Netflix's The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself - Season 1 (Based on Sally's Green's Half Bad Trilogy) ★★★★★

The problem with reviewing television shows before they release is that there is a point in time where you're not even allowed to talk about them. All I could do after finishing episode six of The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself was post a vague quote tweet of the Netflix promo, saying 'this is everything'. Because this show is everything. Based on the Half Bad trilogy by Sally Green, The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself lands on Netflix on 28 October 2022. I think fans of the books are going to like this adaption a lot but so will viewers unfamiliar with the series.

About The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself

In modern-day Europe, two warring factions of witches live amongst humans. The Fairborn witches have power in England after expelling most of their rivals, the Blood witches, to mainland Europe. Wanted by no one and hated by all, sixteen-year-old Nathan Byrne (Jay Lycurgo, The Batman) lives with his grandmother and half-sister in England. He is the illegitimate son of a Fairborn mother and Marcus Edge, the most notorious, violent Blood witch in history. The Fairborn Council is terrified that Nathan will follow in his father's footsteps and Nathan is monitored constantly.

How Are You Sleeping At Night?
Do You Ever Have Violent Dreams
Do You Have Fantasies About Hurting People?
Do You Find Yourself Getting Quick To Anger?
Do You Ever Have Negative Feelings About Other Witches?
If You Listen Carefully Can You Hear My Heartbeat?

Nathan is fast approaching his seventeenth birthday when he will receive three gifts and drink the blood of a family member, as all must witches do, in order to develop his true witch power. The only problem is that Nathan is running out of family members and his options are similarly diminishing after certain instigators manage to provoke his anger. Armed only with his friendship with Fairborn witch Annalise (Nadia Parkes, Domina) and the mysterious Blood witch Gabriel (Emilien Vekemans, Transferts), Nathan will have to outrun those who would destroy him and learn that sometimes the worst times are the best times, and that good and bad depend on what you do, not who you are.

The Cast

Characters We Love

Jay Lycurgo is Nathan Byrne

It is impossible not to like Nathan in the books, he does narrate them after all, but we grow to love him in the series as he grows from a cheeky, irreverent child into a defiant and determined teen. We watch as his innocence is eroded by the irrational, zealous hatred directed at him yet still he struggles to hold on to his humanity. He's not even safe at home and is constantly targeted by his own sister, Jessica. We'll get to her later. The casting for Jay Lycurgo was spot on and his performance is superb. There wasn't a single moment when I wasn't completely invested in Jay as Nathan.

Emilien Vekemans is Gabriel

I loved Gabriel in the Half Bad trilogy but nothing could have prepared me for much I loved every minute he was on screen in The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself. Emilien Vekemans is perfect as Gabriel, as is Charles Nicol as Young Gabriel. Gabriel is funny and sarcastic but don't underestimate him because beneath that beautiful, ultra-cool exterior lies one of the most complex, loyal characters ever written. I cannot wait to see where the rest of the series takes Gabriel.

Those We Hate

Isobel Jesper Jones is Jessica

Hate is a strong word, I wonder if there are any stronger words I can use to describe Nathan's sister, Jessica? Jessica is a study in psychopathy, the most despicable character ever seen on screen. Isobel Jesper Jones does a fantastic job as Jessica in her professional debut. I've genuinely never hated a character this much; every moment on screen, every decision, every facial expression, Jessica is horrible and irredeemable and someone needs to put her down.

Paul Ready is Soul

Soul is a Hunter, leader of the Fairborn Council Protection Unit and father of Annalise and Niall. He is also utterly bereft of any moral compass whatsoever, except that which points him in the most dastardly direction. It's difficult to describe how good Paul Ready is as Soul but he absolutely captures his weak-mindedness and blind ambition, making me want to reach through the screen and strangle him myself.

There is one other character who I hated but I fear that to mention them by name would be too much of a spoiler. Suffice to say, I'll have an entire section dedicated to them next season.

Those Who Surprise Us

Karen Connell is Ceelia

Ceelia is one of the Fairborn witches who discover Nathan and Jessica on the day their mother is murdered. She is the one who monitors Nathan throughout his childhood and the one who keeps him in an outdoor cage when he is removed from his home. Ceelia is written with incredible depth in The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself, adding so much more to her than we saw in Half Bad. It was surprising and devastating. Karen Connell gives a nuanced performance, saying more in her facial expressions and gestures than would ever need to be spoken in words. I didn't much notice Ceelia in the books but she will go down as one of my favourite characters in the series, if not ever.

Nadia Parkes is Annalise

Another very surprising character is Annalise, Nathan’s best friend and sometimes girlfriend. She exists mostly in the past tense in the first book, Half Bad, on which season 1 is based, but she is central to the story in the series. It was impossible not to notice from the very first episode how good of an actress Nadia Parkes is and how well she portrayed Annalise. Like Gabriel, I'm excited to see where the rest of the series will take Annalise and how her storyline will progress.

The Writing: From Page to Screen

The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself is one of the best page-to-screen adaptions I've seen in years. Joe Barton is the principal writer along with Ryan J Brown, Helen Kingston and Emer Kenny.

The writers made a lot of changes in the story but that is to be expected given the glacial pace at which the story moved in Half Bad. The effect was that we got to see a lot of new characters and more depth to the characters we did know than we saw in Half Bad. Sadly, that also opens viewers up to falling in love with characters they didn't expect to fall for and having their hearts destroyed by merciless writers.

There was a brief moment in the first episode where I thought that perhaps the series wasn't going to be as dark or grim as the books but I was swiftly disabused of that notion.

