OZYA Reviews Archives - Page 4 of 7

Book Review: Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil

Jun 27, 2016

Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil

Pages: 305
Publish date: February 1st 2013
Publisher: Hardie Grant Egmont
ISBN: 9781742973951
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK– Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Sam Kinnison is a geek, and he’s totally fine with that. He has his horror movies, his nerdy friends, World of Warcraft – and until Princess Leia turns up in his bedroom, he doesn’t have to worry about girls.

Then Sam meets Camilla. She’s beautiful, friendly and completely irrelevant to his life. Sam is determined to ignore her, except that Camilla has a life of her own – and she’s decided that he’s going to be part of it.

Sam believes that everything he needs to know he can learn from the movies … but now it looks like he’s been watching the wrong ones.

Life in Outer Space:

This is possibly one of the most adorable books that I have ever read. When I closed the book I couldn’t keep the smile off my face, I am pretty sure I looked pretty stupid.

Life in Outer Space follows protagonist Sam Kinnison and his geeky ways. He loves horror movies, writes movie scripts and doesn’t care much for girls, but then Camilla comes into his life – and well, things start to change.

Sam was an interesting protagonist – he is geeky and doesn’t stand up for himself, and although I hate horror movies and don’t play video games, it was easy to see why he loved these things. Sam also has some self-doubt and it was difficult to read without trying to tell him that everything is going to be okay. But it was beautiful to see him grow throughout the novel and his character arc was spot on.

Camilla was a refreshing character to read about. She had this strong presence about her and she knew what she wanted in life. Even though she has this fame surrounding her, she doesn’t let it take over and she also doesn’t let people walk all over her.

The relationship between Camilla and Sam was completely adorable in Life in Outer Space. I was smiling ear to ear, I loved that it was slow burning and it started off as a friendship – which is fantastic because of the age of the protagonist. The way that both Sam and Camilla were there for each other was refreshing and even without knowing they helped each other out.

I adored that they were awkward with each other, the little smiles, that they both had feelings, yet kept it all hidden – it was a great representation of a first love between two young teens.

I loved seeing Sam’s relationship with his friends and how they are different from each other, but together they all work. I liked that they don’t take over from Sam character wise, but they are all fleshed out on their own.

There isn’t a good family vibe as such in, Life in Outer Space and I do wish there was more. Sam’s relationship with his mother was nice to see as his relationship with his father is strained. I liked seeing a mother and son relationship that was decent as I don’t see it in YA that often.

However, Sam’s family relationship isn’t that crash hot and I would have been okay with that if Camilla’s relationship with her parents was good. Camilla and her family are all over the place, they have no real bond and they all live apart. I just want to see something nice in the family section in Life in Outer Space.

Although I truly enjoyed Life in Outer Space, I found it hard to get into. I took me about 50 pages or so to be stuck in the story. It had a lot to do with the writing style and the voice of the protagonist. Sam is a 15 year old male – I am a 19 year old female; there is quite a lot of difference there. However, after the 50 pages the voice didn’t feel as foreign and I wanted to know what was going to happen.

Life in Outer Space by Melissa Keil ventures friendship, first love, family and what it is like to keep everything bottled in. It shows that sometimes love needs to start off as a friendship and that the bonds of friends are not always broken – even if there is some turbulence on the way.

Have you read any Melissa Keil? If you have did you like it as much as I did. I am going to pick up her other book quite soon. If you haven’t read her books are you going to? Let’s Chat!

Book Review: The Yearbook Committee by Sarah Ayoub

May 19, 2016

The Yearbook Committee by Sarah Ayoub

Pages: 304
Publish date: March 1st 2016
Publisher: HarperCollins Australia
ISBN: 0732296854
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Five teenagers. Five lives. One final year.

The school captain: Ryan has it all … or at least he did, until an accident snatched his dreams away. How will he rebuild his life and what does the future hold for him now?

The newcomer: Charlie’s just moved interstate and she’s determined not to fit in. She’s just biding her time until Year 12 is over and she can head back to her real life and her real friends …

The loner: At school, nobody really notices Matty. But at home, Matty is everything. He’s been single-handedly holding things together since his mum’s breakdown, and he’s never felt so alone.

The popular girl: Well, the popular girl’s best friend … cool by association. Tammi’s always bowed to peer pressure, but when the expectations become too much to handle, will she finally stand up for herself?

The politician’s daughter: Gillian’s dad is one of the most recognisable people in the state and she’s learning the hard way that life in the spotlight comes at a very heavy price.

Five unlikely teammates thrust together against their will. Can they find a way to make their final year a memorable one or will their differences tear their world apart?

The Yearbook Committee:

I’ve wanted to read a Sarah Ayoub book for quite a while now, I had seen Hate is Such a Strong Word so many times, but just never bought it. But when I interviewed Sarah Ayoub for my #LoveOZYA feature, I knew I had to read at least 1 of her books. So I picked up The Yearbook Committee and let me tell you, I loved it.

The Yearbook Committee follows five very different students as they come together to complete the yearbook for the end of year 12. This book is full of friendships, breakdowns, romance, family and everything else. It is such an intense book, that I could not put it down.

Ryan was quite interesting – he is the guy that everyone knows, but isn’t a dickhead. I enjoyed when we were reading about him. He has this standard for himself and when everything falls apart – he just doesn’t know how to deal with it.

