Rebecca-Books

Tuesday, 14 June 2011

A-Z Authors - L

I found out about this through Phanee from funny wool and is hosted by Heather at Proud Book Nerd. I thought it looked quite fun so this month, I shall be doing a post every day (except Sundays) where I shall tell you about amazing authors that have surnames beginning with that letter. I hope you enjoy and tell me if you know any more with that letter and I'll add it to the post! Thanks.

NOTE: As I am doing my exams at the moment, I may miss days so shall combine letter together, I'll say if I do in the title - Thanks.

Here we go....

Suzanne LaFleur

She was kind of the only author I could think of that was beginning with L and I had read and that no-one might have heard of. I didn't think Love, Aubrey was going to be good but I was so surprised. You are simply only following a young girl's life and I thought it might seem too young, too simple as it's classed as Young Adult. However, it isn't. She successfully makes it interesting and deep yet keep that child like innocence throughout and it made me enjoy it incredibly. It made me think about my own childhood and about what if my life was like that myself, thankfully nothing like that has happened to me or in the near future shall not, hopefully. It really does make you think about yourself and the world around you and the things people have to suffer with these days as children. I liked that moral.

Her books: Love, Aubrey, Eight Keys

Monday, 13 June 2011

A-Z Authors - K

NOTE: As I am doing my exams at the moment, I may miss days so shall combine letter together, I'll say if I do in the title - Thanks.

Here we go....

*You know, K is so hard...

Judith Kerr

I read 'When Hitler Stole my Pink Rabbit' quite a few years ago so I don't really remember what it was like, what it was about etc. All I remember is I enjoyed it a lot especially as it was about a hard hitting subject that not many young children understand or know already. I think I sensed that Nazi Germany was wrong but didn't quite understand how and why until I learned all about it for History two years ago. I think it's amazing that she can do this and make children understand that it is wrong but not be gruesome or pretentious. I liked that. And I think I am going to try and find this again at my library and read it again to remember it.

Her Books: When Hitler Stole my Pink Rabbit, The Tiger who came to Tea, One Night in the Zoo

Friday, 10 June 2011

A-Z Authors - I, J

NOTE: As I am doing my exams at the moment, I may miss days so shall combine letter together, I'll say if I do in the title - Thanks.

Here we go....

*DOING J NOW because it's my Dad's birthday tomorrow so I won't be online so here weee

goooo.*

Eva Ibbotson

She is another one of my favourite authors of all time. I discovered her a year ago and even though I had heard of her before, I never knew how good her Young Adult books were. They aren't everyone's tastes but like Sarah Dessen, she has some really good ones and some not amazing but still good books. I really do enjoy her books a lot and her books always leave you with a favourite. She has some lovely settings abroad in both England and Austria, some amazing characters and some interesting story lines with twists and turns throughout the whole way. She is a real Historical writer and writes her romance not over the top but not too understated either. She is a real well rounded author, although sadly she died late last year. I hope she will be remembered for her great books.

Her books: The Secret Countess, A Song For Summer, A Morning Gift, Company of Swans, Magic Flutes

Marie-Louise Jensen

Amazing Historical Romance books. The one I read last year was so enjoyable and interesting that I'm looking out for more books by her. The cover has a beautiful girl with curly brown hair and I knew straight away when I saw it that I would like it and I would love it A LOT. I love her writing, her characters, her humour, the romance, the content, the story line. I really do love the books of The Lady in the Tower. This is another understated author that historical fiction fans SHOULD read. This one was also based on a real story which really brought it to life.

Her Books: The Lady in the Tower, Between Two Seas, Daughter of Fire and Ice, Sigrun's Secret

Numbers - Rachel Ward

I don't know quite what to write about this but it is going to be short and sweet. I'll explain below.

Synopsis: Whenever Jem meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die.

Burdened with such an awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. But while they’re waiting to ride on the London Eye in Central London on the day before Jem will be sent back to a care home, Jem notices that all the other tourists in line flash the same number. Today’s number. Today’s date. Terrorists are going to attack London. Jem's world is going to change

(From Goodreads.com)

Review: A couple of years ago at Christmas, I saw this in the bookshops and thought it looked so interesting with a synopsis with that. So when I saw it in my local library, I jumped at the chance to read it, picking it up along with the other books without a second thought.