My favourite episodes were two of the most devastating ones: episode 6, written by Helen Kingston and episode 7, written by Emer Kenny. There will be no spoilers in this review but these two episodes represented the very best of television and its power to make you feel every emotion possible, from desolation to joy to astonishment. Yes, there was a fair bit of screaming at television screens going on.

Episode 7 also includes the best line in television history:

Ceelia: F*ck you, Robin Hood, and your merry band of c*nts

Oh, did I mention that The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself has a lot of swearing in?

As the first season neared its heart-stopping conclusion, the stakes became ever higher and the stress of it all became palpable. Never before have I wished for an ad break just so that I could calm my heart from beating out of my chest; just thinking back on it is causing palpitations.

Cinematography, Locations and Music

As is to be expected from Netflix and production company The Imaginarium, The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself is beautiful to watch. The story moves across England from the suburbs to the City of London to the countryside Up North, before moving to Paris and the French Alps. There are bursts of psychedelic colour, panoramic vistas and scenes so gory that you might need to pause for a moment to compose yourself.

The series is accompanied throughout by an excellent score by British pop group Let's Eat Grandma and also includes great song placements. I really hope they release both the score and soundtrack for this show, because both were brilliant.

Verdict

I'd like to say I loved every minute of The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself but unfortunately I spent too much of it being devastated and having my heart broken into tiny pieces. I also spent a not-insignificant amount of time crying during the final episode. I will say that it's probably my favourite show to debut on Netflix this year and directors Colm McCarthy, Rachna Suri and Debs Paterson did a great job bringing this to life. I give it an excellent five out of five stars and recommend to fans of NOS4A2, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Shadow & Bone and Fate: The Winx Saga or any fans of witches, horror and urban fantasy.
★★★★★

The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself launches on Netflix on 28 October 2022

The Bastard Son & the Devil Himself - Trailer

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Graphic Novel Review: 'If UR Stabby' by Kaz Windness

Do you ever feel like you're not like everyone else? That while all the other unicorns are all sparkles and rainbows, you'd rather stab everyone? Me too. The good news? We're not alone. Meet Stabby the very cool unicorn.

The Story

The world's surliest unicorn Stabby is the star of Kaz Windness's graphic novel If UR Stabby. It's a quick read but the kind that becomes a cult favourite because it's perfect to read when you're in the mood to stab someone where it hurts.

The Art

Kaz Windness has both written and illustrated If UR Stabby and the artwork of the sardonic and surly unicorn is cute as a button.

Stan Zone

Recommended if you like: grumpy, sardonic, anti-heroes.

Verdict

Stabby was a fan favourite from Mother Goth Rhymes and it's only right that he got his own comic. I enjoyed this a lot and will definitely keep an eye on Kaz Windness in future.

Buy

Amazon

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Links

Twitter | Facebook | Website | LinkTr.ee

Image Credits © Kaz Windness

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'Every Variable of Us' - the gritty YA debut from Charles A Bush ★★★★★

Authors often share their thoughts at the end of contemporary YA novels, explaining why the issues were important to them and the inspiration for their writing. It's interesting that Charles A Bush chose to share those thoughts at the beginning of Every Variable of Us. The reader knows, from the outset, to expect depictions of racism, homophobia, poverty and crime from the onset but they also understand why he wrote this novel.

Every Variable of Us is one of the most gritty novels I've read in years. It goes places The Hate U Give didn't dare to tread and explores the life of a severely underprivileged Philly teenager as she experiences the loss of her future and navigates her sexuality.

Alexis Duncan is a star basketball player on her way to a college scholarship. Rising above her mother's drug addiction and a life in and out of foster homes, Alexis is set to escape the confines of her upbringing and become a superstar. That is until she is shot in a gang shooting. Barely able to walk properly, Alexis needs to explore other options for college admission, and fast, before she becomes another statistic.

Alexis makes the shocking (to her) discovery that sports is not the only way to get college scholarships and she joins the school STEM team as a reserve. Has she got what it takes to go from jock to swot? More importantly, who is the enigmatic Aamani Chakrabarti and why is Alexis developing feelings for her?

I related on so many levels to this novel and it might help to explain why. I spent time in care and absolutely thought I had no future after school until I was made aware of the possibility of a scholarship to university which changed my life. The descriptions of poverty, neglect, parental drug abuse, the contradictory experience in care homes, and living on the street were especially authentic in Every Variable of Us and very well researched. The chaos that Alexis experienced on an every day basis is a chaos that is familiar to many children living in poverty.

Bush also explores life in gangs and the allure and often inevitability of gang membership amongst deprived teens. While Every Variable of Us is about Alexis and Aamani, it is also about Britt, Alexis's best friend who shared Alexis's past but not her future.

Every Variable of Us features a diverse range of characters including a Black sportsgirl protagonist, bisexual and gay teens, a Muslim girl and a neurodivergent boy. I appreciated seeing underprivileged teens on page as books often focus on unattainably privileged and wealthy teens.

It wasn't always easy to read Every Variable of Us and this is why Bush's foreword was especially well placed. With on-page racism and homophobia, including significant slurs, I had to stop and think whether these words were appropriate in this novel. I feel that the depictions were realistic and that characters displayed character growth in moving on from these positions, or moving on from those who continued to hold them.

I give Every Variable of Us a superb five out of five stars and recommend to fans of Angie Thomas, Jewell Parker Rhodes and Brandy Colbert. I cannot wait to see what Bush writes next.

