Freedom/Hate by Kyle Andrews

Publication date: 19th April, 2016
Published by: Independent author
Genre: Sci-fi/Dystopia (YA)

Publication synopsis:
Collin Powers knows the truth. As a low ranking member of an underground movement, his job is to transport some of the most illicit materials in the city... Books. When a simple exchange goes wrong, Collin is forced to run. Now wanted for terrorism and murder, he is desperate and alone. The world believes that he is a monster, but the only thing Collin wants is freedom.

As news of the fugitive filters through the city, high school student Libby Jacobs is just trying to make it through her everyday life. A terrorist is murdering people in the streets. Her mother is sick, and getting worse every day. Her cousin is hiding a dangerous secret, which could threaten her entire family. The truth is something that Libby doesn't want to know. It will tear her world apart. It will bring her face to face with everything that she has always been taught to hate.

Warning: I fear I may be guilty of metaphor abuse in the writing of this review. 

My Review:
Freedom/Hate is a new offering of YA Dystopia in an ever extending line of novels that cover similar themes, such as Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games and Veronica Roth's Divergent.  For me, the one that it resembled most was Ally Condie's Matched series.  Both that book and this one owe a debt to Ray Bradbury's masterpiece, Fahrenheit 451.  There are no firemen who burn books for a living, but in both these oppressed societies, paper books have become virtually extinct and the ones that do are banned.  Only the government-produced electronic kind are freely available.  This theme is used to symbolise the loss of freedom of independent thought and, in today's world, I understand the motivation to do so. 

Collin Powers is an (accidental) hero who finds himself being used as the face of the (non-existent) terrorist organisation, Hate, made up by the society's rulers as their main form of propaganda against the (real) rebel organisation, Freedom.  Here it parallels with the Hunger Games - Katniss Everdeen's popularity was used by both the rebels and President Snow as a means of manipulation to either motivate or control the population.

Where this novel parts company with the above-mentioned YA Dystopia is in it's characterisation.  Freedom/Hate is very much character-driven (as opposed to plot-driven) .  Libby, the female protagonist, bears no resemblance to what is in danger of becoming the stereo-typical 'strong female character who, against the odds, rebels and takes on the powerful oppressors', type usually found in books of this kind.  Don't get me wrong, Libby is no damsel-in-distress, and she is not stupid, either.  But she has been drinking the Cool Aid and, as such, has been brain-washed into believing all the negative media coverage about Collin Powers and Hate.  I found this a refreshing change that made her interesting as a character.  I liked this about the book. She does not ask the questions she should be asking when things don't add up, instead preferring to accept the status quo, not because she is too dumb to see what is going on, but preferring to bury her head in the sand, because she wants as quiet and trouble-free a life as she can get.  I was also glad that her character is consistent throughout (it would have been disappointing if her behaviour would have 'flip-flopped' for the sake of contrivance).

If I were to offer constructive criticism about this book, it would be that the writing style does not quite work.  The book is mostly descriptive where it should be mostly demonstrative.  I think the latter is essential for Dystopian novels.  Unfortunately, as a result, the foundation laid down in the construction of this Dysoptian world is rather weak.  For most of the book it's not really clear what happened, why or how this terrible world came to be.  Although sometime in the future, it's not clear when the story is taking place.  The result was that I was not engaged enough to feel anything, which is a problem.  At times the characters have conversations that clearly serve as a way of explaining what is happening to we the readers, rather than to one another. I often thought, 'okay, if you say so narrator, I believe you.'  Instead I should have been drawing my own conclusions and anticipating what would come next.  I should have been engaged enough to feel outrage, anxiety for the characters, and all the other stuff  that makes a book Dystopian. Instead, I was completely detached.

The novel is a 'slow-burner' and, although there are some action scenes, a lot of it is about Collin and Libby trying to make sense of what is going on around them.  As is often the case with slow-burners, it does get more interesting as it progresses, and by the end there is intrigue and hints of even more interesting things to come in the sequel. Despite Freedom/Hate's flaws, I want to know where the story is heading, so I'll certainly be getting hold of a copy of Blood Rights when it comes out on the (appropriately timed) 4th of July, 2016.

Freedom/Hate is a recommended 2016 Summer Read

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

This Books is in SBR's
2016 Top Ten Reads 

Publication date: 15th September 2015
Published by: Henry Holt and Company
Genre: Fantasy (YA)

Publisher's synopsis

Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can't pull it off alone...

