"My Husband's Son" Deborah O'Connor

This book seems to have taken Twitter by storm and powered its way up the ebook chart in record breaking fashion. It has been highly recommended by the all best book bloggers in town, by authors I admire and O'Connor's publishers, Twenty7, are fast becoming a reliable "go to" for brand new talent. The only other books this year which for me, have created such a tsunami of excitement, are C L Taylor's "The Missing" and Claire MacDonald's yet to be published "I See You".  So I really could not wait any longer to read it, even though part of me was worried - what if I didn't like it as much as everyone else? I just didn't want to be disappointed.

Well I sure didn't need to worry! There is absolutely nothing disappointing about this confident, absorbing, thought provoking novel.

For those not familiar with the plot, "My Husband's Son" is about Heidi and Jason. They meet at a support group for parents whose children have disappeared, been abducted or murdered. Their shared loss and shared understanding of what is every parents worst nightmare, brings them together and they build a new life - although constantly still searching for Barney, Jason's son who disappeared 5 years ago. Then Heidi thinks she spots Barney. Jason is not convinced. Soon Heidi's determination to reunite Jason with this boy she believes to be his son threatens their fragile marriage and as she begins to uncover evidence that Jason has hidden from her, things become increasingly more tense and emotionally fraught.

From the outset, introducing two characters that have suffered such trauma, unhappiness and heartache creates an atmosphere of suspense and tension. There is a foreboding feeling which seeps out from between the opening pages, then lingers and hovers over the reader throughout the entire novel. O'Connor's writing is fluid and engaging. Her characters established quickly with ease and conviction. The reality of living with the infinite hope your child will be returned to you and then trying to cope with the disappointment when another recovered child is positively identified as not being yours is well evoked. Heidi is not a pitiful character but the reader definitely develops empathy for the fact that "what happened to my daughter now defines who I am." Every aspect of her life is haunted by her past. Losing her child is impossible to move on from even when she relocates, Heidi can not answer even the most simple of questions without having to tell her whole life story. I think this idea of being followed by a ghost and known only to people through what you have suffered very interesting and one O'Connor subtly explores within the story arc.

Apart from one true friend, Clara, Heidi has found it difficult to establish much of social circle; people are frightened they might put their own families at risk by association. Therefore the relationship with Jason is under more pressure.

Jason is also well constructed. A man not afraid to show his weakness, his distress, his lack of control. A man who can never ever give up the search for his son as that will be admitted he is dead. Heidi compares Jason's disappointment following yet another false sighting as like watching a lit fuse that sometimes might "burn slowly, so slowly that you were lulled into thinking it had fizzled out. But when you were least expecting it there'd be that nitrate flash." O'Connor's imagery and choice of simile is always simple but the references to fire and explosions infers danger and tension. O'Connor's description of places like the playground where a gaggle of teenagers are "packed into a dark space under the slide.....tips of cigarettes pinpricking the gloom..." are so sinister and fill the reader's subconscious with ideas of children being hidden, locked away, hurt; the traditional safety and innocence of a playground now tainted and forever ruined for both Jason and Heidi.

Heidi's conviction that she has found Barney leads her down a path of deception and danger which threatens to not only jeopardises her personal safety but also her career, her friendship with Clara and her marriage. How can she remain so certain she has found her husband's son when Jason, the boy's father, is as convinced it's not him? Who is right? Who do we believe?

I spent most of the novel trying to work out how reliable Heidi was as a narrator. She is under pressure, confused, upset, desperate to reunite her husband and finally give him peace of mind or closure. She makes decisions which are at times questionable, where her motive is unclear. She doesn't look after herself. Her obsession with the shop keeper, Keith, and then his friend Tommy, feel irrational and unfounded. It's as if being made so brutally aware of the horror lurking behind every closed door, Heidi is now seeing things that aren't there. If you are forced to acknowledge what people can be capable of, how could you not end up jumping to impulsive conclusions after catching a glimpse of other people's lives? Almost like in "The Girl on the Train," has Heidi just transferred an entire fiction on to innocent people so desperate is she to believe she has found Barney.

Not only does she want to reunite Barney and Jason, she also needs a resolution over the loss of her daughter Lauren. She yearns for a new baby but this yearning is racked with guilt that she is somehow replacing a child. She is a complex bundle of extreme emotions and I couldn't help thinking her imagination and desires were affecting her grip on reality.

