Review: Plague Child by Peter Ransley (AC)

Title: Plague Child
Author: Peter Ransley
Publisher: Harper Collins
Adult Content: swearing, crude jokes, innuendos, sexual insults
Keywords: English civil war, plague, adventure, honour, family
Series: first in the Tom Neave trilogy
Author's Synopsis: 

On a cloudy September evening in 1625, plague cart driver, Matthew Neave, is sent to pick up the corpse of a baby. As he journeys to the plague pit, he hears a cry and realises that the baby is still alive.

From award-winning screenwriter Peter Ransley comes Plague Child, the first in a captivating trilogy set against the backdrop of the English civil war. Spanning three decades in the life of his young fictional hero, Tom Neave, the story weaves mystery and adventure into a rich tapestry of real historical events and people.

This dramatic and involving novel is above all, the coming of age story of Tom Neave, and the sowing of the first seeds of a democratic government for Great Britain.

My Thoughts:

Subject: I don't know much about the plague or the English civil war, so it was nice to find out a little through this novel. However, it only really touched in these subjects, preferring to follow the adventure of Tom Neave, which was a little disappointing. I think the title is a little misleading, as it certainly made me think that the novel would be all about the plague. So it's a little misleading and disappointing on the subject front, but it didn't particularly bother me.

Subject: ***


Storyline: This book didn't really have a storyline, so I'm not sure if there's really very much I can say about it. It took for ever to begin, and when it finally did, it was mainly just Tom running around the country trying to find out the secret of his heritage. Enjoyable. Adventurous. But not particularly great as a storyline. That said, it certainly kept up the suspense for a long time, and I really wanted to know what had actually happened and who Tom's father was. So, like the subject, it's kind of okay.

Storyline: **


Characters: I'm starting to sound like a stuck record now. Because I'm about to say 'nothing special'. Again. That kind of epitomises the whole book. Sure, the characters were okay. But I didn't really care about them. Tom irritated me. He's the typical historical novel hero who's highly chivalrous and honourable amongst a world of cut-throat rogues. Hm. Not particularly original, I feel. Another shame.

Characters: **


Writing Style: I'm feeling very un-original now. Another 'nothing special'. It wasn't written badly. But it wasn't written in a way that's particularly memorable or anything. I think that Ransley (who is in fact mainly a screenwriter) sometimes forgot that he was writing a novel, and wrote it more like a film. So, what I mean is, he forgot to stick in little unimportant things like what his character is actually feeling. Can you hear the sarcasm in that last sentence? I thought so.

Writing Style: **


Enjoyability: Now, this is where it picks up. It wasn't a particularly good novel, but I enjoyed it. It was very slow to begin with, but once it sorted itself out, I liked it. Nothing great, maybe, but an enjoyable read.

Enjoyability: ***


Summary: An okay book. Pretty forgettable. Nothing really special, but a fun read.

Word Rating: a good-bad book

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Review: Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

Title: Revolution

Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Adult Content: the subject of death, grief, drugs and suicide are large features
Keywords: French Revolution, grief, adventure, music
Series: n/a
Goodreads Synopsis:

BROOKLYN: Andi Alpers is on the edge. She’s angry at her father for leaving, angry at her mother for not being able to cope, and heartbroken by the loss of her younger brother, Truman. Rage and grief are destroying her. And she’s about to be expelled from Brooklyn Heights’ most prestigious private school when her father intervenes. Now Andi must accompany him to Paris for winter break.

PARIS: Alexandrine Paradis lived over two centuries ago. She dreamed of making her mark on the Paris stage, but a fateful encounter with a doomed prince of France cast her in a tragic role she didn’t want—and couldn’t escape.

Two girls, two centuries apart. One never knowing the other. But when Andi finds Alexandrine’s diary, she recognizes something in her words and is moved to the point of obsession. There’s comfort and distraction for Andi in the journal’s antique pages—until, on a midnight journey through the catacombs of Paris, Alexandrine’s words transcend paper and time, and the past becomes suddenly, terrifyingly present.

Jennifer Donnelly, author of the award-winning novel A Northern Light, artfully weaves two girls’ stories into one unforgettable account of life, loss, and enduring love. Revolution spans centuries and vividly depicts the eternal struggles of the human heart.

My Thoughts:

Subject: I love the French Revolution. Everything about it. And I've attempted at several times to write my own story set around these events. So when I found Revolution, I was delighted. There's also a lot about music and how it evolves in this book, which I absolutely loved, because music is third in my heart - my first and second loves being writing/reading and acting, in that order. So this was a great book for me!

However,  it also bangs you over the head with the whole grief/death/guilt/suicide bit - Andi's getting over the death of her younger brother - and although I've got nothing against that kind of thing, it was a bit... Uh... Well, it felt a little exaggerated. It seemed like every five minutes Andi was contemplating which was the highest and therefore best building to chuck herself off. Which , while making its point, doesn't make very comfortable reading. Sure, be grief-ridden. But you don't have to take a baseball bat to our heads and crack it down every five minutes just to get your point through.


Subject: ****


Storyline: It started off well, lost steam in the middle and then completely ruined everything with a cheap and gimmicky 'twist'. You'll know when you get there. It was completely unnecessary, and if you ask me, Andi should have been able to sort her life out without a clichéd magicy whatever. It's like saying - oh yeah, people suffer from depression, but you can't sort it out yourself, you have to go all hocus pocus with the help from a 1794 diary. Great. That makes me feel good. So instead of being a human story about human worries, it ended up being more like a fairytale. Lovely. And totally not what I wanted.