★★★★★

Every Variable of Us is released by North Star Editions on 1 March 2022 and is available to purchase on Amazon (affiliate link; I will receive a small commission if you purchase using this link at no extra cost to you).

I received an electronic copy of this graphic novel from Netgalley. I will always provide an honest review, whether books are provided to me or purchased by me

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Ben Housden's Superb Debut 'Thunderpaws and the Tower of London' (Nature's Claw # 1) ★★★★☆

I had a suspicion, from the very first minute I heard about Thunderpaws and the Tower of London, that we are onto something special. I genuinely believe this might be the next great British phenomenon, the children's series to travel around the world and set young minds alight. I'd love to see this series come to life on the big screen and think it would be perfect as an animated series.

Teufel (pronounced Two-Full and translated from the German 'Devil') is a very proud cat of a very nice vicar. He lives a nice, boring life in Devon until one day his world turns upside down. All of a sudden, Teufel is transported to the Tower of London where his vicar is now a chaplain and there are more ghosts than he can shake a catnip tree at. Oh, and there are big, fat ravens too.

In time, Teufel, or Thunderpaws to those who know his clumsy ways, will learn that the ravens of the Tower of London are not to be touched but not before he has a wild adventure that takes him to Battersea Park, St Dunstan-in-the-East and Big Ben, all the while saving London and the world from the biggest threat yet.

There is a lot to love about Thunderpaws and the Tower of London. The print edition is absolutely exquisite with text doodles and beautiful colour illustrations by Japanese illustrator MonoKubo. If you're buying this book for Kindle, do ensure that you open it on the Kindle app from time to time to see those illustrations.

If, like me, your two major loves in life are cats and London, you're in for a real treat with Thunderpaws and the Tower of London. I really enjoyed the depiction of Thunderpaws as a snarky, teenage boy. I have a much-beloved 15-year-old boycat Seth, an old man now but very much master of his kingdom back in the day; he could be the white-and-black cousin of Thunderpaws, and author Ben Housden captured that big attitude perfectly. He's clearly been owned by a cat or two in his time.

Any good London-based tale will teach you a thing or two about our history and Thunderpaws and the Tower of London is jam-packed full of ghosts and historical figures, especially those who met their demise at the Tower. Speaking of ghosts, there is a whole host of ghost cats and wise mice, heroic rats and misunderstood polar bears.

Ben Housden states that Thunderpaws and the Tower of London is suitable for readers aged 9 to 90. As a seeker of superior middle grade and young adult fiction, would I recommend this book specifically to readers aged 9 to 15? Absolutely. It's funny and silly, with enough cat farts and manipulative miaows to keep most readers entertained.

My only complaint was that much of the book was heavily plot-driven, which can make for slow reading. The story really ramps up towards the end though and we see Teufel's character begin to develop. As I often do at the end of series, I may well revise my rating up once I've read the sequel.

For being the most original book I've read this year, I give Thunderpaws and the Tower of London an excellent four out of five stars and recommend to everybody, especially fans of Rivers of London, A Street Cat Named Bob, A Darker Shade of Magic and The Infernal Devices.

★★★★☆

I received an electronic copy of this novel for the purposes of this review. I will always provide an honest review, whether books are provided to me or purchased by me.

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Blog Tour & Review: The Arcane by Andrew S French (The Arcane # 1) ★★★★☆

They say you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover; 'they' being the type of people who clearly don't read books because I always judge books by their covers. Case in point, I knew I was going to read Andrew S. French's The Arcane the minute I saw that cover, James Helps's design is exquisite and perfect for this book. The good news? I really enjoyed the story too.

Sixteen-year-old child prodigy Alice is studying biology, physics and mathematics at Teesside University when her logical, carefully-curated world of science is turned upside-down. In the course of one particularly life-threatening evening, she learns that the twin-sister-she-never-knew-she-had kills monsters. Cue record scratch.

Part one of the Arcane duology, The Arcane is a young adult, urban fantasy set in the UK. If you're a fan of Supernatural, Buffy, Lucifer or Doctor Who, you'll feel very comfortable with an all-star cast that includes vampires, werewolves, angels, demons and an unexpected encounter with Medusa. There's even some timey-wimey, space travel stuff to add to the madness. I'm definitely not going to spoil more of the story because it was enjoyable letting it unfold. Suffice to say, discovering you have an identical twins raises questions.

The Arcane is a lot of fun. I really appreciated that each twin had a unique voice and personality. It was amusing seeing Alice desperately trying to frame everything she was seeing within logic and science, despite the increasing evidence that physics had left the building. I also loved the pop culture references and the song titles for chapter names.

The only problem I have with The Arcane was that unforgivable cliffhanger. I haven't scrambled that quickly for a sequel in years! The good news, dear reader, is that both The Arcane and sequel The Arcane Identity are out now to buy. I suggest you buy them together. For a wild rollercoaster ride of a book, paranormal shenanigans and making me crave more, I give The Arcane an excellent four out of five stars.

★★★★☆

 

The Arcane Blog Tour

I'm taking part in The Arcane blog tour. Definitely visit the other blogs on the tour for more reviews and other snippets.

I received an electronic copy of this novel for the purposes of this review. I will always provide an honest review, whether books are provided to me or purchased by me.

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Graphic Novel Review: 'Olive - Volume 1 - By the Light of a Blue Moon' by Vero Cazot and Lucy Mazel ★★★★★

I think what I love most about graphic novels is the ability to pick you up and transport you to incredible, fascinating worlds at the flick of a pen. Comic books present a lurid, impossible view that can alter your consciousness in a matter of pages. I was reminded of this when I picked up writer Vero Cazot and illustrator Lucy Mazel's Olive - Volume 1 - By the Light of a Blue Moon, a tale about the incredibly rich inner world of a neurodivergent young woman that somehow receives a real life visitor.

