Everlost

We all know that when you die you see a bright light and head towards it, but what if something happens and you get knocked off course? When Nick and Allie die and get stuck in a strange, shadowy world called Everlost they have no idea that their desire to get home will have such a huge impact on those who reside in Everlost.
Having previously read Unwind by Neal Shusterman I was looking forward to reading this book; looking forward to a fast-paced, character based quirky thought provoking read. I wasn't disappointed - this book is a thriller at its heart and you race to find out what is going to happen, but like all good books, the ideas within the book keep popping into your head. The twists in the story are believable but breathtaking - at a few I even chuckled at the way he takes the story and twists and pulls it, like someone wringing out a dishcloth. Like the poor children who sink down to the core of the earth, this book has sunk into my brain and even now, over a week after I finished it, the characters and story keep popping into my head.

"Snow felt different than rain or sleet as it passed through Allie. It tickled. As for the wind, she felt it, and it was indeed cold. But like all other weather conditions, feeling it and being affected by it were two different things. The cold did not, could not, make her shiver. And yet as unpleasant as it seemed for the living people fighting the snowstorm, Allie wished she could be one of them."

Read More;

• http://www.storyman.com/books/index.html

Desert Island Discs (2)

Just because it fills my heart with joy! (and I think I can sing it okay-ish)

Caravan of Love - Housemartins

Why Books Remain Unread

So far so good with the non-book buying, haven't even put a book in my basket only to return it. Which means my book pile is decreasing slowly but surely. Came across this article in my inbox and thought it explains why certain books just never get read!
http://www.abebooks.co.uk/books/difficult-hardest-reads-obscure-staff/remaining-unread.shtml?cm_mmc=nl-_-nl-_-r00-ar1001X-_-01cta

Pandaemonium

After a violent and tragic incident at their high school, a group of school pupils are sent on a retreat. The school sees this as a valuable opportunity to get over these events and bond, the pupils see it as a valuable opportunity to get drunk and bond in ways the school may not approve of. Meanwhile at a top secret research base, something has been discovered that means that this retreat will not go to plan for anybody...
I have always read Christopher Brookmyre for the biting sarcasm and great plots, I never thought I would read him for all out scares. I started this book on Friday and stayed up all night to finish it! I even read the last chapter to find out what happens! It is like a chocolate eclair - the good stuff is not only in the surface horror but the deeper themes; to think about; religion, ethics, love, sex, relationships and the way we treat others and all included in this book. It also has an ending that does not disappoint! Most books I have read so far this year I have enjoyed this one I devoured...
Pain multiplies. It multiples in little ways, like Julie Meiklejohn going from bullied to bully, and in enormous ways, like Robert Barker's rage, the aftershocks of which they are all still suffering.
Kane looks at the tears forming in Guthrie's eyes, and at the sorrowful understanding in Sendak's, and wonders whether compassion can multiply too.

Read more;

• http://www.theskinny.co.uk/article/97063-christopher-brookmyre-creating-pandaemonium
• http://www.brookmyre.co.uk/

The Story of A Marriage

Pearlie and Holland were childhood sweat hearts separated by the events of World War Two. When reunited they marry and Pearlie decides to devote her life to her married life, until the arrival of Buzz Drumer. His revelations and desires threaten to tear Pealie's life apart and force her to reevaluate her views on her husband and love itself.
This book is one that you just have to keep reading, not because of any fast-paced action but because of the way that the writer reveals everything slowly and surely leaving the reader to question and ponder everything the way the Pearlie has to. While it can be frustrating that Pearlie and Holland never discuss the impending situation, it is not the frustration of a badly written character but of a friend frustrated with the foibles of a friend that you know and love. This book is just not a Story of A Marriage but a portrait of America in the 1950's, reeling from the war and undergoing a process that will change the country forever.

"It is madness not to do as you are told. Not to step forward from a hiding place, a deferral, from a line of frightened young men. But it is astounding how different men are; not all from the same clay, for when it comes to the kiln, some break wide open or change in ways even the maker can't predict."

Find out more;

• http://www.andrewgreer.com/

The Men Who Stare At Goats

In 1979 the First Earth Battalion was created, not in George Lucas' brain or Robert A. Heinlen's notebook, but in the US Army. The First Earth Battalion believed in the power of the mind - to walk through walls, become invisible and more importantly kill goats just by staring at them. This sounds batty and made up but it isn't, Jon Ronson investigated this strange, mad but true story.
I never really believed the phrase jaw-dropping but after reading this book I do now! (as well as believing things that I never even imagined!) The story and the characters are just insane but Ronson just writes in a simple convincing style that makes you believe. He also drops in moment of true horror, where the ideals and beliefs of the First Earth Battalion has been twisted and corrupted to help the US Army tackle the War On Terror.
When he said the words "attack me" he did that quotation mark thing in the air with his fingers, which angered me a little because it implied I was incapable of mounting anything more than a figurative attack. I was indeed incapable, but I had known Pete only for a few minutes and I felt he was jumping to conclusions about me."

Find out more;

• http://www.jonronson.com/
• http://www.guardian.co.uk/profile/jonronson

Stolen

Gemma is off on holiday with her parents when the mysterious Ty approaches her at the airport - initially flattered by the attention she little realises that he is actually planning to kidnap her and take her to live in the Australian outback. From that point on Gemma must survive and deal with the complex emotions that arises from this situation.
There are times when I wish I was a teen reader again, discovering books and stories for the first time - sometimes as an adult you read books with preconceived ideas and waiting for the author to follow the plan - and when they do it is really disappointing and a little dull. Lucy Christopher doesn't do that with Stolen and it really did read as something fresh, original and unsettling. You never really are allowed to make your mind up about Ty - is he a damaged young man needing sympathy or mentally ill and dangerous? Christopher also doesn't give you a nice, tied up ending like people expect from teen fiction but one that lingers in your mind for some time after reading.
"There were o car horns. No trains. No beeping pedestrian crossings. No lawnmowers. No planes. No sirens. No alarms. No anything human. If you'd told me then that you'd saved me from a nuclear holocaust, I might have believed you"

Find out more

• http://www.lucychristopher.com/index.html
• http://cityofbooks.blogspot.com/2009/05/author-interview-lucy-christopher.html
• http://www.goodreadingmagazine.com.au/blog/index.cfm/2009/8/23/Lucy-Christopher-talks-about-Stolen