Heidi is very real. She is not a hero, she is not a fool. She is not normally a risk taker or a someone who can pull off negotiations with intimidating men. She's impulsive not forward thinking, inexperienced and clumsy. The scrapes she finds herself in are so vividly recounted that I could smell the dustbins she leapt behind while clambering about in the dark and feel the bruises on my bones as she fell, tripped and stumbled through her precarious escapes. Although some readers may find some of the basic premise requiring a little stretch of imagination, I think Heidi's behaviour is actually very easy to relate to and very authentic. For me, she was more convincing and real that some of the other female protagonists featuring in current "Grip Lit" titles. I liked her vulnerability, her culpability, her drive and the way her obsessive quest for their personal "Holy Grail" masked and confused the story line and the reader's interpretation of the other characters.

O'Connor masterfully adds more twists so you are then forced to question the reliability of each character. Nothing is as clear cut as it seems and almost the years of searching for one thing have masked what should have been spotted from the beginning. Secrets, lies and half truths eek out from the between the lines as the thriller heads towards its ingenious conclusion.

This is a thriller, it is pacy and compelling. I read it almost one sitting. But it feels more original than just another "psychological thriller". There are twists, you are left gasping and shell shocked but I think O'Connor has achieved more. Within this novel are questions of identity (including your own and how you are presenting or shaping it), family, secrets, honesty, memories and the reliability of these memories. The novel is littered with little details that are used by O'Connor to subtly question the strength of the couple's relationship, asking what it means when a marriage is founded on an extreme crisis - what happens to the couple if that crisis is resolved?

I was also intrigued by O'Connor's investigation of the assumption that there is a strong, everlasting bond between a parent and child. As the front cover asks, you'd always recognise your own child wouldn't you? And what does it mean if you don't? What sort of parent does that make you?

Bring on a Book Group discussion!

Yes, this is a good book. It did not let me down in any way at all. I can't wait to see what Deborah O'Connor does next as she can clearly write well. In my opinion, she will sit alongside writers like Elizabeth Haynes, Samantha Hayes, Linda Huber, C L Taylor, Claire MacIntosh, Louise Cavendish as an author that writes unputdownable gripping literature!

Thank you very much to NetGalley for an advanced copy of the novel in return for a fair review. I had the release date on my calendar as October 2016 - which is in fact the date of the paperback edition so apologies for the late posting of this review.

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"Nina is Not Okay" Shappi Khorsandi

I was intrigued to read this book. I first saw Shappi Khorsandi a few years ago doing stand up in Harpenden Town Hall and it was a truly entertaining evening. She was witty, humorous and had a charismatic stage presence. Her observations and asides about Harpenden were sharp, accurate and met with lots of laughter and applause. I have also read her first book "A Beginner's Guide to Acting English" which is very amusing, fluent, well executed and once more, hugely entertaining. So I know she can write a non fiction memoir and I know she can make me laugh. I also know she's intelligent, quick witted and articulate. So can she write a novel? I had to find out!

Yes she can!

Meet Nina. Seventeen, sitting her A-Levels, looking forward to going to Warwick University, living with her mum, little sister of who is she incredibly fond and her step father. She has good friends, a good social life and does well at school without much effort. But.... her dad died when she was 9. Her boyfriend - her first love- has gone to Hong Kong for a gap year and met someone new almost instantly. Her mum is preoccupied with her new husband and her 5 year old sister Katie.

Nina enjoys a good party. So what if sometimes when she wakes up she can't remember every single moment of the night before - who doesn't? Her exploits are the top conversation in the college canteen and her friends love to hear her "entertaining" recounts of the latest mischief or adventure. But then one night that changes. She finds herself in a taxi on the way home with even more missing pieces of the jigsaw than usual. And as she tries to convince that nothing can really have happened, her life begins to spiral out of control. Increasingly isolated from her family, on a constant hunt for some "fun" and escape from her worries and "boring" life pressures, she begins to drink more and party harder. Until Nina is absolutely, definitely not okay.

