Tease - Amanda Maciel

I promised a review of Tease by Amanda Maciel yesterday, but since the title is Tease, I figured I would honour it and tease everyone with posting it late.

Anyway, that’s the excuse I told myself when I realised this morning that I forgot to write the review yesterday - whoops.

The title of the book needs to be interpreted in two ways: “Tease” is someone who teases guys and makes them sexually frustrated (hopefully fall in love with them if you’re a teen) and “Tease” stands for the act of the light bullying or harassing of someone.

The second definition of tease is what Sara Wharton thinks she is doing. She’s teasing the school’s tease Emma Putnam. Sara and Brielle, bff's and queen B of the school, hate Emma for stealing Sara’s boyfriend, and just generally because she is so pretty.

However, teasing is an understatement for the way the girls treat Emma - they are violent and mean and Emma commits suicide. Her parents blame the girls and their friends and sue all of them for the death of Emma. 

This is the point where the book starts; Sara explains what happened and how totally unfair it is. Throughout the book, all the details of the bullying (because it’s definitely not teasing) and the details of the court case are revealed in an interesting plot order that jumps from present to past.

The major story elements in the book are based on true events, which makes this book a difficult read. It’s shocking that these events can happen in real life and you’ll ask yourself “but how??” at the end of the book.

Because that’s the strength of this book - it’s not overly moralistic or preachy in its message. It shows the dangers of bullying, but it also tries to show the causes of bullying. I feel like there are not enough books like that on the market and I hope this is the first of many.

Sara is insecure and just lost. She doesn’t know who she is or who she wants to be, so she just clings to people she thinks are perfect. This includes Brielle, who is the meanest teenager I ever read about, and her boyfriend who doesn’t really care about her too much. He proves this when he makes out with Emma at the Valentine Dance after-party. 

Let the slutshaming begin. 

I knew teenagers were cruel and mean and “oh god, don’t you dare be prettier than them or to be sexually confident”. But the intense slutshaming Sara puts Emma through makes it very hard to like her as a narrator. She starts off likeable enough, but as more details of the bullying are revealed, I started distancing from her. Especially since there is no real point in the story where I felt that Sara was actually truly sorry for what she did. I feel like there could be a sequel and Sara would slutshame the next girl who takes her boyfriend.

This makes it difficult to stay invested in the book, because you just want to punch Sara in the face for being so naive and dumb, but it also makes the book very realistic. Not everyone in life has a big changing moment - definitely not within a few days/ months/ years, like most novels portray. Some people just don’t get certain things and never will, no matter what happens. Sara is one of them, no matter how hard we root for her to change.

The author says she wanted to show the story from several angles; not just the one of the victim that the media always shows. Unfortunately, due to Sara’s immature behaviour, there is really no sympathy for her. I felt bad for her family, who had to suffer immensely due to the big court case. I felt bad for Emma and her family, and even for Sara’s boyfriend, who seemed to have actually really liked Emma (even though he does make some very questionably decision, none of them are illegal). 

However, the topic is important enough that this book should be read by teenagers and older readers - we can all lose the plot, we can all forget the line between innocent teasing and bullying, we can all slutshame s, but this book reminds the reader how many danger lies in all those things.

Rebel Belle - Rachel Hawkins

When there is a book about a boy that kicks ass and has super powers, we just call them comic books or science fiction with a nice vague title stuck on it.

When a girl has superpowers and suddenly has to protect a boy (what?), we call it Rebel Belle.

I bought the book fully expecting a nice chick-lit book a la gossip girl. But I was really wrong - again I could have read the back of the book or the goodreads summary but hey, I’ll never ever learn.

As someone who despises most supernatural stories, this book started off as a challenge for me. Harper Price is the main character - a Southern beauty queen-ish girl who is suddenly given the responsibility to protect David Stark. She’s his Paladin, an ancient protector who has supernatural powers.

Obviously, Harper can’t stand David - though for unexplainable reasons, they ALWAYS interact with each other. Harper is worried that this new “job” will ruin her relationship with her flat-charactered boyfriend Ryan and her friendship with her best friend. Instead of trusting people, and showing them that she has superpowers, she decides to hide everything from everyone (because that’s always a good idea?).

