Category: Review Archives

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This One’s for You by Kate Sweeney: Review

This One’s for You

This One’s for You
Kate Sweeney
Viking, February 2023
Paperback, $16.45
ISBN 9780593622124

This One’s for You is a story about former best friends. When Caspian and Sydney were younger, they were inseparable, always stuck at the hip, and you wouldn’t be able to see one without the other. But just a few years later, they both seemed to have drifted apart. Now, each of them planning their own future, Caspian with his college engineering course and Sydney with her sound internship, it seems unlikely that their paths would cross once again.

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Where the Light Goes by Sara Barnard: Review

Where the Light Goes book cover

Where the Light Goes
Sara Barnard
Walker Books, May 2023
Paperback, £8.99
ISBN 9781529509137

Reading Sara Barnard’s novel, Where the Light Goes, is to feel a great wound. Sixteen-year-old Emmeline Beckwith is a student at the illustrious Shona Lee Performing Arts Academy. This is made possible by her sister, Elizabeth, leading woman in The Jinks and controversial rockstar known to the world as Lizzie Beck. To Emmy, Lizzie Beck was just Beth, idol, confidante and complicated sister. But now, five years after shooting to fame on British reality television, Beth is dead, and Emmy must go on alone. 

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Daughter of Winter and Twilight by Helen Corcoran: Review

Daughter of Winter and Twilight

Daughter of Winter and Twilight book cover

Daughter of Winter and Twilight
Helen Corcoran
O’Brien Press, September 2023
Paperback, €14.99
ISBN 9781788493703

Daughter of Winter and Twilight takes place 14 years after the end of Queen and Coin of Whispers and follows Emri, the daughter of Queens Lia and Xania of Edar. 

Emri finds herself discovering family secrets while also trying to battle against Lady Winter, whom everyone thought was just a myth. It is a story for lovers of fantasy but also for those who love a book that features characters who are LGBTQ. Emri’s journey may be intended to be the highlight of the plot, however the characters we meet along the way really add a new and exciting dynamic to the world which the author has created. 

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Review: What Walks These Halls by Amy Clarkin

What Walks These Halls
Amy Clarkin
The O’Brien Press, April 2023
Paperback, €12.99
ISBN: 9781788493734

 

What Walks These Halls is an interesting, modern take on a paranormal story following a handful of different characters, each with their own unique personality that shines throughout the story. 

We first meet the intelligent Raven and are introduced to her turbulent relationship with her family. I really enjoyed the cryptic nature of this story and the way not everything is revealed at once. This can be seen in Archer’s motivations and Éabha’s mysterious abilities. It draws you into the story and keeps you turning the pages for hours.

Despite Raven’s disapproval and reluctant involvement, Archer revives the family business: PSI, or Paranormal Surveys Ireland. The two siblings, along with their team of friends, embark on a journey filled with secrets, mystery and most importantly, paranormal activity. I enjoyed the way the relationships of the characters develop and evolve throughout this story; I was rooting for them the whole time and it kept me questioning what would happen next. 

What Walks These Halls is Amy Clarkin’s debut novel and I am looking forward to seeing more of her fiction in the future. She handles relationships, social dynamics and character building in a highly engaging and relatable way. 

Hanna-Rose Sullivan, 18

 

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Review: How to be a (Young) Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi and Nic Stone

How to be a (Young) Antiracist
Ibram X. Kendi and Nic Stone
Penguin Young Readers, January 2023
Paperback, €10.30
ISBN: 9780593461600

 

How to be a (Young) Antiracist is a really clever book. The authors manage to effectively deal with complex issues surrounding racism in a way that is easy to understand. The novel’s opening quote states “we will win.” It sets the scene of an optimistic and insightful tone that Kendi and Stone deliver their story with. How to be a (Young) Antiracist is laid out in a refreshingly simple format that outlines the different parts of the book. These parts aim to address racism inside (our own perceptions and biases), outside (investigating the intersections of racism and its impact on the world around us) and upside down (antiracism and pathways to changemaking).

