Review: The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

In One Line:  A tale of an apocalypse that happens very, very slowly. 

Genre: bleaker-than-bleak apocalpto-drama. 

The Gist:

Julia is a normal little girl in a normal little town somewhere in the vast, American west. Her age is the ‘age of miracles’, otherwise known as Middle School, where girls suddenly have to wear bras and boys become intriguing. And then something uniquely terrible happens. The Earth’s rotation begins to slow down. Days and nights become longer, clocks become almost irrelevant, people get very scared, and then things start to die. Like, EVERYTHING.  How does a young girl grow up in a world that’s coming to an end?

The Cover:

What I like about this cover is that it gives you absolutely no clue as to the pain the pages contain. I was reading this on the tube, brazenly holding it up so that everybody could see what I was reading (because I’m like that) and I just wanted someone to understand what I was going through. THIS IS A HORROR STORY! I wanted to yell: SOMEBODY SAVE ME FROM ALL THE ANGUISH! But you just can’t tell a thing from the cover. Is this a bad thing? Probably not. Because if it was immediately clear how painful this book is to read then I’m pretty sure that nobody would pick it up. Except for the weirdos. 

Why You’ll Love This Book

• There is no denying that this book is beautiful. I was gripped from the very first page, and the image of a “tumour blooming under the skin”. I got the heebie geebies straight away, and anything that gives me such an instant, visceral reaction has to be a good thing. 
• The fact that the point of view comes from an eleven year old girl means you don’t ever get bogged down in science fiction. You are guided through the crisis by her, and your understanding is limited by her understanding. I think some hardcore science fiction fans may be disappointed by this, but I find it refreshing. It means you get an honest, human reaction to the apocalypse, instead of something overly technical. 
• This is a beautiful human story, as well as an epic world-ending drama. As the crisis unfolds, so does Julia’s life. Her friends move away, either physically or emotionally, her parents grow apart, her mother goes a little bit cray cray. It’s a sensitive portrayal, which makes the overarching turmoil of the environment all the more gut-wrenching. 

Why You May Not Love This Book:

• This book hurt me. It actually hurt me. Very rarely I get a proper physical reaction to a book, which thrilling as well as being rather painful. The first time it happened was when I read Beloved by Toni Morrison, by the end of which I had nearly actually thrown up. Well this book gave me the stomach curdle so much I nearly had to stop reading. I came very, very close to putting the book down halfway through with absolutely no intention of continuing. Because I felt so sick, and so sad. So why did I keep reading? Partly because of the beauty of the writing, and partly for my need for hope.
• Did somebody say the work bleak? If you didn’t hear me say it the first time, let me say it again: BLEAK. As the world stops turning things start falling apart. Birds fall from the sky, plants die, humans get ill. It’s horrible. Truly horrible. And unlike apocalyptic movies like Armageddon or Deep Impact, where you know Bruce Willis is going to save the day, this book has no heroes. Nobody knows what is going on or how to solve it. Let me say it one more time: BLEAK. 
• If you’re into your science at all, you’re going to have some serious issues with this book. If the world’s rotation were to slow it would take thousands upon thousands of years, not a few desperate months. So if you’re a science geek, you may want to stay away from this book, as it might make you angry. 

The Hypersomnia Test:

It didn’t pass. Mostly because I kept having to put the book down and take deep breaths. And as I already mentioned, I went through a phase of wondering whether or not I was going to keep reading the book at all. But I did continue, and i practically sped-read the last half, just because I wanted to finish it and move on to something happy as quickly as possible. 

Final Verdict:

So let’s be straight, this book isn’t officially YA. It’s marketed as literary adult, but I decided that I wanted to read it because of the youthful narrator, and because the whole dystopia-apocalypse thing is still a massive deal in YA. I actually find it quite intriguing that this book got sold as adult, because essentially the concept is very YA. Except, seeing as I nearly puked whilst reading it, as well as nearly cried tears of hopeless despair, I wouldn’t recommend it to younger teens. Unless you’re into that sort of thing. This book is incredible, but please only read if you can handle the nihilistic misery. Did I mention the word bleak??? 