Hmph.

This is one of those books that gets so much hype and then makes you deeply disappointed when you read it yourself. It's another Annexed. The story is so unique, well thought out and just sounds so interesting to read about and thinking people could be like that....but the execution brings it down.

I admit I didn't finish the book. I got to page 180 and gave up. It was just SO boring and tedious.

From the blurb, it looks like it's all about Jem and living with the Numbers thing but it's more about Spider and her relationship with him. There are also times where it's like 'They did this, then they did this, then this happened' which got incredibly tedious.

I have read other reviews on this book as I always do and a lot of people seem to love this book, thinking it's so action filled and tense. This may be just my opinion but, erm, really? It was a really slow pace for me which was fine to start off with and made it boring. Jem has a voice that makes you interested but, although they sounds snobbish, it's very casual and colloquial and made me start not to like her at all. I really didn't like at all. It also took me this time of those 180 pages to work out that Spider was black and a few pages to find out that Jem was a girl. That may be on purpose and even so, it wasn't obvious.

Also, there was this mixture of what the message of the book was. First, it was the numbers thing, then what it's like to be in poverty and when I ended the book, it suddenly started mentioning on most pages about discrimination still against black people in the UK still. I don't mind any of these things but it was just so miss matched and confusing. Also, the constant references to Spider's body odour (which I am quite aware how guys might forget a shower at least every day) made me feel quite nauseous not great when I'm feeling sick from a History exam already. Not nice.

There is also the problem that both of these people are fifteen years-old and in Year 11 so about my age and going around smoking, drinking, taking drugs, doing dodgy jobs, sex, stealing cars, knives. All at the same time.

I would like to say now that there is such a small percentage of people that actually do these things. I know a handful of people who have had sex, and even then with their boyfriends - not any old person, and smoked. Although, there are people out there that do that. All the other stuff no-one does, around my area anyway. I'm not naive, I know it happens but so much less than ANYONE makes out.

In this book, it's constant. That may be because of the poverty thing but I can tell that older people will read this book and make assumptions. Just saying, it's not true and it annoys me when people do say that like they know what they are talking about. They probably don't.

On a positive side, I got into this book straight away for the first few chapters and then by Chapter 6, I'm off. There are some good characters in there that are great such as Spider's Nan and the Nutter. They made me think of people I know now. The book becomes an account of how they fight for survival and get away from something where they are completely innocent. It really nicely shows the development of Spider and Jem's relationship with one another and goes hint at the end if you don't make it until then like me. It shows how you can be thrown together and made to cooperate with each other and get along. It was interesting from that part, if nothing else.

This book could be amazing with this kind of weird, supernatural plot and some original characters but although, there are some good bits, there are also some not that great bits in it too. And the overall effect makes it very boring and tedious and monotonous and made me just give up to hopefully read a more interesting book. This really isn't one I would recommend unless you're alright with reading things like this. Your decision.

Good idea, bad execution - sorry.

I give it 3 out of 5

*This will not be added to my challenges as I didn't read the whole thing.*

Author's Website: http://www.rachelwardbooks.com/

Pages: 304

Publisher: Chicken House

Thursday, 9 June 2011

A-Z Authors - D, E, F, G, H

NOTE: As I am doing my exams at the moment, I may miss days so shall combine letter together, I'll say if I do in the title - Thanks.

Here we go....

SORRY FOR MY LACK OF DOING THIS IN THE PAST WEEK. I have been so busy with revision, exams, being out, getting food etc but here it is now!

Sarah Dessen

She is amazing. I am not kidding. She is the best or at least one of the best writers I have ever read and has remained a favourite for about 3/4 years. I am yet to see/meet someone who doesn't like her novels. There are ones less good than others but they are all better than some other novels that are out there. She is always consistent and although critised for having the same plot every time, they all seem different. You know what to expect from Sarah Dessen in the plot but they are always so original in characters, settings, other events. The characters are such unique people that you kinda wish were real and that you learn to love a lot.

