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Review: My Epic Spring Break (Up) by Kristin Rockaway

My Epic Spring Break (Up)
Kristin Rockaway
Underlined, April 2021
Paperback, £7.99
ISBN 9780593180112

This book is a fun, coming-of-age story revolving around the friends-to-lovers trope.

My Epic Spring Break (Up) is a contemporary novel about a girl experiencing love for the first time. The plot is simple: Ashley, a coding prodigy, thinks that she has her future planned out with the end goal of working in Silicon Valley as a software engineer. When Ashley’s future plans confront an obstacle, she decides to live more adventurously, leading her down the road of having a very eventful Spring Break.

The book is easy to read and the fast pacing conveys the sudden changes in Ashley’s life. I could see a younger YA audience between ages 12-14 especially enjoying it. To me, it was evident that the characters portrayed classic stereotypes: the nerd, the prankster, the popular girl and the troublemaker. The most entertaining character was the prankster Jason, Ashley’s childhood friend. A key characteristic to this book is the references to Taylor Swift songs as they complement moments that happen to Ashley and describe her feelings. This adds a soundtrack to the book which I thought was a nice addition. I believe this book would be an amazing introduction for young readers into contemporary YA!

Eimear Feeney, teen reviewer

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Review: As Far as You’ll Take Me by Phil Stamper

As Far As You’ll Take Me
Phil Stamper
Bloomsbury YA, 2021
Paperback, £7.99
ISBN 9781526630728

Marty is a 17-year-old (mostly closeted) gay kid from Kentucky with a passion for playing the oboe. His parents are devoted Christians. He tells them he has been accepted to the famous Knightsbridge music academy in London and heads over to stay with his aunt Leah and cousin Shane — but really, he is trying to escape.

We follow Marty as he discovers not just his sexuality, but himself. Even still, As Far As You’ll Take Me is not about self-discovery as much as the discovery of others: that letting people into your life is always a risk, that others will somehow fail you as often as you fail them, but that they are worth it. It is about the reality of love as opposed to the ideal. Stamper’s biggest achievement in this book is to show how love is a kind of effort that we make with people.
Not all the book’s threads quite lead in this direction: in particular, Marty’s relationship with one of his Kentucky friends is not quite fleshed out and feels unresolved at the end. But in general, the book moves with feeling.

The narrative is often light-hearted and full of quips, mostly fish-out-of-water stuff that simulates the experience of an American teenager abroad for the first time. These are funny and give the book a roundedness: there aren’t so many as to overwhelm an Irish reader. The book contains discussions of mental illness, eating disorders, and troubled family relationships — it handles these sensitively and sincerely.

Rory O’Sullivan

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Review: The Lake by Natasha Preston

The Lake
Natasha Preston
Delacorte Press, 2021
Paperback, $10.99
ISBN 9780593124970

Esme and Kayla haven’t told anyone what happened at Camp Pine Lake all those years ago. But now that they’ve
returned as counsellors, it seems that somehow somebody knows — and they want everybody else to know too. The
Lake is a gripping read that isn’t afraid to get dark, not letting the protagonists off the hook for a second. Although some of the twists in the novel are too frequently telegraphed to be particularly surprising, the last fifty pages pack punch after punch and are worth the wait. Preston has a knack for knowing exactly what her characters
would watch and listen to. This helps the reader understand them, and helps distract from the dialogue that at times feels written rather than said. Set at a summer camp for eight- to ten-year-olds, Camp Pine Lake provides the perfect mix of a sunny home-away-from-home and a stifling settlement of strangers.

At times it becomes difficult to know who to root for as the specifics of the girls’ secrets are revealed layer by shocking layer. Again and again Preston asks the reader to interrogate the girls’ actions, whether their age or understanding of the situation absolves them of guilt, and these answers don’t come easily. The complexity of Esme and Kayla’s situation is compelling enough to recommend the book despite its flaws. This book is perfect for thriller fans.

