Rumours by Anna Godbersen

Rating: 5/5.

Summary:(from amazon.com)After bidding good-bye to New York's brightest star, Elizabeth Holland, rumors continue to fly about her untimely demise.

All eyes are on those closest to the dearly departed: her mischievous sister, Diana, now the family's only hope for redemption; New York's most notorious cad, Henry Schoon-maker, the flame Elizabeth never extinguished; the seductive Penelope Hayes, poised to claim all that her best friend left behind—including Henry; even Elizabeth's scheming former maid, Lina Broud, who discovers that while money matters and breeding counts, gossip is the new currency.

Review: Rumours, Rumours, Rumours.

This is the time that I'll mention that this is a spoiler free review. To all of you have read it though, I say: what??? why?! That's all I'll say on the matter.

Rumours follows on very smoothly from The Luxe. Putting the devoted readers right into the thick of 1899's scandal and schemes of the devious characters. The end is somewhat shocking (more so if you don't read the last page *looks guilty*) and has me craving the third book in the series Envy, released January 29^th in the U.S and I believe (don't quote me on that one though) May this year for us Aussie's.

The young cast of characters once again capture your heart and make you want to turn the page, a few characters though, do not. That Godberson has characters out in her novels, that she does not mind them being disliked makes her a much more extraordinary writer in my eyes and her characters even more realistic. In my review for the The Luxe I spoke of my favourite characters and that has not changed. Maybe my distaste for Penelope has grown, and my love for Will as well, also my love for Henry. Diana remains my favourite because of her romantic heart and cheeky attitude towards life.

Of the two novels in the series, I believe that I enjoyed Rumours more. Instead of waiting for the drama, we are put back into it. We know the characters so much better, we know what they want, who they want and how badly they want these things. This made the novel that much more interesting and swifter.

I really do recommend this series of books to anyone who enjoys scandal and confusing love triangles (or squares or pentagons).

Yet another five out of five for this wonderful series. Envy. I am waiting oh so eagerly for you.

The Luxe by Anna Godberson

“If Elizabeth had looked down from that lovely perch one particular October morning on the proceeding of her own funeral, she would have been honoured to see that all of New York's best families had turned out to say goodbye.”

Summary: (from amazon.com) Elizabeth Holland, a prim and proper lady of old-money society, is betrothed to one man, though furtively loves another; Henry Schoonmaker, a debauched playboy who must marry Elizabeth or be disinherited; Diana Holland, Elizabeth’s younger sister who is in love with her fiancé; and Penelope Hayes, a member of the nouveau riche who will stop at nothing to win Henry’s affections. As Elizabeth and Henry’s wedding approaches, the spectacle unfolds in a wondrously grandiose scene, making for a fun, though not entirely unexpected dénouement.


Review: First and foremost I want to compliment this book on its chapter size – yes, I do realise that is a weird thing to do, but the chapter sizes were perfect. Short and swift and straight to the point.
The Luxe is written in third person and with each chapter comes the perspective of one of the scandalised central characters. Making The Luxe is an addicting read that I had trouble putting down.
Character wise they were set up well and all had memorabile traits. One character I could not stand was Penelope. The thing that annoyed me the most about her was that she was constantly positioning herself so that the light was hitting her features in a perfect, alluring way. That said, I felt like Penelope was put in the novel to be disliked.
The romance was fantastic – especially Elizabeth and Will’s, probably my favourite in the novel as well. I love romances with higher and lower class people when reading novels set in a different time era like the 1800’s. Besides of course Will, Diana was my favourite character because she was mischievous and wasn’t bent on being perfect.

The beginning of this novel draws you in, giving a brief explanation of each pivotal character, naming situations that intrigue you and finally ending with a bang. Leaving me with so many questions that I had nothing left to do but turn the next page.
This is described as Gossip Girl set in the 1800’s, when I think of Gossip Girl I do think of confusing love triangles and society problems, but I do not think of The Luxe, even if the basics are the same. The difference between the Gossip Girl books and The Luxe – for me that is – is that I was able to finish The Luxe and the characters were so much better developed and realistic.

The cover is just beautiful as well. I would find it hard to walk past a novel with that pretty a cover, it's so intriguing.
The Luxe has me very much wanting to read the sequel Rumours and anything else that will come in the series.

I’m giving this novel five out of five. Godberson writes a scandalous 1800’s novel filled with corsets and drama, forbidden love and money. A novel that I recommend to anyone in need of a guilty pleasure or who likes a scandal.

