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YA Review: Different For Boys

Title: Different For Boys
Author: Patrick Ness
Edition: Kindle ARC
Rating: 4/5

YA Review: Different For Boys

Another short, illustrated, high-concept and punchy book from Patrick Ness. Different For Boys explores the concept of virginity and the validity of sexual experiences from the point of view of sixteen-year-old Ant and his school friends. The conversations between the boys are predictably full of bravado and banter, but Ant’s introspection gives the book a moving and emotional core.

To keep the book suitable for the YA audience, language you might expect to hear from sixteen-year-old boys has been censored, but in a novel and thought-provoking way. Instead of substituting milder swear words and sexual references, each allegedly unsuitable word or concept is hidden behind a black box in the text, and the characters are aware of the boxes. Of course, the first thing they do is test the limits of the censorship, discovering which words are acceptable, and which will be blacked out. It’s a clever protest against the watering down of the realities of teenage life in fiction aimed at teenagers. Swear words and direct descriptions of sexual experiences are censored, while the boys are surprised by the occasional, potentially offensive word that is permitted. The flip side of the censorship is that the reader fills in the gaps. If you are old enough to understand the concepts in the book, most of the boxes will be irrelevant, and you will be able to follow the conversations with no trouble. If not, you are ‘protected’ from concepts that many adults would prefer teenagers not to encounter, while directly questioning what might be forbidden, and hidden behind the frequent strips of black.

Over the course of the book, Ant reflects on several different sexual encounters as he tries to decide what constitutes the loss of his virginity – especially as a boy who likes boys. Different For Boys might be a quick read, but Ant’s questioning attitude and conversations with his friends draw the reader in, and emphasise the emotional aspects of his experiences without offering any kind of Happy Ever After or neat resolution. It’s a book about questions, relationships of all kinds, and the lack of a road map for teenagers discovering their own sexuality – and how that relates to the people around them. I found it moving without being sentimental, frank without being gratuitous, and infuriating that the knowing censorship is needed to allow this book to exist.

Every word feels carefully chosen, every scene is carefully crafted, and the illustrations add to the themes of uncertainty and exploration. This is a jewel of a book – beautiful, compact, and with a powerful message. Recommended.

Different For Boys will be published on March 2nd. Thank you to NetGalley and Walker Books for the ARC copy.

Have you read Different for Boys? What did you think of the back-box censorship? Did you feel the content was suitable for a teenage audience? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

YA review: Different For Boys cross-posted to GoodReads.

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YA Review: Strange Gods

Title: Strange Gods
Author: Alison Kimble
Edition: Kindle
Rating: 4/5

YA Review: Strange Gods

This was a fun read. Spooky is the disappointing younger daughter of two high-powered lawyers, sent to a summer camp for troubled teens when she almost gets her perfect sister into trouble. Rules at the camp are strict, and punishments are tailored to keep each individual in line. When Spooky sneaks out of her cabin at night to meet a boy, she manages to hide from the camp counsellors, but finds herself caught up instead in the secret activities of a meddling god. Realising this could give her a way out of the camp, she agrees to help the strange and powerful creature.

While the book begins as an engaging teen-at-harsh-summer-camp story, it quickly evolves into a much larger adventure. Spooky finds herself crossing between worlds as she tries to protect the Earth from a divine invasion. With her unlikely companions – hostile teens from the camp who also stumble onto the god’s activities – she undertakes a cosmic scavenger hunt, locating items of value to trade with other gods and buy their support for her quest.

Spooky is a smart, sassy teenager, rejected by her parents and searching for someone who sees her value. Carcass, the god she discovers, offers recognition and protection – as well as some unpleasant threats if she doesn’t follow his commands. Her relationships with the other teens develop and grow as they make their way from world to world, uncovering each other’s secrets and learning who they can trust.

I won’t spoil the ending, but there is a hint that a sequel might be in the works. While this book works as a standalone story, I’d love to know what happens next!