Further Reading:

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Pure by Julianna Baggott

The Land of Decoration by Grace McCleen

To buy The Age of Miracles click HERE!!!

Review: Rivers of London by Ben Aaronovitch

In One Line: Harry Potter meets The Bill

Genre: Realism with a fantasy twist OR fantasy with a realism twist - whatever you prefer!

The Gist:

Peter Grant is just your average probationary copper, destined for a life of behind-the-scenes paperwork whilst his preppy, pretty colleague gets the best gig in the fuzz. But that’s until he happens on talking to a key witness in a bizarre murder in Covent Garden (the victim has had his head literally whacked off in one blow), because this witness is already dead. Yep folks, among all the normal weird stuff that goes down in London town, there’s a whole other level of weird stuff going on too, and soon enough PC Peter Grant, under the tutelage of the only wizard left in the Met, finds himself right in the thick of it and solving a spate of seemingly random acts of violence across the city. (I just realised that I just wrote a particularly long sentence. Don’t try reading it out loud, ok?)

The Cover:

Oh I wish that YA books were this pretty and inventive when it came to book covers. What is particularly amazing about this cover is that that I kept flicking back to it throughout the book, and it just became even more amazing the more I read. 

I should add a side note here that I have a penchant for old London maps. I even have an ancient map of Middlesex pinned to my wall, plus a 1923 underground map, which is FASCINATING because you can see where all the ghost stations are. I also have a 1940s RAF map of north west London. So... erm... that explains why I love the cover of Rivers of London so much. In case you were wondering. 

Why You’ll Love This Book

• It is a joy to read. It’s clever, but it doesn’t pummel you over the head with literary devices, nor does it patronise you as it explains the inner workings of a mega-city. This book fascinates, enthrals and inspires. I actually can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t get something out of this book. Except for my mother, because she doesn’t ‘do’ magic. 
• Aaronovitch paints characters with brilliant colours. They’re somehow slightly stereotypical, so that you know what you’re dealing with, but at the same time entirely original. I’m not even sure that sentence makes sense, but when you come across the ladies of the River, you’ll know exactly what I mean. Beverley Brook in particular is an absolute dream to read. 
• And on that note, all the rivers of London have little gods and goddesses, which are amazing! Like, you can totally wikipedia Beverley Brook and she is totally a real place. I’m pleased that the River Brent gets a mention in the book, because that’s my local, innit. 
• Magic and wizards and vampires OH MY!!! Somehow this book manages to be totally fantastical, and yet totally plausible at the same time. All the locations are real, and all the observations absolutely spot on. I’m surprised nobody has arranged a Rivers of London tour by now. Because I would be ON THAT.

Why You May Not Love This Book:

• Some of the very policey bits got a bit too much for me. Aaronovitch explains a hell of a lot, especially when it comes to the workings of the Met, which I can understand is pretty fascinating for a lot of people, but it just didn’t do it for me. I think because frankly I could have been told absolutely anything and would have to have taken it as fact, because I have very little knowledge about how actual policing works. 
• As you start to wander the streets of London, you’ll start to notice things. And become rather suspicious. Like, maybe that tramp in a doorway is really a vampire, or most spooky, thinking about the number of people who have probably died right under your feet. Seeing as London is thousands of years old, that’s a lot of dead bodies to be walking all over.  
• The sad realisation that this book is fiction. Because when you get to the end you’ll desperately want it to be all real. 

The Hypersomnia Test:

Yeah man. It passed. Which is actually weird for a book with hardly any romantic element (I love me a bit of sexual electricity in a book) but I was just fascinated. The story speeds by, the pace is expertly managed, and you’re just waiting for the next freaky thing to happen. 

