Book Review: Amy Snow by Tracey Rees

England 1848 After the death of her benefactor and only real friend, it’s time for Amy Snow to leave the only home that she has ever had. Found, as an infant in the snow on the grounds of Hatville Court by then eight-year old Aurelia, Amy’s lineage is a complete mystery to almost everyone she meets. Armed with a secret legacy and a letter, Amy is going to learn the secret of what Aurelia was up to over the year leading up to her untimely death. The quest is a chance for Amy to leave the mistreatment and coldness from Aurelia’s family, who are happy to finally be relieved of the burden she had become. In that first letter are a set of instructions that Amy must follow if she is to receive the next clue to her journey. Amy discovers on her journey that people are expecting her arrival and some have further letters from Aurelia, written in the months leading up to her death. Throughout the journey, Amy discovers a new side to herself and new confidence, which previously had been unknown to a child who was forced to stay hidden in the shadows. She becomes attracted to two very different men, and must decide which she will marry, knowing that the decision may impact on the remainder of her journey. Her final choice won’t be a surprise to readers, and in some ways, this element of the story is predictable. There is no real fear that Amy will not find love with one of the men, but it is somewhat engaging to see how the truth unfolds. Amy will, by the end of the book, discover Aurelia’s secret, and, even though readers will be vying for her to discover her lineage, the real reason for Aurelia’s disappearance has nothing to do with it. When Amy’s lineage is revealed at the very end, told from the perspective of the one character who no one expects to hear from, it tries to paint a dislikeable character in a more favourable light but fails to provide any real impact on the story.

Book Review: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Described as ‘Twilight for adults’ (but infinitely better), Harkness weaves through time and perspectives in this first tale of three of the magical tale of love between witch and vampire. Diana Bishop, descendent of Bridget Bishop who perished at Salem during the witch hunts, discovers the Ashmole 782, a historical text long thought lost. It details the origins of the witches, the daemons and the vampires. Her discovery brings the attention of Matthew Clairmont, fellow teacher at the university and a centuries old vampire. As their taboo relationship develops, other witches approach Diana asking for the text, which disappeared as quickly as she found it. In order to keep Diana safe, Matthew escorts her to his ancestral home in rural France, where Diana begins to unlock her long repressed magical powers. Under the watch of his vampire family, Diana and Matthew wed, further angering the congregation who want the book and the powers it is rumoured to have and desire to keep all species separate from each other. In order to force Diana to give up the secrets of the Ahsmole 782, witches kidnap her. Diana must reconnect with her magical powers if she is to help Matthew to rescue her. Getting away from the witches, Diana realises the importance of her history and takes Matthew home to Salem to meet her aunts and set up the battle plan to go up against the congregation. In order for them to rise victorious, Diana must relearn how to travel back in time, and take Matthew with her on the journey into the past that will have you reaching for books two and three of the series Rating 4/5

Book Review: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton

Acclaimed actress Laurel Smitham has returned home to say goodbye to her dying mother, and in turn will solve the mystery that started in 1961, when she saw her mother kill a man. She begins to pry into her mother’s past, trying to link what she knows about her mother to what other people are telling her. She finds that the pieces don’t fit together, that it seems that people are describing two very different women. The author takes the reader on a journey through time, seamlessly integrating the present with the past. In wartime London where the threats of air raids are always a present thought, the reader meets Dorothy (Dolly), who would later become Laurel’s mother, and who dreams of a life bigger than the idyllic farm life she has known. Taking a job as a companion for a wealthy woman is the first step Dolly takes to secure that ‘better life’ for herself and Jimmy, the man she believes she is destined to spend her life with. Her dreams are filled with the belief that she will inherit her employer’s wealth, and that she is friends with the woman across the street, Vivien. When it becomes obvious that Dolly’s dreams and hopes will not come true, she seeks out revenge against those that she believes have wronged her, blocking the fortune that she believed was hers. With the help of the reluctant Jimmy, she sets her scheme into motion to blackmail Vivien, who she believes has been at the root of all her disappointments, however, her vision of Vivien and the truth are, as Jimmy (and later, Laurel) discovers, to be quite different. The book explores the lives of the three key female characters Laurel, Dolly and Vivien, and showcases how these three character are tied together on one final night at the height of World War 2, and dips in and out of the character’s lives until the final revelations are made.

Book Review: Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter

At sixteen, Alice (Ali) Bell hasn't had the easiest life. Her father keeps the family under tight control, claiming that invisible monsters are coming after them, every night.

On the night of her sixteenth birthday, a horrible car accident claims the lives of Ali's father, mother and younger sister, Emma. After the funerals, Ali is taken in by her well-meaning grandparents and starts a new life at Asher High. She reunites with Kat, an energetic girl she met while recovering from the accident, who is keeping secrets of her own.

Ali's desire for a normal life is disrupted the first time that she sees Cole, and has a vision linking them romantically. She is drawn to him, wanting to uncover the mystery of his frequent bruises.

In the attempt to uncover the mysteries in her life, Ali is confronted with a truth that she never expected. Her father was right, zombies are real and Cole and his friends have chosen to fight them. After Ali makes it clear that she isn't easily scared off, Cole gives her a choice. She can join them in the fight against zombies or go back to her normal life.

