Galley Review of Girls Can’t Hit by Tom Easton

Girls Can’t Hit by Tom Easton

Published: April 20th, 2017

Rating: 

Purchase here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Synopsis: A funny, feminist teen story about knowing when to train . . . and when to fight.

Fleur Waters never takes anything seriously – until she turns up at her local boxing club one day, just to prove a point. She’s the only girl there, and the warm-up alone is exhausting . . . but the workout gives her an escape from home and school, and when she lands her first uppercut on a punching bag she feels a rare glow of satisfaction.

So she goes back the next week, determined to improve. Fleur’s overprotective mum can’t abide the idea of her entering a boxing ring, why won’t she join her pilates class instead? Her friends don’t get it either and even her boyfriend, ‘Prince’ George, seems concerned by her growing muscles and appetite – but it’s Fleur’s body, Fleur’s life, so she digs her heels in and carries on with her training.

Diversity: the boxing club has diverse people as background cast – race wise and economic background – and Tarik is confirmed to be Syrian in dialogue.

Warnings: Infant death, mentioned briefly and in a little detail.

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Girls Can’t Hit is a funny, thoroughly entertaining children’s book blending boxing and feminism and the idea of what every girl is capable of.

I read this book in one day. I literally couldn’t put it down. Tom Easton has a great author’s voice that embodies that of his characters is incredible. At times, it was easy to forget that this was written by an adult male and not a girl in her first year of A Levels. He manages to keep everything light and breezy, even when speaking about some serious and emotional subjects that arise across the piece. He never loses the fun side in his story.

Fleur Waters as the main character is someone you most likely will relate to. In a way, she is all of us. Young and plays it safe but wants to do more; still trying to find herself; dealing with the stresses of school and home life; boyfriends and growing up. She joins the boxing club because she’s stubborn and doesn’t like being told that she shouldn’t do something. She stays because she finds acceptance and strength and genuine enjoyment.

And it’s hard for her. One thing I really did enjoy was that Easton put a lot of emphasis on the effort that Fleur has to put in to get as good as she becomes. She has to exercise every day and change how she eats. She doesn’t just click her fingers and succeed, and this progress of growth – struggling to start with and how practise makes perfect –  is a brilliant message for everyone who reads this book, especially for young girls who might find themselves giving up if things start to get too difficult. I know I would – boxing is a tough sport to get into, requires so much commitment and change to your life, but Fleur almost makes you want to emulate her as much as possible. You want to experience her journey for yourself.

I know I would – boxing is a tough sport to get into, requires so much commitment and change to your life, but Fleur almost makes you want to emulate her as much as possible. You want to experience her journey for yourself.

There is also a discussion of what it means to be feminist. You have Blossom, Fleur’s best friend, is overt and confrontational in her want to make a chance. Although she’s never used as the butt of a joke, her contradictions when it comes to boxing is commented on and in this, she represents all claimed feminists with hypocritical beliefs – “Women can do whatever they want – except for boxing because it’s a sport that encourages male aggression and violent tendencies”.

You have Fleur herself, who worries that she’s not a good enough feminist because she doesn’t want to go to rallies and she laughs at jokes that some might call sexist. In this, there is a comfort that everyone must be a feminist in their own right and their own way. That no way is wrong or right, which is once again, another good message for young girls to pick up.

You have Bonita, Fleur’s archnemesis, who embodies female aggression in sports. She’s good at everything, strong and battle ready. It’s not something she’s mocked for either – which very easily could have been the case, but instead, Bonita brings the discussion of women constantly being in competition with each other, constantly not being as good as the next girl.

There is also a commentary on men’s involvement with femininity. The judgment of how women should look and about ‘meninists’. There are two characters that take on that stereotype and become part of a problem for Fleur to overcome. You also have the character of Pip, Fleur’s best friend, who is the complete opposite of the hypermasculinity that the boys at the boxing club show. He’s awkward and nerdy, is described as having limbs that don’t seem to work as they’re supposed to. He’s constantly falling over and walking into things. It’s an on-running joke that he drives slower than the speed limit and is still the most dangerous driver on the road. While giving a rounded view of boys in our society, he’s always one of Fleur’s biggest supporters across the course of the story.