Charlie has just moved to the school, and just does not want to be there. Charlie was intriguing and I was always looking forward to reading her chapter.

Matty, just broke my heart. I want to be his best friend and hug him all the time. He holds all this stuff in and I wanted to scream at him to do what is right for him. Matty has such a kind heart.

Tammi is someone who’s perception on things, is manipulated because of who she is friends with. The way that she reacts to things, the way that she talks is all because she wants to stay friends with the popular girl. The peer pressure that she feels is intense and sometimes frightening.

Then we have Gillian, she is the politician’s daughter and always in the spotlight, but it’s not easy to be there, especially if you want to be your own person.

All these characters and the friendships they build and break is quite interesting. they are so different from each other, yet so alike. The dynamic between them all was fascinating and intriguing.

This book can get relatively intense at times, but I enjoyed, it shows that life isn’t all rainbows especially in your last year of school.

I loved that this book had so many different types of relationships. From family to friendships to romance, it was all there. Some were strong and some did just not work. There were friendship fall outs and new friendships and I loved it. Basically The Yearbook Committee was real and raw.

We are able to see in The Yearbook Committee that teens are flawed too, and everything doesn’t work out to how you planned it to be. We witness insecurities, heartbreak and everything that comes along with your final year of school, and being a teen in general.

It deals with teens and stereotyping. How we should not be defined by that stereotype and we can be anyone that we want. We are not just some label. I love this because anyone can connect to this, they can see themselves or how they treated others and fix it.

I loved the compelling writing of Sarah Ayoub, it captivating and you are drawn in from the start, you connect to each character one of or another and you want to know their story, you want them to get through the year and go out into the world.

Overall, The Yearbook Committee is enchanting, you will be torn apart and put together over and over again. You will be taken on a ride with 5 students in their class year of high school – so be prepared.

Have you read The Yearbook Committee? Did you love it as much as I did? Are you going to read it or any other Sarah Ayoub books? Let’s Chat.

Book Review: Frankie by Shivaun Plozza

May 5, 2016

Frankie by Shivaun Plozza

Pages: 314
Publish date: March 23rd 2016
Publisher: Penguin Teen Australia
ISBN: 9780143573166
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Frankie Vega is angry. Just ask the guy whose nose she broke. Or the cop investigating the burglary she witnessed, or her cheating ex-boyfriend or her aunt who’s tired of giving second chances…
When a kid shows up claiming to be Frankie’s half brother, it opens the door to a past she doesn’t want to remember. And when that kid goes missing, the only person willing to help is a boy with stupidly blue eyes … and secrets of his own.
Frankie’s search for the truth might change her life, or cost her everything.

Frankie:

Frankie by Shivaun Plozza was one of my most anticipated books this year by an Australian author, it just sounded like my kind of book and it was. Frankie was a heartbreaking, heart-warming and absorbing contemporary that captures the reader from the first page.

Frankie follows protagonist Frankie Vega as she goes on a journey of self-discovery, more heartbreak and finding her place. Frankie is a usual protagonist, she is mean, rude, hard-headed and feisty, but not in the way that makes you want to put the book down and stop reading, no it is quite the opposite, her attitude makes you want to keep on reading.

When a kid shows up saying that he is Frankie’s half-brother, she doesn’t know what to do. Does she trust him and let him in her and let him break her like everyone else? Or she let him go now? But it’s Frankie we are talking about and she cannot let things, so when he goes missing, she does everything in her will power and power to find out where he is.

I adored Frankie, I would not want her to be my best friend because we would clash all the time, but she was such a fascinating protagonist. Frankie is fierce and strong and if I went missing, I would want her out there looking for me. She has had a tough life and she channels that and comes off as this ‘bad’ girl that is always getting into trouble.

She lives with her Aunt Vinne above her aunt’s Kebab shop, she has been kicked out of school and doesn’t want anyone to know and her supposed brother has just gone missing, oh and you know what this gorgeous boy with stupidly blue eyes comes into the mix. Lets’ just say that Frankie has a lot on her plate.

There were parts in the book where all I wanted to do was hug Frankie, but I feel that she might punch me in the face if I did that. There were parts that also made me cry, right near the end – arrg my heart.

I enjoyed the relationship between Frankie and her Aunt. Even thought at times it was a bit strained, it worked quite well for the situation that they were both in.

The romance was such a little piece of Frankie, but it was beautifully done. There wasn’t a need for a bubbling romance, but the way that Plozza handle it was perfect. Nate was intense and intriguing and capture Frankie in a way no way else had before. It was slightly there, but it did add to both the story and the characterisation of Frankie.

I adored that Frankie was set in Melbourne. It’s my home, and sometimes it does get boring when books are all set in the same place or places that I have no clue about. Even though I don’t live in Collingwood, I know how it looks and feels so it was truly interesting. Plozza has captured Melbourne perfectly.

Overall, Frankie by Shivaun Plozza is a brilliant debut novel that captured my heart. It’s a story of heartbreak, belonging, finding yourself and what it is to be a family. It captures Melbourne as Melbourne from the language to the setting, it brings to light that sometimes when you think that you are alone, you are not alone and all that you need to do is let them in. Frankie by Shivaun Plozza is a must read.

Have you read Frankie? Did you love it as much as me? Are you going to read it? Why not also check out my interview with Shivaun Plozza where we talk her writing journey, Frankie and more.