This book will break you: 'Beautiful Broken Things' review

'Beautiful Broken Things' by Sara Barnard

Review by Christopher Moore

 

Summary:

I was brave.
She was reckless
We were trouble.

Best friends Caddy and Rosie are inseparable. Their differences have brought them closer, but as she turns sixteen Caddy begins to wish she could be a bit more like Rosie - confident, funny and interesting. Then Suzanne comes into their lives: beautiful, damaged, exciting and mysterious, and things get a whole lot more complicated. As Suzanne's past is revealed and her present begins to unravel, Caddy begins to see how much fun a little trouble can be. But the course of both friendship and recovery is rougher than either girl realises, and Caddy is about to learn that downward spirals have a momentum of their own.

 

Review:

Beautiful Broken Things is one of those books that comes around once or twice a year and doesn't just tell an addictive story but rather, it makes you feel every ounce of pain, laughter, sadness and fear. Suzanne is a wild card, who I adore her, and changes everything. What's great about Suzanne is not so much what happened to her, it's the way it's portrayed in every moment. Abuse affects mental health and the consequences of that abuse are clear in her character. So many authors explore these issues but they disappear as quickly as they appear; suiting a need rather than spotlighting an important issue. Barnard gives a true representation of mental health, ensuring it encompasses the the sensitivity it demands.

It's a thought-provoking, lingering story of power and female friendship. The main characters are all girls. The males are background characters. They might be interesting in other circumstances but it's Caddy, Suzanne and Rosie that make the story. It's their story and in terms of friendship, it's one of the best stories I've read. It doesn't dwell on bitchy, gossip types. It doesn't centre around cosmetic surfaces. It doesn't trivialise friendship. It's a three-way friendship that is equal parts love and sisterhood; a see-sawing power dynamic between three striking characters. 

Reasons you should read Beautiful Broken Things:

• A book title that excites you (and one that sums up the story beautifully);
• A B-E-A-utiful cover - seriously though, tell me you don't want this bad boy (girl?) sitting on your shelf;
• Characters that leap off the pages and into your hearts;
• A story that will live in your head and your heart for years to come;
• It covers some really important and sensitive issues but it doesn't detract from the Brighton setting, the memorable characters and the pulse-pounding story;
• Did I mention it's se in Brighton? BRIGHTON;
• It will break and destroy you;
• It will make you laugh out loud and possibly cry;
• It's my joint favourite 2016 read so far this year (along with Lisa Heathfield's Paper Butterflies).

I can already see this on the Carnegie and Waterstones Children's Book Prize shortlists for 2017. Do you really need anymore convincing? Get a copy, devour it and tweet me and Sara your thoughts.

Rating: 5/5 Stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

 

Christopher Moore:

Christopher is a co-founder of the YAfictionados blog and is best known as the YAblooker. He is a twenty-five year old book blogger who has previously worked in marketing and consumer insight for various publishing houses and writes in his spare time. He loves to travel and will read anything YA-related and some general fiction and fantasy.

'The Art of Being Normal' Review

 

'The Art of Being Normal' by Lisa Williamson
Review by Sarah Nuttall

Summary:

David Piper is a fourteen-year old boy who has kept a secret for years. A secret that makes him feel different, scared and alone, yet the implications of revealing the secret could shatter David’s world. For David knows that he is a girl in a boy’s body, he has known for years and the secret is slowly weighing him down to the point where he feels he is drowning. Leo also has a secret, one that he would prefer to keep hidden from the world and has switched schools to hide. Leo knows this secret could shatter his new life so he keeps people at bay. However, when the mysterious Leo befriends David to protect him from being bullied, they both recognise that each is holding onto a secret. This friendship allows both David and Leo to take the first steps into the adult world allowing them to understand themselves and offering them acceptance, independence, love and happiness. 