The book is unusual because it is often told from a second-person perspective, as Kendi revolves his story around the milestones in his adolescence, and attempts to self-correct his previously misguided perceptions. Whilst it can get confusing at times when the narrative jumps back and forth between different  time periods, Kendi and Stone succeed in delivering an important message in simple terms. 

As Kendi recalls his own mistakes and experiences throughout his journey of antiracism, he evokes relatability and guidance within the minds of young readers who are possibly facing similar challenges. His self-deprecating humour and honest revelations are combined with consistent definitions that help readers to understand everything he is trying to say. Meanwhile, Stone backs up Kendi’s anecdotes with relevant figures and statistics. The result is a comprehensive guide of what it means to be an antiracist and the extremely possible outcomes that hope and activism can achieve.

Danielle Briody, 17

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Review: Let’s Play Murder by Kesia Lupo

Let’s Play Murder
Kesia Lupo
Bloomsbury YA, April 2023
Paperback, £7.99
ISBN: 9781526635464

 

If Agatha Christie wrote Ready Player One, it would probably read a lot like Kesia Lupo’s Let’s Play Murder. That’s not a criticism, it’s a compliment because like all great murder mysteries, it’s an impossible book to put down. The story follows Veronica who gets sucked into The Game – a virtual reality murder mystery puzzle – while playing with her sick kid brother. It’s now up to her to try to solve the mystery and win the cash prize while competing against four other players and her own past traumas. 

Written in a simple, stripped-back style, this book is highly readable with realistic, snappy dialogue, and teenage interactions so accurate I was brought back to my school days. With such great writing and the unique premise, it is unsurprising that this novel is gripping from the outset. Veronica’s character is complex, with a troubled past and plenty of secrets, which only adds to the pull of this story. Themes of bullying, grief, trauma, and violence are all addressed significantly and fearlessly. 

The only real weakness of this book is that it’s extremely dialogue heavy. There are many instances where simple exposition could have been used to progress the novel considerably instead of pages of sometimes mundane dialogue, particularly during the first half. Then again, the whole idea of this book is that it is meant to be an immersive virtual reality experience, and immersive is the perfect adjective for describing this novel. 

Mark Jackson

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Review: Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell

Scattered Showers
Rainbow Rowell
Illustrated by Jim Tierney
Pan Macmillan, 2022
Hardback, €23.80
ISBN: 9781529099119

 

Scattered Showers by Rainbow Rowell is a series of nine short stories based around love, including teenage romance, fantasy and even a story working through menopause. One of these stories, “Snow For Christmas”, includes characters from Rainbow Rowell’s Simon Snow trilogy, a young adult fantasy series. Although I haven’t read the series myself, from what I have read about Snow, I would love to read more. Without spoiling the stories from the book, I can simply say I was glued to the book. The characters were so interesting. It was fun to find out who actually ends up falling in love, and the backstories of the characters. 

My two favourites were definitely “Kindred Spirits”, which was a story about two Star Wars fans lining up outside a cinema after a new movie is going to come out, and “In Waiting”, where the characters in the story are all original characters, waiting patiently to be put into a story. Even though those two were my favourite, all of the stories were interesting, and I adored reading about the characters, despite getting only a short glance into their stories of love. This book is for fans of any kind of love story, especially with happy endings – but I may be a bit biased, as I am obsessed with sappy books.

Hanna Geszczak, 13

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Review: Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood

Lies We Sing to the Sea
Sarah Underwood
Electric Monkey, March 2023
Paperback, £14.99
ISBN: 9780008558536

 

Lies We Sing to the Sea is a thrilling imagining of Penelope’s twelve hanged maids from Homer’s Odyssey getting vengeance on the kingdom that wronged them. It follows the narrative of three characters: Leto, an oracle with a sliver of her mother’s powers, Melantho, imprisoned creature of Poseidon, and Mathias, an unfortunate prince over a cursed land. In unlikely ways, their paths intertwine into a nail-biting story that is impossible to resist. Every turn the novel takes leaves the reader hoping for each of the character’s happy endings, despite how impossible it may appear.