Final Verdict:

As you get into your twenties you don’t often come across Brand New feelings. But on the 7th July 2005 I felt something I hadn’t felt ever before. It was pure, guttural anger. Because some geezers decided to wreck my town. Yes I was sad for the victims, and scared for my own safety, but my primary reaction was: HOW DARE THEY. THIS IS MY TOWN. Maybe it was some vestigia of Blitz spirit, but I could have seriously punched anybody who dared threaten this fine city we call London. I think Ben Aaronovitch gets this. I think he feels the same way I do when I discover a random alleyway with a gorgeous pub at the end of it, or works out that certain streets are totally ancient and have barmy weird names that are actually bastardised versions of something from ye olde English. What I’m trying to say is that this book is infused with love and respect for my favourite place in the entire world, and that makes it a pure joy to read. I honestly don’t think you could write a book like this about any other city in the whole world, and it makes me feel honoured to work and live here. This book makes me proud. I want to thrust this book in the faces of anyone who would dare threaten my manor, and go HERE. THIS IS WHY THIS CITY IS SO SPECIAL. MESS WITH IT AND YOU MESS WITH ME. 

Further Reading:

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

To buy Rivers of London click HERE!!!

Letterbox Love no.5 - 1st July 2012

Here are the latest goodies I've received, complete with blurbs...

Fire City by Bali Rai

When the demons arrived, the world as we knew it changed, humanity was doomed. Twenty-five years later, on the lawless streets of Fire City, the lives of two teenagers collide and the future is altered forever.

The battle for humankind will now begin...

Published by Corgi, September 2012

Turf by John Lucas

Fifteen yar old Jay is a member of the Blake Street Boyz gang. With a knife in his pocket and his best friend Milk by his side, Jay spends his time defending their turf. He takes his lessons from the streets and thinks he knows everything about choices. But now he's coming of age and is being given the chance to step up. He must stab and kill a member of a rival gang... and suddenly there are no choices left.

Published by Bodley Head, August 2012

Wake by Amanda Hocking

This book has no blurb, and as such I have NO IDEA what it is about. Mermaids maybe?!

Published by Tor, August 2012

Obsidian Mirror by Catherine Fisher

Jake's father disappears while working on mysterious experiments with the recluse Oberon Venn - and Jake is convinced that Venn has murdered him.

But the truth is far stranger...

Jake is sucked into Venn's fixations about re-entering the past and changing it, with people pursuing him through time, and with a tribe of untrustworthy elemental beings filled with hate for humans.

But regardless of terrible danger, Jake is determined to use the Obsidian Mirror and learn what really happened to his father. 

Published by Hodder Children's Books, October 2012

Hugs and high fives my lovelies,

Nicole

x

On Fifty Shades of Grey

I wasn't going to write anything about the erotic trilogy by E.L. James, mostly because I felt that it was outside the parameters of this blog, in which I prefer to focus on the fabulous world of YA. However, since making that decision, the first book in the trilogy, Fifty Shades of Grey, has become one of the (if not THE) bestselling book of all time. But instead of offering a critique of the books, the likes of which you can find in multitudes across the world wide web, I thought I would offer a defence.


Working in a (huge) bookshop gives me a unique perspective, for as much as I could criticise and berate the appalling writing style, the repetitive (and frankly boring) use of phrases such as 'Oh My' and 'Holy Cow' and the ludricous plot, I get to meet the people who are buying them. The vast majority are giggling office girls, anxious to get hold of the books that EVERYBODY is talking about. They want to be part of the club, to join in with debates on who should play Christian Grey in the inevitable film and to be 'in' on the little jokes that pass like silly titters between colleagues at the water cooler. They are happy customers. They are excited customers, and it is a pleasure to sell the books to them. Mostly because I can guarantee that every single one of these readers will have a thoroughly great time. 


Hence my first defence: 


1. The books are undeniable fun.


If you have read the books with your glasses primed at the end of your nose, tutting away at each unnecessary adverb, you have missed the point. James did not write them to be a serious and realistic exploration into the devious mind of a sadist billionaire, she wrote them for fun. She wrote them with a giggle on her lips, and posted them on a website for other people to giggle at. They were never meant to be taken seriously, and it's not the author's fault that they have been. In fact, it's hardly the author's fault that they've been properly published. I highly doubt that was her original intention at all. She had an idea, she had a great time writing it up, and now millions of readers can have a great time reading them too. 