Review:

The Art of Being Normal is the debut novel from Lisa Williamson and based simply on the quality of this debut, I have high expectations of what wonders she will bring to the YA genre. Although this book wants to discuss the wider issues of the LGBT community, it is secondary to creating memorable, original and well-crafted characters that I loved spending time with. I felt like I could identify with all the characters in the book despite not facing the same challenges and obstacles in my life. The book is so beautifully written that I cried several times and for days afterwards, I thought about the characters and the world they inhabited. I raved about this book to anyone who would listen that that they needed to read this book as I wanted to share the brilliance with everyone and discuss the issues raised.

I absolutely adored this book and think it is one of the most important YA books of the last ten years and marks a milestone in the understanding and reflection of an important issue in the LGBT community. Its central character is aware he is transgender and is viewing his options for transitioning to become, on the outside, a reflection of who David is on the inside. It is the first book I’ve read in YA that contains characters that are transgender and are at different stages of their transitioning and I hope it opens a door for further books on the subject. It eloquently depicts the wide-ranging issues that the transgender community face and how challenging this can be in the context of high school.

I find the high school setting to be one of the book's greatest strengths. There is nothing scarier in the world to a teenager than the loss of routine (school-life and home-life), friends and family and David’s secret has the potential to shatter them all. The fear that to become who David truly is, might cause those he loves to turn their back on him and destroy not only his home-life but also school-life, is a truly terrible possibility; one that would strike fear into the hearts of all teenagers and a fear David lives with daily. It is incredibly difficult to be unique in high school where the pressure to conform to the status quo is overwhelming. David’s choice is incredibly brave and moving and it is a pleasure to follow David on his journey. I do not want to go too deeply into the challenges David faces as the route David takes is unexpected and thrilling and I found the book was far more emotionally thrilling and unpredictable the less I knew. What I can say about this book is that it is a character-driven story and rich in plot with unexpected twists and turns that are believable and allow our characters to discover more about themselves.

The transgender/transitioning is a major plot point of The Art of Being Normal and it is treated with the upmost respect, love and understanding rather than being used for shock value or to sensationalise. The book is also realistic in portraying that there is still ignorance within society with the concept of transgender and transitioning and that this is not the end for David; there will be more challenges to face; more adversity to overcome. It is for this reason alone thatThe Art of Being Normal deserves the acclaim it has received. It has shined a light into a community that is under-represented by the media and society at large and often misunderstood. It also highlights the dangers the community faces from this ignorance, even though this year has seen several high-profile members of the transgender community speak out about their experiences such as Caitlyn Jenner and the development of the first Miss Transgender UK however there is still too much work to be done.

In the US alone this year, 17 transgender women have been murdered which is more than the entirety of the previous year. Acts of violence against the transgender community are not rare. Transphobia is real. According to the American Psychological Association, transgender children are likelier to face harassment and bullying than their peers and ¾ of transgender children reported feeling unsafe. It is a sobering thought that children can feel unsafe simply because of their sexual identity. The Art of Being Normal is therefore not only a well crated novel with a message but a book that can provide a little hope for the future whether it is allowing transgender children to feel less alone or providing non-transgender children a glimpse into a world they don’t know but the more we understand, the better a world we can make for everyone.

Rating: 5/5 Stars  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Sarah Nuttall

Sarah is an active contributor for the YAfictionados blog site. She has written posts for the Waterstones blog and has worked as a bookseller (for 9 years), a Children's bookseller (for 6 years) and is now a manager at her local bookstore. Needless to say, Sarah is a valued member of the YAfictionados team - a true Children's and YA literature expert.

Author Interview: Melinda Salisbury

Melinda Salisbury is the debut author of The Sin Eater’s Daughter, the first in a new YA trilogy. She lives by the sea, in England, and saw The Grand Budapest Hotel (great film!) ELEVEN times at the cinema.


Follow Melinda on Twitter: @AHintofMystery

Buy 'The Sin Eater's Daughter':

-  Amazon
-  Foyles
-  Waterstones

 

 

 

 

The interview

Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us.


