Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

I really enjoyed this book… Well, most of it anyway.

It is beautifully written, and our lead is Madeline, who is best friends with her Mum (a Japanese-American Doctor), doesn’t remember her father (African-American) who died when she was a baby, oh and she has Severe Combined Immunodeficiency (SCID), meaning that she hasn’t left her house in years. The only people she gets to spend any time with in person are her Mum and her Nurse Carla. Madeline is allergic to the world, and might as well live in a bubble.

But then a new family moves in next door, and her growing friendship with the teenage boy Olly (thank God for instant messenger) leads her to question the way she’s lived her life. Is living longer really worth it if you’re not living your life fully? Should she risk her life if it means truly experiencing it?

This book is great for fans of authors like John Green or Jennifer Niven, and is definitely deserving of the hype surrounding it. However there is a pretty big error in one of the illustrations (if you’re anything like me it will bug you), and it has a surprise twist that I wasn’t too fond of, but it’s still a wonderfully written book that I couldn’t put down until I had finished.

Posted by Sas

Catalogue link: Everything, Everything

Fatal Pursuit by Martin Walker

Bruno is a policeman of many talents; he cooks, hunts, builds his own house and grows his own food. As sole charge policeman in the small fictional town of St Denis, France, he finds lost dogs, fights fires, registers births and deaths, and enforces the parking regulations. He is also creative with his solutions for local crimes that often see him applying his own sense of justice.

In this the 9th book in the Bruno, Chief of Police series, Bruno is involved in the world of collecting and racing classic cars and in particular the disappearance, during the Second World War, of a Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic car. Dealing with the suspicious death of a local researcher, an out of control young boy and feuding family members, Bruno still has time to prepare mouth-watering French cuisine whilst entertaining a new woman in his life.

For fans of the Bruno series you will be meeting up with old friends. For those yet to discover the delights of St Denis then start with Bruno, Chief of Police. You will not be disappointed.

Posted by Miss Moneypenny

Catalogue link: Fatal Pursuit

Rolling with the Punchlines: a memoir by Urzila Carlson

'Urzila is a force of nature, unsinkable and funny.  she's the heroine we hope is inside every one of us."  Lucy Lawless

I read this interesting memoir over a couple of days.
Urzila Carlson is a New Zealand comedian of South African descent.
She started her journey in stand up comedy after a work mate from her job in advertising entered her into a open mic night.
She has earned a living from comedy ever since.

She writes of her childhood growing up in a loving but poor Africaans family and how the family had to escape in the night from their alcoholic violent father coming after their mother with a gun.  I found her honest explanations of why she became desperate to leave post-Apartheid South Africa very informative.

A self-described lesbyterian (great word) she does not agree with some of the labels we apply to sexuality. Urzila shares her journey into marriage and motherhood and some of the difficulties faced along the way.

Urzila is open, honest and forthright (code for lots of swearing!), but no surprises if you have seen her TV performance on 7 Days or other comedy shows.  She writes like she speaks and amongst the humour there are also some fairly sobering life events, such as growing up scared of her violent father, surviving cancer and losing a baby.
The business of making a living from making people laugh is also fascinating.

Reviewed by Katrina

Catalogue link: Rolling with the Punchlines

The Words in My Hand by Guinevere Glasfurd

Thinking of René Descartes, who doesn’t recall his much quoted maxim, I think therefore I am. Debut novelist, Guinevere Glasfurd, explores a little known aspect of Descartes’ life - his relationship with Dutch housemaid, Helena Jans. Sent by her impoverished mother to earn a living in Amsterdam, Helena is taken on by an English bookseller, Mr Sergeant. The house with its books and visiting intellectuals only encourages Helena’s deep wish to improve her reading and learn to write.

1600s Amsterdam would appear to have been a safe haven for ground-breaking thinker, René Descartes, whose theories inspired accusations of heresy. Thrown together, Descartes finds in Helena a young mind who reveals to him surprises in the commonplace, while Helena finds encouragement to pursue her skills with ink and paper. The two form a bond that transcends their differences in age, station and religion, but it is a relationship beset by secrecy, shame and tragedy.

