Just loved this book and totally love Anne Shirley - best character ever.

I am always attracted to books written in either diary or letter form and this book ticked both of those boxes. Unfortunately that’s about the best thing I can say about it. For me, the main problem was that the characters just fell flat. There wasn’t anything to make me believe that these people were real, with thoughts and emotions and issues that I could connect to. Without the characters, in a character-driven story (which this is as there is no plot so to speak of), the story becomes boring and an effort to read. [read the rest of my review at Captivated by Books]

This review has been cross-posted on my personal blog.

Falling Through the World is a fictional story of a teenage girl’s plummet into M.E. While this book is fictional, it is greatly influenced by the author’s own experience of living with M.E.
Personally I feel that this is a book for friends, family and carers of those with M.E. as it gives a clear picture of what it is like to be struck down for no apparent reason, and then have to continue trying to live any kind of life. As someone with M.E., I found certain parts (particularly towards the beginning) of the novel physically difficult and distressing to read as it brought up some of my own memories; therefore I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone suffering from a Chronic Disability (other than if they wish to read it to advise friends and family of how their own experiences relate to it) as I feel that it could cause unnecessary pain and depression.

As a reader I felt that the prologue was unnecessary as it didn’t add anything to the story, and in fact made me less interested in reading on. Instead, I believe it would have benefited from an introduction forewarning readers that not only is the case of Sarah (the main character) extremely severe, but that everyone reacts differently, with different symptoms (not all of which are mentioned in the book), to M.E. and I would strongly suggest that any friends or family of sufferers are advised of this.

There are not many fictional stories about M.E. and this book highlights one of the reasons why not – it is impossible to create an enticing plot about becoming ill, possibly with little hope of recovering. Any story of this kind is going to be completely character-driven and unfortunately I felt that this is where the book fell flat. Sarah is an average teenager, who has an average life, with an average family and average friends. The problem is that she is a generalization of a ‘typical teenager’ and therefore it is difficult to have any feelings towards or about her. I think this story would definitely have benefited from a little bit more of an introduction, showing what Sarah is actually like – what her hopes and dreams are, what she thinks about - as this would give the reader some attachment to her and therefore would become more involved in the emotions of what happens to her.

This was true of all the characters, and even to some extent the symptoms of M.E. As there is no ‘average’ set of symptoms I found this a bit frustrating as I know I will have to explain this to each person I advise to read it; it is something that should have been included in the introduction. However, I do believe that the emotions that Sarah feels such as loneliness, anger, frustration and guilt, are likely to have been felt at some point with anyone with a chronic disability.

For those of us who need to know these emotions are normal, and for those wishing to understand how M.E. or any chronic disability effects the sufferer emotionally, I would definitely point towards this book.

Overall I felt that, while this isn’t the best-told story, it is a great start towards showing what living with M.E. is like, for those who cannot understand it. As I’ve mentioned, there are very few novels or stories about M.E., but reading books like this one gives me hope that there will be more on the way.

[I received a free copy of this book with no obligations. All opinions are my own.]

Other fictional books about M.E. that I recommend:
The State of Me by Nasim Marie Jafry
Verity Red's Diary: A Story of Surviving M. E by Maria Mann

[This review has been cross-posted at Captivated by Books]

Laura is not happy about moving away from her best friend, but her parents drag her with them regardless. It is bad enough that the house is in desperate need of repair, but things get worse when her sister, Sarah, introduces her new friend, Sadie, that no one else can see. The rest of the family are happy to play along with the imaginary girl, but strange things start happening and Laura is convinced that it is Sadie. Her parents start blaming Laura and she knows that no one will believe her; but she has to do something before it’s too late and Sarah disappears completely as Sadie takes over.

This is a fairly short Middle-Grade read, that I loved as a child, and still enjoy now. While there is nothing truly incredible about it, it makes a nice change of pace from the horror-filled ghost stories we are used to. I see this charm as a bonus, but of course, it also means that others will find it too simple to bother with; it has to be remembered that it is a children’s story, and it does not try to guise itself as anything other than this.

I found the character of Laura, whose point of view the story is told from, very easy to relate to. She thinks that her family are treating her unfairly, as no matter what she does she somehow ends in trouble. I think that everyone, at some point or another, has felt misunderstood or alone and therefore it is easy to put yourself in her place, even when we understand that it isn’t strictly true. I found it very interesting that the character of Sadie and her actions are what this story is based around, and yet we never really meet her, due to her being a ghost that Laura can’t see or hear. We only see fragments of Sadie, which I felt could have been expanded on, but overall the story isn’t actually about her – it is about Laura and her relationship with her sister, Sarah, and brother, Nick, and how they learn to trust one another.

There is a twist at the end of the book (so I won’t reveal it here), which offers explanations and ties everything up in a fairly neat bow. The ending does imply more stories to come, which would be wonderful as I always like to spend more time with characters, however this is a stand-alone book.

I would classify this as a sweet, charming story about the importance of family and believe that it will resonate with anyone who has ever felt like a misfit in their own family, or wants to remember/feel how it can be with siblings. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone looking for horror, death and gore as, while this is a ghost story, it is much more character-orientated than trying to survive or solve a mystery (though admittedly, there are very light threads of these within ‘The Ghost of Sadie Kimber’.