A convict with a thirst for revenge.

A sharpshooter who can't walk away from a wager.

A runaway with a privileged past.

A spy known as the Wraith.

A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums.

A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes.

Kaz's crew are the only ones who might stand between the world and destruction—if they don't kill each other first.

Sooz Book Reviews Gold Seal of Approval

My Review 
Six of Crows is a sort of spin off from Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy.  I have only read the first instalment of that series - Shadow and Bone - but I recognised the 'landscape'. 
It appears to take place post the Grisha Trilogy and I got the impression that Ketterdam is a city far away from the setting of the previous series.  There are Grisha in Ketterdam - people with supernatural powers.

As mentioned in the above synopsis, Ketterdam is a place where you can buy anything - including people.  In this book Grisha are sought after by slavers who sell them into slavery.  Although slavery is illegal in Ketterdam, most of the Grisha there are 'indentures', the same applies to humans who have been trafficked and sold for the use of 'pleasure seekers'.

Kaz Brekker is a complex character.  He is a sophisticated grifter, high up in the pccking order of a gang of organised criminals.  He leads his own gang who have become successful in carrying out high-risk jobs and not getting caught.  Kaz is infamous in the Barrel (the area of Ketterdam where his gang operates) and has a reputation for being so violent and ruthless he is known as 'Dirty Hands'.   

Throughout the novel, the reader gets flashbacks of Kaz as a boy and in doing so his backstory is revealed.  The contrast between the sweet innocent 9-year-old Kaz and the 'Bastard of the Barrel', as he sometimes calls himself, is significant.  It sparked intrigue as I found myself wondering how he got from the former stage to the latter.  

Six of Crows is also about 5 other characters, all carefully selected by Kaz because they have a unique skill, to work with him to pull of a near impossible heist.  The risks are so great their chances of survival aren't great, but they are tempted by the huge payment they are offered if they can pull it off.  They are not motivated by greed but because for each of them the money is an opportunity to improve their circumstances, and in some cases, secure their freedom (or the freedom of loved ones).  The novel gives equal focus on all the characters and their backstories.  We get flashbacks similar to the ones mentioned previously.  The heist leads to countless nail-biting moments that make this book a real page-turner.


I was a little reluctant to read this novel because I have become rather tired of YA fantasy - having overdosed on ones that seem to follow pretty much the same formula.  However, this novel did not disappoint.  On the contrary, it restored my faith in YA fantasy.  Here is an author who is actually doing something different.  She is swimming against the formulaic tide.  And she is doing it extremely well.  In both Shadow and Bone and Six of Crows, Leigh Bardugo has demonstrated that, when it comes to story-telling, she is an innovator.  We need innovators because they keep things fresh and they inspire others.

I am convinced that one of the books inspired by Bardugo's Shadow and Bone is The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon.  What is interesting about Six of Crows is that, although the story is very much it's own, the characters reminded me of Shannon's '7 seals', the gang led by Jaxon Hall in the same book.  I found myself comparing Kaz to Jaxon.  I suspect that these two authors are being influenced by each others' work, and the result is synergistic (the 2+2=5 effect).

 

 

If you want to read an alternative YA fantasy novel this summer, I cannot recommend  Six of Crows highly enough.  I can't wait for the next instalment.

This book has been selected as one of my recommended 2016 Summer Reads

 

Eligible (The Austen Project no. 4) by Curtis Sittenfeld

This book is in SBR's
2016 Top Ten Reads

Publication date: 21 April 2016
Published by: The Borough Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Publisher's synopsis
This version of the Bennet family—and Mr. Darcy—is one that you have and haven’t met before: Liz is a magazine writer in her late thirties who, like her yoga instructor older sister, Jane, lives in New York City. When their father has a health scare, they return to their childhood home in Cincinnati to help—and discover that the sprawling Tudor they grew up in is crumbling and the family is in disarray.

Youngest sisters Kitty and Lydia are too busy with their CrossFit workouts and Paleo diets to get jobs. Mary, the middle sister, is earning her third online master’s degree and barely leaves her room, except for those mysterious Tuesday-night outings she won’t discuss. And Mrs. Bennet has one thing on her mind: how to marry off her daughters, especially as Jane’s fortieth birthday fast approaches.