1. For those that haven’t read The Sin Eater’s Daughter, can you sum it up in 140 characters?

Executioner of traitors. Embodiment of a Goddess. Betrothed of a Prince. Puppet of mad queen. Take away her duty and who is Twylla?

 
2. Were there any books, in particular, that influenced or shaped the story? 

Originally I’d planned it as a re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood, but instead of a young woman navigating a forest, she’d have to move through castle politics, where the wolves were the people around her. That motif was largely lost, as the story grew, though it still has a very fairy-tale theme to it, which I like, as I have such a love for the traditional fairy-tales – the darker the better. The Pied Piper of Hamelin and Sleeping Beauty all play a massive part in building the foundations of the world, though both have been distorted to suit my needs.


3. What made you want to write this story and in particular, why the fantasy genre and (young adult) audience?

When I was a little, almost all of my games involved very elaborate world building. At my Nana’s house I’d play with the decorative glass stones she’d bought for her garden, organising them by colour into factions; red for the royals, yellow for servants, blue for the armies, and green for villains. I’d play out childish versions of love affairs between princes and witches, and queens and jesters. I was the same with normal toys, preferring ones with lots of characters, where I could spin the game out for days, if not weeks, until it became a self-supporting world of its own.
 
The same thing happened with The Sin Eater’s Daughter – I never consciously chose to write it, it just developed out of the materials in my head – a love of poison, and medieval history, and darkness, and fairy tales. Fantasy has always been my favourite genre, because I find it difficult to be entertained by ‘reality’. I don’t like to read or watch things that I could be doing myself – soap operas and any kind of reality based television has no appeal to me, because I feel almost wasteful watching people live a life that is very similar to mine, or doing things I could be doing. I tend to want something different – like Vikings, or The Musketeers, for entertainment. I want to experience lives that are vastly different from mine and fantasy offers me a way to do that.

As for why YA, because quite simply it’s what I prefer to read. YA novels, regardless of genre, are always breaking new ground and pushing boundaries in ways that challenge the reader without alienating them. They are stories filled with people figuring out who they are and how they fit in, and I think deep down that’s how most people feel all the time. I’ve technically been an adult for a while now, but I still feel as though I’m on a learning curve and YA is a great reminder I’m not alone in that. I’m writing what I feel I know. And what I love.


4. Where did the idea for Twylla’s story come from? How did you go about creating the mythological framework for the story?

It started with a small, idle idea in the shower and grew from there. I was singing away to myself and suddenly wondered what it would be like if I had to sing for a king, was taken from my home to do it, and my family’s lives would be at stake if I didn’t? What if I’d originally seen this as an escape, only to find it was even worse? What if my whole life was designed around me and I had no choice in it? The plot grew from there. I knew there would be a queen and she would be a bad person. I knew my heroine would be forced to choose between love and duty, and I knew that every single character – even the good ones – had an agenda.

I also knew religion would be a huge part of it, because it’s the cornerstone of every world, including ours. It determine a lot of the laws, and rules, and behaviours of a people and so I spent a lot of time developing those and making sure they were both ‘realistic’ and solid. Civilisations have risen and crumbled in the names of gods. Countries have been invaded; populations decimated – all in the name of gods. For any world to be fully realised, whether we like or not, it needs some kind of higher power, a rallying or rebellion point for its people.   

And because kings and queens are traditionally the gods’ representatives on earth, regardless of century, country or people, Gods and kings (or queens) are inextricably linked. Therefore if I was having a royal family, I needed gods, and vice versa.

So I created my gods; the female, Næht – death, darkness, temptation, and her counterpart Dæg - life, light and strength. I can’t say, without revealing part of the plot of the next book, why there are dual gods, and how they came to be worshipped in Lormere, but that mythology exists, and will come to the fore.