Khorsandi is very at ease in her delivery of Nina's narrative and the voice of the 17 year old is generally well captured and authentic. I found some of it a little grating to begin with but once I had got used to Nina, I discovered her to actually be a more rounded and more complex character than I had credited- perhaps the mistake that everyone in Nina's life also makes. Her candid, unaffected comments like "I used to think quieter people were emotionally complex- it's really disappointing when you realise they're not," capture the damning arrogance only a teenager can get away with and although indicates to the reader that she is still young and naive, they also make the reader smile in agreement at her perception. Or her honest, unaffected remark that she made Jamie laugh until "snot came out of his nose." There were frequent remarks from Nina which made me smile - either in recognition of my 17 year old self or in her unwitting self awareness. She is a heavily flawed character who makes numerous mistakes and some terrible judgements but ultimately she is endearing, very likeable and, I imagine, very representative of numerous teenagers today.

There are moments when I cringed and almost wanted to turn to the next page but I had to remember this is a young girl navigating life with very little role modelling or guidance - which is really Khorsandi's message. This is reiterated by Nina herself towards the end of the story as she contemplates on importance of the people who step in to save you and guide you back along the right path. Equally cringing/ humiliating / hilarious is the behaviour of heartbroken Nina whose obsessive texting, emailing and stalking on Facebook is reminiscent to all of us I'm sure. A rite of passage in itself. As she says, "I actually typed that and pressed 'send'. I actually let him see it. Writing poetry when you've been dumped should be a very private affair." I couldn't agree more!

Khorsandi's comic voice pervades the narrative. As Nina descends further into a path of self destruction she keeps the tone light and engaging with comments like "someone has moved the kitchen wall. It's not in its usual place. I smack into it." We then watch hopelessly as Nina begins to drink to "shut her mind up"; her deceit and denial tricking herself more than those around her. And then, all too quickly, she is falling in a downward spiral. Her self esteem, angst and all the perennial teenage problems of relationships, fitting in, gaining independence start to get the better of her. All while sitting some of the most demanding exams of her school life.

I'm interested to know what inspired Khorsandi to write a novel about a 17 year old. It seems to me she is interested in looking at young people's attitudes to relationship, sex and alcohol. Things have changed so dramatically for young people in today's society. Relationships are much more fluid and formed unconventionally. Promiscuity and multiple relationships more common and seemingly more acceptable. Life moves at a faster pace; switching, changing and fusing in an unpredictable way. There are no jobs for life. There is no economic security. Families are made up of different generations, marriages, relationships - non biological relationships sometimes meaning more (or even replacing) biological bonds. Life is very public, "followed" by thousands of people you think you are "connected" with; open for "comment" from anyone who has access to google and WiFi.

However, I wasn't sure if Khorsandi was simply presenting us with a coming of age tale -a dramatic roller coaster of emotions as we join the protagonist on a huge journey, or whether there was any underlying motive to offer a warning to the younger generation. The writing isn't patronising or moralistic and I suspect Khorsandi has merely chosen a story line which gave her the opportunity to write something that would appeal to a contemporary audience, full of colourful scenarios and colourful characters, with humour and dry wit.

Not that it's all "laugh a minute". There is some very well navigated discussion about rape and consent. Again, with such a change in attitudes to relationships and sex, the boundaries become less clear and more complicated- even to those involved. But young women, and men, still need to be clear what is acceptable and what is morally responsible or right. There are still boundaries. There are still laws. People still need protecting. Just because someone drinks too much or chooses to enjoy a casual dalliance does not mean they can be exploited or treated disrespectfully. There is also probably a bigger void between parents and children as they negotiate their way through this transition, which in itself makes "guidance" difficult and fraught.

Probably a very good book for a Sixth Form Tutor Group discussion or a Reading Group. Several reviewers think it is a book that needs to be read by all teenagers, boys and girls alike, as the messages are important and well presented.

Khorsandi is clearly an expert "people watcher". Her characters are created with swift, deft strokes and her dialogue flows naturally. There are cliches and a certain degree of obviousness within these characters but that is also partly due to the topic and kind of "chick lit/ young adult" style of the novel. Despite the subject of the novel, this is actually an easy read and one that mimics the fast, interactive, almost dismissive nature of the contemporary young people who take centre stage within the drama. I enjoyed it. With lots of stories looking at the impact of social media on teenagers in more extreme sexual contexts, this book offers something perhaps more relevant or more relatable. I think it will be a hit.

My thanks to Netgalley for an advanced copy of this novel in return for a fair and honest review.

For more recommendations and reviews please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacUK) or sign up to receive future posts by email.

