Review: The Secret Deep

The Secret Deep. Written by Lindsay Galvin

 

The Secret Deep. Written by Lindsay Galvin

Wow. I don’t quite know what I was expecting from this book. It really intrigued me when I picked it up in the library, both with the cover being so beautiful and it being set loosely in NZ. 

For a blurb of the book you can click here to be taken to Goodreads.

I am really pleased to say that it did not disappoint. Initially the book felt a little slow, enough so that I was interested, but was not really sure where it was going.  However the background work all paid off, because by the time the twists and turns started I was hooked, and really invested in these characters.

I am pleased I have read this on my summer holidays, it was the perfect sort of book to just tune out the world, and get caught up in another world. I actually thought as I read the book, that ultimately that is why I read – so that I can explore different worlds to my own.

Aster was an amazing character, and I really admired her strengths. ultimately she also delivered us the message of the story, about being strong and continuing forward. She suffered from anxiety/panic attacks which I thought were really well done, and made them feel real.

I am not much of a science nerd, but I did think that the science and genetics were very well explained. The shifting motives of the researchers also kept me on my toes.

Overall, a very enjoyable, and suspenseful read, which kept surprising right up to the end. This would be suitable for younger readers as well – especially our year 8-10 students.

Mrs K

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Teenage fiction, fiction

Review: Between Shades of Gray

Between Shades of Gray. Written by Ruta Sepetys

What is this book about? (The synopsis from Goodreads)

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they’ve known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin’s orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously–and at great risk–documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father’s prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives.

What did I think?

WOW! I sat down to take a break from some cleaning and thought I would start this book. Four hours later I have read the whole book and done no more housework. This book was amazing. Such a horrific story, but the writing and the description draws you in so well that it is obviously very hard to put down.

I first encountered this author when I read Salt to Sea, which was an amazing book. Sepetys takes topics of things that we do not know much about and really makes them come alive.

Lina in this story is described so vividly, as are the circumstances of her life, well, her new life which she is rudely dropped into one night. Thrown into cattle cars and deported to Siberia.

The supporting characters are also amazing, and their motivations as the story goes on is phenomenal. I know – the English teacher in me is upset with how many ’empty’ words I am using but I really do not want to spoil anything for anyone else who wants to read this book.

With that in mind – not wanting to give any spoilers all I can really say is please please read this book. It is so well written and I have absolutely loved it!

I want to say a couple of things though.

The title is obviously Shades of Gray, and this is such an apt title, everyone has aspects of gray, no one is ever as black and white as they seem. What I really enjoy about this that comes through in the story, is that characters are not given names, rather talked about by their traits, however while they seem to be boxed into a particular stereotype they are still able to shift, and show their depth of gray.

I knew very little about the displacement of Europeans during the war, and feel like this is something I want to know more about. This was certainly a very personal introduction to the topic.

The mother!! She was the definite heroine of this book. I think while we constantly read books about how much mothers love their children, this book really highlights that some more.

Have a read – it is totally worth it!!

Mrs K

Genre: Historical Fiction, War, Adolescent Fiction, Teenage Fiction, Young Adult

 

Review: I Crawl Through It

I crawl Through it. By A.S.King

So I have read this book in under 24 hours, drawn in by a strange sense of needing to know what was happening and at the same time not quite understanding what was happening!

I have borrowed the explanation from Goodreads, as I genuinely cannot explain what this book was about in my own words!

Four talented teenagers are traumatized-coping with grief, surviving date rape, facing the anxiety of standardized tests and the neglect of self-absorbed adults–and they’ll do anything to escape the pressure. They’ll even build an invisible helicopter, to fly far away to a place where everyone will understand them… until they learn the only way to escape reality is to face it head-on.

Initially as I was reading I thought that the book was somewhat akin to The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime. But the more I read the more unconvinced I was.

Overall I enjoyed this book, but what kept me reading was a need to understand, rather than an engagement with the characters or anything else. By the end I did understand, and applauded the teenagers for facing their problems, because I get that it is certainly easier to fly off to a far away place!!

My favorite line in the text was

People can be mirrors for other people. It happens all the time. Probably more than it should.

This line really struck me! In a world of social media where we are constantly comparing ourselves with others, or checking to see how many likes something gets I think that this line is really apt.

Overall – I enjoyed the book, but am not sure I would recommend it for others, as it felt a little confusing. Reading some of the reviews on Goodreads makes me a little sad that I have almost missed or not understood the magic of this book. I can see how people felt that, but did not experience it myself.

The overall message however about staying in the real world and facing your problems is an important message for our young adult readers.

Mrs K

Genre: Young Adult, Magical realism, contemporary, fiction.

Review: The Towering Sky

The Towering Sky. Written by Katharine McGee

This is the third book in The Thousandth floor series. You can read about book one and book two using those links. I really enjoyed the first book, which I referred to as a futuristic gossip girl. Looking at the lives of the rich and famous and how they live. The technology of the future was just there, it was not the focus of the book. The second book was a little more blah. I was in two minds about even reading the third book, but I am very pleased I did. It was a nice light read to start off my holidays this year.

 

This was a really good conclusion to the story, it kept good pace and I easily fell back into who the characters were. It felt like it was written as a conclusion, from the beginning it was about sorting out who belonged with who, and the niggles in the relationship. This was in part because the main characters were all at a point where they were considering where to go to school next year, so there was a lot of soul searching as they tried to work out who they were.

There were some really poetic moments, such as people questioning where they actually belonged, and how you knew who you really were. However in saying this the characters were much more settled, or perhaps just resigned that they were in book one.