As for fairy tales and mythology, I’ve always believed those are the tools we use to make sense of the world around us – the monster in the woods, the wicked witch. It’s how we learn, and teach. Again, as with religion, a fully-developed world needs its own folklore.


5. Twylla: where did her name come from and how did you build her identity?

Twylla was the name that came to me when I imagined her! It was never a choice; I’d never heard it consciously before, but I must have picked it up from somewhere. I just knew that was her name, and I never questioned it. I later found out though that ‘Twyla’ is the Cherokee word for ‘twilight’ and loved how that fitted with her being Daunen Embodied (Daunen is Old English for dawn) and Naeht and Daeg (Old English for day and night). It felt right, somehow.

I built her identity out of my own experiences at her age! I had tremendously strict parents, my weekend curfew at age seventeen was 11pm, I wasn’t allowed a key for the house and was rarely allowed to remain in the house unsupervised, (I would often spend the day at the library if it was raining, or in the woods if it was sunny, taking food and books with me). I was very, very rarely allowed to sleep away from home, I had to fight tooth and nail for almost every freedom and it really isolated me from my peers, who were experimenting with boys and girls and drinking and basically being “normal” teens.
 
I lived a double life at home and at school, keeping so much of who I was a secret from everyone in my life. And I also had a very strained relationship with my family. So it wasn’t at all hard for me to put myself in the shoes of a seventeen year old who is disconnected from the world around her, and who has little love and support in her life. I was better off than Twylla in many ways, but there’s a lot of me at seventeen in her. All her naivety, and her fear of questioning the status quo comes directly from my experiences and my fears. So I built her around that – at her core is a confused, frightened and lonely young woman who doesn’t know who she is or what she should do.


6. What was the most difficult part to write?

I didn’t find any of it difficult! I don’t know whether it was because I didn’t feel under any pressure when writing it, but the words just flowed, I didn’t get at all stuck during the first draft. At times it was almost as though I wasn’t in control of the story at all, it happened without any planning, or real thought – it just happened. Of course, the first draft was kind of a hot mess because of that, but there was a lot of stuff in there that made it to the final version. 


7. The ending to The Sin Eater’s Daughter is a definite nail-biter. What can we expect from the next book?

I can tell you that it’s set in Tregellan, and is based around a new character, and their life and the challenges they face in the aftermath of The Sin Eater’s Daughter. There is more danger, more treachery, and more death; we’ve said goodbye to some characters and we’ll say hello to some other new ones. It’s always been an uncertain world, and it continues to be so. What happened in The Sin Eater’s Daughter set off a chain of events that reaches far across the realm, and things are changing for everyone. 


8. How did you find the writing-to-publication process? 

Surprisingly pleasant! I went down the traditional route of finding an agent, working with her, and then submitting to publishing houses when we thought it was ready. Thanks to her expertise the whole thing was very smooth, and easy to participate in. 

I found my agent because I submitted a different book to her, but whilst I’d been looking for an agent I’d begun to write The Sin Eater’s Daughter as way of keeping myself occupied. My agent came back to me after reading the full MS of the original book to say she loved my writing, but the story wasn’t anything new or exciting, and then she asked if I had anything else. By coincidence, I’d finished the very first draft of The Sin Eater’s Daughter the day before, so I told her about it, but warned it was unedited. She read it anyway, loved it, though felt it needed some work, and eventually we both got it to a place where she felt she could try and get it onto publisher’s desks. And boy did she! 

I’ve been incredibly fortunate that both my agent and my editors have loved the story as much as I do, and have so much faith in me. I’m very privileged and honoured to work with the team I do; there is a lot of expertise and creativity – but more importantly, a lot of trust and support from them and it makes writing an absolute pleasure.


9. Do you have any unusual or strange habits while writing?

No. I’m really dull! I free write at first, and pretty much just let the characters do what they like! I loosely map the ending, and the beginning, and who the main characters are, and what they are to each other, but in between I give them free reign to do their thing while I build the world around them. I keep a notebook with me all the time in case I have an idea, and I like to get it down on paper, as a starting point, as soon as possible. I love editing, I prefer it to writing. I like making things pretty, the hard work bit at the start is my least favourite.