*EXTRACT* "The Fire Child" S K Tremayne

EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT 

‘A magnificently creepy thriller’ Spectator

‘Gripping, sad, and desperately poignant, this is a debut to die for’ Daily Mail 

‘Stunning’ Mail on Sunday

‘Unbearably gripping and suspenseful’ Sophie Hannah

‘Chilling and utterly compulsive ... builds to an incredibly tense and shiver-inducing conclusion’ Sunday Mirror 

'Very eerie' Marie Claire 

When Rachel marries dark, handsome David, everything seems to fall into place. Swept from single life in London to the beautiful Carnhallow House in Cornwall, she gains wealth, love, and an affectionate stepson, Jamie.

But then Jamie’s behaviour changes, and Rachel’s perfect life begins to unravel. He makes disturbing predictions, claiming to be haunted by the spectre of his late mother – David’s previous wife. Is this Jamie’s way of punishing Rachel, or is he far more traumatized than she thought? As Rachel starts digging into the past, she begins to grow suspicious of her husband. Why is he so reluctant to discuss Jamie’s outbursts? And what exactly happened to cause his ex-wife’s untimely death, less than two years ago? As summer slips away and December looms, Rachel begins to fear there might be truth in Jamie’s words: ‘You will be dead by Christmas.’

Here is an exclusive extract from the end of Chapter 1 to give you a bit of background about the legend of Carnhallow

‘Hello.’

A little startled, I turn. It’s Juliet Kerthen: David’s mother. She lives, alone and defiant, in her own self-contained apartment converted from a corner of the otherwise crumbling and unrestored West Wing. Juliet has the first signs of Alzheimer’s, but is, as David phrases it, ‘in a state of noble denial’.

‘Lovely day,’ she says.

‘Gorgeous, isn’t it? Yes.’

I’ve met Juliet a couple of times. I like her a lot: she has a vivid spirit. I do not know if she likes me. I have been too timid to go further, to really make friends, to knock on her front door with blackberry-and-apple pie. Because Juliet Kerthen may be old and fragile, but she is also daunting. The suitably blue-eyed, properly cheekboned daughter of Lord Carlyon. Another ancient Cornish family. She makes me feel every inch the working-class girl from Plumstead. She’d probably find my pie a bit vulgar.

Yet she is perfectly friendly. The fault is mine.

Juliet shields her eyes from the glare of the sun with a visoring hand. ‘David always says that life is a perfect English summer day. Beautiful, precisely because it is so rare and transient.’

‘Yes, that sounds like David.’

‘So how are you settling yourself in, dear?’

‘Fine. Really, really well!’

‘Yes?’ Her narrowed eyes examine me, but in a companionable way. I assess her in return. She is dressed like an elderly person, yet very neatly. A frock that must be thirty years old, a maroon and cashmere cardigan, then sensible, expensive shoes, probably hand-made for her in Truro forty years ago, and now, I guess, polished by Cassie, who looks in every day to make sure the old lady is alive.

‘You don’t find it too imposing?’

‘God no, well, yes, a bit but . . . ’

Juliet indulges me with a kind smile. ‘Don’t let it get to you. I remember when Richard first brought me home to Carnhallow. It was quite the ordeal. That last bit of the drive. Those ghastly little moorland roads from St Ives. I think Richard was rather proud of the remoteness. Added to the mythic quality. Would you like a cup of tea? I have excellent pu’er-cha. I get bored with drinking it alone. Or there is gin. I am in two minds.’

‘Yes. Tea would be brilliant. Thanks.’

I follow her around the West Wing, heading for the north side of the house. The sun is restless and silvery on the distant sea. The clifftop mines are coming into view. I am chattering away about the house, trying to reassure Juliet, and maybe myself, that I am entirely optimistic.

‘What amazes me is how hidden it is. Carnhallow, I mean. Tucked away in this sweet little valley, a total suntrap. But you’re only a couple of miles from the moors, from all that bleakness.’

She turns, and nods. ‘Indeed. Although the other side of the house is so completely different. It’s actually rather clever. Richard always said it proved that the legend was true.’

I frown. ‘Sorry?’

‘Because the other side of Carnhallow looks north, to the mines, on the cliffs.’

I shake my head, puzzled.

She asks, ‘David hasn’t told you the legend?’

‘No. I don’t think so. I mean, uhm, he told me lots of stories. The rowans. The evil Jago Kerthen . . .’ I don’t want to say: Maybe we got so drunk on champagne on the first date and then we had such dizzying sex, I forgot half of what he told me – which is totally possible.