And for each character, it is indeed impossible to reach their own desires without demolishing another’s. Underwood shows this cleverly by changing the first-person narrative. Amazingly, she does this while maintaining an element of mystery in each character’s backstory. The setting is beautiful – from the idyllic encaged island of Pandou to the glamorous impoverished palaces of Ithica and its grief-stricken surrounding villages. The only issue I had was with the pacing at the beginning of Leto and Melantho’s quest. This was quickly redeemed by another layer to uncovering the story. The rest of the book reels you in as each character works toward their different, though similar, goal.

This book is for lovers of Greek mythology and high-stake quests. Filled with thrilling deceit, romance, and unforeseen plot twists, this story will immediately enrapture any reader and pull them into the untruthful songs each character sings.

Rowan Beddows, 17

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Review: A Darkness at the Door by Intisar Khanani

A Darkness at the Door
Intisar Khanani
Hot Key Books, 2022
Paperback, £8.99
ISBN 9781471411311

 

Amraeya ni Ansarim has been snatched. Teetering on the precipice of discovering how deep the corruption truly runs, Rae has been abducted into the very system she set out to destroy: the child slave trade, in which the children are trapped by a magical curse that will steal their minds should they manage to escape. In a world of powerful Mages and Fae sorcerers who deal in lives and debts, Rae sets out to end the unscrupulous system with the help of a band of thieves, one of whom she is beginning to like as more than an ally.

Rae exists at the intersection of patriarchal and ableist oppression. The text illustrates her triumphs while displaying the realities of her struggles, both the physical difficulties she faces with her club foot, and in the sense of her relationship with her body. This offers a display of genuine and realistic disability representation, depicting a character that is strong and capable with a disability, instead of strong and capable despite her disability. 

Justice is a strong theme that permeates this novel. The protagonist Rae is challenged with navigating the ethical minefield of necessary evils and vigilante justice, and bringing the most powerful to account when the institutions of the land are themselves corrupt to the core.

I recommend reading the Dauntless Path trilogy, of which this novel is the final installment, in chronological order, as I struggled to keep up with the complex undercurrents of the characters’ relationships and the intricately woven structure of the society, though this is less a drawback than a testament to the expansive worldbuilding that enriches this novel.

Although not astonishingly exhilarating or unpredictable, this book is worth a read for fans of action and resolved, satisfying conclusions.

Faebian Gogarty, 15

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Review: Promise Boys by Nick Brooks

Promise Boys
Nick Brooks
Macmillan, February 2023
Paperback, £8.99
ISBN 9781035003150

 

Promise Boys is a gritty mystery with memorable characters, a detailed setting and most importantly, murder. The book follows suspects J.B, Ramón and Trey, three high school students who attend the prestigious Promise Academy. While it may seem like the “perfect” school, any breach of the code of conduct can result in severe consequences. Despite this tense environment, no one expected that somebody in the school would do anything akin to murder, particularly not to the beloved Principal Moore, founder of Promise. And the three main suspects? They all had motive, means and, most importantly, all had altercations with Moore earlier that day and were in detention the day of the murder. So the questions arise – who is truly guilty and who was the victim of harsh coincidence?

While the characters have excellent voices and their own distinct personalities, the writing can occasionally feel clunky when it comes to exposition and dialogue. I would recommend reading this book slowly, as the information dumps where the characters state what has happened in the book up to that point are frequent. As a result, there’s a lack of action and a lot more internal monologues than a book of this genre should have. However, I can’t complain, as the book promises to be gritty, and it certainly delivers! 

The book takes you on a journey through all the characters’ points of view, featuring police interviews and news articles. These interviews do become repetitive, but the book pulls you back in with plot twists aplenty. 

I’d recommend this book to fans of One of Us is Lying and The Hate U Give. It’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but if my review sounds appealing to you, I’d implore you to read it!

Willow Byrne, 14