Review : The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge
Pages : 384
Genre : Historical Fiction, YA
Stand alone
My Rating : 4.5/5
About the Book :
Faith Sunderly leads a double life. To most people, she is modest and well mannered—a proper young lady who knows her place. But inside, Faith is burning with questions and curiosity. She keeps sharp watch of her surroundings and, therefore, knows secrets no one suspects her of knowing—like the real reason her family fled Kent to the close-knit island of Vane. And that her father’s death was no accident.
In pursuit of revenge and justice for the father she idolizes, Faith hunts through his possessions, where she discovers a strange tree. A tree that only bears fruit when she whispers a lie to it. The fruit, in turn, delivers a hidden truth. The tree might hold the key to her father’s murder. Or, it might lure the murderer directly to Faith herself, for lies—like fires, wild and crackling—quickly take on a life of their own.
My Thoughts
The Lie Tree is a unique YA novel that excellently combines many genres I love – Victorian historical fiction, magical realism and mystery – and wraps all of it in beautiful writing. It’s like few I have read before in the YA category. In fact, I would say that, if the story interests you, don’t let the YA tag stop you. While the book is appropriate for a YA public, it doesn’t make use of most of the tropes and clichés readers often associate it with. I definitely feel this could please a wider audience.
The pace of the story is appropriately slow and the atmosphere, unsettling. The mystery was dark and heavy, reminding me of Gothic novels (something else that I love!) The characters are complex, the story not too predictable, and the lie tree a fascinating addition to what would have been an interesting mystery even without magic.
There is so much to love about the book, but what I loved most was its main character, Faith. She is such a resourceful and bright character! She has a scientific mind and she questions everything, from her father’s choices to faith to her role as a woman. The topic of her gender and its imposed limitations is central to the story, and it feels thought provoking without neglecting other important aspects of the book.
The plot is, maybe, where the book lost me a little bit (but still, only a tiny bit). While I can appreciate a slow pace, I need to feel that things are moving in one direction or another. Here though, I felt, especially in the first half, that things were too slow, almost standing still. It’s a small flaw but I can see why other readers didn’t appreciate this part of the book.
Small pacing issue aside, The Lie Tree was everything that I love in reading, and some more. It was the second book I read in 2017, and what a great way to start the year! I’ll be looking for more by Frances Hardinge, no doubt about it!
Review : My (not so) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
My (not so) Perfect Life by Sophie Kinsella
Pages : 438
Genre : Fiction
Stand alone
My Rating : 3.5/5
About the Book :
Katie Brenner has the perfect life: a flat in London, a glamorous job, and a super-cool Instagram feed.
Ok, so the real truth is that she rents a tiny room with no space for a wardrobe, has a hideous commute to a lowly admin job, and the life she shares on Instagram isn’t really hers.
But one day her dreams are bound to come true, aren’t they?
Until her not-so perfect life comes crashing down when her mega-successful boss Demeter gives her the sack. All Katie’s hopes are shattered. She has to move home to Somerset, where she helps her dad with his new glamping business.
Then Demeter and her family book in for a holiday, and Katie sees her chance. But should she get revenge on the woman who ruined her dreams? Or try to get her job back? Does Demeter – the woman with everything – have such an idyllic life herself? Maybe they have more in common than it seems.
My Thoughts
Story time : Sophie Kinsella and I, we have a history. Confessions of a Shopaholic was the first ever book I read in English, from start to finish. At the time, my English was still rough and I had to look up a lot of stuff in dictionaries. It was half fun, half work. I never expected, at the time, that I would one day read in English so easily – let alone blog about books like I do today! In a way, I have Sophie Kinsella to thank for it all. That’s part of why, whenever she has a new book on the shelves, I’m first in line to read it, and it never stays long on my TBR.
My (not so) Perfect Life is very “Kinsella”. It has the likable but flawed main character, comedic scenes, a hint of romance and quirky family members. It comes together pretty well, and though it’s not on par with the author’s best novels, it was definitely a step up from Wedding Night, which was a bit of a let down for me. It was slightly less over the top, and I thought the plot was more fun. I quite enjoyed Katie as a main character as well as her boss, Demeter.
However, I had a huge problem with the pacing. 150 pages in and nothing had really happened. Katie was a bit aimless, narrating her day to day, and it wasn’t clear where the book was going or what was her motivation. The book felt too long at 438 pages, and it definitely diminished my enjoyment of it, even though I read it quickly over a couple days.