Juliet turns towards the darkened shapes of the mines. ‘Well, this is the legend. The Kerthens, it is said, must have possessed a wicked gift, a sixth sense, or some kind of clairvoyance: because they kept hitting lodes of tin and copper, when other speculators went bust. There is a Cornish name for those with the gift: tus-tanyow. It means the people of fire, people with the light.’ She smiles, blithely. ‘You’ll hear locals telling the story in the Tinners – that’s a lovely pub, in Zennor. You must try it, but avoid the starry gazy pie. Anyway, Richard used to rather drone on about it, about the legend. Because the Kerthens built their house right here, on the bones of the old monastery, facing Morvellan, yet that was centuries before they discovered the tin at Morvellan. So if you are suggestible it rather implies that the legend is true. As if the Kerthens knew they were going to find tin. I know, let’s go and have some pu’er-cha and gin, perhaps they go together.’

She walks briskly around the north-west corner of Carnhallow. I follow, eager for the friendship, and the distraction. Because her story disquiets me in a way I can’t exactly explain.

It is, after all, just a silly little story about the historic family that made so much money, by sending those boys down those ancient mines. Where the tunnels run deep under the sea.

Huge thanks to Harper Collins for letting me be part of the Blog Tour and for providing me with both the extract - so generous!

For my review of "The Fire Child" see here:
http://bibliomaniacuk.blogspot.com/2016/06/the-fire-child-s-k-tremayne.html

For more recommendations and reviews please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacUK) or sign up to receive future posts via email.

Poetry: "Stressed Unstressed: Classic Poems to Ease the Mind"

"Words are, of course, the most powerful drug used by mankind." Rudyard Kipling

This is a collection of poems which have been selected to fill our minds with more positive thoughts. It is "bibliotherapy"- reading for wellbeing. The poems have been chosen as a kind of prescription to help people when they are feeling stressed, anxious, sleepless or panicky.

The poems are organised in to 12 "chapters" ranging from "Stress Beating" to "Grieving" to "Feeling Alone" to "Seizing the Day". There is a straightforward, accessible introduction providing some clear and simple guidance as to how to read a poem and why poetry is particularly effective in calming the soul. Each section is prefaced with a short introduction relevant to the poems and purpose of that section. For example the first section entitled "Stopping" shows the reader how focusing on the cadence, rhythm and tempo of a poem can slow down your breathing, heart rate and induce a sense of calm. "Poetry as a beta-blocker for the soul".

Other sections show how by giving a poem your full attention, you can focus on "being in the moment" which encourages happiness and contentment; how concentrating on the images and meaning in a poem will allow you to escape from all your other thoughts and concerns - an act of mindfulness. The rhythm of poetry can create a kind of heart beat, by which you can regulate your own; the patterns creating harmony and balance which in turn can be felt by the reader. Reading some of these brief introductions made me realise just how powerful poetry can be and just how useful it might be in the art of mindfulness and just how medicinal it is.

The poems featured are mainly classics from a whole range of poets like Wordsworth, R S Thomas, Emily Bronte, Rossetti, Housman, Jennings and Robert Frost. There are some of my favourites and some I had forgotten or not come across before. I like how they have been organised and it is definitely a book I would dip in and out depending on my mood / interest. I don't think this has to just be for people who are stressed, but for anyone looking to take 5 minutes out of their busy day and spend a few moments absorbed in something totally different. Picking up a poem is sometimes easier than returning to the next chapter in your book and even if you are not much of a poetry reader this should not put you off. There is nothing mysterious, academic or inaccessible about these poems or the way in which they are presented. It is a must have for anyone who enjoys poetry and hopefully looks at familiar poems in a new light with room for fresh interpretation and use.

For more recommendation and reviews, please follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacUK) or sign up to receive future posts via email.

"Everything Love Is" Claire King

A poignant, mysterious, and unforgettable story of love, and of the happy endings we conceive for ourselves.

The book opens in 1968 with a woman who dies while giving birth on a train; the passenger who assists her claims the child for herself. It then switches to the narrative of Baptiste Molino, a therapist living on a houseboat moored on the edge of Toulouse. He is with his a new client Amandine Rousseau who has visited him because she has heard he makes people happy. "I don't believe anyone else can make you happy," is his gentle, considered reply, "But you can be helped to find your own way there." Amandine wants to feel alive, to fall in love. 