Have you read Strange Gods? What did you think of Spooky’s story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

YA review: Strange Gods cross-posted to GoodReads.

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YA Review: Girl Island

Title: Girl Island
Author: Kate Castle
Edition: Kindle
Rating: 5/5

YA Review: Girl Island

Wow – this book is good! It’s a female take on Lord of the Flies with strong Yellowjackets vibes. With a smaller cast and a much more focused story than Yellowjackets, I found it more convincing as an exploration of inter-personal dynamics in an all-female group. Full disclosure: I went to a single-sex school in the 1990s, around the time the book is set, so I am very familiar with the power and personality clashes in an all-female environment. This book captures them perfectly.

Ellery is farm girl. She’s keeping her family’s struggling fruit farm running after the death of her father, supporting her mother and younger brother as they all take on the extra work to keep the business going. She’s also an athletics star, and British Under-18 Heptathlon champion. When her achievements win her a full scholarship to an exclusive private school, she reluctantly accepts the mid-term switch to being the new girl, the scholarship girl, and the student who goes home at night to her beloved farm with its mis-matched furniture and make-do-and-mend lifestyle.

The scholarship includes an all-expenses-paid trip to an elite sports camp in the Maldives, and her first experience of her new school is the flight to Male with her new PE teacher and seven of her classmates – two boys and five girls. It doesn’t take long for her to discover the rift between the popular girls with the good-looking boyfriends, and the more academic Delia Dawkes. And then there’s the awkward reunion with Skye, the ex-best friend she hasn’t seen for two years. Plenty of opportunity for inter-personal conflict.

Of course, the trip doesn’t go to plan. The island-hopper plan crashes, leaving the party a long way off course and marooned on a deserted island. Dawkes and Ellery focus on long-term survival, including keeping their injured teacher alive, while the popular girls are more concerned with power, and their place in the hierarchy of the group. It’s a recipe for conflict and disaster, and when the boys head off to swim to the neighbouring island, the female power-plays become more vicious, and more dangerous.

The author brilliantly captures the dynamics of an all-girl group. The popular girls are used to being at the top of the group hierarchy, but when they find themselves in a situation that requires a different set of skills, they are ready to fight to maintain power. Ellery and Dawkes, used to being on the sidelines of all-female interactions, find themselves offering the solutions the girls need, but meeting resistance as they challenge the established social structure. I was impressed by the portrayal of the popular girls before and after the departure of their boyfriends. While their priority is keeping their man and the associated status, they exhibit a particular set of behaviours, but in the absence of the boys, they become much more focused on their own roles in the group – and much more dangerous.

As the book progresses, and the girls remain stranded, the tension on the island increases. The power-plays become more extreme as the need for sustainable survival strategies becomes more apparent, and the group splits under the pressure. Ellery finds friendship as well as conflict, and it is wonderful to follow the positive relationships as they develop in spite of the danger. It’s an entirely believable story, and the narrator’s fear feels very real. There are deliberate nods to Lord of the Flies in the plot, but you don’t need to know the original story in order to appreciate this book.

Plenty of readers have asked how the Lord of the Flies scenario would change if the marooned children were girls, not boys. This book provides a highly plausible, equally disturbing answer. I loved it.

Have you read Girl Island? What did you think of Ellery’s experiences? Would you survive on Girl Island? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

YA review: Girl Island cross-posted to GoodReads.

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YA Review: The Stolen Heir

Title: The Stolen Heir
Author: Holly Black
Edition: Hardback
Rating: 4/5

YA Review: The Stolen Heir - Holly Black

I have been waiting for the next instalment in the story of Elfhame, and I managed to pick up a gorgeous hardback copy of The Stolen Heir on the day of release. I wasted no time finding a comfortable place to start reading, and jumped straight in.

This book did not grip me in the same way as the Folk of the Air trilogy, possibly because of the hype around its release. That said, I still enjoyed the story – and Holly Black’s trademark dark characters, plot twists, and betrayals. There are plenty of exciting twists, and plenty of delicious betrayals in this first book of an Elfhame duology.

