Title: Night Owls (The Anatomical Shape of a Heart in the US)
Author: Jenn Bennett
Edition: Simon & Schuster UK, 2015
Rating: ★★★★★ ★
Review
I don't even know where to start. I devoured this book; I read it in just over 24 hours, and that's including the day out I was on with my family.
Okay, let's start with Bex. I loved Bex and her dream of being a medical illustrator. It was so refreshing to have a character wanting to be something other than the generic. I think it's so important for teens to realise how many options they have. I didn't realise what I really wanted to be until I'd already done a year at university. Not saying I'd want to be a medical illustrator, but it would have been nice to be able to read about characters who dreamt of careers you'd never heard of.
Title: Northern Lights
Author: Philip Pullman
Edition: Scholastic UK, 2011
Rating: ★★★
Review
I've meant to pick up this book for a while, and my Writing for Young People module reading list has forced me to finally get round to reading it; it's the chosen book for the young people and fantasy lecture.
Prior to reading it, I'd heard lots of good things, and, I'm sorry to admit, I saw the film adaptation, known as The Golden Compass, years and years ago. I do think having the film in my mind while I read it did ruin the experience a little, but I'll get to that.
Philip Pullman has such a magical way with words. His descriptions, especially of settings, are clear and thorough, hardly leaving anything to the imagination at the same time as sparking it. The world in which Lyra lives is so close to the real world that it eased me into the fantastical elements gently, and as it became more and more unlike the real world, it all felt natural; of course there are ice-bears in the North and witches that fly like shadows.
Title: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
Author: Jesse Andrews
Edition: Allen & Unwin, 2015
Rating: ★★★★
Review
I have to admit it. I only picked up this book because I saw the film trailer; my copy even has 'now a major motion picture' printed on the front. From the title, I was kind of expecting The Fault in our Stars take two. All I'll say about that though is, do not pass on this one if you disliked TFIOS. The only similarity between the two is the cancer.
Even then, Rachel's leukaemia takes a back seat. This story isn't about some big, meaningful, life lesson. It's just a story about ordinary characters dealing with cancer – the way real life people deal with real life cancer. There's absolutely no romanticisation of cancer here.
