Stand-Alone Sunday Review: Shine by Candy Gourlay

Publisher - David Fickling Books
Publication Date - 5th September 2013
Paperback - 304 pages
Genre - Young Adult/Contemporary

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really liked it!

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info -
This is not a ghost story even though there are plenty of ghosts in it. And it's not a horror story though some people might be horrified. It's not a monster story either, even though there is a monster in it and that monster happens to be me.

Forced to hide herself away from the superstitious island community of Mirasol, thirteen-year-old Rosa seeks solace online. There she meets Ansel95, and as the friendship moves from virtual to real, Rosa discovers that she's not the only one with something to hide...

From the author of the critically-acclaimed Tall Story, comes a haunting, intense and moving novel which weaves myths and ghosts into a modern setting. As Rosa's social life blossoms, how will she seize the freedom to be who she really is?

My Thoughts - When I first got this book through the post I have to admit that I was very intrigued by the premise. I don't usually like ghost stories, and I wouldn't really say that this is a ghost story to be honest, but I was intrigued about how a young girl who is obviously seen as a monster by society is forced to live out her life online, and how her relationship with this Ansel95 would develop.

Admittedly, there wasn't as much about her online friendships as I was hoping and it only really took up a small portion of the book, but I still found it really enjoyable and I read it in just one day as I wasn't able to put it down. Instead, Shine focuses on Rosa's life on a very small island whose population all seem to be incredibly superstitious. Rosa suffers from an illness known as the Calm, that leaves her with scarring and an inability to talk. As a result of this, she would be seen by the other people on the island as a monster and consequently lives her life in hiding. I have to say I found it completely shocking to see the level of fear and ignorance shown by the residents of Mirasol, and it was frightening to see the amount of hatred that they had for anybody with the Calm just because of an old ghost story.

Throughout this telling of Rosa's story, there are also sections written by Rosa's mother in the form of letters to her twin sister. Rosa's mother also had the Calm but died when Rosa was just five years old, so these sections were a look into the past and what life was like for Rosa's mother growing up with a twin sister who was not affected by the illness. At first, I had trouble understanding what these sections were for, other than providing an interesting look at another person's viewpoint of the illness. However, near the end it suddenly all becomes clear how the past and present are linked in an amazing climax that I just hadn't seen coming. For the last few chapters I was literally unable to move until I found out how it would all turn out.

Summary - A book that makes the reader think long and hard about superstitions, prejudices and how we treat people in general. A YA book that is a must-read for people of all ages.

Stand-Alone Sunday Review: Shards and Ashes edited by Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr

Publisher - HarperCollins
Publication Date - February 13th 2013
Paperback - 384 pages
Genre - Young Adult (collection)

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 4 out of 5: I really like it.

Reviewed by - Maddie

Book Info - Gripping original stories of dystopian worlds from nine New York Times bestselling authors, edited by Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong.

The world is gone, destroyed by human, ecological, or supernatural causes. Survivors dodge chemical warfare and cruel gods; they travel the reaches of space and inhabit underground caverns. Their enemies are disease, corrupt corporations, and one another; their resources are few, and their courage is tested.

Powerful original dystopian tales from nine bestselling authors offer bleak insight, prophetic visions, and precious glimmers of light among the shards and ashes of a ruined world

My Thoughts - The stories inside this collection could all be made into epic movies with shiny sets and action heroes, and I would pay ridiculously expensive cinema ticket prices and deal with the annoying popcorn vendors, just to see them. As I read each story I was imagining a set design, a cast list and, of course the soundtracks. They were all surprisingly detailed for short stories which might only be 40 pages long. They could also span millions of years or miles in such a short amount of time.

One of my favourites was Branded by Kelley Armstrong. It was the first time I had read any of her work and I am hooked. This book has actually introduced me to loads of new authors like Rachel Caine, Carrie Ryan and Nancy Holder. 

Any teenage reader who has walked into a book shop in the last year would have seen Beth Revis's name (author of the Across the Universe series) but like me, they may have not had the chance to read her books. Well I did have the chance, I was just too lazy.... But after reading her short story Love is a Choice from this collection, not only have I read a massive spoiler, I have finally started her books.

If you are new to young adult and you want to discover some of the most exciting authors from the genre, read this book. If you are like and me and you were growing tired of YA books then try reading Shards and Ashes. Now I can't wait to start reading the forgotten pile of books next to my bed.

The one problem with a collection of dystopian short stories, is you need a break between all of the gloominess. Apocalypse after apocalypse can be tiring. Oh, and I hate the cover but I am just picky. I would give this book four out of five stars.

Stand-Alone Sunday Review: Wicked Games by Kelly Lawrence



Here at Once Upon a Series, as the blog name would imply, we love a good series of books. But occasionally we come across a stand-alone novel that has caught our attention and up until now they haven't had a home here. So, we came up with Stand-Alone Sunday... a semi-regular feature here at Once Upon a Series to give a home to all those lonely stand-alone's that we review.