After the events of The Queen of Nothing Suren, daughter of Lady Nore and child queen of the Court of Teeth, leaves Elfhame to find safety in the human world. Oak, heir to the throne of Elfhame, seeks her out to join him on a quest. Suren and Oak were betrothed before the the betrayals of the Battle of the Serpent, and Suren cannot be sure of his intentions. Suren has her own reasons for helping Oak, and returning to the home of her childhood nightmares. As they travel together, their constant suspicion and inability to trust each other add to the dangers they face. It’s a tense and exciting read, with Suren and the reader constantly questioning Oak’s motivations, and trying to unpick the truth from the things Oak doesn’t say.

Oak is seventeen, and utterly charming. Suren is a feral child, surviving in the woods, out of sight in the human world. Both are fae, and neither of them can lie, but they can deceive. Like Suren, I found myself constantly questioning Oak’s words, looking for loopholes and omissions in everything he said. It makes for an intensely exciting story, and the tension between the characters only increases as they approach the end of their journey. The final betrayal is exquisite, and I can’t believe I have to wait for the next book! I can’t wait to go back to Elfhame.

Have you read The Stolen Heir? What did you think of Suren and Oak? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

YA review: The Stolen Heir cross-posted to GoodReads.

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YA Review: Someone is Watching You

Title: Someone is Watching You
Author: Tess James-Mackey
Edition: Paperback ARC
Rating: 5/5

YA review: Someone is Watching You - front cover

Warning: this book is addictive! I stayed up reading past midnight three nights in a row to reach the end and find out what happened to the characters. It would make a fantastic single-afternoon binge-read.

When Nia accepts a dare from her friends to explore an abandoned prison, she plans to sneak in, grab a couple of selfies, and get out. But before long her friends are demanding more evidence of her discoveries, and her efforts to demonstrate her bravery lead her further into the dark and dangerous building. Worse – her little sister has followed her inside, and it doesn’t take long for them both to be lost in the maze of corridors and cell blocks. Nia discovers more than she had bargained for as she searches for her sister, and desperately attempts to find her way out.

This is an absolutely gripping story, infused throughout with danger, fear, and a building sense of dread. The author creates an irresistably creepy setting for the action, ramping up the tension with mysterious events, text messages from the protagonist’s friends urging her to take greater and greater risks, and the panic of a phone battery running out at just the wrong moment. Add in Nia’s terror of losing her little sister, and the lengths she is willing to go to to prove herself to her friends, and you have the recipe for a perfect, nail-biting read.

Have you read Someone is Watching You? What did you think of Nia’s story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

Someone is Watching You will be published on February 2nd. Thank you to Hodder for the ARC – I loved it!

YA review: Someone is Watching You cross-posted to GoodReads.

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YA Review: This Book Kills

Title: This Book Kills
Author: Ravena Guron
Edition: Kindle ARC
Rating: 4/5

YA review: This Book Kills

Are you ready for the twists and turns of this gripping boarding-school murder mystery?

Jess Choudhary feels out of place in her very white, very rich boarding school. She’s there on a scholarship, and if she breaks the rules she won’t escape with a telling-off – unlike the paying rich kids, she’ll lose her funding and be sent home. Jess is determined to succeed, to stay out of trouble, and escape the attentions of the notorious Regia Club, the school’s mysterious secret society. But when one of the richest students in school is murdered, Jess finds herself at the centre of the investigation. Whoever killed Hugh Henry Van Boren used one of Jess’s short stories as their inspiration, and the crime scene matches her description perfectly. When Jess begins receiving death threats, she realises she needs to figure out who the murderer is before she loses her scholarship, takes the blame for murder – or becomes the next victim.

