Rachel McIntyre Exclsuive Interview

Rachel McIntyre is the author of Me and Mr J and her upcoming book, The #1 Rule for Girls which publishes on the 25th February 2016. Both are published my Egmont's Electric Monkey imprint.



What have you been working on?

Well, I’ve finished my next book, it’s called The #1 Rule for Girls and it’s out on February 25th next year. Very exciting! And I’m currently writing the third, which is as yet untitled.


What’s The #1 Rule for Girls about?
The main character is a girl called Daisy who has split up from The Love of Her Life and rebounds unwisely into the arms of a good-looking bad boy. Along the way, she makes a few mistakes before finally realising she needs to follow The #1 Rule for Girls.


Which is…?

Not telling. You’ll have to read the book!


What inspired you to write The #1 Rule for Girls?

Oooh, quite a few ideas whirling around my head suddenly merged into one idea. First, I’d read a certain immensely popular series featuring a very bad boy protagonist and a young submissive girl. (You know the one I mean). Women’s reactions to this character interested me (I thought he was repulsive, many, many readers didn’t) and it got me thinking about the gap between fiction and reality. Maybe I’m a bitch, but I’ll take kindness and a sense of humour over a six pack and narcissistic introspection any day of the week. So, yes, first thing I was thinking was the perennial appeal of bad boys in fiction.

Second, I once overheard a former student of mine (a rugby player) shouting “Oy, get here” at his girlfriend, who then did as she was told to a sexist chorus from his team-mates. (I’ve met some lovely rugby players in my time, but the ones in my book aren’t based on them. It’s nothing personal: I chose rugby players because of that one incident I witnessed. If they’d been members of a string quartet, I’d have used that.) It struck a chord with me; about what we put up with when we think we’re in love.

Finally, whenever I’ve taught Wuthering Heights, opinion has been divided on the Heathcliff question. I.e. Does his devotion to Catherine outweigh the fact his utter hideousness towards the other women in the book? Cathy? Isabella (he hangs her dog!)? Again, it’s the idea that one reader’s Tortured Romantic Soul is another’s Total Nightmare.


Bad real life boyfriends. Any anecdotes?

Oh yes. I played Snog the Frog for much of my adolescence and, unfortunately, for a few years after that. Take the one who bought me a mop for Christmas. Not even a steam mop, just a plain Vileda, no bucket or anything. We didn’t last long after that. Then there was the one who didn’t get me a Valentine’s card because “Valentine’s Day is for people who are in love.” I think that was the final nail in the coffin for that relationship too. And when I was in the first year at uni, my then-boyfriend from home came to stay….and snogged my flat-mate. I forgave her (it was the cider-goggles) and carried on seeing him. (Why, younger self? WHY?)

I eventually found the right one for me and, many years of loveliness later, I can confirm he was definitely worth the wait!

Me & Mr J was a hard-hitting book about a very controversial subject. Is The #1 Rule for Girls similar?

Me & Mr J was a difficult book to write because of the subject matter (terrible bullying, family breakdown and a forbidden relationship). There’s a lot of comedy woven in it, but the themes are so dark that, at times, it’s a very sad book. Although #1 Rule deals with some serious issues, there’s less shade and the overall tone is much lighter.


Is The #1 Rule for Girls written as a diary, like Me & Mr J?

No, it’s first person narrative. Me & Mr J worked as a diary because it’s such a claustrophobic form and it reflected Lara’s isolation and desperation: she has no-one she can confide in. One of the underpinning themes of the book is keeping things hidden: the bullying because she doesn’t want to jeopardise her family’s financial stability (her mum works for the family of the bully); and also her illegal relationship with Mr J.

Wow, Rachel! Thanks for this scoop. I can't wait to read The #1 Rule for Girls out the 25th February. Pre-order it here.

Thank you for having me on the YA Takeover and wishing you a spectacularly Happy New Year!


Anytime! It's our pleasure

'Messenger of Fear' Review

'Messenger of Fear' by Michael Grant

Review by Megan

Summary:

“I could call him Messenger, but his full title was Messenger of Fear...”

A girl wakes covered in mist.  She doesn't remember anything about herself: just her name.  Mara. She walks into a church and finds a beautiful boy.  He is the Messenger.  And she is under his control. At first, Mara hopes this strange land and boy are all figments of her imagination, a dream, but soon it becomes all too apparent that this is real.  He is real.