Her Books: The Truth About Forever, Just Listen, Along for the Ride, What Happened to Goodbye, This Summer, Someone Like You, Last Chance (or Keeping the Moon), Dreamland, Lock and Key, This Lullaby.

Paul Dowswell

I have only read one book by this guy but Auslander was amazing. It has a boy as the voice and normally, I find they aren't as good with a guy voice but this was fantastic and really helped me with my History GCSE - it put it all into perspective for me and helped me understand it all while doing my favourite thing of reading. He is such a good author that not many people give credit or know about at all.

Other Books: True Stories of WWII, Adventures of a Young Sailor, The First World War, Escape.

Eve Edwards

Wow. I love this woman. Sometimes books are just Historical or just Romance and sometimes having both of those together is hard to pull off without being too much of the other. However, The Other Countess series have been amazing. So interesting with this perfect fascinating mixture of genres with the most funny, enjoyable characters. I just love her books and make me love History so much more. She is a writer a lot of people should pick up.

Her Books: The Other Countess series - The Other Countess, The Queen's Lady, The Rouge Princess

Gayle Forman

I have only so far read her first book in the If I Stay duo. I have the other but not yet read it. I thought the book was going to be boring. But I found it wasn't. It wasn't perfect for me but I really liked it and the way it was written and how different it was to other novels out there that are similar to this one. I really liked her overall and I REALLY NEED TO READ THE NEXT ONE.

Her Books: If I Stay, Where She Went, Sisters in Sanity

Anna Godbersen

She is again in my category of best Historical Romance authors. I love the fun, happy side to her books and then also, the serious side to them that changes suddenly and makes you think. They are a real type of YA book but not too heavy, yet not too silly and ridiculous. These are good books and I love the different characters that after The Luxe series with 4 books, you start to think as of family a little and really get to know them inside and out. All of hers are set in New York at different periods of time which is so interesting to compare from the historical side. She successfully has fun/serious books with a nice balance.

Her Books: The Luxe Series - The Luxe, Rumours, Envy, Splendour, Bright Young Things

Mary Hooper

Not many people have heard of Mary Hooper and that may be because she's an English writer and more known over here but I love her writing. She also writes historical and you can tell from reading that there is so much detail put into it. She covers many periods of history with some characters that reflect what people were like then and now. There are bits of romance but I like them with and without. I don't know what it is about this one but I just love her writing - but I can't say why. She is also the one that got me into Historical fiction and when I met her at a book signing last year, she was so friendly and it was like I known her years!

Her books: The Remarkable Life and Times of Eliza Rose, Fallen Grace, Newes from the Dead, At the Sign of the Sugar Plum, At the House of the Magician, Megan, Amy, Holly

Cora Harrison

I fell in love with her writing when I read the first chapter. It wasn't the typical Regency language but I liked that. Made it easier and more enjoyable to read. I loved all her characters, the cover, the romance, the playful look on life and the way she can make a unique character seem like someone you know or a simple situation, one you can relate to. I love how she made Jane Austen a real and lively person, someone my age that I could learn more about and make her feel like a friend.

I really do love her books. I think it's her first bit for YA looking on Goodreads but she should keep it up!

Her Books: I was Jane Austen's Best Friend, Jane Austen Stole My Boyfriend, My Lady Judge, The Montgomery Murder

Tuesday, 7 June 2011

Tuesday Top Ten: Settings (#11)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created by The Broke and The Bookish

NOTE: I shall be doing between 5-7 instead of 10 because they may look easy but these memes are actually quite hard to think about and remember. Also, with the other things happening in my life at the moment (yes I have one full of revision), I simply won't have the time. But I love doing these so they are happening still, just reduced.

This week's theme is Top Favourite Bookish Settings

1. Colby from Along for the Ride, Last Chance - Sarah Dessen - This is my ideal beach place. I'm not much of a beachy person but this sounds like the place I would go to shall I get the chance. However, it is not real, sadly. Well, I don't think anyway. I can imagine going to the Last Chance cafe, going on the beach, staying in a beach house. Going to Clementines, Laundromat...ah.

2. Lakeview from The Truth About Forever, Just Listen - Sarah Dessen - Let's just say that Sarah Dessen makes the best places? Agreed? This seems like a suburb and I live in a suburb and it isn't as nice as this sounds. This sounds like everything happens there! Why not in my own suburb!?