The Story

Seventeen-year-old Olive has always received a lot of support at her school, with administration respecting her neurodivergency and allowing Olive to board alone. That all changes with the arrival of her room mate and the crisis it unearths in Olive's world. But that's okay. When things in the outer world get too overwhelming, Olive can escape to her own imaginary world complete with a laboratory, observatory and her favourite place of all, a dreamarium. It is all wonderful until one day Olive discovers a visitor.

The Art

The art in Olive is absolutely beautiful. Lucy Mazel captured Olive's inner world perfectly as well as illustrating the trauma of her outer world.

Verdict

Like Oliver, writer Vero Cazot is not keen on oral communication and prefers to express herself through the written word. Together with Lucy Mazel, she has created a dreamy, magical illustration of the inner world of a neurodivergent person that I found especially relatable.

I give Olive a superb five out of five stars and will definitely be reading the other three graphic novels in the series.

★★★★★

Buy

Amazon (affiliate link; I will receive a small commission if you purchase using this link at no extra cost to you)

Links

Vero Cazot - Instagram | Lucy Mazel - Instagram

I received an electronic copy of this graphic novel from Netgalley. I will always provide an honest review, whether books are provided to me or purchased by me.

Text & Image Credits © Vero Cazot & Lucy Mazel

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Friendship and Intrigue Across the Berlin Wall: 'The Boy Behind the Wall' by Maximilian Jones ★★★★★

August 2021: I'm sitting beside the pool on a long-awaited summer holiday and I cannot lie, it's bliss. I feel so fortunate to finally be away from gloomy, cold England where summer 2021 never seemed to arrive. I've decided that historical fiction is my pick of holiday genre for the week and The Boy Behind the Wall, debut YA novel by Maximillian Jones, is my first book.

Releasing on Welbeck Kids on 14 October 2021 and set in the 1960s, The Boy Behind the Wall is about two boys, Harry and Jakob, living on the West and East sides of the Berlin Wall respectively. The boys become penpals after Harry sends a helium balloon over the wall with two notes attached. The balloon is shot down, of course, but the notes find their way into Jakob's hands.

So begins a tale of friendship, mystery and sabotage set during the fraught and dark times of divided Berlin. The action is non-stop from the very first page and this book is near impossible to put down.

Perhaps the best thing about The Boy Behind the Wall is the characters that Jakob and Harry meet along the way and the stories they have to tell. There is the comic store owner who tells Harry about how Jews were treated during the war and the cafe owner who tells Jakob about his time in the resistance. Throughout the novel is the notion that a society on the losing end of a world war was further brutalised by an authoritarian regime.

I remember watching with incredulity as the Berlin Wall came down. Now The Boy Behind the Wall can give YA readers a glimpse of what it was like to live during that time and how it felt for a thousands of people whose families were torn apart when the wall went up.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Boy Behind the Wall and give it a superb five out of five stars. I recommend to fans of historical YA as well as those who love a good spy thriller.

★★★★★

I was intrigued about the identity of author Maximilian Jones and have discovered that the author is fictional! From the LoveReading4Schools website:

Welbeck Flame and Tibor Jones have collaborated to develop this book with a talented team of writers, including two German editors, who work collaboratively with a dynamic and creative approach echoing the TV script-writing model. The Boy Behind the Wall, and its sequel publishing in 2022, will be published under the fictional author name Maximillian Jones.

The Boy Behind the Wall is available to pre-order on Amazon and Bookshop.org (note: both these links are affiliate links; I will receive a small commission if you purchase using these links at no extra cost to you).

I received an electronic copy of this novel for the purposes of this review. I will always provide an honest review, whether books are provided to me or purchased by me.

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Nikki Barthelmess's 'Everything Within and In Between' ★★★☆☆ | Book Review

And the prize for the most flawed narrator of the year goes to: Ri Fernández. A strange way to start a review, I know, but I spent a fair bit of Nikki Barthelmess's Everything Within and In Between actively disliking the main character and despairing over her constant lies, tendency to jump to conclusions and refusal to communicate with those closest to her. I wasn't sure where the story was going for much of the book when suddenly, Barthelmess wraps it all together to deliver a solid ending.

Ri Fernández's grandmother wants her to live the American dream, to succeed in the world and enjoy the privilege that passing for white can bring her. The only problem is that Ri is desperate to reclaim her Mexican heritage and to rekindle her relationship with the mother who abandoned her.

When Ri begins taking Spanish classes at school, it sets her on course for a collision with her grandmother but also opens her eyes to the micro-aggressions and outright racism encountered by her Mexican friends and family.

Will Ri be able to navigate her messy relationships and feelings without losing everybody she loves?

This is a difficult novel to rate because I didn't enjoy it for the first three-quarters of the book and, as mentioned above, I did not like the protagonist. I was also confused by the timing in the story and couldn't quite understand - apart from the author telling us that it was happening - why situations with Ri's sudden love interest and best friend were escalating as quickly as they were. The situation seemed to go from zero to stratospheric in three days.

I also have specific concerns with the depiction of substance abuse in the novel, including cocaine. This is based entirely on my experience with teen addiction but I prefer substance-abuse themes in YA novels to be more cautionary. I did appreciate that Ri came to realise the dangers of her actions based on her predisposition towards addiction.

Nevertheless, something kept me going to the end and I'm glad I finished. I enjoyed how the various storylines were resolved and especially appreciated the character development of Ri and her best friend.

