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.

Book Review: Perfect by Rachel Joyce

Title: Perfect

Author: Rachel Joyce

Publisher: Random House

Star rating: * * * *




So I finally finished turning the last pages of Perfect, and my mind is buzzing with thoughts. If you've already read Part Two of my Christmas Book Haul you'll know that I received this title while knowing very little about it. Initially I found Perfect to be one of those books that took me a while to really engage with but, by the time I was halfway through, I couldn't stop turning the pages. In fact I spent an entire day in my pyjamas specifically to finish reading the book; and it was worth it.

The privileged eleven year old Byron Hemmings is the voice for many chapters in the novel. The plot begins by focusing on two seconds that were to be added to time in England during 1972, and we soon learn of Byron's fixation on the consequences of their addition. Indeed, this fixation ignited a chain of events that caused his life to alter in inconceivable ways. It began with an irregular movement in the ticking of his watch, and a collision with a little girl and her red bicycle. 'If only James had never told him'.

I personally found that the chapters set in 1972 were the most interesting for me to read, particularly in terms of characterization. I warmed greatly to Diana, Byron's mother, and her emotionally abusive relationship with her husband Seymour often pained me to read. James, Byron's best friend and the individual that informed him of the two seconds, was another character that I enjoyed following as the story progressed. Although James was often in the sidelines to begin with he played an instrumental role in 'Operation Perfect' and the unfolding of the book's events.

I also found it really interesting that many of the characters were from an upper class background. It gave them an alternate outlook on life, one that was often highly pressurized and a direct contrast to many of the characters that were encountered in other chapters in the novel.

Perfect uses a split narrative and those chapters that did not occur in 1972 took place in the present day, and through the voice of a middle aged character simply named as Jim. His struggles are clear from the very beginning, but it is not until I finished the book that I fully understood them, and his link to Byron Hemmings. I found that I didn't really engage with the characters as well in these sections of the novel, but their inclusion was definitely vital and enhanced my understanding of the story, although I didn't realise this in the beginning!

I definitely recommend Perfect to anyone that enjoyed Joyce's previous novel 'The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry'. For me a bit of perseverance was required, but the deeper I progressed into the novel the more gripping I seemed to find it. Because of this, I have given it a four star rating out of five.

Book Haul: Christmas 2013 Part 2

Welcome to Part Two of my Christmas Book Haul! In this second installment I have listed the remaining books that I received this Christmas season, and will be discussing my initial thoughts prior to reading them. Once again you can click on any of the titles in order to find out more about the book, and to be linked straight to its Goodreads page.

 

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff 

 

 Title: How I live Now

 Author: Meg Rosoff

 Publisher: Penguin

First Thoughts

Yet another young adult novel, I discovered this title on YouTube where it was featured in a video by booksandquills who gave it a positive recommendation. How I Live Now features Daisy, a teenage girl who is sent from America to live with her cousins in England. Daisy's aunt is away when war breaks out in London, and the cousins are then left to fend for themselves. As a fan of Young Adult Dystopian fiction, I can’t wait to read this book.

Perfect by Rachel Joyce 

 

 Title: Perfect

 Author: Rachel Joyce

 Publisher: Random House

First Thoughts

Admittedly I still don’t know a lot about this book, which I stumbled upon after reading Joyce’s successful novel ‘The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry’. The book itself is gorgeous and my hardback copy is covered in detailed illustrations beneath the jacket. Looking at the back cover of Perfect, it simply reads that ‘In 1972 two seconds were added to time. Were they to blame for what happened next?’ and doesn't give much away at all! I've chosen to continue this blissful ignorance in the hope that I can jump into reading it and let the content be a surprise. After greatly enjoying the previous novel written by Joyce, I look forward to discovering what happened next.

Shift by Hugh Howey

 

 Title: Shift (Silo 2)

 Author: Hugh Howey

 Publisher: Arrow

First Thoughts

The second installment of a Science Fiction trilogy that was originally written as a series of novellas, I have been eager to read Shift after devouring the first novel ‘Wool’ some time ago. Shift is in fact a prequel to the previous book, and I am hoping that it will shed some light as to why Earth’s inhabitants have been forced to live in underground ‘silos’.

