Cecelia Ahern has just released her debut YA novel, Flawed. It is a tense, action-packed, edge-of-your-seat read and I absolutely loved it! You can read my review of Flawed here on the blog.
Thanks to the lovely people at HarperCollins NZ I have a copy of Flawed to give away. All you have to do to get in the draw is email bestfriendsrbooks@gmail.com with the subject line ‘Flawed,’ along with your name and address.
Thanks to everyone who entered. The winner is Jeanna.
Following the popularity of The Hunger Games there seemed to be a flood of dystopian YA novels being published. YA readers, including myself, gobbled up these books. However, these stories can start blending together, especially if they have similar themes. A dystopian story has to be something special, with a unique idea to really grab my attention now. When I heard about Cecelia Ahern’s YA debut, Flawed, I was intrigued about the premise and I had to read it. It is one of the best YA dystopian stories that I have read in a long time and it had me gripped from start to finish.
Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.
But then Celestine encounters a situation where she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule. And now faces life-changing repercussions.
She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found FLAWED.
I absolutely loved Flawed! It is a tense, action-packed, edge-of-your-seat read. Cecelia has created a world that you need to know everything about and characters that you love and loath. The action speeds along and keeps you greedily reading but Cecelia also makes you feel for the characters.
The world of the story is one of things that makes Cecelia’s dystopia quite unique. The story is set in, Humming, a city that could be somewhere in Scotland. The city is overlooked by Highland Castle, the headquarters of The Guild. The country is ruled by the government but a separate organisation called The Guild was set up to separate the morally and ethically flawed people from society. If you are accused of being Flawed you are tried in the Guild court. If you are found guilty you are branded in a place on your body (your temple, your hand, your chest, your foot or your tongue). If you are branded as a Flawed then you must live a simple life, with only basic food and many restrictions. This system, however, only exists in the city of Humming. The Guild and its system is an experiment and is being viewed by the rest of the world to see how successful it is. This system has been in place for many years, with both supporters and opponents, but when Celestine is found Flawed the system gets tested.
Celestine is a very well written character. I have to admit that I found her pretty annoying at the start of the book. She’s got the perfect life, with her perfect boyfriend, and she seems very naive. However this all changes when she makes a decision that will change not just her life but the lives of those around her. The change in her personality is quite dramatic and my view of her changed too. I grew to like her more and more, and there were plenty of times I wanted to high-five her. The horrific events that she went through made her stronger and better equipped to cope with what is still to come.
In her acknowledgements, Cecelia Ahern talks about writing Flawed and what she wants readers to take away from the story. All of her anger, love and passion that went into the story is very clear to see when you read it.
‘I wrote this story with anger, with love, with passion. Every word and sentiment came from the heart. If there’s one message that I hope this book portrays, it’s this: none of us are perfect. Let us not pretend that we are. Let us not be afraid that we’re not. Let us not label others and pretend we are not the same. Let us all know that to be human is to be flawed, and let us learn from every mistake made so that we don’t make them again.’
I can’t wait to find out how Celestine’s story ends! The second and final part of the story (only 2 books, YAY!), Perfect, is out in March next year.
Em Bailey is an award-winning Australian author. Her previous book, Shift was the winner of the 2012 Gold Inky Award for best Australian YA novel and was selected as a notable book by the Children’s Book Council of Australia. Em’s new YA novel, The Special Ones is an incredibly exciting, twisty, nail-biting read. You can read my review of The Special Ones here on the blog.
The Special Ones is one of those books that I can’t get out of my head. I had a few questions that I was dying to ask Em and she has very kindly answered them for me. Read on to find out her inspiration for the book, what it was like to go inside the head of a psychopath and what draws her to writing for teens.
I’ve always been interested in the psychology of cults: what sort of person becomes a cult leader, the people who are drawn to them, what happens when someone attempts to leave. I knew I wanted to write something about this theme and I started thinking about how modern technology might affect the way a traditional commune-style cult operated. I began imagining a situation where someone was able to control and manipulate a group, in the way that cult leaders traditionally always have, but without needing to be physically present.
‘Him’? No, not really! I don’t think I’m very much like any of the girls, although I guess certain aspects of Esther’s personality are like mine but she is much tougher and far more determined than I am. I like to write about characters who make mistakes and do dumb things – sometimes even really bad things – because I think it’s still completely possible to have empathy for them. A number of people have told me that they really dislike Lucille in The Special Ones, but I must admit to having a soft spot for her. She’s put through a very traumatic series of events after all, and a lot of her complaints about Esther seem justified to me.
