Book Review: The Shock of the Fall

Name: The Shock of the Fall
Author: Nathan Filer
Publisher: Harper Collins
Star Rating: * * * *

‘I’ll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother. His name’s Simon. I think you’re going to like him. I really do. But in a couple of pages he’ll be dead. And he was never the same after that.’

It’s true, Simon never was quite the same after that. Not in a he’s-gone-forever kind of way, but in more of a he-never-left kind of way. After a tragic childhood accident that led to the death of the young boy, Simon stuck around in the mind of his younger brother, Matthew, and on the occasions that he did leave it was never for very long. 

This beautifully written story follows the life of Matthew Holmes and his spiralling descent into mental illness. Upon reading, I was struck by the normality of Matthew’s character. Schizophrenia as a disease is accompanied by so much stigma, and I applaud Nathan for writing Matthew with a rich personality. Matthew isn’t portrayed as a madman, but as a nineteen year old man who is suffering from a terrible illness. It’s clear that Matthew is not a fool, although he isn’t always quite in touch with reality either.

Simon has a voice inside Matthew’s head. His death was the trigger for a lifetime of guilt and an illness that was sitting only a few branches up in the family tree. Mental illness happens. It happens to ordinary people, living ordinary lives, and this book delivers that message home.

As well as being wonderfully written, I want to take a moment to appreciate this book’s beautiful design. For one, the cover is gorgeous (it’s just so shiny) and it really stands out on a bookshelf. 

Matthew is writing his own story, in different locations while using different tools and mediums. This is captured visually through the text itself, his font switching a computer and a typewriter. The inclusion of letters and drawings also adds to the telling of the story, and I can easily visualise the stack of papers building up as Matthew continues to write and compile his life.

Matthew is in and out of hospital and in and out of touch with reality. With each page we learn more about his struggles, but also about the treatment of severe mental illness in 21^st century. The author has done a wonderful job at tackling such a sensitive topic, and as a registered mental health nurse, Nathan’s years of practical experience are clear within the words that he has written.

The Shock of the Fall is a fantastic debut novel. It is a haunting, insightful and enjoyable read.

Book Haul: March and April 2014

Title: Paper Aeroplanes
Author: Dawn O' Porter
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Star Rating: * * * * *

  Review

I'm going to state it outright: Paper Aeroplanes is a fantastic book. I loved it.

This title thrives on a strong ability to reflect the kind of messy relationships that girls have with their friends, family and boys during the sticky years of teenage-hood, and to be completely honest with you, it's been a good while since I've read anything that has felt so breathtakingly real. I'm sure that you can tell, I just can't stop gushing!

Click here to read the full review!



Title: Fangirl
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Publisher: St Martin's Press
Star Rating: * * * * *





 Mini Review


Another Young Adult title that I simply adored, Fangirl has left me with a case of the post-book-blues (I miss my fictional crush Levi)! As a first year student at university myself, it seems that this title has come into my life at just the right moment, and I really couldn't appreciate it more.

Cath is a college freshman, a talented fan fiction writer and an identical twin, who has been hurt by her sister's decision forge her own path at college and share a dorm room with a stranger. Despite facing some inevitable struggles, Cath eventually succeeds in expanding her world out from her sister and the Simon Snow fandom that she holds so close to her heart, gaining the independence that university is all about. The themes in this story are a wonderful blend of family, fandom and first love, with an insight into just exactly what it's like to be taking your first steps into a new life away from home.

Rainbow has firmly become one of my favourite Young Adult authors. She writes vivid characters that come alive right off of the page, and whose lives I miss dearly after I've finished reading. Fangirl is a gem, and an absolute must-read for fans of the genre. A mini-review just doesn't do this book justice.




Title: The Chrysalids
Author: John Wyndham
Publisher: Penguin






First Thoughts


The Chrysalids is to be my first read by John Wyndham, and through what I've heard so far, it sounds pretty good! This book is a dystopian story set in a post-nuclear world, and features a society where the persecution of mutants has forced them to conceal themselves in their own community. I'm hoping that this title will be a great introduction to Wyndham's writing, and at only 200 pages in length, it should be a pretty quick read as well!

Title: Goose (Paper Aeroplanes #2)
Author: Dawn O'Porter
Publisher: Hot Key Books
Star Rating: * * * *





Mini Review


The very fact that I own this book is evidence of my complete lack of self control when it comes to book buying! I picked up my copy of Goose shortly after devouring Paper Aeroplanes, and it proved to be a great continuation in the series.

Set a year and a half on from the previous book, Goose catches up with the lives of Renee and Flo, whose friendship continues to flourish as they sit their A Level exams at the local Grammar school. This final year at school is eventful for the girls, and the strength of their friendship is well and truly tested. Renee and Flo have reached that crucial age where they need to start making decisions independently from each other, a pill that is difficult for Flo to swallow. We already know that their two personalities contrast greatly, and learn early on that the pair probably won't leave Guernsey together...

Does growing up mean growing apart? For these two, maybe, in terms of gaining their own independence and establishing themselves in the world as individuals. Despite this, I don't believe for a second that their bond will weaken, and I eagerly await Paper Aeroplanes #3!