2. As a parody of the Twilight saga, they're actually quite funny.


I wrote an essay for my Masters degree on the influence of Twilight on the literary establishment, from the impact of their covers to the fact that the floodgates were opened to a multitude of YA writing. In the course of this essay I picked the books apart, and found them to be absolutely dreadful. The shallow submissiveness of Bella, the frankly creepy smothering nature of Edward, plus the weird development of their juvenile relationship to marriage and children across four novels. What E.L. James has done with the Fifty Shades trilogy, is pick apart the bare bones of the plot and the latent themes, and parody them. For Bella we have the virginal and oblivious Ana, and instead of a domineering boyfriend with a dark vampiric secret, we have the domineering Christian with a secret playroom. Entire scenes from the Twilight Saga have been lifted and transplanted to Fifty-land, and this is funny. Really funny. I don't care if you don't get it. I laughed. I really laughed, and I betcha E.L. James laughed too as she was writing it. Good for her!


3. People are reading books!


This view comes from my experience of being a children's bookseller, where I was constantly telling parents that it didn't matter what their children were reading, just the fact that they were reading anything at all is a brilliant thing. Parents would moan about their child only ever reading the Wimpy Kid books or Tintin, "how do I get them reading Dickens?" they would ask. In reply I would try and find a way of telling nervous parents that it didn't matter what their kids were reading. The point is to enjoy books. Everyday women (and awkwardly, some men) are coming into my book shop and buying the Fifty Shades trilogy, and I am willing to bet that for the vast majority of these customers, these are the first and only books they will be buying this year. Who honestly cares what they are reading? Isn't it just a great thing that they are in bookshops at all? Spending their dwindling after-tax salaries on paperback novels? And for every one of these customers that lazes on the beach with their once-a-year read, there will be another who will come back, and instead of picking up a Mills and Boon, may instead pick up the latest Booker prize winner, or the Costa winner at the very least. Guys! People who haven't set foot in a bookshop in years are reading! Let's embrace them no matter what they buy! 


4. Fantasy is Fantasy


One of the most annoying criticisms I've read of these books is that they defy feminism and set modern womankind back fifty years. Ana is a submissive little girl who is on a quest to 'fix' her kinky man, and consents to marriage as well as being manacled to a four poster and flogged. Have we learnt nothing by burning our bras sisters? As well as being trussed up my our underwired lingerie do we really desire to be trussed up in cable ties and handcuffs too? My response? They are fantasy! E.L. James knew she was writing fantasy (heck, Twilight was her starting point!), and the vast majority of her female readers recognise that they engaging in fantasy too. In exactly the same way that we all know that hobbits and vampires aren't real, we know that Christian Grey isn't real. I would argue that we all engage in fantasy precisely because we know that it isn't real. Fantasy allows us all to explore our secret desires without the ramifications of reality. Do I really want to be handcuffed to a bed and beaten with a riding crop? No. Do I want to imagine what it might be like? Yes. I am an ardent and proud feminist, and this means that in my liberation, I am allowed to do what the hell I like with my imagination. 


5. What does Bestseller really mean?


In the short run, it actually means that the publisher gets more money and freedom to publish other stuff. Which is a really, really good thing. It means that the next literary 'big-thing' may get an advance big enough to pursue his dreams. It means that the doors open slightly wider for other writers and novels. In the long run, the vast landscape of history, it doesn't really mean much. I haven't run a copy of the Da Vinci Code through my tills in months and months. I bet you've probably never even heard of the bestselling books of the Victorian age. Trilby anyone? The Sorrows of Satan by Marie Corelli? Basically, the success of a low-grade erotic novel isn't going to actually impact our lives in any meaningful way. It doesn't signify the decline of morals or the coming of the apocalypse. Trashy bestsellers have existed for centuries now, and we're all ok. Give it a few years and we'll have the next big thing, and nay-sayers will once again be predicting the end of the world and the decline of moral values. Give it a decade or two and you may have even forgotten that Fifty Shades of Grey existed. And everything will be fine. 