Enter Chip Bingley, a handsome new-in-town doctor who recently appeared on the juggernaut reality TV dating show Eligible. At a Fourth of July barbecue, Chip takes an immediate interest in Jane, but Chip’s friend neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy reveals himself to Liz to be much less charming. . . .

Sooz Book Reviews Gold Seal of Approval

My Review
When I first heard about this book, I felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation.  Pride and Prejudice is a much-loved classic and one of my all time favourite books. I had decided 'not to go there', but curiosity got the better of me in the end.  I didn't expect it to be any good, but I hoped I would be wrong about that.  I was wrong about that.  Apparently, I went in with a prejudiced frame of mind, much like Elizabeth.

It turns out Curtis Sittenfeld knew what she was doing.  She put a fair amount of thought into it and has come up with a really good retelling of the classic. This is not an easy thing to do.  I would have thought it impossible.  All of the significant characters are present, with some slight name variations in a few cases.  Charles Bingley is Chip, Mr Bennet's cousin the reverend William Collins is (step) cousin Willy (and every bit as undesirable as the original). Catherine De Bourg makes an appearance but in a different role, while Caroline Bingley assumes the role of her original and Lady De Bourg combined.  The infamous George Wickham is Jasper, who reminded me of Daniel Cleaver, Helen Fielding's rival to Mr Darcy in the also P&P inspired Bridget Jones' Diary (the one played by Hugh Grant in the film).

As well as providing a modern take on Pride and Prejudice, Eligible also seeks to highlight the vast differences between the early 1800s and present day.  In some ways we can breath a sigh of relief to have been born now rather than then, but in others Eligible demonstrates that the world we live in today is so much madder than back then.

The analogies Sittenfeld has come up with are quite clever.  For example, Mrs Bennett (of P&P) was an overbearing matriarch who lacked discretion and decorum, much to the embarassment of her eldest daughters, Jane and Elizabeth.  However, her main concern in life was to make sure her daughters were okay in the end.  She believed that, had they not been married off, they probably would have ended up homeless and destitute (or realistically have dropped from upper-middle class to lower middle-class, heavens forbid!).  The point is, she did what she felt she had to do, with good intentions.

I was curious to see how this character would be justified in Eligible.  After all, we now live in a world where woman no longer HAVE to marry to secure a roof over their heads and avoid poverty. Mrs Bennet (of Eligible) is preoccupied with finding husbands for Jane and Elizabeth because they are both 'pushing 40'.  Many mothers in present day probably would become anxious under those circumstances, and so I think this scenario works very well.

While transference of scenarios worked really well, what did not always work so well for me was the transference of characters.  It is unfortunate that Mrs Bennett and Chip Bingley come across more negatively than in P&P.  Unlike Austen's Mrs Bennet, Sittenfeld's character cannot justify insisting her daughters marry men who belong to America's wealthy elite.  I have a problem with the loss of humanity that existed in the original character and, as far as I am concerned, this new character is not Mrs Bennet.  Chip Bingley is so spineless it's really hard to see what Jane would see in him (besides his eligibility).  That he appeared as a star on a trashy reality show isn't the worst thing about him.  Claiming it wasn't his choice and that his sister nominated him for it is an example of what is.  Obviously, not all characters in a novel have to be likeable for it to work.  The two youngest Bennet sisters, Kitty and Lydia, also come across badly.  In P&P, they were shallow and (as remarked by their father) a bit silly, but, unlike the versions in Eligible, they weren't nasty. Yet, this transference worked fine since, unlike their mother, they do at least bear some resemblance to the originals. The flipping of the character of the nasty Lady Catherine De Bourg to the pretty descent feminist writer version, Cathy De Bourg is also fine, since (as mentioned above) she is not the same character as the original.

I really enjoyed Eligible.  If Pride and Prejudice is as beloved to you as it is to me, my advice is don't worry - it's fine.

Spoiler alert!
I particularly loved how the book concludes.  Not with Liz and Darcy but with Mary Bennet.  The point being, of course it is wonderful to find love, marry and live happily with that person.  However, it really isn't the end of the world if a person doesn't find love, isn't seeking love and chooses not to be coupled, let alone become someone's spouse.  After all, despite what society teaches us, being a single person (regardless of one's age) is a viable option.