Book Review: Paper Aeroplanes by Dawn O'Porter

Name: Paper Aeroplanes

Author: Dawn O'Porter

Publisher: Hot Key Books

Star Rating: * * * * *

I'm going to state it outright: Paper Aeroplanes is a fantastic book. I loved it.

This title thrives on a strong ability to reflect the kind of messy relationships that girls have with their friends, family and boys during the sticky years of teenage-hood, and to be completely honest with you, it's been a good while since I've read anything that has felt so breathtakingly real. I'm sure that you can tell, I just can't stop gushing!

The key theme that we're looking at here in Paper Aeroplanes is friendship. The bare bones of it, in all of its fragile, unromanticised, and beautiful imperfections. The sheer importance of friendship in our lives is something that I feel passionate about, and O'Porter has captured this concept wonderfully through the troubled voices of two teenage girls, Renée and Flo. Together they guide us though the hardships that they face, and identify some of the issues that teenagers grapple with year after year. The girls' contrasting personalities also manage to bring out happiness in one other, which I found beautiful to read. Interestingly, the book has been set in the mid-nineteen-nineties, so we experience this story without the complications that the internet has thrown at us ten years later. Facebook, I'm looking at you.

Friendship isn't just about how many snapchats you've sent each other in the past five minutes, it's so much more raw than that. True friendship is about being there when it counts, and Renée and Flo bond over life's hardships as well as it's simplest pleasures.

I was thrilled to discover that this story doesn't end after turning the last page, either. O'Porter has recently just finished up her UK tour in support of Goose, the sequel to Paper Aeroplanes, which hit bookshops on March the 27th of this year.With the promise of two additional titles to follow in the series, I'm ridiculously excited to watch how these girls develop, both in terms of their friendship, and in themselves. I really cannot describe how happy I am to hold on to the lives of Renée and Flo for a while longer yet.

If you're a fan of YA- read this. If you've ever been a teenage girl- read this. A well deserved five stars!

Book Review: No and Me by Delphine de Vigan

Name: No and Me

Author: Delphine de Vigan

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Star Rating: * *





I began with high hopes for this book, but it didn't really live up to my expectations.

Lou is a highly intelligent young teenager. She's two classes ahead at school, possesses a sky high IQ, and is clearly struggling in the wake of a terrible loss in her recent past. The passing of her baby sister Chloe, several years previous to the beginning of the book, left a gaping hole in her life, one that is finally filled when she meets the young homeless girl No. This story is about homelessness in a world where anything is possible, a family's diverse reactions to grief, and the pressures that a young girl must face while growing up.

My biggest problem with this read was that I didn't feel connected enough to the characters. This is a really important factor for me, and impacts how deeply I enjoy and engage with the story. I need to either passionately love (or passionately hate) at least some of the characters, in order to love the story. There were moments in the book that I really rooted for No, where I wanted her to break out of the tragic cycle of homelessness that she had fallen into, but these were rare in the entirety of the book. The relationships between the characters also didn't sit quite right with me. The friendships didn't seem real- even Lucas didn't seem to have much of a personality.

As this is the first translated novel that I've read, it was interesting to consider how it affected the flow of the story. No and Me did definitely feel different to read, especially as at times the language choice and sentence structures felt a bit repetitive. One thing that I did really enjoy was that this book didn't lose its distinctive 'Frenchness', despite being a translation. It was packed full of French language that represented the names of people, places and things that the characters encountered. I know that English language writers can, and do, write tales set all over the world, but this book felt genuinely French, which was pleasing.

Overall I was pretty disappointed with this book, and felt that it had a lot of unused potential. Homelessness is an incredibly prominent and often under addressed issue, but I just didn't feel engaged enough with the plot or, most importantly to me, the characters. It's a short read at only 258 pages in length, and I'd say to pick it up if you're feeling curious, but it is not a book that I would recommend. I've settled on awarding it only two stars.

Book Haul: January and February 2014

Yes, I may be living on a student's budget but it's clear that nothing can stop me from buying new books! Here are the titles that I purchased over January and February, and what I think of them so far. I don't need food anyway...

 
 Title: No and Me

 Author: Delphine de Vigan

 Publisher: Bloomsbury





 First Thoughts
Although I'm still waiting for this title to arrive, I'm really excited to start reading. The story follows Lou, a highly intelligent young teenager who meets No as a result of her school project about the homeless. No is also a teenager, but one who is currently living on the streets. Lou's family has been darkened by a terrible loss so I can imagine that No's eventual moving in will change everything for them. I don't believe that I've read any translated novels before, so the fact that this book was originally written in French really interests me. I'm wondering if there will be any unconventional phrases or expressions as a result of its translation, and this is something that I will be paying special attention to as I read. I've previously expressed my interest in Young Adult fiction so I have high hopes for this book and will be writing a review in the near future!
 