The farmhouse isn’t based on a particular building, it’s more a composite of many. I started planning The Special Ones while driving through South Australia with my family. I spent a lot of time looking out the window at the dry landscape and noticing the abandoned, ramshackle old stone farmhouses here and there. It’s that kind of environment that I picture for The Special Ones and I imagined the girls being imprisoned in one of those solid old buildings.
It was difficult, and exhausting, to be in ‘his’ head. I would be working on a passage and realise that I was writing it from a normal person’s perspective, with typical, human reactions to things. I would then have to stop myself and think ‘but how would a psychopath view this situation?’ I read Jon Ronson’s book The Psychopath Test book as part of my research and I had a list of psychopathic characteristics stuck up beside my desk which I used to refer to as a way of keeping myself on track. It wasn’t very pleasant. I would often find myself frowning or clenching my teeth as I was writing from his viewpoint. It was always such a relief to flip back into ‘Esther-mode’.
I am a bit of a wimp when it comes to scary books and movies (yes, it’s ironic I know) so I’m probably not the best person to answer this. I did however read a lot of non-fiction accounts of cults while preparing for this book and it was amazing to notice the similarity between the various cult leaders. They share such an unswerving belief in their own greatness and a complete disregard for the rights of anyone else. Because they lack the ability to feel empathy the suffering they inflict on others has no effect on them whatsoever. It’s chilling to read about people like this because it’s clear they genuinely don’t realise they’re doing anything wrong.
Nutting out the plot was a very long process. I knew basically how I wanted to resolve things, but it took a lot of work to get the details right. I think I re-wrote the entire second half at least four times. It was painful at the time, but ultimately it was necessary for getting the storyline to follow a course that felt right to me.
Writing for teens is great because there’s so much scope. The YA genre is so broad now that you can really go in any direction you want and explore a wide variety of themes. I’m drawn to writing plot-dense stories and this works well with teen literature. I think of my books as being escapist but hopefully also reasonably substantial, theme-wise. Teens read a lot more widely and with a greater level of sophistication than they did in my day, so there is also the challenge of writing something which will meet with their approval.
Kate DiCamillo’s stories make life better. They have the ability to warm you up and they could melt even the coldest heart. They leave you smiling and full of joy. You know you’re always going to make new friends that you’ll carry around with you, even when you’ve finished their story. Kate DiCamillo’s latest book, Raymie Nightingale, is another outstanding book that promises all of these things.
Raymie Clarke has come to realise that everything, absolutely everything, depends on her. And she has a plan. If Raymie can win the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition, then her father – who has run away with a dental hygienist – will see Raymie’s picture in the paper and (maybe) come home. To win, not only does Raymie have to do good deeds and learn how to twirl a baton, but she has to compete with the wispy, frequently fainting Louisiana Elefante with her show-business background and the fiery, stubborn Beverly Tapinski, who’s determined to sabotage the contest. But as the competition approaches, loneliness, loss and unanswerable questions draw the three girls into an unlikely friendship – and challenge them to come to each other’s rescue in unexpected ways.
Raymie Nightingale is an up-lifting, soul-expanding story. It fills you up with happiness. It’s a story of an unexpected, life-changing friendship, packed with unforgettable characters. Kate DiCamillo’s writing is beautiful. I wanted to really take my time with Raymie Nightingale so that I could savour it.
The story follows three very different girls, who would normally not have anything to do with each other – Raymie, Beverly and Louisiana. They meet at baton-twirling lessons at Ida Nee’s house. Raymie’s father has run off with a much younger dental hygienist. She wants to enter the Little Miss Central Florida Tire competition in the hope of getting her father’s attention and bringing him home. Beverly Tapinski is tough, not afraid of anything and she wants to sabotage the competition. Louisiana Elefante is flaky and naive. Her circus parents are dead, so her strange grandmother is taking care of her. Each of them has found the others at just the right time. They all need a friend who will be there for them and have their back.
The thing I love most about Raymie Nightingale is the characters. Raymie, Beverly and Louisiana are each so different but they make the perfect team. Raymie is concerned about her soul. Things like the thought of her father leaving her and her mother make her soul shrink, but little things that her friends so for her make her soul expand.
‘Raymie felt something expanding inside her. It felt like a gigantic tent billowing out. This, Raymie knew, was her soul.’
Louisiana is ‘filled up with feathers and regrets. And fears.’ She says the strangest things sometimes but she made me laugh too. Beverly isn’t afraid of anything, whether that is picking the lock at the Very Friendly Animal Centre or stealing Ida Nee’s precious baton. I also love the minor characters too, like Mrs Sylvester, her father’s receptionist. No matter when or how often Raymie calls her she always has time to listen. She always seems to know what Raymie needs, even if it’s just to tell her that everything is going to be alright. We only see Mrs Borkowski and Mr Staphopoulos briefly but these two people have a big impact on Raymie’s life.