I really enjoyed the book’s sense of place as well. Set in Bosford, a South England town that has both the well off and the not so well off living in close proximity and both sides of this world coincide in the boxing club. Bosford is near Battle, where the Battle of Hastings took place in 1066, and a big part of Fleur’s friendships stem from working at the National Trust there and acting as Saxons for tourists. It’s a fun little piece of local history that is part of how Fleur sees the world around her. I liked her habit of comparing people in her life to Saxons and Normans. It was something unique to her character.

There is a romance, but it takes a backseat to everything else. It is just something that happens in the story, not the most important part which was enjoyable as it doesn’t take away from Fleur’s personal successes. Admittedly though, I would have loved more detail on them getting together and being badass.

I really enjoyed this book. It thought it was fun to read, entertaining and hilarious at moments. Fleur is an inspirational woman, working incredibly hard to become as good as she is and being rewarded for that dedication. Finishing this book made me want to look for boxing clubs and to sweat to success.

I’m not going to. But I wanted to.

If you want something quick and fun, even a little inspirational, this book is for you!

 

Galley Review of Out of Heart by Irfan Master

Out of Heart by Irfan Master

Published: April 20th, 2017

Rating: 

Purchase here: Amazon

Synopsis: Donating your heart is the most precious gift of all.

Adam is a teenage boy who lives with his mum and younger sister. His dad has left them although lives close by. His sister no longer speaks. His mum works two jobs. Adam feels the weight of the world upon his shoulders.

Then his grandfather dies and in doing so he donates a very precious gift – his heart.

William is the recipient of Adam’s grandfather’s heart. He has no family and feels rootless and alone. In fact, he feels no particular reason to live. And then he meets Adam’s family.

William has received much, but it appears that he has much to offer Adam and his family too.

A powerful tale of love and strength in adversity.

Diversity: Adam and the Shah family are Muslim and while the country they’re from isn’t really specified, his grandmother speaks Urdu. William is mixed raced, with one Jamaican parent. Adam’s sister Farrah uses sign language to communicate. A diverse cast of secondary characters around Adam at school, including Cans and Laila.

Warnings: domestic violence, death, gang violence (although nongraphic).

I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Out of Heart is something entirely unique, heartwrenching and wonderful.

This was quite slow to start. It took a while to fully be introduced to Adam and his family and William and the quirks of their lives. It meant that for a little while I wondered whether I was actually going to become invested in this story – but then I hit a point where I felt their pain in my chest and I knew I was gone.

I think a large part of this emotional investment comes from the Master’s writing. This book is beautifully written. The writing balances this strange line between something beautifully poetic and wonderfully colloquial, that both mirrors the world we live in and the world we want to live in. I enjoyed the moments of the text that were broken up through wordplay – “Two silent tears. Two tears silent, too silent tears” -that gave a great glimpse into how the character of Adam thinks, which is brilliantly individual all the way through.

Out of Heart is very much a character driven story, which means that the characters Master creates have to be enough to engage a reader and this is something he succeeded in doing. While not all backstories are explained and there are holes that would have been good to have filled, they weren’t necessary. Master displayed complicated characters, ones that are more than how they speak or how they look, and this book is a great snapshot of that complexity.

Adam is an interesting protagonist, so different from any other I’ve read before. His mind is a strange mess of the artwork he uses to understand the world he’s in. He holds his past scars in every step. He’s a character that’s smart, but distant, a little too lost in his head and I think this is something that most readers and most creative people can relate to.

William in return is someone who we’re told less about – and it would have been nice to have some more insight into his thoughts – but what we do get is enough to feel a fondness for him. Adam and William bond through the harsh traumas of their lives and it’s through their almost faux parent-child relationship that they both make a change to each other’s lives. Adam becomes lighter. William lives a life he didn’t think he’d ever have the chance to.

The flaws in this piece come down to vagueness or structure. Some of the points of views jump about all over the place, slipping out of one and into another and back again at an erratic rate. It doesn’t take you out of the piece really, but there was some point of views I wanted to stay in for longer or some scenes that I felt might work better in another point of view. I’ve mentioned this before, but there is also a vagueness in character history. It would have been nice to have some more concrete information, especially about William who is so important to the story and to Adam and his family.

Overall, Out of Heart is a really quick and easy read that approaches the idea of loss, love, acceptance and found family in a really interesting way. Irfan Master has a great author’s voice and, despite the criticisms I do have, it was an enjoyable story that hit me right in the feels.