Eligible is a recommended 2016 Summer Read 

More Austen Project reviews

Sense and Sensibility by Joanna Trollope (no 1)

Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid (no.2)

Emma by Alexander McCall-Smith (no 3) 

Attention fellow lovers of the written word: Summer Reads

Summer reads, make me feel fine,
Running through the chapters... every line!

Las Cuevas Beach, Trinidad

Whether you are going abroad or staying at home this summer, I'm thinking it would be great to discover some new books out there in the publishing world to enjoy during the vacation period. Am I right?

So, coming soon to Sooz Book Reviews

2016 Summer Reads!

Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch

**This book was included on

SBRs Top 10 Best Reads of 2015**

Publication date: 1st January 2012

Published by: Gollancz
Genre: Crime/Fantasy

Publisher's synopsis

A WHOLE NEW REASON TO MIND THE GAP

It begins with a dead body at the far end of Baker Street tube station, all that remains of American exchange student James Gallagher—and the victim’s wealthy, politically powerful family is understandably eager to get to the bottom of the gruesome murder. The trouble is, the bottom—if it exists at all—is deeper and more unnatural than anyone suspects . . . except, that is, for London constable and sorcerer’s apprentice Peter Grant. With Inspector Nightingale, the last registered wizard in England, tied up in the hunt for the rogue magician known as “the Faceless Man,” it’s up to Peter to plumb the haunted depths of the oldest, largest, and—as of now—deadliest subway system in the world.

At least he won’t be alone. No, the FBI has sent over a crack agent to help. She’s young, ambitious, beautiful . . . and a born-again Christian apt to view any magic as the work of the devil. Oh yeah—that’s going to go well


My review

This is the 3rd in the Peter Grant series of fantasy-crime novels by Aaronovitch.  Although it is a new mystery, some of the old characters make an appearance and, as previously, a history of London is cleverly woven into the plot, this time focusing below ground (the tube and sewers). Also, this time you get more of a feel for police work - from the mundane aspects to the excitement.  I also came to appreciate their unique way of thinking. which presumably is the result of their training.  This is all done with a sense of humour making it both informative and fun.

This whodunnit left me guessing all the way to the end.

I am a huge fan of these books and the best thing about them for me is the character Peter.  I like him because he is smart (so I learn a lot from him) and whitty (he makes me laugh out loud).  Of course, this is down to Ben Aaronovitch's writing style, which is simply brilliant. 

I don't have much more to say except that I would recommend it to anyone who loves crime/fantasy and/or has an interest in the City of London.

See Rivers of London for more detail about the Peter Grant series in general.


UNHINGED by A. G. Howard

Publication date: 7th January 2014
Published by: Amulet
Genre: YA Fantasy

Publisher's synopsis
Alyssa Gardner has been down the rabbit hole and faced the bandersnatch. She saved the life of Jeb, the guy she loves, and escaped the machinations of the disturbingly seductive Morpheus and the vindictive Queen Red. Now all she has to do is graduate high school and make it through prom so she can attend the prestigious art school in London she's always dreamed of.

That would be easier without her mother, freshly released from an asylum, acting overly protective and suspicious. And it would be much simpler if the mysterious Morpheus didn’t show up for school one day to tempt her with another dangerous quest in the dark, challenging Wonderland—where she (partly) belongs.

As prom and graduation creep closer, Alyssa juggles Morpheus’s unsettling presence in her real world with trying to tell Jeb the truth about a past he’s forgotten. Glimpses of Wonderland start to bleed through her art and into her world in very disturbing ways, and Morpheus warns that Queen Red won’t be far behind.

If Alyssa stays in the human realm, she could endanger Jeb, her parents, and everyone she loves. But if she steps through the rabbit hole again, she'll face a deadly battle that could cost more than just her head.

My Review

This is the second book to the SPLINTERED series. 

I was disappointed with SPLINTERED - it wasn't as good as I thought it would be - so I probably should have stopped there, but I didn't hate it and I wanted to give Unhinged a chance.  Things can only get better, right?  Wrong!

 I'm really perplexed by how heavily focused the story is on the banal lives of these teenagers (Alyssa, her boyfriend Jeb and his sister, whatever her name is).

Alyssa's mother has been freed from an asylum.  She is free at last to enjoy life.  And what does she spend her time doing?  Apparently being fixated with the lenghth of the hem of her daughter's skirts and keeping her as far away from the boyfriend as possible - at least not without a chaperone.  She may have left the real prison but clearly not the one that exists inside her head (where a women's place in society is as it was back in the 19th century). 

