chose....

Top Ten Favourite Books Set In Australia

Check out our picks after the jump!

Monday 12 August 2013

Double Crossed by Ally Carter (30 Second Review)

Rating: 3.5 (Fun and light - a perfect beach read)
Source: Courtesy of Disney Book Group (thank you!)

The Heist Society series, about Kat, a thief from a family of thieves, and her rag-tag crew of misfits, is always worth a read. It’s perfect for the beach - just turn off your disbelief and dive in. So when I saw this novella, which brings together characters from Heist Society AND from Ally Carter's other series, Gallagher Girls, I just had to give it a try. I haven’t read anything from the Gallagher Girls series but after reading Double Crossed, and getting a peek into the world of a school for expert female spies, I think I might just have to pick one up next time I’m in need of a something to put a smile on my face.

Double Crossed nips along at a neck-breaking speed, with a high stakes hostage situation bringing together Hale (from Heist Society) and Macey (from Gallagher Girls), forcing them to trust each other and work together in order to get out alive. Yes, it is as ridiculous as it sounds, so if realistic or dreamy prose is more your style, then I’d give this one a pass. But, if you’ve read and loved anything else Ally Carter has written, then this will definitely be one for you. There are twists and turns aplenty, along with the glamour of US upper-class society. Basically, it’s Gossip Girl with added crime.

Have you read Double Crossed or anything else by Ally Carter? What did you think?

Wednesday 7 August 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: More Than This by Patrick Ness

'Waiting on Wednesday' is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, where we pick the book we just can't wait to get our hands on next.



Check out our pick after the jump!