And from this point, the thoughtful, benevolent, compassionate Baptiste who spends his time helping his clients to navigate through their own stormy waters- never making waves of his own - is entranced by the enigmatic Amandine. For the first time he finds himself unable to "see" into a client, unable to "solve" her problem and identify what it is she needs. 

As well as his work, Baptiste is also searching for the identity of his birth mother. A woman who has left no clues behind except a violin, a wooden statue and a word inked into the skin of her arm. 

We are also introduced to Sophie, a young waitress at the local bar. She and Baptiste are close and "after hours of dealing with doubt and hesitation her unshakeable self assurance was like a cold shower at the end of a hot day." They "recognised something in each other that fit like salt on butter or lemon on fish." Sophie wants to help Baptiste rediscover love and passion, to explore the world rather than hiding behind his clients; to find more meaning in his life rather than helping others search for meaning in their lives. 

There is some beautiful imagery and metaphor in this book - in fact it is swimming in it. I loved the comparison of Baptiste with a kingfisher. Unlike other creatures who only see themselves when they look into water, the kingfisher sees right down below the surface to everything that is beneath. "This," Sophie observes, "is what you do with people." There are some recurrent images about birds ("Flocks  of little black notes migrating like starlings across the page", "Words fluttered as though caged in my mind. I didn't know which ones to set free.") and of course, the numerous references and descriptions of water are essential given the placement of the houseboat and the themes of freedom, memory, life, exploration, adventure and time. 

Baptiste is very philosophical and reflective. I liked how his nights are full of ideas as he tries to process his sessions with his clients: "In the slow drift into sleep when the mind softens and unravels, intuition speaks.....dawn will decide if they make sense." The writing feels quite hypnotic - heightened by the closeness of water and the sense of floating on soft waves and a continuous gentle rocking. The language is creative and metaphors are used by the characters and the author to explore the idea of love. 

There are some fantastic allegories for love. Baptiste's mother asks him if he thinks love is like a butterfly, "that you have to catch....no, love is like a garden, you have to put your mind to it and grow it." Different characters have different experiences of love to share with him. Baptiste's friend Etienne says love has make him happy, yet miserable, changed him for the better and for the worse. Amandine says love is "spending your waking hours being terrified of losing what is most precious to you." This is a novel about love - and everything love is. It is a love story but not in the conventional sense. It is up to Baptiste to discover love and all its happiness, pain, joy and sorrow. 

The relationships between the characters is very well written. These are people with a deep understanding of each other. A gentleness with each other. A connection with each other. Baptiste's parents give him excellent counsel and so does the youthful and aspirational Sophie. 

There is also the interjection of an anonymous voice between Baptiste's chapters and to be honest, I spent a while wondering whether I had missed something vital as I wasn't completely sure who the voice belonged to and how it fitted in with the story. However, keep going and all becomes very clear, and when it does, the novel becomes something much more powerful and poignant. My relationship with the characters became more involved and I was caught up in the sadness of the plot. I think King's deliberate technique to make the reader feel like they aren't fully grasping the unfolding of events, the chronology or how the pieces of the jigsaw fit together is effective. It works well because of the author's exploration of memory, loss, confusion and love. Her writing about memory is powerful and there is some very compelling descriptions. 

There is a dream like quality to this slow, considered novel. The french location adds a little more mystique and I definitely was reminded of novels such as "The Red Notebook" , "The Reader on the 6.27" and "The Little Paris Bookshop." King's writing is comparable to Joanne Harris and Maggie O'Farrell. 

I must say, it took me a while to get into it but once I did, I was very touched by it and feel like it will be one of those "hidden gems". I would recommend this book - don't overlook it or give up, it's hugely rewarding and I think one I will still be thinking about for days to come. It's a read to take your time with and savour. I leave you with one final quote which illustrates King's use of metaphor: 

"When travelling by train, no matter how set you are on your destination, it only takes one set of points to switch and you are veering off in an entirely new direction." 

Thus is life.

My thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this novel in return for a fair and honest review.

For more recommendations and reviews, please follow me on twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniacUK) or sign up to receive future posts via email.

YA "One" Sarah Crossan

This is a unique and moving story told through the honest, pragmatic and unsentimental voice of Grace. Crossan's novel is written in free verse and in June it was awarded The Bookseller's YA Book Prize 2016 - just one of many prizes for which I'm sure it will be nominated.