The Messenger has a job: he must keep the balance.  Those who have darkness in their hearts – those who have done wrong – are his jurisdiction.  He gives them a choice: Play... Or Pay… If they play his game and win, they go free.  If they fail, they must face their greatest fear... And Mara must help him – she must help the Messenger of Fear... But why?  And how can she escape?  What is this place the Messenger and the other beings inhabit? And how did Mara come to be here too...?

Excerpt:

“Who are you?”

That was the first question I asked the boy in front of me.  The pale, solemn young man in the black coat with small silver skulls for buttons.

But he didn’t answer it.  Instead he answered the question I never asked, but which was nevertheless what I really wanted to know.

Am I dead?

No.  Not dead, he told me.

But surely not quite alive, either.  How could I be?  I remembered my name – Mara.  But, standing in that ghostly place, still shuddering at the memory of the creeping yellow mist that had awoken me in that strange, silent land, I could recall nothing else about myself.

And then the games began.

Review:

I have adored every single one of Michael Grant's books that I've read. But in about five pages, Messenger Of Fear instantly became one of my favourites.  I love the fast-paced, non-stop action of the Fayz and BZRK series, but this... it was freaking terrifying! Grant is king of creepy, but in Messenger of Fear he takes it to a whole new level. The amount of psychological suspense, fear, thrills and tangled webs in this book... whoa. He also takes some serious issues and manages to brilliantly incorporate them into this fantastical and creepy story. Plus, Messenger of Fear was just the star - I cannot wait to delve deeper into this world with the sequel!

I think it's kind of hard to judge Mara as a character: for the majority of the book, she herself didn't even know who she was, so how were we really meant to? I think she did have an impressive character arc though, and I look forward to seeing more of her.  And then there’s the Messenger, who was absolutely fascinating to me. I do love the mysterious, dark types (though not quite as much as my snarky, borderline-bad-boys) and Messenger was just... so interesting. 

There was a whole host of other mysterious characters – from Oriax to the Game Master. I'm very excited to learn more about them – about the whole world, actually! I'm not going to say anything else about the other characters – can't give out too many spoilers, can I – but I really did admire the way Grant made them all; different shades of grey, all of them. Because, yes, I hated some of the characters and liked others, but I really understood them all, and could appreciate their characterisation and purpose.

Oh, and guys! GUYS. There was no romance in the book!  Seriously!  I mean, Messenger is a guy and Mara is a girl and both were the lead characters, but no romance - amazing, right?! Sure, she didn't really trust him. Sure, if you touched him, something pretty bad happened (not telling: no spoilers).  But still, I’m really excited by this romance-less plot. Hopefully it will invite more focus on the story rather than a relationship - don't ruin it now, Michael Grant!

On to the writing, which was really different from Grant's usual style: more elegant, more lyrical and more descriptive. Less bang-bang-bang, with everything being thrown at you; more refined and slow, like a mist that creeps into your mind and captures you. I liked it very much. On another note - and I’m not going to lie - fans who are used to Grant's signature bloody action might be a little disappointed with the plot of Messenger of Fear.  But if you love exciting and intense psychological suspense, lots of mysteries to be solved, justice to be dealt and webs to be unraveled, you will lap this plot up, just like I did. I really did like the story. It wasn't the fastest, but it was brilliantly suspenseful – we were constantly given little clues, new mysteries and bundles of foreshadowing. As a gal who dotes on mysteries, I really did enjoy the slow build and the endless secrets to unravel. And that last reveal... maybe I should've seen it coming. But I really didn't. It shocked me. And left me desperate for more!

But don't get me wrong; as much as I enjoyed Messenger Of Fear, lots of it was really hard to read. There was this one bit... around eighty pages in... I found it so, so hard to carry on with that chapter – I was literally yelling (in my head) at the characters involved, begging.  It was... rough, to say the least. And then towards the end... the violence... the blood of this one scene...  That was hard too. But as well as these tough (and brilliantly written) scenes, lots of other difficult issues were tackled: bullying, secrecy, being a victim, injustice, pain... 

Messenger Of Fear was a truly gripping and original book – one that completely surprised me and one that I really enjoyed.  It might not be for all of Michael Grant's BZRK-er fans, but for those of you who love supernatural mystery books, with lots of creepiness and secrets to unwind, Messenger Of Fear is not to be missed!

