Pearl Verses the World by Sally Murphy.

Rating: 4/5.
Summary: At school, Pearl feels as though she is in a group of one. Her teacher wants her to write poems that rhyme but Pearl's poems don't. At home, however, Pearl feels safe and loved, but her grandmother is slowly fading, and so are Mum and Pearl. When her grandmother eventually passes away, Pearl wants life to go back to the way it was and refuses to talk at the funeral. But she finds the courage to deliver a poem for her grandmother that defies her teacher's idea of poetry – her poem doesn't rhyme; it comes from the heart.



Review: Pearl Verses the World is not the kind of book I would pick up in a bookstore. The cover, though adorable is too childish for my tastes and I started the story with that mind set. The novel is directed at younger readers, but I still managed to enjoy it.

It's written in verse and Murphy does a wonderful job at getting Pearl's emotions across and making the reader feel for her. The verse is clever and poignant and I enjoyed it immensely.

Another thing I enjoyed about Pearl Verses the World is the youthfulness of Pearl and her sweet innocence in the novel, making the poems, for me a little more enjoyable and fun. Pearl, was in one word adorable. And I enjoyed her character, in the short length of the novel Murphy was able to make me feel attached to Pearl and really care about what she was feeling and how she would cope.

I love the message of this story and I love the way Murphy puts Pearl's thoughts across. Pearl Verses the World really is a great novel. Even though it's not YA, I believe that a lot of people would enjoy it and younger sibling would love it.

It's hard to rate Pearl Versus the World because it's not YA, it's more MG. I'd give it four out of five stars, I'd recommend it for your younger siblings and you can always have a quick read of this little gem.



Allie.

Lack of Posting.

As you may or may not have noticed there has been a lack of posts. It's the end of the school term and there have been tests, projects, work and not a whole lot of time for reading. It's a busy weekend for me, it was my birthday yesterday (ohhhhhhh) and I have lots of stuff on. Life has been a very stressful thing.


I apologise for the lack of posts. I have a two week break coming up at the end of next week, so I will be reading heaps, I have lots of reviews to write.

Thanks and please just bare with me.



Allie.

In My Mailbox (6)

In My Mailbox is the awesome weekly segment created by The Story Siren.

Going Too Far by Jenniffer Echolls.

All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far...and almost doesn’t make it back.
John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won’t soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won’t be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge—and over..

Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead. (1, 2 & 3)

St. Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school—it's a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They've been on the run, but now they're being dragged back to St. Vladimir's—the very place where they're most in danger. . . .
Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy's ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world's fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

Money Run by Jack Heath.

Ashley Arthur is a teenage thief - the best there is. Nothing is so safe that she can't get to it. But when she tries to rob a billionaire of $200 million hidden somewhere in his building, she collides with an assassin who plans to kill him. Suddenly Ash is fighting for her life, and it seems that the billionaire might have a sinister agenda of his own . . .





Allie.

Charlotte McConaghy Interview Part 2.

Charlotte McConaghy's debut novel, Arrival, has been a hit with Adele, Lisa and I. After thoughly enjoying the novel the Aussie YA Alliance has chosen this week to focus on Charlotte and her novel. We conducted a MEGA chat room interview last night and it's been broken into 4 parts. (Links to the other part at the bottom of the interview).

Of all the characters you created, who is your favourite?

I'm completely in love with Jane and Fern. I can't get enough of them! Fern is ultra hot the way I imagine him!

Did you base any of the characters off of people you know?

No, they are all completely imaginary. However I did name a character after my brother Liam, in the hopes that it would one day entice him into reading it.No such luck yet. You'd think having a warrior emperor named after you would get someone reading...

What can you tell us about Book 2? We need some details (we are a little fixated on what's going to happen)

Okay, I can tell you that it is very much in the works. I finished off the second draft today!!!

What's book 2 called?

I don't have a name for it yet. I'll have to mull it over for a while yet. I'm terrible with names. I find it the most difficult thing about these books because there is so much in them!

When’s book 2 being released?

I don't have a date for it yet, but hopefully before the end of the year. Sorry, guys, I'm not being very helpful am I? Haha, yeah I'll definitely stick to the one word idea.

Who do you think you are most like...out of the Strangers?

I think what I like about all of my characters, is the fact that I can create qualities in all of them that I can aspire to. I'd like to be Jane, of course, but that's just wishful thinking. lol

Want to read the rest of the interview?

Part One: Aussie YA Alliance.

Part Two: Right here.

Part Three: Look At That Book.

Part Four: Persnickety Snark.

Arrival can be purchased online here.

Review: Somebody's Crying by Maureen McCarthy.

“When Alice looks up and sees Tom staring at her, everything closes down around them and becomes very still. No one is breathing. No one else is in the room. Tom feels as if he can see right into the soul of Alice Wishart. It lies open before him, like a wide long pane of glittering glass. So beautiful and…ready to break.”

Rating: 1/5.

Publisher: Allen and Unwin.

Summary: Three years have passed since the murder of Alice's mother, but still the killer is unknown. Alice, her cousin Jonty and his friend Tom are drawn together by the mystery, but what is each of them hiding? Will their secrets bind them tighter or tear everything apart?

Review: Somebody’s Crying. It’s the novel that is everywhere at the moment. You can’t walk into any facility that sells books and not see it. That creates a lot of intrigue, it certainly did for me and I found myself disappointed.

The story is centred around the death of Lillian, close friend of Tom’s, the mother of Alice, aunty and good friend of Jonty. And how each react to the death and what happens after. It’s a story filled with a lot (a lot) of angst. Characters that are constantly changing their oh so set opinions and too much description. Lillian is made out to be a wonderful and artistic woman and is wholly admired by the three main characters and I found her bland. The plot is basically a non thing, as I can’t name more then two big events. The blurb had me ready for a good mystery filled with twists and turns. Yet, I sat there reading tentatively, set up my suspicions and none of them were right, sure the mystery was tricky, but it wasn’t great tricky it was: is that all? And left me feeling no satisfaction at all.

When you plunge into the first pages of the novel you’re taken aback by the descriptive and wonderful writing style. You’re interested, you want to know more about the lives of Johnty, Tom and Alice. You want to know who killed Lillian. Soon, the lovely descriptions become strenuous and you find yourself wondering when something will actually happen.

I will not deny that Maureen McCarthy has a freaking fantastic way of writing a novel. Her style is just amazing. Unfortunately that doesn’t bring the novel home.

I had a love hate relationship with the characters. I could get so annoyed at them, especially Alice. She seemed to be glorified by the other characters, but I found her hard to put up with. Same with the deceased Lillian. The characters that were glorified I found hard to put up with due their unattractive personalities. That made it hard for me to like Tom and Jonty due to their intense adoration of Alice and Lillian. On a positive note, they were very realistic characters and McCarthy crafted their realism very well.

The end is sweet and happy. Sometimes when I think back on it, I think that it’s too happy. Other times, I think that after all they’ve been through it’s good closure.

I’m giving this novel, one out of five. I wouldn’t recommend this novel. I expected a lot more.

In My Mailbox (5)

In My Mailbox is the awesome weekly segment created by The Story Siren.


Just one book this week, but it's one I've been looking forward to.





Set in 1980s inner-city Sydney, The Lucky Ones follows maverick teen Tom, as he tries to make sense of life after school.The novel reveals in poignant and hilarious ways the workings of a young male mind – with all its misplaced romanticism, youthful delusions, bewilderment about girls and need for adventure.



I love the look of this one, the cover is pretty and the beginning was brilliant.







What did you get this week?