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Book Review: Highly Illogical Behaviour by John Corey Whaley

Sep 14, 2016

Highly Illogical Behaviour by John Corey Whaley

Pages: 246
Publish date: May 26th 2016
Publisher: Faber and Faber
ISBN: 0571330444
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Sixteen-year-old Solomon has agoraphobia. He hasn’t left his house in three years, which is fine by him. At home, he is the master of his own kingdom–even if his kingdom doesn’t extend outside of the house.

Ambitious Lisa desperately wants to go to a top tier psychiatry program. She’ll do anything to get in.

When Lisa finds out about Solomon’s solitary existence, she comes up with a plan sure to net her a scholarship: befriend Solomon. Treat his condition. And write a paper on her findings. To earn Solomon’s trust, Lisa begins letting him into her life, introducing him to her boyfriend Clark, and telling him her secrets. Soon, Solomon begins to open up and expand his universe. But all three teens have grown uncomfortably close, and when their facades fall down, their friendships threaten to collapse as well.

Highly Illogical Behavior:

I received a copy of Highly Illogical Behaviour by John Corey Whaley from Faber and Faber in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this book as it’s highly problematic and at first, the female protagonist was hitting the wrong spots. However, as it went on the easily it got to go with the characters and their journey.

Highly Illogical Behaviour follows the protagonist, Lisa an ambitious teen who wants to get into the second-best psychology program for college. But to do that she must write an entry essay lets just say that she wants to beat the rest. Lisa wants to do something no one has done before – and that is ‘fix’ Solomon.

Solomon is agoraphobic, hasn’t left his house in three years and before he left school, he left a mark. His fine with the way his life is, but then Lisa starts to creep in; slow but steady and she brings her boyfriend along for the ride.

I always like to read books that contain some sort of mental illness, I find them interesting and oh so important. Highly Illogical Behaviour deals with no only the sufferer of agoraphobia, but everyone around them, showing how there is a domino effect in life and sometimes we have to knock it down.

Told from dual perspectives, Highly Illogical Behavior enables the reader to dive into the mind and lives of two very different people. One full of determination and the other crippled by a health issue that has taken over. The reader is able to tell the difference between whose point of view we are in, without having to read the name. They both have strong voices that capture the reader.

At first, Lisa was very hard to ‘get along’ with. She has this determination (that I admire), but she lets it cloud her judgement and influence what is right from wrong. Over the course of the book, I grew to understand her determination and why she wanted to help. But it wasn’t for the best of reasons. However, she was also a jerk for a lot of the book. Not so much to Solomon’s face, but the fact that she is still trying to ‘fix’ him and write about – was hard to overcome.

Solomon was my favourite, he is this precious cinnamon roll that I wanted to cuddle and hold. He was totally adorable and the reader is able to see him grow into someone who believes in himself. Solomon was also relatable, he had quirks, likes, dislikes. Even though Lisa tries to ‘fix’ him, he ends up finding himself on the way.

I thought that Lisa’s boyfriend Clark was going to completely destroy what had been built between Lisa and Solomon, but Clark fitted right in, like a puzzle piece.

The representation of anxiety in Highly Illogical Behaviour was beautifully done. And although not all panic attacks are not the same, everyone can relate to it, in one way or another.

I loved that Solomon wasn’t ‘fixed’. He wasn’t cured of his mental illness, but now he’s not living it alone – people who want to help him, love him and will always be there for him.

Highly Illogical Behaviour was a poignant, funny and important read. It takes the reader on a journey through heartbreak, panic attacks, friendship and what it’s like to be a teen. Overall, although I did have some problems with it, Highly Illogical Behaviour is a quick read that is important.

