Review- The Accident Season (Moira Fowley-Doyle)

Synopsis

It's the accident season, the same time every year. Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom.

The accident season has been part of seventeen-year-old Cara's life for as long as she can remember. Towards the end of October, foreshadowed by the deaths of many relatives before them, Cara's family becomes inexplicably accident-prone. They banish knives to locked drawers, cover sharp table edges with padding, switch off electrical items - but injuries follow wherever they go, and the accident season becomes an ever-growing obsession and fear.


But why are they so cursed? And how can they break free?                     - Goodreads.com

My Review 

Every October the ‘Accident Season’ arrives and with it brings, bruises, scrapes, broken bones and sometimes even death. When Cara’s best friend Bea, warns her via a Tarot reading that this Season will be the worse, Cara already has other concerns on her mind. A fellow class mate Elsie has gone missing and none seems to know where she is, but Cara is determined to unravel the mystery, but she may end up uncovering more secrets than she expects. 

This book was not what I was expecting, but it also didn't disappoint. There was definitely a WTF did I just read look on my face after finishing. 

It’s hard to find a way of describing the book, as the author does a wonderful job of playing with the boundaries of realism to the point where you're often wondering if things actually do exist or if it’s just the characters imagination.

There were some awesomely creepy scenes that despite a lack of actual blood and gore gave me shivers merely due to the amazing imagery the author provided with her words. The characters were interesting. While they don't necessarily develop much throughout the story, they do have their own tales of guilt, shame and love that add to the eerie, sadness and melancholy of the story. The story itself is shrouded in mystery and intrigue, and with its stunningly hypnotic prose it kept me turning the pages all the way through.

My only grievance is at times I felt the idea of the ‘accident season’ was just an afterthought added into the writing. There was an explanation as to what it was, and hints at the devastating effects of disasters during the previous ‘accident seasons’.  However the story veered off near the middle with only intermittent reference to the current accident season, with its focus diversifying on to other mysteries. For the most part though everything was wrapped up in the end. Although you’re likely to have some lingering questions still, but to have answered them would have taken away the eerie, magical qualities of the story and writing.

My rating: 4/5

Review- Since You've Been Gone (Morgan Matson)

Synopsis

It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.

On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?

Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger? Um... 

Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane's list. Who knows what she’ll find?
Go skinny-dipping? Wait...what?                        - Goodreads.com

My Review 

Emily has an amazing summer planned ahead for her and her best friend Sloane. They’re going to get the perfect summer job where they can chat all day, spend weekends road-tripping and of course summer romances for each of them.

But when Sloane and her family suddenly disappear, Emily is thrown into a whirlwind of hopelessness. Being the quite, shy, introvert she is, Sloane is her only connection to the social world and without her, her perfect summer plans come crashing down around her.

Then a letter shows up… a list of 13 tasks that might just lead her back to Sloane.

There is just something about Emily that is easy to connect with. Like Emily, I am a shy, introvert with difficulty stepping outside of my comfort zone. So I could empathise with the difficulty of facing novel situations on your own, and the struggle of overcoming the realisation that you don’t have someone to lean on anymore.

“I had kissed someone tonight, which I certainly had not been expecting to do...but for a moment, it had made me feel brave.

And as I tilted my head back to look at the stars, I began to really understand, for the first time, just why Sloane sent me the list.”.

- Morgan Matson (Since you've Been Gone)

The supporting characters were just as delightful. Frank Porter, an unlikely potential friend for Emily, Class President, Frog Saving Environmentalist and complete Brainiac. Collins, his best friend and Dawn. Even the parents were given their own agenda’s, so while they weren’t actively involved at this particular time, which left a lot of freedom to complete her list, they weren’t absent or non-existent, as frequently seen in YA contemporaries.

Morgan Matson, has such a crisp, clear-cut way of writing. Her attention to detail is magnificent. The little aspects she adds to her characters and their lives add a sense of realism that is sometimes hard to come by in YA today. For example I loved that, Emily’s car has a sunroof with no top, and that her gas tank always reads at half a tank no matter how much gas is left, and is covered in bumper stickers from places she’s never been.

Trivial details while played down in the writing, actually play important roles later in the story. But the author doesn’t treat her audience like they’re mindless and make them obvious clues to the puzzle that we are pleasantly putting together. We’re left oblivious to their importance, until a second before it all falls into place.

While reading this novel, it just so happened to be New Year’s Eve, and I was inspired to fulfill my own list for the evening, which definitely had some activities out of my bubble of security, including doing a body shot off a stripper. And then some easier tasks like, walking home with friends from town drunk at 3am along the waterfront. While my list was a little more mature than Emily’s in some respects, there is one thing that we both shared in common... The feeling of accomplishing something so far out of your comfort zone. That kind of euphoria is addictive.

That is what this novel boils down to, learning to grow and develop by doing things you’ve never considered doing before. By pushing yourself into new roles, you can encounter so many more possibilities you didn’t think were possible.

This was the perfect inspirational novel to break in the New Year with!

My rating: 5/5

Review - Linger (Maggie Stiefvater)

 

Synopsis

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole. 

 - Goodreads.com

My Review 

So this is Maggie Stiefvater’s 2nd book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy. In all seriousness I think she could have stopped after book 1. The ending to Shiver, was perfect (big fat full stop). However I am truly glad she decided to continue with this series. While this book was not as good as its predecessor- Shiver. It was still a great read which kept me engaged throughout and wondering what the hell is going on with Grace? 

The ending was what really struck me the most. Throughout the whole story I had convinced myself that something bad was going to happen to Grace, but honestly didn’t think that the author would be so daring to go there...but she did. She really did!

With only one book to go, Miss Stiefvater is going to have to pull one hell of a Houdini act, to get out of that one.... and I can’t wait for what she comes up with.

Overall Maggie Stiefvater, has a beautiful way of narrating the story. The prose is delightful, and opens the imagination wide to all the senses around you. Personally I get restless, when there is too much description and not enough action. But in Linger it works well adding dimension to the world that’s been created. 

Overall 4/5

 The main thing that let it down, nothing was really achieved in this book. It was more of a lead up to the big finale in Forever #3