I am a night-time writer. Between 7pm and midnight is my best time for writing. I tend to start by re-reading the last passage I wrote, and making alterations, which helps ease me back into the story, and then the new writing tends to come between 9pm and 11pm. Then I read back again for a bit. I’ve tried working in the day, but I get distracted by the outdoors very easily, so it’s better for me to work at night, when the light is gone. I like to have a cup of tea going cold beside me, and I can’t write to music, but that’s about it.


10. You’re on Mars (because that’s what authors do, right?) and you realise that you only have 48-hours of oxygen left in your canisters. You reach for your emergency kit filled with five books (apparently, there was a food shortage, you’ve lost communication with Earth and no Kindles!). What five books are they?

The Girl With Glass Feet by Ali Shaw
 
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

The Snow Spider by Jenny Nimmo

The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher

 
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us. We, at YAfictionados, wish you all the best with the book and your writing career.

 

'The Bone Season'

'The Bone Season' by Samantha Shannon

Review by Laura

 

 

 

Summary:

EVEN A DREAMER CAN START A REVOLUTION

Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney works in the criminal underworld of Scion London. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people's minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing.

 

 

Review:

The Bone Season is the gripping, debut novel from Samantha Shannon. The pages really do turn themselves. You get swept up on page one and you're not released until you’re finished, where you’re left reeling and eager for the next ride.

Samantha has been named the next JK Rowling by some critics, which is enough for anyone to be encouraged to pick up this book. The subject of the book is very different to that of the Harry Potter series but Samantha’s talent for writing at such a young age in her first book promises amazing things to come. She has a beautiful writing style that is a joy to read. The book has a very British feel to it which I love. It feels great knowing that a young British woman has written this - not much older than me. She’s really carving a path for young, aspirational, female authors.

The world of The Bone Season is so vivid and feels real. You feel as though the world could really be like this in 50 years as she blends modernity with new, futuristic imagery. Samantha has clearly thought a great deal about the world, evident in the hierarchy of Clairvoyance, which are shown at the beginning of the book. What I like is that the detail is there for fans to enjoy and yet, it isn’t totally essential for the book. You don’t have to try to learn all the names and what they mean to read the book; you can enjoy it without them. It really helps to have that part of the book separate from the story as many readers don’t like to have information dumped on them heavily throughout. The very start does info-dump as it lays down the foundations but the odd thing you may not understand isn’t crucial to the storyline.

Any questions concerning the content of the story can be referenced in the Glossary at the back of the book which helps with the world-building. The storyline really sticks in your head due to its unique spin on the genre. It doesn’t feel like another overdone storyline but rather something fresh and new.

The main character, Paige, is very likeable and relatable, and you really get behind her on her journey. As the story evolves, you see more and more of her and as you see the layers peel back and the past dug up, you really admire her endurance and strength.

The growing love story between Warden and Paige is subtle, well-paced and doesn’t totally overshadow the actual storyline. You never think it unbelievable or too rushed, but just enjoy the ride. It isn’t a big romantic story, which it may grow to be, but the very start of what could develop into an epic love. 

The book series is supposed to be seven books, at the minute I don’t know how the story will last that long, but hopefully that promises an expanding storyline that we will encounter in the second book. 

I hope the sequel will bring alive the more secondary characters in the story as they feature more to develop the story and act as expendables who help develop Paige and Warden’s characters at the minute. I’m fairly certain this will happen with characters like Jaxon and Nick on the scene who have GREAT potential to become favourite characters. The spark is there. 

The end of the book leaves you with questions and whets your appetite for the next instalment, The Mime Order. I would highly recommend The Bone Season. It is a fantastic story with a promising future, and with the rights to a film having been picked up by Andy Serkis’s company, Imaginarium, you really need no excuse to grab this book now.