Galley Review of Stargazing for Beginners by Jenny McLachlan

Stargazing for Beginners by Jenny McLachlan

Published: April 6th, 2017

Rating: 

Purchase here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Synopsis: Science geek Meg is left to look after her little sister for ten days after her free-spirited mum leaves suddenly to follow up yet another of her Big Important Causes. But while Meg may understand how the universe was formed, baby Elsa is a complete mystery to her.

And Mum’s disappearance has come at the worst time: Meg is desperate to win a competition to get the chance to visit NASA headquarters, but to do this she has to beat close rival Ed. Can Meg pull off this double life of caring for Elsa and following her own dreams? She’ll need a miracle of cosmic proportions …

Fans fell in love with the warmth, wit, romance and fierce friendships in Flirty Dancing, Love Bomb, Sunkissed and Star Struck, and Stargazing for Beginners has all that and galaxies more. This is the best kind of real-life fiction – with big themes and irresistible characters, it goes straight to your heart.

Diversity: Meg and Elsa are both mixed race. Annie has a type of cerebral palsy and she is visibly seen with all that comes with that, rather than it being glossed over.

Warnings: neglective parent

Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for giving me permission to read this galley!

Stargazing for Beginners to a straight up brilliant book.

It’s well written with some wonderful insights into being young, being in secondary school and trying to fit in where you don’t feel like you do. This is definitely something that most people on one level or another can relate to. It is also well researched – all the science facts, the history of space travel and women in it build not only a sense of the world we live in but also a sense of who has made Meg – our protagonist – who she is today.

Megara Clark may be one of the most relatable characters I’ve read about. Her fears about public speaking stemming from little ‘harmless’ jokes are something so personally relatable to me that in parts it felt like I was reading my own diary (if I had ever kept one). In literature for young people, it is important to show how what one person believes to be harmless can have a serious affect on someone’s self-esteem and well-being. It is this personal understanding to Meg that made it so heartwarming to read about her overcoming that fears, to read about her standing her ground and speaking out and not just rolling over and letting herself feel lesser than anyone else around her.

Aside from Meg, all the characters that McLachlan writes are strong and hold your interested in this story with their distinct and – in some cases – wild personalities. Elsa is the facility in which Meg learns to rely on others and overcome challenges and that maybe some things are more important. Her mother and her grandfather, both untamed spirits, who do without thinking, are the antithesis of who Meg is but it is their strong beliefs and their even stronger sense of adventure that allows Meg to grow as a person.

(I will add, however, on the subject of Meg’s mother – I tend to hate neglective parents like her, and I can’t say that I got to the end of this book and cared for her. I still believe her selfish and unthinking of her children, but by the end of the piece, it seems as if she is beginning to understand slightly better how she can affect those around her negativity even if she’s trying to do a positive. That character development is commendable.)

I enjoyed reading about Annie – outspoken and loud, a complete opposite of Meg – and Rose – sweet and always trying – and Jackson, who wasn’t even supposed to be there but he still finds himself helping and making friends and becoming part of this “ground team”. I liked reading about Ed, the love interest, too. Whilst their romance was very cliche, Meg and Ed start from this point over competition over their own intelligence, something that very really happens in the books I’ve read. As Meg opens up, she realises that Ed is more than he looks – just like she is.

I definitely appreciated this book more living in England and having visited the University of Sussex and all the surrounding places. It makes this story familiar and really close to home, which I think works really well considering the themes that are discussed throughout. When Meg is left with her sister, you feel as if you’ve probably seen her. The few instants of slang terms are probably ones that you’ve used. This secondary school dynamic that is so different from how high school is portrayed in American films and books, something that still has a lasting effect on one’s person but in a unique way.

It took me probably about a day to read this book. I started it one evening and finished it the next morning. The chapters were short and quick, meaning you have read so much and not felt like you did. There were appropriate arcs and engaging characters, complicated and relatable issues. I wouldn’t have said that there were many flaws if any. It’s just a sweet read about embracing who you are and I totally recommend it.

Galley Review of Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Geekerella by Ashley Poston

Published: April 4th, 2017

Rating: 

Purchase here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Synopsis: Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first.

Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. But when she disappears at midnight, will he ever be able to find her again?

Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom.