Ali makes her choice and in that moment, she becomes a Slayer. The first thing she learns is that fighting zombies is a lot more complicated than she realised. She trains alongside Cole and the other Slayers, while trying to piece together clues that her sister's spirit is leaving for her, telling her that someone is coming for her.

Alice in Zombieland is young adult fiction that doesn't hold back on anything, from the violence of zombie fighting action or the emotional responses from the characters.

This is book one of three in the White Rabbit Chronicles, and is well worth the read.

Rating 3.5/5

Modernising YA Fiction: A Review of Daughters of Eve by Lois Duncan

Should books released in years gone past be adapted for 'modern' readers, or should they be left as they are, allowing readers to draw commentary on how things were represented in fiction?

Daughters of Eve was published in 1979 and is the story of an all-girls high school secret society. It follows the lives of each member as they navigate life in high school, while battling against the patriarchy of their world. They are full of potential and each one has a plan for their lives after school. Leading them in their crusade for equality among their fellow students is teacher, Irene Stark, who is the staff member sponsoring the club. She provides advice and encouragement to her students, even offering her home as sanctuary for one member who is experiencing a violent home life. She encourages them to follow whatever means to reach their goals. Males, whether guilty or not of seeing women as lesser, are all judged the same by the club, and all are punishable for any and all crimes, real or perceived. As a young adult book, Daughters of Eve tackles the tough issues including domestic violence, sex, teen pregnancy and abortion, without offering judgement on what the female characters chose to do. 

This is a problematic read for me for a variety of reasons. I am quite familiar with the author's body of work, having read them pre-modernisation. 

As this story was written in the late 70s, the adaptations of the text made it jarring. References in the story to emails and mobile phones interrupt the reading experience. The out-dated views of male  characters relating to the role of females is now not as relevant as those other issues that the book discusses and is disruptive to a book that tries to be modern, but failed to bring a smooth reading experience.

It isn't a subtle read. The message is clear from the first meeting of the Daughters if Eve: females are as powerful as men, but the men are just keeping them down. It takes feminism to the extreme, where assault and vandalism are used to achieve some end, without fear of recrimination or punishment. 

Re-Reading Nancy Drew

As a teenager, the adventurous lifestyle of Nancy Drew and her friends was addictive. I’d borrow books of the series from the library, rereading my favourites several times over. Re-reading them as an adult, it is a totally different experience. Nancy hasn’t changed since the books were written all those years ago, but I certainly have since I found them in the 90s. My connection with the books was as a by-product of reading the Baby-Sitters Club series, in which one of the main characters were reading the Nancy Drew books pretty much exclusively. At their core, the books follow a simple formula. Nancy meets someone troubled, and she asks why, and learns that there is a mystery attached to their lives. Or, alternatively, she is offered the chance to go on a trip, where part of the lure is the mystery attached. Either journey, she takes her friends along for the trip. By the end of the book, the mystery will be solved and Nancy will be reunited with Ned and her friends and the title of the next book is revealed. Nancy represents the need of the time for young female readers to see an independent, smart, strong, role model type, who definitely ‘has it all’ at eighteen. She has a loyal, albeit sometimes absent boyfriend, and two best friends who follow her into the depths of each mystery. Nancy also has a wealthy father (who practices as a successful lawyer to boot), making the need to seek out a paying job for herself non-existent. She is intuitive, compassionate to others and is slow to anger. In fact, she rarely seems to lose her composure despite the situations that she ends up in. She fights against what others view to be a typical detective, frequently told that she doesn’t look like a detective. At the age of eighteen, Nancy and her friends have an extraordinary amount of maturity and street savvy. They are also dangerously co-dependent upon each other. They wouldn’t think about going on the hunt for a mystery without the others in tow, and Nancy will always be unquestionably in charge. Ned, Bess and George follow Nancy without question or concern for her or their own wellbeing. They seek out thieves and smugglers, people who normal people are afraid of and would try to avoid. Her father actively encourages her to work on mysteries instead of getting a job or seeking out further study like Ned has. At the time that these books were written, I get that wasn’t the norm, but when is a teenage, unlicensed detective exactly normal? Nancy may have had it all, but looking back at these stories made me realise how much has changed in my own attitudes. The lure of these stories is somewhat still there, after all a little nostalgia trip doesn’t hurt, but I can’t help but think how I will feel about other books that I read when I was younger in readings to come.

Book Review: Queenpin by Megan Abbott

What does it take to make a Queenpin fall?

A nameless female narrates the story of her rise from accountant for a dive bar to the right hand of notorious femme fatale Gloria Denton, Queenpin of the underworld.

Set against a gritty noir backdrop, Abbott takes the reader along with her narrator as she leaves home to take on a new job and life with Gloria. Within weeks, she advances from small time criminal acts to money laundering at the racetrack. 

When Gloria kills the narrator's boyfriend, she realises that it's only a matter of time and a game of wits if she is to get out unscathed, as Gloria seems to be looking to pin the murder on the narrator.

Rating 3/5