 

 

Rating: 5/5 Stars  ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

 

 



'Seed': A Phenomenal Debut

'Seed' by Lisa Heathfield

Review by Christopher Moore

Summary (from Amazon): Seed loves you. Seed will never let you go.  

Fifteen-year-old Pearl has lived her whole life protected within the small community at Seed, where they worship Nature and idolise their leader, Papa S. When some outsiders arrive, everything changes. Pearl experiences feelings that she never knew existed and begins to realise that there is darkness at the heart of Seed.  A darkness from which she must escape, before it's too late.

A chilling and heartbreaking coming-of-age story of life within a cult, Seed will take readers on a journey of gripping self-discovery reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale.





Review:

Seed is an exceptional, read-between-the-lines YA debut by the very talented Lisa Heathfield. It tells the story of Pearl and her life at Seed with her family as they worship their leader, Papa S. (and Mother Nature).

There are four things, in particular that I loved, and that I feel you should know. The first is the unpredictability. I really had no idea what was going to happen next (and if you check out our interview with Lisa Heathfield on the site, you'll see that she didn't either). I held Seed with one hand as I bit nervously at my nails while tearing through the pages. A compulsive page-turner indeed.

The second element I loved is the twisting of the beautiful and the downright eerie. Seed is meant to be an idyllic community and we see this in some of their rituals; their working together as a family in their everyday life and their treks to Dawn Rock where they watch the Sun rise together. These images are punctured with more disturbing rituals like tasting each other's blood. It's a book that doesn't also spell things out for you and when you dig a little deeper, you'll find the creepy elements to this cult. If you can imagine looking at a beautiful portrait only to find out it has been painted in blood. Unnerving. Creepy. Disturbingly addictive (Seed, that is)

The third standout element of the book is Seed itself. It's infused in the characters and the landscape, it features in the rituals and practices of their cult religion and it's always in the reader's mind. It's a place of beauty and community; of nature and family; but it's also a dangerous place and Pearl, Kate and her family are pawns in a very dangerous game.

The last and most interesting element of the book, for me, was Pearl's psychological balance. She's been raised to love Papa S but some of the events in the book cause her to question his motives and his love and slowly, she starts to discover he's a flawed man and it's this oscillation between Pearl's sense of right and wrong - her sense of what she's been taught to believe versus the hard truths that have been put before her - that make her a fascinating character.

Seed is a must-read for readers who are growing bored of predictable YA stories; readers who are searching for something new and fresh. It offers something I've never seen before - life lived in a cult - and it is executed with the pen of a very talented writer. Be warned though, it's an eerie read that will bury deep under your skin. Pearl's story and her community's traumas, will stick with you long after you finish the last page. I would highly recommend this to all YA readers, particularly those that like darker themes (and dystopian lovers).

Bring. On. Book. Two.

Rating: 4/5 Stars  ★ ★ ★ ★ 

Author Interview: Lisa Heathfield

Lisa Heathfield is the incredible, debut author of Seed - a standout YA title, this year, for its beautifully eerie and chilling portrayal of life lived in a cult. Lisa lives in Brighton with her husband and three sons. Before becoming a mum, she was a secondary school English teacher and loved inspiring teenagers to read.

Follow Lisa on Twitter: @LisaHeathfield

Buy 'Seed':

- Amazon
- Waterstones

- Foyles

The Interview

For those that haven’t read Seed, could you sum it up in 140 characters?

An idyllic community. Innocent teenagers, vulnerable to the abuse of power. The unravelling of secrets. And a darkness threatening to destroy them all.

Where did the premise for the novel come from? Have you drawn the inspiration and emotion for Seed from a personal place?