“Maybe that was just the way love went – it was something that happened to you, and the best preparation you could hope for was the chance to take a deep breath before the wave of it crashed above you and you were in over your head.”

I love this quote, although it makes me think of a meme that I read this week, which talked about how literature has caused us to have this idea of what love is or what love should be, when in reality love can be a smile at a stranger, or phoning a friend, it does not have to be fireworks between you and a lover. Certainly this book helps set up those expectations, where you fall in love with a rich guy who loves you for who you are, but also who showers you with expensive dresses or houses because he can.

“That’s because the better you know someone, the easier it is to hurt them,”

This was definitely the book which dealt with the consequences of the actions, characters got hurt, things fell apart, which I always find a little refreshing, even in a fantasy world, it is nice to not have everything work out perfectly for everyone.

“A city is a living thing, if it doesn’t grow it withers and it dies.”

I have never been to New York, it is definitely on my list, but what I love about other big cities around the world. (Not so much something you get in little old NZ) is the sheer enormity of people, the fact that because there are so many people the cities never sleep. In Paris, just as the last of the people are going from the night before the bakers and delivery men are heading out to start their day. It is quieter but it never stops. In fairness there is also something about travelling which makes you marvel at all of these things! In anyway – this quote really stood out to me. In fact I think it is not just a city, but also people, who if they do not grow then they wither and die. (And am talking about growing in a non physical sense here!)

Anyway this blog I feel has more pondered the state of the world than just the book; but you should read the book. The whole series is a nice, somewhat predictable read. But is very well written and very enjoyable. While the pace of book two was a little slow, this book wraps everything up nicely, and left me with my cathartic little bow!

Mrs K

Genre: Speculative Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Young Adult, Dystopian Fiction, Teenage fiction.

Review: Full Tilt

Full Tilt. Written by Neal Shusterman.

So I read this book with a bit of an idea that perhaps our Year 9s could study this text. I was a little apprehensive as the only other book of his that I have read was Unwind, and while I liked the story I was a little unhappy with some of the writing, particularly the treatment of female characters.

However Full Tilt was good. I did not always think so, in fact half way through I was saying that I would not recommend it to anyone. However having now finished I would like to revise that opinion as actually, it was very deep. The psychological thinking behind it was fantastic.

“To be completely helpless in the face of life– powerless to do a single thing– that’s what I’d always feared more than anything.”

So I really liked this whole idea of fear and control. I Liked that it had not real love story, and that the main focus was the relationship between two brothers. I also liked that it was the brothers who had to overcome their fear in order to succeed.

“They say you never know who’s the real hero and who’s the real coward until you’re looking death in the face. I’ve always been afraid of plenty of things, but fear isn’t what makes you a coward. It’s how depraved your heart becomes when fear gets pumped through it.”

The theme of the book were strong, and the message at the end about facing your fears, but also about the nature of reality were strong. If I was to teach the novel, I could see these evoking some good discussion. I would also like to unpack in detail the relationship between the brothers, and also the characters of the brothers themselves.

“It began the night we died on the Kamikaze”

This was the first line of the text. I think one of my biggest complaints around the story was that I did not find the writing descriptive enough, which meant that all of the rides that should have evoked horror and sometimes surprise in the reader actually just left me a little bored. I did really enjoy the ride with the mirrors, but the rest of them tended to leave me just a little bit flat.

Overall, while it had some great ideas I do not think that I will be recommending it for our department. Mostly because I did not enjoy it enough to be able to read a second time!

Mrs K

Genre; Horror, Young Adult, Fantasy, Thriller, Speculative Fiction, Teenage Fiction, psychological thriller.

Review: Reflection (A Twisted Tale)

Reflection. (A Twisted Tale book 4) Written by Elizabeth Lim

So my secret obsession is Disney. I love all movies, all merchandise all theme parks. So it was kind of a no brainer when I was at the scholastic sale and this book was super cheap that I picked it up. Looking up some of the details to write this blog I was excited to see that it was published this year. I have read no others in this series, but they are all stand alone retellings so it does not matter.

This book tells a story of Mulan. What if Mulan had to travel to the Underworld?
When Captain Shang is mortally wounded by Shan Yu in battle, Mulan must travel to the Underworld, Diyu, in order to save him from certain death. But King Yama, the ruler of Diyu, is not willing to give Shang up easily. With the help of Shang’s great lion guardian ShiShi, Mulan must traverse Diyu to find Shang’s spirit, face harrowing obstacles, and leave by sunrise–or become King Yama’s prisoner forever. Moreover, Mulan is still disguised as the soldier called Ping, wrestling with the decision to reveal her true identity to her closest friend. Will Mulan be able to save Shang before it’s too late? Will he ever be able to trust her again? Or will she lose him–and be lost in the Underworld–forever?

“It doesn’t matter if I’m pretending to be Ping or if I’m Mulan. As long as I am true to myself, then my reflection will show who I really am.”

So I really enjoyed this book for what it was. It is a fun retelling of the movie. The author does really well to weave quotes from the original story with chinese mythology about Diyu into one story.   I really appreciate that Disney broke from the author of the previous three books and chose an Asian author to write this story.

I really enjoyed the character of Mulan, much as I enjoyed the original character. She had an incredible journey through the Underworld, and was always so brave and selfless and ready to fight to help her friends and family. I love the message around her making her own choices.

I would have liked the ending to slow down a little bit more in order to enjoy the resolution in a little more detail, but the journey was good enough that I can forgive this oversight!

Overall this is a fun light read that I think all fans of Disney or the movie will enoy.

Mrs K

Genre: Retellings, Fantasy, Young Adult