Category Archives: sexuality

2014, ARC review, Book Review, coming of age, contemporary, mystery, sexuality, standalone, substance abuse, YA

[Review] Evidence of Things Not Seen – Lindsey Lane

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Book Title:                   Evidence of Things Not Seen (Standalone)
Author:                          Lindsey Lane
Number of pages:   224

Synopsis:

evidence of things not seen (lindsay lane) coverWhen high school junior Tommy Smythe goes missing, everyone has a theory about what happened to him. Tommy was adopted, so maybe he ran away to find his birth parents. He was an odd kid, often deeply involved in his own thoughts about particle physics, so maybe he just got distracted and wandered off. He was last seen at a pull-out off the highway, so maybe someone drove up and snatched him. Or maybe he slipped into a parallel universe. Tommy believes that everything is possible, and that until something can be proven false, it is possibly true. So as long as Tommy’s whereabouts are undetermined, he could literally be anywhere.

Told in a series of first-person narratives from people who knew Tommy and third-person chapters about people who find the things Tommy left behind—his red motorbike, his driving goggles, pages from his notebook—Particles explores themes of loneliness, connectedness, and the role we play in creating our own realities.

(re: Goodreads @ Evidence of Things Not Seen by Lindsey Lane)

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

– Open, interpretative narratives about the realities of life masked behind the mystery of Tommy’s disappearance. Some are coming-of-age stories with limited scope, others are charming tales of family, but they’re all uniquely independent lives with tangible difficulties
– Twenty very different narrators joined by the six-degrees of separation to Tommy Smythe; reads like a collection of short stories
– A quick, well-paced read despite a variety of darker societal issues that may not be explored in much depth (i.e. child and teenage sexuality, mental health disabilities, science versus religion, murder, physical and substance abuse)

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Initial Thoughts

I’m stumped as to how to go about saying anything about this novel. It’s different; twenty POVs different, and there’s a certain disjointed connectedness (wait, that doesn’t even make sense does it?) about this read that’s mind-bogglingly weird and interesting at the same time.

Also, I just reviewed the synopsis and I’m confused as to whether or not there’s supposed to be a name change or not (re: Particles, in the last paragraph).

Full disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of Evidence of Things Not Seen through Netgalley for an honest review. I extend thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) under Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for providing me the opportunity to review this book.

Disclaimer: Potential spoilers inherent to this review from here onward.

Continue reading [Review] Evidence of Things Not Seen – Lindsey Lane →

adventure, ARC review, Book Review, dystopian, lgbt, post-apocalyptic, romance, series, sexuality, status & class, Uncategorized, YA

[Review] The Young World – Chris Weitz

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Book Title:                    The Young World (Young World Trilogy, #01)
Author:                            Chris Weitz
Number of pages:     384

Synopsis:

theyoungworld_coverAfter a mysterious Sickness wipes out the rest of the population, the young survivors assemble into tightly run tribes. Jefferson, the reluctant leader of the Washington Square tribe, and Donna, the girl he’s secretly in love with, have carved out a precarious existence among the chaos. But when another tribe member discovers a clue that may hold the cure to the Sickness, five teens set out on a life-altering road trip to save humankind.

The tribe exchanges gunfire with enemy gangs, escapes cults and militias, braves the wilds of the subway and Central Park…and discovers truths they could never have imagined.

(re: Goodreads @ The Young World by Chris Weitz)

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

– Diversity in character casting despite continual stereotyping (Asian, Caucasian, African-American, LGBTQ, nerds, martial-artists, homelessness, and many more) and discrimination (skin-colour privileges, gender and racial inequality)
– Alternating POV between male/female protagonist with a variance in written portrayal (one reads like a default first-person account and the other feels script-like)
– Overbearing pop-culture references that may or may not add value depending on the reader’s propensity to understanding them
– All-inclusive action sequences which incorporate harsh, graphical moments which may not be fit for the younger YA audience (cannibalism, animal harming, blood work, and death)

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Initial Thoughts

This is Weitz’ debut novel so take that information with a grain of salt. I feel like readers may be able to distinguish his film background through the writing but I wouldn’t necessarily pigeon-hole him into that category. It is indeed almost as if it was written to be translated onto screen; which in my opinion, would be better presented than on paper—but that’s just how I felt after this read. There is also the possibility that this whole novel could seriously be just a giant marketing ploy. More details on this under the cut.

But I was definitely too transfixed with finding pop-culture references than to earnestly read into some meaningful quotes/excerpts. So I have decided not to include any. And yes, this is a late ARC review soooooo oops.

Full disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of The Young World through Netgalley for an honest review. I extend thanks to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for providing me the opportunity to review this book.

Disclaimer: Potential spoilers inherent to this review from here onward.

Continue reading [Review] The Young World – Chris Weitz →

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 →