3.5 Stars Archives - Page 11 of 16

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: Flawed by Cecelia Ahern

Jul 24, 2016

Flawed by Cecelia Ahern

Pages: 402
Publish date: April 2016
Publisher: Harper Collins Australia
ISBN: 9780008126360
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU

Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.

But then Celestine encounters a situation in which she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found Flawed.

Flawed:

I received a review copy of Flawed by Cecelia Ahern from Harper Collins Australia in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I have seen this book around for a while, however I am not the biggest fan of dystopian, and I’ve just not had the best luck with it, so picking it wasn’t high on my list. In saying all this, I quite enjoyed Flawed and cannot wait to read the sequel.

Flawed follows Celestine North as her perfect life turns on its head. An instinctive decision changes everything Celestine knew, and what people thought of her. She breaks a rule of this new world and has to suffer the consequences.

I enjoyed Celestine as a protagonist, but I didn’t love her. She lives in a world where she is seen as perfect, where you are punished for sometimes simple mistakes. She has a notion of how the world works and she cannot see otherwise. However, as the Flawed goes on she witnesses a different side to this world and her opinions change.

I loved seeing Celestine grow, her character development was something that I adored about the book and cannot wait to see where she goes. Like I said at times she could be naïve and all I wanted to do was scream – however I understood why.

What happens to her is horrible and my heart broke. She now lives a very different life and she doesn’t have too many people on her side. I did want to see her a little more vulnerable though, Cecelia Ahern could have taken that a little further.

One of the things that I loved about Flawed was the family relationship. It’s not every day that you see a good family bond, especially in YA, so I loved seeing it. Her parents; if I could hug them, I would – they were brilliant. They stood by her and did as much as they could.

I loved seeing the interactions between them all; at times the younger members of the family were a bit…I don’t even know how to explain it, supportive, but it overall the relationship was okay.

Another thing I loved about Flawed was the world – I was fascinated, intrigued; it was a horrible world where people get published for the most simple of things, but it was done so well.

If you have done wrong, you are tried and if found guilty you are punished by a branding, an F. There are five brand placements and each mean a different thing;

The temple, for bad decisions.

The tongue, for lying.

The right palm, for stealing from society.

Over the heart, for disloyalty to the guide.

And

The sole of the right foot, for stepping out of line with society.

Apart from the branding they are treated like outcasts. They have to follow certain rules, they cannot live a normal life – they are flawed.

The romance in Flawed wasn’t exactly my favourite and we don’t see too much of it. At the start of the novel she is with Art Crevan, it seemed like a stable relationship, however I didn’t feel the spark. I felt like there was something missing.

Then there is Carrick and we don’t see too much of him, but Celestine feels something and she is intrigued and pulled into his direction.

Cecelia writing in Flawed was great, it was easy to read and follow. The world building was done okay, however at times I was confused because there was a lot of characters to follow.

Overall, Flawed was an intriguing read. With a world that marks people for being flawed and follows a system that is flawed itself, a protagonist that needs to hold on, Flawed is a captivating read and I cannot wait for more.

Have you read Flawed yet? Did you enjoy it? Are you going to read it? Have you read read any other Cecelia Ahern books? Let’s Chat.

Book Review: The Industry by Rose Foster

Jul 20, 2016

The Industry by Rose Foster

Pages: 312
Publish date: March 20th 2012
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0732293308
Purchase: Book Depository – Amazon UK – Amazon US – Amazon AU – Dymocks

Kirra Hayward is an ordinary sixteen year old – smarter than most, but otherwise completely anonymous. When she stumbles across an unusual puzzle on the internet and manages to solve it, she has no idea of what she’s letting herself in for. Kidnapped by a shadowy organisation known only as The Industry, Kirra soon discovers how valuable her code-breaking skills are. And when she stubbornly refuses to help them, they decide to break her … by any means at their disposal. Kirra knows that to protect herself, she must trust no one, not even her fellow prisoner, Milo. But as time goes by she realises he might be the only person she can rely on …

The Industry:

I received of The Industry by Rose Foster from the author in exchange for an honest review, this has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

I hadn’t really heard about the The Industry before I started to look into #LoveOZYA authors. I saw the cover, but it never caught my eye and I don’t know why – as soon as I read the synopsis I knew that I had to pick it up. It sounded like there were things I liked, and overall I did enjoy it.

The Industry follows protagonist Kirra as she cracks a code, is taken captive, tortured and has to fight for her life. We are taken on a journey through pain, heartbreak, and the possibility of dying.

Kirra is an interesting protagonist; I never loved her but, at the same time I never hated her. I admired her for her determination, she wants to stay alive, she will go through pain, she won’t give in.

Kirra almost never wined and I loved that – she was put into a situation that is so horrible and she didn’t act like her life was ending, she stayed strong and tried to stay alive. My heart broke for her at times, I just wanted wrap her up in my arms and hug her.

However, I didn’t feel that she had enough character development; yes there was some, but I wanted more. I was craving more.

I enjoyed the world that Foster builds in The Industry, it’s quite intriguing. At times I was confused with all the names and organisations, but I just slipped over it and it was all good.

I liked this idea of an underground of sorts, but to do with coding and technology. It was quite different from something that I had read before, and to why Kirra is one of the few that can crack this code. I do wish there was some more world building – as I feel it lacked at times.

I truly enjoyed the writing style of Rose Foster in The Industry. The emotions that she evokes through Kirra was spot on. Pulling me into the novel even more because of this. I wanted to know how Kirra was going to survive and not just physically, but mentally as well. I hope that we see more of this in the following novel.

In The Industry we get to see how Kirra is feeling during her captivity, how she reacts, how she curls into herself and now I want more.

Milo…I cannot say too much about this because it will spoil the book, but I knew! I knew and I still let myself fall.

It kept me on my seat throughout the whole book, I had no idea what was going to happen next. Who was going to die, run, survive, and appear. I didn’t know what to expect and I loved that. Feeling like you are going on a ride with the protagonist was pretty awesome.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Industry and cannot wait to read more. The world was intriguing, protagonist interesting and the story pulled me right in. The Industry shows us that we need to try and be strong in hard times, even when you think everything is impossible.

Have you read The Industry? Did you liked it? Are you going to read it? Do you know any books that are similar? Let’s Chat!