--Allie.

Dear Everybody by Michael Kimball

“Jonathan left all of these fragments behind and I have tried to put them back together in some kind of order. I hope that this hold him together”.

Rating: 5/5.

Summary:Jonathon Bender had something to say, but the world wouldn’t listen. That’s why he writes letters to everybody he has ever known—including his mother and father, his brother and other relatives, his childhood friends and neighbors, the Tooth Fairy, his classmates and teachers, his psychiatrists, his ex-girlfriends and his ex-wife, the state of Michigan, a television station, and a weather satellite. Taken together, these unsent letters tell the remarkable story of Jonathon’s life.

Review:My mum arrived home with a bag of books from her book club, out of curiosity I picked through the pile and that is where I found this wonderful novel. The first pages had me hooked and when I really got into this book there was no going back. It’s not like anything I’ve ever read before.
The book is written very differently, not using the traditional third or first person but letter form, with a collation of articles, excerpts from Jonathan’s eulogy and his mother’s diary and conversations between Robert and people who knew Jonathan.
This is a tragic story about abuse and suicide and how the victims deal with it. The letters are hard hitting, at some points throughout the novel I was gasping at what Jonathan had written.

“Dear Grandma and Grandpa Winters,
Thank-you for giving me the Etch-a-Sketch for my seventh birthday. I liked drawing with it better then drawing on the walls, but I always felt sick when I shook it and everything on it’s magic screen disappeared. It reminded me how my dad would grab me by both of my shoulders and shake me until everything went blank inside me too”.

Jonathan was very easy to love because he was so blunt and sweet, very sweet and that really just made you a little sadder. What I really liked about Jonathan was that when he wrote the letters to his abusive father you could tell by how he wrote them that he was like: stuff it. He never searched for approval from his father, he knew that he didn’t like him and he didn’t try and change that. His brother Robert on the other hand was a lot harder to like, he was in denial about everything and would make awful comments about his brother and didn’t seem to really care.

Jonathan’s mother Alice was tortured character who was frightened and it was hard not to feel the deepest sympathy for her. I hated his father, some conversations between Robert and Tom (the father) would make you feel sick, he treated Jonathan so badly.
The book leaves you with a lot of unanswered questions and depending on which characters you like and trust will leave you with your own opinion on whether what Jonathan was saying was true or false.
The story does a great job of showing Jonathan’s mental illness, Sara (his ex-wife) explains a lot of what happened to Jonathan in a very personal manner and really makes you seem like you were there.
The story was hauntingly real, the characters, the plot, the reactions, the circumstances.
It’s a quick and enjoyable read and it ends very abruptly.

I’m giving this novel five out of five, it was so dark (though not disturbing) yet touching, I loved reading this novel and would recommend it to anyone, especially fans of darker writers.

--Allie.

Also, stay tuned because in the next couple of days I will be posting my interview with Melina Marchetta (how exciting!) and giving out the information about my first contest!

The Push by Julia Lawrinson.

“Love is just about the only hold anyone can have over another person; if you have that, then nothing else in necessary.”

Rating: 5/5

Summary: (from julialawrinson.com.au) Erica is restless for a life outside her office job, her boring boyfriend and her mother's tiny house in down-and-out Glebe.

In the 1950s, Sydney is quickly building a reputation for sinfulness, and some of the most attractively sinful people are to be found in a group known as the Push. They meet regularly to discuss their wicked ideas at the Royal George, and Erica is drawn into the captivating crowd.

Review:Doesn't the cover just sell this novel to you? I know the old saying: never judge a book by it's cover. But I don't agree with it in terms of reading, that's one of the first things I do. And this gorgeous cover is just the beginning of good things for this novel.

It's written in third person and in multiple perspectives to give you a good view of everyone and why they are the way they are, for example Trish, who is the best friend of the main character Erica, who introduces her to the notorious push, has a family that doesn't respect her and that causes her to rebel.

Erica is the main character and I think that as far as MC's go she was wonderful and easy to relate to. She's beautiful but shows that with beauty doesn't come everything, especially reassurance. We really watch her grow up throughout the story.

Johnno from the first time you see him is something special, his introduction is fantastic and you see that it suits his personality very well and it leaves a lasting impression on you. Some points through the novel I hated Johnno, but as it progressed that changed and I loved him more, he wasn't fickle, he was just passionate and wouldn't allow anything to sway his views.