Rachel Hawkins, the author, knows how to write, which makes this book a pleasant read. It’s difficult enough to keep a reader interested while at the same time keeping a good, and quick, flow in the story. This is a skill - one that Rachel has managed to master. Action scenes are followed by conversations and there is enough diversity in this book to please any YA reader.

Harper is not an unpleasant main character, but she didn’t really do much for me. She makes a journey from average high school pretty girl to kickass protector of the most important person on earth. I would expect some major personality changes to accompany this transformation, but there really weren’t. She has some doubts about accepting her role, but she knows that David will die if she doesn’t help him, so it’s not a real surprise that she casts those doubts aside pretty soon.

David Stark is the cliché quiet guy who turns out to be pretty damn charming. Does he really change? No. But we do get to see more and more from him as the book progresses.

The real disappointment in this story comes from Ryan and his role in the story. He’s described as the perfect boyfriend - handsome, sporty, popular… Everything a teenage girl dreams of. BUT when he’s in scenes in the book, he just falls completely flat for me. He was boring, uninteresting and really, does he have nothing to say about anything at all? Ryan was also doomed from the being to end up in a love triangle with his complete opposite David.

Is that love triangle necessary? Not really, but teenage girls these days apparently love to read about a girl who has two guys drooling away after her (I don’t know why there are so many of these books anyway). Is the flat boyfriend and love story a reason to not read this book? No. There is enough action to please an anti-romance reader and the Paladin thing is original enough to keep a reader interested. 

Overall, Rebel Belle is a good YA read and one of the more original ones I’ve read so far. It would have been totally perfect if some characters were less flat and just more… like teenagers.

This Song Will Save Your Life - Leila Sales

Generally, I write reviews in about 15 minutes. The words flow out of my head straight onto my computer screen.
Today, I’ve been staring at my computer for about 30 minutes and I have nothing. (Well now I have these two sentences.)

How do I write a review that does justice to a book that I loved so much? How do I convince EVERYONE to read this book, without resorting to violent means? I don’t know - but the best I can do is to start writing and hope that everyone who reads this (and likes YA books) will pick this one up. 

This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales starts off as any other dramatic YA book does. 

It’s Elise’s story and Elise is a teenager who struggles with being “normal”. She is an overachiever, she is too intelligent for her classmates and she doesn’t dress in the latest fashion. Because she can’t be normal, she doesn’t have any friends and she becomes desperate. At the start of the book, she cuts herself and then calls a popular girl and tells her - the famous “attention attempt at suicide”. This girl panics and calls 911 - obviously Elise’s parents, who are divorced, go into panic mode.
They make sure that Elise is never alone again so that she has no opportunity to cut herself. But Elise needs alone time and finds it by sneaking out at night and walking around while listening to music.
Pretty bland, right? Until Elise finds Start - an underground club in a warehouse, filled with cool kids and banging music. Here Elise finds something she never knew she was looking for.
To find out what that is, you really need to read the book!

So the summary might not sound all too different from many other YA books, and I guess the plot line of the story isn’t, but the characterisation definitely is.

Elise is more than just a typical unpopular teenager - instead of being ruled by a million insecurities, she’s actually pretty confident in her own abilities and skills. She knows what she can and cannot do - she just doesn’t understand why no one likes her. This made me like Elise so much more than the many whiny female leads in YA books - she’s a girl with balls and not afraid to show them. Not a Bella waiting on Edward. 
Furthermore, all of Elise's Start friends, Charm, Pippa, Mel and especially Vicky, have real personalities. They are not just some characters on the sideline of Elise’s story: they read as real people with real issues and real problems. I can imagine a book about each of them, because I know enough about them, even though they are just “side-characters”.

Added to that, the story flows really well and the pace is good. It’s quick - something happens every chapter and you will not get bored reading this story.

To top it all of, there is a list with the most awesome songs at the end of the story. The perfect soundtrack if you want to enjoy the book a bit more after reading it. (I just checked 8tracks and no one made that playlist yet?! Someone who understands 8tracks, please get on that!)

After Wimbledon - Jennifer Gilby Roberts

I’m obsessed with chick lit. No matter what I do, no matter how many serious novels I’m reading (right now, I’m working my way through the 900 pages of Vanity Fair), a chick lit book always feels like coming home.

So when I found After Wimbledon by Jennifer Gilby Roberts, I was just dying to read it. And thank God I did.