Comments welcomed and appreciated people!


Hugs and high fives (from a relatively twitchy palm),


Nicole
x

Review: Changeling by Philippa Gregory

In One Line:  Renaissance romance meets scooby doo!

Genre: historical mystery

The Gist:

Luca Vero is the local hot stud, forced to commit to a life of religious servitude (and celibacy!) due to being brought up in a monastry. But Luca is a bad boy, because he’s clever and likes numbers and stuff. After being accused of heresy, instead of being cast out into the renaissance wilderness, he is imployed by the Pope to investigate the rise of Satan across Italy. And his first job? To visit a abbey and find out what’s driving all the nuns cray cray. There he meets Isolde, a woman doomed to imprisonment in the abbey because of the terms of her father’s will and the malevolence of her brother. Is she the one who brought the devil to the nunnery? Or is there a perfectly rational explanation to it all? Zoinks!!!

The Cover:

I’ve actually had to do a little survey over this cover. The general consensus is that it is definitely not embarrassing, and yet, I feel a little cringey about it. I think it’s because I hate having the looks of characters thrust in my face. I like to imagine them and make them up in my head. These two cover models aren’t quite what I’d imagine, plus the blonde girl’s ringlets bother me. She looks a bit too preened for the fifteenth century, and I’m pretty sure they didn’t have hair rollers back then. Also, my friend Adrian says that the cover is missing a pitchfork. I’m inclined to agree with him.

Why You’ll Love This Book

• Guys! It’s Philippa Gregory!!! She is the reigning queen of Historical Fiction, and I adore her for it. I got so excited when I heard that this book was coming out, because I’ve read every tudor novel Gregory has ever written and LOVED THEM ALL. She manages to paint history in an engaging and emotional way, and when I actually was a Young Adult I lapped all her books up. Except that I was really picky about reading them in historical order, which I’m sure you all understand. 
• Gregory knows her shizzle. And she doesn’t bombard you with factoids and exposition, which is such a relief, and proves that she is a master of historical writing. She gives you all the information you need to know so that the period references make sense, but you never feel overloaded or patronised.
• Past dystopias? As you probably already know, the YA market is saturated with dystopian fiction, but what I figured out whilst reading this book is that dystopian dramas don’t have to just be set in the future, they can be set in the past as well. So many of the key issues in this book feature heavily in science fiction, showing that imperfect worlds can exist anywhere. 
• Feminism! Isolde is a modern gal trapped in the renaissance, which basically means her life sucks. What’s especially uncanny about her position in this book is that she can’t see any way out for herself. Heroines of the modern or future age always manage to kick ass and strike back (a la Katniss) but Isolde is well and truly stuck. She can’t envision a world in which she could possibly be happy, and seeing as this is a historical novel, we know what her outcomes can only be: marriage, nunnery or burned as a witch. The fifteenth century well and truly sucks for women, and Gregory conveys this frustration perfectly. I just wish that Isolde had a chance to do something about it. 
• Isolde’s best friend Ishraq. She rocks. She reminds me of Kalinda in The Good Wife, but with a long bow. This is a good thing. 

Why You May Not Love This Book:

• Guys, I have structure issues. Serious structure issues. Because from a narrative point of view, something really weird is going on with this book. After giving it some thought I’m even wondering if this is two novellas stuck together, or a pitch for a renaissance-set TV mystery mini-series (like the X-Files, but with the enlightenment?), because what we have here are two distinct episodes in one book. The major climax of the novel happens exactly half-way through, and then afterwards we get a whole new story, which isn’t nearly as heightened and scary as the first one. I just don’t understand what’s going on here. 
• There’s lots of talky talk. Gregory’s characters sure like to chat... I think this is a problem of having a third person narrator. Instead of the narrator explaining everything, the characters do it instead, often in lengthy conversations. Luckily Gregory is skilled in dialogue, but sometimes I just wanted the characters to shut up so that we could get back to the action. 
• About two thirds of the way through this novel I thought about drawing a graph. A graph that would relay the various ups and downs that occur throughout reading Changeling. Because sometimes I was completely on board and racing through, but as soon as a brilliant, fast-paced scene was over, we went to something slow and talky. The result is an oddly patchy reading experience. 

