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Book Review: We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan & Brain Conaghan

Feb 24, 2017

We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan and Brain Conaghan

Pages: 336
Publish date: 9th February 2017
Publisher: Bloomsbury Australia
ISBN: 1408878860
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Nicu has emigrated from Romania and is struggling to find his place in his new home. Meanwhile, Jess’s home life is overshadowed by violence. When Nicu and Jess meet, what starts out as friendship grows into romance as the two bond over their painful pasts and hopeful futures. But will they be able to save each other, let alone themselves?
For fans of Una LaMarche’s Like No Other, this illuminating story told in dual points of view through vibrant verse will stay with readers long after they’ve turned the last page.

We Come Apart:

I received an ARC of We Come Apart by Sarah Crossan and Brain Conaghan from Bloomsbury Australia in exchange for a review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I didn’t know how I was going to feel about this one, verse isn’t usually my thing and I had yet to read one that I loved. And although I didn’t love We Come Apart, I still very much liked it.

We Come Apart follows two protagonists, Nicu and Jess who are torn apart both on the outside and the inside. When these two are brought together things start to change for the both of them. And some of those things aren’t for the better.

Nicu; oh how he caught my heart. At first, it’s a little hard to really understand Nicu. It’s one of my first verse novels and he also speaks broken English. But, as the novel went on, I came to love him. And understand exactly how he is feeling. Not only is Nicu in an entirely different county, but he is not welcomed at all. It’s the heartbreaking reality of people moving to a place where they aren’t from, it’s even worse when you don’t speak their language or understand the cultural of said country. All Nicu wants to do is live his life, like his wants. He wants to have friends, and being the odd one out isn’t easy.

Jess on the other should fit in, but she doesn’t seem too. Jess was much harder to get along with simply because of her attitude and the way she went a round things. She had this fire in her and I wanted her to let it go. I wanted Jess to be her. But her home life is shit all and school isn’t that much better. So she has taken to stealing, and it breaks my heart – the things that she does.

The notion of family is a big focus in We Come Apart. But, not in a good sense. I know I say that we need to have a good family portrayal in books, but sometimes Nicu and Jess’ families need to be front and center. Jess’s home life, is full of violence and hate. It’s heartbreaking seeing both Jess and her mum waste away. While Nicu’s family hated leaving Romania and put so much pressure on Nicu. Not only that, they want to marry Nicu off to a nice Romanian girl.

I had a love/hate relationship with the romance aspects of We Come Apart. It all happens fast, and even though I think they have some amazing connection. I am not entirely sure if it was all real. Nicu cared a lot for Jess, like a hell of a lot. But, I am not sure how much Jess felt the same. She is really closed off and even though we were in her head. I still wasn’t sure how she felt.

The writing style of We Come Apart is very unique. Like I’ve said before I haven’t read much verse, but now I am totally intrigued. I haven’t read anything by each of the authors. So, I couldn’t tell the different between the two. I loved the aspect of Nicu’s broken English, but it was also very hard to read at times.

Overall, We Come Apart is a poignant, heartbreaking story of two different people brought together by strange circumstances. It explores the notion of love, family, friends and what it’s like it be different. We Come Apart will tear you apart with this heart wrenching, but also a beautiful story.

Have you read We Come Apart yet? What did you think? Are you planning on reading it? Have you read anything else by the authors? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom

Feb 19, 2017

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstrom

Pages: 350
Publish date: February 2017
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 9780008183011
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

How can you have a future if you can’t accept your past? Mel Hannigan doesn’t have it easy. Mourning the death of her firework of a brother, facing the loss of three friendships that used to mean everything to her and struggling to deal with a condition that even her closest friends don’t know about.
To protect herself and everyone else, Mel tries to lock away her heart, to live quietly without pain – but also without hope. Until the plight of an old friend, and meeting someone new, shows her that the risk is worth taking, that opening up to life – and who you really are – is what can make everything glorious… And that maybe Mel can discover a tragic kind of wonderful of her very own. A beautiful, captivating story about living with mental illness, and loving – even with a broken heart.

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful:

I received a copy of A Tragic Kind of Wonderful by Eric Lindstorm from Harper Collins Australia in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

This is one of those book that is hard to review. It’s one of those books, where readers are going to have lots of different thoughts. There are lots of different ways that mental illness can present, people experience if differently and people relate to it differently. Overall, I thought this was a pretty good representation of bipolar and the ways it can affect people.

A Tragic Kind of Wonderful follows sixteen-year-old protagonist Mel, whose bipolar disorder makes life unpredictable. But, when old friendships start to come to the surface. New friendships start to come to life and the wall that Mel has built around her life start to crumble.

Mel is the kind of protagonist that you don’t love, but you also don’t hate. I really enjoyed her emotions, her realness. I felt so much for her, that I wanted to hold her tight. A lot has happened in Mel’s life and her bipolar makes it that much harder. Throughout a lot of the novel we don’t exactly know what has happened to Mel, and we are taken on a ride.

The friendships in A Tragic Kind of Wonderful weren’t great – per say. But, they were also real. It’s heartbreaking to see throughout how friendships can tear you apart. But then there are those that build you up.