  

How To Make Your Man Behave In 21 Days Or Less Using The Secrets Of Professional Dog Trainers by Karen Salmansohn 

 

 Title: How To Make Your Man Behave In 21 Days Or Less Using The Secrets  Of Professional Dog Trainers

 Author: Karen Salmansohn

 Publisher: Workman Publishing Company

First Thoughts

I laughed a lot when unwrapping this last gift! This book is pretty self explanatory and appears to be written with the humorous comparison of men to dogs, and the secrets of how to train them- the men that is. I’m saving this book for the day that I need a pick me up. Here’s to hoping that it teaches me a lot!

And that concludes my 2013 Christmas Book Haul. I'm very grateful for all of the books that I received this year- it definitely looks like this year of reading is off to a good start!

Book Haul: Christmas 2013 Part 1

Christmas is the perfect time of year to spread the love for literature! This Christmas I received a stack of shiny new books in the form of gifts from my family and friends, many of which came straight from my to-read list.

In Part One of my Christmas Book Haul I have featured the books that I've read so far, each one with a mini review. If you want to find out more about any of the books then just click on the title to go straight to its Goodreads page.

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell 

 

 Title: Eleanor and Park

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Publisher: Orion Books

Star Rating: * * * *

 

 Mini Review

As a fan of young adult literature I first came across this title through the author John Green, with his comment that Eleanor and Park 'Reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book'. Intrigued, I was eager to give it a read for myself.

The novel features a down to earth, but in many ways heart warming romance between the two teenagers Eleanor and Park. Together they discover first love, but also tackle topical issues including bullying, domestic violence and self-identity. In a society where romantic love can often be put on a pedestal above all else, I felt that this novel tackled young love in a sophisticated manner that refrains from doing so- a quality that I enjoy.

I have awarded this book four stars; it is a definite to-read if you enjoy Young Adult Romance novels.

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

 

 Title: Insurgent (Divergent 2)

 Author: Veronica Roth

 Publisher: Harper Collins

 Star Rating: * * * * *

Mini Review

Picking up where Divergent left off, Insurgent is set in a dystopian world where the population has been divided into five separate factions- Abnegation, Erudite, Amity, Candor and Dauntless. Each faction possesses a particular quality, where they often rely on each other in order to thrive. Insurgent brings the continuation of war between the factions and is packed full of action, romance and bloodshed. Just the way I enjoy a good dystopian novel!

I loved Insurgent and awarded it five stars; it is a great second installment for those who have read and enjoyed Divergent, but also a recommendable series for those that enjoy Young Adult Dystopian fiction in general.

Every Day by David Levithan

 

Title: Every Day

Author: David Levithan

Publisher: Random House

Star Rating: * * *

Mini Review

Another young adult romance novel, Every Day presents an interesting concept centered around a character simply named as ‘A’. A is a genderless being who wakes up each day in a different body, effectively borrowing the life of a different individual every single day. Continuously jumping from one life to another has made it almost impossible for A to form relationships of their own, a feat that the character attempts once falling in love with a girl.

I particularly enjoyed how the novel demonstrated the rich variety of lives that are led in America, where some of them were positive and others less so. Levithan has also explored complex themes such as mental illness, modern slavery and obesity, and it is interesting to read about A’s experiences in these bodies.

Every Day is an interesting read for those that enjoy Young Adult Literature and I have awarded it three stars.

The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories by Joseph Gordon-Levitt

 

 Title: The Tiny Book of Tiny Stories

 Author: Joseph Gordon-Levitt

 Publisher: Harper Collins

 Star Rating: * * * *

Mini Review

I have been eager to get my hands on this tiny book for a while now, and it has not left me feeling disappointed! The short 87 page book features a collection of Tiny Stories which are often composed of a short line of text and accompanied by illustrations. The book is a product of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s website ‘Hit Record’ which allows artists, musicians, writers and others to collaborate on creative projects.

The stories included in this book are both emotional and thought provoking, and are pages that I will continue to re-read throughout the year. I was also strongly compelled by the involvement of the artist Wirrow, whose work I love.

I awarded this book four stars and recommend it to anyone who is looking for a short and quirky read- ideal for flicking through on the bus or in a waiting room. 

That concludes Part One of my Christmas Book Haul! In Part Two I will be featuring the remaining books that I received this festive season, and also recording my initial thoughts before I've read them.