When a virus causes global infertility, Lowrie and Shen become the two youngest people on Earth. Living in a dilapidated London, they live with their families as they race for a cure to solve the epidemic. In the meantime, Lowrie and Shen go mudlarking, searching for artefacts along the banks of the Thames and anywhere else they can look. They are shadowed by Mitch, an old-tech robot that communicates through a blinking series of different coloured lights. After someone in their community suffers a tragic accident, Lowrie and Shen discover a disastrous secret. As time slips by, they are fighting against the clock to save everyone around them. I loved reading this novel, Lowrie's discovery of old social media and how the person she follows on it evolves over time is fascinating to me. I also loved how the tech is described, it's not forced or sloppy like a lot of sci fi can be, it's completely organic and realistic. There's also a romance element to it that is worked in seamlessly throughout the story. I was continually drawn to their relationship with Mitch and intrigued by every nugget of information they discovered as they unpeeled the onion that is their existence. I highly recommend this novel to anyone interested in sci-fi, romance and msytery!
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Sam is fifteen and is pretty normal. In fact, he's pretty proud of the fact that he's not special in his own brain. However, when his parents suddenly become very wealthy and move to a new home in London, he's put in a new school for the "Gifted & Talented." Every student at this school seems to be on a rocket-ship trajectory to something amazing. Sam, on the other hand, doesn't think he fits in, doesn't want to fit in, even. He's struggling to find where he belongs and constantly pines for going back to the way things were before he was labelled "gifted". Meanwhile, his mum is trying to find herself with pottery and yoga and rhythmic drumming and many, many more things. It's exhausting for Sam as he doesn't feel like he's living up to his siblings. Then something happens, Sam gets thrust into the school production of The Tempest. At first he's doing it out of ironic spite, but then he gets into it, the camaraderie, the tension, pouring your guts out on the stage. Sam starts to dig it, and begins to feel like maybe he's found his place. It's rare that I laugh out loud when reading a book, especially YA. I genuinely laughed hard while reading this, Sam's dry humour and awkward bad luck hits you in the guts on almost every page. It's the perfect read for anyone looking for a heartfelt story about trying to find your place, trying to figure out what you want to be and for anyone who wants a good laugh. You will see yourself in Sam and his family no matter what your situation is, I really recommend it, check it out! Lex is burning alive. At least that's how she feels inside. Her soon to be step-father, John, is a monster, but nobody else really sees it that way. Since being with John, Lex's mother has undergone what can only be described as a lobotomy, she's placid, meek and anxiety ridden. Lex's step-sister Iris is young and innocent and caught up in the angry whirl-wind that is John's behaviour. Sometimes he's sweet, sometimes he's not. When Lex's mother and John get into it and the swearing starts and things get thrown around, that's when Lex's monster comes out. She becomes the furious thing, trashing the house, damaging property, running away. John thinks Lex needs to be medicated, and he's got a doctor friend who can do just that. Desperate, Lex turns to the only person who has ever got her, Kass, her soon to be step brother, whom she also has had an undying crush on for years. Kass is in university in Manchester, he's also desperate not to become like his father, although sometimes his behaviour says otherwise. As the wedding looms, and the situation at home starts to collapse, Lex starts to do even more outrageous things to get her mother's attention to what she's become. Furious Thing is one of the best YA I've read in a while. Lex isn't just living with a monster, John is written as a complex character with sides that allow Lex to see why her mother loves him. Lex is also a deeply complicated, flawed person, someone I wish I knew when I went to high school. Someone who goes with her gut, is desperate to feel something in this life and to show others what it's like to love and hurt. I think this is a beautiful story about life and love and abuse and deciding you aren't going to take it any more. Highly recommend it for ages 14+. Trigger warning for sexual abuse. Amelie has just moved from Sheffield, UK to the southern part of the country, her dad has a new job and she's going to university. She's leaving behind her friends and most importantly Alfie, the boy she loves. Together they've made a pact, that they will give each other space but get back together in two years. Things seem to be going ok at first, Amelie meets Hannah, a nice girl who shows her around. When she performs and wins a local music talent show, she's introduced to Reese, a student and singer in a local band. It's love at first sight, but is it? What follows is a harrowing story of abuse. Reese tells Amelie he loves her over and over again, then casually insults her in front of his friends. He insists every mean thing he says is a joke, but his "mood swings" become more and more intense and Amelie finds herself obsessed with keeping him happy, walking a dangerous tightrope as she tries to keep him from flying into a rage at something trivial. Then, to keep him happy, to save what she thinks is a normal relationship, she begins to buckle to his pressure to do other things. This is a terrifying novel, Amelie's descent into this manipulative, toxic relationship is something that is tragically all too real. This novel is like an air raid siren for the soul, a warning shot that will undoubtedly help teens navigate what is essentially a confusing and scary time in their lives. Holly Bourne is a fantastic writer who slugs you to the gut in a matter of a few pages. She knows how to write about fear, relationships and the anxiety of life with an impressive skill. I really recommend this one to teens ages 15 and up! I'm very excited to be part of the Federation of Children's Book Groups Children's Book Award blog tour. I will be highlighting the amazing On The Come Up by Angie Thomas! Use the hashtag #FCBGCBA2020 on social media to follow the tour and find out about these amazing books! Bri Jackson has a plan. That plan is to become a rapper, someone who shines a light on the situation she and her family endures on a daily basis in Garden Heights. Her mother, Jay, is a recovering addict, someone Bri doesn't fully trust. Her brother Jay works at a pizza shop, he's smart, headstrong and stays out of trouble. If only Bri could follow his lead. She sells candy, a banned item in her school, to those who are craving sugar. When she gets caught, the authorities grossly overreact by throwing her to the ground and pinning her there. It's a moment that will stick with Bri throughout the novel, a lightning bolt that sets many different events into action. Rumours start to spread, primarily that it wasn't candy in her bag, that it was drugs. Bri has a choice, does she ignore this nonsense and try to carry on, or does she act the way society expects her to act, to lash out, to be angry on both the inside and outside. Her status as a rapper gains huge credibility when she destroys a boy, the son of Supreme, her late father's manager, in a rap battle. When Bri decides to make another song, one that makes her out to be someone she isn't, her community takes notice. This puts Bri, her aunt Pooh and her friends in a dangerous position. As the pressure mounts and the lights and the gas gets cut in her home and she suspects her mother of using again, Bri has to make some really tough choices, choices no teenager should make, On the Come Up is a raw, devastating look at what it's like to claw at a dream that everyone tells you is just that, a dream. Bri is tough, quick to fly off the handle yet sensitive, someone who loves video games and comic books and hanging out with her friends. Thomas has once again developed a fully formed character that screws up just like every teen, except for Bri the consequences are much heavier compared to most. It's an honest look at stereotypes, racism, white privilege and how we project our fears and expectations on African American youth. I think On The Come Up should be required reading, loved it. |
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