The Hypersomnia Test:

Oh, this is the first book that has properly failed in such a long time. And I blame that purely on the odd pacing of this novel. I’d hit a good patch and race through it, but then I’d hit a dry, talky talky patch and I’d put the book down and not pick it up again for a little bit. And then on my commute, I was more inclined to nap than to read. Sad times. 

Final Verdict:

This book is great fun, and there is huge potential for this to be an exciting series, but I can’t help but feel that Gregory is holding back. It worries me that as a successful ‘adult’ writer, she decided to turn to ‘YA’, because it makes me think that she’s purposely adjusted and reworked her style to fit in with what she ‘thinks’ YA writing should be. I may be totally wrong, in fact I hope I am, but having read her other books I know what the writer is capable of. This book has so much potential, but it doesn’t have the heart and soul that I’m used to finding in Gregory’s other books. It’s overly chaste, it doesn’t explore the politics or issues of the time deeply enough, and some of the dialogue seems deliberately simple. Also I’m not sure how ‘YA’ this book really is. Yes our two main characters are teenagers, but they don’t read as teenagers. There is nothing of the teen experience here. What was it like to be a teenager in renaissance Italy? From reading Changeling, I’m afraid that I just don’t know. 

Further Reading:

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory

VIII by H.M. Castor

Witch Child by Celia Rees

To buy Changeling please click HERE!!!

Letterbox Love no.4 - 19th June 2012

It's been a slightly slow couple of weeks on my doormat, possibly due to the recent Jubilee and resulting bank holidays. But here's a sneaky peek at what I have received, complete with blurbs and publication notes... 

The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of He Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente

September is a twelve-year-old girl from Omaha. Her dad is fighting in a faraway war, her mum is always out at work, and September is stuck in a lonely, adventureless rut. So when the Green Wind arrives at her window and invites her to Fairyland, she accepts in a flash. (Mightn't you?)

But Fairyland is in crisis and confusion, crushed by the iron rule of the villainous Marquess - and September alone holds the key to restoring order. Well! She knows what a girl with a quest must do: she sets out to Fix Things.

With a book-loving dragon and a mysterious boy named Saturday by her side, September faces peril and pandemonium; loses her shadow, her shoe and her way - and finds a great deal more besides. But time is short, and time is ticking, and every story must have an ending. Can September save Fairyland? Can she even save herself?

Published by Corsair

OUT NOW

The Things we Did for Love by Natasha Farrant

France: February, 1944

As war rages in Europe, Luc and Arianne fall passionately in love. But German forces are closing in around them and Luc, desperate to atone for his family's troubled past, is drawn into the dangerous world of the Resistance.

Arianne will do almost anything to keep Luc safe. But someone else has other plans - someone who also loves her, and will stop at nothing to get rid of his rival...

How far would you go for love?

Published by Faber and Faber

OUT NOW

The Terrible Thing That Happened by Barnaby Brocket by John Boyne

This is the story of a boy who was ready to meet new people.

A boy who wanted to have new adventures.

And above all else, a boy who was proud to be different.

Published by Doubleday, August 2012

A special mention to my manager Jim, who upon hearing that I have started delving into the world of comics and graphic novels, has let me borrow these titles from his apparently vast collection!

Locke and Key: Welcome to Lovecraft by Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez

Fables: Legends in Exile by Willingham, Medina, Leialoha and Hamilton

The Unwritten by Mike Carey and Peter Gross

Astonishing X-Men: Torn by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday

Astonishing X-Men: Unstoppable by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday

Y - The Last Man: Unmanned by Brian K. Vaughan, Pia Guerra and Jose Marzan Jr.

Planetary: All Over the World and Other Stories by Warren Ellis and John Cassaday

So what do we think? Have any of you guys read any of these titles yet? What do you think? Comments in the doobree below please! 