Gillian Doyle

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Review: Full Term by Ellie Rose McKee

Full Term
Ellie Rose McKee
Elowen Press, March 2021
Paperback, £7.99
ISBN 9781838432300

Mya Byrne is 16 and has a whole host of problems: her boyfriend broke up with her, her stepdad has been hitting her mum, and she’s gone into early labour in school — but nobody knew she was pregnant. Full Term, the first in the Family Ties trilogy, follows Mya’s journey through the first month of motherhood and finding her independence.

While Full Term handles some heavy-hitting topics with a light touch, this is not a light book. McKee pulls no punches in describing the details of hospital procedures, potential birth trauma or the realities of Mother and Baby units. Mya’s mum goes missing in an effort to evade her stepdad’s wrath, and McKee weaves the complexities of legal dealings with domestic violence neatly throughout the subplots of the story.

There is a lot of story within this novella, with a number of threads and mysteries to unravel that on occasion detract from the pacing and the development of some of the character relationships. In terms of the supporting cast, Mya’s flatmate Lynne is vibrant and jumps off the page, and Mya’s sister Zhara is aloof and intriguing enough that I was excited whenever she reappeared. Throughout the book, Mya’s determination and need to survive ring true.

Overall, Full Term is an ever-topical quick read that puts me in mind of a thematically modern version of Catherine MacPhail’s Roxy’s Baby.

Courtney Smyth

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Review: Eve Out of Her Ruins by Ananda Devi

Eve Out of Her Ruins
Ananda Devi
Translated by Jeffrey Zuckerman
Les Fugitives, April 2021 (first published 2016)
Paperback, £7.99
ISBN 9780993009341

TW: Sexual violence

Like all good fiction, Eve Out of Her Ruins offers a portal into parts of the world we have never visited, and access to points of view we have never experienced, promoting education and empathy through reading. Mauritius, where this novel is set, has been colonised many times, by the Dutch, the French, and the British.

Consequently, the people on this small island speak English, French, and Mauritian Creole, and this blend of cultures and languages across a troubled history is bound to result in fertile ground for creativity. However, this multitude of languages is not always an advantage; Ananda Devi’s characters struggle to express themselves fully with all of these borrowed languages, phrases and multicultural influences. On several occasions they say that there is “no escape” from the limitations placed on them by their upbringing in their neighbourhood — apart from turning to violence and crime which further traps them in the cyclical “nasty history” of their country. They are constrained by the cultural memory of violence and slavery, and can barely imagine a life outside of this extistence. Only fiction and stories from other places provide a glimpse of a world where “possibilities shimmer”, just as this novel helps readers to understand the lives of these disenfranchised youths.

Eve Out of Her Ruins certainly isn’t an easy or enjoyable read — the rage and the hopelessness of Eve, Saad, Savita and Cllio scream from every page — but it is a valuable translation to have available for English speaking readers.

Laura King

 Check out Ananda Devi and translator Jeffrey Zuckerman’s feature on writing the teen voice in issue 5.

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Review: The Wild by Owen Laukkanen

The Wild
Owen Laukkanen
Underlined, January 2021
Paperback, £7.99
ISBN 9780593179741

This book is about a troubled girl who gets sent to a camp called Out of the Wild. The camp is situated in a forest where the campers carry out daily tasks, like cooking, cleaning, and setting up their tents. They spend many months living in the forest, and they can’t get away from the bad weather. It doesn’t end how you think it would…

Overall I thought it was a really good read, and a very quick one! The characters draw you in, and you want to learn more about their past and future as quickly as possible. The story constantly makes you feel like something bad is going to happen. I have one negative thing to say about this book and that is that the chapters are too short. They are only about two pages each.

I would recommend this book to people who enjoy plot twists. In general this is a very good book, one that I could read again and again.


Holly Dolan, teen reviewer.

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Review: I Think I Love You by Auriane Desombre

I Think I Love You
Auriane Desombre
Underlined, March 2021
Paperback, $9.99
ISBN 9780593179765

Meet Emma, living in New York, loves romcoms. Meet Sophia, just returned from France, hates anything related to love. It seems the only thing these two girls have in common is their love for film and that they’re both gay. So when the opportunity to enter a big New York film festival for teens brings them together, who knows what drama will unfold.