It’s a brilliant premise, and a great way to start a murder mystery. There are plenty of clues woven into the story, and a whole lot of red herrings and missing pieces for Jess and her friends to puzzle over. Jess is a perfect narrator – someone smart enough to figure out what happened to Hugh, but limited in her ability to investigate the murder. She can’t afford to break any rules, and she doesn’t have many friends among the privileged rich kids. No one is beyond suspicion – staff, students and outsiders all feature in her investigation, and she uncovers plenty of scandalous secrets about her classmates as she searches for the truth.

It’s an addictive read – I found it hard to put down, and the more confusing the clues became, the more determined I was to figure out the mystery. I didn’t guess whodunnit, even though I was convinced I had solved the murder, but the ending makes perfect sense when you get there. It’s a satisfying story with an intriguing and complex setting, and Jess is an interesting and engaging narrator. Perfect if you’re looking for a new bookish obsession!

Have you read This Book Kills? What did you think of the mystery? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

This Book Kills will be published on January 5th 2023.

YA review: This Book Kills cross-posted to GoodReads.

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YA Review: Her Dark Wings

Title: Her Dark Wings
Author: Melinda Salisbury
Edition: Paperback (Paper Orange Book Box)
Rating: 5/5

YA Review - Her Dark Wings - Paperback cover image

This wonderful YA retelling of the Persephone myth grabbed me from the first page and kept me reading right to the end. I loved the setting, the characters, the gorgeous writing style, and all the twists and turns of the story.

Seventeen-year-old Corey lives on an island, somewhere off the coast of the UK, in a world where the Greek gods still rule. The calendar is based around their festivals, and it is a temple, not a church, at the heart of island life. There are rumours that an entrance to the underworld can be seen just offshore if you look for it from the right spot, but no one has ever proved its existence.

Corey is recovering from a devastating double betrayal. Her best friend Bree has stolen her boyfriend Ali, and on her small island it is impossible to avoid them and try to forget what happened. At the Autumn festival, she attempts to move on, but when Bree arrives with Ali she can’t help wishing her friend dead. When Bree drowns after Corey kisses a stranger, Corey can’t stop blaming herself.

As she looks for a way to bring Bree back, Corey experiences her own brush with death, the underworld, and the gods. Searching for answers, she embarks on a journey of self-discovery – and finds herself impossibly far from home.

Her Dark Wings is an empowered, modern take on the Persephone myth. Corey is far from being a helpless victim, and as she discovers more about herself she begins to understand her own powers and calling. The female relationships are perfectly described, from the Corey-and-Bree friendship and betrayal, through Corey’s heartwarming relationship with her stepmother, and the women she meets on her journey. It’s a coming-of-age story that doesn’t follow a predictable path, and I enjoyed every page.

Have you read Her Dark Wings? What did you think of Corey’s story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

Review cross-posted to GoodReads.

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YA Review: The Agency For Scandal

Title: The Agency For Scandal
Author: Laura Wood
Edition: Kindle
Rating: 5/5

Mystery, intrigue, danger, romance, and secret 19th century feminism come together in this gripping new book from Laura Wood. I’m not normally a romance reader (YA or otherwise), but I’ve loved every Laura Wood book I’ve picked up, and this one once again makes the grade.

Izzy is a self-confessed wallflower with a complicated life. Following the death of her father and the loss of his income she is battling to keep the family home and pay her brother’s school fees. Her bed-ridden mother has no idea that most of the servants have been laid off, and almost all the furniture sold. Izzy works hard to maintain the illusion of wealth and status for her family, keeping their secret from everyone – even her best friend.

But Izzy has another secret. Trained by her father before he died, she is an expert lock picker. No one her father worked for will hire a woman in his place, but her skills have caught the eye of a very secretive organisation. Izzy is an undercover agent for a group of exceptional women, whose mission is to defend other women, and put right the injustices of a system where wives are the property of their husbands, and women are not seen as equal to men.