Fans of Kate DiCamillo will not want to miss this book. If you haven’t read any of her books before read Raymie Nightingale and fall in love with the wonder of Kate DiCamillo.
What Dog Knows by Sylvia Vanden Heede and Marije Tolman is a one-of-a-kind book that kids with gobble up. It’s released this month from the wonderful Gecko Press and you can read my review here.
Thanks to Gecko Press I have a copy of What Dog Knows to give away. To get in the draw all you have to do is leave a comment on this post telling me your favourite Gecko Press book, along with your name and email address. They have published so many wonderful books in the past 10 years so you’ve got heaps to choose from. If you need to refresh your memory check out their website – www.geckopress.co.nz.
Thanks to everyone who entered. The winner is Adele.
How many times have you been reading a novel and desperately want to know more about the subject of the story? I’ve read stories set in Venice and needed to know more about this magical place and read Brian Selznick’s The Invention of Hugo Cabret and needed to know more about the early days of movie making. Usually you have to go to a completely different book or website to find the information you crave. However, in a brilliant new book by Sylvia Vanden Heede and Marije Tolman, What Dog Knows, fiction and nonfiction are mashed together for the perfect book for inquisitive young readers.
When Wolf finds a fact-filled book in the library, he thinks he will outsmart his clever cousin Dog.
Who knows more about robots, dragons, knights, and pirates? And what about setting traps, playing tricks, and chewing bones?
What Dog Knows is a one-of-a-kind book that kids are going to gobble up. It’s a book that will make kids laugh and go ‘wow!’ It weaves the story of Dog and Wolf’s antics with information about all sorts of topics, from mummies to pirates and robots to dinosaurs. Each section of the book focuses on different topics, with Dog and Wolf trying to one-up each other to prove they know more. They are always picking up books to find out what they need to know. Fiction and nonfiction are presented in two different sized fonts but both weave together seamlessly.
There is a lot to love about What Dog Knows. The conversations between Dog and Wolf are very funny and full of wit, so any adults who share this book with children will love it just as much as the children. Boys especially will enjoy the humour and the jokes. Marije Tolman’s illustrations are quirky and perfectly compliment the text. Her diagram of Wolf mummifying a cat is brilliant. The thing I love the most about this book are the simple quizzes to test what readers have learnt and the activities for kids to try that tie in with each topic.
Thanks to Gecko Press for publishing this special book in English. Without Gecko Press we wouldn’t know about all the wonderful books that are published in other languages. Gecko Press also published Wolf and Dog by the same team and hopefully there are other books to come starring these two characters.
Put What Dog Knows in the hands of all the young readers you know. Not only will they be entertained, they’ll learn a thing or two along the way.
Often a blurb hooks me in and the story is exactly what the blurb promises. Very rarely though the story can be so much more than what the blurb promises. The Special Ones by Em Bailey is one of these rare books. It took me by surprise and was so much more than what I expected.
He keeps us here because we’re Special.
Esther is one of the Special Ones – four people who live under his protection in a remote farmhouse. The Special Ones are not allowed to leave, but why would they want to? Here, they are safe from toxic modern life, safe from a meaningless existence, safe in their endless work. He watches them every moment of every day, ready to punish them if they forget who they are – all while broadcasting their lives to eager followers on the outside.
Esther knows he will renew her if she stops being Special, and that renewal almost certainly means death. Yet she also knows she’s a fake. She has no ancient wisdom, no genuine advice to offer her followers. But like an actor caught up in an endless play, she must keep up the performance–if she wants to survive long enough to escape.
The Special Ones completely blew me away! This is one incredibly exciting, twisty, nail-biting read. It’s one of those books that, just when you think you know where the story is going, it takes a sharp turn and you have to take a moment for it to sink in. You don’t want to put the book down because you have to know what happens next, but there are times that you just have to close it for a moment to breath. There are so many twists that I had no idea how the book was going to end!
I don’t want to say too much about the story for fear of spoiling the story, but here goes. It’s told from Esther’s point of view. Esther, Harry, Felicity and Lucille are The Special Ones. They have been ‘chosen’ by him to live in a cottage on a farm, living a simple life, but regularly communicating with their followers on the outside via the Internet. They must live the life that he has laid out for them, and if they act in the wrong way they will be punished or even ‘renewed.’ Esther has lived like this for two years, but the life she has come to know changes dramatically when Lucille is renewed.
Em Bailey’s writing is very slick. She keeps the tension throughout the story, building it towards the nerve-wracking finale. Em makes you feel for the characters and the scary situation that they are in. The story is told in the first person from Esther’s point of view so we know everything that she’s thinking and feeling.
The Special Ones is an addictive YA thriller and one of my favourite books of 2016.
My Best Friends Are Books 