The Words in My Hand is a brilliant historical read, both vivid and sensual, while at the same time depicting a period when thinkers of the day were grasping with how to explain and measure the everyday world. The characterisation of the two main characters really draws the reader in as they are both complex and sympathetic. What they go through together will tug on your heartstrings, while I loved the way Glasfurd brought seventeenth century Holland to life. I want to look up pictures by the Dutch landscape masters in order to stay there for a while longer.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: The Words in My Hand

Holding by Graham Norton

Yes it is he: Graham Norton from your Friday night TV viewing, not a celebrity interview in sight though!

This is Norton's first novel, and I must admit to being a little hesitant. I am delighted to report that Holding is both entertaining and well written; it seems a little unfair to be so multi-talented but there you go. Norton understands people, and his voice comes through in the charming, funny and wounded characters he creates.

And so to the story. Duneen is a tiny west Ireland village; it has no cell phone coverage, everyone knows everyone and nothing much happens. The local policeman PJ Collins lives in quiet desperation, loves to eat and is so unfit he 'breaks into a sweat walking up for communion'.

When a land development unearths a human body, PJ is jolted into action amidst much village speculation. Years earlier farm owner Tommy Burke had fled the farm after a relationship break up with Evelyn Ross; whom he jilted when he became engaged to Brid Riordon. The elegant Evelyn now lives a quiet life with her unmarried sisters, while Brid is unhappily married and finding solace in a bottle.

As the big police guns from the city move in to help solve the cold case; PJ finds himself drawn to both Evelyn and Brid, which is somewhat awkward as they are both prime suspects. Other villager’s secrets slowly emerge building tension towards a suitable thrilling conclusion.

Holding has been described as a cosy mystery which it perhaps is, but it is more than that as well; the characters have the warmth and pathos of people living in a close community who have had disappointments in life which have haunted them.

Recommended for a great holiday read.

Reviewed by Katrina

Catalogue link: Holding by Graham Norton

Smile by Raina Telgemeier

Smile is an autobiographical graphic novel about a typical American girl, who belongs to Girl Scouts and has to get braces to fix an overbite. Only one day she falls and breaks her two front teeth. This is followed by four years of painful surgeries, and dentist visits, and throughout it all she is under-going puberty, starting at High School, and realizing that sometimes the people you think are your friends don’t always have your best interests at heart.

This novel is a lovely (although at times slightly forgettable) story of one girl’s adolescence. It is a story about feeling insecure, but finally learning to accept yourself, flaws and all. But most of all it is a reminder that going to the dentist hurts and man I am so glad I never had braces because they look awful and painful!

Seriously though, read it. It’s lovely, and the artwork is very cute (except for the pictures of her X-rays. They are just incredibly painful to look at).

Posted by Sas

Catalogue link: Smile

The Good Guy by Susan Beale

The good guy of the title is Ted McDougall, a tyre salesman with heaps of potential, married to Abigail, his high-school sweetheart. They live with their baby daughter in a new subdivision on the outskirts of Boston and everything should be rosy, but somehow it isn’t. Ted does his best to please, that’s how he makes those killer sales targets after all, but somehow Abigail isn’t quite happy.

When Ted meets Penny, a secretary with an eye for fashion, the two create a picture on the dance floor. Penny is desperate to be loved and allows herself to be romanced by Ted, and so begins a sorry tale of deception. The bulk of the novel focuses on Ted’s desperate attempts to keep the two women of his life happy and separate, which powers the story along.

While you can’t help turning the pages to see what happens, Beale brilliantly creates an atmosphere of 1960s suburbia and the post-war boom around consumerism. You can only sympathise with housewives like Abigail, giving up on their education while their brains turn to mush, and it is great to see her flower when she returns to university to study American history. The impression she makes on her young history lecturer adds another tangled thread to the plot.