Diversity: Darrien is of South Asian Descent. Sage and Cal are both women who love other women, although what their sexuality isn’t confirmed

Warnings: Verbal abuse would be the biggest, as it a part of most Cinderella stories

Thank you NetGalley and Quirk Books for the advanced copy of this book!

Geekerella is a Cinderella retelling with a geeky twist, a love letter to fandoms and a tribute to all the stories that have touched our lives.

I completely adored this book. Admittedly, I didn’t think I would like it as much as I did when I requested it. I had just heard a lot of people speaking about it and I wanted to give it a shot. It sounded fun at the very least, and I figured it would be enjoyable.

Geekerella is far more than that.

Ashley Poston’s writer voice is incredibly strong. She knows how to write her world with the right balance of description and emotional insight to her characters. And the voices of those characters are spot on. At no point did Elle and Darrien’s voices change to something that is not theirs – they were distinct and both engaging to read in. I didn’t want to read one character’s POV more than any other.

Elle is a great female lead. She’s relatable because of her likes – although Starfield doesn’t exist in the world, her place in fandom is very realistic, especially to me as someone who’s been in one type or another from when I was eleven until this very day. Darrien plays well against Elle’s character. They come from completely different worlds, with different experiences but their fears and wants are much the same. Darrien’s worries about taking on a mantle so beloved by so many is written in such an understandable way that you read and wait for him to find himself – but he never really stops being worried that he’s not good enough for the role, that he has much to live up to which makes him so real.

How both characters relate to Starfield – how it builds their characters, affects their lives, gives them hope and strength – is something anyone who adores a book, a film or a tv show can understand.

The romance between Elle and Darrien is the sweetest thing. I was worried it might be cliched or forced or uncomfortable – as I have found some YA romances to be – but this is an example of just how to right about falling in love. No instant love – they connect on an emotional level, bonding of something that is important to both of them.

As a Cinderella retelling, it’s a very interesting and very accurate translation. As you read, you can see which moment and which character is what part of the old fairytale.

Another thing I really enjoyed was the relationship between Sage and Cal. I’ve been trying to read more books with gay girls in them, and this was a happy and pleasant surprised that I was hoping for! I would love a whole book about these two!

This is definitely a book that I’m getting when it comes out because I just loved every moment of it.

UPDATE: found a copy in Waterstones over the weekend, despite the fact that the book hasn’t been released yet. The book gods have smiled upon me this day!

Galley Review of The Hereafter by Jessica Bucher

The Hereafter by Jessica Bucher

Published: March 16th, 2017

Rating: 

Purchase here: Amazon

Synopsis: Nin has no recollection of her death.

The things she does remember, like her cruel boyfriend, troubled father, and absent mother, she’d like to forget.

Dylan doesn’t need to remember his death to know that he deserved it. Who needs memories when you have the scars?

Sparks ignite when the two, very different, strangers meet. Together they spend one endless summer exploring their new world. Suddenly, their after-lives hold more possibility and promise than their tragic teenage lives ever did.
But no dream lasts forever, and all too soon, harmful memories from their pasts emerge and threaten to tear them apart. Given the chance to change their fates, Nin and Dylan must decide– life or love.

Weaving through past and present and alternating perspectives, The Hereafter is an emotional journey about young love and second chances.

Diversity: None that was obvious within the story.

Warning: abuse (at the hands of a parent and a lover respectfully), suicide, graphic descriptions of injury, murder, drugs and prostitution.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced reader copy of this book!

The Hereafter is Jessica Bucher’s debut novel about memories, life and death and love.

The story follows main characters Nin – short for Evangeline – and Dylan, both of whom have died and have no memory of how they did. Nin is alone in her afterlife until Dylan arrives, and together, they put the pieces back together. This is shown through flashbacks to the past marked as ‘Before’ and the current events, with both Nin and Dylan being given their own point of view chapters.

This is an incredibly character-driven story and although these stories are harsh, they are treated with care. It is very emotionally raw, dealing with grief and suicide and feelings of hopelessness that one would assume comes from being dead.

It’s an easy read with some beautiful imagery throughout. Although the action in the book is slow, the emotions are very fast paced and this lends to making it feel as if so much as happened in a short space of time.