I feel misled by this book since it suggested that, at some point, it would develop and become a fantasy novel, all the while indulging itself in unashamed gratuitous romance for teenage girls. I persevered to about 40% and then gave up. 

If I were to offer a suggestion as to what is fundamentally wrong with this series it would be that it is being drawn out longer than the central plot requires, so instead - at least in the case of Unhinged - is being filled with 'padding' to compensate for it's short comings.

 

Like Splintered it is easy to get taken in by the attractive cover, but you know what they say about judging a book by it's cover..

 

My verdict: all fluff and no substance. 



A Room with a View by E. M. Forster

**This book was included on 

SBRs Top 10 Best Reads of 2015**

Published by:  Penguin

Publication date: 1986 (First Ed 1908)

Publisher's synopsis
Published in 1908, A Room with A View is one of E. M. Forster's most celebrated works. Forster explores love among a cast of eccentric characters gathered in an Italian pension and in a corner of Surrey, England. Caught up in a world of social snobbery, Lucy Honeychurch must make a decision that will decide the course of her future: She is forced to choose between convention and passion.

My Review

Caution: this review contains potential spoilers.

I first came to the story of A Room with a View via the film version (see cover).  I was about the same age as Miss Honeychurch when I saw it for the first time.  Having recently read the book, I have come to understand the story better and see it differently.  As a girl in my late teens, I focused on the love story (which is at the heart of the novel), whereas now I focused on the issues surrounding the main characters.  E.M. Forster often wrote about the social class divide and gender inequality.  In the early 1900s the industrial revolution presented an opportunity for working class people to improve their situations and, as a result, raise their status in society. This is key to the plot. 

Lucia Honeychurch has two romantic suitors to choose from. There is Cecile, who I would describe as a pompous and passionless aristocrat. He doesn't need to work and considers a life of leisure to be his occupation.  Then there is George, a handsome young man she meets while on holiday in Florence.  George's paternal roots are working class.  His father, Mr Emerson, is a retired writer (a typical 'lower-middle class' profession of the period).  His profession raised his social standing and allowed him to marry 'above his station'.  George is a clerk working 'on the railways', which is a symbol of his upward-mobility. Mr Emerson rejects the need for restraint when expressing one's emotions (an alarmingly non-British characteristic).  He openly expresses himself and has encouraged George to do the same.  Their absence of stiff upper-lips result in them experiencing a fair amount of snobbery from the 'upper class' people they encounter, both at the Pension in Florence and in the tight-knit community of Lucia's village in Surrey, England.

Lucia is somewhat confused by her predicament and decides to do what she believes is expected of her when making her choice. I am not convinced however that social class or etiquette influenced her decision to accept Cecil's marriage proposal.  It struck me that Lucia was in the unfortunate state of being in love without actually realising it.  This was due to her youth, inexperience and because she was not the sort of girl who was interested in love, and so when it happened to her - while in Florence - it did not occur to her that being in love was what she was experiencing.  Whereas George is fully aware and (incapable of showing restraint) responded accordingly.  Lucia felt frustrated at both herself and the object of her desire - George - and responded negatively to his advances, while at the same time being charmed by them (which only fueled her frustration).  This is why I think she made the choice to accept Cecile - a knee jerk reaction.  It took a while for her head to come around to what was happening to her heart. 

It seems to me that Lucia represents the way the British typically repress their emotions. Mr Beeb hints at this when he compares the way she plays Beethoven (with passion and emotion) to the way she conducts herself in company (holding back and not revealing her true self or her true feelings). 

 
When Virgina Woolf's character, 'Mrs Dallaway', was Lucia's age she had a similar choice to make.  It was interesting to compare these two characters and the subsequent outcome that resulted from their choices.

I also found myself comparing Lucia to Margot Roth Spiegelman, of John Green's 'Paper Towns,' as she demonstrated similar characteristics (i.e. youth, inexperience and zero interest in the pursuit of romantic love) and responded  to her feelings for Q in a similar way.

A room with a View is a classic that has become one of my favourites.  It is a sweet love story told with intelligence and humour. It is worth reading for the bathing scene alone.

The 1986 film is one of the best adaptations of a book I have seen but it glosses over some of the (above-mentioned) themes.