Title: Txtng The gr8 db8

Author: David Crystal

Publisher: Oxford University Press




  

First Thoughts

As a current student of English Language and Linguistics this book is right up my street. I actually purchased this title when Professor David Crystal gave a lecture to the students in the ELL society at my university, kindly signing my copy of Txtng, The gr8 db8. (I had a photo taken with him too, but shh!) Firstly, appreciate the title- a reflection of the subject matter that is discussed inside the cover. I'm currently halfway through and enjoying the book immensely. As a work of 'pop linguistics', it is easily accessible and, in my opinion, highly interesting. I particularly enjoy reading about the controversies that have been created through the introduction of texting and the use of 'text talk'. I really recommend this read to anyone with an interest in language, and how it is changing in modern society.You don't have to be studying linguistics in order to read it!




Title: The Rosie Project

Author: Graeme Simsion

Publisher: Penguin

Star Rating: * * * *


 

Review  
I made a good choice by picking up The Rosie Project a few weeks back, and here is the beginning of my review!

Introducing Don Tillman; a thirty nine year old geneticist whose scientific mind led to the formulation of The Wife Project, in order to help him find a compatible partner. To be fair it's pretty easy to become a candidate. All you have to do is complete the answers to fifty nine make or break questions in Don's carefully designed questionnaire. Answer them correctly, and you've found yourself a date- just make sure that you're not imaginary first! Rosie would definitely fail the test, of that Don's sure. She's completely incompatible....

Click here to read the full review

Book Review: The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

 

Title: The Rosie Project 

Author: Graeme Simsion

Publisher: Penguin

Star Rating: * * * *

Introducing Don Tillman; a thirty nine year old geneticist whose scientific mind led to the formulation of The Wife Project, in order to help him find a compatible partner. To be fair it's pretty easy to become a candidate. All you have to do is complete the answers to fifty nine make or break questions in Don's carefully designed questionnaire. Answer them correctly, and you've found yourself a date- just make sure that you're not imaginary first! Rosie would definitely fail the test, of that Don's sure. She's completely incompatible.
 
I'd seen this book dotted around bookshops for weeks before I was able to pick up a copy for myself, and I'm really pleased that I did.

A rather socially challenged individual, I found that Don's quirky personality was reminiscent of The Big Bang Theory's Sheldon Cooper. As a character I found him easy to love and his peculiar habits made me snigger endearingly throughout the novel. There has definitely been a dark past to Don's life, but that is uncovered more as the story progresses. Don also struggles greatly with understanding the emotions of others, acknowledging the technicalities behind how people work but never really knowing how to interact with them as his peers would. As I read on, it was wonderful to watch Don open up and loose some of the rigidity that had ruled lived his life for so long.

Don's new found love is not only heartwarming but also conveys a crucial life message that I wish more people could hear. It is important to realise that other people should love you for who you truly are, and that no-one should ever be expected to change in order to fit the expectations of others. This point was reinforced through Don and Rosie's romance, two characters who have learned to compliment, but not force change, upon one another.

Quite the unconventional love story, The Rosie Project is a highly entertaining, often hilarious read that offers something a little different than the standard Romance novel. Four stars.

Book Review: How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff

 Title: How I Live Now

 Author: Meg Rosoff

 Publisher: Penguin

 Star Rating: * * *





Young Adult Dystopian Fiction is one of my all time favourite genres, so when I came across this title in a YouTube video by booksandquills I was eager to get my hands on a copy. I'm going to say upfront that some elements of this book can be very controversial, and I will be discussing themes such as anorexia and incest in the course of my review.

How I Live Now features Daisy, a troubled fifteen year old whose father sends her away from America to live with her cousins in England. These are relatives who she's never actually met, and provide a link to her mother who passed away long before Daisy can remember. Shortly after her arrival in England war a breaks out and, with the absence of her aunt, the group must fight in order to stay together and to stay alive.

The  story itself is written through Daisy's perspective, and told through her own thoughts as she was thinking them. Naturally this has resulted in some very long, rambling sentences of teenage thought that help us to more deeply understand her character. It is through this in particular that we become acquainted with Daisy's battle with anorexia, the reason it began, and how she finally overcame her addiction, as well as many more of her innermost thoughts.

I really enjoyed being able to watch the war unfold through the eyes of the children who lived together in the house. At the beginning of the book the group seemed very detached from the events that were unfolding in England, and at first the outbreak of war allowed them to expand on the unusual amount of freedom they were already accustomed to. For a while it was almost like reading a novel set in Britain during one of the previous World Wars, a bit strange for a title set in the present day! Because of the way the book is written, we as readers come to understand the seriousness of the situation at the same time as Daisy, so it is not until further on in the story that I began to understand the full extent of the war and the terrible consequences that it brought with it.

One of the most controversial elements of this book is of course the inclusion of incest between Daisy and her cousin Edmond. I'm always a sucker for a good love story but I don't really understand why the romance between these characters was a necessity. Alas, this is something that I became less shocked about as the story progressed, and the controversy of the relationship was adequately addressed in Daisy's thoughts. Still, I remain a bit uneasy about the issue.

This title was definitely an interesting read, and I settled on a three out of five star rating for the book overall. I want to recommend it to any pre-existing fans of Young Adult Dystopian fiction as it certainly has a variety of strong points and, at almost two hundred pages in length, isn't very time consuming to read.