Lucy Bennett, who is very much like Becky Bloomwood, is a tennis-pro who is prepping for Wimbledon, but really considering retirement. However, her one-night-stand-turned-boyfriend Joe does not want her to retire and most definitely does not want any of her post-retirement plans (house, marriage, babies,…). And then there’s Sam, one of the best tennis players in the world, the rival of Lucy’s boyfriend and the only person who thinks Lucy is not an idiot for wanting to retire.

So who does Lucy trust? And is retirement really a good option when she’s only 28? These are the main themes in the book, though there are a few small curveballs in the plot.

Lucy is funny and endearing and as a reader, you really want her to be happy. Joe is the perfect asshole boyfriend you want her to leave and Sam is a modern day Prince Charming.

It’s a chick lit, so the plot can be expected, but that’s what makes this book so good. There are no really unexpected turns (except maybe one towards the end), no big character developments, everything happens exactly as the reader wants it to happen.

However, unlike the many chick lits that have given me a headache, this book is actually written well. Jennifer clearly knows how to make the reader connect with Lucy and how to portray Lucy’s humor on page (and not just with saying “oh Lucy, you are so funny”). But don’t take my word for it, read a little passage from the beginning of the book – so completely spoiler free: “This isn’t the type of thing we normally talk about. Joe and I have what I think of as an emotionally open relationship. In a traditional open relationship (oxymoron?), you are emotionally intimate only with each other and sleep with anyone you want. In our case, we are sexually exclusive but have your deep and meaningful conversations with other people. That is, assuming Joe has any at all.”

That last sentence? That’s the kind of sentence that makes me laugh out loud in bed.

I was a bit worried that After Wimbledon would be too much about tennis for me, because I hate tennis and can’t stand watching it or hearing about it. But, even though tennis is a huge part of the plot, no knowledge of tennis is required nor are there any long reports about tennis matches. It’s about Lucy and her career and men – not the technicality of tennis.

After Wimbledon is not groundbreaking chick lit, such as a Bridget Jones’ Diary was, but it’s a fun read and I think it’s perfect for the summer that’s coming. Grab a drink, sit outside (preferably on a beach) and this book is your perfect companion.

Under The Skin - Michel Faber

I’m absolutely obsessed with Scarlett Johansson. I think she’s the most gorgeous and talented woman to walk this earth right now (sorry, but Audrey Hepburn will always be my all-time favorite) and I adore every project she does.

So why am I writing this on a book blog, I hear you ask? Because my love (cough obsession) goes so deep that I even read the books that have been turned into films that have her in it. It has nothing to do with Scarlett anymore, but it’s a thing I do.

Usually I watch the film, absolutely love it and then grab the book. However, when I saw the trailer of Under The Skin, I decided to not even try to watch it. It looks too scary, too gorey, too not me. But I can’t give up on Scarlett completely, so I decided to read the book instead.

Under The Skin is written by Michel Faber and tells the story of Isserley, a woman slash outer world creature. She is send to this earth to collect humans for her home planet/world.

Of course, nothing goes to plan and Isserley has to figure out what it means to be human and what it means to be an animal, which is what they call what we would consider humans.

The book is a clear critical look at modern society and the way we treat not only animals, but people we consider less than us. How cruel we can be to each other and how we deal with that cruelty.

I’m very conflicted about this book. On the one hand, I enjoyed it. There is great characterization and you really grow with the narrator. The whole story is from Isserley’s point of view and, even though she has the most unusual job, her thoughts are just like ours. But still not the same, because she’s from a different world. This sounds contradictory, and I guess it is, but the author walks this fine line perfectly and really allows the reader to understand Isserley and thus understand the shocking things she does.

On the other hand, this whole “critical look at society” genre is not my thing. I understand the purpose and I think the critique is completely justified – however, it is not what I enjoy most about reading. When I read a book, I want to escape to a different world. With this book, I felt too connected to “the real world” through all the critique.

Is that a bad thing? No, not at all. I’m sure plenty of readers will really enjoy that. It just wasn’t my cup of tea.

But why would I tell my friends to definitely read it? The ending of the story. I reached the last 20 pages and didn’t get any sense of an ending. It got me curious and anxious (“please tell me this isn’t going to be another lame open ending for a story that so obviously needs a clear ending?!”). But the author gave a satisfying, shocking and amazingly written ending that suited the characters perfectly in just twenty pages. That’s some serious skill.