Have you read Highly Illogical Behaviour? Did you like it? Are you going to read it? What are some other books that incorrpoate mental illness that you like? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley – Blog Tour

Sep 11, 2016

Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley

Pages: 352
Publish date: August 30th, 2016
Publisher: Pan Australia
ISBN: 1742612385
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

This is a love story.
It’s the story of Howling Books, where readers write letters to strangers, to lovers, to poets.
It’s the story of Henry Jones and Rachel Sweetie. They were best friends once, before Rachel moved to the sea.
Now, she’s back, working at the bookstore, grieving for her brother Cal and looking for the future in the books people love, and the words they leave behind

Words in Deep Blue:

I received an ARC of Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley from Pan Macmillan Australia as part of the blog tour, in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Words in Deep Blue is the first Cath Crowley book that I have read and I have no idea why I waited so long. I loved the writing, the plot and how Crowley can capture everything in a small amount of time.

Words in Deep Blue follows protagonist Rachel Sweetie as she returns home, is faced with her best friend, a secret crush and to a place where everything seemed to be better.

It’s about Henry, who doesn’t know what he wants, thinks that he loves his on and off girlfriend and wants things can go back to what they use to be.

It’s about Howling Books, where letters between lovers, friends and strangers are marked forever in the pages of the books that live on its shelves.

Words in Deep Blue is a heartbreaking novel; it’s full of grief, friendship, love, family and finding yourself when you don’t know what to think anymore. It captured me from the first moment, dropped into a world of beautiful words.

I truly enjoyed Rachel as a protagonist, she is one of those characters that I just got along with straight away. Rachel was full of grief and heartache, that she held in from everyone that made her character that more interesting. The grief that Rachel held punched me, and then kept on punching me. It was such a strong element of who she was but, done beautifully.

Henry, now he wasn’t my biggest fan – he could never make up his mind and kept on going back to the girl that didn’t really love him. However, he had this strong sense of family and the love for Howling Books. I always love it when I find a male character that loves books, and that was Henry. At times his attitude was hard to get around, he had this adoration for Amy – that made his life a whole lot worse.

But, one of the main reasons why I loved Words in Deep Blue was that it just wasn’t Rachel and Henry’s story, but a whole bookshop. A library of letters between lovers, friends, strangers, everyone’s stories intertwined into books that just had pen inscribed throughout.

Most of Words in Deep Blue is told through a normal novel structure. However, scattered throughout, there were these letters that have been left on the pages. It was such an interesting concept. I talked with Crowley about this in an interview I had with her in my #LoveOZYA series.

George’s story was one of my favourites – she is this strong girl, but deep down she’s broken and waiting for someone. My heart broke for her, and all I wanted to do was wrap her up in my arms.

Family played a somewhat big part of Words in Deep Blue, yet I wanted more. Henry and George’s family had some substance, but I felt quite disconnected from Rachel and her mother. I wanted to be hit with grief over and over again. I wanted it from the family interactions, but it fell a little flat for more.

The writing, though, is poignant and beautiful. I was gripped from the first page and swept up in this contemporary world where nothing much is different, but I felt that I was somewhere else. Cath Crowley is able to capture the reader with beautiful words, I loved being immersed in a story.

Overall, Words in Deep Blue is a poignant, beautiful story with fleshed out characters, gorgeous writing and a concept that is for every book lover. It’s about love, friendship, family and grief. You are taken on a journey through up’s and down’s and pulled into pieces.

Have you read Words in Deep Blue by Cath Crowley? What did you think of it? Are you going to read it? Have you read other Crowley books? Let’s Chat! Don’t forget to check out the rest of the blog tour.

#LoveOzYA Interview: Emily O’Beirne

Sep 9, 2016

I love Aussie YA. I love reading books from authors that live in the same country as me, that know things that people out of Australia might be so confused about. They can incorporate this into their book and it is fabulous.

So I decided to created a feature where I interview Australian Young Adult authors about their craft, journey and some interesting facts. I thought it was a fun way for everyone around the world to get to know these authors and maybe make them want to pick up their books. And that is what I am aiming to do, spread the word about #LoveOZYA and get everyone reading it.

You can check out my previous interviews with authors like Jay Kristoff, Gabrielle Tozer, Sarah Ayoub, Jessica Shirvington, and last week Cath Crowley at Angel Reads.

This week I have Emily O’Beirne author of A Story of Now duology (2015, Ylva Publishing), Points of Departure (2016, Ylva Publishing) and Here’s the Thing (2016, Ylva Publishing).