Storyline: *


Characters: Nothing particularly special here. They weren't bad, and they certainly weren't good. Andi was a nice narrator when she wasn't trying to commit suicide. And there is also a convenient and very handsome guy about halfway through that I wanted to throttle. Real-life relationships are not based on 'hey, you're handsome, let's go out'. And I'm fed up of people pretending they are. It's a little pet hate of mine =]

Characters: ***


Writing Style: Now, Jennifer Donnelly won about a million and one awards for her debut novel A Northern Light (also published as A Gathering Light), which I haven't read but everyone says I ought to. General opinion is that it's an amazing, heartfelt book that deserves every prize it's got. So why isn't Revolution that good? The writing style is okay, but nothing to write home about. (Unintentional pun, I assure you. But now I look at it, it's kinda neat, wouldn't you say?) So in that respect (as in most others, actually, looking back up this post), this book was a disappointment. The nice message (whatever it is - although people on Goodreads assure me that there is one) has got completely lost in fairytale gimmicky mushiness. Which is a big shame. And a big disappointment. And all round not good.

Writing Style: **


Enjoyability: Well, despite what I've already said, I enjoyed this book. It wasn't amazing, but it wasn't a bad read particularly, either. The only thing that really bugged me while I was reading was that I wasn't remotely interested in the Alexandrine sections. Partly because her character wasn't much of a character, but mainly because they weren't punctuated properly. There were no speech marks! And, okay, maybe this was done for effect, but the only effect it created on me was that I found it very difficult to read. I also don't really like the gimmicky 'two girls, separated by time, but united in whatever'. It didn't irritate me so much in this book, but... Well, it was an enjoyable book despite its faults, so:

Enjoyability: ****


Summary: A good book from a good author. But a disappointing read as its faults far outnumber its assets. Which is a shame. But there you go.

Word Rating: a bad-good book (although this is probably being kind)

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Challenge: Historical Fiction

 Historical fiction tells a story that is set in the past. That setting is usually real and drawn from history, and often contains actual historical persons, but the principal characters tend to be fictional. Writers of stories in this genre, while penning fiction, attempt to capture the spirit, manners, and social conditions of the persons or time(s) presented in the story, with due attention paid to period detail and fidelity. - Wikipedia

Another one! Now, I don't know about you, but I just love historical novels. If done well, they give you a real flavour of the time and place in which they're set - which is something you just don't get in books set in the modern world, because it's taken for granted that we all know what a Blackberry is, and that you access the internet through your computer. Historical novels bring a whole new dimension to the story, which is something I really love.

So what better than the Historical Fiction Challenge hosted by YA Bliss?

Here's how it works.

You choose your level:

Level 1: 5 YA HF books in 2011

Level 2: 10 YA HF books in 2011

Level 3: 15 YA HF books in 2011

 Rules:

• All Historical Fiction books must be YA or MG
• Books don't have to be 2011 releases.
• Anyone can join. Please link to a public (web) place I can find you.
• You can join at anytime. The challenge runs from January 1, 2011 to December 31, 2011

And that's it! Easy, huh? I think so too. I'm going to attempt Level Three, although thinking of 15 historical novels I haven't already read is a bit tricky, to be honest... ! I'll keep y'all updated =]

Review: The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

When Death tells a story, you really have to listen...

Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Publisher: Knopf Books
Adult Content: harrowing subject
Series: n/a
Keywords: WWII, Germany, Death, love, childhood
Goodreads Synopsis:

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Narrated by Death, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she discovers something she can't resist- books. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever they are to be found. 

With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, Liesel learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids, as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. 

My Thoughts:

Subject: I didn't read this book for the subject, but it's one of the reasons I love it so much. There's a lot about words and their power in The Book Thief, which is always something I love. And, of course, it's Second World War Germany - which was something I hadn't read about before. You don't hear about the story of civilian German life so much as you do about the Nazis or the Jews. So this was a bit of an eye-opener for me.

Subject: ****


Storyline: The story isn't clever like some books. In fact, like the whole of the novel, it's rather understated. It's a bildungsroman - it follows Liesel from her childhood to adulthood, depicting everything about her life. It's very powerful and moving. It doesn't need an amazing storyline to be this good.

Storyline: ***


Characters: Like everything else in this book, I love the characters. They're unique and wonderful. I don't think I've ever found a character that surpassed Rosa or Hans Hubermann! I also especially like the character of Death, who narrates the novel - and is a surprisingly human character. But be warned - this book requires a large stack of hankies! I think I cried for about 20 pages straight...

Characters: *****



Writing Style: This book is so beautifully written it's almost a poem. Zusak uses words and descriptions in new and unexpected ways: 'the sky began to charcoal towards light', describing one character as a wardrobe, and another as an accordion. It is truly a work of art. Some people find it contrived it's so well-written, but in my opinion, it's just perfect. (Of course, this does have a downside - whenever I read this book, I always find my own writing very drab and boring!!) But seriously - Zusak has got to be a genius.

Writing Style: *****


Summary: This book is beautiful and wonderful and tragic, all at once. It lingers in the mind of the reader far beyond the last page. Almost everything about this book is perfect. I doubt I will ever read a better written book. I think everyone should read it at least once in their life. At least.

Word Rating: a good-good book

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