So, what are you waiting for?  Read or pay, people!

Rating: 4/5 Stars  ★ ★ ★ ★

  

Read this book if you liked:
 

The Fayz series by Michael Grant

The 5^th Wave by Rick Yancey

Abhorsen by Garth Nix

Happy Reading

Megan, The Book Addicted Girl

* This book was received from Egmont in exchange for an honest review

Me & Mr J by Rachel McIntyre - Not Your Average Teacher-Student Relationship Tale

Me and Mr J by Rachel McIntyre

Review by Georgina Howlett

First Published in the UK: January 2015

UK Publisher: Electric Monkey (Egmont UK)

Summary (from Amazon): Sixteen-year-old Lara finds her soulmate. There’s just one problem – he’s her teacher. Lara’s life is far from perfect, but being an upbeat kind of person she saves her venting for her diary. It’s the only place she can let out her true feelings about the family dramas and hideous bullying she has to face every day.

And then a shining light comes out of the darkness – the new young and MALE teacher, Mr Jagger. The one person who takes Lara seriously and notices her potential. The one person who is kind to her. The one person who she falls madly and hopelessly in love with. The one person who cannot love her back … can he?

Review (WARNING: some spoilers)

I received Me and Mr J directly from Electric Monkey/Egmont, the publisher, due to the fact that Chris works there and I mentioned my interest in reviewing the book. I have always held very strong opinions about teacher-student relationships, and I have to say, this book didn't disappoint me when I read it.

First and foremost, the book deals with a LOT of complex issues besides the central teacher-student relationship plot. Bullying, blackmail, physical intimidation, family issues... You name it, this book covers it at least in some aspect. In many ways, this made it a difficult book to read in places, as the similarities certainly to my own experiences were very much there. However, McIntyre's flawless and simple writing style meant that in real time, it only took me a matter of hours to finish. I just couldn't stop reading it - it was both enjoyable and gripping, and made me think a lot about my own past, and therefore I can't fault her on the writing front; she did an excellent job of reeling me as the reader in and then maintaining my interest.

As the central plot, the teacher-student relationship had a lot of depth to it, making it very interesting and convincing to read. The book shows just how easy it is for both young students and young/newer teachers to fall into the trap of getting involved in a teacher-student relationship, and I think that this is ultimately one of the best messages that can be taken from the book. The media, especially in widely-publicised cases such as that of Jeremy Forrest (the maths teacher who fled to France with his fifteen-year-old student), often criminalise teachers to an extent where it is very difficult to sympathise with them at all or not blame them entirely for what occurred; Me and Mr J I feel showed a relationship that was more equal and level than that, and showed it for what it is often felt to be by the participants, rather than the onlookers who can often manipulate the facts. I commend McIntyre for not completely portraying Mr Jagger (the teacher in the book) as an evil and manipulative character, as it would be very easy to do so.

In this respect, I felt Mr Jagger's characterisation to be thoroughly convincing - quite a few of the NQT teachers I have met share both some  professional and personal aspects with him. Equally, Lara as the protagonist was very accurate; being a teenager myself still, the incidents of bullying and teasing I find very familiar and upsetting, as it was not long ago that I, too, was suffering from similar things. In addition, I confess that I am guilty of doing some of the things she did with regard to my own past teacher crushes - the number of relatable actions within the book that I found were actually quite disturbing, and showing my friends, they just raised their eyebrows and asked if I had secretly written the book. (I didn't, Rachel obviously did - not secretly, either.)

The only real issue that I had with the book was its ending, and this is due to my own desire for (practically) every relationship I read about to succeed, and little else. The 'little else' was the inevitably predictable outcome; I haven't read a book yet about a teacher-student relationship that succeeds, or that tells a success story - which do happen in many cases in real life. In this sense the book was slightly disappointing, but overall, I thoroughly loved it and would highly recommend it to all fans of YA - in particular those who love relationship stories, school-oriented stories, and quick, easy reads.

Rating: 5/5 Stars  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Georgina Howlett

Georgina Howlett is one of the co-founders of the YA Fictionados, joining with Chris to make the idea a reality. She is best-known for her BookTube channel BritishBiblioholic, her book blog BritishBiblioholic Reads Books, and for stalking Derek Landy on a regular basis.

Follow Georgina on Twitter: @thereaderrunt
Find Georgina on Goodreads: Georgina Howlett