Review: WHISPER by Lynette Noni

Whisper by Lynette Noni

“Lengard is a secret government facility for extraordinary people,” they told me.

I believed them. That was my mistake.

There isn’t anyone else in the world like me.

 I’m different. I’m an anomaly. I’m a monster.

 For two years, six months, fourteen days, eleven hours and sixteen minutes, Subject Six-Eight-Four — ‘Jane Doe’ — has been locked away and experimented on, without uttering a single word. As Jane’s resolve begins to crack under the influence of her new — and unexpectedly kind — evaluator, she uncovers the truth about Lengard’s mysterious ‘program’, discovering that her own secret is at the heart of a sinister plot … and one wrong move, one wrong word, could change the world.

—-

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Firstly, thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Unfortunately, this book wasn’t what I’d hoped it to be and it’s currently a DNF. Over the last couple of months, I’ve picked it up several times, but each time I just couldn’t get into the story much past the 60% mark and so it FELT like reading and I just wasn’t as absorbed in the story as I wanted to be.

Don’t get me wrong; the beginning was brilliant. Jane’s situation sucked me in right from the start and I was so curious. I devoured the opening.

But then the pacing just seemed a little off. I don’t know, it just seemed a bit too flat at times and way too tense at others—to me, the reveals and twists didn’t quite meant sense. I felt there were a lot of contradictions, especially regarding the supernatural abilities.

Ward was by far my favourite character and I loved the romance building and how he gave Jane a nickname.

But unfortunately this book just wasn’t for me at the moment.

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Review: WHAT I LOST by Alexandra Ballard

What I Lost by Alexandra Ballard
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What sixteen-year-old Elizabeth has lost so far: forty pounds, four jean sizes, a boyfriend, and her peace of mind. As a result, she’s finally a size zero. She’s also the newest resident at Wallingfield, a treatment center for girls like her—girls with eating disorders. Elizabeth is determined to endure the program so she can go back home, where she plans to start restricting her food intake again. She’s pretty sure her mom, who has her own size 0 obsession, needs treatment as much as she does. Maybe even more. Then Elizabeth begins receiving mysterious packages. Are they from her ex-boyfriend, a secret admirer, or someone playing a cruel trick?

—

I have such mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, it’s an important read—it deals with eating disorders in a very respectful way, and tackling issues like this is always tough. The author does a good job of bringing such a sensitive topic to the forefront. Yet it seemed a bit flat in its execution.

The representation of anorexia is also especially well done, and from what I know, it was pretty realistic as well as it showed Elizabeth’s journey to recovery.

But for me, the writing felt flat. The tone pretty much stayed the same throughout and I struggled a little with reading it at times as I kept getting distracted and couldn’t always remember which character was which. But the story itself was powerful enough for me to pull through and finish it.

There also were a couple of things I did feel that read a bit like a how-to manual for deceiving people about how much you’re eating, so these “tips” at hiding food could prove a little triggering for some readers. Just something to be aware of.

I’ve been reading a lot of novels looking at characters with eating disorders recently, and this is the first one I’ve come across where the mother of the protagonist also has an eating disorder which she is made to realise and come to terms with too. That gives this book a slight edge in that respect.

Overall this is a good read, it just lacked the emotional impact I was hoping for.

Review: WINTERGIRLS by Laurie Halse Anderson

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

About Wintergirls: 

“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame. 

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.

---


This has to be one of the most disturbing books I've read in a long time. I don't mean that in a bad way--just that it is a VERY powerful and emotional read.

It delves deeply into the mindset of Lia, a girl suffering from anorexia, who is struggling to cope with the death of her best friend (who died from an eating disorder). Because of how deep the POV is and just how much we're put into Lia's shoes, I found this really hard to read at times. It's not a light read, but it's an important read, though I found it triggering.

There's also extensive self-harm too in this book, which, again, made it difficult to read at times.

I did however love the writing style, with the many crossed-out words, and how we really get to see Lia's mind and her thought processes. The imagery and metaphors were also especially good and evocative. These really made this book special to me--not just the important message within its pages, but the way this message is delivered both in terms of the plot and the writing.

I'd definitely recommend it to fans of Girl in Pieces (Kathleen Glasgow) and Thicker than Water (Kelly Fiore).


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Cover Reveal: CELESTIAL by S.E. Anderson

S.E. Anderson has fast become my go-to author for light sci-fi. Whenever I want an engaging read about space-travel with just the right amount of humour, or to read about the jolly (and not-so-jolly) antics of a (human) young woman and two time-travelling immortals, I pick up her books.

And, today, I'm delighted to be revealing the cover for CELESTIAL, book four in the Starstruck Saga. I'm currently reading an ARC of this book, and let me tell you this, it's truly amazing. We see a new side to Sally (the main character) as she finds herself promptly stepping into the role of Goddess for a society she's just met and trying to remain alive. But, anyway, review to come later!

For now, check out the gorgeous cover!

Isn't it just beautiful?

I love it so much!

You can find S.E. Anderson's books on Amazon.

Review: MONDAY’S NOT COMING by Tiffany Jackson

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Monday Charles is missing, and only Claudia seems to notice. Claudia and Monday have always been inseparable—more sisters than friends. So when Monday doesn’t turn up for the first day of school, Claudia’s worried. When she doesn’t show for the second day, or second week, Claudia knows that something is wrong. Monday wouldn’t just leave her to endure tests and bullies alone. Not after last year’s rumors and not with her grades on the line. Now Claudia needs her best—and only—friend more than ever. But Monday’s mother refuses to give Claudia a straight answer, and Monday’s sister April is even less help.