Hugs and high fives,

Nicole

x

Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

In One Line:  Cinderella meets The Batchelor meets The Hunger Games (seriously!)

Genre: Dystopian Cupcake

The Gist:

In a society dominated by a rigorous caste system, America Singer (yes, that is our heroine’s name. Seriously.) is a Five, destined to a life of serving the upper classes through pursuit of the arts. Her family struggles, but not nearly as much as the family of her One True Love, Aspen, who is a Six and destined to always be a measly servant. But then the prince of the realm, Maxon, decides that he is in need of a wife, and the way things are done in this future-topia is for 35 girls to be upgraded in status and shipped off to the royal palace to partake in a televised process of selection. America is one of the Selected. So off she goes to the palace, to wear various pretty dresses and parade in front of the prince in the hope of one day becoming queen. But America doesn’t want that... or does she? 

The Cover:

I will admit something. When this book arrived I shoved it in my manager’s face and said “THIS IS THE GIRLIEST COVER I HAVE EVER SEEN.” To which he agreed, and then ran away. It is utterly unashamed, and I suppose I do have to give bonus points for that. One look at this cover and you know you’re not going to get a serious social critique. What you do know is that you are going to get lithe young girls wearing pretty dresses, and you wouldn’t be wrong. Yes, this cover is embarrassing, but if you are going to read this book then you’re going to have to just roll with it and embrace the tulle. 

Why You’ll Love This Book

• Pretty dresses! Handsome princes! Forbidden romance with the lowly servant boy! OH MY!!!
• It follows pretty much an identical plot-line to the Hunger Games.You may think that this is a bad thing, but I think it’s a good thing. Because if you like the idea of the Hunger Games, but disapprove of young people killing each other, then you will LOVE The Selection, because instead of blood and guts and death, there’s girly bitchiness and snide playground banter. This book essentially IS the Hunger Games, but with no violence and more frou frou. 
• Our heroine is fiesty, and a victim to her heart, and sees the good in people. She’s a good role model. And she’ll blatantly be a fantastic princess. 
• Did I mention that there are lots of pretty dresses?

Why You May Not Love This Book:

• IT IS SO SEXIST I FEEL LIKE A WANT TO SCREAM. Because the girls are chosen to be one of the Selected based on their looks, and then they are pampered and preened and stuffed in ball gowns and expected to do the every bidding of the handsome prince in the hope that perhaps they may get to marry him. KILL ME NOW. 
• This book is so predictable I bet that you can guess exactly what happens the entire way through. And you’d be completely and utterly right. 
• It’s so darn silly and I can’t possibly believe for a nano-second that this idea of a future world is possible. The politics of the society, which are kind-of explained throughout the book, are ridiculous and hugely unsophisticated. The world-building is abysmal, I mean, how can a society based so heavily on a ludicrous caste system that dictates your career for you possibly succeed? And where does the palace wealth come from? And where do they get all the materials for the pretty dresses? *makes emphatic hand gestures*
• Cliffhanger alert. And not actual literary device kind of cliffhanger. The book just stops. The story actually has no ending. I thought I was missing pages at the end. This made me angry. Well, more angry. 

The Hypersomnia Test:

I hold my hands up. For all it’s bad points, this book passed. This is an incredibly easy and fluffy read and a nice distraction from life. I feel so ashamed. 

Final Verdict:

This book is a literary cupcake. Once in a while it makes for a delicious, guilty-pleasure treat, but this is not a book to base a diet on. Mostly because it is incredibly silly and appallingly sexist. I knew this as I was reading it. I promise you I did, and the ardent feminist part of my brain was screaming at me to put the book away and never speak of it again. And yet. AND YET. I couldn’t put it down. I ate it up in two sittings. Does this make me a bad person? A little bit, probably. So my parting words on the case are going to be: you’ll enjoy it this one, but please, for the love of humanity and womankind, do not for one second think that if a prince buys you a pair of jeans (and lets you wear them, but only on Saturdays) that means you are destined to be his queen. 

Further Reading:

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Cinder by Marissa Meyer (read my review HERE!)

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

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