Book Review | The Walls Around Us by Nova Ren Suma.

"Ori's dead because of what happened out behind the theatre, in the tunnel made out of trees. She's dead because she got sent to that place upstate, locked up with those monsters. And she got sent there because of me."

The Walls Around Us is a ghostly story of suspense told in two voices - one still living and one long dead. On the outside, there's Violet, an eighteen-year-old dancer days away from the life of her dreams when something threatens to expose the shocking truth of her achievement. On the inside, within the walls of a girls' juvenile detention centre, there's Amber, locked up for so long she can't imagine freedom. Tying these two worlds together is Orianna, who holds the key to unlocking all the girls' darkest mysteries.

We hear Amber's story and Violet's, and through them Orianna's, first from one angle, then from another, until gradually we beging to get the whole picture - which is not necessarily the one that either Amber or Violet wants us to see.

Nova Ren Suma tells a supernatural tale of guilt and innocence, and what happens when one is mistaken for the other." (synopsis and cover from (x)

When I saw that Nova Ren Suma had a new book coming out, I clicked the request button without even reading the premise. That is how big a fangirl I am about Nova Ren Suma. Unfortunately I was left with very mixed feelings.

Violet is a ballerina on her way to Julliard, her whole life ahead of her. Amber is in jail for allegedly murdering her abusive step-father. She also happens to be dead. The two are linked by one person: Orianna. Violet's best friend, and Amber's cellmate. But Orianna shouldn't be in jail, and only through Violet and Amber are we able to learn why.

The Walls Around Us opens with a bang and it took me a fair few chapters before the shock would stop. Ok, I will admit that perhaps I should've read the premise. But the cacophony of words left me with a lot of lingering confusion.

I'll start with the one thing I utterly adored. The writing. This comes as no shock to anybody who knows me. Suma's style is remarkable and her writing still manages to make me speechless, even after three books. Its lyrical quality is something I very deeply aspire to. If there's anything you should read this for, it's the writing.

And this is where the positives end, unfortunately.

Pacing-wise, The Walls Around Us was something I found very easy to put down. It just didn't capture my attention, and I think it's in part due to my detachment towards the characters.

I wasn't a fan of them. Violet in particular, I found nasty and wholly unsympathetic. This isn't usually an issue for me, but it unfortunately didn't work in this book.

As I mentioned above, I also found the book mildly disorientating. It certainly didn't last the entirety of the novel, but it did last as long as it took me to properly read the premise.

It really pains me that I didn't love this as much as I wanted to. While the writing was a stand-out element, I found everything else to be lacking. 2 stars.

Rating: ** (2 Stars)

Publication Date: 24th of March 2015

Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers

Goodreads | Nova Ren Suma's Website | Twitter

Want to buy this? You can get it here:

Book Depository | Fishpond | Amazon | Book World

Thank you to Algonquin Young Readers and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC.

Book Review | Tape by Steven Camden.

"Record a voice and it lasts forever...

In 1993, Ryan records a diary on an old tape. He talks about his mother's death, about his dreams, about his love for a new girl at school who doesn't even know he exists.

In 2013, Ameliah moves in with her grandmother after her parents die. There, she finds a tape in the spare room. A tape with a boy's voice on it - a voice she can't quite hear, but which seems to be speaking to her.

Ryan and Amelia are connected by more than just a tape.

This is their story." (synopsis and cover from (x)

I got this book back in January, read it in July, and couldn't find the words to review it until November. So now, here we are. Apologies for the long wait.

Tape is about a boy and a girl: Ryan, and Ameliah. Ryan lives in 1993, and has lost his mother. Ameliah lives in 2013, and has lost both of her parents. See the parallels? One day, they both flick a switch and while recording a tape, hear each other's voices. That's when it hits them: they are more connected than they initially realised.

When I first read the blurb, I was all like, 'Yeahhh, this sounds like a young adult version of The Lakehouse.* Trippy.' Unfortunately, I found that what was in the blurb was very different to what the actual story was.

I had a lot of problems with this novel. And honestly? I couldn't finish it. We'll start with the cons though so I can finish on the one positive note.

This book was painfully slow. Like, painfully slow. I read up until about halfway through the novel, and virtually nothing had happened. They had sort-of talked through the tape cassette, but it was seen as a freak blip - something that couldn't have actually happened. While the writing was interesting, I feel like perhaps it was being used as the thing that was supposed to carry the novel. I don't think the writing was strong enough to do that.

I also found the characters quite ill-developed. This goes hand in hand with the whole 'not-a-lot-happening' thing. Likewise, I felt like there was a disparity between the age we, the readers, were told, and the age the dialogue painted them at. I kept assuming they were around fifteen, but in the book, we are reminded again and again they're thirteen or fourteen. It threw me for a bit of a whirl, to be honest.

Finally, I found it predictable. I quickly scanned the last few pages, and all of my suspicions had been confirmed there. While I liked that there was an emphasis on a different sort of love to romance, it was obvious (to me).

The one thing I liked: the writing. It was interesting, different. Camden didn't use the typical quotation marks, and it intrigued me.

Overall, not hugely impressed by the book. The pacing really just threw me and I found the novel difficult to enjoy, as a result. 2 stars.


*You know, that movie with Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves? Yea.

Rating: ** (2 Stars)

Publisher: Harper Collins Australia

Publication Date: 30 January 2014

Goodreads | Steven Camden's Website | Twitter

Want to buy the book? You can get it here:

Book Depository | Fishpond | Bookworld | Amazon

Thank you to Harper Collins Australia for sending me a review copy

Book Review | The Rapunzel Dilemma by Jennifer Kloester.

"Lily's had a charmed life so far, and now she's off to London to pursue her dream of becoming a great actor. But life at the London Drama Academy is full of surprises - and for the first time, Lily finds that things don't always go her way.

It's not just the other students who are making life difficult. Lily's got a secret she's not sure how to handle, but she finds that a room in one of the Academy's deserted towers makes a perfect refuge. Lily can't stay locked in the tower forever, though. And when she meets the mysterious Ronan Carver, everything starts to change.

A fast-paced modern fairytale and companion novel to The Cinderella Moment, form talented YA author Jennifer Kloester." (Synopsis from (x)

The Rapunzel Dilemma. A companion novel to The Cinderella Moment, and my first Jennifer Kloester book. Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed.

I found the novel to just be ok. There was nothing to really scream home about.

I found most of the characters to be way underdeveloped. Lily came across as spoilt, childish and frustrating. Where I should have started liking her more as the story went along, I instead found her annoying, and grew to dislike her more and more.

I had very non-feelings towards Ronan. For most of the novel, he was made out as this very *mysterious* character. All his back story was revealed at once, and I just couldn't really sympathise with him. I also felt that there wasn't a huge amount of chemistry between Lily and Ronan.

The dialogue itself came across as stilted and occasionally repetitive (in that characters would find out something, we'd read about it and then they'd reiterate the discovery to another character). I also found the plot mildly predictable.

There were, however, definitely moments that were endearing (I'm looking at you, Dover scene). The school itself looked fascinating, and I feel like you could tell that the author definitely put in a lot of research.

While I didn't enjoy the novel, I do see it as being really popular with a younger audience. 2 stars.

Rating: ** (2 stars)

Publisher: Penguin Books Australia

Publication Date: 27th August 2014

Goodreads | Jennifer Kloester's Website | Twitter

Want to buy the book? You can get it here:

Book Depository | Fishpond | Bookworld | Amazon

Thank you to Penguin Australia and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC.

This review will also appear on Book Nerd Reviews.