"One" is the story of conjoined twins Grace and Tippi, named after Tippi Hedren and Grace Kelly - 2 of Hitchcock's biggest stars who were "so beautiful it sometimes feels like a cruel joke." They are conjoined from the hips down and have defied medical history by surviving for 16 years, although "lucky isn't really how I would describe us."

"As time ticks by / the chances of us / suddenly / ceasing / to be / get / quite /high / that's just a fact / that will / never / go / away.........I suck it up."

Living as a conjoined twin is described without any undue sensationalism, as to Tippi and Grace it is normal. They have adapted to their life together. They have ways of operating effectively together. Sometimes it's frustrating - for example, "I cannot watch a film in secret / and even with my headphones / on / I know that Tippi hears the tinny hissing / of my music / in her own ears." But, as with waiting for each other, "It's what happens / when / you're bound like we are / to a body too stubborn / to peel itself apart at conception," - this is just the way it is and ultimately they share everything and are everything to each other.

Yet Grace tells us how she struggles to become invisible and longs to be normal and boring, not amazing.

"Normal  is the Holy Grail / and only those without it / know its value"

Sometimes she wants to speak for herself and to be seen just as Grace, not always with Tippi. She wants "eyes to focus on me without the tiniest hint of horror." What Grace tells us is at times heartbreaking and always poignant, but her voice remains candid with such a matter of fact tone, that even when her sadness and longing creep in, it doesn't become over sentimental or gratuitous. Crossan has struck a brilliant balance of exploring the emotional, physical and mental journey of teenage conjoined twins that evokes empathy and understanding without voyeurism or pity. As Grace herself says, "hatred's better than sympathy."

Starting a new school, they make new friends. Yasmeen is HIV positive and the girls form a bond with her, knowing how it feels to be "burdened at birth /by a curse your mother /never knew she was under." They also meet Jon. Tippi warns Grace that they can never fall in love, but for Grace this comes too late.

Half way through the book the twins decide to monetise their quite unique life to relieve the family of its financial burden.  They turn to reporter Caroline who has plagued them for years and she arrives to film the family every day and reveal the inside story of living as a conjoined twins. This allows Crossan to subtly raise some thought provoking points and ask intrusive questions without making the book trite or hackneyed. Grace's voice constantly the more intelligent, more observant, more philosophic. For example, Caroline says, "You laugh a lot. It's inspiring. You embrace life." "What am I supposed to do with life other than embrace it," Grace flatly replies. These twins are girls who are well balanced and essentially happy. They are inspirational but not because of their conditions, because of their grounded perspective.

Then something happens. Something they hoped would never happen. Neither of them can admit it to the other. This section of the book is painful but also reflects that actually, this is a family that is no different to any other family faced with the most devastating of decisions. I would like to quote more from these elegant and exquisite passages but will refrain- only to avoid spoilers and possibly my tears. There is some beautiful symbolism through the image of a Russian Doll which is filled with several smaller dolls, until the smallest is so tiny it is barely anything at all, but without it, the doll would never be complete.

As I said, the book is written in free verse, so although it is thick and runs to over 400 pages it is actually a very quick read due to each page being one "poem". Each page is given a different heading and is about a different topic, day, incident, emotion, reflection which prevents all the ups and downs (and there are some very down bits) of such a story from becoming overwhelming, depressing or too harrowing. It keeps moving, the pace and structure carefully considered in order prevent overly dwelling on things but still providing enough detail to make the characters, emotions and events authentic and three dimensional. Words linger - in fact the visual effect of extra space at the bottom of the last stanza on each page and the new title on the next, encourage a reflective pause. Crossan's choice to write in this style is inspired and original. It makes the story fresh and completely engaging. The images, symbolism and inference are precise and affecting. The shape of the words on the page adds a whole other layer to the content and I loved the way it changed to reflect certain events and stages of the girls' lives. I also think it is important to see novels written in less conventional forms which opens up a whole new realm of self expression, creativity and imagination for teenagers.

This is a novel I will read again and again and again and again and probably notice something different or deeper each time. I totally admire what Crossan has achieved. At the end of the book, Crossan says it was an honour to write it but I felt it was an honour to read it. I can only imagine what she much have gone through researching and writing this but the result is so impressive. The brevity of her words, the empty space surrounding the lines and words is so effective; what is not said becomes as interesting and resonant as what is said.