Hi Emily, and welcome to Angel Reads. First can you introduce yourself to everyone? Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hi, my name is Emily O’Beirne. I work part-time teaching at university, which I love, and spend the rest of my time writing YA. I write books about young gay/bi girls, because there are neither enough books about them or for them. My latest book, Here’s the Thing, will be out in October this year.

I love reading, but I love a good TV series just as much. My guilty pleasures in life are Dogspotting and penne matriciana. I’ve recently tried to get to the gym (to offset the hours sitting at desk), but at heart I think I might be kind of lazy. I am currently raising an army of indoor plants, and I travel as much as my work will let me (my current quandary: is a third o/s trip this year just being greedy?)

What has your writing journey been like? Where did you start? Why?

Like most writers, I have always written. When I was a kid I’d just wake up some mornings and think “I’m going to write a story.” And I would. And it would be awful and cliché and a complete echo of whatever I was reading at the time. But the urge was there.

In my early twenties I wrote, and even did a writing course for a year. I entered the first 10 000 words of a manuscript into a national emerging writers contest and made it to the last three. Problem was, I didn’t have the rest of the story. Actually, the problem was, I didn’t have a story yet. Just a desire to write. I think I was too young. I spent the rest of my twenties just living and doing lots of different things, which gave me stories and characters I needed. Now, after a spell in academia and journalism, I have re-discovered my love of writing fiction, and found endless stories I want to write.

What was the process of getting your first book published?

I was actually approached by the the woman who runs my publishing company after she’d seen some of my writing online. I wasn’t really thinking about publishing. I was just writing at that point. And when I realised later I had something resembling a book, I got in touch with them. She still liked it, and it went from there.

Was it different when getting your proceeding books published?

Not really, because I’ve been with the same publisher since. I already had an idea for my second book, and the third came while I was writing that one. I wonder if it’s because I spent so long not writing, if they just keep on coming, now?

You are with an international publisher, why did you go along that route?

As I said, they approached me. In some ways it would be great to have an Aussie publisher, and to feel a part of the Aussie YA thing, but this is how it has ended up. It’s odd though, because the publishing company is European, I am an Australian, and I think the significant proportion of my readers are American.

You are an OZYA author, what are some of your favourite Aussie YA books?

There have been too many favourites across time, so I’ll just mention some I loved from this year (though not necessarily published this year). I adored Clancy of the Undertow, by Christopher Currie. I loved Clancy’s voice, which was so forthright and so funny and wry and just so genuinely adolescent.

I also recently caught up on Fiona Woods’ inter-related books, Cloudwish, Six Impossible Things and Wildlife. I think I read them backward, but it didn’t matter. One of the things she’s so great at is writing character into people’s little behaviours. I really admire that.

Thank you Emily for joining me on Angel Reads, it’s been a pleasure. You can find Emily on twitter at @emilyobwrites, her website and don’t forget to add her books to your goodreads.

Here’s The Thing by Emily O’Beirne

Pages: –
Publish date: October 19th 2016
Publisher: Ylva Publishing
ISBN: 9783955337292
It’s only for a year. That’s what sixteen-year-old Zel keeps telling herself after moving to Sydney for her dad’s work. She’ll just wait it out until she gets back to New York and Prim, her epic crush/best friend, and the unfinished subway project. Even if Prim hasn’t spoken to her since that day on Coney Island.

But Zel soon finds life in Sydney won’t let her hide. There’s her art teacher, who keeps forcing her to dig deeper. There’s the band of sweet, strange misfits her cousin has forced her to join for a Drama project. And then there’s the curiosity that is the always-late Stella.

As she waits for Prim to explain her radio silence and she begins to forge new friendships, Zel feels strung between two worlds. Finally, she must figure out how to move on while leaving no one behind.

***

Thank you Emily for joining me at Angel Reads and sharing your journey. Have you read any of Emily’s books? Did you like them? Are you going to read them? Let’s Chat!

Come back next week for some more Aussie fun. If you want to know more about the #LoveOZYA movement check out the website for all the details.