I thought that Vanessa was a great character as well, very original. In the novel there was at least one character that you could relate to, Lawrinson's characters were realistic and interesting to read.

A major theme in this story is loss of innocence and it's carved marvelously throughout the story.

The emotion runs strong in The Push and something about the jealously Erica feels about Johnno and girls is very real.

“Is she – was she with Johnno?” asked Erica.

“It doesn't work like that,” Trish said. “It's more...fluid.”

I don't usually like books set in another time era, they tend to confuse me, but if you're one of those people like me then don't worry about it, the era doesn't make this novel hard to follow or annoying because of the way they speak or act. I actually really loved this novel because of it's era.

I may seem a little uninformed when I say that I had never heard of the the push (it was an actual real group of people) before reading this novel a few months earlier and I learnt a fair bit about it.

I love the ideas this novel possess and how opinionated the characters appear to be, the controversy was relevant for the time era.

I don't know whether it was intentional, but Lawrinson shows clearly which path Erica could have taken, she could have played it safe and stayed in the dining room at lunch with Jean and stayed in a relationship with boring David, but she chose the elusive push with Johnno.

“She with me!” David said. “I'll punch your head in you impertinent pig.”

The man gave a small laugh. “Oh you will, will you?”

There are a few mini mysteries in this novel, based around Erica's absent sister Peggy and hearing things from Peggy's POV is great though she isn't having the best life.

Lawrinson's writing style is wonderful and I love the vague way she writes. She does a wonderful job of keeping the characters in character and keeping you hooked.

The ending! The ending was great! I can't believe how wonderful I thought it was and I'm so picky about the end. It was happy but at the same time it wasn't corny and allowed you to have your own and wide opinion of what happens next. It gave the best sense of closure and hope I have been given in a long time.

This book was a delight to read, everything was marvelous and I am having trouble thinking of something bad to say about it.

I'm giving this novel five out of five. It was different, interesting, the characters interesting and the plot great. Lawrinson may be an Aussie author and her novels may be hard to get a hold of for people in the U.S, but if you ever get the opportunity to read The Push take it, because you will not regret the twenty something dollars you spend to experience it.

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta.

And then the dark forces of the curse entombed the kingdom, separating a people in two. This is the story, as told to those of us who were born to see such days, recorded here in the Book of Lumatere so we will never forget.

Rating: 5/5

Summary: (From melinamarchetta.com.au)At the age of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he must sacrifice a pound of flesh in order to save the royal house of his homeland, Lumatere.

And so he stands on the rock of three wonders with his childhood friend Prince Balthazar and the prince's cousin, Lucian, and together they mix their blood. And Lumatere is safe.

Until the 'five days of the unspeakable', when the King and Queen and their children are slaughtered in the palace. And an imposter king takes the throne.
And a curse is put on Lumatere, which traps those caught inside and forces thousands of others to roam the land as exiles, dying of fever and persecution in foreign camps.

But ten years later Finnikin is led to another rock to meet the young novice, Evanjalin. A girl plagued by dark dreams, who holds the key to their return to the Land of light...

Review: This is a story written in third person and is about dwindling and fiery hope, about redemption and guilt, regret and love, about finding those who you love and going back for those who you left behind. Six long months I waited for this novel and I was not disappointed. Melina Marchetta, my favourite author in the world managed to once again weave another original and amazing tale.

The first thing I will say is: how does Marchetta write such original stories? When you think about the basics of her stories they sound very genial, but whenever she writes it screams originality. This was her first fantasy story and I must say that she pulled this one off.

Her story was a little complicated, she created a whole new world and learning the names of every country, every town was a little difficult at the beginning but as the novel went on you learned a lot about each and I commend Marchetta highly on being able to give so much detail to every town she created that little bit of history we were given made the story that much more realistic and moving.

Finnikin was the main character and was...well awesome. I loved how he was so determined and good natured, I read a Q&A about FOTR on her website and Marchetta said that she had trouble writing Finnikin because he kept appearing too weak or too arrogant, but I think that she crafted him wonderfully. Evanjalin was a great character and was a kick ass female heroin, Finnikin and Evanjalin's relationship was fantastic, complicated and once again, realistic, especially considering the time era. My favourite character though had to be Perri the Savage, he was delightfully miss understood and I loved that Finnikin's father Trevanion trusted him whole heartedly and gave him a chance, despite the rumors that circulated around him, when I explain it that way it sounds corny doesn't it? Well, it isn't.