3. Pemberley from Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen - I want to live here. End of.

4. Alternate London (old fashioned but set in the 21st Century) from Shadow Web - N.M.Browne - I prefer this to real London to be honest, but without the bombings. But I guess we get that here. I would love to be still in the old fashioned era for clothes and conduct but modern in the year and technology. I don't know why but a world like that sounds appealing and great.

5. 1582 from The Other Countess - Eve Edwards - I want to live in this era. This is the one era I would love to go back to. I am doing this era for my A Level History so YAY.

Friday, 3 June 2011

Annexed - Sharon Dogar

I found this in my local library when my mother dumped me there to entertain myself so she could go around the corner to get an eyebrow wax - something I don't yet want to try as it looks so painful.
I got it out mostly based on the fact that it had something to do with Anne Frank. Having read The Diary of Anne Frank after seeing the 5 episode BBC dramatisation of the book, this seemed like the perfect book that I would like, as well as the fact I am doing my History GCSE on Tuesday on Germany. I thought this might help.
I was sceptical about Sharon Dogar though. I tried to read Waves a couple of years ago and after 30 pages, I gave up. I hated it, the word Charley was in every single sentence and it drove me mad. So I've been ignoring her ever since...until now.

Synopsis: Everyone knows about Anne Frank and her life hidden in the secret annex – but what about the boy who was also trapped there with her? What was it like to be forced into hiding with Anne Frank, first to hate her and then to find yourself falling in love with her? Especially with your parents and her parents all watching almost everything you do together. To know you’re being written about in Anne’s diary, day after day? What’s it like to start questioning your religion, wondering why simply being Jewish inspires such hatred and persecution? Or to just sit and wait and watch while others die, and wish you were fighting. Anne’s diary ends on August 4, 1944, but Peter’s story takes us on, beyond their betrayal and into the Nazi death camps.

Review: First thing first, this is SUCH A HARD REVIEW TO WRITE. I don't know why but it just seems hard and nothing much really to say in a way. Sorry.

Having loved all my past experiences of The Diary of Anne Frank, I thought that I would love this one especially as Peter has always intrigued me. No-one knows very much about him apart from the romances described in Anne Frank's diary and that she hated him at the beginning but as she grew older, started to have comfort and companionship in him.
However, this books was...well average. There were good bits mostly but there was just something missing that you normally get in books like this one that are re-telling history. Anne Frank personally is one of my heroes, as well as Jane Austen (theme of writing here) and so I may be a bit more critical because of that.

My baddies for the novel. It was just too...poetical. Too vague. Too much trying to make you feel sad. I started not to like Peter's voice because he kind of got a tad annoying after a while. There was also a lot of German words running throughout the book which is fine if you can read German but not if you can't...like me. There was no translation in to German on most of the words and it took me a German dictionary or to find out much later on, what they actually meant.
Peter's voice, I think, was just bland. There was no real engaging tone to it for me, I just wasn't completely interested. Even the BIG scene where they get found out for living in the Annexe wasn't great. There was no building tension for me. No spark. No sad moment. There was just a description of what the Gestapo said and their reactions to it and then going outside.

The book is split into two (well more like the first bit 3/4 and the other 1/4). The first part describes what life was like in the Annexe: how Peter got to know Anne, how he coped with being stuck in there, how his real life haunted him throughout being there. That part is the best, it's interesting and well-researched. It's also great as it is the events of Anne Frank's diary, just from Peter's point of view. I think it could be confusing to those that have never read her diary as they do mention things happening that aren't described or mentioned before, as well as the other characters.
The second bit was...alright. I think it was that bit which let the book down and made me not enjoy it as much. It showed definitely what it was like to be in a concentration camp and the way they treated you but for me, if writing about that, I would add shock, sadness - things like that and I didn't feel any of those emotions. It was just bland as I said. The footnotes are both interesting and annoying. They tell you which bits aren't exactly true which angered me slightly as why change the diary? Maybe for fictional preferences but still why - Anne Frank's diary has been read by millions and she is the role she wanted to be: a novelist. I don't see why she should change it for the benefit of her story telling.
The bit that really did grip me was the epilogue. It describes the way each person died and when. It is so interesting and shocking to read and really shocking. What is so tragic about this story is that most of the people that lived in the Annexe died within days/months of the camp being liberated. For both Peter and Anne, they died within days of it being liberated.