With trigger warnings for racism, prejudice, micro-aggressions, on-page drug abuse, alcoholism and parental abandonment, I give Everything Within and In Between an okay three out of five stars. As an adult, I enjoyed the outcome of the story but I'd recommend that parents and teachers engage in deeper discussions on the substance abuse present in the book.

Everything Within and In Between has been released to coincide with National Hispanic Heritage Month in the United States.

★★★☆☆

Everything Within and In Between is available on Amazon and Bookshop.org (note: both these links are affiliate links; I will receive a small commission if you purchase using these links at no extra cost to you).

I received an electronic copy of this novel for the purposes of this review. I will always provide an honest review, whether books are provided to me or purchased by me.

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Charlotte Nicole Davis's Incredible Debut 'The Good Luck Girls' | Audiobook Review ★★★★★

How do I love this book? Let me count the ways.

One. The narrator Jeanette Illidge is absolutely brilliant, capturing each of the many characters' voices with individuality and distinction.

Two. This is a steampunkish, speculative, fantastical novel set in an alternative Wild West where dustbloods, whose shadows were torn from them generations ago, remain indentured and vulnerable to being sold into sexual servitude.

Three. It's a great adventure story where five girls embark of a journey of escape across a landscape littered with 'vengeants' (think savage spectres) and mercenaries known as 'raveners'. Their ultimate goal is to remove their delicate yet brutal neck tattoos that define them as Welcome Girls.

Four. That cover is exquisite as is the US cover.

Five. Diversity. This is a book about five girls who get to head a Western adventure and engage in capers from chases to bank heists. Main character Aster is a seventeen-year-old, dark skinned, formidable young woman who will do anything to protect her sister Clem. The book also features the sweetest queer couple who I will stan for the rest of time.

Six. Despite the high capers, the book deals with several heavy issues with trigger warnings for rape, sexual slavery and discussion of suicide.

Seven. The sequel comes out on 10 August 2021 and I cannot wait.

I give The Good Luck Girls by Charlotte Nicole Davis a superb five out of five stars and recommend to fans of YA, steampunk and kick-ass girls.

★★★★★

Support local bookshops and visit the Addicted to Media YA Fiction Bookshop to see my recommendations. All links and widgets in this post are affiliate links. I will earn a small commission from your purchase at no extra cost to you.

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Camryn Garrett's 'Full Disclosure': A Novel About an HIV Positive Teen ★★★☆☆

This is a book that battled with its desire to write portray an HIV positive teen in an accepting, affirmative manner while simultaneously realising that a book without conflict would be too neatly wrapped up. So the drama is created by introducing a blackmail plot with an extremely underdeveloped antagonist. We learn nothing about why this character would make the moral decisions he makes.

Full Disclosure is a book about an HIV positive student who has to move schools after her HIV status is discovered and her life made an bearable. There is so much to love about this book including the information that we learn about living with HIV, the normalisation of the experience, the idea that you can live a full life with HIV and that there are precautions you can take to ensure that the disease isn't passed along to those around you.

There are two things that somewhat marred another fantastic diverse interesting novel. The first is that the main character is awful. She creates drama with there is none, she treats her friends terribly and she is a remarkably selfish young woman. The second is that despite the main character being awful there is a rather lovely but unlikely scenario that her friends and her boyfriend are all fabulously accepting of her HIV status when she tells them and they offer her unconditional support. It simply didn't seem statistically probable that everyone would've been so accepting, the more likely scenario being that her friends would've been burnt by her terrible behaviour and somehow hit back at her.

I am a terrible fiction writer. I know this because when I was 15 we had to write a novel for school. I wrote a story about a girl who has a car accident and while she recovers in hospital, her estranged parents reunite and fix their marriage. My teacher told me it was the worst book she had ever read. She said it was a fantastical story and that life just didn't work like that. That's how I felt about this novel.

As mentioned in the intro, there is a thread throughout the novel of the main character being threatened by letters to out her HIV status if she doesn't leave her boyfriend. I thought the theme was very much under-developed and the resolution very dissatisfactory. Although, even though we didn't get to know the perpetrator's motives, his reaction was the most likely in the novel. People suck in real life.

I can see what the author was trying to do. She was trying to create an HIV story that reflected the positivity of having an HIV experience rather than simply focusing on the negativity and the scary things. And I think there could have been ways to express that positivity and to express how HIV positive people can show agency and competency in the management of their condition, without creating a fairytale where everybody was supportive except for the evil jealous boy next door.

I give Full Disclosure an okay three out of five stars.

★★★☆☆

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Anthony Kessel's 'The Five Clues' (Don't Doubt the Rainbow #1) ★★★☆☆

Thirteen-year-old Edie Marble and her family have had a tough year. Edie's mother passed away a year before and Edie learns at the stone unveiling that her death may not have been an accident after all. Through five clues that she leaves for her daughter, Edie's mother leads Edie to the truth about her death and a massive corporate human rights violation. The Five Clues is Anthony Kessel's debut novel and the first book in the Don't Doubt the Rainbow series about amateur sleuth Edie who must harness the Three Principles approach to solve crimes.

The Five Clues is cool in many ways. It has an Alex Rider approach to crime fighting in that it is pretty implausible, definitely not something you should try at home, but bucketloads of fun and non-stop action nonetheless. Like Anthony Horowitz's teen crime fighter, London-based Edie is working through her grief over the loss of her mother and couldn't do it without the help of a very good friend.