Publisher - Black Lace
Publication Date - 4th July 2013
Hardback - 256 pages
Genre - Erotic Memoir

Source - Received from publisher for review

Rating - 2 out of 5: It was okay

Reviewed by - Chrissie

Book Info - 'Looking back, I think I knew I was in trouble the first time I met him. The road he took me down was at once both more liberating than I could have dreamed of, and yet more intense than I could cope with. If the path of love doesn't always run smooth ... then how much more crooked it becomes when mixed with raw desire.'

This is no novel, but the memoir of an intense, exciting and at times unsettling relationship. Alex, for all his charms, is no billionaire playboy, and Kelly is no blushing virgin; rather your typical, overworked teacher who has no time for games, certainly not the wicked games he leads her into. Games that she ends up craving like a drug.

My Thoughts - I was very excited when I received this book for review. I've read quite a lot of Fifty Shades type books and, as this is a memoir, it promised to give the true story behind all the fiction. This caught my attention and I was very intrigued. But, for me, this book wasn't as enjoyable as i'd hoped it would be.

My main problem with the book was the lack of communication between the two main characters, Kelly and Alex. In and of itself I suppose it's a relatively minor gripe to have about a book. But this lack of proper communication was an issue over and over again, and caused so many unnecessary conflicts for the couple that I found myself getting so frustrated I had to put the book down to calm down. I mean, communication is vital in any relationship, but I'd imagine that in a D/s relationship, especially one where one of the people is a complete beginner to the lifestyle, then that ability to communicate goes beyond vital.

Alex and Kelly are actually likeable enough people for the most part, and are both good people, which actually made their one downfall even more frustrating for me. But in a way, that is what kept me turning the pages of Wicked Games. I had to keep reading to find out if these two people that I had grown to like would be able to overcome the obstacles to make things work.

What I did like about this book was that there was a good balance between the sexual elements and the storyline. In quite a lot of the erotic romance books I've read recently, the storyline has been substituted with sex and call me old-fashioned but I quite like a bit of storyline in the books I read. Yes, there is sex in Wicked Games, and those parts are well-written and enjoyable to read, but they didn't overshadow the story.

Summary - A book that held a lot of promise to be very good, and that was good in some ways. But it was just let down by the frustration I felt a lot of the time while reading it.

Stand-Alone Sunday Review: Maggot Moon by Sally Gardner

Publisher - Hot Key Books
Publication Date - 3rd January 2013
Paperback - 280 pages
Genre - Young Adult Dystopian

Rating - 5 out of 5: It was amazing!


Reviewed by - Maddie

Book Info - When his best friend is suddenly taken away, Standish Treadwell realises that it is up to him, his grandfather and a small band of rebels to confront and defeat the ever present oppressive forces of The Motherland.

Friendship and trust inspire Standish to rise up against an oppressive regime and expose the truth about a planned moon landing in this original and spellbinding book.

My Thoughts - I’ve always thought Sally Gardner wrote differently and I think I have found out why.  She has had dyslexia for most of her life, not a life threatening problem but for a girl who loved stories it made her dreams of becoming an author seem impossible.  Of course, she fought past annoying teachers and patronising type fonts to write award winning children’s books like I, Coriander (can you tell I slightly obsess over her?).

Because of this, her characters like Standish from Maggot Moon look at life differently.  He lives by the rules and propaganda of a slowly imploding government regime called The Motherland.  The Motherland is trying to beat the ‘enemy’ by getting the first man on to the moon before the enemy can, even if they have to fake it.   We aren’t told much about the setting and time span but I’m guessing they are not more technologically advanced than the 1960s.  I have heard some say it is an alternative dystopian history of 1960s England.

Standish is resilient to this regime and so were his parents but after they were eradicated by the motherland, he went to live with his resourceful grandfather.  Standish’s friend Hector and his grandfather are now his only allies against his school bullies and the sinister motherland.

To most of Standish’s world he is useless because of his inability to read but to him and his few like minded friends his dyslexic mind is limitless.  Like Hector says, he’s like ‘a breeze in the park of the imagination’.  His dyslexia lets him write in short, piercing chapters with a fondness for colourful metaphors. 

There are also small illustrations on the margins of some pages showing a fly infestation of a rotting rat, yeah it’s yucky but it’s also intriguing.  I didn’t really fully understand this but friends tell me it reflects the fall of a totalitarian government (it’s more likely they just want to sound clever).

With a bright, inked cover this book looks like it was written for children or younger teenagers.  If I had read this book as a child with its dark themes it might have made me terrified for countless nights, not that I wouldn’t have enjoyed it.  People who complain about kids reading horror stories do not know about my brother’s dedication to the Goosebumps series.  Anyway...

I like how inclusive the cover and the drawings inside are.  A ten year old could be attracted to this book as could a sixteen year old.  Parents will probably hate that (there is some swearing and violence) but this is one of the few books trying to bring political dystopia to the children’s market.  The mysterious plot and unique narration completely sold this book to me.