Overall, Annexe was an average read. For me, there was no attempt to make me feel these emotions. However, it really did give an insight into what it was like to live at both the Annexe and the concentration camp. It also showed Anne's personality and Peter's thoughts clearly which was interesting. The idea has so much potential to be a great, interesting, fabulous book but it just lacked something - it just didn't feel right for me.
A good attempt at it but nothing amazing. I would recommend reading The Diary of Anne Frank before tackle this one.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5

Author's Website: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/401544.Sharon_Dogar
Pages: 320
Publisher: Andersen Press
Challenges: British Books Challenge, Historical Fiction Challenge

A-Z Authors - C

NOTE: As I am doing my exams at the moment, I may miss days so shall combine letter together, I'll say if I do in the title - Thanks.

Here we go....

Emma Craigie

She may have only written two novels, one of which I have read, but I really did love her book 'Chocolate Cake with Hitler'. There was such a huge amount of research gone into that book, it's amazing really - you can just tell by reading it. Now, whenever I hear about the death of Hitler, the death of the Goebbels or see anything to do with her father or herself, I smile and think of the book and her voice within it. The other day I was watching 'Valkryie' and it shows them running out the office and it made me think of her then.

Emma Craigie's writing is great and so enjoyable for those that are historical fans like me.

Other Books: Who was King Henry VIII: The Exploding King

Thursday, 2 June 2011

A-Z Authors - B

NOTE: As I am doing my exams at the moment, I may miss days so shall combine letter together, I'll say if I do in the title - Thanks.

Here we go....

Malorie Blackman

Malorie Blackman used to write children books for much younger children until 1992 when she decided to write for young adults and published Thief! after 18 months of writing and editing her first young adult book. She is most famous for the Noughts and Crosses series which targets racism of whites instead of the more traditional racism towards blacks.

I met Malorie Blackman last week actually and she is the loveliest person to talk to and made me and my friend laugh so much and was really interesting to talk to. She is one of the authors that I have grown up with and I loved her Noughts and Crosses series a lot, especially the first book.

Other Books: Hacker, The Stuff of Nightmares, Boys Don't Cry

Robin Benway

I have only read Robin Benway once with Audrey, Wait! which I fell in love with and enjoyed a lot. It is one of the best books I have read this year so far. It is funny (sometimes 'Laugh Out Loud' funny) and just so enjoyable and entertaining! She is a must for any teenage reader with it being enjoyable yet really good writing.

Other Books: The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June.

N.M.Browne

I have read Shadow Web the total of about 3 or 4 times, I love it so much. I have no idea why but I just love her writing, the way its such an original idea and how enjoyable to read it is. I love the blend of modern and old in the story and also, the fact it's set rather near where I live (that does help...). I haven't ever read anything else by her (although I really should) as for some reason I think it will ruin Shadow Web for me...I don't know why. But anyway, this is one of the books I read annually.

Other Books: Hunted, Basilisk, The Story of Stone

Wednesday, 1 June 2011

A-Z Authors - A

NOTE: As I am doing my exams at the moment, I may miss days so shall combine letter together, I'll say if I do in the title - Thanks.

Here we go....

Jane Austen

Jane Austen was an English writer born in 1775 and wrote stories, mostly love, until her death in 1817. She had four brothers and a sister, Cassandra and lived in Steventon, Hampshire mostly with her parents at a parish as her father was a clergyman (priest). She based many of her characters from her stories on her family and the people around her in the small village. Her debut novel was Pride and Prejudice (published 1813) which is also probably her most famous. It took her years to get it published as in those days, women were seen to not publish books about love, like Austen wrote about.

I personally love her after falling in love with Pride and Prejudice when studying it in English Literature. She has a real sense of how people behave and how they interact with one another. All her characters seem original yet relatable. A lot of her books have been made into films which makes them so much more enjoyable without having to tackle her writing style which is quite complicated.

Other books include Emma, Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park and Persuasion.