Unlike Alex Rider, Edie has a tight-knit family, including a loving father and younger brother. It is this love that will determine whether or not Edie is successful in her quest. I loved the music references that Edie and her parents shared and know that this book will appeal to the teens of music-loving parents.

What I enjoyed most about the novel was Edie's Judaism and the descriptions of the Jewish grief rituals such as the stone laying service. Being half-Jewish myself, I'm most familiar with Jewish funerals and graveside rituals and it felt great to see that represented in a YA novel.

What Kessel does best in The Five Clues is to write complex and detailed villains, especially in Zero, the trained assassin central to the story. It is rare to really get to the heart of a villain's motives and raison d'etre, especially in a young YA novel such as this.

But that is where The Five Clues doesn't quite meet the mark. It is aimed at the younger side of the YA spectrum and the ways the Three Principles are shoehorned in to the story felt a lot like telling, not showing. I'm not certain it was particularly well done either, I have a post-grad in psychology but still have little understanding and appreciation for what the Three Principles entail, besides seeming vaguely Jungian. I do know that it was mentioned so many times in the novel that I lost the will to care about it by the end and I suspect younger readers will feel the same.

Nevertheless, The Five Clues is fun with a well-thought out mystery and well-written antagonists. I give it three out of five stars and recommend to fans of Alex Rider and Enola Holmes.

★★★☆☆

The Five Clues will be released on 2nd August 2021 and you can pre-order from Amazon. You can also visit the Addicted to Media YA Fiction Bookshop to see my recommendations (note: both these links are affiliate links; I will receive a small commission if you purchase using these links at no extra cost to you).

I received an electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley. I will always provide an honest review, whether books are provided to me or purchased by me.

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Odessa by Jonathan Hill: A Graphic Novel About the End of the World (Odessa #1) ★★★★☆

Reading comics is a relatively new thing for me. It was only during lockdown, when I had the attention span of a fig, that I discovered the joy and page-turning wonder of graphic novels. Joe Hill's Locke & Key and The Walking Dead were my gateway series but I soon began to discover a theme with the graphic novels I was reading: they are pure art. A lot of work goes into the art, colour and expressions and the experience can often be deeper than normal novels.

I realise I'm probably the last person on earth to discover this.

Jonathan Hill's Odessa piqued my interest given my obsession with post-apocalyptic landscapes.

Eight years ago an earthquake - the Big One - hit along the Cascadia fault line, toppling cities and changing landscapes all up and down the west coast of the United States

Vietnamese-American Virginia Crane and her two younger brothers have grown up in this landscape, a strange new world based on bartering and luck. The earthquake unearthed primordial species from deep below the earth's surface, resulting in entirely new systems of fauna and flora. All of the strange new plants, creatures and bugs that emerged after the Big One are part of this world that the Crane kids have grown up in.

Ginny, Wes and Harry are used to not having a mom around. She disappeared so many years ago that only Ginny can remember her and their father has brought them up alone. When a strange package arrives from her mother on Ginny's 18th birthday, she sets off across the post-apocalyptic wasteland towards what used to be California. Little does she realise that her two younger brothers have followed her.

In a journey filled with peril, betrayals and deceit, Ginny, Wes and Harry travel across the crumbling remains of America in search of their mother. They meet strangers and long-lost relatives along the way, some of whom they can trust and some of whom they definitely can't.

Will they be successful? Only time will tell because Odessa ends on a heck of a cliffhanger!

I enjoyed Odessa a lot. The art work was simple but powerfully portrayed the desolate and crumbling landscape through which the kids travel. I enjoyed the story too, especially the idea of new plants and bugs being unearthed by the Big One. I'm definitely looking forward to the next graphic novel in the series but there is no news on a release date yet. Hill has mentioned just how much work a graphic novel is - and he is doing both art and story - so hopefully that process is going well.

I give Odessa an excellent four out of five stars and recommend to post-apocalyptic graphic novel lovers.

★★★★☆

I received an electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley. I will always provide an honest review, whether books are provided to me or purchased by me.

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Randi Pink's 'Angel of Greenwood' ★★☆☆☆

May 2021 marks one hundred years since the Tulsa Massacre when the thriving African American community of Greenwood, Tulsa, Oklahoma was attacked by a mob of armed white Tulsans, killing as many as 300 people and displacing 8,000 more. I first read about the events in Lynn Hudson's excellent West of Jim Crow: The Fight Against California's Color Line and followed that up with the superb middle grade picture book Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre by author Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrator Floyd Cooper. Naturally I was very interested when I first heard about Randi Pink's Angel of Greenwood, a YA novel set during the terrible events of Tulsa in 1921.

This book has received almost universal acclaim, so it feels daunting to be an outlier. I do think many people will love this novel and they should definitely read it but I'm going to explain why it didn't work for me.

Angel of Greenwood: Bringing to Life Greenwood in 1921

Greenwood in 1921 was a thriving community and the high street was known across the States as the "Black Wall Street". Randi Pink does an exceptional job of depicting the bright colours, bustling high street, vibrant fashions, diverse occupations, culture, and sense of community of Greenwood's residents.

Angel of Greenwood: Historical Novel or Romance?

While we get a taste for the cultural richness of Greenwood, Angel of Greenwood is not simply a novel about a certain point in time; it is a novel about a horrifying event in history. If we consider the purpose of an historical novel, to educate readers about historical events and times, Angel of Greenwood fails because we learn very little about the actual Tulsa massacre, except in the end notes of the book.

Instead Angel of Greenwood is, for 80% of the book, a romance novel but it wasn't quite a romance I felt comfortable shipping.