The women are hired, Sherlock Holmes style, to investigate a puzzling case, and Izzy finds herself working with the Duke of Roxton – a man on whom she has a crush, but can only hope to admire from a distance. He’s a Duke, and she can barely support her family. As they work more closely together, Izzy finds herself falling for the Duke, but knows she can’t afford to develop feelings that cannot be reciprocated.

I loved this book. I loved the glittering parties and the dangerous exploits, and Izzy’s relationships with the people around her. I loved the undercover investigations, and the teams of women hiding in plain sight as they worked to right the wrongs of their society. I loved all the strong, capable women – especially Izzy, whose sensible approach to her feelings is balanced with a refreshingly bold attitude to the risks of her job. It’s an engaging story with a colourful cast of characters, and a highly sympathetic narrator. Come for the Bridgerton-style society intrigue, stay for the all-action feminist spycraft, and swoon over the wonderful romantic leads.

Have you read The Agency For Scandal? What did you think of Izzy’s story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

The Agency for Scandal will be published on January 5th 2023.

Review cross-posted to GoodReads.

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YA Review: Young Eagle Rising

Title: Young Eagle Rising
Author: Ellie Joyce
Edition: Kindle
Rating: 4/5

We’re thrilled to be taking part in the Young Eagle Rising Blog Tour! Thank you to Rachel’s Random Resources for including our review.

William Baxter is thirteen when he leaves Ireland with his family to begin a new life in the colonies of North America. He doesn’t want to go – in 1735, leaving on a ship means saying goodbye to everyone you leave behind, and he doesn’t want to leave his grandmother or his aunt.

The three-month voyage sees him learning new skills, making new friends among the passengers and crew, and deciding that he much prefers life on dry land. By the time the boat reaches Philadelphia, he is excited to begin his new adventure, and the family sets out in search of land to claim.

As their second winter approaches, the family is settled in their new life, harvesting crops and preparing for the cold weather. But a tragic misunderstanding with a native tribe leaves William alone, and determined to return to the life he knew in Ireland.

His journey back to Philadelphia is full of adventure, culture shocks, and the engaging characters he turns to for help. His experiences teach him more about the New World as he comes into contact with settlers, explorers, slaves, cruel slave owners, native tribes, and the deceitful leaders of the Pennsylvania Colony.

William is an engaging and intelligent narrator with a distinctive voice, drawing the reader into the story with his vivid descriptions of people and events. The relationships he builds as he travels feel warm and respectful, reflecting his own personality. His confidence, resourcefulness, and willingness to learn allow him to overcome the difficulties he faces, and it is a joy to follow him on his journey.

Young Eagle Rising is an exciting story in the style of a classic boys’ adventure tale. There’s no romance, but plenty of genuine friendship, and most of the important characters are male. It reads like a YA Treasure Island, with the narrator piecing together the reality of his new home as he travels through it. While William’s initial contact with native people is violent, reflecting the racist and simplistic ‘Cowboys and Indians’ attitudes of the early settlers, the author is careful to present an alternative view through William’s experiences with the peaceful Lenape Nation later in the book.

As someone who has studied First Nation (Native American) experiences in North America, I appreciated this depiction. However, the story also features local tribes who are violent towards the Lenape, and their conflict is presented in very black-and-white terms. I found this surprising and uncomfortable in the context of William’s developing understanding, and I can’t help but think that this depiction might feel significantly racist to present-day members of the ‘enemy’ tribe.

It’s a small complaint, and overall the author is very careful to emphasise the complexity of life in the New World. History is often simplified and sanitised, but through his story William – and the reader – experience some of the subtleties, tragedies, and misunderstandings inherent in the aggressive colonisation of already occupied land. Reading this book in a class or book club would be an inspiring way to begin a conversation about colonialism, racism, slavery, and the way history is taught.

Four stars: recommended. A great friendship-based adventure story, but I can’t overlook the problematic depiction of some of the First Nation characters.

Have you read Young Eagle Rising? What did you think of the story? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts!

Please keep your comments YA appropriate. Be patient! We want to hear from you, but comments are moderated, and may take some time to appear.