Mel also had a hard relationship with her family, that really torn her apart at times. But it was also great to see that they were there for her. That they cared for her. Here we have a family that has gone through so much heartbreak. And not only do they have to deal with one family member with mental illness, but nearly the whole family.

The romance in A Tragic Kind of Wonderful wasn’t my favourite. But I also didn’t hate it. I felt that it moved too fast, and I was taken back at time at how their relationship worked. On the other hand it was totally cute at the same time.

I saw a couple of reviews saying that her life took over the book, but I don’t agree with this. Mental illness are about balance, and when that balance is tipped, things change. Outcomes are different. So the book shouldn’t just be about the mental illness, but the balance that they create. And I think this book explores both.

Dr Jordan told me everyone with bipolar disorder is different – endless variations of moods, emotions, intensity, frequency, reactions, episodes, delusions, breakdowns…

I think this is perfect. This is one story of many. And that is why I liked it, it not only shows her story, but shows the outcomes and explores that there isn’t just one possibility with mental illness.

Nevertheless, towards the end of the book I was confused at what was happened. The reader was jumping here and there. And because of the state that Mel was in, it made it hard to really pin point what was happening.

Overall, A Tragic Kind of Wonderful is a difficult read. It explores life, family and friendships. A poignant novel that explores mental health and the influence it has on the person, their families and everyone around them. A Tragic Kind of Wonderful is a beautiful story that evokes all types of emotions.

Have you read A Tragic Kind of Wonderful? What did you think of it? Are you planning of reading it? Have you read other books by Eric Lindstrom.

Book Review: This Beats Perfect by Rebecca Denton

Feb 17, 2017

This Beats Perfect by Rebecca Denton

Pages: 288
Publish date: February 2nd, 2017
Publisher: Atom Books
ISBN: 034900272X
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Amelie Ayres has impeccable taste in music. Bowie. Bush. Bob. So when she finds herself backstage at The Keep’s only UK gig she expects to hate it; after all, they are world’s most tragic band. In fact, she feels a grudging respect – not (obviously) for their music, but for the work that goes into making them megastars. And when lead singer, ‘Maxx’, is not dressed up as a cross between Elvis and a My Little Pony, he is actually rather normal, talented and has creative struggles not too dissimilar to her own.

But the next morning she wakes up rolls over and discovers a million new @’s on social media. Overnight a photo of her backstage has made her a subject of global speculation. Suddenly the world needs to know #Who’sThatGirl? – but for all the wrong reasons.

All Amelie wants is to play her music. She’s got the guitar, the songs, the soul and, in the safety of her bedroom, she’s got the voice. But when it comes to getting up on stage, she struggles with self-doubt.

This Beats Perfect:

I received an ARC of This Beats Perfect by Rebecca Denton from Hachette Australia in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I didn’t really know what to expect when I started reading this book. I wasn’t expecting much, I just felt like a good read for summer. But, I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I sat by the pool for a couple of hours and finished with a smile on my face.

This Beats Perfect follows protagonist Amelie Ayres a music lover, who isn’t into your ‘typical’ teen music. But, when she’s allowed backstage at The Keeps only UK concert, it’s not what she expected. She doesn’t love their music, but respect them as musicians. And then she finds herself connecting with lead singing ‘Maxx’ over creative struggles. However, before all this – she is thrown to the sharks – or the media with the hashtag of #Who’sThatGirl. And boy bands, fans, new girls and social media don’t really mix.

I really enjoyed Amelie as the protagonist of This Beats Perfect. She has this love for music that is so strong, but her nerves always get the better of her. She feels like she home with the music and you can feel it while reading. The passion that she has shines through, but also the anxiety that comes with it. It’s nice to see anxiety presented in this way, as I don’t see it much in YA. Amelie is totally relatable, and the reader feels for her the whole way through.

I really liked the sense of family and friendship throughout This Beats Perfect. I adored Amelie’s relationship with her dad. Even though he was always away for work and her parents weren’t together – it worked. They cared for each other and nice to see. The friendships that Amelie has before and builds throughout the book were also really nice to see. It’s getting g more and more comma to have these amazing friendships in YA nowadays and I am loving it.

The romance in This Beats Perfect was a little shaky for me. I really enjoyed them together but felt it moved a little too fast. They had some beautiful scenes together and I loved how Amelie and Max connected through music and what they believe in. It was nice and different to see.

I’ve read so many books (mostly on Wattpad) about girls and boy bands – but this was something different. There was something more than the girl and boy falling in love. It’s about finding yourself.

Something that would have been love the book, even more, if there wasn’t as many characters. This Beats Perfect felt overcrowded. I kept on forgetting who was who, what their jobs were. There was just a little too much.

Just a quick note, I really don’t like the cover – at all. It seems so outdated to me. The ARC cover, on the other hand, I loved.

Overall, I was so surprised with This Beats Perfect. It was fun, addicting and put a smile on my face. It explores the notions of finding yourself, loving what you do and finding those who will stand by you. It’s about family, friendship and those you love.

Have you read This Beats Perfect yet? Did you like it? Are you planning to read it? Are there books similar to this one that you love. Let’s Chat!