Angel of Greenwood: Characterisations

There is an enduring theme of worthiness in the novel. People treat the main character Angel well because she is perceived to be churchgoing and virtuous. The boy in the story, Isaiah, initially bullies Angel. He begins to treat her better than he treats his own girlfriend Dorothy Mae once he sees Angel as intellectual and worthy in his mind. I did not like this at all. What about treating people with respect just because that's the right thing to do? More than that, worthiness is an enduring theme in many abusive relationships. I cannot trust a love interest who pits women (or girls) against each other and puts one on a pedestal while treating another like an object.

The problem was two-fold: while portraying prominent themes of the time, Isaiah expresses extremely outdated ideas about girls which ultimately go unchecked. We see this in his treatment of Dorothy Mae and how he patronises Angel. In addition, all of the characters are one-dimensional: Angel is good, Isaiah is misunderstood, the people on the other side of town are poor, and Isaiah's best friend is bad. Perhaps most offensive of all was that Dorothy Mae was probably the most mature, kind character in the book and yet she wasn't treated well at all and again, that goes unchecked.

The issue with one-dimensional characters is that you can immediately spot when they do something out of character and this becomes obvious during the last 20% of the book when Angel and Isaiah make incredibly unrealistic and uncharacteristic responses during the fires and chaos. Also, I wish authors (and directors) would learn more about the true nature of fire before having characters do impossible things during fires on page and on screen.

Ultimately, Angel of Greenwood fell very flat for me. I wanted to learn more about the events of Tulsa in 1921 but instead I'm tied up worrying about one-dimensional characters, an unlikely love story and impossible heroics during a fire.

With a heavy heart, I give Angel of Greenwood a disappointing two out of five stars, one for the beautiful depictions of life in Greenwood, one for drawing attention to an important event in history, and the other for the gorgeous cover, but less one star for the issues I mentioned above. I'm not saying 'don't read it', just that there are better sources if you're seeking to learn more about the Tulsa race massacre in 1921.

★★☆☆☆

I'm compiling a list of superior YA fiction. Visit the Addicted to Media YA Fiction Bookshop to see my recommendations (affiliate link; I will receive a small commission if you purchase using this link at no extra cost to you).

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Five YA Audiobook Releases Not to Miss in April 2021

When I began this series, it was with the aim of listening to at least 2-3 audiobooks a month. I haven’t finished one single audiobook. This is the nature of lockdown – entering it’s 5th month in Kent today – I can’t concentrate on a single thing long enough to enjoy.

I’ve promised that’s going to change in April. I’ve spent my weight in gold on seven audiobooks this morning and when I’ve finished those, here are the UK YA audiobook releases I’m most looking forward to in April 2021.

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House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland

Narrated by: Eleanor Bennett
Release date: 13-04-21
Publisher: Hot Key Books

Summary

Dark, dangerous things happened around the Hollow sisters. Everybody knew it.

A seductive horror story from the extraordinary Krystal Sutherland.

The Hollow sisters - Vivi, Grey and Iris - are as seductively glamorous as they are mysterious. They have black eyes and hair as white as milk. They share the same birthday, spaced exactly two years apart. The Hollow sisters don't have friends - they don't need them. They move through the corridors like sharks, the other little fish parting around them, whispering behind their backs.

This one sounds deliciously creepy. I’m either going to love it, like Claire Legrand’s Sawkill Girls or I’m going to inexplicably be the only one to not love it, like Rory Power’s Wilder Girls.

Pre-order  House of Hollow

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Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet By Laekan Zea Kemp

Narrated by: Andy Aragon, Arami Malaise
Length: 8 hrs and 45 mins
Release date: 06-04-21
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers

Summary

I'm Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter meets Emergency Contact in this stunning story of first love, familial expectations, the power of food, and finding where you belong.

Penelope Prado has always dreamed of opening her own pastelería next to her father's restaurant, Nacho's Tacos. But her mom and dad have different plans - leaving Pen to choose between disappointing her traditional Mexican-American parents or following her own path. When she confesses a secret she's been keeping, her world is sent into a tailspin. But then she meets a cute new hire at Nacho's who sees through her hard exterior and asks the questions she's been too afraid to ask herself.

This book sounds delicious, full stop. With it’s promise of culinary delights, I get a definite With Fire On High vibe and I suspect that like Acevedo’s books, this one will be best enjoyed on audiobook.

Pre-order Somewhere Between Bitter and Sweet

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Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart

Narrated by: Izoriah Glover, Ashh Blackwood
Release date: 20-04-21
Publisher: Hot Key Books

Summary

Trust no witch....

Iraya Adair has spent her life in a cell. Heir of an overthrown and magically-gifted dynasty, she was exiled from her home on the island nation of Aiyca when she was just a child. But every day brings her closer to freedom - and vengeance.

Jazmyne Cariot grew up dressed in gold, with stolen magic at her fingertips. Daughter of the self-crowned doyenne, her existence is a threat to her mother's rule. But unlike her sister, Jazmyne has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother's power.

Sworn enemies, the two witches enter a deadly alliance to take down the woman who threatens both their worlds.

But revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain - except the lengths Iraya and Jazmyne will go to win this game.

Two witches. One motive. And a very untrustworthy alliance..

This one is giving me strong Children of Blood and Bone vibes. I never could get into Children of Virtue and Vengeance so I’m hoping this will fill the slightly disappointing gap left by the Legacy of Orïsha series.