Pearl appeared to me one day, when I was writing another book. I wouldn't say she was demanding, as that's not what she's like, but she was quietly persistent that I should write her story instead. As soon as I picked up my pen, the community of Seed was there. I wrote it as though I was reading it - I had no idea what was going to happen next, so it was really exciting to write.

How long did it take to pen Seed and how difficult was it to develop Pearl’s see-sawing, psychological balance?

I think the first draft took about six months. Then I edited it a bit with my agent, before it went on submission and then I edited it again with Ali Dougal, at Egmont.

Pearl actually swung back and forth, between loving and questioning Papa S, far more in the initial draft. It was under Ali's brilliant guidance that Pearl found a stronger footing in realising that Seed was actually a really dark place. It was very hard for Pearl to see and accept, though. She has been raised at Seed her whole life - it is all she's ever known. She's never had any reason to doubt in Papa S and it's very tough for her to realise that the man she adores is actually very flawed.

If you had to write from the perspective of one other character, which character would you pick and why?

I love Kate - her growing defiance, yet her stark vulnerability. Although, I think it would be really gruelling writing from her perspective, bearing in mind what's happening to her. I'd also be intrigued to write from Papa S' perspective. I'd like to see what makes him tick.

Seed exhibits a lot of taboo, behavioural moments. I found it a compulsive read but deeply unsettling. What was the most unsettling moment, for you, to write?

Pearl going to Papa S' chamber, having been chosen to be his Companion, was pretty horrible. And when she has to wear a blindfold and is in the corn field. Thankfully I kind-of 'zone out' when I write. It sounds strange, but I often don't even know what I've written, until I type it up at the end.

There are some strange, sick rituals at Seed. Where did these ideas come from?

I think the cutting of their palms and tasting blood must come from the more innocent 'blood-sister/brother' thing we used to do as children. The women being confined underground when they first get their period was, I'm sure, influenced by Natascha Kampusch's incarceration in 3,096 DAYS, which I had just read.

But not all the rituals are sick! I love it when they go to Dawn Rocks, to watch the sun rising. And when they kiss their palms and face them to the sky, there are echoes of the women in Margaret Atwood's THE HANDMAID'S TALE (not that I'd ever in a million years compare myself to Margaret Atwood, but I think that so much of what I read seeps into my subconscious and comes out in my writing).

At what point did you decide that there would be a sequel? What can we expect from the sequel?

I actually wrote SEED as a standalone, so it was a surprise to me when my publishers asked for a sequel! I think a lot of people are expecting and hoping for different things! It will be interesting to see where Pearl takes me.

Pearl narrates much of the story but there is also another story. You never explicitly state who that is and I think it is unlikely that you will tell us before the sequel. I would like to ask, though, if we’ll get to see more of the backstory for this character in the next book? And why did you decide to write a from this second point of view? Did you begin the story writing this way or did it develop at some point during Seed?

It's interesting that you've asked this, because when I began writing SEED, there wasn't this second view point. Then one day, I was walking our boys back from school and out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw someone looking out of a top window as we went past. And it was instant - I realised then that there was someone else, hidden away at Seed.

How did you find the publication process?

It's been amazing! Everyone at Egmont is so lovely and welcoming. It's been incredible having such an experienced editor work on my book with me. And all the build-up to publication was so exciting. And of course, SEED was paired with the super-talented Ben Hughes, who designed the cover. I feel VERY lucky.

Was Seed the first book you’ve ever written?

It was my second book. My first got as far as the submission process, but didn't quite get picked up. I'd like to work on it again one day and see if it gets further.

You’re on Mars and you have meagre food reserves. You’ve used up your last Kindle battery. You have no communication with Earth and you’re down to your last two canisters of oxygen. You have just enough time to read five books. What five would you choose?

