Review: Dreaming of Amelia by Jaclyn Moriarty

Dreaming of Amelia (Ashbury/Brookfield #4) by Jaclyn Moriarty
Released: March 2010
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Source: Library
Rating: 4/5

Goodreads description:


Amelia and Riley have transferred to Ashbury for their final year of school, and everyone is completely obsessed with them. Glamorous, talented and totally devoted to one another, the two of them drift through school in their own world. But there's more to the couple than meets the eye - they have secrets. And some of them are dangerous to share. As Riley starts to lose his grip on Amelia, the repercussions affect everyone around them.
A spellbinding story about ghosts, secrets, madness, passion, locked doors, femme fatales, and that terrifying moment in the final year of high school when you realise that the future's coming to get you.

My thoughts:

Dreaming of Amelia is the fourth and (I think) final book in the series. I loved the first three books when I read them as a teen, so I was thrilled to find the author had written another book, then even more thrilled to discover it was the final part of the series!

It was so great to catch up with the characters again, and despite not reading the books for over 5 years I could still remember everything about the characters and most of what happened in the previous books which just goes to show you how memorable and well written they are. The story follow three main girls Lydia, Cassie and Emily as well as 2 new inserts; Amelia and Riley, as well as some supporting characters from the previous 3 books. I think Lydia is my favourite, possibly one of my favourite characters ever. She’s so dry and sarcastic and pretty damn awesome. Cassie is a bit airy and kinda like the Cassie in Skins and Emily is hilarious cause she’s just so ditzy and passionate and overreacts about everything.  All the characters have their own little quirks that make their personalities feel so three dimensional. Emily for example, always uses the wrong words and she says the most hilarious things and is addicted to Toblerones. 

The story takes place during the final year of Australian high school and involves 2 students Amelia and Riley a couple who’ve been together for years who just transferred from the ‘rough’ Brookfield school to the private school of Ashbury. The word for this pair is: ENIGMATIC. They are so mysterious and EVERYONE wants to know more about them. The whole plot is so twisty and is revealed to you so slowly which is utterly masterful.  There’s so many little side plots and extra bits but I found it easy to keep track of everything having read the previous books. I’ve noticed the author has this incredible knack of making sure everything unfolds in such as way so as to ensure maximum impact from the audience and I felt this book followed that same pattern. 

Jaclyn Moriarty always tells her stories through other means-letters, notes on the fridge etc-and this one was no different. Told through final exam papers, essays, blogs, email exchanges and poems (I know, it sounds weird, it really works) it was definitely the most unusual way she’s told a story so far, and I was wondering how it was going to work, but I found it a really unique way to tell a story. It was amazing to see just HOW obsessed an entire school could become with 2 pupils, and to see the whole rumour mill that is education spinning. The only thing I will say about this writing style is that you get the same story told from different perspectives, as each character covers the events with their own side of it. This works in a way because it’s so interesting to see how the different characters interpreted the same events, but at the same time it does lead to a little bit of repetition within the book. It’ s also a preeeettty long book (I think nearly 700 pages) probably making it the longest of the series so far. I’ll be honest and admit I did skip a few bits because I found them a little dull to read.

The way everything worked out was amazing, I loved seeing how all the seemingly unrelated things came together to form a cohesive picture at the end. The series was nicely wrapped up; not in a way that feels too fake but also not so little that you’re left dissatisfied. 

I’m so glad I discovered the final instalment to this series and I definitely think this is an underrated YA contemporary series that everyone should read; unique, wonderfully written and full of colourful and diverse characters that feel so real.

Stop by Liz's blog today for her review of The Fine Art of Truth or Dare, and don't forget to check out our Contemporary Summer giveaways!

Review: Forgiven by Jana Oliver

Forgiven (The Demon Trapper's #3) by Jana Oliver
Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books
Release date: 1st March 2012
Rating: 4/5

Goodreads description:

Riley Blackthorne. Kicking hell’s ass one demon at a time...

Riley has made a bargain with Heaven, and now they've come to collect.

Lucifer's finest are ruling the streets and it seems that Armageddon might be even closer than Riley imagined. But with her soul and her heart in play it's all she can do to keep herself alive, let alone save the world. Riley's not afraid of kicking some major demon butt, but when it comes to a battle between Heaven and Hell, she might need a little help...

My thoughts:

I've loved this series since I read the first book last year. I love the dystopian feel of the society, and the interesting inclusion of theology and of course, Riley Blackthorne. The impulsively brave and occasionally stupid yet loyal and fierce heroine. After the ending of the 3rd one (can I just say 'noooooooo!!') I was desperate to find out what would happen in the aftermath of Riley's choice and the consequences of it.

I definitely liked Riley more in this book. I feel like she finally realised that actually, her actions DO have consequences and she pretty much can't just do what she wants all the time. I think this led to a new level of responsibility in her character that I appreciated.

I also loved her friendship with Peter, and the relationship that develops between her and Mort and Stuart in this book. I like how they can all rely on each other, there's true friendships in this book and I liked that. Riley's relationship with Beck also progressed in this book, which, whilst good, I found slightly frustrating. It felt a little bit like it was going round in circles, like they were just dancing round the issue for NO reason at all other than to torture the readers. 