The Good Guy is a terrific first novel, with characters that are flawed but also likeable, each facing dilemmas that are poignant and complex, and this makes them very real. Beale has dug deep into her own family history in the writing of this book, and I hope she has a few more novels up her sleeve, as she is a gifted story-teller. The Good Guy is currently shortlisted for a Costa First Novel Award.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: The Good Guy

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl by Ryan North and Erica Henderson

This book is pure silliness. Seriously, don’t go in to it expecting too much and you’ll be just fine. Squirrel Girl is ‘nutty’ and ‘upbeat’ (not my words – that’s how the comic describes her), but she is also a whole lot of fun. The artwork is cute, the whole tone is light-hearted cheese, and honestly, I have no idea how a girl whose power is being able to communicate with squirrels could possibly make her a ‘superhero’, but the comic is silly enough that I just don’t care.

Plus, most of the leading ladies in comics are far too serious most of the time (Wonder Woman I’m looking at you), so it’s nice when there is one on the complete opposite side of the scale, even if she is so quirky and optimistic that I would probably punch her in real life if I ever had to have a conversation with her before my morning coffee.

But embrace the nuttiness and you’ll do just fine. Seriously, there are times when it is just plain ridiculous. But in a totally fun way. All you really need to know going in to the comic is this - Squirrel Girl: ‘Eats Nuts, Kicks Butts’.

Posted by Sas
 

Catalogue link: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, Vol. 1: Squirrel Power

The Quiet Spectacular by Laurence Fearnley

The Quiet Spectacular is Laurence Fearnley's seventh book; she is the author of some great novels such as Edwin + Matilda and The Hut Builder.

A hidden hut complete with a James Bond cutout and flowers serves as a refuge, and eventual meeting place, for three women trying to find meaning and direction in their very different lives.
Chance is a troubled creative teenager with a controlling mother, who finds solace in her school library.
Riva is a successful business woman, trying to fulfill a promise to her dying sister to save a local wetlands.
Loretta is a harried school librarian, researching dangerous women while trying to find courage in her home and work life.

The Quiet Spectacular is a gentle well crafted read with lovely prose.
However, if I am honest I didn't love it.  I certainly didn't hate it either.
Maybe the clue is in the title, which relates to the characters, plot and landscape.
The problem is I did love Edwin + Matilda and The Hut Builder - both such excellent reads; so perhaps I had overly high expectations.

Reviewed by Katrina

Catalogue link:  The Quiet Spectacular

The Trouble with Goats and Sheep by Joanna Cannon

It is the summer of ’76 and a heat wave grips Britain. In their small Midlands town, ten year olds Grace and Tilly are determined to discover what has happened to their popular neighbour, Mrs Creasy, who has vanished still wearing her slippers. Mr Creasy is lost without her, wandering into the street every time the bus is due to see if she has returned, while other neighbours fear foul play.

At the local pub, there are mutterings about Walter Bishop, the weird loner who lives a few doors down, while the temperature sours and thoughts drift back to a terrible event that happened in 1969. Mrs Creasy had a talent for inspiring confidences. Had she discovered a secret that needed silencing?

Part mystery, part psychological drama, The Trouble with Goats and Sheep explores the dynamics of a neighbourhood where everyone looks out for everyone, but sometimes prejudice rears its ugly head. It is a warm and humorous novel which, with its similar themes and frequent use of a child narrator, reminded me of To Kill a Mockingbird.

Author Joanna Cannon has taken a pause in her busy career as a doctor to write fiction, and I hope she won’t follow the example of Harper Lee, and resist publishing another book for decades, because The Trouble with Goats and Sheep is utterly brilliant.

Posted by JAM

Catalogue link: The Trouble with Goats and Sheep

Nimona by Noelle Stevenson

Written (and drawn) by Noelle Stevenson (google her fan art – she is brilliant), her first book centres around Nimona, a magical shape shifter, with a mysterious past and a love of trouble.

With a passion for mischief and mayhem Nimona decides (against his wishes) to become the sidekick of Lord Ballister Blackheart (possibly one of the most useless villains ever). The two become close (not that either of them would admit it) and together they embark on a crime spree that ends up getting way out of hand.

It is fun, it is sweet, and if you’re anything like me then the ending will hit you right in the feels (but no spoilers!) Definitely worth checking out from our YA Graphic Novel section. It’s a quick read, but definitely not lacking in plot or character development.