Two would be re-reads: Markus Zusak's THE BOOK THIEF and William Faulkner's AS I LAY DYING. Both of these are beyond extraordinary and I just have to read one sentence from either of them and I'm gone! The other three would be books I haven't read. The first one I'm totally ashamed to admit - I really have been meaning to for years and years and I'm not quite sure why I haven't got round to it: Emily Bronte's WUTHERING HEIGHTS. I loved Stephanie Kuehn's CHARM AND STRANGE, so I can't wait to read DELICATE MONSTERS which is almost out. And I've just bought Jandy Nelson's I GIVE YOU THE SUN, which looks amazing.

Thank you so much for taking the time to answer our questions.

Thank-you for writing them for me!

7 Reasons Kiki Sullivan's 'The Dolls' Is More Meh Than Magnificent

'The Dolls' by Kiki Sullivan

Review by Christopher Moore

Summary  (from Amazon):

When 17-year-old Eveny returns to the tiny Louisiana town where she was born, she discovers she is the powerful missing link in a trio of voodoo queens who have everyone under their spell. But they need her help. Because darkness is descending on Carrefour and even the Dolls' combined powers may not be enough to stop the killer in their midst.



1. Bland Characterisation

The most irritating thing about this book is the characters. They’re vapid caricatures with no distinguishing features. We’re introduced to Glory at the beginning of the story; the only character with a morsel of personality but what does the author do? Kill her off. Cheers for that.

Drew mentions that Pascal Auteuil looks like a model which prompted me to wonder, “wait, is Drew gay?” Spoiler: he’s not. Caleb “guns the engine” every time he leaves Eveny. He “half smiles” all the time (is only half of his jaw functional?). Electricity crackles between Eveny and Caleb. It always feels like “an eternity” between them. WARNING: You may need to brace yourself for possibly one of the most cringe descriptions in YA literature. Caleb has “ripped biceps, taut abs and caramel skin [that] sparkles with moonlight perspiration.”

2. Setting

The story is set near New Orleans, Louisiana, in a gated community known as Carrefour. It’s impossible to grasp any of the scenic details because the descriptions take us so out of the moment with lengthy descriptions that are difficult to absorb and pretty unmemorable. It does nothing for the story either. There’s no real evidence of any of the characters having Southern roots; no genuine attempt to infuse character with Southern accents or marry the characters with their culture.

3. Weird Descriptions

The basic physical descriptions irked me but what really sent me above and beyond boiling point was that everyone was beautiful and they all had caramel-coloured skin. Seriously? Are they clones? Caleb as the forbidden bad boy stereotype is predictable (are as his “half smiles”) and the clothes and character descriptions are formulaic and unimaginative.

4. The Hero

Eveny Cheval is the protagonist but she’s a web of mass contradictions. The same girl that detests the wealth of Chloe and Peregrine, who grew up with a fairly modest childhood, knows all about designer clothes? What? It’s not even the fact that she knows about Louboutins that bothers me; it’s more that the reader is being told that she’s an outsider and a bit of an outcast but she’s exactly like the Dolls. She predictably falls for Caleb, saying that he’s “insanely gorgeous”. She actually tells Caleb that he’s “sexy and intriguing”. Cringe. It's so difficult to feel anything for her.

5. The Dolls’ World

The magic was a bit lacking. The spells read like weak attempts at a Poetry 101 assignment. Furthermore, 75% of the story focuses on the ordinary. The story is less, one of magic, intrigue and murder, and more a narrative of high school drama.

6. Repetition

Eveny and the Dolls repeat the same stock phrases: 

• Cute
• Hot
• Gross
• Dorky
• Muscular
• Gorgeous
• Handsome 

It comes across a bit Mills and Boon at times.

7. Clichés

• The almost kiss 
• The “Hey, girl” girl
• The forbidden romance
• The beautiful, bad boy (with “caramel” skin)
• Forbidden love
• The outcast hero

What adds insult to injury is that The Dolls is compared to Mean Girls which features a stronger story, far more interesting characters and quotable phrases ("stop trying to make fetch happen!").

This pretty much sums up my feelings on The Dolls.

Rating: 1/5 Stars  ★