Nin and Dylan are sympathetic, if not relatable, characters with how they deal with their grief and their abuses and how their worlds have shaped them. The idea of these two people being connected so entirely at such an important moment that shaped everything about their futures is handled really well. The way that Bucher writes memories and plays with the idea of whether they can be trusted is well done and keeps you as the reader on your toes.

There are criticisms, however. The pacing felt off at the beginning of the book as if the reader is being thrown into the middle of an already ongoing story. Because of the themes within the book and the fact that the past unravels within the story, this can be forgiven – but it did make it quite difficult to gain a sense of time and space.

The largest issue – without giving too much away – was that an abuse victim had their history made public without their consent. More often than now, these horrors are shown through invaded memories, some intentional and others not. Even though the want is to help, it doesn’t mean that sort of invasion of privacy should be deemed acceptable. It made those few scenes uncomfortable to read at times.

Despite this, The Hereafter is a very sweet, well written, character-driven love story that made me feel all warm inside by the end. This is just Bucher’s debut book and it’s already a great read, I’m sure that each book that follows will allow Bucher to improve in leaps and bounds.

Cross-posted at The National Student

Galley Review of Defy The Stars by Claudia Gray

Defy The Stars by Claudia Gray

Published: April 6th, 2017

Rating: 

Purchase here: Amazon | The Book Depository

Synopsis: Noemi Vidal is a teen soldier from the planet Genesis, once a colony of Earth that’s now at war for its independence. The humans of Genesis have fought Earth’s robotic “mech” armies for decades with no end in sight.

After a surprise attack, Noemi finds herself stranded in space on an abandoned ship where she meets Abel, the most sophisticated mech prototype ever made. One who should be her enemy. But Abel’s programming forces him to obey Noemi as his commander, which means he has to help her save Genesis–even though her plan to win the war will kill him.

Together they embark on a daring voyage through the galaxy. Before long, Noemi begins to realize Abel may be more than a machine, and, for his part, Abel’s devotion to Noemi is no longer just a matter of programming.

Warning: N/A.

Diversity: main character stated to descent from Chile. People that are encountered are from all parts of the world and therefore are quite diverse. However, no canonly stated lgbt+ characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Zaffree for the advanced reader copy of this book!

I have Claudia Gray books on my bookshelf but this was the first that I’ve actually read and I’m so glad it was!

Defy The Stars is so wonderfully interesting, playing with the strengths and weaknesses of faith and cybernetics and terrorism. The story itself has so many twists and turns. There’s always something that needs to be done, always another target ahead. Gray handles all the characters and all the worlds, alongside all the motivations, so well that the piece very rarely feels unbalanced.

It is shown through the eyes of Abel, the most high-tech mech ever created, and Noemi, a fighter pilot on the planet Genesis currently at war with Earth. It follows their journey to save thousands of people ready to offer their lives for something that might not even work, as well as the process of growing to understand a person vastly different from oneself.

Noemi’s determination to save her world, her strugglings with her self-esteem and her understanding of the world around her, her will to explore and the strength of her belief system is admirable. It makes her a character so easy to relate to, and the best vehicle through which a reader can see this new world through.

In the same way, Abel’s journey from mechanical and programmed, to something “with a soul” is beautiful. He tries so hard to understand the world around him but he too is as isolated as Noemi from the world and although he knows, he doesn’t understand that makes all the difference. His story of want vs programming is something that tugs at heart strings.

Gray’s writing is wonderful and engaging, creating these wonderful images of these new planets and their inhabitants. Enough detail is given to make each world real and tangible to touch, with struggles and successes that are completely adapted to the society’s that they live in.

Harriet and Zayan are Vagabonds searching for a new and better life. Virginia is constantly searching for her next thrill and being able to step beyond the boundaries that her planet gives her.

Virginia is constantly searching for her next thrill and being able to step beyond the boundaries that her planet gives her.

Dunway has strength in his muscles because of the weight of the gravity pressing down upon him.

Noemi lives the life of a soldier because her world demands it, just as her religion and her faith is hugely important to her.

Mansfield is a product of the indulgent Earth that those of the other planets in the ‘Loop’ are rebelling against.

Defy The Stars is a thrilling, action-packed novel with absolutely engaging protagonists and an eloquent writing style that immerses you into this futuristic sci-fi world. This is the beginning of seems to be another series – however long or short – and honestly, I’m excited to read more about these characters.