Category Archives: 2014

2014, ARC review, Book Review, coming of age, contemporary, cultural, england, historical fiction, lgbt, romance, sexuality, standalone, YA

[Review] What We Hide – Marthe Jocelyn

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Book Title:                   What We Hide (Standalone)  
Author:                          Marthe Jocelyn
Number of pages:  288

Synopsis:

What We Hide - Marthe Jocelyn (Cover)Americans Jenny and her brother, Tom, are off to England: Tom to university, to dodge the Vietnam draft, Jenny to be the new girl at a boarding school, Illington Hall. This is Jenny’s chance to finally stand out, so accidentally, on purpose, she tells a lie. But in the small world of Ill Hall, everyone has something to hide. Jenny pretends she has a boyfriend. Robbie and Luke both pretend they don’t. Brenda won’t tell what happened with the school doctor. Nico wants to hide his mother’s memoir. Percy keeps his famous dad a secret. Oona lies to everyone. Penelope lies only to herself.

 (re: Goodreads @ What We Hide by Marthe Jocelyn)

Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less review:

– Follows 8 POVs, changing tenses, and told in varying narrative styles (i.e. letters, screenplays, prose-fiction)
– Timeframe set during the 1960-70s, themes involve: lies and betrayal, LGBT, social status, sexuality (not crude though), bullying; all relevant to the average teenager
– Ensemble-driven rather than fully developing specific characters; some of which are more/less developed than others
– Individuals have their reasons for what they do in order to remain relevant. By remaining stagnant, the possibility of growth and revelation diminishes, and characters face the same challenges in a constant cycle.

Initial Thoughts:

England? Check.
Boarding school? Check.
I think we both know where my thoughts are going. Not.

This is going to be one perplexing review because I’ve never had to critique something like this before. Maybe it was the various perspectives which threw me off (eight distinct voices in total) or maybe it was the sheer nonlinearity of the plot—or at least how it felt like when reading What We Hide—that makes it difficult to assess. At first, I was going to scrutinize each character…but I’m still not quite sure how I truly feel about this book since I enjoyed what I think it set out to achieve but it wasn’t extremely captivating or game-changing.

Full disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of What We Hide through NetGalley for an honest review. I extend my thanks to Tundra Books at Random House of Canada Limited for providing me the opportunity to review this book.

Disclaimer: There may be spoilers inherent to this review from this point onward.

Continue reading [Review] What We Hide – Marthe Jocelyn →

2014, meme, top ten tuesday

[Top Ten Tuesday] – #17 – Top Ten Characters With Punishable Offences

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Top Ten Tuesday is an original weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish. I thought this would be a fun way to share a condensed version of potential rambles and thoughts that I have.

This Week’s Theme:
Top Ten Characters
With Punishable Offences

Initial Thoughts:

This week’s theme was character driven with an open-ended interpretation for what we wanted to do. But good ol’ freebies to let me think of some ridiculous topic…am I right, or am I right?

Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I hate these characters (maybe)… I just think it wouldn’t hurt to, you know, give them a nudge of sorts. And let’s get real; I’m sure you can think of some characters that you wouldn’t mind offering a haymaker or two. (Full disclosure: my initial theme was Top Ten Characters I Want to Punch In The Face… but this is much better and less angry.)

So I’m basically just going to throw some names out there of characters/things that come to mind. I do apologize if you like any of them. I’m only half serious with these choices and what I’m listing. If what I write makes you angry, super. If what I write makes you smile, even better. I’m not usually an angry person or a sadist by any measure… but I just think some characters have it coming to them (figuratively, of course).

Listed in no particular order. All images link up to their respective Goodreads site.

steelheart - covercatcher in the rye - cover

Persecuted: David Charleston (Steelheart)
Crime: Too many bad “metaphors”
Punishment: A meek nudges everytime he tries to concoct a metaphor… which exponentially increases in strength

Persecuted: Holden Caulfield (The Catcher In The Rye) Crime: For all the whiny angst when this novel is part of the curriculum for many teenagers already enjoying daily angst Punishment: A bitch slap or two… maybe even a backhand

Persecuted: Prenna James (The Here and Now)
Crime: For learning card games, eating food, and enjoying the beach life—while knowing the future is at the mercy of her actions (with the possibility of changing it for the better) Punishment: To have her watch as all of her playing cards get shredded, laced with gasoline and torched; food stepped on (just kidding #foodie), and ensuring that she trips into a wormhole back to the future

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2014, meme, music monday

[Music Monday] – #5 – Bastille – Pompeii

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Music Monday is a weekly meme hosted by the Total Book Geek. The purpose of this bookish variant is to match a book with a particular song; whether it is character defining, a narrative element, or just an overall book defining track.

So why am I doing this? Well if I had to choose to only have one of the five traditional senses, it would be sound perception above all else. And hey I think it’d be neat to share music I listen to on a daily basis!

music monday logo

This Week’s Song:
Pompeii – Bastille

Book Selected:
What We Hide – Marthe Jocelyn

Initial Thoughts:

I just realised (well not really just realised but it’s been simmering) that I haven’t posted for this meme in a while. With the recent read of What We Hide by Marthe Jocelyn; for which the review can be found by clicking here. The pair just seemed to match up in my head and I just had to write this entry. Easy.

Continue reading [Music Monday] – #5 – Bastille – Pompeii →