A Girl Is A Half-formed Thing - Eimear McBride

I have an obsession with novels that explore the relationship between siblings. In my opinion, it is one of the most interesting and most unexplored relationships as most authors focus on romantic relationships or the famous “Daddy-daughter issues”.

However, Eimear McBride threw herself right into the complexity of family bounds with her debut novel A Girl Is A Half-formed Thing.

The plot is fairly straightforward – it’s the inner narrative of a young girl who has a brother with a brain tumor and a complicated relationship with the rest of her family. The girl, who is never named in the novel due to the use of the “I”-voice, struggles with seeing her brother suffer from a brain tumor. He is slower than the other boys and gets teased quite a lot. She is torn between trying to help him and trying to help herself. This inner conflict leads her into some pretty unhealthy situations that she tries to use to lose herself.

The main thing that needs to be discussed about this book is the writing style, since it has been the most remarkable style I’ve ever read. There is no real way to describe it, so I think some excerpts (spoiler-free!) are the best way to show it.

For you. You’ll soon. You’ll give her name. In the stitches of her skin she’ll wear your say. Mammy me? Yes you. Bounce the bed, I’d say. I’d say that’s what you did. Then lay you down. They cut you round. Wait and hour and day.

_I met a man. I met a man. I let him throw me round the bed. And smoked, me, spliffs and chocked my neck until I said I was dead. _

It is not an easy writing style to read and it took me about fifty pages to get used to it, but once I was, the book became one of the most emotionally grabbing books I’ve ever read. There are certain scenes that portray very serious situations and by being inside the girl’s head, by really hearing her voice instead of a generic authorial voice, the scenes became even more emotional. I don’t want to spoil it too much, but halfway through the book, there was a moment I almost cried on the tube. (Can you imagine? The coldhearted, don’t show any emotion tube – the horror!)

However, every pro has its con and I felt like I missed out on a lot of the story by this narrative. There were too many questions unanswered for me – like what exactly was wrong with her brother? Who is her mother and what is her story? The one sided storytelling allowed for amazing connection with the girl, but I still have so many questions left.

However, the originality of the style and the plot twists (seriously, I know I can’t spoil it so just trust me on this one and read it) make up for it. And maybe leaving this unanswered was exactly the point of the story, because that is life. We only know our own story and we are left guessing about what other people feel and think. A reader walks away from this book with the normal sense of fulfillment, but an even stronger sense of loss. Loss for this girl. Loss for the family. And loss for the questions that will never be answered. And to create that, someone has to be a really talented writer.

Sweet Nothings - Kim Law

Joanie Bigbee and Nick Dalton are polar opposites in every way. She is wild, untamed and unable to settle down – jobwise and relationship-wise. He is calm, a “house mouse” and eager to settle down as fast as possible. They fall in love, but are faced with a number of issues such as the health of Joanie’s grandmother, Nick’s complicated past and the constant rumours started by the people that live in their small town.

The novel is a story about how nothing in life can be planned, because unexpected events will always change our lives in unexpected ways. The author emphasizes this by having a double narrative in her story. The reader knows the point of view of Nick and Joanie and this helps to understand the struggles the main characters have to go through before they can be happy. Though the double narrative expands the story compared to the average chicklit book, in which we only know the struggles of the female protagonist, it also eliminates the element of suspense in the love story. 

The feelings of the main characters for each other are known at every point of the story and so the reader never really has to wonder whether or not the characters will end up together. Kim Law tries to compensate this by letting the main characters interact a lot with minor characters, of which the reader does not know the perspectives. Those smaller personas often are the core of the unexpected events that change the lives of Joanie and Nick.

The author taps into the 50 Shades of Grey audience by including many explicit sex scenes in the book. Though they do not move the plot forward in any sort of way, they will be a delight to any reader who loves the Grey trilogy.

The writing style of the author is an easy one to read, though often filled with cringe-worthy clichés such as “A man who’d set her engine on purr” and “Captivating eyes, the color of storm clouds on a late-summer day”. However, there are not too many for it to overtake the plot line.
Overall, Sweet Nothings is a decent read. It will make you laugh at times, but it is pretty predictable, especially because of the double narrative, and there are better chicklits out there.