I have read "The Weight of Water" (also written in free verse) and "Apple and Rain" (also nominated for prestigious awards) and thoroughly enjoyed them both. I recommend all of these three books for young adults (and fully grown ones too) who love language, issue based books, original characters and well written stories.

YA "Swan Boy" Nikki Sheehan

This is a quirky, original and uplifting story about Johnny and how he learns to overcome bullying at school.

13 year old Johnny has to look after his little brother, Mojo, while his mum is at work and they adapt to life as a single parent family following the death of their father. They live in London and when he starts his new school, Johnny is troubled by Liam and the "Populars". In an attempt to get out of the punishment of litter duty following another altercation between himself and Liam, Johnny opts to attend a dance lesson instead and is introduced to the world of ballet. In his complicated, difficult life, dance suddenly offers Johnny some space, clarity and empowerment in a way he could never have imagined.

This is an unusual story. At first it reads like many other contemporary Young Adult novels and creates an authentic situation, with a likeable character who is trying to cope with all the usual teenage issues as well as dealing with the added pressure of his grieving family. Johnny does his best, but there are times when the responsibility of looking after Mojo, helping out around the house and trying to help Mojo negotiate his way through his grief, take their toll. Then on top of this, he is bullied at school by the unpleasant Liam and his crew.  

On a school outing to Regents Park there is a rather strange incident with a swan, leading everyone to call Johnny "Swan Boy". Reflecting on what happened, Johnny picks up a lone swan feather and takes it home. Mojo then loses it out of the window as they talk about flying. Johnny races out on to the street to recover it but it has disappeared. Mojo then draws it for him (something he's talented at even if it is often on the table top) so "he doesn't need to go out and look for it again." Both suddenly seem aware of the importance of this feather. 

This incident with the swan and his need to keep the feather, plants a seed in Johnny's mind - he is convinced that he has some kind of understanding with the swan, that somehow it was protecting him, that they are somehow connected. This is felt more deeply when he realises the dance class are practising "Swan Lake".

The story continues with an element of magic. As his dancing skills develop, Johnny embraces the desire to fly. He immerses himself in the idea of becoming a swan. He imagines his neck lengthening, wings from his back, the sensation of pushing off into the sky. He practises leaping and leaping and leaping. He discovers tiny tufts of downy feathers appearing on his chest........

Although not really comparable, I was reminded a little of Natalie Portman's portrayal of the obsessive dancer in "Black Swan" (rated 15) but this is obviously much more heartwarming and gentle - much more similar to "Billy Elliot". Indeed Mrs Cray could be played by Julie Walters. This novel reminded me of David Almond's "Skellig", maybe a slight nod to Roald Dahl (maybe also slight similarities with Matilda's ability to make things happen with her mind), with elements of Melvin Burgess - but without the need for any rating or warning - it's not controversial in the way some of Burgess' books are sometimes perceived to be. It is also similar to stories by writers like Sarah Crossan and Sally Nichols or authors that scatter their images with ethereal references and the blurring between reality and dream.

This book is about self empowerment, self esteem, learning to overcome situations and learning to fly. It is well written and fluent. The main character is very likeable and his relationship with his brother is very affecting. The family dynamics are very touching and very credible. Young adults will relate to the frustration Johnny sometimes feel as he yearns for some freedom and flexibility instead of watching Mojo every evening. It deals with grief and death with sympathy and sensitivity; it's hard not to shed a slight tear when Johnny takes Mojo to "visit" their father - truly a kind of "coming of age" moment for both boys. 

Sheehan clearly understands her audience and clearly understands how to write for Young Adults. Her dialogue is authentic and at times very poignant. It is a very good read. The reader does need to suspend belief a little at times but it still feels a very natural narrative and although not entirely believable, it does not feel overly far fetched. The symbolism and imagery is pertinent and reinforces the ideas Sheehan is exploring. The ending is so effective -very moving and resonant.

A great book about bullying, families, friendship and dance!

My thanks to Nikki Sheehan and One World Publications for the free copy in return for a fair review. I was delighted to get a chance to read this book and am intrigued by what other tales Sheehan might choose to tell!

For more reviews and recommendations follow me on Twitter @katherinesunde3 (bibliomaniac) and for reviews of children & YA fiction look me up on minibibliomaniac.wordpress.com