Pre-order Witches Steeped in Gold

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The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur

Narrated by: Sue Jean Kim
Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
Release date: 20-04-21
Publisher: Listening Library

Summary

Suspenseful and richly atmospheric, June Hur's The Forest of Stolen Girls is a haunting historical mystery sure to keep listeners guessing until the last word.

1426, Joseon (Korea). Hwani's family has never been the same since she and her younger sister went missing and were later found unconscious in the forest near a gruesome crime scene.

Years later, Detective Min - Hwani's father - learns that 13 girls have recently disappeared from the same forest that nearly stole his daughters. He travels to their hometown on the island of Jeju to investigate...only to vanish as well.

Determined to find her father and solve the case that tore their family apart, Hwani returns home to pick up the trail. As she digs into the secrets of the small village - and collides with her now estranged sister, Maewol - Hwani comes to realize that the answer could lie within her own buried memories of what happened in the forest all those years ago.

This sounds very dark. I’ll be very interested to know if it has a Courtney Summers Sadie feel or more of a Rin Chupeco Girl From the Well feel. Then again, maybe we’ll be utterly surprised with a new and unique voice. Nevertheless this is on my watchlist, as well as every other bookworm in the country.

Pre-order The Forest of Stolen Girls

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Way of the Argosi (Spellslinger #0.5) by Sebastien de Castell

Narrated by: Kristin Atherton
Release date: 15-04-21
Publisher: Hot Key Books

Summary

The Alchemist meets The Three Musketeers - with card tricks. A brilliant origin story of adventure, wit and philosophy to enrapture devotees as well as newcomers to the Spellslinger series.

Ferius Parfax has a simple plan: kill every last inhabitant of the spell-gifted nation that destroyed her people, starting with the man who murdered her parents. Killing mages is a difficult and dangerous business, of course, but when she meets the inimitable and extraordinary Durrall Brown she discovers that physical strength is not the only way to defeat evil of all kinds.

So Ferius undertakes to study the ways of the Argosi: the loosely-knit tribe of tricksters known for getting the better of even the most powerful of spellcasters. But the Argosi have a price for their teachings, and by the time Ferius learns what it is, it may be too late.

Perfect for fans of The Dark Tower, Firefly, Guardians of the Galaxy, Terry Pratchett, Ben Aaronovitch and Jim Butcher.

The third book by Hot Key Books on this list. I don’t usually include books from series on this list unless I’ve read and loved the other books in the series. Nevertheless, this promises to be accessible to both novices and fans of the series and honestly? They had me at Guardians of the Galaxy and Ben Aaronovitch.

Pre-order Way of the Argosi

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Click on any of the audiobook covers or links above to go straight to Amazon to pre-order. Alternatively, support local bookshops and visit the Addicted to Media YA Fiction Bookshop to see my recommendations. All links above are affiliate links and I will earn a small commission from your purchase at no extra cost to you.

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An Astonishing Debut: Down World by Rebecca Phelps ★★★★★

I have this thing. I find it really difficult to write about things I love without coming across as overly effusive and entirely not objective. It's the reason why I didn't write about Doctor Who for years. Fact: I really liked Down World, the debut novel by Wattpad author Rebecca Phelps. I'm not alone either; Down World won the Watty Award for Best Young Adult Fiction for 2019 and will be released on Wattpad Books on 30 March 2021.

Why is it so difficult to review this book? Perhaps because Down World isn't so much a literary experience as an emotion; an impalpable feeling, a shiver of foreboding, strange afternoons where nothing makes much sense and the light has an uneasy undertone. It is a book that is felt and which drags the reader deeper down into the possibility of it all.

It has been compared to Netflix giants like Stranger Things and Dark, but those comparisons weren't particularly helpful. There is a world where you can like all speculative fiction, believe fiercely in all the possible worlds and not have to choose one or love one more than the other.

Nevertheless, I have to concede that if you enjoy mind-bending alternate reality stories or time manipulation, like Tenet, Stranger Things or The Man in the High Castle, you are indeed likely to enjoy Down World.

Marina O'Connell is still reeling from the unexplained death of her brother Robbie. There one minute, gone the next, Marina would do anything to see him again. But what if she could? What if there are alternative timelines, other worlds, different realities? When Marina meets Brady Picelli, it all begins to seem possible until Marina learns the terrible price that has to be paid when something is taken from one world into the other.

Would you destroy another world to save your own?

Down World is an astonishing debut that takes readers on a journey into the halcyon days of Marina's mother's youth and into a surreal alternative reality that is at once utopia and glaring dystopia, depending on which side of the street you're standing on. Some of the scenes reminded me of the deserted Cittàgazze in Philip Pullman's The Subtle Knife. I recall reading The Subtle Knife and the impact of the imagery on me; I could see it in my mind's eye as if it had been lifted off a surrealist painting or Salvador Dali film. I felt the same with Down World; I could see these other worlds as if printed on old reels of film and Instamatic cameras.

With such vivid and palpable imagery, it would be criminal if Down World were not brought to life on television or screen. Also, while I loved that this was a standalone novel, I would equally love to see more from this strange world. I'm definitely looking forward to reading more work from Rebecca Phelps.

Down World is an experience, one that you'd need to experience yourself to understand, and I give it a superb five out of five stars. Recommended if, like me, you're truly in the mood for something different.

★★★★★

I received an electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley. I will always provide an honest review, whether books are provided to me or purchased by me.

Down World will be released on 30 March 2021 and you can pre-order from Amazon. You can also visit the Addicted to Media YA Fiction Bookshop to see my recommendations (note: both these links are affiliate links; I will receive a small commission if you purchase using these links at no extra cost to you).

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