As Claudia digs deeper into her friend’s disappearance, she discovers that no one seems to remember the last time they saw Monday. How can a teenage girl just vanish without anyone noticing that she’s gone?

___

Okay, so I’ve been wanting to read this book for what seems like ages, and when my UK pre-order finally arrived, I was ecstatic. And this book is AMAZING. Seriously. It blew me away. I can’t believe just how good it was. It’s probably my favourite read of 2018 so far.

It’s rare that I read a book that I had such high expectations for based on what I’ve heard AND it lives up to those expectations. Well, in fact, this book exceeded them BY FAR.

I loved how the different timelines are woven together, how we see the before and after of the disappearance of Monday Charles—and the effect this has on the narrator, Claudia. And wow, that twist near the end? I did not see that coming. I was speechless.

And Tiffany Jackson is an expert and creating tension, let me tell you! I just had to keep reading. Jackson is now an auto-buy author for me.

In summary, MONDAY’S NOT COMING is an emotional, poignant, and harrowing story of a girl’s disappearance and her best friend’s struggle to find out what happened to her. It covers difficult topics—child abuse, neglect, and bullying, to name a few—but in a skilled and sensitive way, all the while creating a real page-turner that had me reading well into the night.

Five stars, without a doubt.

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What I'm Currently Reading... And What's Coming Up

So, I thought I'd write a quick post about my current and upcoming reads as I haven't been able to read as much as I'd like to recently, as I've had so little time due to illness and deadlines for my own writing, and so it feels like it's taking me FOREVER to read a single book! But, the good side of this is that it draws out these books and they're amazing books--so they last a little longer.  And I really want to talk about them!

Current Reads:

• Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany Jackson, YA Contemporary

This is a book that's been on my radar for ages and I've been waiting so long for it to release in the UK. Well, my pre-order finally arrived about five days ago and I've been reading it in snatched moments here and there. Currently on page 95!

• Celestial by S.E. Anderson, NA Science Fiction (ARC from Author) 

S.E. Anderson is one of my author friends and critique partners. I'm delighted to get a chance to read her fourth novel early! 

• Whisper by Lynette Noni, YA Dystopian (ARC from NetGalley)

So I'm just over halfway with this book and I feel like I've been reading it forever. I've found the first eight or so chapters to be a little slow in terms of pacing, but now things are really picking up and it's fast becoming a near-favourite for YA dystopian. 

• Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi (YA Fantasy) 

I'm just over halfway with this book too, and I love it so much. I've been reading a couple of pages every day for this one--for quite a long time--as it's one of those really special books that I just want to savour and really process. The writing's so beautiful. 

Upcoming Reads:

So two of my upcoming reads at the moment are books I ordered after UKYAChat on Twitter a few weeks ago. The theme was YA books that talk about traditionally 'tough' issues, and I asked for recs on books where characters having eating disorders. One of them--Karen Gregory's Countless--I read and reviewed last week, but I've still got lots I'm looking forward to:

• Paperweight by Meg Haston (YA Contemporary)
• What I Lost by Alexandra Ballard (YA Contemporary)

And I'm still waiting for Winter Girls by Laurie Halse Anderson to arrive. 

Other books in my to-read pile include: 

• Miss Planet Earth by S.E. Anderson (NA Science Fiction) -- signed copy!
• The Extinction Trials by S.M. Wilson (YA Science Fiction)
• The Last Man by Mary Shelley (Adult Apocalyptic) --  this is a re-read as I read this book first for part of my degree a few years ago

What about you? Have you read any of these books? 

Review: TRAVELER by S.E. Anderson

Traveler by S.E. Anderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sally’s search for Earth isn’t off to a good start: chased out of her hotel room and into the broom closet of a spaceship, she’s accidentally become a stowaway on the Alliance Flagship, Traveler.

But when sabotage and murder show the crew’s true colors, Zander and Blayde are forced to stay and help them out of their mess. Lies, drama, and deceit lead them light years away to a mysterious planet on the edge of the galaxy, where the crew must band together just to stay alive. Which would be much easier if they didn’t have to deal with a diva first-mate, a droid with a religious obsession, and Blayde’s Ex whose brain is a spaceship.

Finding Earth has to be put on the back burner, as Sally’s stuck tending alien boo-boos - and she still has no idea what she’s doing. And she might not live long enough to get off the planet in one piece.

Traveler is the third book in S.E. Anderson’s Starstruck Saga and I think it might just be my favourite yet. It follows the usual crew—Sally, Zander, and Blayde—as they become stuck on a broken spaceship...only to discover everything is not as it seems and there are definite bad guys hanging among them.

This book has so many twists! I was actually speechless with the one early on involving the ship’s crew! And equally, the one at the 75% mark involving Kork surprised me too. I totally did not see that coming.

And Kork—okay, I loved him. He’s definitely my favourite character now. (Sorry, Zander!)

The last quarter of this book was what really made it an absolutely fantastic read for me. Everything came together and I loved how it reminded us of things in the first two books, pulling on strands of those plots and incorporating them into the end of book three—yet doing this in a way that still leaves an unanswered question for the next book. Because of this amalgamation of different plot elements, Traveler has a ‘wider’ feel than the other two books, and Sally also seems more mature and we see more character growth from her.

The other thing I loved about this book was the Star Trek references! Adding this contemporary angle to a book which takes place in the near future and involves space travel and alien adventures made it more relatable—plus, hearing that Sally is a big Star Trek fan too also helps make her personally more relatable and allows her to call out elements that seem too much like “plot points in a film” in the scenarios that happen to her on the spaceship. That was a really nice touch.

All in all, this is a fast-paced, wild space adventure with diverse characters, humour, and just the right amount of action.

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