This book was a light, fun read that was really easy to dive into. Full of matchmaking and sabotaging, this book keeps you wondering what happens next without having too complex a storyline. I really liked how imperfect the characters are and how they are both trying to figure out who they are and what they want in life. The book is written from both Emma and Sophia’s points of view. I loved this because it gave me an opportunity to see both sides of the story, and I really enjoyed seeing their characters mature as the book progressed. I have to admit, there were elements to this book that were a bit predictable but I was still encouraged to read on to see how the author played out these events. There were great secondary characters in this book too. The book focused a bit too much on these characters, however, I was just as invested in these other characters and I really enjoyed seeing how their relationships developed.

Overall, I Think I Love You is a cute, funny, heartwarming story about falling in love for the first time. This book would appeal to both romcom lovers and more serious-minded readers alike. This is a beautifully written love story that focuses on modern issues and is full of realistic and relatable characters.

Laura Aylward, teen reviewer.

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Review: The Crooked Mask by Rachel Burge

The Crooked Mask
Rachel Burge
Hot Key Books, January 2021
Paperback, £7.99
ISBN 9781471409202

The Crooked Mask, sequel to The Twisted Tree, is a gripping follow-up from writer Rachel Burge. The story keeps you hooked from start to finish, a novel to claim the attention of thrill-seekers and mystery buffs. The story finds Martha arriving at the Circus of Myth & Mayhem where performers re-enact legends from Norse mythology. Here, she encounters mysterious beings including the villainous Jester, who holds many secrets. Martha’s telepathic abilities and relations with the Norse gods are tested as she slowly uncovers the truth behind Nina’s death, ex-girlfriend to her lover Stig, who now haunts her and her mother as a disturbed apparition.

With an eerie setting, layered mythology and a devious mystery at her disposal, Burge creates effective tension. The storyline continuously re-contextualises itself with each twist. Our perceptions of the circus employees, as well as characters close to Martha, are constantly changing and this raises your curiosity effortlessly.

Martha makes for a likeable and layered protagonist. Memorable moments include when she uses her powers to get closer to the truth to find justice for Nina, but also peace for her mother. At 278 pages, not a single chapter feels wasted and each paragraph peels back the circus residents’ importance to the story as well as unearthing horror within the
plot.

The novel’s minor flaw is that due to the mysteriousness of the story, some characters within the circus feel empty with little motivation outside of their roles in the circus, but this is a rarity to a few characters and most are given relatable goals that make them interesting to uncover.

Overall, The Crooked Mask serves as an impressive tale, with elements sure to please fans of Burge’s previous works but also serving as an absorbing novel for new readers.

Dean Mc Morrow, teen reviewer

Check out our Book Club Chat on The Crooked Mask for the Paper Lantern team’s thoughts on this eerie book!

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Review: You’ve Got This! by Tammy Darcy

You’ve Got This!
Tammy Darcy
Gill Books, March 2021
Hardback, €12.99
ISBN 9780717190447

You’ve Got This! is a book every teenage girl in Ireland should read. It’s divided into different sections; one for your heart, your mind, your body, and your world. It touches on important topics such as love, relationships, anxiety, feminism and so much more.

I like to think of this book as an older sister. It gives out so much wisdom and advice, and it made me feel so comfortable and included. I learned so much from reading this book and I really think it’s helped me grow
as a person. The layout and the easy-to-read language makes it a really enjoyable read. Even if you’re not that into reading, I guarantee that you’ll love this book!

I think what I liked most about this book was that there were so many different women involved in telling their stories. It feels very empowering and comforting to see other women go through experiences similar to your own, especially after seeing how well they are doing. And on that note, go read this book. I loved it!

Amina Abbassene, teen reviewer

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Issue 5 launch! You are invited….

Join us next Thursday June 24th for the online launch of Paper Lanterns issue five!
 
We’ll be sharing readings from contributors, chatting about our book club, features, and how to submit for our next issue!
 
The launch will be on YouTube premiere, you can set a reminder to make sure you don’t miss anything! 
 

And don’t forget, you can pre-order your copy of issue five here:

Order now!