But Trevanion was staring at Perri. “You,” he said. “If anything happens to me, protect my boy.”

I loved that towards the end of the book we got a look from the misunderstood Froi's point of view, he was perceived as such an awful character at the start of the novel, but he was so...sweet, after my initial hate for him I felt a little bit of sympathy towards him and when I read his perspective it made my feelings of sympathy stronger and caused me to really like him.

The others pretended that deep down he wasn't bad. That he didn't come from evil. But she knew. She saw the badness. She saw it now and shivered. Page: 244.

Melina's wonderful style shone through in this novel, her flashbacks, dream sequences and just writing was beyond enjoyable to read.

A lot of brutal things happen in this story and Marchetta is never too frank about them, which I liked, she implies a lot of what happened to the women and the reaction of her characters say more then the harsh sentence ever would.

Marchetta threw in so many twists and turns it made this almost 400 page novel one I powered through, one twist had me gaping because it was popped in at the most random time and I didn't know whether it was a dream or wishful thinking. One of the biggest twist of the novels I'm glad to say I guessed (yes, I guessed it, whooo) and it was a great twist indeed.

So, overall: the plot? Engaging, amazing, awesome, fantastic, wonderful and amusing. The characters? Gah, amazing. I loved each and every one of them for every flaw and everything that made them glorious. The twists? Amazing, fun, beyond interesting. The writing? Don't get me started on how fantastic it was, how the story was intricately weaved and just so beautiful that I can't believe someone has that much writing talent.

I want you read this book, I love it. I want you to read each and every novel of Marchetta's because each is so wonderful I want you to be able to experience it.

Are you in the U.S? Are you going insane and really want this novel? Well, you can get your hands on it Spring 2010, a little while away, but you can always try and find it on the net.

Five out of five, I think that my review says enough, please, read it when you get the chance.

--Allie

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta.

“This morning, my mother didn’t get out of bed.”

Rating: 5/5

Summary: Francesca is beginning her second term in year eleven at an all boy’s school that’s just started accepting girls. Her mother has had a breakdown and no longer gets out of bed and she misses her old friends.

But what Francesca doesn’t expect when she arrives at her new school, seriously not wanting to be there is that the new friends she makes grudgingly are fiercely loyal and that there’s more to them then it seems. She doesn't expect to fall in love or that she has the power to bring her family that is slowly falling apart in her mother’s absence back together.

Review: This story is phenomenal. Melina writes a magical book with raw and extraordinary real emotion.

With the terrible summary I have written and provided you all with you're probably thinking that this is an awful novel with not much going for it, maybe you're thinking: depression? What a sad topic, why on earth would I want to read such an unhappy tale? Please don't let any of that sort of stuff put you off.

Marchetta has the writing ability to make you seriously care about her characters. Her characters are easy to relate to, fun and different. In each novel Marchetta produces comes with it a fantastic set of new characters and as a reader and major fan of all of her novels the characters in Saving Francesca still stand to be my favourites.

There where so many points where I was touched by the characters who are so much deeper then they seem, and there were even more points where I was laughing out loud at what a character had said or done.

It's an all star cast in this novel and if you're looking for a novel with characters that are beyond the ordinary then you must pick this book up. There's Thomas and Jimmy who make you laugh, there's William who makes your fan girl hearts go insane, there's just so many wonderful characters I could be here all day babbling about them.

Francesca is a fantastic narrator, and what you see and feel thorough her eye’s is real and true. You feel her pain about her mother’s problem, you feel her anger toward the people who just don’t get it and you laugh with her whenever Thomas is a smart ass or when Jimmy invites himself around.

The plot is interesting and I felt driven to finish this novel because...of well everything, the characters – don't get my talking about them again. The plot, original and interesting and the writing, Marchetta's style is in one word blunt and in two: blunt and beautiful. She doesn't beat around the bush, she never drags things out for too long, she tells you all the truth she can and tells it beautifully and by her doing this she has become and probably will always stay my favourite author.

This novel, to be fully appreciated needs to be read by people who are mature, when I read this novel for the first time at age thirteen the mother's depression made me feel a little sick with sadness, but when I reread it a year later I loved this book so much that I am till this day constantly reaching for this novel for comfort when I have a bad day.

This novel gets five stars. Everything about it is wonderful and amazing. I hope that you're putting this novel on the top of a very long list of books to read or running off to buy it because Saving Francesca is not to be missed by YA readers because it is definitely amongst the finest in that category.

--Allie.