Posted by Sas

Catalogue link: Nimona

November Reading at Book Chat

In the Land of Milk and Honey by Jane Jensen
A fatal illness takes hold of a hard-working Amish community in Pennsylvania, and soon its members are talking about a curse. When an entire family is found dead, ex-NYPD  homicide detective, Elizabeth Harris, suspects a more sinister cause. A high body count, but well written nevertheless.

Dear Amy by Helen Callaghan
Margot is a teacher who also writes the ‘Dear Amy’ agony aunt column for a local paper. When a school girl goes missing, Amy starts getting letters from a girl who went missing twenty years before. Plenty of suspense and an original plot make this psychological thriller an absolute page-turner.

The Dry by Jane Harper
The harsh Australian outback is the setting for this murder story about a small town and its secrets. When Aaron Falk returns home for the funeral of an old friend and his family, the assumption is that it is a case of murder-suicide. Only Aaron is not so sure. A taut and riveting read with an unpredictable ending.


The Secret Ways of Perfume by Cristina Cabani
A betrayal drives Elena from her family home in Italy to Paris where she can use her rare gift for being able to decipher the ingredients of perfume. But perfume is more than just the components of a scent; it is about memory, emotion and even the truth. A delightful, romantic and memorable novel, a best-seller in Italy.

The Hotel on Mulberry Bay by Melissa Hill
Returning to the family business – a hotel on picturesque Mulberry Bay – two sisters reunite to face a crisis and deal with a surprising revelation by their father. Everything rests on the girls’ ability to save their hotel. Quirky characters, a charming Irish setting and community spirit get this story home.

Dead to Me by Lesley Pearse
Ruby and Verity are from the opposite sides of the tracks, yet are friends, even when their fortunes are reversed. As Britain is rocked by the threat of war, an event threatens to tear their friendship apart. Will they be able to survive the war in order to put things right? This is a compelling read that you will devour in a day.

Posted by Flaxmere Library Book Chat

What Jessica Watched: A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night

A Girl Walks Home at Night is technically a vampire movie. And it totally has a creep element, and obviously vampires, but I feel like that’s not the stand out feature. It’s Persian (in language only sadly; it’s shot in California!), it’s black and white and it’s moody, with the added bonus of an amazing soundtrack. Full of singularly stunning scenes that come together as an airy, seductive dream, I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it.

If you’re into artsy black and white films (the awe of some shots left me reminiscing about Control, the movie about Joy Division’s Ian Curtis), or slow moving “nothing much happens” type movies, you will definitely be into this. But also, if you’re into a sneaky vampire film that strays away from the obvious, give it a shot.

This is predominantly beautiful rather than action packed, which is not to say there’s no plot. There’s some romance, some family drama and a bit of violence (obviously…vampires, guys - come on!), which is all interesting and great, but it’s not in your face; rather it’s the consideration of the cinematography, costume (picture female vampire gliding atop a skateboard wearing Breton style top, trainers and traditional Islamic veil worn as a cape) and music that catches one's attention. All this to say I highly recommend; it’s a fun watch with memorable moments and fantastic music.

My rating: 4
If you liked this, you might like: Control, Only Lovers Left Alive, Slacker, Let the Right One In

Posted by Jessica

Catalogue link

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

What with this popular story recently arriving in cinemas, I thought it was about time for a comparison: book, film, and graphic novel. The story is about Jacob, a teenage boy who, after the death of his grandfather, travels to a small island off Wales in search of an old orphanage full of children with incredible gifts. Only problem is, Jacob is not the only person searching the orphanage. Well, I say person… more a sort of twisted, invisible, tentacled monster that will give you nightmares.

Ransom Riggs is a lover of photograph illusions, using them as a basis for most of his characters. They are very old, coming from various collectors and most of them, obviously, fake. But to look at how the ‘tricks’ inspired such lovable characters is truly incredible.

While the graphic novel is a closer visual representation to the original, there were a lot of differences in the new movie. Book fans will greatly nit-pick about the swapping of powers between the characters and a few confusing things added in. But if you want to enjoy the purity of a good edge-of-your seat, “holy crud, what the heck is that thing?!” type of book, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is for you.

Posted by Rhiannon

Catalogue link