Check out the other reviews, appearing over the next few days.

What’s it about?
Ireland 1735. Thirteen-year-old William Baxter has a grandmother with peculiar powers – so peculiar he believes she must be a witch. Taking this secret with him, he reluctantly sails with his family to the New World and the promise of a better life.

But Pennsylvania proves to be a savage, unforgiving place rife with warring tribes, slavery and dangerous animals. When William’s life suddenly takes a terrifying turn, he is thrust headlong into a battle for survival. Consumed with hatred for those responsible, he desperately wants to return to Ireland, but the coast is one hundred miles away and the trail runs through native territory. Alone and frightened, he sets out on what becomes the journey of a lifetime, determined to survive and have his revenge.

Young Eagle Rising is a coming-of-age story, a mix of fantasy, history, adventure and the enduring love of an old Irish witch.

Who is the author?
Ellie Joyce was born and raised in Belfast. She holds an A.L.A.M. (Dip. Acting) from The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. She and her husband have four children and live in Leicestershire. Young Eagle Rising is her debut novel. See more at elliejoyceauthor.com.

You can order your copy from Waterstones, Book Guild, Foyles, Bookshop.org, Amazon, WHSmith and Book Depository.

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YA Review: Thorn

Title: Thorn
Author: Intisar Khanani
Edition: Paperback
Rating: 4/5

Reluctant princess Alyrra is on her way to an arranged marriage in a neighbouring kingdom when she is given an unexpected chance to escape. Her mother expects her to involve herself in the politics and intrigues of her new home, and to happily marry a man she’s never met. Everything she’s heard about life in the foreign court leads her to believe that her safety there may not be guaranteed. When her identity is stolen by sorcery, she seizes the chance to disappear and live as one of the servants. She is given the job of helping to take care of the geese, and finds friends among the other servants.

But she makes enemies as well, and the woman who stole her identity is making the most of her new royal status. While Alyrra would be content to remain a goose girl, and make a home with her found family, her duties as the true princess weigh on her mind. When the imposter realises she needs Alyrra’s help to survive in her new role, the goose girl must decide which life she is willing to live, and what she is willing to give up to help her friends.

I first came across Intisar Khanani and her books at the #AtHomeYALC online event in 2021. She gave a talk entitled ‘Three Tips for Writing Mighty Girls’ (which you can find on the YALC YouTube page), and introduced me to the concept of the Heroine’s Journey as a structure for storytelling. This book follows that structure, instead of the more recognisable Hero’s Journey, and I really enjoyed the differences in pace and theme.

Alyrra is a ‘mighty girl’, but not because she’s a kick-ass protagonist or a solo heroine. Her strength lies in her moral compass, and in the connections she makes with the people around her. Before long in her role as goose girl, she has surrounded herself with friends among the servants, but also in the wider community. She defends herself from people who threaten her, but she also negotiates co-operation between characters who would otherwise draw their weapons on sight. It’s a powerful characterisation, and the author explores the story of this more emotional, co-operative protagonist while making sure there is plenty of action, peril, and heartache to keep the pages turning.

And the pages do keep turning. From the initial setup to the conclusion, the author keeps us guessing. What will Alyrra do? How will she react to danger and threats – to herself and her friends, and to her family and kingdom? You won’t find the beats of the standard Hero’s Journey here, but you will find an alternative way to tell a story, to empathise with a heroine, and to bring all the threads together at the end.

Full marks to Hot Key Books, whose back-cover summing up of the story in four words reads ‘Betrayal, Injustice, Sorcery, Geese’. They’re not wrong, but I’d add ‘A Mighty Girl’ to the list. Definitely worth a read.

Have you read Thorn? What did you think of the story? Did you enjoy the heroine’s journey structure? Click through to the full blog to access the comments section, and share your thoughts! No spoilers, though – you can post those on GoodReads!

Review cross-posted to GoodReads.

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