All in all, My (not so) Perfect Life is a fun story and heartwarming book that will please fans of Sophie Kinsella. Katie is an engaging character and Kinsella’s writing sure put a smile on my face. It wasn’t my favorite, but it sure wasn’t bad and I’ll be eagerly awaiting her next book!
Filling the Shelf – 241
Welcome to Filling the Shelf, or as many of you know it, Mailbox Monday! If you’re interested in joining the fun or seeing what other bloggers added to their shelves, click away! (but beware, visiting other mailboxes will probably add to your neverending wishlist!)
Hello hello!
How was your week? Here we had a beautiful week of snow again, though now the weather is warmer and everything is melting away. I love the snow so it saddens me a bit to see it go, but hopefully winter isn’t over yet. I’d love a bit of snow again before spring comes!
On the good side of news, I did manage to write two reviews this week for The Impossible Fortress and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, two books I really enjoyed.
Four new books were added to my shelves this week. I have to say, I am in love with Swimming Lessons’ cover. It’s just so pretty, I could put it on my wall (of course, the story also intrigues me!) And All Our Wrong Todays just has one of the most intriguing story I’ve seen recently, I can’t wait to read it.
Swimming Lessons by Claire Fuller – All Our Wrong Todays by Jason Elan Mastai
A List of Cages by Robin Roe – History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
What books did you recently add to your shelves?
Review : The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak
The Impossible Fortress by Jason Rekulak
Pages : 304
Genre : Fiction, (YA)
Stand alone
My Rating : 4/5
About the Book :
The year is 1987 and Playboy has just published scandalous photographs of Vanna White, from the popular TV game show Wheel of Fortune. For three teenage boys—Billy, Alf, and Clark—who are desperately uneducated in the ways of women, the magazine is somewhat of a Holy Grail: priceless beyond measure and impossible to attain. So, they hatch a plan to steal it.
The heist will be fraught with peril: a locked building, intrepid police officers, rusty fire escapes, leaps across rooftops, electronic alarm systems, and a hyperactive Shih Tzu named Arnold Schwarzenegger. Failed attempt after failed attempt leads them to a genius master plan—they’ll swipe the security code to Zelinsky’s convenience store by seducing the owner’s daughter, Mary Zelinsky. It becomes Billy’s mission to befriend her and get the information by any means necessary.
But Mary isn’t your average teenage girl. She’s a computer loving, expert coder, already strides ahead of Billy in ability, with a wry sense of humor and a hidden, big heart. But what starts as a game to win Mary’s affection leaves Billy with a gut-wrenching choice: deceive the girl who may well be his first love or break a promise to his best friends.
My Thoughts :
On Friday I finished reading The Hating Game (review to come), which I liked a LOT, and I felt so taken by it that I didn’t expect to get into another book right away. But as I tried to choose which book would be next, I grabbed The Impossible Fortress and read a few pages… and then a few more… and then I was halfway through the book. I finished it on the same night.
It’s safe to say The Impossible Fortress is extremely readable. It’s light, fun, a bit nostalgic and really likable. Billy’s story reads like an adventure, his and his friends’ plan somewhat mirroring the game he is creating, and it’s a spot on representation of the teenage mind. The book feels quite cinematic, too, both for its story and its characters; it’s a great afternoon read that is incredibly easy to visualize as you flip through the chapters. It doesn’t have one boring moment, and the pace is just quick enough.
There’s a lot I enjoyed about it. Mary, for sure. And one thing I loved was how Billy made assumptions about her, and how he was sometimes wrong about them, too. It was cleverly done, and not in a too obvious manner, I thought.
Similarly, I also really liked the ending. It wasn’t too perfect or too depressing. Somewhere in between, surprisingly honest and refreshing.
It’s interesting to me that this book isn’t marketed as YA, because it might as well be. I’ve read harsher, cruder, more shocking books sold from the YA shelves, more than once. The Impossible Fortress has a tone and a pace that would fit really well there. I’m guessing the publisher is trying to reach the older crowd, people about my age who grew up in the 1980’s and will read this book out of nostalgia, and who would never venture in the YA section of the story. I don’t see it as a negative, but it does remind me how subjective and limiting these labels sometimes are!
All in all, The Impossible Fortress was a lot of fun. I greatly enjoyed Jason Regulak’s smooth writing. Worth mentioning is the fact that you can visit the author’s website and click “Play the Game” at the top to play the game Billy works on in the book. It’s quite fun too! 🙂