This review is cross-posted at Captivated by Books

In London 1976, four totally different become entwined and all have to face up to the realities of their pasts – all involving water – if they are to cope with the present. Catherine nearly drowned in an icy lake; Owen lost his little sister to the sea; Sean was outcast for his love of the river of his hometown in Ireland; and Naomi’s past is as much a mystery as her present is. Through lies and deception, they all become endangered as problems and issues are passed around between them, climaxing in a dramatic ending.

I did appreciate this novel mostly being in present tense; but unless you wish to learn how to (and how not to) pull this off, I didn’t find many other reasons to read this book.

The blurb for this book (not the one above, as I write my own ‘What’s It About?’ section), implies that it is a story of three people with tragic pasts involving water who all become trapped and endangered by meeting Naomi who revels in the “sea’s cruel power”. As you can tell from my round-up, this is not the story I was presented. I felt I wasn’t reading what I had been promised and I realise that this has probably had an impact on my negative experience of reading this book. Personally I found it was about two people with terrible memories of their past regarding water, and two people who find comfort and solace within water.

This novel is written from four points of view. I agree that different viewpoints don’t always need to be given the same amount of words but, for me, I felt that this novel became very unbalanced for large sections – it would have been better to tell this particular story through an omniscient ‘narrator’ rather than through one character at a time. For me it felt more Owen’s story for the majority; and it was his story I became interested in and felt wrong-footed when it was wrenched out from beneath me, to be replaced by another character’s point of view. It made it difficult to completely immerse myself into the events as, just as I started to it would become disrupted by the change of view.

Anne Berry deals with some very complicated and extreme situations in ‘The Water Children’. Unfortunately I feel that the chopping and changing of stories, past and present, made it impossible for me to empathize with any of them. As a reader I want to become entrenched in the story and characters, to blot out real life and allow myself to follow the events and connect with the emotions as if it were happening to me. Without this it becomes difficult to care what happens or to want to spend any time within that world; I know for me that this book took longer to read than most simply because I didn’t really give a damn about what was happening.

Despite all this negativity, I do have the reference the incredible beauty of Berry’s descriptions. As a writer I certainly feel that there is a lot to learn from this book. The visions painted are at times breath-taking and have a high impact, it is just a shame that the story itself doesn’t have much to offer the reader.

I wouldn’t really recommend this book to anyone other than fellow writers in need of a clear example of what works and what doesn’t within writing and storytelling. However, if you enjoy stories told from multiple viewpoints and regarding very intense situations, then you may find you will enjoy it.

Overall rating: 1.5/5

This review is cross-posted at Captivated by Books
What’s It About?
It is December of James’ first year at Oxford University when he meets Mark Winters, a meeting that will change his entire life. Mark belongs to a different class than James – he is rich and, as a result, knows he has the power to do anything he wishes, to anyone he wants to. James gets sucked into this world, with new friends and the life of the permanently privilege, in the way that Alice falls down the rabbit hole. When University finishes, each of the group of friends James has spent the last four years with, go into the world in radically different directions. Until tragedy strikes and James is forced to come to terms with who he has become because of Mark.

My Thoughts:
This is, without a doubt, one of the best books I have ever read and already the rest f Naomi Alderman’s books are on my ‘to be read’ list. The story is told from James’ point of view, and is split into three parts: The Lies; The Trappings; and The Lessons though it is in chronological order with the chapters clearly stating when it is taking place. While this is unusual for a fictional story, this structure only added to my reading and understanding of the novel.

I have to admit I was unsure what to expect when I picked up ‘The Lessons’ at the library, and wasn’t even sure of my response as I started reading it. However, the horrifically honest and emotionally wounding storytelling pulled me in and made me want to stay immersed in a world of confusion, lies, love and friendship. Alderman is a very talented writer, with the ability to not only create beautiful prose, but reach deep into the very essence of living that makes the reader apply the words to their own understanding of their lives. Take this quote, for example:

No wonder we spend our adult lives feeling we’re simply pretending to know what we’re doing. After sixteen years spent doing exams, where the lessons we’ve received perfectly fit the challenges we’re faced with, our preparation for the unpredictable events of normal life will always seem and haphazard. pp 49

When I came across it I knew that I had stumbled upon a writer who not only knew how I felt about life, but was able to explain it in a way that would never have occurred to me.

There is nothing that could be described as ‘happy’ about this book, as it is more a reflection of life told through a story of a life that is unlike any you probably will ever meet someone having lived. Because the fundamentals of life transcend any particular way of living, this is the perfect book to read to give yourself an insight into a world you cannot imagine, while constantly making you look and examine your own opinions about life. From reading this review you might imagine that this is more a theoretical or philosophic novel, but it is anything but, as at all times it focuses on the characters and their lives, and is therefore a much more personal reading experience than a book on philosophy.

This novel is in no way a quick, easy, happily-ever-after read, so if that’s what you’re looking for, look elsewhere. Personally I would recommend this book to everyone as I feel that there is no one who won’t benefit from reading ‘The Lessons’, but bear in mind that reading this is an investment and may change your entire outlook (or simply allow you to dwell in a well-told story that will stay with you long after you have finished it).