 I felt the pacing was off slightly in this book. It could be because I read it in many sittings, but I felt a bit like the final big battle sort of came from nowhere. One minute I was all "lalalala" and the next "huh...? Armegeddon is NOW?!" Having said that, the final battle was pretty epic. I liked how it panned out, what happened with the whole Heaven and Hell issue....pretty clever. 

Maliciously, I'm happy about what happened with Simon. He deserved that and so much more.  

As usual, the ending leaves you with lots of "ommggg" feelings, and I can't wait to see how everything will end up in Foretold. I loved how the ending mimicked that of Forbidden, yet it shows how much Riley has grown between that book and this, based on her reactions. 


I absolutely cannot wait for the final instalment of this gripping and well-thought-out series!

 

Review: All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

All These Things I've Done (Birthright #1) by Gabrielle Zevin
Publisher: Panmacmillan Children's Books
Released: 29th March 2012
Rating: 5/5

Goodreads Description:

In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.

My thoughts:

I think a lot of people read that description and expect a dystopian. But it isn't. It's so much more.  All These Things I've Done is a contemporary story set against the backdrop of a vaguely dystopian and alltogether possible future.

You know when you pick up a book and immediately know you're going to love it? That's how I felt reading this. Anya is a hilarious storyteller, I loved how the narration is as though she's writing down her story from the future. She's strong, determined and very loving. Essentially, she's easy to adore. I loved her snarky commentary, her sarcastic asides and just how hard she works to keep her family together and free from the influences of her relatives. She's definitely my favourite heroine of 2012 so far, and is right up there in my list with Dru from Strange Angels and Mae from The Demon's Lexicon. 

Win was just....fantastic. Quirky, loyal and idealistic he was as funny and intelligent as Anya was. I loved watching them both develop individually and as a pair, and their relationship felt like any other teen relationship would, albeit with the added strains of forbidden love and their unusual family circumstances. I loved how Gabrielle Zevin unconsciously tackled the issue of sex, Anya is a Catholic girl yet she didn't shy away from outlining the temptations Win presented and her struggles to decide the right course of action. I liked how she was careful with her emotions, almost to the point of being too careful, it added another dimension to this element of the plot. All the secondary characters were fantastic; Zevin has a real gift for writing a wide range of complicated and involved personalities, something I noticed in her previous novel Elsewhere. From Anya's siblings to her best friend Scarlet to her extended family, everyone was fleshed out, even the more unsavoury characters.

Gabrielle Zevin's writing was a really enjoyable aspect of the book. She really captured Anya's voice, but also the voices of everyone around her. My one slight complaint was that Natty often sounded older than her 12 years, but given her circumstances and what she's lived through, maybe that was accurate. I loved the chapter headings which were really funny, and the prose was snappy, well-paced and evocative. 

What I really enjoyed was seeing how Anya does struggle to balance everything in her life. At 16 she has a heck of a lot of responsibility, and a lot to deal with. As a result things do get away from her, and certain situations spiral out of her control. Whilst it was painful to experience, it did feel a lot more realistic. Anya does what she has to do and yet, being her age there ARE limitations to what she can achieve, and consequences to her actions, and this element of the plot was very realistic and very empthy-provoking. I did have a lump in my throat by the end because, despite Anya's best intentions and every effort, no 16 year old could manage what she had to manage, and you can't help but feel sorry for the situation she's ended up in.  


This isn't a gritty, fast-paced dystopian. It's a moving and unashamed account of one girls attempt to get to grips with everything going on in her life, to do the best for herself and those in her care, and to get the chance to live whilst she does it. All I can say is it's going to be a long wait for book 2.

I don't often comment on covers, but I DO wish they'd kept the original cover choice for this book. I DO like the new one but I think it perpetuates the idea that this is really futuristic and dystopian when really it isn't. The original UK cover (---->) is much more eyecatching and content-appropriate in my opinion and I'm really sad it was changed.


Have you read this yet? If so, what was your take on it? Did you like Anya as much as I did or were you disappointed by the lack of dystopian elements? Let me know in the comments!

In My Mailbox [23]

In My Mailbox is a meme designed to showcase the very cool books we're all receiving and is hosted by The Story Siren!

So I haven't done an IMM in almost TWO months! I know! My camera cable has gone AWOL, completely and utterly...but I've resorted to using my BlackBerry.

I didn't want to feature EVERY book I've received in the past 2 months, so I've picked out some of my faves to showcase:

For Review:

Stolen Away by Alyxandra Harvey

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Bought:

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare (review here)

Saving June by Hannah Harrington (review here)

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

I actually got a copy of CP for review about 3 weeks ago, but I really wanted to pay for a copy so I donated mine to a friend and bought myself one! I also got SJ from NG but then loved it so much I had to own a physical copy! (It's also the first contemporary book I've bought for about 4 years!)

Stolen Away sounds SO good and I love this cover, and ofc I was ridiculously excited to receive Pandemonium.

I want to thank Bloomsbury, Hodder and Walker Books, but also Macmillan who have sent me many cool books recently that I didn't picture. Thank you all! You continually make this girl very happy. 

That's all for now guys, please leave me links in the comments so I can see what you all got! I expect to see lots of Clockwork Prince this week ;)